MXR DUKE OF TONE DRIVE Does it have the KOT Magic?

[@jobe6783]

Hey Pete, awhile back I had the privilege to meet you at Sweetwater while just browsing….you were super gracious and humble! Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk music with a nobody hobbiest like me! Class act brother! Much respect, made my day and my nephews day! God bless!

[@PeteThorn]

Nice to meet you, man!

[@johnnywatkins]

You sir are an extremely musical guitar player, thanks for all you do

[@PeteThorn]

Thank u!

[@ericvinson4628]

Side to side, the Duke actually sounds a touch thicker than the King to my ears so it’s definitely horses for courses - great demo, as always, Pete!

[@emartinezr]

Yeah that's because he didn't go 100% truly trying to get things exactly the same. Especially with an old handmade pedal, it's kind of the same as if he uses another exact amp like his. Even another King of Tone. It's not going to sound exactly the same. But like he said: it sounded pretty close. That means... for all intent and purpose, that's the same tone.

[@laitysblues]

There’s a presence dial on the inside you can adjust. Turn it all the way right to 0 to sound more like the King of Tone/Prince of Tone. King of Tone comes stock with the presence dial on 0.

[@mwagliardo]

What a great pedal. The boost mode was a no brainer out of the box with the beautiful grit and controllable top end sheen. Pete's settings for OD and DIST worked well for me. Needless to say the demo tune is awesome! Rock n roll

[@mattrwilkins]

As a KOT owner, I think the Duke is awesome and sounds great. I love this collaboration and this concept. Probably gonna buy one. Lol.

[@michael_caz_nyc]

He is so good. The Duke sounded fantastic ( but Pete can play thru a Tunafish-Can ) and make it Sound Rock Star !!! Always enjoy his informative demo's.

[@azcoyote007]

Lol. So true. I think Pete needs to grab an average guy on the street hobbyist player, tutor him thru a song, THEN show how awesome the pedal sounds with average Joe. Sign me up for the “Day with Pete” tutorial!!! :)

[@brentstewart4360]

Very cool - it is important to know how to use the KOT in context, so you get the best results. Saying that it gives you "more" helps a lot, since your amp opens up, and gives more presence to your parts.

[@manifestgtr]

I’ve been a king of tone devotee for years now. KOT on my main board, POT on my smaller board, a couple backup units. They sound great in *every* room…from arenas to the woofy corner of some small club. I’ve never come across a scenario where the KOT doesn’t work. It even sounds great both sides in parallel. If this MXR has even 90% of that, it’s a good buy, IMO.

[@nycshelbygt500]

At least it is a better name than the new PRS Overdrive EFx pedal. #HORSEMEAT

[@aapddd]

😂

[@DanFlashes99]

lol I know, right? it's like PRS asked The Onion to name their pedals

[@LeMans512]

Pete, how about a video that shows how you put together your great intro tunes. They’re all so good. The layering is fabulous.

[@albertomunoz4867]

For the price, tones, OD options... This is one of the best pedals out there.

[@billhillard]

Mr. Thorn is always a classy and talented fellow with wonderful videos. When they come up in my feed I always click on them! Thanks for another great video, sir! (edit --The tone goes from humble to dumble!)

[@ernest5328]

Really nice to hear and see different guitars with different pick-ups in the demonstration. You used different settings also, GREAT!!

[@Corporations8MyBaby]

I love my Duke. It just recently changed my whole rig. I'm on the KoT waiting list *years now* but i can relax. This does the thing. I need more of them.

[@ww8wv1]

Just bought this pedal today (6-4-24)and now I know that I made the right decision, if Pete likes it then it’s a winner

[@MRxr400]

i think it sounds amazing. i am helping a mate get his guitar tone sorted, through a twin. i recon this is a perfect pedal for him.

[@damonstewart70]

It's

[@samsantanamusic]

You always make the best and most musical demos Pete! And personally I don’t hear enough of a difference to seek out a KOT when I the Duke is so accessible.

[@StratTones]

Great demo, showcasing how good and unique the KOT/DOT sound is

[@word67]

I bought one based on this video and a few others by people I respect. I built a pedal board over the winter and have just ( today) spent some time with the DOT. Wow -- it just sounds great ( and is easy to dial in) and is so responsive. I gig (solo and fronting a blues trio) and only use equipment when I feel it is totally right. Playing out this Saturday and will be using it.

