MusicRadar Verdict
If you want to add some warmth to your solid-state amp, this is for you.
Pros
- +
Valve makes solid state amps sound almost like a valve amp.
Cons
- -
The features beyond this aren't spectacular.
MusicRadar's got your back Our team of expert musicians and producers spends hours testing products to help you choose the best music-making gear for you. Find out more about how we test.
Ibanez has a long history of producing great distortion pedals with the Tube Screamer series.
But the TS range were solid-state pedals designed to get the most out of valve amplifiers - the new Tube King is a very different beast.
We're always a bit sceptical of pedals with built-in valves. We're not engineers so we don't know just how much the valve contributes to the sound.
That being said, the Tube King made our solid-state amp sound like a valve amp and that alone must justify the humble outlay.
“It’s an old-fashioned piece of conceptual rock”: Steven Wilson issues album update and promises no less than the reinvention of the “extended classic rock solo”
“We were always going to try to break boundaries and try new things”: It was the first No.1 pop single to feature rapping - and it came from Debbie Harry and Blondie
“I have to try and talk about the neck without sounding offensive or angry”: Johnny Marr says satin finishes have no business being on a guitar neck
