the Sky King User Manual
Contents
1. Tone King Sky King User s Manual 1 4 8 25 2015 A AA AA AAA A aT AAA a eS A a a St A A A o _ _ 9 9999999 A _ A A eee eee O A O O A O O eee A ttt _ 24 Tone King Amplifiers A division of Premier Builders Guild LLC 4401 Eastern Avenue Bldg 46 3G Box 38 Baltimore Maryland 21224 www toneking com mail toneking com Note from the Builder Thank you for choosing Tone King s Sky King guitar amplifier The Sky King is the first handwired amplifier that we ve built in 20 years It was inspired by the desire to dig deeper into the realm of genuine vintage guitar tones Whether you re chasing the tone of Steve Cropper Joe Maphis Roy Buchannan or any player that defines an iconic vintage American guitar sound the Sky King will get you there In spite of its rich set of features the Sky King is quite simple to operate and full of great tones you won t need to do a lot of knob twiddling to get a great tone The Sky King is handbuilt by the fine team of builders at Premier Builders Guild s Rohnert Park CA facility the same crew that builds the Two Rock line of fine guitar amplifiers This crew works to the highest standards of quality and every phase of construction is subject to strict scrutiny and verification to ensure that every Tone King amplifier is built exactly the way I build them myself I ve composed this User s Manual as a means of describing the features2. The design of the Sky King s output stage allows a fair amount of margin for variation in tube characteristics so any known brand of 6L6 can be installed and will work properly and be appropriately self biased 10 Tube Quality Currently manufactured tubes are built in China Russia or the Czech Republic and are not built to the same quality standards as tubes manufactures by the U S manufacturers in the glory days of tube manufacturing We musicians choose to use to vacuum tubes because of their tone but we need to accept that the tubes available to us these days can be imperfect devices and are most certainly the least reliable component in the entire amplifier It would seem that the obvious solution would be to use new old stock tubes that were made back in the glory days when tubes were properly made However I ve lately been finding that much of the available stocks of such new old stock tubes are either gassy noisy or unreliable I do believe that we ve reached the bottom of the barrel of NOS tubes Tube problems generally reveal themselves as a crackling noise which can occur continuously sporadically in response to mechanical vibration or in response to your playing e g a crackling or other type of noise which occurs only when you hit a note We subject all tubes to a thorough burn in and test procedure to ensure that they are fully up to spec and operating perfectly However you must be aw
3. and Rhythm Rhythm Channel Lead Channel Reverb Tremolo Rate 8 Depth 2 Back Panel Controls AC Power Fuse Power Switch Standby Switch Footswitch Speaker Jacks Impedance Switch Output Mode Attenuation Controls Notes on Using the Attenuator 3 Tube Installation and Replacement Choice of Tube Types and Brands 12AX7 Tubes 6L6 Tubes 5U4 Tubes Installing Tubes Replacing Output Tubes Tube Quality 4 Warranty CONN DA AAA OW aut ww Ww oOo Oo 10 10 10 10 11 12 1 Front Panel Controls LEAD CHANNEL RHYTHM CHANNEL REVERB amp TREMOLO x 000 000000 RHYTHM N l Two Preamp Channels Lead and Rhythm The Sky King has two separate preamplifier channels each with its own unique voicing You can switch between the channels with either the Lead Rhythm switch on the front panel or with the Channel switch on the footswitch When using the footswitch you should set the front panel switch to the Rhythm position Youll notice that the LED on the footswitch indicates the channel selected When the LED is lit the Lead channel is selected When the LED is not lit the Rhythm channel is selected Rhythm Channel The Rhythm channel includes controls for Volume Treble and Bass This channel is designed to deliver a vintage 1960 s clean tone the type of tone you might associate with a well known brand of amplifier made in California during that period This tone is characterized
4. by a crisp present top end a slightly scooped midrange and a full bottom end As will be noted later this general type of tone can take on two distinct flavors depending on the setting of the Mode switch on the back panel Pentode mode will give you a sound and response that you would expect from a genuine vintage amp of this type with a crisp and present top end and fast attack and lots of clarity and transparency Ultralinear mode recalls a sound from an earlier period of vintage amps In this mode you will get a sound with a softer attack and increased depth and dimension and a nice compliant feel The top end will become rounder smoother and silkier One other thing to note is that the overall gain of the amplifier is reduced significantly in Ultralinear mode so you will need to compensate by adjusting the Volume control The Bass and Treble controls act much like they would on a genuine vintage amp of this type The Sky King is a bit unique in that you ll find a wide range of usable tones at just about any setting of the Bass and Treble controls but here are a few sample settings to get you started 1960s Clean Tone Volume Treble Bass Mode back panel pa fs T e ented Old School Clean Tone Volume Treble Bass Mode back panel ps Ps 9 TO Vane Lead Channel The Lead channel starts out with a Tweed style preamp which drives a proprietary tone shaping circuit built around the Mid Bite control a
