Analog Man's King of Tone stompbox has long stood as one of the most revered overdrive pedals on the market.
With a years-long wait list for an original, and prices for existing examples hitting almost four figures on the secondary market, it's not a pedal you can simply pick up at your local Guitar Center or online.
Now though, MXR is looking to make some of that box's magic more accessible with its new Duke of Tone pedal, an overdrive based on the Analog Man Prince of Tone (the single-channel version of the King of Tone).
Primed for mass production, the Duke of Tone was a collaboration between the pedal giant and Analog Man head honcho Mike Piera, who meticulously oversaw every aspect of the Duke's development to ensure authenticity to his original vision. You can learn more about its creation in the video below.
Just like the Prince of Tone before it, the Duke of Tone boasts a three-knob control layout featuring self-explanatory Volume, Drive, and Tone knobs, and a three-way clipping toggle switch with Boost, OD, and Distortion modes.
According to MXR, OD adds more "grit and compression," while Boost gives users "a clean-yet-vigorous bump." Distortion, meanwhile, gives players a touch of each.
Like all Analog Man pedals, the Duke of Tone also features a true bypass footswitch.
“I was very happy working with [MXR], the reason being to get these out to the stores," Piera says in the above video. "We don’t really have our pedals, especially these two – the King of Tone and Prince of Tone – in any stores because we can’t make them fast enough.
“I thought it would be great to get these in dealers all over the world with the same basic sounds and nice, small compact size. And the tones are all there. You don’t need to have something big to have good tone.”
The MXR/Analog Man Duke of Tone overdrive pedal will begin shipping on October 1, for $149.
To preorder the pedal, visit jimdunlop.com.
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