Fender Steel King Speaker Swap

Jim Saunders · From: Houston, Texas, U.S.A.

Now that the Fender Steel King has been out for awhile, I wondering what is gained (changed) by swaping the speaker for another? Probably a Black Widow. I'm liking the original, but curious.
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Mullen, G2, D10, Peavey Nashville 112, Roland Cube 80XL, DD3, Goodrich L10 VP.

Kevin Ruddell · From: Toledo Ohio USA

Jim ;

my dos centavos . I had a FSK for one day this week and had to return it , WAY too bright.... for my non-pedal and lap steels anyway .... even with the treble set at zero . I ran the amp's line out post fader to a Tube Works 962 amp and an Eminence Delta 15 LF speaker, thinking a different speaker would change the character of the sound , and it sounded pretty similar . The FSK preamp seemed ( to my ears anyway) like a solid state bass preamp with a reverb unit added . Lots of Lows and HIGHS.
But.....I notice literally tons of steelers on the forum love these amps ; so maybe it depends somewhat on the guitar or pickup .
The FSK has been sitting at the store for 2 years . It's down to $500 now

Jim Walker · From: Headland, AL

This topic has surfaced many times around here in the last year or so. The reason I replaced the stock Fender / Eminence speaker in my Fender Steel King is because it started buzzing at certain frequencies. The amp was only 3 months old at the time and was well covered by warrantee but I did not want to be without the amp for any length of time. After reading 4 or 5 post on this very topic, I bought a Black Widow 1501-4 and installed it. IMEDIATLY I notice a huge difference in tone. Cleaner, more responsive and it added about 20% more headroom. I've said it before, The only thing I think would sound better is having 2 FSK's with BW's.

JW
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Show Pro D10, Session 400

Chris LeDrew · From: Canada

On the other side of the spectrum, I replaced the blown JBL in my Session 400 with the Steel King Eminence speaker and it sounds amazing. I can't believe a speaker swap in a Steel King could possibly improve the tone, but then again I do not own a Steel King. All I can say is that the speaker is awesome.
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Jackson Steel Guitars
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George Macdonald · From: Vancouver Island BC Canada

I might put the new light weight Black Widow in my Steel King when they are available. That way I might be able to lift it.

Chris LeDrew · From: Canada

Tone is heavy. Smile

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Jackson Steel Guitars
Web: www.chrisledrew.com

Jim Walker · From: Headland, AL

You got that right Chris!

The FSK is only 9 lbs lighter than stock with a new shallow basket BW 1501-4. Still quite "Chunky" when it comes time to lift it but man, does it sound good!

JW
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Show Pro D10, Session 400

Robert Jones · From: Branson, Missouri

Jim I just unpacked my steel king today. I am yet to play through it as my steel is at the gig. I bought this loaded with a black widow speaker. I am chomping at the bit to find out what it's going to sound like. I'm wondering if anyone reading this might have the settings that Buddy Emmons uses. If anyone has it would they please E mail them to me. I probably won't know what my amp is going to sound like until Friday night when I play. I am going to be using this amp when I do my Branson show also. Since I've already taped the next three shows it's going to be a while before the amp will show up on the tube. I'll let everyone know how it sounds on stage.
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Mullen Royal Precision D10 Red Lacquer Pearl inlay 8&8
"Life is too short for bad tone."
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Jim Saunders · From: Houston, Texas, U.S.A.

Robert, Buddy's site lists his settings for the FSK at: EQ tilt: 9:00 for C6 and 10 or 11 for E9.
Mid Level: 10:00 or 11:00 (Mid level doesn't work unless the Mid Frequency know is moved from the center settings.)
Mid frequency: 11.00
Bass:1:00
Reverb: 10:00
Keep the normal switch OUT and the Limiter IN.

Now, you have a Black Widow, so you may need to tweek these settings?
I would like to hear back after you've test driven your amp.
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Mullen, G2, D10, Peavey Nashville 112, Roland Cube 80XL, DD3, Goodrich L10 VP.

Jon Light · From: Saugerties, NY

Just in the interest of accuracy, Jim, those mid instructions are mistaken (and if I recall correctly, I noticed that error on the Emmons site)-----the mid level control is always active, no matter where the mid freq knob is set. Mid level at 12 o'clock is 'flat', above 12 boosts and below 12 cuts whatever freq center is selected. Mid Freq, at 12 o'clock is 500hz.
One of the first things that many people noticed about the FSK, right out of the box, is that you can set all tone controls at 12 and start out with an excellent sound. From there, it's a matter of personal taste and tailoring to room acoustics.

