During the development process, we found that the type of player that would use a multi-channel Tonebone Hot British would approach his tonal selection very differently than a player using a multi-channel Tonebone Classic. For rhythm, Classic player tends to look for tones that begin with slight overdrive that sound like an amp breaking up and the lead tones tend towards Clapton and Hendrix where mid range is prominent. The Trimode accomplishes this by providing two separate input drive levels and output levels like a traditional two channel amp.

The Plexitube is different. The metal player has pretty much determined that he will be working with full-on distortion but needs to severely alter the tone as he transitions between rhythm and lead. For rhythm, the tones need to range from ‘in your face Marshall’ to huge scooped out mid tones that create sonic wall. For leads, the tone shifts to cut through the mix without being overly loud.

In technical terms, it comes down to how much of the frequency spectrum you want to control. The human voice and the solo guitar live in the midrange while bass and drums sit below and cymbals sit on top in the high-frequency zone. The scooped out mid tones that have become signature to so many of today’s metal guitar players move the sound energy out of the mid range zone into the bass and high frequency zones, leaving the mid range free for the voice and lets the lead guitar cut through.

The Plexitube presents the guitarist with two distinct channels that meet with commonality, but expand off to their distinct roles to optimize both lead and rhythm tones. This is achieved by allowing the player to select various voicing curves and tune them in using the contour control.

Voicing Switch Position Lead Ch2 Rhythm Ch1 Top position Fat boost Fat boost Middle position Scoop mid Scoop mid Bottom position Voicing bypassed Xtra scoop mid

As detailed above, the 3 position voicing switch on each channel is arranged slightly differently whereby on the rhythm channel, its voicing control is always active. This differs from the lead channel by introducing an ‘extra scoop mid’ instead of the original Hot British setup that would let you bypass the voicing altogether. This option is however maintained on channel-2.

Keep in mind that either channel may be used for rhythm or lead for two different rhythm or lead tones from a single pedal. A rhythm guitarist may wish to transition between a ‘Boston’ or ‘Doobie Brothers’ style distortion that is rich in the mid range and then punch in a ‘Metalica’ or ‘Nirvana’ style scooped tone as he transitions from song to song. The Plexitube easily makes this possible. For the lead guitarist that is looking for two different solo tons, the Plexitube lets you transition from ‘Van Halen’ type saturation to ‘Queen’ style bandpass mid tones.

These drastic tonal variations are attained by selecting the voice control to either boost or cut the mid range and adjusting the contour to find the ‘sweet spot’ for the tone you are looking for. One thing for sure, the Plexitube will never leave you short when it comes to creating new and exciting tonal textures.

To further advance ‘playability’, the Plexitube introduces the concept of an effects loop in the solo channel. This unique feature lets you create a separate pedal chain for soloing that will automatically activate the moment you toggle from rhythm to lead. You could for instance have a delay ready and waiting so that when you hit channl-2 for a solo, the delay also goes on with a single foot stomp. No more tap dancing! This feature makes performing on stage easier and gives the impression of a more professional guitar setup.

The Tonebone Plexitube steps up on-stage performance with great tone and grater functionality.