King of Tone: The Pedal That Rocked The World

King of Tone: The Pedal That Rocked the World

Hey everybody, it is the Trout. Welcome to another episode of the Trout Show podcast, vinyl to viral. Thank you so much for stopping by.

You know, one of the things that's changed a lot in guitar playing is the advent of guitar pedals. Now, before everything went digital, you had like two different things that people could use. A wah-wah pedal and a distortion pedal, which was made famous by two people, wah-wah pedal, Jimi Hendrix, distortion, Keith Richards, and can't get no satisfaction.

But in the world of boutique guitar gear, few pedals carry the weight of legend like this one, the one we're going to talk about today. Built by hand, born from a collaboration with the guitarist from the famous The Band and worshipped by tone chasers around the world, it's the overdrive that launched a thousand wait lists. And I'm talking about none other than the Analog Man's King of Tone.

Today on the show, we dive into the story behind this mythical pedal, how it was designed, why it's so loved, and why some guitarists wait five years, that's right, five years just to get their hands on one. From John Mayer's board to studio sessions everywhere, it's more than just a stompbox, it's a movement. Let's wrap up the mystery one diode at a time.

This is The Trout Show. Now, I know what you're thinking, you're thinking, okay, what is guitar tone? What does that really mean to a guitarist? Well, if you're a casual listener to music, you all know, we all know what tone is, bass, treble, whatever you're looking for. But guitarists like me and many famous guitarists, I'm not famous, but people that play guitar, are always looking for that tone.

It's an elusive sound that only the guitar player can say, that's what I want to sound like. There are some people that you immediately, when you listen to them, you immediately go, oh, that's so-and-so. When I interviewed Eric Johnson in the Grammy winner last year, I asked him about tone.

If you ever listen to Eric Johnson, as soon as he starts playing, bam, it's Eric Johnson, you can tell. Great musicians are like that. People are always looking for a special tone.

Sometimes you can obviously get a tone from an amp, you can get a tone from the guitar, but so many players look to get the tone from a guitar pedal. It's something that sits on the floor, that they can hit with their feet, and change the sound of their amplifier, the song, the music coming out of their guitar. That's what a guitar pedal does.

And over the last, oh, I don't know, 10 or 15 years, guitar pedals have just exploded. There are so many different ones out there to choose from. So it's like anything else, when we spend the money on something, or where it's a hobby, or it's something that we do for a living, we want to find the best thing that we can for what we do.

So we're always looking for that great guitar pedal that's going to make the difference in our playing. Now there are some people that never use a guitar pedal. I know Joe Badamasa, the great blues artist, said one time when he played with Eric Clapton, Eric Clapton walked on stage, took his Stratocaster, his monster guitar cable, plugged it into Fender Twin, and guess what he sounded like? Eric Clapton.

No pedals, nothing. But on the other side of that is people that just make a huge amount of room on the stage for the pedals they have. Now I'm a person, I don't use a lot of pedals, but the story behind this particular pedal, the King of Tone, is something that really interested me because the fact is, I heard about this from the fantastic player from Cardinal Black, Chris Buck.

Chris Buck said he used it and told me that it took sometimes five or six years to get a King of Tone pedal. And I went, I've got to look into that. So let's talk about the guy that invented this, Mike Piera.

He's better known as Analog Mike, and he's the founder of a website called Analog Man. One of the most respected names in boutique guitar effects, a lifelong guitarist and electronics enthusiast, Piera started Analog Man in the early 1990s to service, modify, and build vintage-style pedals for tone purists. There we go, purist is a great word, right? He quickly gained a reputation for his attention to detail and dedication to analog sound.

I don't even get into that argument, analog versus digital. Earning the trust of hobbyists and professional musicians alike. Mike is probably better known for one thing, and that is the overdrive pedal called King of Tone, which is a dual-channel masterpiece that became the holy grail item for guitarists around the world.

