Fender Steel King and Webb amp comparison

Dennis Manuel · From: Quesnel, B.C., Canada

Those of you that have compared these amps what is your opinion of sound and power output differences? I have never tried a Steel King but have used a Webb for years.

I have also thought about buying rack mounted equipment as I believe that is where it will eventually end up. Look forward to all your responses.

Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

I did not like my steel king. I think it would be a big step down from a Webb.
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Bob

Jeff Hyman · From: West Virginia, USA

Steve Norman · From: Seattle Washington, USA

I use my steel king for rough van rides and shows with loud guitars that have to be powered over. Its cold and shrill compared to the webbs I have heard. But for 600$ or so its a good loud lightish amp for road gigs or rock shows. I put a peavy BW in mine and like it much much more than stock, but others like the stock just fine.
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autry andress · From: Plano, Tx.

The Webb is still "King of The Hill"

Kevin Hatton · From: Buffalo, N.Y.

I did a side by side. Steel King gets 90% of the Webb. I can't stand Black Widow speakers. Very dull tone. The Eminence in the Steel King emulates a D-130 JBL. Sounds great.

Greg Cutshaw · From: Corry, PA, USA

I have owned and played both for a few years. It's a wash for me as far as the tone goes. In the near field the Webb is bit warmer sounding. Out in the crowd, even 20 feet way,the sound is about the same.

At current prices I would go with a pair of Steel Kings versus a single Webb. I bought my Webb used for $400 at a steel show. It was a great amp and definitely up there with the best amps I've ever played through. I don't like the Webb tone controls. Too many controls and too hard to quickly dial in a good tone. The Black Widow speaker just killed the sound of my Steel King so I went back to the orginal eminence speaker. It's super easy to dial in a good tone with the Steel King's controls.

Greg

John Lang · From: Las Vegas, Nevada

I agree with Greg on the issue of swapping the speaker out. As nice as the BW with Neo sounds in a Peavey LTD or 400, when I tried one in my FSK it sounded horrible, to my ears anyway. Went back to the Eminence without ever trying the BW on board the FSK at a gig.
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Ernest Cawby · From: Lake City, Florida, USA, R.I.P.

I like the steelking very much best sound I have had, I put in a new Black widow with the light weighr magnet and it is 12 pounds lighter, and I like the sound just fine, with My wqilliams a lot like LLoyd.sa sound on the panther hall album.

ewrnie

Steve Norman · From: Seattle Washington, USA

I may have had a bad speaker, it crapped out about 4 months after I got mine, and the BW was an emergency replacement. I ended up liking the BW in mine better as it brought out more lows than what I had. Could have been a bad speaker though. I put mine through hell and it still works great.
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Dennis Wallis · From: Arkansas

The Steel King is a GOOD amp !! Very Good !! I tried the BW in mine for awhile and put the original speaker back in . You can't beat it for the money in my opinion . A few years ago a friend of mine special ordered a RED Webb and after he got it he didn't like it . Went back to a Fender . Just depends on what each player is looking for.

Ken Byng · From: Southampton, England

For the easiest EQ to dial in a sound, you will never ever beat a Fender valve amp. The SK EQ panel is very simple too, which is good.

However, if you persevere with the Webb amp it has every tonal variation possible. I very rarely change my settings on my new Bradshaw Webb, and certainly it has this exceptionally clean, huge sound.
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Tom Bradshaw · From: Walnut Creek, California, USA

Building the current model of Webb amp (with its speaker chamber), I have not heard of anyone A/B'ing my Webb against a Steel King. If anyone has done this, I'd like to post their conclusions here.

I did A/B my Webb, having Bobby Black record, for comparison purposes, through the amp's 15" Kappalite (neo, 8-ohms) speaker, against a new 15" Black Widow (neo, 4-ohms) and against a new 15" JBL E-130 (8-ohm). The amp's settings were not changed for all of the test recordings and all the speakers were mounted in cabinets containing a Webb speaker chamber. I sent the CD to the prospective Webb buyer so he could make his own decision as to which tone he preferred (and there was no difference in cost if he chose one speaker over the other).

He chose the Kappalite neo.

I don't think the effort proved much, since "tone" will always be whatever preference the listener opts for. Perhaps that buyer will have some thoughts he could share here. ...Tom

Dave Lounsbury · From: Narrowsburg,NY.12764

I have them both and although the Steel King is a great amp it cant compare to the mix you can change (switch) to on the Webb for live show work.

