TopHat King Royale

I have a used 2001 2x12 combo in burgandy covering.It has no effects loop or reverb,but does has the fat/normal/bright switch and the clean switch.All the other features are as mentioned previously.

I use guitars with both hb/sc pups and it sounds Incredible! I would like to thank all of you who have posted your reviews of your King Royales.You really helped me in making a decision to buy one.I am so Thrilled with the Tone,Feel and Overall Quality of this amp that I don't want stop playing.As in many of the previous reviews,the KR has the classic Vox tone without any concerns of a vintage amp.Great Amp!

I Have'nt had mine long enough to give a complete review,but from the Incredible Craftsmanship I see,I believe it will be no trouble at all!

I spoke with Brian twice and even though I bought my amp used,he gave me great customer support.

I've been playing for 28 yrs. mostly classic rock and blues,and some jazz.I have a Bruno ug-30,Fuchs ods-50,Marshall jtm-45 ri,Fender concert and the KR.I love everything about this amplifier,and I would absolutely buy another KR(if stolen).Also if I can afford one I would like to buy a new Tophat Supreme 16.I tried a few other Vox type amps but I am Totally Happy with my KR.

2 Channels only the essentail controls, adds a master volume to get some nice overdrvie without blowing out your ear drums.

Clean sounds are glassy and perfect. Brian doesn't let this amp get unclassy even the overdrive sounds great!

Never had a single problem.

Never had to deal with them. This amp is a 2004 and its still running strong.

If you own a vox send it off the the farm and get one of these!

The only 2 channel TopHat amp. I have the 2x12 combo. I purchased mine used and had the previous owner deliver it straight to Brian at TopHat. He went through it and added the optional effects loop and custom recovered it at my request.

King Royale features and explanations can be found at tophatamps.com

I use the amp 80% studio and 20% live. 35 Watts of Class A power through 4 EL84 tubes w/2 GLZ34 rectifier tubes.

I'm docking feature points for no channel switch on a 2 channel amp and for no available documentation to figure out the features it has. It doesn't work like most amps with things happening in a different order pre-gain/post-gain and the EQ knobs on channel 2 are not up the middle with boost and cut options. It's more interlaced, where one change will affect the other, like parametric with crossover frequencies or something. Brian explained it all to me, but I can't memorize a 45 min. conversation with a stream of data flowing, so I still don't really know exactly how it works, as in technically every detail. I have a pet peeve for not knowing this stuff...a point lost for that.

Primary Guitars: G&L ASAT Tele; custom Guilford w/Fralin humbuckers. Pedal rig: Peterson Strobostomp, Teese Picture Wah, SD-1, Tim, Tonebone Classic, Barber Tone Press, Fulltone Supa-Trem, DL4.

There is plenty of comments, but to be brief and to the point, this amp has grown on me. It wasn't love at first sight. I did not come from the Vox camp either. Now I love the chimey tones, the warm, rich sounds and my favorite channel is 1 with just two knobs, volume and tone. Brian did all the work so I don't have to. He simplified a great tone for me with 2 knobs to set.

What it is and what it's not: I personally feel this is the best clean tone amp around. If you want a great cover band amp, this is not it. You will not find great versatility outside the world of clean sounds. There is no modeling here like a Line 6, but it will crush a L6 with tone for days. You have to plan on a pedal board or an A/B/Y switch to employ the tone of a dirty amp. I went the pedal route. Even with another amp, I end up with pedals or racks anyway because I still need things that are not in good amps and they just can't be...like wah.

Tonal assessments are all subjective. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. BEHOLD YOUR KING! Without furher ado...this is THE amp for unadulterated tone.

I used this to gig outdoors, but I mostly record. It's great outside. Once there were more mics needed than expected. I volunteered mine and just cranked the amp with room to spare and it was all up in your face. Too D___ loud for the studio if you like that big bounce you get when the rooster knobs are pointed to at least halfway. I throw it in an iso booth and use it anyway.

I had a weird issue when I first got it (straight from TopHat) after it was completely gone over. Strong RF signals...in fact, I closed my i-tunes at my home office and listened to the radio by turning on my TopHat. I called but got a bunch of half stab guesses, like talking to my stepdad about why his van engine has a noise...all guesses and no action. I could send it to him..oh, thanks, I just paid to have him send it to me in a crate the week before.