And as I said earlier, years-long wait list. And he's had glowing endorsements from some of the great players out there. Piera is a champion of what they call true bypass circuitry, vintage analog sound, head, main, crab fishing.

All those pedals are made by hand. So, it takes you a year to get one. His brand, Analog Man, doesn't just make pedals, it also represents a philosophy rooted in musicality, simplicity, and tonal integrity.

In addition to the King of Tone, Piera and his team build other acclaimed effects like Sunface, Fuzz, and Prince of Tone. Even after decades in business, Mike remains deeply involved in the analog operation, offering advice, support, and wisdom to guitar-seeking the perfect tone. There we go again.

The word is tone. So, who are these great artists that count on the King of Tone guitar pedal? Well, here's the name of a few great guitar players. Here's John Mayer.

He's one of the most vocal and visible users. He uses it both live and in the studio. He loves it for its transparent overdrive that works well with amps like Dumble and 2-Rock.

I haven't even talked about amps, people, but we could get into that situation in a lot more detail. Other people that use it, it's James Valentine. He plays with Maroon 5. He likes using it live.

One of my favorite Texas guitar players, Gary Clark, uses it. He likes it for its gritty, expressive blues-rock tones. And he's been spotted using the King of Tone on his live rigs.

Brad Whitford with Aerosmith used it for a long time. Kenny Wayne Shepard uses it to push his Fender amps with smooth, bluesy drive. So you're saying to yourself out there, if you're a guitar player, you know what I'm talking about.

But if you're not a guitar player, you're saying, what? The tone, what? Here's some things that guitar players talk about. They like the fact that the King of Tone has a transparent overdrive. That it doesn't color your tone.

Now you're saying to yourself, okay, what does that mean? Well, it doesn't change the signal, but it does change the signal. It's kind of one of those weird things to think about. The pedal reacts like a tube amp when played softer or harder.

And if you don't know anyway, valves on tubes work. But that's what makes a difference on the reason why we use tube amps. And they like the fact that it has dual channels.

And it's incredibly sensitive, touch sensitive, and stackable with other pedals. Which is kind of important if you're playing a lot of live gigs and you need a lot of pedals out there to work together. So what was the inspiration behind this famous pedal? Well, Mike worked with the guitarist from the band, champ Jim Wyder.

And they started working on it and decided they wanted something different. And it took them years to evolve it around several different versions. The version 4, which was introduced in 2005, became the standard with its 6 knob dual channel design.

Offering separate controls for each channel. This version addressed earlier issues like a channel switching pops and added more tweakability, cultural impact, and popularity. So why, if you're not a guitar player, why do people wait for these things? Well, like I said earlier, the King of Tones handmade production process and limited output led to legendary waitlist.

Currently, in the year 2025, the waitlist is 6 years. And the scarcity has driven up demand, and of course, what goes with demand goes with price. The retail price of this pedal is $325, which is fairly steep amongst pedals.

Most pedals are $200, $250. But to buy one used, it's going for $750. And in 2017, the pedal show skyrocketed its popularity, leading to over 200 orders per day.

And extending waitlists. And great guitar players that are on YouTube, Paul David's one of them, they've praised it and told me it's got a cult following. So where do we go with this? What is this? If you're just a casual music listener, or you've got your playlist out there, you're going, why are we talking about guitar tone and pedals? Well, I can only say that it's a sickness that us electric guitar players have.

The king of tone isn't just a pedal. It's a benchmark in boutique gear culture. Its enduring appeal lies in how it enhances rather than replaces the guitarist's core tone.

The long wait has only added to its mythos, making it a true piece of modern guitar history. The analog band's guitar tone. The pedal that changed rock music.

Well that's it for this episode of the Shroud Show Vinyl Devirer. Hope you enjoyed it. You can find out more information about all our podcasts and our YouTube videos, where we interview some great people that are fantastic artists that you may know.

Grammy winners to independent artists. That's all available on the shroudshow.com. Until the next time people, you know what I always say. It's only rock and roll.

But I love it. See ya!