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Valve power married with preamp circuitry, it’s been done before but the Tonebone Plexitube’s features make this a versatile, pioneering beast…
Canada’s Radial Engineering has been producing Tonebone effects pedals and switching boxes since 2002 and can boast a number of high-profile users, including Toto’s Steve Lukather and Mettalica’s Kirk Hammett. This pedal’s aim? To deliver ‘four generations of Marshall Plexi tones.’ Along with this monumental claim also comes the equally substantial price tag. It’s got a lot to prove, let’s see what it’s got…
First of all, the construction is sound. Made of very sturdy solid sheet steel gives it the ruggedness to be worthy of a good thrash on stage. Whereas the boasted features are personified through various knobs and switches. The two main footswitches, one to bypass the effect and the other toggling between two sets of settings that effectively act like separate amp channels, work well but mean there are a lot of other knobs to fiddle around with as a result.
Amidst the 12AX7 all-valve heart of this pedal beats a tin soul of circuitry genius. The EQ provides a hugely wide tone-shape. The shared low and high EQ controls mean that you can manipulate this Marshall JCM800-esque sound into anything from reserved crunch to a more bowel-moving fuzz. The excellent creamy tones of the Tonebone Plexitube make this an expensive, but equally good contender against Electro Harmonix’s Black Face.
The Tonebone Plexitube retails at £353.36.
