Introducing Tone King Imperial MKII X

Neural DSP Announces Tone King Imperial MKII X – Bringing New Creative Tools and a Redesigned Interface to an Iconic Vintage Amplifier

Preserving the Imperial’s signature American clarity and tweed grit, the X update introduces new creative and performance tools, enhanced preset management and a redesigned interface.

HELSINKI, FINLAND, October 14, 2026 – Neural DSP today announced Tone King Imperial MKII X, the latest evolution of its acclaimed vintage amplifier plugin. Preserving the clarity, harmonic complexity and immediate response that define the Imperial, the X update introduces a redesigned interface and expanded creative capabilities, bringing new flexibility to one of the company’s most distinctive vintage-inspired plugins.

First introduced in 1993 as Tone King’s first production amplifier, the Imperial brought together the clarity of mid-1960s American amplifiers with the grit and sustain of 1950s tweed. The Imperial MKII refined that signature sound with refined breakup and the ability to achieve rich, driven power-amp tones.

Tone King Imperial MKII X builds on more than three decades of amplifier innovation, preserving the Imperial’s distinctive character while introducing new creative and performance tools for guitarists.

“The Imperial rewards the details of your playing – the strength of your attack, the way a note sustains, and the transition from clarity into breakup,” said François Barrillon, Lead Product Manager - Plugins, Neural DSP. “With Imperial MKII X, we’ve preserved that experience while introducing new tools that make the plugin more versatile. Players can explore alternate tunings, add stereo dimension and move between sounds more easily, all while retaining the responsiveness that makes the Imperial so iconic.”

What’s New

Tone King Imperial MKII X introduces a suite of new features designed to expand the plugin’s creative capabilities and make it easier for guitarists to shape, manage, and experiment with their sound.

• Transpose: Instantly shift guitar pitch up or down by 12 semitones without retuning the instrument, making it easy to explore alternate tunings.

• Doubler: Create a wider, more dimensional stereo sound inspired by double-tracked guitar recordings, adding depth while maintaining the clarity and character of the original performance.

• Presets: Explore more than 120 curated presets from Jack Gardiner, Joshua De La Victoria, Rabea Massaad, Aaron Marshall and the Neural DSP team. 

• Preset Explorer: Navigate and organize the preset library through a dedicated browser featuring search functionality, customizable tags, favorites, and quick access to recently used sounds.

• Live Tuner: An integrated tuner provides quick, unobtrusive reference within the plugin interface.

• Metronome: Practice with adjustable time signatures, accent sounds, and note values.

• Global Lock: Keep essential settings, including input, gate, transpose, doubler, and output levels, consistent when switching between presets.

• Tooltips: Contextual parameter descriptions appear in the bottom utility bar.

• Undo/Redo: A dedicated edit history allows guitarists to experiment freely with settings and easily return to previous adjustments.

The Unmistakable Sound of the Imperial

At the heart of Tone King Imperial MKII X remains the meticulously modeled Tone King Imperial MKII amplifier, combining the clarity of vintage American amplifiers with the warmth, grit, and sustain of classic tweed circuits.

The Rhythm channel delivers clear, full-bodied tones with generous headroom and natural edge, while the Lead channel offers thicker mids, increased gain, and a softer attack. The Mid-Bite control adds further tonal flexibility, moving from smooth, rounded overdrive to a tighter, more aggressive crunch.

The Imperial’s signature bias tremolo, tube-driven spring reverb and Ironman II reactive attenuator are also faithfully recreated, capturing the movement, depth and harmonic richness of the original amplifier while allowing players to explore driven power-amp tones at a consistent perceived volume.

The plugin also includes a comprehensive collection of effects and cabsim tools:

• Pre FX: A vintage-inspired Wah, studio Compressor, and two distinct Overdrive pedals provide everything from subtle dynamic control and clean boost to warm, saturated drive.

• EQ: A nine-band graphic equalizer with high- and low-pass filters offers detailed control over the guitar’s frequency response.

• Cabsim: Two speaker options, hundreds of impulse responses captured by 5x5 Studios, eight positionable microphones, and custom IR loading allow players to shape the Imperial’s sound from open American clarity to thicker, more aggressive British-inspired tones.

• Post FX: Warm, BBD-style Chorus and Stereo Delay effects, alongside an expansive Reverb, add movement, depth, and atmosphere beyond the amplifier’s built-in spring reverb.

“The Imperial has a character that guitarists have connected with for more than three decades, and capturing that experience in software was something we approached with tremendous care,” said Francisco Cresp, CPO and Co-Founder of Neural DSP. “Tone King Imperial MKII  has a voice and feel that invites you to keep playing. This update builds around that character, making it easier to explore an idea, refine it and make it your own.”

The new Tone King Imperial MKII X plugin is free as an update to existing Tone King Imperial MKII  plugin users. To learn more about Tone King Imperial MKII X and purchase, visit neuraldsp.com/plugins/tone-king-imperial-mkii. A 14-day free trial is available.

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