Ibanez TK999HT Tube King

Wow,,!what a great pedal!buy new n then try it at home,this things like amp distortion,a good amp off course,u can get a mesa bogie drive from tis pedal,i try all example set from the manual,doing great,,the middle eq is very usable,u can get a beautiful-fat-singing solo.i think i don't need to change the tube coz the factory tube sounding warm n punchy,full of bass n mid which is i like from a dist pedal.

Me using japan ibanez rg550 with duncan APH1n,s1(stock pup),duncan TB11..my effect chain are wah pedal 535q dunlop,mxr auto q,boss sd1 revolt mod,ibz tk999ht,boss bf3,digidelay digitech juice up with visual sound adaptor..running in front of jcm2000 4x12,n 900 combo marshal n RCH combo amp.. From great amp to lame one..wow,no problem at all,,the things i don't like is tis pedal noisy n hum,the noise can be handle with void knob,but the hum..not!i don't sure know if this hum come from tis pedal or from my wallwart but it does'nt matter coz d sound is great,the hum will dissapear as soon u drive tis pedal,only notice if u not drive d pedal..

I don't need a backup,looks though solid n built like tank,right now i depend on this pedal!i'm a dist head,i was ****in with bunch of dist pedal from boss od3,sd1,digi df7,bad monkey,fulltone fulldrive 2,ts series,mxr dist3,visual sound jak hyd,demonizer,tonebone clasic..but this thing is flawless!really like drive amp which is i like so much,is not a dist pedal is an amp..hehe..great job ibanez!

Nope,never tried to contact them,bought 1,5 month ago..use it all day,gig to gig,recording..have no problem,hopefully everlasting.hehe.

I play guitar profesionally since 8 years ago,******* with bunch of pedals,amps,guitars,gigs,but right now i found what i'm looking for from dist pedal,this is it,amp-like dist,big headroom,singing sustained middle,noise gate..wow,great!i like it so much.use it with boss sd1modd for record my latest band's album,all songs.thick dist.cool.go buy it!n hear it yourself.

Not difficult to use, but some basic knowledge helps. If you have used pedals before and set up an eq you can just use the manual for a reference as there are some good settings on the back of it.
Very easy to find a great sound. It should be noted it does not operate on batteries, only the provided ac adapter.

I have used this pedal with my Don Grosh retro S with single coil fralin blues specials, and with my Collings 290 with the lollar p 90 soapbars. Both lefties- I have the curse.
I honestly have to say the collings is a much better sounding guitar and the pedal really help express it's personaltiy.
I use this for practice with a roland cube 30x and for times I need a bigger amp I use a line 6 flextone3. I have a couple tube amps but this pedal pretty much makes a solid state amp sound great.

Seems solid and built to last. I am unsure of how long the tube lasts before needing to be replaced.
Despite the fact it is made in China it seems pretty well built.

Have no experience with Ibanez support and hope none is needed.

I play mostly rock and that is what this is for on up to metal. I have been playing 13 years.
This is the only distortion I use now. This is a very solid, extremely heavy for it's size pedal.

If it were stolen I would have to get another. I am honestly considering buying another, making sure it works and putting it back in box and keeping it for down the road- just in case. I like it that much.

I have owned and used many other distortion pedals over the years. This is the by far the best one I have used. I bought it also because I know Ibanez makes a good solid product that lasts.

It has everything I need in a distortion and then some.

The pedal helps me get the sound in my head to come out of my music. So yes it makes my music sound great and helps me play better and enjoy the whole experience much more, Having a great guitar like the collings helps too.

This is just a great sounding pedal overall that is easy to use. Very tight and punchy. Makes me smile every time I play with it, Which is pretty much every time I play since I got it. You should at least try it out sometime.

Very easy to get great sounds out of it. If you've used any OD / distortion pedals, no problem here. The Void knob is different, but basically seems works as a noise gate.

Just great. Superb heavy sound with nice tube-y feel. Will easily do 70s hard rock, and also get you into nu-metal territory. For clean-breakup tones, it's OK, but you'll do better with other pedals.

Void control does a nice job keep noise down if you wish, but I find the higher-gain, feedback-y tones pretty manageable.

Using it into a Fender Deluxe Reverb RI.

Seems very solid. But I've never had Ibanez or tube pedals before, we'll see.

Don't know.

Been an electric guitar basement player for 8 years, and played acoustic for many years before that.

