Tone King launches the Royce tri-tube preamp with dual AC-style channels

Tone King has launched the Royce Preamp, a two-channel, high-voltage tube pedal built around the chime and harmonic response associated with 1960s British AC-style amplifiers. It runs three 12AX7 tubes and gives both channels their own Normal and Top Boost modes, letting players move from firmer clean sounds to higher-gain, more overtone-rich settings without leaving the same unit.

Each channel has attenuation, cut, treble, bass, middle and volume controls, with stereo convolution reverb and stereo tremolo assignable independently. Tone King also includes its zero-watt power-amp phase-inverter circuit, a stereo effects loop, 128 MIDI-recallable presets and two Ironman attenuators. Six onboard cabinet slots can be filled from a library of 20 OwnHammer impulse responses through the Synergy Editor software.

The routing is unusually broad for a pedal preamp. Balanced stereo XLR outputs, headphones, USB-C, MIDI and dedicated bypass send/return connections support direct recording, front-of-house use, powered monitors or integration with an amplifier’s series loop. Tone King lists the Royce in stock at $599.99 and includes a universal 12V supply and USB cable.

Royce was previewed at Guitar Summit before the full November release, where early coverage positioned it as the third model after Tone King’s Imperial and Royalist preamps. The completed specification shows that this is more than a new voice in the same enclosure: the dual-channel AC brief is paired with enough output, IR and preset control to function as the centre of a compact ampless or hybrid rig.