Tonebone Loopbone - Development of the Loopbone

"As soon as I plugged the Tonebone Classic in, I could not believe how quiet it was. I was very mpressed. Its both responsive and musical.”

~ Eric Johnson

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Trimode Development

Since the early beginnings of Tonebone in 1978 (see 'Tonebone History'), we envisioned a concept whereby having three primary sounds on stage would provide the guitarist with a foundation to get the job done. Our first tube amplifier design was in fact, the very first 3-channel amp ever made.

This same philosophy holds true today. Think about it… all great guitarists have their distinct sound. Jimmy Page, Mark Knopfler, Eric Johnson, Jeff Beck, Brian May, Ritchie Blackmore, Steve Lukather, David Gilmour, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, and so many others. You hear them on the radio and you immediately recognize their signature sound. For the most part, they carved their sound from their guitars, their amps, their effects and their playing style and stayed true to their tone. A warm natural tone for clean passages, rich, fat, crunchy rhythm tones where you could actually hear every string and smooth to blistering solo tones that could make a grown man cry – their personalities always shining through.

The Classic Trimode provides the serious guitarist with the scope and range to create a distinct sound and the dynamic control to articulate each nuance of one's playing style. As such, the Trimode is an ideal creative tool for shaping your own signature sound.

			Roots of tube amp tone: Leo Fender's revered tweed Bassman™ amp.
The original: Radial's Tonebone Classic tube distortion pedal.

Based around the award-winning Tonebone Classic, the Trimode is a 12AX7 equipped tube hybrid distortion pedal that combines the warmth and natural harmonic generation of a properly implemented tube circuit with the dynamics and control of our unique dual-stage overdrive circuit. It is equipped with two separate input drive and output level controls. Each of these work like a guitar amp with input preamp gain and master volume that lets you set each channel for the desired amount of saturation.

The two overdrive channels on the Trimode feature slightly different tonal structures that have been voiced to accentuate the performance. The rhythm channel is slightly tighter to ensure the distinctiveness of each string is retained even when the tone is highly saturated. In solo mode, attention has shifted to offer more cut and sustain. The differences are subtle, yet very musical. And just like the Radial Tonebone Classic, the Trimode’s tone controls and distortion philosophy follows the American tradition set by Leo Fender some 50 years ago, the very root of all the finest tube amplifiers made today.

Strap on your guitar, plug into the Trimode, close your eyes and pick. Softly at first... then dig in. Listen to the dynamics – this is the magic that has made the critically acclaimed Tonebone Classic the most successful tube distortion pedal of our time.

Email: info@radialeng.com

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