Tone King Metro, Carr Slant 6V or, Divided by 13 JRT 9/15 ??

[saltydogg]

Hi,

I'm on the hunt for a "grab and go", 1x12 combo in the 15-40W range.

I'm primarily looking for Fendery Clean channel and, a Marshally/Tweedy overdrive channel. No D-Styles or Mesa's, etc...

Here's what I've been looking at and, what I know about them. I'd like to get your thoughts.
*I've never played any of them.
**For reference: Classic Rock, Southern Rock and Blues styles.
***I would be buying used. No special orders or custom stuff.


1. Tone King Metropolitan 1x12.
- 2 Footswitchable Channels
- Shimmery/glassy cleans in the BF camp. (Nice)
- Overdrive is unique, but is in the tweed ballpark. (Nice)
- On-board attenuation. (Nice)
- On-board reverb (Nice, though hard to determine the quality)

* The BIG ISSUE for me, with the TK Metro, is that I see them pretty frequently on the used market (is this a good sign?) but, on paper, this is the ideally what I am looking for. And, I have spoken to few trusted TGP sources who have owned a Metro and, I got negative feedback from both guys. One mentioned the term "sterile" and, the other source thought the Lead (overdrive) channel was lacking. Check the many Metro threads and you'll read more often than not, that this is many folks desert island amp? I realize this is vague and subjective but this one really makes me wonder. The PCB doesn't bother me.


2. Carr Slant 6V 1x12:
- 2 Footswitchable Channels
- Organic, fat cleans in the BF camp. (Nice)
- Overdrive is unique, but is in the Marshall/Fender ballpark. (Nice)
- On-board wattage selector (Nice)
- On-board reverb (Nice, though hard to determine the quality)

*No big issues, here. Not thrilled with the faceplate's "dizzying design" but, not a big deal in the scheme of things. The newer models have reverb on both channels so, I'd be searching for this model.


3. Divided by 13 JRT 9/15 1x12:
- 1 Channel (albeit with the ability to mix 6V6 and EL84 tubes)
- Clean/OD tones on video clips (I know, I know) sound thin, especially with a Strat.
- Tweed camp. Not much headroom but, I hear it's loud.
- Has clean-to-mean capabilities with guitar volume (Nice)
- No reverb (Meh)

This one has haunted me for some time. Compared to the other 3 amps, dollars-to-doughnuts, this has the least options available. If it had a killer reverb, it might be no-brainer. Alot of money though, for the simplicity. Great looking 1x12 though!


Thanks for reading.

Are there any others that I'm missing?

 

[Joe Perry]

How about the % 13 SJT 10/20? Two 6V6's. It would be closer to the TK in comparison. On paper I would think it would be thinner sounding compared to the others.

 

[phalanges]

The JRT is a great amp and I've enjoyed mine since 2005 but for your purposes the TK is a better call. I've only played the Metro in a store but I was impressed with the OD at the time. I can't comment on the 6v, having never played through one.
My JRT won't sound thin no matter how hard I try.

 

[saltydogg]

Thanks guys. Yeah, I'm not looking for 'thin'.

I should note that I typically use HB and P90 equipped Gibsons. Although a strat is in my future.

 

[GasMask]

Of the 3 amps listed, the last one I would choose would be the D/13 for your stated needs/goals. That said, of all the D/13's I've played or heard, "thin" is not a word I would use. All of them have had tons of bass/low end. I voted for the Carr out of the 3 choices, but there are lots of great amps to consider.

 

[BarneyFife]

I've had the Tone King (Meteor 1 and 2 and the Metro)
Have had the Slant 6v
Also have had the %13 EDT 13/29.

Volume wise the TK and the Carr can get much louder than the %13, so if you ever play in larger rooms or outdoors and don't mic your amp, I would go with one of those two.

Tone wise I liked all of them, but the Tone King was my favorite total package amp.

The Carr has a great rhythm channel but I never got used to the overdrive channel, and it's certainly not tweedy.

The %13 had a nice sound and is a killer little amp, but it was never loud enough for me.

The TK's rhythm channel is very mid-scooped and with humbuckers sounds thick enough, though not as thick as the Carr.
The tweed channel is where I spent most of my time on. I kept the mid-bite at a very low level, as opposed to a lot of folks, and played it loud. With a tele, it sounds awesome. With humbuckers it would probably kill.

 

[riffmeister]

Depending on your volume needs I would add a Tone King Imperial to the list.

I've owned Tone King Imperial, Meteor II, and Metro (all 1x12's).....and Carr Slant 6V 2x12. Meteor II, Metro, Slant 6V all have awesome clean channels (and the reverb and trem on the Meteor II are to die for), but I never really bonded with the gain channels on any of them. The Imperial has an awesome clean channel and an awesome gain channel. But with no MV the lead channel is pretty darn loud in its sweet spot. It's an amazing lightweight grab-n-go combo.

 

[saltydogg]

Depending on your volume needs I would add a Tone King Imperial to the list.

I've owned Tone King Imperial, Meteor II, and Metro (all 1x12's).....and Carr Slant 6V 2x12. Meteor II, Metro, Slant 6V all have awesome clean channels (and the reverb and trem on the Meteor II are to die for), but I never really bonded with the gain channels on any of them. The Imperial has an awesome clean channel and an awesome gain channel. But with no MV the lead channel is pretty darn loud in its sweet spot. It's an amazing lightweight grab-n-go combo.

