# Radial Tonebone - Hot British



## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Impulse buy here. I didn't want to go into the subway because I was waiting for an important work call, so walked from Dufferin to Ossington ( in the rain, with an umbrella of course). Popped into L&M to look a small amps. There, on the clearance table, was a used Radial Tonebone - Hot British. In came with 15v power adapter. $125.00. I'd seen private sales asking for $125 to $175 for these. So it looks like I'll be bringing my lunch to work for 6 to 8 weeks.

I've given it a fast test run trying all the dials and switches. This is a bit of a tweakers dream. I was using my MIJ 335 clone and a Roland Blues Cube with a Private Jack. Not harsh, unless you really force to be. Got about four or five really good variations on the woman tone. 

The only control I haven't quite figured out is the contour. I noticed a difference when I did a full sweep of the dial, but I can't quite put words to it yet. 

If decide I don't like it, I can still take it back in 30 days or less. But that seems unlikely so far.


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## Rugburn (Jan 14, 2009)

I have the ToneBone Classic. It's great for bringing a ho-hum SS amp into "tubish" territory. If you have a tube amp, get the power section (output tubes) really working and then add some Hot British lovin'. This is where these pedals really come to life. It converts my Blackface into a snarling beast that would be right at home in a hard rock setting. The Hot British is even heavier than the Classic. A friend has the Hot British's big brother the Plexitube. It's basically the same, except that it has two channels (lead and rhythm). It goes from Marshall/Mesa type tones to complete and utter "cosmic mud". Of the best kind of course :smile:. For the money you paid; I'd be really happy too!

Shawn.


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...i traded up from the hot british to the plexitube.

that may have been a mistake, because i never use the second channel on the plexitube.

i was about to sell the plexitube at a point when i made the move to drastically reduce the gain levels on all my o/d pedals.

the plexitube (specifically the "hot british" channel) came alive.

it does stuff that, normally, you could only achieve with certain boutique tube amps, cranked.

just scary. turn your guitar volume down, and its "live at leeds" townsend. turn it up and....there be dragons.

-dh


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

david henman said:


> ...i traded up from the hot british to the plexitube.
> 
> that may have been a mistake, because i never use the second channel on the plexitube.
> 
> ...


Is the plexitube is a Hot British on steroids? Looks really interessing!


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

Ti-Ron said:


> Is the plexitube is a Hot British on steroids? Looks really interessing!


...its a hot british with an additional channel. to me, the additional channel is overkill, but who knows, i may still find a use for it.

-dh


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## The Kicker Of Elves (Jul 20, 2006)

I like my HB but I might change the 12AX7 out for a 5751 and see if that gives me a more usable tone. I find the 12AX7 just goes from quiet to noise complaint with less variation between than I would like...

You can't use a 12AU7 (apparently) to try and reduce gain, but a 5751 should work.


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## infinitemonkey (Jan 20, 2008)

I've been considering picking up a Tonebone and have been doing a bit of reading about them, and apparently changing the tubes has very little effect on its sound.

Also, over at diystompboxes.com, they've had some discussion of the circuit, and the consensus seems to be that the tube would have little or no effect on the overall tone. Some poster suggested that the tube was there mainly for marketing purposes.

And yet, these seem to be very well regarded pedals and all the clips I've heard have sounded great.

So, I'm having a bit of trouble deciding about whether or not to buy one. I need to go try one out, I guess.


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## Stratin2traynor (Sep 27, 2006)

infinitemonkey said:


> I've been considering picking up a Tonebone and have been doing a bit of reading about them, and apparently changing the tubes has very little effect on its sound.
> 
> Also, over at diystompboxes.com, they've had some discussion of the circuit, and the consensus seems to be that the tube would have little or no effect on the overall tone. Some poster suggested that the tube was there mainly for marketing purposes.
> 
> ...


Not sure about the consensus regarding the tube...Never dug that far into the pedal myself. But regardless, the pedal sounds great. 

I just got back from my practice room where I plugged the old Tonebone Hot British in (inspired by this thread) and was reminded about how great that thing sounds. I went through a plethora of classic rock riffs and they all sounded great. The nice thing about the Tonebone is that it's so tweakable that it can easily be tailored to any amp you have.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Not trying to get out of topic here, first, congrats on the pedal Robert. 

I got the Classic myself, it's my main go to pedal. Recently, I decided I want to have a smaller pedal board for when I need to go practice some place else other than my basement. I just got tired of carrying the pedalboard which is heavier than my amps. So I started looking for another dirt pedal I could use to 'replace' the Classic. I bought a Satchurator that came back to the store in a couple of days. I thought it was a nice pedal but it doesn't give me the same pick attack and responsiveness of the Tonebone. To shorten my story, I ended up getting the new Radial Bones Hollywood, which is the solid state version of the Classic. I used it last Saturday to jam with a bunch of guys and that pedal works great. It doesn't have the 'perceived' warmth of the added tube in the Classic but it does pretty much everything the classic does. If you're looking for a less expensive version of the Tonebones, the 'Bones' versions are something to look into. BTW, the Bones all have a boost channel like the Plexitude. The Hollywood=Classic, the London=Plexitude/Hot British. They've also added a Texas version, which I believe it geared towards sounding like a TS-9.


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## 1PUTTS (Sep 8, 2007)

Stratin2traynor said:


> Not sure about the consensus regarding the tube...Never dug that far into the pedal myself. But regardless, the pedal sounds great.
> 
> I just got back from my practice room where I plugged the old Tonebone Hot British in (inspired by this thread) and was reminded about how great that thing sounds. I went through a plethora of classic rock riffs and they all sounded great. The nice thing about the Tonebone is that it's so tweakable that it can easily be tailored to any amp you have.


I'm still using the Classic that you sold me last year and I'm still diggin' it. There are just so many great tones in that thing...when you get tired of one, you just twirl a few knobs and there's another great tone. So thanks!


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## Stratin2traynor (Sep 27, 2006)

Glad to hear your enjoying it! After I sold the Classic, I only lasted a couple of months until I had to get the Hot British again!


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