As weird as that was, I've never been able to get it to repeat the problem since a couple weeks afterward and I've had it for 1 1/2 years now. The construction quality and ruggedness is off the charts, so I'm giving it a near perfect score.

I've already spoke my piece here. Brian is accessible and helpful (forget the RF story..the gremlins fixed it) I bought the amp in green. I HATE green, it reminds me of sick. I like my amps like my women...hot, sweet and blonde. He recovered it in a blonde tolex and matched it perfectly with a blood-red gold grille cloth with a gold thread, trimmed in white piping. Now it looks like it sounds. Beautiful and unique. He also added an effects loop and all for an extremely fair price. I bought it used and had it sent to him, so I thought he was over the top in service on a product that was not a new sale for him.

I could call him tomorrow and he would reexplain all the techie stuff to me. So exemplary on all points here except no manual or download from the site for one, but I just can't dock him because for the point he lost here, he's gained 3 bones points.

I bought this used, had it reworked and customized at the factory before I saw it. The custom King I own would have cost around $3,500 new with the mods I had done. I got a heck of a deal. The dollar per unit of tone makes this a real steal. If you play larger venues or outdoor venues, then you won't find a better amp. Small to med clubs...you might want to consider the Club Royale (still recommending a TopHat). Dr.Z's are nice but are not as well behaved in my opinion.

I've done all the major company amps and some boutiques. I've not played a better amp from the Vox camp and it blows away the cleans of a Fender. Save yourself the Vox and Bassman and just get one of these.

This amp has 2 channels, one with an interactive eq and one with a simple tone control. I use the 1 tone control because of simplicity between differents guitars. It basically works as a high end roll-off. 35watts all class a, all handwired point to point, custom colors and a great choice of speakers-this amp is great! It is self biasing- uses 4 el84's, 4 12ax7's, and a rectifier tube (either a gz34 or 5y3?). built like a tank. Amp also includes a very lengthy power cord which is a fabulous feature.

I have used this amp with lot of different guitars and never been dissapointed. I tend to favor gibson style guitars and i love how the top hat produces a chimey, smooth, very digestable clean tone from a les paul. This is a LOUD amp for its size with miles of headroom. It sounds perfect when plugged in direct, but i depend upon a pedalboard for versatility. Live I always have a sight compression running. My main overdrive is a Menatone Blue Collar which sounds amazing with this amp. Every note in a chord is pristine to your ears. The bottom line for sound is that ive never dialed in a bad sound, some are more useful than others, but never a sound that didnt demand playing around with. The ditortions are never harsh but have a great "spongey" response. The clean sounds are crystal clear.

Let me first tell you the story about the time my amp got flooded. I was playing a gig outside with on and off rain. During a break i covered it with a tarp. About 45 minutes later when I returned the tarped had blown off and the amp was soaked. There was water dripping out of the power section and the speakers were soggy wet. I went home and took the amp apart, pulled the tubes out and tilted the chassis against the wall to let the water drain out. I blow dried the speakers with a hair dryer. Although I accidentally melted a gaping hole in the grill cloth the speakers dried up nicely with no ripping. About 3 hours later I reassembled the amp with the fear of losing my best piece of gear. I plugged it into the wall (without any sparks or electricution) and powered up the amp. To my astonishment the amp played perfectly! I have owned the amp for almost 5 years. I have replaced the power tubes twice (el84's are inexpensive). I have never had a problem and never will. I never bring a backup.

When i purchased the amp my local store contacted top hat about a filter cap modification that i requested. Top hat suggested the procedure and the store did the work free of charge. I was very pleased. A couple of years ago i ordered some tubes from top hat and actually talked to Brian (top hat owner) for at least 25 minutes. What a cool, down to earth guy. He was more than willing to answer any questions i had.

