NAD: Headstrong Lil King S

[SinisterSinner]

Okay, so I've actually had it for a couple weeks but here is my new Headstrong Lil King S! If you're unfamiliar with Headstrong, they have a reputation for making some of the best handwired wired blackface fender amps out there. This is a Princeton Reverb, but 20 watts with 6V6s (what I currently have inside of it). Think Princeton tone with Deluxe headroom. You are also able to use 6L6s and get about 25-30 watts, which I plan on doing next time I play a larger room.

I've played a couple gigs with it so far already, and, am happy to say it does exactly what I hoped it would. Im someone who suffers from buyers remorse and constant tweeking, but this thing has the juice.

Headstrong owners on TDPRI, post pictures of yours on this thread!

 

[trandy9850]

Great looking amp…congrats and enjoy.

 

[SnidelyWhiplash]

I've owned a couple of the regular Lil Kings. Fantastic build. Great amps.

Enjoy!

 

[Slip Kid]

Okay, so I've actually had it for a couple weeks but here is my new Headstrong Lil King S! If you're unfamiliar with Headstrong, they have a reputation for making some of the best handwired wired blackface fender amps out there. This is a Princeton Reverb, but 20 watts with 6V6s (what I currently have inside of it). Think Princeton tone with Deluxe headroom. You are also able to use 6L6s and get about 25-30 watts, which I plan on doing next time I play a larger room.

I've played a couple gigs with it so far already, and, am happy to say it does exactly what I hoped it would. Im someone who suffers from buyers remorse and constant tweeking, but this thing has the juice.

Headstrong owners on TDPRI, post pictures of yours on this thread!

Congratulations! I have one I bought used about 10 years ago. I’m not sure if mine does the tube swap thing since it’s an older version and has 6L6’s in it. I originally got it thinking it would be manageable at bedroom level but has a little too much juice for that!

I am happy with it, though, and have been selling off some gear (some things I never thought I would sell) with the intention of getting the standard Lil King.

How is the reverb on yours? Mine goes from zero to Dick Dale by like 3-4 (or 9:00-10:00) on the panel. I read somewhere that they switched reverb tank suppliers at some point to improve that issue. I also sometimes wish the tremelo would go a bit faster.

A couple pictures of mine:

 

[SnidelyWhiplash]

A bit faster??? The complaints I always heard about the tremolo on PRs is thar it is too fast.

 

[Don Rich Rules]

Okay, so I've actually had it for a couple weeks but here is my new Headstrong Lil King S! If you're unfamiliar with Headstrong, they have a reputation for making some of the best hardwired wired blackface fender amps out there. This is a Princeton Reverb, but 20 watts with 6V6s (what I currently have inside of it). Think Princeton tone with Deluxe headroom. You are also able to use 6L6s and get about 25-30 watts, which I plan on doing next time I play a larger room.

I've played a couple gigs with it so far already, and, am happy to say it does exactly what I hoped it would. Im someone who suffers from buyers remorse and constant tweaking, but this thing has the juice.

Headstrong owners on TDPRI, post pictures of yours on this thread!

I have a Lil' Kking S amp and I love it. But lately she's been popping fuses left and right.
So being that the amp has a lifetime warranty I contacted Wayne Jjones, the owner and amp builder, and asked when I could ship it back to him, seeking prior authorization. He never got back to me. And I've heard from several others he has done the same thing to them.
Beware of Headstongs customer service.

 

[GotA24Fretter]

I have a Lil' Kking S amp and I love it. But lately she's been popping fuses left and right.
So being that the amp has a lifetime warranty I contacted Wayne Jjones, the owner and amp builder, and asked when I could ship it back to him, seeking prior authorization. He never got back to me. And I've heard from several others he has done the same thing to them.
Beware of Headstongs customer service.

I'd take it to a good tech nearby and forego the warranty. Headstrong proudly builds these amps as direct modern builds of the originals, warts and all. It's one of the selling points of the amp. This leads to things like switched neutrals on the AC wiring--a practice which has since been abandoned in favor of safer wiring schemes. And the chassis safety ground connection is made via terminal strip fastened to a power supply transformer bolt instead of a dedicated ground--as is the usual safety practice these days.

They also poorly implement "improvements" like standby switches (placed directly after the rectifier in a practice called "hot switching" that will stress the rectifier leading to earlier failure), EL34 compatibility (completely failing to tie pins 1 and 8 of the sockets together), bias adjustment (making the pot accessible on the back panel like a normal tone adjustment but not limiting the range to safe operating levels for less technical users), added Mids pots (an afterthought hacked into the back panel).

There are also questionable build practices like using klock nuts to fasten the circuit board but on the fiberboard side instead of the metal side. This can and does lead to the nut coming loose and shorting out nearby components. The reverb tanks are also held to the cardboard backer with rubber bands. These age and fail in short order. The entire interior of the cabs are covered with adhesive overspray from the tolex application. There is no shielding on the cab to complete the shield on the open end of the chassis. Caps added to the power supply for the higher power models are also just left floating by their solder joints instead of just using the proper can cap.

All of these things can be corrected by a good tech for not much money, but they'll never be corrected by sending it back to the person that implemented these flaws in the first place.

For the price people pay I wish they'd correct these issues.

As for your fuse problem, more often than not it's a tube issue. There are a few troubleshooting steps you can take that may eliminate the need for the warranty return or visit to a tech.

