American Clean Amp Shootout: Fender Deluxe Reverb, Tone King Imperial & Two Rock Studio Signature

Any tips on dialing in pedals with the toneking mk2 ? For example my jan ray sounds amazing with my vibrochamp reverb but kind of muffled with the toneking

Imho, the TK seems to "breathe" more and has a warmer tone.

The law of diminishing returns is basically all that’s happening here. The Two Rock sounds best to me but not head and shoulders better. If you want to squeeze the most out of your amp and it’s worth it to you to spend 3xs as much to get 10% more then have at it. I’m planning on getting a used Two Rock because it’s definitely worth it to me, but I will always love a Deluxe Reverb. The Two Rock has a more 3 dimensional clean tone and is smoother with overdrive pedals. The headroom is also an important factor for me as my main issues with the Deluxe has always been the flabby low end and relatively quick breakup.

This was so so so very annoying to listen to…. And what did we listeners get out of any of it???

Is me or really the Studio signature reverb's is not at good as the others?

Nice playing, on a dulll amp.

I played quite few vintage amps in my vintage days. I settled on the deluxe reverb about 3 years into pro playing. It just made sense and I could make a deluxe reverb sound like a marshall but there is no pedal to make a marshall sound like a fender anything.

Some of the best guitar playing I've heard in my life

This great presentation thankfully stopped me buying the Imperial ( as I already have a deluxe) I went for the Sky King instead.

Beautiful playing mate!

I came here to check out the amps, and became an instant fan of your playing, I will be sharing this with as many fellow musicians as possible…. Hope to hear more from you soon!

Tone king isnt handwired...

What is that god awful rattling sound from the fender?

Can't really go wrong with any of the three. I came for the Imperial and was impressed; and the Two Roc was so musical sounding. When it comes down to it, how much you want to spend.

Kid...with your experience? you wasn't born in Fender real Black Face era....REISUE is your stuff. 🤣😂😫Best regards from bass guitar player at early 60-s. (Framus 1/150 Star bass and Fender black face Bassman).

Lots of people can play, and and some lucky people have flawless technique, bends and vibrato. But VERY few people can play all kinds of super interesting stuff without sound at all like anyone we already know. That's a triple threat right there. Absolutely amazing playing.

Jack, your playing is great...on the Imperial, and I understand good sound induces good playing but that was not a fair comparison, should play the same on both amps for a A-A comparison. With that said the Imperial is amazing.

two rocks are too overfiltered for my taste, never played a tone king but i am sure i would take the Fender as I have yet to find anything that beats it. When i first started i loved the overdriven british thing but as i have grown and improved in my playing i find those same amps too dark and too compressed. The average marshall sounds like my Vibrolux with a blanket over it, the average Orange ...two blankets (don't have a lot of experience with the Vox line) - i had a Hiwatt that I miss (very flat in the EQ though- like a PA)

Leo Fender invented the wheel end of story

The TK & TR seemed to have a up front tone . The Fender sounded more in the back round. If that makes any sense.

The King of Cleans without a Milkman, no way.

Give this dude a raise. Amazing ability to immerse himself in the style of the song he's playing without busting into some out of place blues riff or something non-germane. I could just listen to the playing in the background and be impressed. But Jack is also an amazing spokesperson! This has to be the most enjoyable demo comparison video I've seen in a long time. Is Jack in a band? Is he signed to a label yet? Git'r'done

I keep returning to the Two Rock.

Mmmmmmm the Fender amp sounds very Fendery

Such in tune doublestops on a trem guitar, well done, the tone king just sounds a hair more clean and unique not better

I own the Tone King Imperial MKII (surf blue!), the Fender Custom ‘64 Deluxe Reverb along with the predecessor of the demo’ed Two Rock, the Studio Pro 22. If you use pedals, there’s no comparison. The Two Rock wins hands down. It’s my main gigging amp.

If you need the grab and go simplicity of internal reverb and tremolo, it’s a bit of a toss up. The attenuator is a nice feature (if you need it) on the Tone King but the tremolo is a little woooshy and washed out sounding. I greatly prefer the Fender tremolo. However, the lead channel on the Tone King can make me leave my overdrive pedal at home. But, you lose the reverb on/off foot switch on the Tone King and sometimes with other effects, I need to shut down the verb and run dry.

The Deluxe is the standard that all others are judged by. Bring your own overdrive pedal and you have a lot to work with.

No one is suffering playing any of these. But, if can afford it, the Two Rock is my desert island amp.

Just buy a Fender! All these gimmicky boutiqe amps are a massive rip off...

Only Jack can make the DRRI sound better than the hand-wired deluxe Reverb! Good Lord every time I hear Jack play his chops are just better and better and his phrasing is just head-scratching and out-of-this-world!