[@danielmarti]

Great Video, thanks. The Duke of Tone is the perfect overdrive pedal for me! I use 2 Duke of Tone pedals, one for crunch sounds, the other for lead sounds. Both on, the sun doesn't go down anymore! I use the boost setting for top dynamics and transparency on both Duke of Tone pedals! ( Strat.with Kinman 59 Pickups, Mod. Boss GE 7, Cali 76 Compact Deluxe, 2x MXR Duke of Tone, etc. )

[@WayneMemphisMojo]

Thanks for the demo & information about this pedal. I did the pre-order and I'm still waiting. This video for sure has me even more excited while I wait.

[@javiercabrera3517]

I preordered this pedal earlier this month once i saw it LOL. Still waiting. Very excited about it. Been using a TC Spark Booster (big one) after drives. Excited about this one taking that place in my board! Thank you for the great demo Pete!!!

[@Paul-dw2cl]

waiting months instead of years is kinda nice

[@DanKlotz_danferth]

Pre Ordered as well, only my Spark is before my drives. LOL

[@lance134679]

I'd be happy with a Duke, an Earl, a Viscount or even just a Baron of Tone. They're really close in the comparison. What I'm hearing is just a hair more pick attack with the KoT, and EQ-wise, the KoT has slightly extended lows. Both very useful pedals. Thanks.

[@mattburdock1734]

😂 current economic situation in the UK, I'd settle for a Serf of Tone - overdrive mode, single knob!

[@zacharykim295]

@@mattburdock1734 😂😂😂

[@andrewmarsh3094]

Really like how it seems to almost tighten up that Tele. Kudos to Pete for another insightful informative video! 👍

[@stanislavmigra]

In all of these demos, there is some fundamental overdrive difference between DoT and KoT. Hard to put it in words, but at same level of clipping, the DoT sound more focused and compressed, while KoT is still very open and grittier sounding. But how the DoT does that "from clean to nicely driven tone" is remarkable.

[@joefriedmanguitarnut]

Pete - I am a big fan of your playing!! Can you answer a question for me? Where would YOU place the “Duke of Tone” pedal in your pedal order?? My impression from the video is that you previously used the KOT pedal like a pre-amp. I just bought a DOT pedal and I can’t decide if I should put it before or after my other overdrives?

[@bimscutney1242]

I pre ordered the DOT from Sweetwater. When I placed the order they let me know it might not ship until mid October. But I got an email saying I should be getting it tomorrow. Squeee!

[@Ryan-Hall]

So Much Tone!! Little Bitty Box!! Man that's a great Sounding Pedal, I'm old school Pete, I have big hands and big Feet!, I like it 4 Folks wanting 2 save some space on Their Boards but I just have to say I prefer regular bigger Pedals but I Do Agree with PETE, having this little Guy on board is a great Sounding Pedal and Yes Amp Sound PETE!!!

[@larryb3946]

Thanks for breaking that down Pete! Love mine, and the form factors super great.

[@JakeBisognin]

So good to hear the Jim Kelley again! The KoT through the Jim Kelley is one of my main tones 🕺🏼

[@Stoffe958]

Duke sounds really good. King a bit fuller in the midrange, but could be to parts tolerance levels. Thumbs up!

[@analogspam]

Fantastic demo as usual, thank you so much!

[@robbramwell512]

Another fantastic Video! Thanks Pete! I waited a year for my KOT and it’s still on my pedal board along with the Effectrode Blackbird. Great tones. I always learn something from your videos!

[@stevethebeeline44]

Only a year! That’s quick. It’s 4.5yrs now.

[@leinadatidumarp]

Only a year? Wow!

[@robbramwell512]

@@leinadatidumarp Get on the Wait list. Sometimes, people decide not to purchase the pedal. That pedal gets moved to the next email. It might not take a year. Today, there are many great overdrive/Drive pedal choices. You might be lucky and get your KOT faster than You think.

[@robbramwell512]

@@stevethebeeline44 I can’t believe that! Mine is 10 years old and the wait was a year or less. It’s a fantastic pedal, no doubt. Today, there are many pedals very similar to a KOT. Shawn Tubbs Revv pedal can do everything the KOT does and more. IMO

[@stevethebeeline44]

@@robbramwell512 that’s gas! I’m watching Shawn Tubbs on That Pedal Show now! Such a fantastic player. I have The Tilt OD on my wish list. Tilt feature is so useful and love the drive sound. I’ll hang on for the KoT, I’m less than a year away now. I get the Tilt into the mix sooner now though! Cheers.