I simply cannot say enough great things about this amp or company. When I bought this amp I was concerned with the price, but have never regretted it. I even had to finance it with a 24% rate! In fact, if you compare the Top Hat to Bad Cat, Bogner, Matchless, Bruno, /13, dr z, Carr, or dare I compare, Dumble (all great amps for which I have compared) the Top Hat is a great value in price. I would be content with a used model. It is quite simply the best all around amp I have ever played. Thats why I bought it and thats why Im writing this really long review- because I am pleased in every sense of the word. I only hope others will give it a shot.

2003. I wanted the tone of a handwired Vox rather than the reissue production compromises that have compromised the original's tone. Given that I was interested in its "build" features, and that Brian put his money into that area -- without compromise, this is a ten.

Ever wonder why so many great artists still tote around 60's-era Vox AC30s and spend so much money to maintain them? The tone is so hard to emulate. Sure, Matchless is close and offers some other non-Vox features. Bad Cat follows the Matchless formula. Alessandro might have something with the High-End English (but I couldn't find nor afford one). But, now there's no need to look any further: The King Royale is the real deal. If your looking for the vintage AC-30 tone in a well-constructed and proven design that, compared to its only real competitors mentioned here, is reasonably priced, this is IT. Yes, the King Royale is hard to find. But, it's worth the effort to check it out!

I've seen "tank" described throughout. It is!

Bothe Brian (Mr. Top hat) and Joan (Mrs. Top Hat) answer the phone and take a personal interest in their work! You won't find better!

I've been playing for 40 years now. I buy amps for specific tones: BF Bassman, BF-modded Bandmaster Reverb, Mesa Heartbreaker with 6V6s, Marshall DSL50, Vintone-modded Fender HR Deluxe give me everything except classic Vox tones. The Top Hat fills out my line of amps. There isn't anything I don't love about the Top Hat King Royale!

Made in 2001 this is the updated amp with fat/normal/bright switch for the top-boost channel, and really cool switch that allows you to take gain out of either channel to clean it up, or if you choose to leave it off, the amp naturally breaks up just like a good EL-84 amp supposed to do. The amp is 2 channels, non switchable unless you want to run an A/B switch between them to go from the super juicy clean, to the glassy top-boost channel complete with volume/mater/mid/bass/treb (NO REVERB, doesn't need it, cause it sounds very 3 dimensional with 2x12's) and a cut knob that effects the amount of high end in both channels, very cool feature especially for you Telecastor players to get rid of the harsh high end from the bridge pickup, you know what I mean :) This amp is a LOUD 35watts of class A full tube driven, powered by 4 EL-84 tubes, 3 12ax7's, and a 5u4 rectifier tube. All hand built, point to point wired, limited lifetime transferable warranty, made in sunny Southern California. I generally use this amp at church and for jamming, and it sounds good at lower levels, and even better as you turn it up!!! This is a no frills amp, for serious players who are seeking killer glassy AC-30 tones from a reliable hand built amp company, this is it. If you want an amp with frills this is not for you, get a LINE 6 :) This amp does what it was meant to do, and it does it well. I give this amp a 10, because it does way more than it needs to.

I play a 98' Gibson Les Paul DC, a 2001 Heritage Gold Top (single cut Les Paul design w/schaller humbuckers), a 74' Telecastor, and a 68' Strat. This amp can sound good with any guitar with slight tweaking of the EQ section on the top-channel. You can make strats sound fat, and Gibson style humbucking guitars even fatter and very rich sounding. I play mostly rock/alternative, U2, Delirious, pearl jam. The amp does rock very well, and will suit country and blues rock very well. The amp does not do Linkin Park or P.O.D. if you want those kind of sounds, get a Dual Rectifier. I love the saturated Mesa sound, but this amp does clean and rock alternative very well. The amp can feedback and sustain very well with a good overdrive pedal (i.e. Fulltone, Zvex, Matchless) Do Not use cheap overdrive unless you want to suck your tone. This amp likes clean boost overdrives very well, not sure about fuzz pedals since I do not use them. The amp is very quiet, and only hums a little when an overdrive pedal is put on it, but that is to be expected. The upper harmonics you get out of this amp are incredible, you have to hear it for yourself. The clean channels do distort a little, but you have to crank it pretty loud to really get the amp overdrive on it's own, but it does overdrive if you hit the humbuckers hard, sounds very cool. It could be a little cleaner, but if you use the clean switch on the amp, it cleans up okay. Over all, a very good voxy/brown sound. This amp is not a Fender, so if you expect Fender tones get a Fender, but it does recreate the famous Vox smooth tone.