5. 7A Stage 2 Rhythm Stage 3 Lead V3 TAD EH 12AT7 Reverb Driver V4 TAD 12AX7A C Tung Sol 12AX7A Reverb receiver V5 TAD 12AX7A C Tung Sol 12AX7A Phase Inverter V6 V7 TAD 6L6WGC Output Tubes V8 TAD EH 5U4 Rectifier The tube brands shown above are my own preferences You may want to use other brands to tailor the sound to your own tastes Here are a few notes on the various brands available today 12AX7 Tubes Both the TAD 12AX7A C and the Tung Sol 12AX7A are a great match for the Sky King Both have a nice balance of detail and warmth with the Tung Sol having perhaps a bit more transparency in the top end and the TAD having a bit less glassiness but still a nice presence in the upper mids EH 12AX7s are very similar to Tung Sol 12AX7s both are very quiet with very low microphonics and are a bit on the bright side with an extended top end Tung Sols seem a bit warmer than EHs The Svetlana 12AX7 a short plate tube has nearly the clarity of the 12AX7EH and slightly more bottom end but is a bit congested in the midrange Years ago I had selected this brand as the brand of choice for the Meteor II amp but later changed toa combination of the 12AX7EH and the 12AX7LPS Sovtek 12AX7LPS this long plate 12AX7 has a big warm sound that comes close to a good NOS long plate 12AX7 However this tube can tend to be microphonic 6L6 Tubes I do not recommend using some of the lower powered 6L6 variants e g 5881 The TAD 6LOW
6. GC has a nicely balanced sound quite warm and manages to achieve a certain depth that you can generally only find in some nice old NOS tubes When pushed hard it compresses quite easily for a softer response than most Another great candidate is the SED 6L6GC This one manages to sound a bit more like a genuine NOS RCA 6L6CG when compared to the TAD it has a bit stiffer feel for a tighter overdrive and distortion though with slightly less detail resolution and depth than the TAD 5U4 Rectifier I don t recommend using a 5AR4 rectifier a 5U4 has the appropriate voltage drop Of the types available I prefer either the TAD or EH Installing Tubes When installing tubes you may find it helpful to lay the amp on its face speaker pointing toward the ground on a table and shine a light directly into the back of the amp to aid in locating the position of each tube Tubes must be installed in the correct orientation The smaller all glass tubes have a blank space in the ring of pins which must line up with the blank space in the ring of tube pins in the tube socket located on the chassis The larger bakelite base tubes have a small cylinder with an indexing key in the center of the ring of tube pins and this indexing key must match up with the corresponding slot in the socket on the chassis Replacing Output Tubes The output stage of the Sky King is fully cathode biased and no bias adjustment is necessary when changing output tubes
7. Twin Reverb The Depth control varies the intensity of the modulation effect and the Rate knob controls the speed of the effect If the footswitch is not being used then the tremolo circuit is active all the time so you will need to turn the Depth knob all the way down if you do not wish to use tremolo When the footswitch is plugged in you can turn the tremolo on and off with the footswitch An LED shows the status of the effect LED on tremolo on 2 Back Panel Controls POWER SPEAKER ATTENUATION db POWER OPERATE OFF STANDBY mes FOOTSWITCH 120V 60Hz SLO BLO AC Power Always use a grounded AC cord and make sure that a proper ground connection is supplied to the amp Never attempt to lift or defeat the ground connection to the amp Fuse A standard 3A slo blo fuse style 3AG should be used Power Switch Standby Switch When powering up the amp you should start with both the Power and Standby switches in the off position First turn on the Power switch This will apply power only to the tube filaments and the low voltage circuitry After turning on the Power switch allow the tubes to warm up for about 1 minute then turn on the Standby switch The power down sequence is not as important as the power up sequence When turning the amp off you may turn Power off before Standby or turn Standby off before Power or turn them both off at the same time Footswitch Conn