[@bbbro34]

Sounds great. Analogman circuitry in a very affordable little package, what's not to like? Oh yeah, I think it has a voltage selector too, really cool addition on that, but not sure if that's true or not...

[@TheMujiFuji]

Greg Martin of the Kentucky Headhunters is the Duke of Tone. Cool pedal.

[@quiquepriore]

I been waiting for this review 🔥

[@Chef_Jeff69]

I own two KOT’s! I will get the Duke as well for my mini board. Excellent job once again Peter! 🤘🏼🤓 I think the KOT waiting list is over 3 years

[@nicholastotoro7721]

I got on the KoT waiting list March of 2018. I’m still waiting.

[@PeteThorn]

!!!!

[@t.j.fuller9531]

Yep 2018 for me too! 😅

[@nicholastotoro7721]

Just got my invite to order this week and ordered a KoT today! Wait time? Five years, three months… 🤣

[@webbsteroni]

I fully expect to play like this when I strap this box to my board. Thanks in advance good sir!

[@ThaRealChuckD]

Well, you'd be a good person to ask on that. I have one of Analog Mike's KoT's. Had to wait a year for it. Have a bunch of his fantastic modded pedals too. MXR has some really talented engineers though. I wouldn't doubt that they could match it.

[@darrellminx5459]

Great demo as always. Better than the radio!

[@johnjgibson6807]

Always Rockin the Videos and Thanks for the Info My Duke of Tone will Be here Tomorrow and I’m Stoked to Set mine up keep Rockin the Videos Man 👍👍🎶🎶🎸

[@sinnertrain7405]

[ANGEL] "You already have too many OD pedals, you don't need this one." [DEVIL] "But listen to how gloriously toneful the Duke of Tone sounds in Pete Thorn's demo. You deserve another OD pedal, right? Why not just BUY IT!" Oh my eternal struggle between want and need. :-)

[@se7inhand]

Thanks so much, Pete. I've, for some time, been on the fence about adding myself to the waiting list, but this has convinced me that I needn't bother. The only issue is that I have always hated that pedal format.

[@markhamstra1083]

Waiting list for KOT if you were to sign up today is probably in excess of four years.

[@Indyrunner03]

Beyond that, I’m afraid, based on what I saw. I’m glad I got one in 2008.

[@markhamstra1083]

@@Indyrunner03 I got mine a couple of months ago, so I'm pretty confident that those getting them now have been on the waiting list for about three years.

[@Viepeo22]

I think it's more than 5 years nowadays

[@markhamstra1083]

@@Viepeo22 You’re right. I checked my records instead of just trying to remember, and my time on the waiting list was longer than I thought. As of a couple of months ago, it was about 4.5 years, so if you ordered one today it would already be well more than 4 years to wait - maybe more than 6 years.

[@KarenBasset]

I'm thinking that if people are on the wait list, and get one of these, when their turn comes up to buy a KOT, they might pass, making the line move faster.

[@richardburkow3792]

Great video Pete - I decided to buy one!

[@ryanbradley4894]

Sounds great! Thanks for the demo

[@ryleuty]

You played with Melissa Ethridge? ? That's killer!! I'm covering I'm the Only One - any advice on getting that killer electric crunch tone?

[@danielsaturnino5715]

Some say, you are the king of tone.

[@lashlarue7924]

Man, if I owned a KOT I would be pissed. Glad I don't, and glad my Duke is in the mail already.

[@kennethday9747]

It's a great pedal to go into my modded kit marshall plexi. Have it with boosted mids. The Duke of Tone puts it in higher gain tones. Using od mode. Very useful full range sounds. Not notched like tube screamers.

[@louderthangod]

I’m waiting on my Duke and if I love it I’ll add my name to the list for the KoT. I use the KoT clones on my Kemper and FM9 as a sort of harmonic enhancer (a bit of volume boost with some hair) into a medium gain amp for thick, harmonically saturation.

[@Roxanneredpanda]

guitar players confuse me sometimes... slash that all the time

[@AndreaAustoni]

Why order a KOT you'll get in 6 years if you already like the MXR version?

[@louderthangod]

@@AndreaAustoni Because it'll be a nice surprise 4 or so years from now and I often have multiples of pedals I like because I have a rig at my studio, a practice one at home and a recording one at home. Also there's no harm in it. The new price isn't very expensive at all.

[@nicholastotoro7721]

Might as well put yourself on the KoT list now since you can decide whether you still want it when your name is up five years from now… 😉 I’ve been on the list since March or 2018 and am likely 2-3 months away, based on the current schedule. The FM9 KoT model doesn’t have all the same functions as the pedal, but it does sound cool.

