Tone King Comet 20

I have one of the first (actually the 6th) Comet 20 made. All stock. I play '50s - '70s rock'n'roll, pop, classic rock, soul, r&b, country and western. I play Nocasters. My sonic nirvana is a good Tele, with minimal processing, through blackface clean. From there, you can accomplish anything. I twin the Comet 20 with a Victoriaville (sic) 5112. Comet has 2 channels, clean and overdrive/ distortion, foot switchable (Tone King included), and an effects loop, a rare if not unique Tone King feature. A loud 20 bell clean watts through a Mark Bartel spec'd tight 12" Eminence '60s Chicago style, mid-sized ceramic.

Quiet amp. Loud when you need it. The clean channel is as forceful, well defined and well tapered blackface with just the right amount of hair at the upper end. The overdrive/distortion channel can get my Teles from a tweed Champ to a Marshall stack's tone. It's all you really need. Highly functional, rich and well tapered reverb. Handles effects seamlessly in the tone chain. I have some before the amp and some through the loop. Given the sonic demands of top 40/AOR band, this gives me everything I need and I can always get some Van Halen out of this if needed. I mic it at gigs over 250.

Mil spec parts. Strong, solid and light wood. Road worthy tolex, probably the best I've ever seen. Clean design. I've gigged this without a backup. Never a problem. I've found it to be one solid performer.

I had an RFI issue and emailed Mark. I received his answer in a couple of days, solved the issue and was good to go. Top shelf service from the top.

I've been playing about 8 years. It's my favourite gigging amp. Easy on the back, rock solidly built, fabulous tone, nicely appointed. I'd recommend this amp for anything except metal. I'd buy it again. This amp nails the fundamentals.

This amp is simply incredible. It will out Fender a Fender any day. It has a wonderful, full, outstanding, superb clean channel, that will blow you away. The Marshall channel is very good too, except it does get a little shrill if you crank the mid bite all the way up, but who does that anyway. Very Nice sounding Reverb. It takes pedals very well, I usually don't even need to use the dirty channel unless I am going for a hard rock type of tone. I play my leads through the clean channel w/ a single ts808 tubescreamer and it sounds amazing. The amp is plenty loud for any gig short of RFK stadium, and even then you could mic it. It is the only toneking amp to ever have an FX loop.

The amp has a wide variety of sounds, as I mentioned before. You can really dial it in, and the reverb works for both footswitchable channels. It has plenty of head room, but also gets very nice overdriven tones. This of course is not a gain amp, it's for playing real music. I am using a custom warmoth strat w/ lindy fralin PAF's.(Humbuckers). It runs very quietly and isn't noisy at all, it in fact functions so quietly, I can let it idle, and you can't hear the amp over the cooling fan, which is also very very quiet. Of course it has a standby, so It doesn't need to idle much.

Yes, and I do use it w/o a backup. So far it has been very solid. It has never broken down. I did have a slight rattle w/ one of the metal tube covers, but I contacted Mark, and he sent me some foam that cured the problem instantly.

Yes they are very friendly and helpful. They even gave me a free footswitch after mine was lost during a move.

I have been playing for years, I have owned nearly every high end low wattage "boutique" amplifier out there. This is right up there w/ the best. Right now I am running it in stereo w/ a Dr. Z Carmen Ghia on an ABY switch and it is just incredible. Very light and portable, and it records really really well. Do yourself a favor and get this amplifier.

2 6V6 Class A power stage producing 20 watts through a 12" speaker, which is MORE than enough volume for even the loudest bands (unless you're running the drums through a PA, but then you could just mic the amp, too). 2 channels, one Blackface-style clean with volume, treble, and bass controls, the other a non-master volume tweed-to-Marshall channel with volume, tone, and mid-bite controls. The mid-bite control is sort of like a regular mid control except it also has some effect on the overall gain structure, so at low settings you get a tweed-type sound and as you move up you get a much more Marshall-like sound. There is also a nice universal tube-driven spring reverb with a single control. The amp includes an effects loop which is switchable between series and parallel, but I've never used it, and a detachable power cord and detachable footswitch for channel switching. The amp also includes a line out, which is intended for use with a live mixing board, not for recording.