8. and operation of the Sky King Ifyou have any questions which are not covered here please feel free to contact me personally at mail toneking com Best Regards Mark Bartel Tone King Amplifiers a division of Premier Builders Guild LLC Safety Instructions Important Please read these instructions and keep them for reference Please follow all instructions described here Do not use this apparatus near water Clean only with a dry cloth Do not block any ventilation openings Do not operate near any heat sources such as radiators or heat registers Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched particularly at the plugs and at the point where they exit from the apparatus 8 Only use attachments accessories specified by the manufacturer 9 Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when unused for long periods of time 10 Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel Servicing is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way For example if the power supply cord or plug is damaged liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus the apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture does not operate normally or has been dropped 11 CAUTION To disconnect the unit completely from the MAINS unplug the unit Turning the power switch off does not disconnect the unit completely from the MAINS NOUMUBWNEH Contents 1 Front Panel Controls Two Channels Lead
9. annel Old Style Tweed Clean Mode Volume Tone Mid Bite Cranked Tweed Mode Volume Tone Mid Bite Rock Grind Mode Volume Tone Mid Bite Peod 7 s T 6 Thick Chunky Mids Mode Volume Tone Mid Bite maine O O s o oo Reverb The Sky King includes a built in 2 spring tube driven reverb circuit Reverb is applied to both the Rhythm and Lead channels In order to compensate for the higher gain of the Lead channel the reverb drive is reduced slightly on the Lead channel This reduction helps to match the reverb level when switching between preamp channels when the Lead channel is being driven hard and the Rhythm channel is set for a clean tone The Reverb level is controlled by the front panel Reverb control which adjusts the amount of the reverb signal which is mixed into the signal path Tremolo Rate amp Depth The Sky King s tremolo circuit is a modified form of the old fashioned bias modulation tremolo circuit This circuit achieves the tremolo effect by varying the bias of the output tubes This type of tremolo was used in all Tone King amps going back to 1993 However the Sky King uses a modified form of this circuit which virtually eliminates the thumping and other sonic effects that are typical for this type of effect This type of tremolo circuit gives you a nicely rounded effect but it is quite subtle when compared to an opto coupler tremolo as would be found in for example a Fender
10. are that the majority of tube failures occur early in their life and may come about as a result of the jostling and jarring that an amp can receive in shipping In spite of the exhaustive testing we perform at the shop early life tube problems cannot always be found in such testing The first two months or so are the most tenuous period for any set oftubes Most manufacturing defects will be revealed in the first two months of their life but many are not detectable in initial testing even after a burn in period If you notice any noises cracking or any other odd behavior of your amplifier in this period note that it is most likely to be the result of a defective tube and should be debugged as such 11 Premier Builders Guild LLC Limited Warranty Premier Builders Guild LLC 201 S Highland Avenue Suite 204 Pittsburgh PA 15206 This warranty gives you specific legal rights you may also have other rights which vary from state to state There are no express warranties except those listed below Length of Warranty This warranty shall remain in effect for five years from the date of sale of the product as shown on the original bill of sale What is Covered This warranty covers all defects in material and workmanship in this product with the following exceptions 1 Damage or deterioration of the cabinet or any other cosmetic damage which occurs after delivery is not covered by this warranty 2 Damage after initial delivery r
11. art of the tone and feel of the amp when played at high volume At low power settings the speaker responds differently and does not break up and compress as it does at high power The ear s natural response curve varies at different volume levels which changes the way you perceive sounds at different volume levels Quieter sounds tend to give the impression of having less bass content One way to help compensate for the above two factors is to intentionally mismatch the speaker impedance via the impedance switch on the back panel At low power settings you might try switching the impedance switch to the 4 ohm position it should normally be set to 8 ohms Doing this will give you a fatter thicker slightly more elastic tone The downside is that it also tends to roll off the high frequencies a bit as well Another way to compensate for the above factors it to use Ultralinear mode at low volume At lower volume there is a tendency to hit the guitar strings harder and play more aggressively than you would ifthe amp were tuned up very loud It may take some time to get used to maintaining your playing style at reduced volume 3 Tube Installation and Replacement a O Q O o o o o vw Choice of Tube Types and Brands I currently suggest the following tube types No Type and Brand Function V1 TAD 12AX7A C Tung Sol 12AX7A Stage 1 Rhythm Lead Stage 2 Lead V2 TAD 12AX7A C Tung Sol 12AX