This amp is built like a tank and weighs about as much at almost 70lbs, but it is worth the weight. I don't have to worry about this amp like others. The amp has served me well so far, but I did buy a couple of sets up tubes, because they will need replacing someday. I would never gig without a backup, because no matter how reliable things can be, you never no when gigging, so always carry a backup of some sort, just in case. I am not worried about this amp breaking down anytime soon, and if it does it has a lifetime warranty on the main components of the amp.

TopHat is very cool, I called once to find out about the amp before I even bought mine, and Ms. TopHat answered the phone, she was very nice, and helpful. Back by a limited lifetime warranty (tubes and speakers are covered for a year or less), but everything is warrantied.

I've been playing for about 12 years now, and gone through about 6 different kinds of amps, and this is the best so far. Top Hat amps are not cheap, but they are worth every penny for what they do. There are many hand built amps out there, but very few that try to stick with common tones (ie.Fender, Vox, Marshall). I would get another if it was stolen, and find the guy would stole it and make him repent and forgive him :) I am not saying that Top Hat is the best, because I have lot's of good sounding amps. Just make sure you do your research before you buy anything. Top Hat is in the top 10 amp makers in America in my mind, they are a great company and a great sounding amp.

2 channel non channel switching(unless you use a A/b box).Channel 1 is a take off on a AC30,Volume and tone.Channel 2 is a AC30 Top Boost(treble,mid,bass,normal,fat,bright and cut).There is a clean switch you can assign to either channel if you want more clean headroom or a different tone.I bought this amp to get the classic VOX tone.IMO it does the job and better than a old VOX.I use this amp in the studio and live.It's 30 watts of class A power.It's plenty loud but still controlable thanks to a very usable master volume.

I play strats,pauls,ricks,335's and teles with the Royale and they all sound wondereful through the amp.I play rock,country,blues,jazz,swing and various styles.I own several different amps and the royale sounds great clean and overdriven.It will do a cool billy gibbons tone with a paul but that's not what I use it for.I use it for the vox jangle.I have a friend who owns a brian may guitar and a treble booster.Just for fun one day we ran it through the Royale's 1st channel(AC30 side)With the amp cranked and the treble booster turned on we nailed Brian May's tone from Killer Queen.The clean tones have a good amount of headroom.There are so many shades from clean to dirty you can coax from this amp.If you're looking for a vox amp then give this amp a try.It's not as over capped as a Matchless so it will give and sag a little more.It's more true to a Vox than the matchless.I happen to love the matchless DC 30 and the King Royale both.This is one of the creamiest amps I've ever played through.This amp like other TopHats really love the mic.They record so well.This by far is one of my favorite amps.

It's built like a German Tank.I never gig w/o a backup but I have total faith in this amp.I'm just over cautious.I've had my Royale over a year now and it's been super reliable.

Wow what can I say.Brian and his wife are the best in the bussiness.You will be hard pressed to find a more helpful and friendly bunch.They are super cool people.And of all things they live near L.A. and still have a calm demeanor.LOL

I've been playing 15 years.I own a TopHat Ambassador,Club Deluxe,DrZ Maz18,B/F Fenders and old marshalls.There is nothing I hate about this amp.It's not a do it all type of amp.It's in the Vox family so if you're into that type of tone then this is the amp for you.What made me buy this amp was the complex clean and semi overdriven tones.Just to list a few Players and bands who use Vox and Vox type amps are The Beatles,Queen,John Jorgenson,Tom Petty,Jimmy Olander(diamond Rio)and Stone Temple Pilots.If you want to hear a few sound examples of the KingRoyale check out http://www.amazingtone.com

One side just volume and tone. One side volume treble,bass,mid, cut and master.Two channels. Perfect.Four EL84's and a rectifier.Two G12H30's. I'm telling you right now I'm giving 10's down the line.