It gives me the tube overdrive tone I crave going into the clean channel of the DRRI. I also have several Keeley-modded Boss pedals, including the BD-2, DS-1, and MT-2. Right now, this unknown sleeper pedal is my favorite dirt pedal. Not long ago, I also checked out the ToneZone pedal. IMO, this new Tube King is much better, at least at hard rock to metal tones. I really don't understand why very few guitarists know about this pedal.

I haven't checked out Damage Control's Solid Metal, which gets rave reviews and also has tubes. Would love to hear the two side-by-side.

Anyway, I love the Tube King and highly recommended others check it out.

Easy to use. Very intuitive controls. No need for manual really.

This is a hi-gain distortion pedal. Good for those who want that Mesa Boogie distortion sound. It's also very bassy. Really good for metal and hard rock stuff. For low gain stuff, you need to put the gain at 1 or less, and you can get an approximation of that round and bassy overdriven Mesa/Dumble sound with lots of sustain.

It's one heavy sound.

Mainly play blues. Was intrigued by this pedal and got it for a good price. Just had to try it. It doesn't work for vintage blues sounds but for contemporary/ modern blues rock sounds of Robben Ford and the like, it does give a a good heavy sound with lots of sustain.

I like to think of it as Mesa Boogie in a box.

Six knobs and a switch. You find everything that you already know from your amp: Drive, Level, Lo, Mid, Hi, Presence. Only the VOID knob (= Noise Gate) has a short learning curve. It runs only with 12V AC, which not every Powersupply on the Pedalboard can deliver.

This one is a "Holy Grail of Gain"! Whith the Gain all the way down it isn??t very clean even with a Stratocaster. The Tone-Range starts with light Crunch and goes to Over-The-Top High Gain. The active EQ works VERY good in the bass an mid frequencies. The centre-frequency of the HI band seems to be a bit too high because the sound gets too trebly or harsh at settings over 14 o??clock...but the Presence Switch works on point. At middle Drive settings the Tube King is very dynamic and reacts perfect to the Guitars Volume! The VOID Noise Gate is superb! On the lowest setting it cuts the Noisefloor and on higher settings it is a cool feature for rhythmic Riff playing - an outstanding funcion for a High Gain Pedal and Heavy playing-styles! After Testing it a few days I sold my Boss HM-2 and my modified Danelectro Daddy-O. It also blowed away my friends Diamond Fireburst and H.B.E. Big D. The trick is the EQ, which gives you hundreds of different Blues/Rock/Metal Sounds in combination with the Drive-Knob. A super versatile Pedal. It is NOT true bypass and a Buffer is always in the signalpath. I give it an 8 because of the EQ??s HI Band and the lack of clean boosting.

Solid Die-Cast enclosure, 20x20cm and 1,4kg heavy! It looks and feels very reliable. All jacks and knobs are bolt with the enclosure. The knobs have plastic shafts, but Drive and Level knob are flat (so they can??t break off) and the other controls are protected through the enclosures special form. The inside looks very professional and clean. Two solid PCB??s and no SMD components. Don??t try to experiment with different Tubes, because exchanging will be a pain in the ass!! You have to disassamble the whole unit for it!

I had never to do with Ibanez...It??s my first Product from them.

It??s versatile, sounds very good, isn??t expensive and it is reliable! It can do everything from Blues to Metal, but there ARE much better Boost/Overdrive Pedals, so Distortion is (of course) it??s main purpose. A cool thing which will get the same cult as it??s predecessor. GET IT.

Easy to use pedal. Any one with a little pedal experience can dial there own sound.

First of all I am surprised that I don't hear much about this pedal. This is a killer pedal with all kinds of really nice tones. From blues, classic rock, hard rock, fusion, modern sounds, even metal if it's dialed in right. Simply amazing. Ibanez says it makes a transistor amp sound like a tube amp. I'll tell you what, hear what it does to a tube amp. It makes my tube amp sing like a georgeous babe. Amps iclude Mesa Boogie and Rivera. The preamp pedal uses the 12ax7 tube but @ high voltages just like an amp. Other pedals I've tried are ToneBone, and Seymour Duncan sfx-03. They are great too. But their cost is higher. Check it out. Just an all around wonderful sounding pedal for the money. I own Fulltone, Keeley, and Carl Martin pedals and alot more which sound good for transistors. But for a tube pedal, I really like the TK999HT. I'm just surprised I don't hear much about the Tube King compared to the VOX Satriani Saturator pedal.

All I know that it's very heavy and I would hate to drop it. Make sure you wear safety shoes. It's that heavy.