12. by as much as doubling or halving the selected impedance Mismatching beyond this is not recommended For example if the Impedance switch is set to 8 ohms you may use a combined speaker load as low as 4 ohms or as high as 16 ohms Output Mode This switch selects the operating mode of the output tubes As described in the previous sections for the Rhythm and Lead channels the two modes give you distinctly different feel and tone It is important to understand and appreciate the qualities of each operating mode and it is the key to the Sky King s tonal versatility Here s a brief description of each mode Pentode Mode 99 of all tube amplifiers built today and in the past have their output tubes wired in pentode mode In this mode the screen grid is supplied with a filtered supply voltage which is slightly lower than the plate voltage The sound and feel of tubes operated in this mode should be quite familiar In general this mode will give you a sound that is crisp and present with a fast attack and a percussive response Ultralinear Mode Only a handful of popular guitar amplifiers have been built with their output tubes wired in Ultralinear mode In this mode the screen grids are connected to taps on the primary of the output transformer Tubes wired this way can generate about the same level of power as Pentode mode but will create a unique sound and response which is similar to what you would get if they were wired in Triode mode th
13. ect the footswitch to the amp with the supplied cable or with any standard Y TRS Stereo to 4 TRS Stereo cable The footwitch allows you to control both the preamp channel selection and the tremolo on off LEDs indicate the current switching status as follows Channel switch LED on Lead channel Tremolo switch LED on Tremolo on When using the footswitch make sure to set the front panel Channel switch to the Rhythm position Speaker Jacks Impedance Switch When only one speaker is being used e g the internal speaker it must be plugged into the Main speaker jack and the Impedance switch should be set to match the impedance of that speaker If you are using an extension speaker but NOT using the internal speaker then you should plug the extension speaker into the Main speaker jack and set the Impedance switch to match the impedance of the external speaker The Extension speaker jack may only be used if there is also a speaker plugged into the Main speaker jack Inside the amp the Extension speaker jack is wired in parallel with the Main speaker jack When using an extension speaker in addition to the internal 8 ohm speaker it is best to use an 8 ohm external speaker Since the external speaker is wired in parallel with the internal speaker the total combined impedance will be 4 ohms so you would set the Impedance switch to the 4 ohm position If desired or necessary you may safely mismatch the impedance
14. esulting from accident unreasonable use or neglect is not covered by this watranty 3 Damage resulting from the performance of repairs by someone other than the Tone King Amplifier Company is not covered by this warranty 4 Damage occurring during shipment or delivery of this product to the Tone King Amplifier Company after initial delivery of the product is not covered by this warranty 5 Vacuum tubes are considered a user replaceable item as they are expected to wear out and require replacement over a reasonable period of time Tubes are warranted to be serviceable for a period of 90 days from the date of sale 6 The speaker s in this amplifier has have been selected for use only with this amplifier If the speaker s of this amplifier is are connected to an amplifier other than the intended amplifier any warranty of this speaker shall be deemed void What We Will Pay For The Tone King Amplifier Company will pay for all labor and material expenses to fix or replace all items covered under this warranty The customer will pay shipping charges to return the product to the Tone King Amplifier Company Ifthe necessary repairs are covered under this warranty the Tone King Amplifier Company will pay any shipping charges required to return the product to the customer Limitation of Implied Warranties All express or implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose are limited in duration to the length of this warran
15. h as London Power Scaling have both used successfully on various amp models of other brands However for the more vintage sounding tones that the Sky King is designed to achieve a good quality attenuator such as the built in Ironman is the best way to preserve tone and feel at very low volume The attenuation controls determine the level of the signal sent to the speaker but do not affect the operation of the output stage of the amplifier itself The attenuator absorbs and dissipates any excess power generated by the output tubes that is not sent to the speaker The attenuator is internally connected between the amplifier output and the speaker jack the same way an external attenuator would be connected However the input of the attenuator is not accessible so you cannot use the built in Ironman attenuator to attenuate the output of some other amplifier This particular variation of the Ironman is designed with two separate attenuation controls The Ironman switches between controls as you switch channels so you can set the output level for the Rhythm and Lead channels independently Notes on using the attenuator Although the Ironman attenuator does the best possible job of reducing output power without changing the tone of the amp s circuitry there are other variables in play at lower volume which do result in some apparent tone change Here are a few factors that you should be aware of Speaker breakup and compression is a big p