Robert Jones · From: Branson, Missouri

Thanks for the update Jim. I will certainly holler back and let everyone know what the king sounds like with a black widow in it. I have a rack system that I play through on Fridays, but it's just too much for the stage in Branson. My cabs are loaded with black widows with my rack unit. If I can come close to what I am getting with my rack I'll be happy. I'm sure that I will after talking to serval players. I will let you know though and thanks again.
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Mullen Royal Precision D10 Red Lacquer Pearl inlay 8&8
"Life is too short for bad tone."
https://mullenguitars.com/
http://www.bjsbars.com/

John LeMaster · From: North Florida

Thought I would share my experience with the FSK and its speaker. Much as with Jim Walker, my Steel King would sometimes tend to 'break up' when pushed hard. I loved the sound I was getting at low to moderate volume levels, so I was thinking of putting a Black Widow 1501 in.

However, I read some good reviews of the Eminence Kappalite. Good sound, lighter, and can handle up to 425 watts. (Yes, it is 8 ohms vs. 4 ohms in the original, but I haven't noticed any loss of power.)

I ordered the speaker from Tom Bradshaw - and got it in 3 days. Understanding that "tone" is highly subjective, I am delighted with the Kappalite. To me, it allows the amp to deliver its full, sweet sound, with no distortion. I played an outdoor gig Saturday, and pushed it pretty hard, and there was no break up - just really good tone, clear as a proverbial bell.

Oh, I don't mind that the Kappalite is about 12 pounds lighter than the Commonwealth that came in the Steel King Wink

.

As many of you already know, Tom is a super person to deal with. He even told me that if I didn't like the speaker, to send it back. But, that baby is going to stay in the Steel King.

John L.
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Magnum D10, Emmons D10 push-pull

George Macdonald · From: Vancouver Island BC Canada

Thanks John for that great infrmation. I've been wondering for some time if the Kappalite, [being 8 0hms], would work in the Steel King. Sure would be nice to lighten the load by 12 pounds without sacrificing sound. I'm guessing that a 4 ohm speaker would deliver a bit more power, but probably not needed.

Jim Sliff · From: Lawndale California, USA

One thing that bears repeating - a new, out-of-the-box amdp will not sound its best. The speaker needs to break in, and that takes anywhere from 20-? hours of playing time at moderate volume, especially with most modern production line speakers that are doped.

A second thing that should be noted that most players do not realize - change the speaker...void your warranty, at least with some manufacturers, Fender being one of them. I've discussed this over and over with Fender and they won't budge, as they've seen too many wrong impedance speakers installed, thing go "boom", and original speakers reinstalled...so they have ways they can tell.

Still, the most important point is to let the speaker break in with a new amp before making any tonal judgments. Some speakers change drastically, and taking an amp back after a couple of days is really due to a lack of understanding of speaker properties.
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No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional

David Nugent · From: Gum Spring, Va.

George, Fender also makes the "Jazz King" which is basically a Steel King with an 8 0hm speaker, so replacing your speaker with a Kappalite should be no problem.

Wayne Wallett · From: Shermans Dale, PA USA - R.I.P.

Why? I have played just about all the steel amps out there except the Standel. I currently have a Webb w/JBL, Evans SE-200, Fender Blues Deluxe tube w/15 JBL, and a Fender Steel King. Years past played Nashville 400, Sho-Bud amps, Vibrosonics, you name it. I think (JMHO) the FSK is the best sounding stock amp out there today. Wouldn't want to change the speaker for any reason. Just swapped the original Emminence 15" out last friday of my SE-200 to try the Emminence Delta Lite speaker to drop 11 pounds off the weight.....sounds good and it's 40.5 lbs. In the course of swapping spkrs we A/B'd JBL, Black Widow, and Delta Lite. JBL had best highs, Delta Lite had best lows & mids, BW finished a distant 3rd. Don't know if this helps.
Wayne Wallett

Fred Rushing · From: Odin, IL, USA

JMO I have played the FSK for 2 years now. Its all stock. I never fail to get compliments on the tone of my FSK. It is heavy but it is the sound I prefer. I do know as most of you would likely know, if you turn the pre amp input level higher than the pa amp level the system will break up even at low levels. Run the system correctly and I have yet to hear any problems. Fred