 

[Don Rich Rules]

I'd take it to a good tech nearby and forego the warranty. Headstrong proudly builds these amps as direct modern builds of the originals, warts and all. It's one of the selling points of the amp. This leads to things like switched neutrals on the AC wiring--a practice which has since been abandoned in favor of safer wiring schemes. And the chassis safety ground connection is made via terminal strip fastened to a power supply transformer bolt instead of a dedicated ground--as is the usual safety practice these days.

They also poorly implement "improvements" like standby switches (placed directly after the rectifier in a practice called "hot switching" that will stress the rectifier leading to earlier failure), EL34 compatibility (completely failing to tie pins 1 and 8 of the sockets together), bias adjustment (making the pot accessible on the back panel like a normal tone adjustment but not limiting the range to safe operating levels for less technical users), added Mids pots (an afterthought hacked into the back panel).

There are also questionable build practices like using klock nuts to fasten the circuit board but on the fiberboard side instead of the metal side. This can and does lead to the nut coming loose and shorting out nearby components. The reverb tanks are also held to the cardboard backer with rubber bands. These age and fail in short order. The entire interior of the cabs are covered with adhesive overspray from the tolex application. There is no shielding on the cab to complete the shield on the open end of the chassis. Caps added to the power supply for the higher power models are also just left floating by their solder joints instead of just using the proper can cap.

All of these things can be corrected by a good tech for not much money, but they'll never be corrected by sending it back to the person that implemented these flaws in the first place.

For the price people pay I wish they'd correct these issues.

As for your fuse problem, more often than not it's a tube issue. There are a few troubleshooting steps you can take that may eliminate the need for the warranty return or visit to a tech.

I actually put in a new GZ34 with a new set of 6V6s that are already matched from www.apexmatching.com. I set the bias at the pre marked biasing point on the trim pot located on the back of the amp. The amp fired up and sounded great. Then, several minutes later the fuse blew. I'm going to take your advice and bring it to my amp guy as soon as the new 6L6s arrive at my home.
I appreciate your taking the time to write to me with this laundry list of issues with this amp of mine. I kinda figured something was up when he never got back to me.

 

[SinisterSinner]

I actually put in a new GZ34 with a new set of 6V6s that are already matched from www.apexmatching.com. I set the bias at the pre marked biasing point on the trim pot located on the back of the amp. The amp fired up and sounded great. Then, several minutes later the fuse blew. I'm going to take your advice and bring it to my amp guy as soon as the new 6L6s arrive at my home.
I appreciate your taking the time to write to me with this laundry list of issues with this amp of mine. I kinda figured something was up when he never got back to me.

How recently did you contact him? He is based out of North Carolina where a major natural disaster just happened... He's always been responsive to me, even when discussing small details.

 

[SinisterSinner]

Congratulations! I have one I bought used about 10 years ago. I’m not sure if mine does the tube swap thing since it’s an older version and has 6L6’s in it. I originally got it thinking it would be manageable at bedroom level but has a little too much juice for that!

I am happy with it, though, and have been selling off some gear (some things I never thought I would sell) with the intention of getting the standard Lil King.

How is the reverb on yours? Mine goes from zero to Dick Dale by like 3-4 (or 9:00-10:00) on the panel. I read somewhere that they switched reverb tank suppliers at some point to improve that issue. I also sometimes wish the tremelo would go a bit faster.

A couple pictures of mine:
View attachment 1131957View attachment 1131956

The reverb on mine behaves in a similar way. But so do vintage fenders that I've owned. So it's accurate to how a fender should behave, based off my experiences.

 

[Slip Kid]

The reverb on mine behaves in a similar way. But so do vintage fenders that I've owned. So it's accurate to how a fender should behave, based off my experiences.

I think I was just used to the reverb on my SFTR. I got a Lil King with a 12” GA-64 speaker last year and the reverb is about the same. I’m fine with it as I don’t crank the reverb up high anyway. I absolutely love my Lil King and bought a GA-64 to replace the Eminence Legend in the S. The speaker swap on that was an improvement to my ears.

 

[Chiogtr4x]

Man, that looks like the perfect size gig amp! All the 'stuff' you want; nothing else.

Used to read ( and drool...) about Headstrong amps back in the late '90's or so, in Vintage Guitar magazine

 

[GotA24Fretter]

The reverb on mine behaves in a similar way. But so do vintage fenders that I've owned. So it's accurate to how a fender should behave, based off my experiences.

Put a 12DW7 (ECC832) in V3. This will reduce the gain of the reverb return and make the control much more usable. You'll still be able to dial in over to top reverb, just not as much. Your dry tone will be unaffected.

 

[Slip Kid]

Put a 12DW7 (ECC832) in V3. This will reduce the gain of the reverb return and make the control much more usable. You'll still be able to dial in over to top reverb, just not as much. Your dry tone will be unaffected.

I didn’t know that. Thanks for the tip, I’m going to try that out!

 

[SinisterSinner]

I think I was just used to the reverb on my SFTR. I got a Lil King with a 12” GA-64 speaker last year and the reverb is about the same. I’m fine with it as I don’t crank the reverb up high anyway. I absolutely love my Lil King and bought a GA-64 to replace the Eminence Legend in the S. The speaker swap on that was an improvement to my ears.

The GA-64 is such a great speaker