Well dang. I bought me a Prince of Tone!

[Brent Hutto]

Apologies to friend @ChicknPickn for the thread title thieving...oops, I meant homage.

I've tried a few the classic, general types of overdrives but never anything from the Bluesbreaker family tree. I tend to avoid boutique dirt pedals, in fact, other than a couple of BBD delay and flange pedals I avoid boutique in general. But I was in the mood to buy and today was Wednesday so I gave it shot. Guess it was a slow day, I got one first try to add it to my cart.

So what do I have here, anyway?

In particular, I see conflicting descriptions as to how much of a "mid hump" the Prince of Tone will have relative to the Tube Screamer/SD-1 type mid-pushers. In that past I've tried a Timmy as supposedly the most transparent of the transparent 'drives. I found it basically didn't do much unless I turned it up so much the clipping sounded awful. But OTOH, I've already got a Tube Screamer and hardly ever kick it on. That massively nasal EQ is seldom what I'm looking for and its distortion seems to be so "smooth" it reads more as "congested" to my ears.

So will Prince of Tone be EQ's a bit more neutral than a TS9 or SD-1? Or is it still that kind of thing?

The other thing I'm hoping is for a bit more open, less compressed sound than my usually-always-on Boss OD-3. For a lot of my playing, I like the fact it starts exhibiting "amp like compression" even before there's any discernable breakup. But sometimes I get tired of that compression feel, not to mention as you turn it up a bit the OD-3 also has a bit of mids emphasis.

Is Prince of Tone supposed to be more on the open end of the spectrum with some headroom? FWIW, I ordered as 12V power adapter with it thinking I'd run it at 12V to help with the open thing.

 

[Mustard-Cutter]

So will Prince of Tone be EQ's a bit more neutral than a TS9 or SD-1? Or is it still that kind of thing?

The King, Prince, and Duke are all more open and neutral EQ-wise than a TS9 or SD-1 and it's not even close. They don't neuter your low end for starters, and you can leave the top end relatively wide open without nasty piercing highs as long as you adjust the internal treble trim pot. They also don't have as much of a mid hump as a tubescreamer, and that's obvious when listening to them.

They are raspier and a bit more raw sounding than the smoother and more refined breakup of a tubescreamer. They tend to bring out the woody qualities in guitars more while tubescreamers tend to bring out more glassy qualities. At least that's how my ears seem to register them. I'm not the biggest fan of bluesbreaker circuits but the KOT, POT, & DOT definitely get it right, and I would prefer them over a tubescreamer with literally any guitar or amp combination (OK, now my bias is showing.)

 

[Brent Hutto]

The King, Prince, and Duke are all more open and neutral EQ-wise than a TS9 or SD-1 and it's not even close. They don't neuter your low end for starters, and you can leave the top end relatively wide open without nasty piercing highs as long as you adjust the internal treble trim pot. They also don't have as much of a mid hump as a tubescreamer, and that's obvious when listening to them.

They are raspier and a bit more raw sounding than the smoother and more refined breakup of a tubescreamer. They tend to bring out the woody qualities in guitars more while tubescreamers tend to bring out more glassy qualities. At least that's how my ears seem to register them. I'm not the biggest fan of bluesbreaker circuits but the KOT, POT, & DOT definitely get it right, and I would prefer them over a tubescreamer with literally any guitar or amp combination (OK, now my bias is showing.)

Thank you for that!

I have to say, if I'd have seen your description before now I'd probably already own the POT. Retaining some bass and not having to dial out the strident highs is exactly what I'm hoping for. If I get that plus a bit less compression than my OD-3, it'll be worth it for sure.

I have on a couple occasions found a particular sound I really love with that "glassy" Tubescreamer thing. But not something I want to hear every day.

My most recent guitar has P-90 pickups and they've got me looking for some alternatives to the pedals that I'd gotten used to with single coils on Tele and Strat.

 

[Mustard-Cutter]

Thank you for that!

I have to say, if I'd have seen your description before now I'd probably already own the POT. Retaining some bass and not having to dial out the strident highs is exactly what I'm hoping for. If I get that plus a bit less compression than my OD-3, it'll be worth it for sure.

I have on a couple occasions found a particular sound I really love with that "glassy" Tubescreamer thing. But not something I want to hear every day.

My most recent guitar has P-90 pickups and they've got me looking for some alternatives to the pedals that I'd gotten used to with single coils on Tele and Strat.

It's a great pedal and I'll be surprised if you don't like it. If you're happy with your amp and guitar, it's not going to mess with that. Whereas with tubescreamers, even that's not a guarantee.

 

[TeleBackelaer]

They are raspier and a bit more raw sounding than the smoother and more refined breakup of a tubescreamer. They tend to bring out the woody qualities in guitars more while tubescreamers tend to bring out more glassy qualities

A bit off topic, but this a great description of the TS, or at least it's exactly how I would describe it as well. And I love that smooth, glassy overdrive.

I am never bothered by the mid hump either, though I admit a TS works way better with my strat than with my tele.

 

[Brent Hutto]

A bit off topic, but this a great description of the TS, or at least it's exactly how I would describe it as well. And I love that smooth, glassy overdrive.

I am never bothered by the mid hump either, though I admit a TS works way better with my strat than with my tele.

