This Used Tone King Meteor 40 Amplifier 1x12" Combo Amplifier in Surf Green/Cream is here on consignment. The amp is fully functioning and in clean cosmetic shape aside from a couple of dark colored marks on the top of the amp. Included with the amp is a matching cover and its original footswitch. The amp sounds phenomenal on both channels: robust, powerful, and articulate. Even with its half-power switch engaged, it's loud!
The Tone King Meteor Series II is a tube-driven amp built to push well past traditional vintage voicings, delivering exceptional clarity, lively presence, and striking note definition. This example is a used 6V6-powered 1x12 combo.
The Rhythm Channel is voiced in the spirit of the classic blackface era, reminiscent of late-’60s amps like the Deluxe Reverb and Super Reverb. It delivers the shimmering cleans and gritty, ringing edge-of-breakup tones these circuits are famous for, but with added clarity, depth, and harmonic richness. Every note blooms with overtones, giving the channel a dimensional, lively feel. A three-position Bright switch lets you fine-tune the top end, allowing just the right amount of sparkle.
The Lead Channel offers far more tonal range than you’d expect from a simple three-control layout, largely thanks to its unique Mid-Bite circuit. Exclusive to Tone King, the Mid-Bite control does more than adjust midrange—it reshapes the entire overdrive character. With Mid-Bite turned fully off, the channel behaves much like a vintage tweed amp. Clean playing reveals the cabinet’s woody resonance, the bounce of the rectifier tube, and the expressive response of the cathode-biased output stage, producing that raw midrange, smooth treble, and gentle compression ideal for blues or honky-tonk rhythm work on a Tele. Push the amp harder, and the sweet, rounded highs develop a sharper attack, eventually giving way to thick, saturated overdrive. In this zone, compression from the cathode-biased power section softens the front of each note, allowing chords and single lines to swell and sustain with rich, evolving textures.
As the Mid-Bite control is raised, a pronounced midrange peak emerges while the low end tightens, shifting the voice into a more British-style crunch. The feel becomes firmer, single notes take on a singing sustain, and chords gain a chunky, harmonically complex character that sits perfectly in a mix.
The Meteor II features a reverb circuit inspired by the legendary standalone units of the 1960s. It runs on its own dedicated 12AX7 preamp tube and a 6V6 driver tube feeding a full-size, three-spring tank. A 12AX7-driven reverb recovery stage provides additional shaping options through its dedicated reverb tone control, and each channel—lead and rhythm—has its own independent reverb level adjustment via rear-panel mix controls. The Dwell control adjusts how hard the tank is driven, offering an impressive range of textures. Lower dwell settings yield a smooth, plate-like ambience, while higher settings deliver the classic dripping, surf-style splash. With dwell, tone, and mix all working together, you can fine-tune the reverb to perfectly match any style or setting.
The Meteor II also employs a vintage-style tremolo that modulates the bias of the output tubes to create its effect. This method, unlike the opto-coupler designs used in blackface-era Fender amps, produces a gentler, more rounded tremolo character with a natural, flowing pulse. The tremolo can be engaged or disengaged using the included footswitch.