I’m using pretty good headphones and to me these 3 amps all sound very similar.

Pedal platform is selling them short , he says!!! That dumb expression never existed years ago , the heart of the sound is the amp, and in this case a very fine sound indeed. Pedals are an add on and a fairly new development in the 60 years since these amps came into being.
Dont tag an amp as a pedal platform, or focus exclusively on sounds achived with pedals

Far too expensive

I’m shopping for something like this and have decided to go for the Tone King. Hoping it comes with some of Jack’s talent!😂

Killer sounds and excellent playing!

Thanks so much! I've a super reverb 4x10. It's noisy just hanging about with volume at 5.5ish and volume pedal "off". I've had a few Fender techs tweak them with some improvement. Yours sounds so quite. Did you have any type of noise suppression active? Cheers. Bob

Tone King MKII is best for me.

In short, my favorite sound is the Imperial, favorite power rating is the Two Rock. However I know that Tone King and Fender may have different ideas as to how loud 20 watts should be, so hopefully the Imperial is louder.

Deluxe reverbs are loud enough but not always; it doesn't mean your band is too loud, it just means you need more volume, period, that's why they needed to make the Vibrolux. The black/silver face channels differ in sound other than trem and verb because the verb channel has one more tube stage not involved with the verb or trem. Also I would say a humbucker guitar would be needed here as well. In the '70s club scene on the West Coast and the Emerald triangle, the desired rig was a Les Paul hammering a Deluxe Reverb. I'm wondering also if the Imperial is a bit louder than the Deluxe because I'm really steering toward a Vibrolux.

I recently bought the ‘65 DRRI and a/b’ed with the Tone King. Those Fender cleans are the real deal if that’s what you’re looking for… No doubt the Imperial is better build with better components and smarter features - the Fender just sounds better for the clean tone. I’ve replaced the stock speaker with an Eminence GA-SC64 and it sounds insane!

What’s the name of the song when he played the fender and tone king???

I've just bought Fender's '64 Custom Deluxe for smaller gigs. After what seems like a life time of Mesa Lone Stars and Mark Vs, my regular/go-to amp now is a Two-Rock Classic Reverb Signature 100w head & matching 2x12 - I love the thing, it's a weapon. best thing I've plugged into and a real keeper. However, for smaller dates, it's too powerful and if you allow, it will take down walls. I know all three amps that Jack tested and in fact, owned a T-R SSig.

I chose the Custom Deluxe because to my ears, it's sweeter and more soulful than any of the other two and actually better and more vintage sounding than the Fender's regular 65 Deluxe Reissue. That's saying something, but it should be, being handwired and quite a bit more expensive. It's also much quieter. Liked the TK, but have no use for an attenuator on a low poweed amp, So the Custom Delux it had to be. Its a pity there wasn't a '64 Custom on hand, as that is a more obvious and serious competitor for the Two-Rock and Tone King.

There's actually more to the '64 than initially meets the eye and Fender have been very thoughtful, which I have to say, is unusual! There are the usual four inputs and Fender have voiced each of differently from signature Black Face to something a bit deeper, to include the popular tone-cap mod that many originals have. Also, the reverb and vibrato is available on both channels, unlike the regular amp. The solid pine cabinet actually makes it lighter too, an unexpected bonus. At about £2,600, its similarly-priced to the Tone-King, but well worth it. With a serious attentuator on board, the TK may be better value, the T-R more versatile, but for outright tonal quality - again, according to my ears - the '64 Custom has it. If you want that chimey Fender tone - the real thing - there's nothing else realistically. It's a wonderful choice to have, though, but Fender have really nailed it.

Buy a Fender- keep an amp tech busy.............

There is nothing like pure clean tone. In my 50 plus years of playing I happened to come across a Holland Jazz 50 with 2 10" eminence legends in it. This by far was the absolute cleanest sound that I have ever experienced. My drummer and 2nd guitarist stopped playing and just listened in disbelief when they first heard it. Mike Holland used top tier components with cloth covered wiring and silver solder for his point to point old school masterpieces. The power tubes were 7581 audiophile 6L6 type tubes in it and were fairly pricey. Kenny Burrell had a signature model if that tells you anything. Heritage bought Holland out and they couldnt carry on the business in the high end amplifier market. Just sharing good luck all with your hunt for tone.

Which pickups are you using in your Stratocaster?

That Tone King thing is fantastic

People rave about the Tone King Imperial MKII, but in my experience, it's a very harsh sounding amp even with the treble turned nearly to zero. I returned it within a few days.

you can notice each amp took you into a different type of impro playing, all great!. I would be happy with any of these amps :)

This guys is such a killer player wow

I can't compare the amps because of his playing! I have to watch a few more times! WoW!

How does the imperial takes pedals?