Radial ships two new Tonebones

Radial Engineering is lauching two new pedals –  the Tonebone Classic V9 and the Bumper instrument selector.

The Classic V9 is a ‘next generation’ version of the original Classic that is smaller and easier to power, yet retains the incomparable dynamics and huge tonal range of the original. 

Radial product specialist, Mike Bauer, said: “There is no question about it, ask any serious guitarist who has played with a Tonebone and he will tell you that the original Tonebone Classic is likely the best tube distortion pedal ever made. It is responsive like a real guitar amplifier, boasts an incredibly powerful post distortion EQ and is both quiet and pop free. During its lifespan, it has received accolades from players as diverse as Eric Johnson, Steve Lukather and a host of others.  

“But no matter how good it is, today players are faced with crowded stages, the realities of air travel and the high cost of luggage. This is forcing them to reduce the size of their pedalboards and standardise the powering systems. The original Classic requires a 15V supply for the tube.  As a result, pedals like the Classic that require special power and have a large footprint have been phased out. This compromise of course is completely adverse to great tone. So guitarists have been asking Radial to come up with a solution that would deliver great tone like the original, be more compact and employ standard 9V powering.  The Tonebone Classic V9 is the result of these requests.”

The design begins with a 3-position Gain switch that allows the player to focus the distortion range so that it responds more accurately to their picking, dexterity and musical style. This is further refined with the fully adjustable DRIVE control. The signal then passes through the equalizer. This post distortion EQ lets you truly carve out the tone so that it best matches the amplifier. The result is a much more amp-like feel with a greater degree of responsiveness.  The tone can be further tuned with a 3-position MID BOOST that is used to fatten up the tone of single coil pickups for sounds reminiscent of Jeff Beck, or to enhance solos for more sustain. A TOP END switch rounds out the feature set to allow the player to compensate for overly bright amps like early Marshall® amps, or enhance harmonics when working with more distorted tones.

Measuring 4″ X 2″ X 4.25″ and powered by any standard 9V supply, the Classic V9 delivers the tonal shaping control of the original, yet is much more compact. It retails at $169.99.

In addition, The Bumper, a compact instrument selector, lets you connect up to four instruments to a single guitar amp and select between them using a single footswitch.

Radial’s Jay Porter, explained: “Today, playing music is all about options. One song may require a Les Paul®, the next a Strat or even a Dobro. This is the beauty of the world we live in. Music lovers are enjoying so many styles and they are merging together like never before. The Bumper is a tool that we developed specifically for those who must quickly change between instruments on stage. It works with electric guitar, bass and of course all kinds of acoustic instruments too!  You plug in, advance the selector footswitch to the desired input and you are set to go! Super bright LEDs follow your every move to let you know which input is ready for use. The Bumper is super compact to fit on any pedalboard and automatically self-configures for the number of instruments you are using.”

Each instrument can further be tailored with Drag control load correction to compensate for the buffer and replicate the tone and feel as if connected directly to an amplifier.  When combining active and passive instruments, high output active ones can be adjusted using the trim control to reduce the sensitivity. This allows quick changeovers without having to adjust stage amp volumes or settings on the PA and monitors.  In addition to the stage amp out, there is a separately buffered tuner out for quick on-the-fly adjustments. 

The Bumper is designed for both electric and acoustic guitar, bass or may be combined with a Radial DI for use with a mandolin, dobro, violin or any other instrument. It retails for $169.99.