Never dealt with the company but they have been around for a long time.

I love rock and heavy rock. John Petrucci, Joe Satriani, Santana, this pedal has there tone. But the best part is that you can dial your own. It's in there if you don't mind tweaking with the knobs. I think for the money, this pedal is well worth it. I only have one question for Ibanez, why the the diamond shape? Is that a Kings simble?

Pretty much plug-n-play. A few tweaks and off to the races.

G&L S-500(strat) + Fuchs BlackJack 21 + Tube King = FAT TONE HEAVEN!!! I have never wrote a review before. I've used Harmony Central as a resource for many years and feel I need too.
I've purchased many "boutique" overdrives and distortions for three times the price and was never happy. Buy one before they screw it up(reissue).
Set the drive around 2-3 o'clock and use your guitar volume to go from bluesy grind to cha-chunk. I can make my single coils sound as deep and thick as a Paul. The noise gate is the best feature ever!! You eliminate the noise and end up with true professional tone.

Only have had it a couple weeks! Heavy and solid construction! It's the real deal!

Never have had to deal with Ibanez. I have heard they are pretty good for a big manufacturer.

I honestly cant explain how good this thing sounds. I bought mine new off E-bay. Got lucky on the price. If it was stolen or lost I would pay full price in a heartbeat for replacement.
I stated before, I've tried a lot of pedals, nothing compares. You imagine the tone its in there, clear and clean! I love the grind and chunky rhythms.
I play with some buddies(garage band) for fun. We play Bluesy, Funky, Punky, Fusiony, Surfy Reggae, Swampy, Classic Rock. Think Hombre ZZ Top to Blood,Sugar,Sex,Magic Chilli Peppers and everything in between!!

Very straightforward to use. Lows, Mid, Highs, Drive, Volume, and Noise Gate/Void. Also a Hi/Lo voicing switch. You don't need the manual (i read it anyway). This thing sounds very good no matter how you tweak the settings.

Using this with a Epi LP St w/ Gibson '57 RI pups into a handful of all-tube combos, ie modded Epi Valve Jr, Fender Hot Rod Deville, Blues Junior, etc.

The sound of this pedal has that warm natural breakup that I still only find in tubes after trying out a number of great solid state pedals, such as Fulldrive 2's, Pure Drive, Screamer, Keeley modded BD, etc. The growl, tonality, sustain, and clipping is extremely satisfying. The EQ is smooth and powerful. This pedal can add in so much more natural bass compared to all the other pedals. The mids and highs are great as well, but the bass seems to be a standout.

The void knob works quite well to get the cut-off you desire.

This thing came stock with an EHX 12AX7, but i highly recommend trying out a couple spare tubes lying around to see if you find some more sounds you like even better. I recommend J/J 12AX7, Tung Sol 12AX7, and JAN Philips 5751.

The housing for this pedal is stronger and thicker than even most pedals from Fulltone, Boss, Digitech, MXR, etc... The switch seems reliable, and the knobs are smooth with good action. There are no tall pots that will ever be kicked or broken, and the main knobs are in this recessed valley that protect them even more. Highly reassuring.

n/a

This is a great pedal for everything from classic rock, modern rock to nu-metal. THe drive goes from pleasant clean tube tones, to warm gritty overdrives, to hairy distorted tones. It is the only pedal i recall that i've ever owned that has is able to go from clean to overdrive to distortion that easily and that well.

If you crave warm, lush overdrive. this is it.

I found this product fairly straitforward, easy to use. It has a bass, mid, and treble controls, and a high frequency presence two position switch. It has the standard gain and volume controls. And it has a noise gate knob as well, a cool touch. The manual is small, but not really necessary as the controls are all easily uncerstandable, and very broad in their range. Meaning, for example, the bass knob really adds or cuts a LOT of bass, and same with the other tone controls. One major drawback is the size, shape, and weight of the unit. It is massively heavy, as it is cast metal, and shaped like a diamond instead of a rectangle, so it takes up a huge footprint on the pedalboard. I am placing mine at a 45 degree angle, so that it fits a little easier.