Robert Jones · From: Branson, Missouri

OK! I wanted to update my last post. I said that I would let everyone know about the sound from my new Steel King. I am still searching for the words that will do justice. This amp is so clean. As I stated before it's loaded with a Blackwidow. It has tons of bottom end with the separation that everyone says it has. I started with the settings that Buddy Emmons has posted on his web site and tweeked from there. I didn't need to do much because the sound was incredible. I can clearly hear every string I pick with no problem. Even though I know that the steel has a lot to do with the high end register you have to have a good amp in order to deliever the sound. The steel kind does it. I played through it at my gig last night and had a guest that played through it as well. Rudy Osborne a dear friend of mine, and a fellow steel player who was with Dottie West back when he and Stever Wariner started with her. My lead guitar player played through it and loved it as well. My money was very well spent when I bought this amp. It will be right behind me when I play on the show in Branson. If I had to say anything bad about the steel king it would only be that when I went direct with it to the PA system I only had a dry signal. No reverb. That's OK with me though because I am on a mic on the show. However with saying that I want to note that even when I went direct the steel king was as quiet as a church mouse and I cranked it up just to see if I could get it to make noise. Sorry, but I couldn't do it. I am one happy customer that's for sure. Fender did good on this one!!! Very Happy

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Mullen Royal Precision D10 Red Lacquer Pearl inlay 8&8
"Life is too short for bad tone."
https://mullenguitars.com/
http://www.bjsbars.com/

Jim Saunders · From: Houston, Texas, U.S.A.

Thanks guys for the input. This Forum is fantastic! But, we have a lot of differnet opinions. Some like the stock speaker, some like the BW, but the main opinion expressed here is that most seem to like the amp. For now, I'm leaving mine stock. I want to speaker to mellow with age. I may get a BW later just out of curiosity??
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Mullen, G2, D10, Peavey Nashville 112, Roland Cube 80XL, DD3, Goodrich L10 VP.

Jim Sliff · From: Lawndale California, USA

Letting the speaker break in longer is a good idea - and when considering swapping speakers, again I want to stress that you should only do that AFTER the warranty has expired! Fender's warranty is void if a speaker is changed.
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional

Nigel Mullen · From: Cassilis, New Brunswick, Canada

I love my fender steel king. My rig is stock. I can't say enough good stuff about this amp. The guys in the band say it sounds fabulous. People in the audience say it sounds fabulous, It sounds fabulous to me also. So easy to get the sound I like. Best amp I ever owned!!!!! It's a bit heavy but, hey, who cares. I installed handles on either side of the amp and I get someone to help me up and down the stairs with it. Otherwise I use a cart on the level. Tone to the bone.

Robert Jones · From: Branson, Missouri

Let me add one thing that I failed to put in my last post. I bought my Steel King used. The black widow speaker was already loaded in it when I bought it. I wouldn't suggest changing anything if it voided the warranty. One other thing I might add as well. Rudy was playing the new Mullen G-2 prototype. His pickups were different than mine. His was the new single coil pickups that Del loads with the new G-2. Mine are George L 10-1's. There was a lot of difference in the tone when I pluged my steel in to my amp after we set the settings for his. One might want to keep that in mind. The golden thing about the steel king is that it is a very nice amp anyway you choose to set it up. I'm very happy with mine.
_________________
Mullen Royal Precision D10 Red Lacquer Pearl inlay 8&8
"Life is too short for bad tone."
https://mullenguitars.com/
http://www.bjsbars.com/

Fred Rushing · From: Odin, IL, USA

Robert you shuld have had the same signal on your direct as what was coming out of the speaker. The Reverb is always present at that point unless you turn it off . Fred

Robert Jones · From: Branson, Missouri

It was turned off Fred. I got mail from someone who knows a little more about them than I did. He told me to check the button in the back. It is the pre/post. I should have looked into it more. I now have reverb with my direct signal. Sure is quiet and I love it. I'm still learning about the amp. So far what I'm hearing I like very much. This is the perfect set up for the Branson show.
_________________
Mullen Royal Precision D10 Red Lacquer Pearl inlay 8&8
"Life is too short for bad tone."
https://mullenguitars.com/
http://www.bjsbars.com/

Jim Walker · From: Headland, AL

Robert, There is a pre/post button on the back next to the line out. It needs to be in the post position for the effects to work.

JW
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Show Pro D10, Session 400

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