[@riniones]

Pretty good hair style, Pete... I will try to copy the idea next time I give myself a haircut. Oh, and the pedal... sounds great!

[@pauldaskal9510]

Your tele.........and your 335.....sound great! Also I love Silver H/S/S PT2!

[@cbr8206]

I love this pedal's tone!

[@johnvcougar]

Whoa! Bottom end got the earbuds thumping on this mix!

[@roncarter2188]

In hot pink with gold knobs we will have the Queen of Tone, I'll take any of them!

[@jspartacus]

Not just pot tolerance, but all the parts have variation, no getting around that. No 2 KOTs will sound exactly the same either because of that. They'll be similar, but not exact.

[@chipsterb4946]

But it’s much more expensive to buy a pot with tight tolerances than it is to get quality caps and resistors.

[@jwstout007]

Never caught the Melissa Ethridge comment until just now, my band has played a pre-show for her show last year & we're gonna do the same thing this year. another one of my fav guitarists has also played for her, Rusty Anderson =)

[@edwardbosloper2445]

Awesome as always Pete!

[@deadtothewxrld]

King is definitely slightly clearer, but the Prince is also somewhat hard to get a hold of for good reason. Great partnership to bring an incredible pedal to more people.

[@MaxPaws]

Technically it’s not a KOT clone, but a Prince of Tone clone. I love my Prince.

[@mikecorey8370]

The hard clipping with the Les Paul sounded really good.

[@jim5118]

They're expecting stock in Canada by end of November. 😫

[@duncancartledge1667]

Great demo, the Duke sounds really nice and very versatile. One thing I’ve noticed in a lot of your videos is that the Fryette Power Station appears to on whenever you are playing. Is it used much and do you find it useful?

[@0megalul309]

The fryette PS2 is one of the goats for any guy with 5 figures in amp collections

[@Bulletisred]

Very similar but I think the DOT needs just a tiny little bit of bass added to match the KOT totally in your video to my ears.

[@orryfishburne5326]

Cant wait to try it. Preordered from Sweetwater and today i got a confirmation that it will ship tomorrow when it officially releases. Never owned a KoT or PoT, so just excited to have something in that realm.

[@drzecelectric4302]

Same!!

[@solojammer9500]

This is off topic but I have to ask how and why the intro is so good and rich sounding? I'm talking about the drums and bass. Mixing and mastering is so well done. Did you use real drum for this or software?

[@XChristianNoirX]

It's still missing that extra 3% and you can't get the high gain mod on the Duke. They should have added a switch to it, because it's literally a single component change so why not?

[@timwhite5562]

It was 4- years as of last year. I don't get it to be honest, it's a modified Bluesbreaker and Tube Screamer.

[@patrickkeenan6331]

Finally, you review a pedal I don't need to take out a second mortgage to afford.....

[@michaelleyba5396]

I feel like this is a stupid question, but why do you need a pedal to reach edge of breakup with your amp? If you want edge of breakup, why not just turn up the gain on your amp until you get edge of breakup? Why do you need a pedal to do that?

[@PeteThorn]

Might be too loud for many amps/situations, to turn them up that loud… and some folks might like the “blended” sound of a bit of pedal drive/compression with a bit of amp OD, etc etc

[@michaelleyba5396]

@@PeteThorn ah that makes sense, thank you! I appreciate the response. Still trying to learn how/when/what situations to apply pedals.

[@Tubedriver42]

I’ve been wondering what drive pedal to use with my newly acquired Top Hat Supreme Sixteen. I think this might be a contender.

[@leehenderson8132]

Pete I may be wrong but your righthand is looking much stronger.

[@Jarrrow-1]

Sound great! Your playing amazing!

[@nickm.9474]

Arrives tomorrow!!! 😁 But I’m not home until the 19th. 😢

[@landguitar]

Impressive. Great review Pete!

[@TunedupFlat]

If the duke of tone wasn't up to snuff, I doubt it would have been released. I can hardly wait to have a duke for my small board cause moving my prince back and forth is a pain and I haven't managed to catch a new prince on Wednesdays.

[@drzecelectric4302]

So should I buy two so I can stack it ?

[@leelauriemcalister4774]

Took 4 years 8 months 2 weeks and 5 days to get my KOT. Got it a few days ago

[@Paul-dw2cl]

6:00 reminded me of Time Bomb by Rancid, haha

[@leftymike5625]

it sounds to me like one of those settings has the clean Blended back into the signal.