This is the perfect amp if you've fought with getting a good chord sound and lead tone out of one amp.I play Les Paul Jrs. and Strats.
The first channel can be crancked for full EL84 power then chocked with any good tube overdrive effect you like. I choose a Chandler Tube Driver. You get a very fat sound and can regulate it with the volume of the effect.But you sound crancked.Then I run an A/B Box to the second channel for a chording sound of my choice, what with all the EQ.I'm an Eric Johnson nut and this is what he does with many amps together, but I'm not him.It's the best of both worlds. I've tried this with many amps and this one sounds the biggest AND best.
Trust me. I've done it with Boogies, Marshalls, Dr.Z ETC.

Very well built. If your an amp freak and seen many you'll understand.

I bought mine from Steven Coon at Amazingtone.com. in Temecula, Ca. This guy knows his stuff and really knows Top Hat.They are geographically close together in the San Diago area. Steve can talk to Brian (Top Hat genious)at will.I wanted white/gold and other dealers needed to special order it. Not Steve. He went right over to Top Hat and got one with out charging me special order price. He won't be beat. If you want a Top Hat this is the guy to deal with. Can't stress that enough.

I've been gigging for 20 years and done battle with what are called the best amps out there.IMHO if you need big class A EL84 tone listen to a Top Hat,then get ahold of Steve and your troubles are over.

(Sorry All, if a previous, unfinished version of this review got posted before this one... accidentally hit the wrong key ... sorry)

I'm writing this review, mostly due to my outrage at seeing the review posted just prior, by jsilva. I really wish these reviews would be moderated so that thoughtful reviews would be available for all of us to read. Okay, Mr. Silva, you gave the King Royale a 5 for features . . . What would you like it to have that it doesn't? .... You don't say ... The Tophats, are all well known to be very simple amplifiers. They make them as simply as possible, but the do have features. One is 'point to point' ... And by the way, when you add this feature to an amp, it does probably add about $600 to the cost of that amp, even if you can't 'hear' that difference right away. Another feature is 'class A' ... If this isn't important to you I understand, but it is a feature, nonetheless. How about 'all threaded connectors' ... meaning that if you should ever change the speakers, you'll find that the screws that hold the speakers in aren't coarse thread wood screws like even vintage Fender amps have. All screws have been fitted with either T-nuts, or threaded inserts of some type, so that a machine type screw can be used. When inspecting my amp, I noticed that all connections with screws are made this way. Another feature is carefully chosen Celestion speakers ... in some cases Bryan mismatches the speakers to take advantage of more than one speaker's characteristics. One last feature is 'Tube Rectifier' .... This is a big deal even on many 'Tube' amps who opt to use a solid state rectifier. So the King gets a 10 from me, even though it doesn't have Reverb, Tremelo, Channel Switching ....

For jsilva, he finds this amps sound to have 'no fluid sound,' 'no compression,' and to 'sound sterile.' The only one of these points that has any meaning is the one about compression ... and that comes from the tubes .... especially the rectifier. Perhaps he's thinking of what compressor pedals do when they're turned to radical levels. What we really mean when talking about tube amp compression is a 'dynamic response' quality. When we play a note, the tube 'responds' to the demand for current in an uneven way it creates a little 'sag' (compression or gain reduction) at the beginning of the tone, and then swells to fill the sound out. Ideally, this is a subtle effect, not a radical one. If it becomes radical, like using an ADSR type follower, we usually don't like it. But in moderation, this effect is a nice one ... it give the amp a little bit of life. Young guitarists who aren't raised on good tube amps have no idea what we're talking about here and usually can't be coaxed into spending the extra money on tube amps. But those of us that WERE raised on tube amps ... can't possibly get by with solid state, NO MATTER how attractive certain distortion characteristics, effects, etc., may be when viewed in isolation. Its that responsiveness that we need to hear and feel. So ... the King has this ...

The other points, about fluidity or sterility ... wow. I'm guessing at what he means here.