So, I'd say for what it is, this amp includes more features than I need. I do wish I could switch out the reverb instead of turning the knob to zero, and I feel like including a switchable effects loop in an amp like this is silly (does anyone playing a classic small combo run that many effects?) and surely increased the price I paid for it, thus the deductions. I would also have liked bass and treble knobs instead of the single tone knob on the lead channel.

The clean channel is absolutely perfect. It's like a Blackface Deluxe Reverb, only better in every way (and a little louder). The drive channel is also very nice, especially considering its aforementioned transformative capabilities. That said, it does a much better job at the tweed end than the Marshall end where things can get a little shrill. You're not going to get much pre-amp crunch out of it, instead you get more power-amp and speaker distortion snarl. Of course, that (along with the clean channel) is the reason to buy this amp, just know what you're getting into. The amp does respond nicely to various overdrive pedals (particularly on the clean channel) if pre-amp crunch (or singing) is what you're after, which is fine for me when I need it, but if that's your main bag, you're better off with a master-volume multiple-gain-stage monster. So, to summarize, I'm very happy with the sound overall. The clean channel gets 10/10, it could not be any better. The lead channel gets 8/10 for being awesome from 0 to 80% of the way up on the mid-bite knob.

The amp also cuts through quite well in live situations and records well in the studio. This is a pro-quality amplifier (if that wasn't obvious from the price). I've mostly used a '52 Telecaster re-issue with Rio Grande hotter-than-stock pickups with the Comet, but have also played a Rickenbacker 360 and a Gibson SG through it extensively and an American Strat a few times. The amp worked fine with all of them, always bringing out the essential sound of the guitar rather than overpowering it with its own qualities.

Very solid, I've never had any problems. The construction is a mix of circuit board and point-to-point. The tubes are mounted separately, then connected to the board, not directly mounted to the board. I think this is an excellent idea as it separates the potentially troublesome tubes from the other components while keeping costs down and product-consistency high by using a printed circuit. In addition, the tubes are shock mounted and fan cooled (by a very quiet fan). The cabinet is solid wood of some kind (pine if I remember correctly). The amp weighs a good bit, but is lighter than particle-board amps of similar size. Overall, construction quality is very high.

I've talked to the Tone King a couple times via email and he was helpful and easy to get a hold of, but beyond that can't attest to anything.

I've been playing for nine years now, and have had the Comet for almost four. I've owned quite a few other similar 6V6/6L6 amps plus some of the higher end Line 6 modeling equipments, and an EL84-based amp. I've stuck with the Comet the longest now of any amp I've ever had. My biggest complaint is that Tone King keeps changing their amp models! There are some things I like better about their new Meteor series, but some things I like better about the Comet. I'd say if you're in the market for a Blackface-style amp and would like an excellent power-amp distortion lead channel to switch to, this is the amp for you.

My Tone King Comet 20 was a recent (late 2001) model purchased new from Edtronics in Oregon, WI. The Comet 20 has two channels: one clean/rhythm and one lead. There is only one input jack and channels are switched using the included footpedal. Both channels have reverb that cannot be switched on/off via footpedal. Each channel has voluem and tone controls. The Lead channel has a Mid Bite control that allows you to tailor the overdrive sound. There is NO master volume, so you DO get a volume boost when switching from clean to lead. The back has a send/return effects loop with a serial/parallel minitoggle switch. Serial puts the effect inline with the guitar (like a pedal), and parallel adds the effect but keeps the original guitar signal intact. Serial is great for overdrive, and parallel works better for delay, etc. Jacks are also provided for the internal speaker and an external speaker. Power and standby rocker switches are also located on the backpanel. There is 1 internal 12-inch speaker custom made for Tone King by Eminence (I think). Tube complement is one matched pair of 6V6GT power tubes for outputs and three 12AX7s for preamp. Reverb is a long tank unit encased in tolex in the bottom of the cabinet. Cabinet is finger jointed birch that is designed to be lighter weight and to properly resonate with the speaker, which tunes the amp so that is sounds more "alive." Construction is meticulous and very tight. The two-tone tolex (brown and cream) looks very rugged and beautiful on the 50's retro looking cabinet. Grill cloth is silver and blue/black thread like on an old silverface Fender. The amp uses PC board construction, but it appears to be very well built and solid as a nut. Even the controls have a "heavy" feel when you turn them--like they are extremely high quality.

