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Note from the Builder
Note from the BuilderNote from the Builder
Note from the Builder
Thank you for choosing Tone King’s “Galaxy” model guitar amplifier. I designed the
original Galaxy in 1995, as a higher powered follow-on to the 40W Continental model.
It was introduced at the 1996 NAMM show (see photo below) as a head with matching
4x12 cabinet. The speaker cabinet was derived from the Continental design, a
trapezoid shaped open back cabinet which rested on 4 tapered wooden legs. This
Galaxy amp had a sparkling clean tone with
tons of headroom, and a searing crunch
tone that was unbelievably loud for a 60W.
I only built about 2 dozen of these monsters
before I discontinued the model and
radically changed the product line in 1997.
Then, in 2010, I went back to the bench to
design a new 60W amp. The idea was to
feature that big, thick, chimey 6L6 sound
with tons of headroom, almost like a bit
more manageable version of a Dual
Showman. I did a lot of work with the
output stage, output transformer, and power supply to get the tone and feel just right. I
ended up with a cathode biased 4x6L6 design, with no negative feedback, that does
some pretty amazing things. For one, the clean tone has a nice thickness to the mids,
with a real weight to each note, and a sweetness to the top end that gives it plenty of
'air' on top without sounding too bright.
When you crank it up, you get that growl and
"kerrang!" of an old Bassman or early JTM45.
You can even if you crank it up a bit more for
a nice thick singing crunch, and still turn
back your guitar's volume control to get a
sparkly clean without a hint of grit.
Although this new design is quite different
and more refined than the old Galaxy of
1995, it does have roughly the same features
and layout. The main difference between the
two is that this new Galaxy is paired with a
more practical and manageable 2x12 cabinet,
instead of the original 4x12. As always, I
put a fair amount of effort into voicing this
new 2x12 for the optimum combination of
big-iron blackface cleans and punchy Bassman growl.
I thank you for your purchase of the Galaxy amplifier, and I hope you enjoy playing it
as much as I do.
Best Regards,
Mark Bartel
Tone King Amplifiers, a division of Premier Builders Guild LLC
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