This amp 'gets out of your way' as far as sound goes. If you don't play well (meaning tonefully), or you don't know what you want, or what you're doing ... this isn't the amp for you. You're also free to add extra gain stages in front of the amp ... I do sometimes. I like to mix a little bit of solid state distortion with tube distortion, using a Fulltone pedal. This amp loves the combinations. A tube reverb unit, or an analog delay aren't out of the question either, but the point remains, that the naked sound of the amp has to be good from the beginning. You won't pour some secret sauce all over it afterward to fix it. If you could ... you'd do it with a cheaper amp ....

So what rating should I give this amp ... Remember, we're dealing with a message board that's giving channel switching solid state amps 10's for sound. We all seem to think our new amp sounds fantastic. All execpt Jsilva ... Beauty is clearly in the eye of the beholder.

Mr Silva's not sure about the reliability of his amp ... because the sales floor guy told him that it 'needed a tube' when it came in. I have to ask whether Mr Silva knows what happens to tubes in transit in an amp ... Also, is Mr. Silva holding Tophat responsible for the quality of the tubes? There are so many tube options, and sources. The tubes, I have to say .... are the customer's problem. Much like the strings on our guitars. What if you read a guitar review on this board and the guy was complaining about the factory strings? Maybe one of the factory strings was broken? .... The tubes are your responsiblity to choose, to monitor, to replace as needed, and at times tubes may fail quickly. In any event, the tube failure upon delivery doesn't mean that the reliability of the amp is in question at all. Perhaps we could cast blame on the transportation company or the tube supplier .... but not at Tophat.

I've personally never had a breakdown .... and this is one of the reasons that 'point to point' was a great feature above. Not that this will mean that our amps won't malfunction ... but we won't have those damned circuit board problems like nearly all modern amps do.

(Please read what others have said here...) You'll love the courtesy, the cooperation, and the care give to you with any question about your Tophat. On a different Tophat amp, I needed to replace the rubber feet of my amp ... But really ... these rubber feet were so big, oversized and kool that I just wanted another pair for my tube reverb cabinet. I called Tophat and they sent me out a set for free. Afterwards, I guessed that they thought that I had damaged my originals ... So when I bought this King (Used) ... I made it really clear that I wanted to BUY a set of casters for it .... I guess I felt guilty. So you tell me what number I should give for support?

JSilva posted this review in August, and I've just been watching it ... wondering WTF ... It was there when I began to think about upgrading from a Club Royale to a King .... It was there when I bought my new amp ... and its there now. I'm wondering if when he says he's been playing 34 years .... he meant 3-4 years. He says he's tried the Ambassador but didn't like it either. (That's TWO big marks against you, Tophat--guilt by association!) ... but it's an offhand kind of rejection. He claims to have played old Vox amps before and he apparently liked them. Yet he doesn't say that he went back to Vox from Tophat, or anything else about what he did to get the tone he seems to want. I think the most telling part of his review concerns the 'hype' about Tophat amps and that he wanted to counter the reviews of people who like them, claiming that his negative view is 'more realistic.'

Regarding Tophat's 'Hype' .... If you visit Tophat's website, you'll see that they have confident statements, but no big exaggerated claims about their amps. They don't say that their amps are the best. They emphasize the construction, the components, the design.

So is 'hype' the good things that some satisfied users say? For goodness sake, Silva even says 'all the people that buy them that really like them.' ... He's aware that most people are satisfied ...

I'm writing this review, mostly due to my outrage at seeing the review posted just prior, by jsilva. I really wish these reviews would be moderated so that thoughtful reviews would be available for all of us to read. Okay, Mr. Silva, you gave the King Royale a 5 for features . . . What would you like it to have that it doesn't? .... You don't say ... The Tophats, are all well known to be very simple amplifiers. They make them as simply as possible, but the do have features. One is 'point to point' ... And by the way, when you add this feature to an amp, it does probably add about $600 to the cost of that amp, even if you can't 'hear' that difference right away. Another feature is 'class A' ... If this isn't important to you I understand, but it is a feature, nonetheless. How about 'all threaded connectors' ... meaning that if you should ever change the speakers, you'll find that the screws that hold the speakers in aren't coarse thread wood screws like even vintage Fender amps have. All screws have been fitted with either T-nuts, or threaded inserts of some type, so that a machine type screw can be used. Another feature is carefully chosen Celestion speakers ... in some cases Bryan mismatches the speakers to take advantage of more than one speakers characteristics. One last feature is 'Tube Rectifier' .... This is a big deal even on many 'Tube' amps who opt to use a solid state rectifier. So the King gets a 10 from me, even though it doesn't have Reverb, Tremelo, Channel Switching ....

