INTRODUCING THE HEADSTRONG LIL' KING JUNIOR*

Like most guitar players, I've spent much of my adult life looking for "the perfect amp".  A couple years ago I thought I had found it with the Headstrong Lil' King.  It's based on a 1964 Princeton Reverb but with a 12" speaker and beefed up headroom.  I've used it for virtually all of the audio and video recordings I've done since it arrived.  After playing through it for a while, I thought that the only change that could make it any better would be if I could hit the same sweet spot at lower volume.   I discussed the idea with Wayne Jones at Headstrong.  We went through the idea for hours: an amp with all of the features of the Lil' King that would sound rich and full even at lower volume levels.  That seemed like the holy grail of small amplifiers.  After nine months of experimenting, Wayne finally nailed it.

The Lil' King Junior has the same tube configuration as the original Lil' King but by changing the transformer, Wayne was able to reduce the output by 25% (from the original 12 watts down to 9).  He matched the new amp with a wide dispersal Eminence Copperhead 10" speaker.  As an added bonus, he's reduced the height of the cabinet by an inch and brought the weight down to 25 lbs.

The Junior sounds fat and glorious at even the lowest volume levels.   Remarkably, it also sounds much bigger than seems possible given its diminutive size.  It has shocking amounts of clean headroom and responds beautifully to pedals. 

I never thought I'd find an amp that worked better for me than my Lil' King, but  the Lil' King Junior has done exactly that.  It's ideal for recording, small gigs, playing at home or in any situation that requires magnificent tone without a lot of volume.

The Lil' King Junior is available exclusively from Soloway Guitars*.  The price is $1450 for the combo or $1400 for a head.

* Soloway Guitars is also an authorized dealer for the full range of Headstrong Amplifiers.  Call for prices and information on other models.