I also fooled around alot with the ports on my Webb and have the lower ones closed off.
And I could never get the ( always present) circut noise out of the FSK. IMOA
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Dave

David Higginbotham · From: Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA

Had both. Webb wins with no contest for my preference!
Dave

Dave Wheelhouse · From: Southampton, Hampshire, United Kingdom

Hi all,

I'm the guy that Mr Tom Bradshaw spoke of with regards to the CD recording of the different speakers and I can honestly say that in my humble opinion the Eminence Kappalite neo & the JBL sounded better than the B/W neo. I chose the Kappalite over the JBL because of the weight factor as I live in the UK and if there was ever a problem with the JBL it would be very difficult to get it repaired over here and tone wise I did'nt think that there was that much difference with these 2 speakers. I tried it at a gig for the first time last night and WOW! WHAT A SOUND! CRYSTAL CLEAR HIGHS & RICH FULL LOWS! I did have to adjust the tone controls just a tweak to get what I wanted on a live show, which is only to be expected with a new amp, but I've found that I don't have to use my Pro-Fex with my WEBB to get what I want, (I had to use the Pro-Fex with my Session 500). Tom I/we salute you for making such a great amp for the steel & for going that EXTRA MILE for me, thank you, BTW, that tweak on the reverb is AWESOME! I used only 2 1/2 - 3 on the setting. I'm sorry that I can't give an opinion on the Fender Steel King as I've never tried one. Best wishes, Dave.
Very Happy

Randy Gilliam · From: San Antonio, Texas, USA

I Have Bought and Sold Several Webbs and Steel kings, The Webb Is The Best Steel Guitar Amp Ever Built( Just My Opinion),I Am Playing a Steel King Now and They Are Also Good, Waiting For Peavey To Bring Back The New Nash 400, Coca Cola Did It ! Randy G. Very Happy

Cass Broadview · Posted 16 Nov 2009 2:13 pm

It is amazing what we think our ears actually hear. I play fiddle, and have played through both, the Webb, and Fender Steel King. I can't say i actually prefer one over the other. Therefore cost would have to be the deciding factor for me. So I would say for the difference in price, the steel king is the winner here.

Incidently, those that are so in love with those Eminence Kappalite Neo's. Please don't over look the fact that the "Kappalite" speaker is NOT tuned for steel guitar, and is NOT a steel guitar speaker, or guitar speaker. Eminence in fact does not recommend they be used for such. They are in fact a PA cabinet speaker. If they work for you, then dandy. But before i ran out and purchased a kappalite i would check to make sure your warranty would be covered using it for something besides it's intended use. However, talking to the folks at Evans amps awhile back, evans does indeed use an Eminence Neo speaker, that is tuned for steel guitar, and it is NOT the kappalite. Just a thought. Very Happy

Tom Bradshaw · From: Walnut Creek, California, USA

When I bought the Webb Company in '07, I was so uninformed that I didn't know that JBL had stopped building amplifier speakers. I found out when I called them and tried to place an order! I then checked the Webb inventory and discovered a bunch of Eminence speakers. I called an Eminence rep to find out what they were for, giving him the product number off the speakers. I was told they were bass speakers. I then learned that Jim Webb had gotten a number of speakers from Eminence to try out as replacements for the JBL's he had been using for years, but could no longer obtain. He obviously had settled on those "bass" speakers that I found in the inventory. Those speakers weighed the same as the JBL's (about 23 pounds).

While inquiring about all this with the Eminence rep, I asked if another speaker existed that was lighter, but would do the job for steel guitarists. He recommended the Kappalite and said he would send me one to try out. I accepted his offer, got the speaker and called on a friend to A/B all three speakers (the JBL-E-130, that Eminence bass speaker and the Kappalite). I put each one in a Webb speaker-chamber cabinet. That fellow was/is Billie Wilson, a Forum member and straight-up guy who will tell you if your breath stinks even if you don’t ask! He played through all three of the speakers at volumes very low and so high that I had to cover my ears. He wanted to discover their flaws, as well as evaluate their tone!

The bass speaker Jim Webb had obtained, as well as the Kappalite, was very close to the tonal quality of the JBL E-130, while the E-130 was deemed the slight overall "winner". However, we both agreed that when weight was included in the consideration, the Kappalite won hands down.

I called the tech at Eminence and told him about our test. He was very surprised. It became apparent to me that at that time, he really didn't know how good the Kappalite was. I then bought 50 of the speakers, which was the minimum order; and he liked that. [Later on when I re-ordered, the price had gone up 50%. [Eminence had apparently decided that the Kappalite was better than they had originally concluded!]

Since then, I have loaded the Kappalite in all the Webb amps I've sold, unless the buyer wanted to supply the speaker or opted for another brand (and 2 buyers did choose the JBL's from the dozen or so I had in the inventory). I ultimately sold all the remaining Kappalite speakers to individuals who simply wanted them as replacement speakers for whatever brand of amp they owned. Out of those 50 speakers I bought, only 2 people chose to return the Kappalites, with both opting to obtain a new JBL I had in my inventory.

I know that speaker tone can influence a buyer’s decision, particularly if they have grown accustomed to the tonal characteristics of a specific brand of speaker. I think the reason that Webb buyers stick with the Kappalite is because the Webb has so many ways of altering the tone of any speaker used with it. Thus, if a Webb owner will take the time to experiment with those tone settings, he will probably end up liking about any speaker capable of handling 225 watts. But if an owner will stick with a Kappalite until he dials in his preferred tone, he will likely not want to give up the 8-pound Kappalite for another speaker that may weigh 3 times more.