The reason I own a Tube Screamer (mine's actually a fancy Maxon ST9 Pro+ Super Tube) is because along with a Maxon SD9 Super Distortion it does a "thing" with my Strat that's pretty cool. I've described it as making the Strat rear up on its hind legs and sing.

But when I try that with the Tele or with the new P-90 LP it sounds awful. Strats are kind of weird that way, I think. They have that springy, lively sound to them that makes me kind of rethink pedals and such.

 

[Edgar Allan Presley]

To my ears, the resonant frequency of a Prince of Tone is lower and the hump flatter than on a tube screamer or Klon. I didn't like the King of Tone I had as much until I turned the presence trim pot up a little. When I got a Prince of Tone, I knew to adjust the presence.

I no longer have the King of Tone, alas, but I'm 65 months (!) into the waitlist for a new one. My turn should come in three months to never. Meanwhile, I really like the Prince. I hope you like it too.

 

[Killing Floor]

I have one. It’s a solid pedal and a really great deal. Tempted to buy another.

 

[Brent Hutto]

I've had the Prince on board for an hour or so of playing-around time. Looking to use it as an alternative to my OD-3 in the "foundation drive" slot after my other dirt pedals and before my clean amps. I've mostly been sticking to the top "OD" switch setting but have compared it to "BOOST" a little bit.

Two things I'm used to but not always entirely satisfied with from the OD-3. When used as a nearly-clean, low-gain overdrive (i.e. DRIVE control all the way down) it does compress my playing dynamics a little in addition to have a bit of crunch if I play chords. So never gets clean-clean and never gets really open sounding.

So far, in that sort of setting the Prince of Tone is less compressed and more open. It sounds totally clean but with that fuller, rounder tone that a clean amp gets when you bump up the gain to just below breakup. I call that a "clean plus" tone. That's a big plus, much of the time I like that little compression and grunt that the OD-3 adds but it does interact strangely with my new P-90 equipped LP guitar and "compressed" is taking away some of the character of the P-90 pickups.

Count that as a win. In my other most commonly used setting, the OD-3 is set at or just past the onset of breakup (DRIVE just over 9:00) and I roll the TONE back some. This is how I set it when I kick on the DS-1 for a kind of mid-scooped, bassier, heavier crunch tone. If I'm careful with my picking hand I can get some nice dynamics like that. I tried finding a similar dynamic with the Prince of Tone and can't quite get it dialed yet. Either constant, edgy distortion or too clean with no sweet spot in between. Needs more work.

One other immediately obvious thing. The knobs on Prince of Tone (switch to OD position) have to be higher than I'd expect. Especially the Volume knob, unity gain is up around 2:00 or so versus well below noon on the OD-3. And if the POT's Drive knob goes below 9:00 the output from the pedal drops a good bit no matter where I set the Volume.

But overall, the results are promising. I wanted a pedal that plays and sounds different than what I'm used to and I got it.

 

[Sparky2]

I'm a visual person.

Is this what we are talking about?

 

[Brent Hutto]

I'm a visual person.

Is this what we are talking about?

Yessir.

And if the D knob was pointing way over to the left that would be the same setting I've been using so far.

 

[Brent Hutto]

Just now, for the first time I plugged the Strat into Prince of Tone rather than using my Epi LP with the P-90's.

Not a big fan. As awesome as it sounds with the P-90's, it's rather plain vanilla and anemic sounding with single coils until it gets up into the breakup zone. Doesn't do the "pushed clean" thing with singles, at least not in OD mode.

The OD-3 has been my long time favorite with Tele and Strat and I have a feeling that's not going to change, even though the POT is clearly my favorite with the Les Paul. Interesting.

 

[KokoTele]

I have the Duke of Tone, which is the same circuit. I've found a limited range of settings where it sounds cool, and had the same initial reaction: sounded anemic, vanilla, etc. When I finally found the settings I like, it's a lot better. I've decided to keep it for now because I wanted to keep a different flavor of OD on my pedal board. I keep it set for a tone that's a little rattier and more aggressive OD, and keep my Timmy set for smoother and creamier.

 

[richey88]

Thinking you purists may flame me, but I recently got a Demonfx Prince of Sound clone. I freakin love it! Distortion position of the 3-way switch not my fave but the other two? Hell yes! I wish I could afford the price and wait on Mike’s originals……. Remove this post if it should be. I had to back the internal trim back to 9 o’clock but wow now! Great circuit, all I’m saying. Carry on.

 

[arlum]

Analogman has long been the King, Prince, Knight, Squire and Court Jester of vintage tones. Both their mods of vintage pedals and upgraded boutique recreations on vintage pedals are all equal to or better than the originals. I'm really not a huge promoter of Analogman. I've owned three of their pedals and all were excellent. Currently only one is still a permanent part of my pedal board but it's not because of any tonal problem with the others. At some point I decided to quit using batteries and that moved the other two to my backup shelf.

 

[noneq_guy2]

I have found that the POT does not sound at all like the KOT, which I think is hands-down the best OD pedal for my amps (vintage blackface fenders) to get my sound. Dial in just a little in the red channel and it rounds out the tone in a very natural way. Kick in the yellow to get a bit louder and stronger for a solo or more treble tone. Mine is set up standard (without the high gain option). I have both Tumulus pedals, an analog man silver mod tube screamer, and a POT. I have had many other OD pedals over the last 25 years or so. But now all I ever use is the KOT.