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The acoustic sound
The market for acoustic amps has been very quiet for a long time. A couple of models has ruled this world and has been some kind of defacto standard. But now things are starting to changed. Headway has their new, And long awaited Shire King ready for the Danish market. We are the first to test and review this amp.
Basics
Shireking 120 is a two channel acoustic amp that also takes a mic. It’s very advanced with a lot of possibilities. We’ll get back to that later. If we look on the control panel it’s placed on the top of the amp like VOX. In this case, it’s a clever choice, because there are a lot of knobs to handle. If we start with the jack input section; you can choose between; Active, Passive, Hi Imp and Very Hi Imp. So can connect every kind of acoustic microphone system to the Shireking 120 and get a great result. With all these possibilities you should be covered.
To the left of the input section you find the Gain control and the EQ section. You have Four band EQ on channel one. Left for this, you have the Notch filter section. You can switch it on or off with a little switch. The filter has two controls; a Notch-Q control and the Notch frequency. When you learn to use this filter correct, you can remove any feedback problem and you can do it without disturbing your sound. Infact you can use it as an alternative EQ for special filter effects. This is by far the best Notch filter I have ever tried.
Under the filter section you have the master control, FX level, FX programs. There are 16 different effects, so it’s ok. And they sound very good (The chip is from Alesis) You can always argue about the effect types chosen and with two channels and the possibility to put a microphone to the amp and that way use it as a complete PA I would have liked two separate effects. So you could have guitar effect on channel one and vocal effects on channel two. You can although use the effect loop for this.
On channel two you have three band EQ and gain control. There is a stereo input, phantom power, instrument input and Microphone input. The power amp deliver 120 watt and you can get an extra active 60watt speaker so you can use it as a complete PA system. More about this later.
The Speakers
Headway Shireking 120 has a 10”woofer and instead of putting a normal Piezo horn treble unit in, John Littler has chose a more hifi conventional diaphragm tweeter, and it sounds GREAT!!! The section from the woofer to the tweeter is much more smooth and gentle and it sounds equal over the full frequency range.
The back
On the backside you’ll find the output section and again here you have lots of possibilities. You can send balanced signals from both channel one and channel two, separate. You can send a “dry” signal without effects or a “wet” signal with effects, there are line out, effect loop with send and return, connection for external effects and headphones. All in all a very clever output layout. The Headway Shireking 120 can be used both with 115 v and 230 v and as a little extra detail underneath the power connection there is a fuse box with an extra fuse. This is neat so you don’t have to play with aluminum foil or other stupid things. Details like these shows that there has been a very good R&D in this amp and there is a lot of attention to the detail.
The Sound of an acoustic guitar and much more
The Headway Shireking 120 sounds awesome and it plays very loud. We gave it a rough test for a couple of weeks and we used acoustic guitars, Dobros, and for fun a double bass and we used it as a full Pa system. It can take a lot of abuse. If you want a bass amp there will be a bass model later this year, but with a little work on the EQ you can get a very good bass sound from it as well. The Shireking sounds like any other Headway product nearly irritating neutral. If you have a lousy guitar you’ll get the sound of a lousy guitar just louder. You can of course get a little help from the EQ and the effects but basically it’s a “Shit in – Shit out” amp. It does, what I believe, should be the finest goal of every amp to do: take the input signal and make it louder. This the Shireking does to a Straight A. It sound clear loud and neutral.
I have talked about the speakers before and they deliver a very equal frequency response, and the absence of the Piezo tweeter is very nice. In our band we talked a lot of the needs of an extra amp, and another case to carry. Then we plugged a microphone in, and for a couple of songs used it as a full PA system. And that settled the case. You can in fact use the Shireking as a full PA system. Of course you have to work with your EQ but with a good microphone (we used Shure Beta 58) we got a very nice sound. We decided to use as a full Pa system on our summer tour to Dublin.
Are you a sing and song writer, performing a one man act this is the perfect amp. (We need to add a little mixer to control a couple of microphones) And the sound is more than OK. Of course it’s not like a full-blown large format PA system, but when you look a size, weight and versatility this is a very good answer to the prayers for a new modern acoustic amp. With the possibility to connect the extra 60 watt active speaker you have in fact a good sounding loud, clear and compact system that really deliver the Headway sound, ideal for any acoustic instrument.
Conclusion
With the Headway Shireking 1200 John Littler has once and for all nailed his name on the wall of fame when it comes to acoustic amps. His opponents are Fender Acoustasonic, AER and maybe a couple more. But I think that he wins the battle with Shireking 120. Because Shireking 120 is a very good sounding and versatile amp, that delivers no matter what you plug and play. It can reproduce the sound of a fine guitar, very neutral but it can also help you on your way with a nice EQ and some good effects, but this is not the reason you should buy the Shireking 120. You shall buy it if you play a lot of gigs, record a lot of acoustic guitar (it’s great in the studio as well) if you are a sing and song writer and don’t want to carry a lot of gear but still want the good sound. That’s reasons why you should buy the Shireking.
The Shireking 120 has a lot of possibilities in both the in and output sections. And the fact that you can add an extra active 60watt speaker and turn it into a very loud stereo set-up or use it as a compact Pa system is what I think makes the Shireking a very nice modern acoustic amp. I can’t find anything bad to say about this amp so I guess I’ll give it: Full House:
6 out of 6 Possible Stars
Soundcheck.dk
The market for acoustic amps has been very quiet for a long time. A couple of models has ruled this world and has been some kind of defacto standard. But now things are starting to changed. Headway has their new, And long awaited Shire King ready for the Danish market. We are the first to test and review this amp.