[@SasquaPlatypus]

Great work! I like your solder vise pedal board.

[@KarenBasset]

Just ordered my DOT earlier today.

[@dezitall]

How about getting three Dukes and stacking them. In different modes vs same modes, etc. Would love to hear that! Then you could give away the pedals you don't keep or send back to MXR. 😎

[@CaptainAhab-im3kd]

They should come out with a whole series of "of Tone" pedals, you know, the "Duchess of Tone", or "The Archbishop of Tone", or, say, "The First Lady of Tone" .... but I digress ...

[@marcelmiagi4579]

Great demo, Pete. As a mixing engineer, I can tell you the only differences anyone might be hearing in the two can easily be compensated with a simple (subtle) EQ move and maybe some compression to taste. In the context of a mix, the differences are out the window, entirely.

[@AndreaAustoni]

No, the one you have to wait for for 5 years must be better

[@123Ir0nman]

It should be mentioned that the Duke of tone (and the prince of tone) are the KOT circuit with the high gain mod option so it would be most accurate to compare it with a KOT that has the high gain mod in it

[@PeteThorn]

Actually, my KOT has the high gain red side and that’s the only kind i ever tried. I have no idea what the other one sounds like.

[@123Ir0nman]

@@PeteThorn cool, yeah according to Analog Mike the high gain mod shifts the gain over all so noon position on the gain knob on a normal circuit is now 9 o'clock position on the high gain mod circuit.

[@avalon1734]

Pete, I haven't seen you upload a video about ToneX yet. When you do can you please explain how it would benefit(or not) someone that uses only monitors and a PC but doesn't use real amps to capture. I do not see how it could benefit me being that bedroom producer who uses Amplitube. From what I see so far it is designed for someone like you who has the real gear and can summon their captures for quick use. Looks like it is not going to be very adjustable after the captures for people who do not have the real gear and just load everyone elses presets. Thanks in advance.

[@monroequinn7546]

In my best Sammy Davis Jr. voice, “you are one musical cat!”

[@ToddWCorey1]

Nice comparison! Love my Prince of Tone (half of the KoT). Q: What do you call 1000 lesbians with guns? A: Militia Etheridge.

[@chipsterb4946]

With the sides of a King of Tone, do players usually set it up with the boost first followed by overdrive (or distortion)? I spent months trying to get a Prince of Tone but never found the right time of Wednesday. Bought a Wampler Pantheon and like that pedal a lot. Lots of good sounds/tones in there but it doesn’t seem to do that “just a bit more” thing quite as well as the KoT. So I’ve ordered the Duke and am waiting for it to show up.

[@davidp7973]

It’s comes from Analogman set as Overdrive into Boost. I set mine the other way, Boost into Overdrive with a seperate clean boost pedal after the KOT.

[@chipsterb4946]

@@davidp7973 interesting! My MXR Timmy is after other overdrives for additional boost when needed and a bit of compression. I’m going to have fun experimenting with the Duke of Tone, Pantheon and Timmy!

[@Bob.Silverstein]

The Les Paul with the clean boost sounded very Pete Townshend.

[@arnaudnoar3345]

Good morning Pete.For sure, mxr has always been I my top 5 brands, there's no way when compared to electro Harmonix ( huge catalog but...)for your example. But, even if it's very close to the kot, mxr has less clarity like a loss of the hifi sound the kot has. But, very soon, this mxr will enter my collection!! Merci beaucoup Pete for your demo and the beautiful rift!

[@alguitarchristie]

I have 2 of these now. One for drive and one for boost. They are so small, it's great! More space for a high gain pedal and I'm done!

[@gregcsefko]

I watched an interview where the maker compares the Duke to the PoT more than the KoT.

[@Zone9Rock]

I am using the DOT into a Fromel master volume modded Fender Hot Rod Deluxe 3. My first reaction when putting it on the pedal board was just OK. But then I bumped up the gain on the amp a bit and the DOT rose from the dead! The organic feel and touch now jumps out of it on both OD and Dist modes. And the guitar volume control response to further dial in your tone when needed is absolutely better than any other pedal I have owned. In short, I went from “hmmm do I want to keep this?” to “this stays on the board forever”.

[@chadwickhurlburt6529]

TKOT is the best overdrive in the world. Even better than a KLON, IMO. This thing isn't bad at all. But I would think it would be better to put two in-line and see how that works. Would it be the same as a full TKOT? IDK.

[@jonkbaby]

It's cool seeing you just get lost in the sound man- you sold me on it