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Author
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Topic: How's them Fender Steel Kings Doin' out there ?
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Tommy R. Butler
Member From: Nashville TN.
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posted 08 January 2006 08:11 PM
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I was looking around @ amps and have not seen a post about the Fender amp since July. I was wondering what everyone thought of them as compared to the N-Ville 1000 & Nville 112. |
Geir Arne Boska
Member From: Orsta, Norway
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posted 09 January 2006 03:28 AM
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Hi Tommy,
Norwegian steeler here.
I got my Steel King (european version 230v/50hz) a few months ago. This amp sounds just great. A bit thin right out of the box.. but still sounding good... but after some hours of playing, this little bugger really opens up it's great warm sound and delivers full range. Guess I'm the first one in Norway who has this amp. A friend of mine,a great norwegian steeler, will try out my SteelKing in studio this week. Will get some serious feedback on how it performs in studio work, too. Nice.
Big thanx to the guys at Fender for creating this wonderful amp.
Geir------------------
Dekley SD-10, Fender Steel King, Peavey Tubefex, Peavey Classic 120/120, 2x12 Peavey Cabinets, Goodrich 120 |
Jack Stoner
Sysop From: Inverness, Florida
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posted 09 January 2006 05:20 AM
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I played through one at Bobbe Seymour's back in August. It was only for about 10 minutes and I didn't change any settings on it - let it the way the store had it set.The little bit I used it didn't make me want to sell my Peavey steel amps and buy one. I'm also in a smaller/lighter mode and only using a Nasville 112, which is more than adequate for the jobs I'm working - even the road jobs. |
Gaylon Mathews
Member From: Jasper, Georgia
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posted 09 January 2006 06:11 AM
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I use one everyday on the Gretchen gig and it hasn't let me down yet and still sounds great! I have a spare on the road but never had to use it. I also have one in my studio. I love'em. ------------------
Gaylon's Homepage
www.gaylonmathews.com Gretchen Wilson
www.gretchenwilson.com GFI Ultra D-10, Fender Steel King, GHS Strings, SteelSeat.com
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Joe Alterio
Member From: Fishers, Indiana
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posted 09 January 2006 06:21 AM
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At just about any setting, the Steel King sounds great. Very warm sound, bright without being brash. The bass dynamics are excellent due to the cabinet design....very punchy and deep without being muddy.My Session 400 has been riding the bench ever since the Steel King came home. I have played at least a dozen gigs with it, too, and it has completely changed my sound...in a GOOD way. The only thing that irks me is the relative lack of headroom (compared to the Peaveys). With the pre-amp gain set at anything higher than 10:00, the amp starts to distort when pushed. Personally, I feel there should be a bit more room to drive the amp....but though I say this, it has only been an issue for me once on a gig. The amp is plenty loud with the pre-amp gain at 10:00 and the master at full-on (though you do start getting some excessive white noise "hiss" at that level.....same with the Peavey, though). Lastly....the speaker is almost worth the price of the amp. This is about as close to the old JBL sound that you are going to get, with the added bonus of 200+ watt handling capacity. When I bought the amp, I popped in my 15db musicians earplugs and really took this thing through its paces. The speaker never whimpered once. Joe |
Kevin Mincke
Member From: Farmington, MN (Twin Cities-South Metro) USA
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posted 09 January 2006 09:41 AM
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My SteelKing is the closest thing I've found to my WEBB's. I used the settings that Buddy suggested "right out of the box" and it was very warm delivering that "tubish" sound that I think was the objective in a WEBB design. It does not have the headroom of my WEBB's but then is plenty powerful as anything more needed one is usually miked anyway. Speaking of which it has an XLR out with a line level out adjust too! Along with the Fx send/return on the back panel it also has a "direct" tuner output with mute button on front of amp. I haven't had a need to use the pre/post EQ or limiter switches on front though and have not unwrapped the (3) button foot switch (reverb, loop, tuner)included with it. Fender did a great job when developing this amp, in my opinion and owes alot of the preferred steel voicings & quality to the design of amp and custom speaker that was specifically voiced after the much sought after D130F much like the Fender amps that steel players were using in those days. Oh ya, it also comes with a cover! |
James Quackenbush
Member From: Pomona, New York, USA
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posted 09 January 2006 09:59 AM