Basics
Shireking 120 is a two channel acoustic amp that also takes a mic. It’s very advanced with a lot of possibilities. We’ll get back to that later. If we look on the control panel it’s placed on the top of the amp like VOX. In this case, it’s a clever choice, because there are a lot of knobs to handle. If we start with the jack input section; you can choose between; Active, Passive, Hi Imp and Very Hi Imp. So can connect every kind of acoustic microphone system to the Shireking 120 and get a great result. With all these possibilities you should be covered.
To the left of the input section you find the Gain control and the EQ section. You have Four band EQ on channel one. Left for this, you have the Notch filter section. You can switch it on or off with a little switch. The filter has two controls; a Notch-Q control and the Notch frequency. When you learn to use this filter correct, you can remove any feedback problem and you can do it without disturbing your sound. Infact you can use it as an alternative EQ for special filter effects. This is by far the best Notch filter I have ever tried.
Under the filter section you have the master control, FX level, FX programs. There are 16 different effects, so it’s ok. And they sound very good (The chip is from Alesis) You can always argue about the effect types chosen and with two channels and the possibility to put a microphone to the amp and that way use it as a complete PA I would have liked two separate effects. So you could have guitar effect on channel one and vocal effects on channel two. You can although use the effect loop for this.
On channel two you have three band EQ and gain control. There is a stereo input, phantom power, instrument input and Microphone input. The power amp deliver 120 watt and you can get an extra active 60watt speaker so you can use it as a complete PA system. More about this later.
The Speakers
Headway Shireking 120 has a 10”woofer and instead of putting a normal Piezo horn treble unit in, John Littler has chose a more hifi conventional diaphragm tweeter, and it sounds GREAT!!! The section from the woofer to the tweeter is much more smooth and gentle and it sounds equal over the full frequency range.
The back
On the backside you’ll find the output section and again here you have lots of possibilities. You can send balanced signals from both channel one and channel two, separate. You can send a “dry” signal without effects or a “wet” signal with effects, there are line out, effect loop with send and return, connection for external effects and headphones. All in all a very clever output layout. The Headway Shireking 120 can be used both with 115 v and 230 v and as a little extra detail underneath the power connection there is a fuse box with an extra fuse. This is neat so you don’t have to play with aluminum foil or other stupid things. Details like these shows that there has been a very good R&D in this amp and there is a lot of attention to the detail.
The Sound of an acoustic guitar and much more
The Headway Shireking 120 sounds awesome and it plays very loud. We gave it a rough test for a couple of weeks and we used acoustic guitars, Dobros, and for fun a double bass and we used it as a full Pa system. It can take a lot of abuse. If you want a bass amp there will be a bass model later this year, but with a little work on the EQ you can get a very good bass sound from it as well. The Shireking sounds like any other Headway product nearly irritating neutral. If you have a lousy guitar you’ll get the sound of a lousy guitar just louder. You can of course get a little help from the EQ and the effects but basically it’s a “Shit in – Shit out” amp. It does, what I believe, should be the finest goal of every amp to do: take the input signal and make it louder. This the Shireking does to a Straight A. It sound clear loud and neutral.
I have talked about the speakers before and they deliver a very equal frequency response, and the absence of the Piezo tweeter is very nice. In our band we talked a lot of the needs of an extra amp, and another case to carry. Then we plugged a microphone in, and for a couple of songs used it as a full PA system. And that settled the case. You can in fact use the Shireking as a full PA system. Of course you have to work with your EQ but with a good microphone (we used Shure Beta 58) we got a very nice sound. We decided to use as a full Pa system on our summer tour to Dublin.
Are you a sing and song writer, performing a one man act this is the perfect amp. (We need to add a little mixer to control a couple of microphones) And the sound is more than OK. Of course it’s not like a full-blown large format PA system, but when you look a size, weight and versatility this is a very good answer to the prayers for a new modern acoustic amp. With the possibility to connect the extra 60 watt active speaker you have in fact a good sounding loud, clear and compact system that really deliver the Headway sound, ideal for any acoustic instrument.
Conclusion
With the Headway Shireking 1200 John Littler has once and for all nailed his name on the wall of fame when it comes to acoustic amps. His opponents are Fender Acoustasonic, AER and maybe a couple more. But I think that he wins the battle with Shireking 120. Because Shireking 120 is a very good sounding and versatile amp, that delivers no matter what you plug and play. It can reproduce the sound of a fine guitar, very neutral but it can also help you on your way with a nice EQ and some good effects, but this is not the reason you should buy the Shireking 120. You shall buy it if you play a lot of gigs, record a lot of acoustic guitar (it’s great in the studio as well) if you are a sing and song writer and don’t want to carry a lot of gear but still want the good sound. That’s reasons why you should buy the Shireking.
The Shireking 120 has a lot of possibilities in both the in and output sections. And the fact that you can add an extra active 60watt speaker and turn it into a very loud stereo set-up or use it as a compact Pa system is what I think makes the Shireking a very nice modern acoustic amp. I can’t find anything bad to say about this amp so I guess I’ll give it: Full House:
6 out of 6 Possible Stars
Soundcheck.dk