This is the reason I wanted to write this review. I have never reviewed a product before, but this one deserves mention. I am what people call a gear junkie, a tone chaser or even tone snob. I don't mean to be, but I have played for over 40 years, and have pretty much decided that I want the sound to be as good as possible. In short, I am becoming a grumpy old man! My setup has evolved into:
1996 40th annniversary Fender American Standard Strat, Bill Lawrence noiseless single coil pickups, which are tremendous, and a small pre-amp in the guitar. Only use it if I need a little extra on a solo. I also use a Gobson Les Paul with Duncan 59 neck pickup and Bill Lawrence bridge, and a custom made for me Treker David Lawrence model two humbucker guitar. But I mostly use the Strat. The pedalboard is as follows: Boss tuner, vintage DOD compressor, Ibanez Tube King (now), Graphic EQ, analog chorus, analog voiced digital delay. All non true bypass pedals have a true bypass switch box to help keep the signal clean and alive. The amp is a Matchless Clubman 35, which took years to settle on, through Celestion G12H 75th Anniversary speaker. After many years of distortion tube amps, such as various Marshalls, a Mesa, a Peavey 5150, and last a 1987 Marshall JCM 800 2205, I have determined that although good distortion tone is very important to me, all the amps I had gone through didn't have a superb clean channel. So I moved to vintage Fenders and began to use pedals, to get the best of both worlds. After continuing to try amps and distortion pedals, the amp that really got to me was the Matchless Clubman 35, for its crystaline yet powerful tone, and its gentle breakup just above the pure clean seettings. Killer tone for a Strat doing old rock & roll or blues tunes. I have been through many pedals, soon found that tube pedals were better for me than solid state, and have settled on a Tonebone Classic. I used that pedal as a baseline for all other comparisons for the next few years. It is very good, but I was always looking.

I found the Ibanez by a fluke. I went to see another pedal, but found this one. Hadn't seen it before, but I knew of the old ones, and wasn't impressed. But the salesperson at the store knew me, and my "pickyness", and told me to take this new pedal home for a couple of days to try, then bring it back. What a sales approach! I did, and after an hour or so, I found a pedal that beat the Tonebone!

Our band plays mostly older rock & roll and original songs. Various artists from the Beatles to Deep Purple to Eddie Cochran to Joe Walsh. With this setup now I can come close to all these artists' tones, and also have my own sound.

This pedal runs the tube in it at true amplifier voltages, which is different from most other tube pedals. Most tube pedals have a tube run at low voltage and also include a solid state distortion chip. So I bought and sold many two-tube pedals that ran at high voltage, most are out of production now, and found that they get closer to true tube amp distortion. But I was never quite satisfied with some aspect of the tone of each of these pedals. I went to look at another of that type of pedal when I stumbled onto this Tube King. I was dubious since it had only one tube, but took it home and ran it through a thorough A/B with the Tonebone, which had stayed my standard.

This Ibanez pedal sounds truly more smooth than the Tonebone, more truly tube-like distortion without that solid state chip buzz. And still very aggressive. But it still can extremely powerful. It is not a mteal pedal, but has tons more bass than I will ever use, and the tone is just amazing! I can make it sound like early Van Halen (one of my favoritese) up to more modern rock tones. I can't describe accurately how good this pedal sounds to me, but after 10 minutes my Tonebone sounded nasally and buzzy. Mind boggling to me! This is now my pedal.

Don't know yet. It appears to be super durable, super HEAVY, but all knobs seem very tight and firm, and the switch is very solid. Looks like it could last a long time. No issues yet.

I can't say for Ibanez, as I have never used them, in fact I have hardly bought anything from Ibanez except for a couple of pedals (Tube Screamer, etc.) But I know I will get superb customer support from the store where I bought it!

Overall, I can't believe I stumbled onto this beauty. Either it is very new to the market or a sleeper, because I had not heard of it before, and it only had one review on Harmony Central. I will still go and check out that pedal I went to see when I found this one, but I think that this is it. Don't listen to the old versions of this pedal or be swayed by the reviews of the older versions of this pedal. They also ran at low voltages. This one is definitely a keeper! I have even had other "picky tone snobs" come and do the same A/B, and they came away surprised. I can't tell you that this is the pedal for you, but this is the pedal for me! Great tock tube distortion, no solid state buzz. Fantastic value!

Glanced at the manual and it has som decent presets. It is as easy as dial a sound. The controls are intuitive. My unit is fresh out of the box.

I've played it through my Jones KL-50 tube amp with my Washbutn WI-68 Idol and a Tokai Love Rock. It hums a bit but sounds great. Very good range of distortion and color. The Void control works well at expanding the signal to near silence.

Seems very solid and the knobs are solid too. Very reliable.

Never called or contacted them.

I play blues based and classic rock with some metal influence. Does them each quite well. I have several modded DS-1 distortions and it makes them seem a little flat. One sweet box!