King of Tone

The King of Tone is a dual-channel overdrive pedal made by Analog Man Guitar Effects, hand-built in the USA. Mike Piera, the builder behind Analog Man, released the first version in 2003, and the pedal is currently in Version 4¹²³. It is best known for three things: a circuit that refines the Marshall Bluesbreaker overdrive, a purple hand-stamped enclosure, and a waiting list so long that Analog Man warns some orders may never be filled¹³.

The pedal has two independent sides, each with its own on/off switch, LED, and three knobs, so a player can run two drive settings at once, stack them, or set one side clean-ish and the other for leads¹. Inside, the circuit uses a special JRC chip designed for audio tone controls, which Analog Man says has a warm yet clear sound, and the chips sit in sockets so they can be swapped¹.

A boutique refinement of the Bluesbreaker circuit

The King of Tone's family tree runs through the Marshall Bluesbreaker, a low-gain overdrive from the late 1980s. General Guitar Gadgets, which sells a Bluesbreaker-based project board, describes that circuit as "the low-gain overdrive from the late 1980s that boutique builders copied into the King of Tone and Morning Glory"⁴. Origin Effects puts it more directly: in 2003 Mike Piera "released the first version of the now-legendary King of Tone: a modded Blues Breaker circuit"³.

So it is a modified Bluesbreaker rather than a copy. The distinction matters to players comparing circuits, because the whole family shares a recognizable character: a dual op-amp stage with diodes in the feedback path producing smooth, symmetrical soft clipping. RockBoard's PedalPedia entry for the Coriolis Effects Hail to the King, a King of Tone-based build, describes that topology as "a dual-op amp circuit that produces smooth symmetrical clipping and a responsive feel"⁵. Jackson Audio's Golden Boy manual groups the King of Tone with the Timmy as an example of symmetrical silicon-diode clipping: "Four symmetric silicon diodes will clip the top and bottom portions of your guitar signal evenly for a more focused and direct tone"⁶.

The Bluesbreaker lineage has since become its own branch of the pedal family tree. Vertex Effects ran a "top 5 Blues Breaker clones" feature that included Analog Man's own Prince of Tone, a single-channel sibling of the King of Tone⁷, and builders from kit suppliers to commercial makers have followed the same path.

How it works: soft clipping with Panasonic diodes

The King of Tone is a soft-clipping overdrive. In this topology, clipping diodes sit in the feedback loop around an op-amp rather than after it, which rounds off the signal's peaks instead of slicing them flat. The result is a moderate, amp-like overdrive rather than the heavier, more compressed character of hard diode clipping. Function f(x) describes the same trade-off in its MicroFracture pedal: hard clipping gives heavier drive with more compression, while soft clipping gives more moderate overdrive like the original circuit⁸.

The diodes themselves are a point of dispute. RockBoard's PedalPedia entry states: "The original KOT supposedly used Panasonic MA856 diodes, but the diodes actually have two stripes like the MA858"⁹. So the part is reported as an MA856, possibly an MA858, and players discussing the circuit should treat the exact type as unsettled.

The op-amp is a JRC chip designed for audio tone controls. Analog Man says it was preferred by Ohbayashi san and "has a warm yet clear sound"¹. Both chips are installed in sockets, one upside down, with the dot on the chip's corner aligned to the socket's cutout at pin 1. The manual adds that either chip works fine on either side regardless of the higher gain option, and that players "can also try other standard dual op-amp chips in the King of Tone"². That socketing is unusual: most pedals solder the chip in place, and it makes the King of Tone one of the few overdrives where swapping op-amps is a designed-in feature rather than a mod.

Controls and internal trimmers

Each side of the pedal has three knobs, an on/off switch, and an LED¹. A higher gain option is available at build time, which J Mascis uses for his live clean tones¹.

The input presents a high 1 Mega ohm impedance, which Analog Man says keeps the guitar signal strong and clean¹.

Building and availability: hand-built by Analog Man

Every King of Tone is hand made in the USA by Analog Man¹. Chase Bliss, which worked with Analog Man on the Brothers AM pedal, describes that level of care as unmatched since the 1990s, noting the maker's use of near-unobtainable parts¹⁰. That hand-built approach is the direct cause of the pedal's availability problem.

The enclosure is purple and hand-stamped, part of the pedal's identity alongside its sound and its wait list, which Origin Effects notes is "at risk" of closing³. The current list price is $335 plus options¹.

Options

• Buffer option: fitted after both sides, just before the output jack¹
• Second output jack: with the buffer option, one output can be buffered and the other normal¹
• Second power jack: $15¹
• Higher gain option: chosen at build time¹

The buffer option in detail

The King of Tone has room in its battery compartment, which is why Analog Man offers a buffer option or modification for it and the Prince of Tone¹¹. The buffer sits after both sides of the pedal, just before the output jack, so it drives the signal down long cable runs or into later pedals without the treble loss a high-impedance output causes¹.

A few practical points from the maker:

• With the buffer and the second output jack option, one output can be buffered and one normal, so a player can feed two amp setups differently¹.
• The buffer works well at higher voltages, like 12V or 18V¹.
• There is no room for a battery with the buffer option¹.
• With the 4-jack option used to split the pedal into two, the buffer is on the left side¹¹.

For players who want to understand what a buffer does in a signal chain, see buffer pedals.

Related pedals and circuit descendants

The King of Tone's influence shows up across the industry, in official collaborations, digital versions, and outright builds of the circuit¹²¹³⁹.

Chase Bliss's Brothers AM is the most direct official relative. Rather than copying the circuit, Chase Bliss says it "worked closely with Analog Man to create an expanded counterpart"¹⁰. In the announcement, Joel Korte named the King of Tone alongside the Sun Face and the Beano Boost as the Analog Man pedals that set the standard, saying of the King of Tone: "It's effortless to use, it always sounds right"¹⁸.

Kemper's profiling amplifiers include a Kemper Drive based on the King of Tone, giving players the circuit in digital form¹². On the DIY side, General Guitar Gadgets sells a King of Tone add-on kit for its Bluesbreaker board that adds extra clipping diodes after the op-amp, a presence control, and clipping-select switches, turning the project into a two-mode drive⁴.

Who uses the King of Tone?

Analog Man's own page names two players. J Mascis uses King of Tone pedals live for his clean tones, with the higher gain option, and Slim, Lady Antebellum's normal guitarist, also uses one¹.

Pedals on this page

Analogman King Of Tone

Analog Man · Overdrive

$335 list price

Coriolis Effects Ultimate Edition Hail To The King

Coriolis Effects · Overdrive

$199 list price

MXR Timmy

MXR · Overdrive

$159.99 list price

Jackson Audio Golden Boy

Jackson Audio · Overdrive

$299 list price

AnalogMan Prince Of Tone

Analog Man · Overdrive

Chase Bliss and Analog Man Brothers AM

Chase Bliss and Analog Man · Overdrive

Analog Man Beano Boost

Analog Man · Boost

Analog Man Sun Face

Analog Man · Fuzz

$25 list price

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