16. itan Galaxy Falcon Sky King Royalist Imperial MK II Falcon Grande Manufacturer Importer Date 8 25 2015 pues Ofistorber LU Homing Name and Title C avte topher w E le atm U P PRojEct EN ca peer MG Approved By Chandra Garudachar President CES LABORATORIES Prepard By Jyotsna Bedi 23361 Cypress Pt Mission Viejo CA 92692 13
17. ough in Triode mode the output power would be reduced Itis a sound that is richer in lower order even harmonics This is a more old school kind of sound with a thicker midrange and a sweeter rounder top end You ll also notice that it gives the amp a softer more elastic feel that makes it a joy to play A secondary effect you will notice in Ultralinear mode is that the gain of the amplifier is reduced significantly When switching between modes you will need to adjust the preamp volume controls to compensate When you switch between modes you will hear a loud pop from the speaker It is perfectly safe to do this but if you prefer to avoid hearing the loud pop you may want to switch to standby mode before changing the Mode setting Attenuation Controls The Sky King contains a built in Ironman precision attenuator with dual attenuation controls to allow you to reduce the volume level of the amplifier while allowing its output tubes to operate at full output power for natural power tube overdrive and distortion This attenuator uses transformer coupling and a precision tuned reactive load to best preserve the natural tone and feel of the amp even at very low volume This is the same general approach used in the highly regarded Ironman standalone attenuator There are many different approaches that can be used to generate overdriven and distorted tones as a low volume For example master volume circuits or a power reduction scheme suc
18. ty unless otherwise provided by state law Exclusion of Certain Damages The Tone King Amplifier Company s liability is limited to the repair or replacement at our option of any defective product and shall in no event include incidental or consequential damages of any kind Some states do not allow limitations on the length of an implied warranty and or do not allow the exclusion of incidental or consequential damages so the above limitations and exclusions may not apply to you Obtaining Warranty Service If your unit requires service it should be returned to the Tone King Amplifier Company at the address listed above Before returning the unit you must contact the Tone King Amplifier Company and obtain return authorization 12 CE Declaration Premier Builders Guild LLC 201 S Highland Avenue Suite 204 Pittsburgh PA 15206 412 362 0309 cE DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY Report R070212 We Premier Builders Guild in coordination with CES Laboratories declare taking this declaration under our total responsibility that the below models are in conformity with the provisions of the following EC Directive s when installed in accordance with the installation instructions contained in the product documentation 2006 95 EEC Low Voltage Directive 2004 108 EEC EMC Directive 2011 65 EEC RoHS Directive And that the standards and or technical specifications have been applied to the following families of products Imperial Metropol
19. unique Tone King feature This proprietary circuit transforms the basic tweed tone to more of a crunchy rock tone as you turn up the mid bite control This is accomplished by simultaneously tightening up the bass rolling off the very high frequencies increasing the gain and developing a pronounced upper midrange peak The Mid Bite control is the key to dialing in your own particular sound on the lead channel so you may want to experiment and observe its effect as you rotate it from 1 to 9 The setting of the Mode switch on the back panel will have a big effect on the tone and feel of the amp in the Lead channel In Pentode mode the amp will be brighter and edgier with a tighter more percussive response In Ultralinear mode the overdive will be thick and syrupy with a more elastic feel One other thing to note is that the overall gain of the amplifier is reduced significantly in Ultralinear mode so you will need to compensate by adjusting the Volume control When you are using the attenuator to reduce the volume of the lead channel you ll notice that the speaker acts differently at low volume than it does at high volume At low volume you don t get the benefit of speaker breakup and compression to smooth and round out the distortion tone A good way to compensate for this is to use Ultralinear mode when attenuating to very low volume Here are a few sample settings which demonstrate just a few of the tones available with the Lead ch
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