For jsilva, he finds this amps sound to have 'no fluid sound,' 'no compression,' and to 'sound sterile.' The only one of these points that has any meaning is the one about compression ... and that comes from the tubes .... especially the rectifier. Perhaps he's thinking of what compressor pedals do when they're turned to radical levels. What we really mean when talking about tube amp compression is a 'dynamic quality.' When we play a note, the tube 'responds' to the demand for current in an uneven way it creates a little 'sag' (compression or gain reduction) at the beginning of the tone, and then swells to fill the sound out. Ideally, this is a subtle effect, not a radical one. If it becomes radical, like using an ADSR type follower, we usually don't like it. But in moderation, this effect is a nice one ... it give the amp a little bit of life. Young guitarists who aren't raised on good tube amps have no idea what we're talking about here and usually can't be coaxed into spending the extra money on tube amps. But those of us that WERE raised on tube amps ... can't possibly get by with solid state, NO MATTER how attractive the distortion characteristics, the effects, etc., may be when viewed in isolation. Its that responsiveness that we need to hear and feel. So ... the King has this ...

The other points, about fluidity or sterility ... wow. I'm guessing at what he means here.

This amp 'gets out of your way' as far as sound goes. If you don't play well (meaning tonefully), or you don't know what you want, or what you're doing ... this isn't the amp for you. You're also free to add extra gain stages in front of the amp ... I do sometimes. I like to mix a great solid state distortion with tube distortion, using a Fulltone pedal. This amp loves the combinations. A tube reverb unit, or an analog delay aren't out of the question either, but the point remains, that the naked sound of the amp has to be good from the beginning. You won't pour some secret sauce all over it afterward to fix it. If you could ... you'd do it with a cheaper amp ....

So what should I give this amp ... Remember, we're dealing with a message board that's giving channel switching solid state amps 10's for sound. We all seem to think our new amp sounds fantastic. All execpt Jsilva ... Beauty is clearly in the eye of the beholder.

Mr Silva's not sure about the reliability of his amp ... because the sales floor guy told him that it 'needed a tube' when it came in. I have to ask whether Mr Silva knows what happends to tubes in transit in an amp ... Also, is Mr. Silva holding Tophat responsible for the quality of it's tubes? There are so many tube options, and sources. The tubes, I have to say .... are the customer's problem. Much like the strings on our guitars. What if you read a guitar review on this board and the guy was complaining about the factory strings? Maybe one of the factory strings was broken? .... The tubes are your responsiblity to choose, to monitor, to replace as needed, and at times tubes may fail quickly. In any event, the tube failure upon deliver doesn't mean that the reliability of the amp is in question at all. Perhaps we could cast blame on the transportation company or the tube supplier .... but not at Tophat.

I've personally never had a breakdown .... and this is one of the reasons that 'point to point' was a great feature above. Not that this will mean that our amps won't break ... but we won't have those damned circuit board problems like nearly all modern amps do.

Read what others have said here. I won't add anything to that ... but you'll love the courtesy, the cooperation, and the care give to you with any question about your Tophat. On a different Tophat amp, I needed to replace the rubber feet of my amp ... really ... they were so big, oversized and kool that I just wanted another pair for my tube reverb cabinet. I called Tophat and they sent me out a set for free. Afterwards, I guessed that they thought that I had damaged my originals ... So when I bought this King (Used) ... I made it really clear that I wanted to BUY a set of casters for it .... I guess I felt guilty. So you tell me what number I should give for support?

Silva posted this review in August, and I've just been watching it ... wondering WTF ... It was there when I began to think about upgrading from a Club Royale to a King .... It was there when I bought my new amp ... and its there now. I'm wondering if when he says he's been playing 34 years .... he meant 3-4 years. He says he's tried the Ambassador but didn't like it either. (That's TWO big marks against you, Tophat) ... but it's an offhand kind of rejection.