How do the gain channels of the Metro and the Imperial compare?
Thanks.

 

[ch1naski]

I'm playing a 2004 stock tele and a 1967 SG Special out of my Metropolitan atm, and these guitars love that thing. Especially the rhythm channel, cranked. Just back off on the guitar's volume and I'm good. The "Marshall" channel is a monster, gain-wise. More than I prefer, but I'm more of a Page/Trucks/Campilongo guy when it comes to tone.

That being said, my PRS custom 22 with Lollar Imperials just doesn't connect with it.

The reverb on it is a huge improvement over my Dr Z Maz 18 Reverb, but it ain't no Fender deluxe or super reverb.

Very versatile amp, especially for classic rock.

 

[Gearopenia]

I was also gonna say consider the Tone King Imperial. I've had one for about 2 hours. Played it for 2 minutes. But it has the tweed and black face tone. Also gets you into 18 watt Marshall. The metro has equivalent of power scaling.

I had a divided by 13 also. I don't think it was thin. It's actually a " barbell shaped tone". What I mean is tons of lows and tons of highs and not mch in the middle. Maybe someone would call that thin since nothing on the middle.
It wasn't the JRT it was EDT so maybe apples and oranges. But I think it's the way the cabs are tuned.

My vote is TK. Although Carr is killer too. I had a Carr imperial. A more powerful Rambler.

 

[BIlespaul]

The great thing about the metro's lead channel is that the mid bite provides a good deal of ability to alter the character of the amp's OD. I keep the mid bite low for that tweedy sound and it gets great old school blues tones paired with my R6, ES-355, and the neck pup on my Strat. When I want to rock, I grab a HB-equipped LP and crank the mid bite.

Another thing that surprised me about the metro is the extent to which you can scoop the mids on the rhythm channel. Very cool with a hint of verb.

 

[riffmeister]

How do the gain channels of the Metro and the Imperial compare?
Thanks.

They are similar circuits, I believe (same vol/tone/mid-bite controls). The Metro has the power scaling thing so it's a little easier to dial in at the volume level you want. But there's something about voicing of the Imperial which sounds so cool.....maybe it has to do with the smaller transformers and/or speaker/cab design of the Imperial, but it's a pretty righteous sound, IMO. Here's a clip I did a few years back with the Imperial.....clean sounds are on the neck pu and OD sounds are on the bridge humbucker of a s/s/h Strat type Suhr:

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/616231

 

[Bikedude]

My TK Metro does cleans better than my 72SFTR, 96HRD 4X10,Prri, and my departed Drri. The OD ch. gives me anything from slight hairy tweed to marshallesque drive with the tone and mid-bite controls. All this can be controlled with the phase 4 power scaling feature. You can even get nice breakup on chan. 1 with the vol up and the power down, so you can go from clean to hairy with the guit. vol.

I don't think you could go wrong with either of the 3 amps.

 

[motokev]

Depending on your volume needs I would add a Tone King Imperial to the list.

I've owned Tone King Imperial, Meteor II, and Metro (all 1x12's).....and Carr Slant 6V 2x12. Meteor II, Metro, Slant 6V all have awesome clean channels (and the reverb and trem on the Meteor II are to die for), but I never really bonded with the gain channels on any of them. The Imperial has an awesome clean channel and an awesome gain channel. But with no MV the lead channel is pretty darn loud in its sweet spot. It's an amazing lightweight grab-n-go combo.

I too, have owned (still own) all the TONE KING amps.......
Like most amps, the sweet spot is always too LOUD. If you want to overdrive, use a pedal. The way I look at the TK amps is, one channel is a very nice vintage blackface, the other you have very nice TWEED. Want to overdrive either channel, use a pedal. The amp works extremely well with pedals.

 

[motokev]

How do the gain channels of the Metro and the Imperial compare?
Thanks.

I think the GAIN of the Metro is more manageable than the Imperial, due to the attenuator

-I think the Metro works better with pedals
-I think the Imperial sounds a little better at LOW VOLUME
-I think the METRO is more DIVERSE than the Imperial
-I think the REVERB sounds better on the Imperial
-I like the LOOKS of the METRO over the IMPERIAL

If I was to pick, it would be a USED MINT METRO over a NEW IMPERIAL

If I had to pick a NEW METRO over a NEW IMPERIAL, I'd buy the IMPERIAL.

 

[riffmeister]

If I was to pick, it would be a USED MINT METRO over a NEW IMPERIAL

If I had to pick a NEW METRO over a NEW IMPERIAL, I'd buy the IMPERIAL.

I think to have all bases covered you need one of each!!

 

[saltydogg]

I think to have all bases covered you need one of each!!

Don't make me!

 

[riffmeister]

Don't make me!

It's a philosophy I used to subscribe to!

 

[Bikedude]

There is at least 1 TK Metro on the emporium as we speak.

 

[saltydogg]

There is at least 1 TK Metro on the emporium as we speak.

Yep. As well as a Carr Slant 6V and Divided by13 JRT 9/15.....