I use my Comet 20 with a Fender 60's Relic Stratocaster (1997 Cunetto version). God, I don't know where to begin with the sound. If you like clean Fender, then this amp is to die for. It has a much cleaner and purer original Fender blackface tone than what Fender is producing currently in their blackface reissues. And I know the blackface sound having owned an original 67 Vibrolux Reverb, 66 Princeton, 72 Princeton Reverb, and 1999 Deluxe Reverb Reissue. This amp can get very loud yet stay clean. And the reverb...fantastic! Excellent resolution and decay. There is no "mud" with this amp. But what is really special is the Lead channel. I have four different overdrive boxes, and NONE of them can replicate the sound of the lead channel on this amp. It has a sustain and growl that is completely natural and tastey--plus you can tailor the lead sound using the Mid Bite contol. A word of caution: This amp has no master volume, so the lead channel is like a lead boost. Although the overdrive sounds excellent, you must deal with the volume difference. The lead channel does not reproduce the "metal thrash" type of sound; more like an Allman Brothers or Clapton Layla type of sound. Great for jazz AND blues.

This amp appears to be very solid. The only component that appears fragile is the black plastic rocker switch on the top panel to manually select clean or lead channel when no foot switch is used. I emailed Mark about it and he has already changed the top panels on the Comet 40 to a more robust design. I cannot give a rating since I have not owned the amp long enough. Time will tell. And I actually plan to keep this amp long enough to see if it does last (unless I get a Comet 40 before then!).

Mark Bartel is very accessible and responds promptly to emails. He comes off as a sincere and extremely nice guy. The warranty is a bit skimpy (2 years), but I think Mark would be willing to help users down the road in their time of need if need be. Based on the emails I have had with Mark, I am going to give him a 10 just for the benefit of doubt.

This amp is a stunner! If you like the blackface Fender sound as well as tweed crunch, then there is nothing else out there that compares at the price of a new Comet 20. Lately I have been on a roll with my Fender Strat Relic, Mitsubishi 2002 Eclipse GT, and now my Tone King Comet 20 as items I have NOT ONE REGRET about purchasing and would do again in a heartbeat. I am so glad I discovered this amp and bought one. The only other amp I would MAYBE exchange it for is the Comet 40. Thank you Mark Bartel for such a great product!

This is a brand new make over of the Imperial model. It is an all tube design using 2 x 6v6 for power, 3 x 12ax7s and a gz34 rectifier tube. Two channels. First channel is the rhythms channel. It has plenty of top end and bottom, kind of like a Deluxe but with more sparkle. Controls are volume, treble, bass.The second channel is the Lead channel. This channel goes from a very tweed sound to British crunch. Controls, volume, tone, midshift. The reverb knob works for both channels. Effects loop with series or parallel option, which allows you to blend effects with straight signal if desired.

I play hot country, blues and classic rock. This amp covers all three very well. My choice guitars are the G&L ASAT and the Legacy. Both have been souped up with Lindy Fralin pickups, specially wound. This amp sounds glassy at low volumes, almost acoustic, very beautiful. When you crank up the Rhythm channel the distortion is reminisent of a black face Fender. Old James Gang grinds are perfect. Harmonic content is great. The Lead channel has many, many variations between the tone & mid shift control. This channel will get a very woody/tweed sound with the tone on 2 and the mid shift on 2. Swing the mid shift clockwise and british crunch growls out. It's really amazing how this channel has so much variety with such a simple control lay out. One problem thought. Mark Bartel has constructed the entire cabinet to resonate with the speaker and at loud volumes with the bass half way up or more, I got an annoying rattle coming from the baffle board. Mark promptly agreed to fix it and it's in his shop right now.

I have only had it for a few weeks, so too early to tell. The tubes should never fall out as they are held in place by unique clamps. Mark explained that this is done because of the increased vibration, resulting from the "tuned" cabinet. It looks well constructed.

Mark responds promptly to E mail and has been very supportive of the problem I mentioned earlier. Warranty is 2 years.

I have played everything from an original 59'Bassman, to a 64' Vibrolux, to a Dr. Z Prescription, to a Matchless HC30, a Vox AC15 and a Fender Deluxe. All were great amps. Some I have kept others I have let go. This amps tone & versitility have me convienced that it is among the best sounding amps available. It has PC board construction but I don't care. I love it!