Tone King Meteor Series II 740B 212 Combo

Class A, Point to Point wiring, Tube Reverb & Tremolo, 2 channels, independent reverb for each. 1/2 power switch, tube biasing switches to allow switching from 6V6 tubes to either 6L6 or EL34's. External speaker out. Lead channel has a mid-bite that makes the amp go from a 59' bassman sound cranked up, to what I would guess would be a early 70's Marshall cranked tone. Also has a bright/dark voicing witch to either tame a Strat or brighten up a Les Paul. I've had it a week and to be honest, I doubt after hearing this amp that you'd even care about any extra features. It sounds so good that anything else in the circuit would probably de-grade its tone.

And you can see an INSANE attention to detail. These amps are works of art. Just look at the amp up close and you'll see that the creator of these amps must scrutinize these amps with his eyes as well as his ears...they are flawless.

Ive tried this with My les Paul Special & my Voodoo Strat. So far, the Strat wins hands down. Absolutely nails the tones I like- Hendrix, Stevie Ray, Eric Johnson....but remarkably this amp maintains a very distinctive musical character, allowing for a more individual tone that doesn't make you sound like a clone.

And the tone controls are very responsive and never sound bad. This is THE amp for blues, but it could be used for many styles-although I doubt Metal players would want it. The overdrive is not preamp controlled but blooms beautifully when set above 10 o'clock. The clean channel just starts to break up very nicely around 11 o'clock. The distortion is mostly power tube saturation...not metal, but sweet & sustainy, with a very transparent, warm grind. Lots of range with all the tones and need I say....all are killer. Anyone who wants ultimate tone, this is the amp. I mostly play blues but play a few other styles too- this does it all for me.

Add a nice Fulltone Distortion Pro for the Hendrix Voodoo vibe or a Tech 21 Double Drive for an Eric Johnson liquid molten lead. And while I haven't tried it, I've heard the Barber Burn unit works nicely with this amp as well.

This IS the Holy Grail of tone.
If you're a serious tone fanatic, you NEED this amp.
At least try one and you'll see that this review is not just hype.

Its brand new, no problems yet. Its built like a tank so I doubt reliability is a concern.

Mark Bartel is the best.
Period.
He answered all my questions, gave me very good advise, and more importantly the guy knows his stuff. He has a great reputation for not only building the best amps but keeping his customers happy.
I have no doubt that if I ever have a problem Mark will be there for me.

Ive been playing since 1971. Besides the Meteor II I own a Mesa Boogie Rectoverb, Fender Hot Rod Deville, Vox pathfinder and a Peavey Bandit. I have a few Les Pauls, an Ibanez artist and a Hamer Goldtop. Lots of effects & stuff. If this amp got stolen, yeah, I'd get another in a heartbeat.

I love everything about the amp.

The only thing I would like would be for Tone King to include an amp cover with the amp, which they don't. Right now I can't take the amp anywhere until the cover arrives.Otherwise, no complaints here!

Ok, if you didn't read the other stuff above, this amp flat out kicks ass. There is no reason to look anywhere else for great tone, because the Meteor II is a TONE KING.