Neural DSP gives Tone King Imperial MKII the X treatment

Neural DSP announced Tone King Imperial MKII X on October 14, 2026, bringing new pitch, stereo and preset-management tools to its vintage-amp plugin. Existing owners of the original plugin receive the update free.

The useful changes for guitar players

Transpose shifts the incoming signal up or down by as much as an octave. The Doubler adds stereo spread, while a searchable preset browser brings tags, favourites and recent sounds into one place. More than 120 presets accompany the update.

Global Lock can hold core settings steady while changing presets. A live tuner, undo/redo and a metronome round out the workflow changes. One practical qualification: the metronome works only in standalone mode.

Still an amplifier at the centre

The software retains its Imperial MKII model, with Rhythm and Lead channels, tremolo, spring reverb and the modelled Ironman II attenuation controls. Its cabinet section offers two speaker options, movable microphones and custom impulse-response loading.

That makes this an update to an existing amp-focused tool, not a newly announced physical Tone King amplifier. We have not tested its sound or latency, so this is a feature overview rather than a hands-on verdict.

Check your platform before updating

Neural DSP lists a 14-day trial. Its product page says Quad Cortex and Quad Cortex mini compatibility will arrive in a future CorOS update; compatibility with those hardware units is not yet available.

Want to dig deeper into the amplifier behind the software? Read our Tone King Imperial MKII guide.

Image credit: Neural DSP. Manufacturer artwork supplied with the Tone King Imperial MKII X announcement; cropped for this article.