The Victoria 50212 Rocks!

[Unionjack515]

The Tone Kink Imperial MKII is the best newer amp I have ever plugged into....one of the best regardless of when it was made.

My MK1 is my “daily driver.” But the Tone Kings (and Bartels to an even greater extent) all have some tricks up their sleeve. All good tricks, but tricks nonetheless. The Victoria is just straight-ahead; love them for that!

 

[Wally]

I know you are old school, but I have neighbors to consider. I wish I had a living situation where I could crank a tube amp to glory, but alas, I cannot.

crank a tube amp to glory!! With regard for neighbors??? That is one reason why I like the TK Imperial MKII. It will do ‘cranked’ atany volume, and the attenuator is one of the best I have played. imho, if one is going to crank any 2x6V6 Fender Tweed amp to achieve max clean and a glorious overdrive that occurs at the same volume level due to compression, it is too loud to worry about the neighbors.
and hey....I’m not charging admission so they can enjoy it for free!!!!! eeehaw.. A good attenuator is a necessity to achieve ‘tube amp glory’ if one wants low volume....imho. My Super Champs and my Pro Sonic will yield very good Sonics at lower levels using the MV controls, but one does not experience true ‘tube amp glory’ that way because the output section is not working.
I have played exactly one amp that would do righteous cleans and overdrive at the volume levels to which many people are having to observe. It was a little single-ended amp that was built in Dec, 1940. Of course, it would not keep up with a drummer.
Which brings me to this question.....how do drummers contain their volume???? (;^)

 

[FlatNine]

The Tone Kink Imperial MKII is the best newer amp I have ever plugged into....one of the best regardless of when it was made.

I had the Tone King Imperial 20th Anniversary. It had the Iron Man attenuator built in whereas the standard Imperial did not, at least at that time. (2017 maybe?) It has great tone, but like so much gear, I traded it away for who know what.

 

[FlatNine]

I know you are old school, but I have neighbors to consider. I wish I had a living situation where I could crank a tube amp to glory, but alas, I cannot.

After many years of living in a big house where I could crank my amps without even bothering my family, much less my neighbors, my wife and I sold our home last year and now live in a condo. I have to be careful of volume levels here. One of the reasons I'm digging this amp so much is the richness and punch it has even at "normal" volumes.

 

[Wally]

The Imperial is basically one 5E3 preamp and one BF preamp running into a 5E3 output. Great reverb, and a great solid state bias vary trem circuit. In the MKII, the trickiest trick is the assignable attenuator....and the OT that was built to work with that attenuator. Fantastic amp, imho.

 

[Chicago Matt]

crank a tube amp to glory!! With regard for neighbors??? That is one reason why I like the TK Imperial MKII. It will do ‘cranked’ atany volume, and the attenuator is one of the best I have played. imho, if one is going to crank a 2x6V6 Fender Tweed amp to achieve max clean and a glorious overdrive that occurs at the same volume level due to compression, it is too loud to worry about the neighbors.
and hey....I’m not charging admission so they can enjoy it for free!!!!! eeehaw.. A good attenuator is a necessity to achieve ‘tube amp glory’ if one wants low volume....imho. My Super Champs and my Pro Sonic will yield very good Sonics at lower levels using the MV controls, but one does not experience true ‘tube amp glory’ that way because the output section is not working.
I have played exactly one amp that would do righteous cleans and overdrive at the volume levels to which many people are having to observe. It was a little single-ended amp that was built in Dec, 1940. Of course, it would not keep up with a drummer.
Which brings me to this question.....how do drummers contain their volume???? (;^)

+1 A good attenuator. Nothing better than turning it up to the sweet spot and getting those power tubes cookin', and that 5E8-A circuit is gorgeous when cranked up. Congrats on a great amp!

 

[Minivan Megafun]

well, it does have the same model name. They have different input circuits. They have similar preamps except for sone local NFB in the 5E8A that is not present in the 5F6A/5F8A amps. They 5E8A has a cathode PI versus the long tail pair in the Bassman and hi-po Twin. The 5E8A more closely resembles both on paper and in sound the 5E5A/5F4/5E7 amps. The 5F6A and 5F8A amps are much punchier and more articulate at higher volumes than these four other tweeds. That is why Jim Marshall cloned the 5F6A circuit.

I have a 5F6A Bassman (vintage spec built) and the aforementioned 57 RI Twin 5E8A. I can't speak to the HP 5F8A Twin as I've never encountered one in real life but if they sound similar to the Bassman then I can compare and contrast the two I have. The 5F6A has a tone that's like a punch in the face. It's got an immediate attack and is snappy. Turn it up and it'll blow you into next week. Mine is equipped with two 10A125 in the top and two 10F150 in the bottom. I've always referred to this amp as my "heavy artillery" for when I want there to be no question whether I'm heard. That said, its useful as a clean platform as even at 45ish watts trying to get any sort of natural drive comes at such volume that you will flip over parked cars when you strike a chord.

The 5E8A Twin is somehow softer and more nuanced sounding in its tone. It has a bit of shimmer on the clean tones that the Bassman doesn't. Turned up its loud as well but somehow doesn't sound like a seismic event like the 5F6A.

Between the two I prefer the 5E8A Twin.

 

[NashvilleDeluxe]

Congrats on your Victoria! Such an elegant amp, too. Love the wiring.

I can attest to the Tone King/attenuator being a thing of beauty. I had to do some low-noise recording in my workshop while my GF was on a conference call. I fired up the TK Sky King, and clicked the attenuator down to the 2nd lowest setting. Nudged the microphone ahead 3" closer, and...identical recording to when I crank it at 35 watts. Lush.

I had to come back to edit this: I notice your Victoria has the Eminence Legend 12" speakers. I have a Fender Deluxe cab loaded with a 1x12" Eminence Legend to complement or use as a standalone to the Celestion 65M creamback in the Sky King. SUCH a great choice by Victoria...these speakers are dreamy.