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The Nashville 112 is a great amp for what it is designed to do ....I needed more power and higher head room ...I went with the Steel King ...If a lower volume, and less weight is your situation, the Nashville 112 is a fine amp .... You guy's that are having a problem with your headroom on your Steel King can twist a few dial's !!.....Straight up is a good starting point ...Set up as a starting point , and not playing too loud, straight up is a good place to begin ....When you start pushing the volume, your really need to cut back on the bass a bit ....This will allow you to still punch thru, and have a really nice mid/high tone with PLENTY of bass and volume without the amp overloading on you .... Playing softly, turn up the bass....Playing loud, turn down the bass....You'll be surprised how loud this amp can get by turning the bass down a little bit ... That's the beauty of the Steel King....It has a variable EQ that is 2nd to none for pedal steel ....Don't be affraid to play around with it ....Jim PS....Someone on another thread mentioned going straight into the board for recording , using the Steel Kings preamp with great results ....I haven't tried it yet, but I'm sure it will be sweet !!.. |
Andrew Buhler
Member From: Maryland, USA
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posted 09 January 2006 10:18 AM
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Another satisfied Steel King user here. I play a 69 Emmons thru it. Prior to purchasing the Steel King my primary amps have been a 74 Dual Showman Reverb and Session 400. I feel that the Steel King is a happy medium between tube and solid state amplifiers. It has a good amount of "presence" and is much warmer sounding than the Session 400. It has by far the most usuable and tweakable mid-range EQ that I've seen; cut it 800 Hz and it sounds like the Session or around 550 Hz for a Twin. It's only been out once for a loud gig and it cut through very nicely--no problems with headroom. I like the way it makes my push pull sound.
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David Wren
Member From: Placerville, California, USA
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posted 09 January 2006 10:39 AM
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Hmmmmmmm, and only 355 shopping days until Christmas.....------------------
Dave Wren
'95Carter S12-E9/B6,7X7; Twin Session 500s; Hilton Pedal; Black Box
www.ameechapman.com
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Rick Johnson
Member From: Wheelwright, Ky USA
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posted 09 January 2006 11:10 AM
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I've had mine for several months.
Its sounds really great, its a little
awkward to roll around, it wants to tip
over. I would have liked to had a metal
faceplate instead of plastic. I think
the pilot jewell is plastic too. Its
not real bright like my old Fenders.
The grill cloth is not tight.
Even with all of this, I really
like the amp.
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Rick Johnson
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Larry Robbins
Member From: Fort Edward, New York, USA
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posted 09 January 2006 01:56 PM
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Had mine a little over a year now and I am still very pleased with it.Plenty loud and sweet at least to my ears.Fender did a good thing here!------------------
SHO~BUDS,FENDER AMPS & GUITARS,TUT TAYLOR RESO'S ..."what a long, strange trip its been" |
Kevin Mincke
Member From: Farmington, MN (Twin Cities-South Metro) USA
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posted 09 January 2006 03:10 PM
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I know a real good woodworker that will split that SteelKing into a two piece for ya  Rick! |
Sonny Priddy
Member From: Elizabethtown, Kentucky, USA
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posted 09 January 2006 03:37 PM
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I'll Keep My N-112 & N-1000 SONNY.------------------
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Gordon Borland
Member From: San Antonio, Texas, USA
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posted 09 January 2006 06:30 PM
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I like the Steel King. I read in a post about putting the amp on the floor with no tilt. I never did this with the Nashville 400 or the Sessions 2000 but the second gig with the steel king I did. It works for me.
For the studio you cant beat a Peavey Sessions 2000.
Iam not a pro and not in the same league with most of the folks on this forum but I do know what I like and I really like the steel king.
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Gordon Borland
MSA D10,FENDER STEEL KING, NASHVILLE 400,PEAVEY SESSIONS 2000, 1963 BROWN FENDER DELUXE NO REVERB. 1973 FENDER JAGUAR SUNBURST SIX STRING GUITAR, PEAVEY T60 SIX STRING GUITAR.
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Herb Steiner
Member From: Cedar Valley, Travis County TX
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posted 09 January 2006 07:31 PM
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I like my Steel King, especially on the high end playing strings 1 through 5 on my '64 Emmons. There is a very occasional bass fart when I'm honking on C6. Not enough to turn me off the amp, though.I agree there's not as much headroom as on a Webb, but it does have a more Fenderish sound than a Webb. I like both the Webb and the FSK. Think I'll switch off from time to time. ------------------
Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association
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The Steel Guitar Forum