If you disagree, please feel free to post your disagreement. Heck, what do I know? Surprised

...Tom

Scott Appleton · From: Ashland, Oregon

Love the kappalite in my Fender Vibrasonic .. much improved low with clear
highs ..

Ben Jones · From: Seattle, Washington, USA

Eminence kapplite neo in my marrs ultralight cabinet.
Its one of the best purchases i ever made and makes giggin possible for me. I could never lift a steel king with my injured back. PA speaker? bass speaker? clock radio speaker? i ont know but it sounds great to me.

Ive sen people play thru steel kings that i thouhght had really good sound. Steve N. above included. Ive also been very impressed by the weebbs ive heard inlcuding Larry behm and Jaydee Maness but then those two would sound great thru a broken peavey rage.

Danny Sneed · From: Morristown,Az.U.S.A.

Hi Everybody
Here's my 2 cents worth. Mike Smith played through Evans Amps for about 25 years and now he's playing through one Fender Steel King. He gets the best tone I've ever heard. I'm playing through a borrowed Steel King and it's the best amp I've ever had. I can't get Mike's tone, but I'm not Mike Smith.
To each his own,
Danny

Tom Bradshaw · From: Walnut Creek, California, USA

In my first post on this topic I asked if anyone had A/B'ed a Steel King with the current model of Webb amp (the one with my ported speaker chamber in it). Three owners of the current model posted, but only David Loundsbury said he had compared the two amps. I'm pleased, however, to hear what David had to say, but I was hoping more of those owners could report their findings (and I alerted all of them of this topic). It appears that they haven't had an opportunity to do a side-by-side comparison (or may want to spare me the embarrassment by saying that the Webb sucked. Rolling Eyes

It takes more than one evaluation to indicate a definitive conclusion to a test. I thank everyone, however. ...Tom

Eric Corgey · From: Texas, Friendswood

I bought a new FSK about 2 or 3 years ago, and spent about 90% of that time trying to get it to work. The damn thing has great tone and will get LOUD, but every time I gigged with it, it would sputter and pop and make all kind of racket. I suspected the input jack was the problem, and after repeated (at least 4) times at the local Fender Repair Center (they could never get it fixed), the area Fender rep had me send it to Dallas to have some of their major brainiac repairmen fix it. Loooooonnnngggg story short, they finally replaced it with a new one, but it just about took an Act of Congress to get that done.

In the mean time, I had to have an amp, and I called Mr. Bradshaw and ordered a Webb. Best move by far I've made in the amplifier department. Awesome tone, seems to be able to take pretty rough treatment, and gets a lot of positive comments from other musicians that I play with. I don't think it has the raw power of the Steel King, but NO PROBLEMS WHATSOEVER. Now I've got a brand new FSK in the corner that don't get played no more. I'm scared of the thing. You guys know how it is....your turn to take a ride on some Price shuffle and all anybody hears is LOUD electronic popping and humming. No thanks...I play a Webb.

Steve Norman · From: Seattle Washington, USA

I dont know if this will help or not, but this a comparison between my steel king and my nashville 112 and 400. perhaps you can take something from this.

I play a gfi with humbuckers and a hilton pedal.

what I like about the steel king:
1. volume
2. mid tones are nice, and controls allow a good frequency sweep
3. the ability to mute for tuning, control effects, and toggle reverb from a pedal
4. I like the reverb.
5. Its cheap (about 600 after taxes)
6. much lighter than the 400

What I dont like

1. if I have the amp set for good lows the highs are shrill and tinny, which at high volume sounds like metal scrapping on my brain

2. If I adjust the amp for nice highs I lose my lows.

3. the overall sound is thin and even though loud gets washed by electric guitar and bass.

4. speaker went out in a couple of months. It started rattling and I could not fix it.

5. Costumer service is poor with fenders, and warrantying it would have taken to long so I replaced it with a BW.

I would think a guitar with single coils would not have this problem with lows versus highs, The peavey nashville 112 and 400 partially fix the tone problems for me by fattening up the tone overall.

I have never played a webb, but the ones I hear are very thick and present. Nice volume without having to boost the highs into a bad place.

on my myspace page there are several demo songs recorded with both the steel king and a 112. A better player would be more relevant, but I think you can hear the tendency to be shrill on the steel king vs the Peavey. I would love to have the tone control the Webb offers.

http://www.myspace.com/stevenormanmusic

-"A song for you" was on a 112.
-by the same band, "the Good Of Man" is on a steel king.
-the youtube is me playing live with the steel king (you can hear the lack of low-end presence)

I would love to have a web based on what I have heard, and I think having the builder so accessible is the biggest asset.

Summary, the steel king is a good amp that I use for shows that I know will not be miced, outdoors, for tours where it gets beaten up in the van, or are in rough areas of town.
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