Steelsound 2x12 review

[Roundwound]

Going on 9 months and my SSB212 is still doing very well. I built a 2x10 recently and I learned much about cab quality, and I agree the 2x12 does cut a few corners from a construction standpoint (plastic this and that and the 9-ply issue, lack of t-nuts, etc. etc). However, I've literally beat the crap out of this thing since I've had it and it has NEVER given me a problem. It's been as reliable as anything I've owned. It continues to give me the tone I want, too (mids, phat, whatever).

I auditioned for a band last Sunday, and when the drummer saw the cab, he said, "Oh that's a Steel, huh?" I started to feel like he was taking my cab with a grain of salt, if you know what I mean. Anyway six songs later I was in the band and having "the right tone" was one of the reasons. This thing also fills up my church hall with the sound I need.

This cab may not have t-nuts or the right glue or whatever, but for me it's been solid, dependable, and has driven the right tones when I need them.

It would be interesting to see if one of the TB gearheads could do a 2x12 sound shootout and throw this one in for kicks.

 

[Triclops]

thats good to hear!

 

[Frugle]

anyone know where I can look to buy a Steelsound 2x12? it doesn't seem like MSC is offering them anymore

 

[centralharbor]

anyone know where I can look to buy a Steelsound 2x12? it doesn't seem like MSC is offering them anymore

I'm also interested as well. Their cheap one is the Legion bass cabs and they're made of particle board.

I was also wondering if you could just use their PA speakers. It says you could, but just wondering what everyone's thoughts were on it.

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[Roundwound]

anyone know where I can look to buy a Steelsound 2x12? it doesn't seem like MSC is offering them anymore

Once in a while I've seen them selling a unit or two on eBay. Recently they had a loaded box along with an empty. If you ever see one up, make sure it has the Knight speakers. Otherwise I'd check with them directly.

 

[BigWave]

I just bought an empty one thru Ebay. It's got "Legion" on the front (hot glued on the grill, doh!) and LegionSound on the handles. It is 13 ply though. Not MDF. I put my Delta LF's in it and it seems ok.

The horn was quiet with my Ibanez 405 but the Fender Jazz deluxe was getting some hiss. I backed the treble off on the bass and it was better. The horn doesn't look like any piezo I've seen but it is just run parallel with a cap filter. I'm not sure if I'll leave it hooked up or not.

I found two small tears in the fur that I can easily fix. So far it's worth about what I paid for it.

So far I always play with PA support so this is just a monitor. It responded well to tone tweaks from my SWR 350 or the bass it self. Next is to see how it does with the band.

 

[vicenzajay]

My thread is resurrected again - who woulda thunk it when I wrote that review 10 1/2 months ago.

Roundwound - glad it's still working well for you. I no longer have mine as I sold it (the Avatar won't be around much longer either). I've completely sold out to the light side...if a cabinet (or any piece of gear) is over 35 pounds, I'm not buying it.

I've really enjoyed the slimming down process these past 7 months.

Oh well - great to see that MSC is still putting out a decent product. Don't forget to keep on them about quality control and metal jackplates!!!

Jay

 

[mattsk42]

Agreed. You sold it (the original 2x12 that started this thread) to ME!

I had great luck up until ONE of the 12" blew out when I think I wired my amp wrong. It still sounds surprisingly good with just one running. I can't get MSC to reply to any of my e-mails on buying another 12" to put in it, so it's been sitting around for a while. But like I said, I agree: Great cabs for a great price and very tough.

 

[vicenzajay]

that one of the 12's blew....It's kind of goofy that they won't get back to you in order to sell a Knight 12"....I don't get it.

Hope you get it fixed soon!

Jay

 

[Roundwound]

Agreed. You sold it (the original 2x12 that started this thread) to ME!

I had great luck up until ONE of the 12" blew out when I think I wired my amp wrong. It still sounds surprisingly good with just one running. I can't get MSC to reply to any of my e-mails on buying another 12" to put in it, so it's been sitting around for a while. But like I said, I agree: Great cabs for a great price and very tough.

I had the same experience with one of my 12's after putting a cable into the wrong place in my amp. I was able to get my hands on a speaker, but it was a while back. Have you tried to find a speaker with similar specs or even a used Knight?

 

[mattsk42]

I have looked around some, but with school and all bass playing has been out for a while. I'll probably find out some more info on what to get later next month. What drivers are in there anyway?

 

[vicenzajay]

Knight 12's - should be findable for you from a number of places. If nothing else - call Madison speakers directly and tell them you need a 12" Knight replacement driver.

Jay

 

[Dkerwood]

I had the same experience with one of my 12's after putting a cable into the wrong place in my amp. I was able to get my hands on a speaker, but it was a while back. Have you tried to find a speaker with similar specs or even a used Knight?

Where could you possibly plug the speaker cab into your amp that would damage your speaker? I'm confused...

 

[Roundwound]

Where could you possibly plug the speaker cab into your amp that would damage your speaker? I'm confused...

I was switching around cables on my speaker outputs (without looking) when I inadvertently plugged one into a different 1/4" jack and suddenly I heard this ear-piercing screeching coming out of my cab - it was one of the loudest things I had ever heard. I checked my speakers a few minutes afterward and one of them had developed a buzz, like an overdrive sound. I knew it was the speaker when my other cab checked out okay. The buzz didn't go away after a few days so I just replaced the speaker. I never tried to find where I plugged into, since I didn't want to go through the same experience again.

 

[Dkerwood]

I was switching around cables on my speaker outputs (without looking) when I inadvertently plugged one into a different 1/4" jack and suddenly I heard this ear-piercing screeching coming out of my cab - it was one of the loudest things I had ever heard. I checked my speakers a few minutes afterward and one of them had developed a buzz, like an overdrive sound. I knew it was the speaker when my other cab checked out okay. The buzz didn't go away after a few days so I just replaced the speaker. I never tried to find where I plugged into, since I didn't want to go through the same experience again.

That's really odd. Wonder what that was...

 

[Derakh]

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[Dkerwood]

Ok, so we're playing a gig last night at a church, chugging along with the SS2x12 blasting at full power (powered by a Behr 300W head). No problems. Yes, the clip light is on all the time, but the cab is still sounding good - no cause for alarm.

Suddenly, in our second to last song, my bassist's axe (an LTD) breaks. The strap button screw is finally stripped out and falls off the bass. She finishes the song, but it's tough (as you can imagine).

So I make a shoutout over the mic for another bass in the building. Turns out the church had just bought a Fender P for the "house bass". So we're given that, tune it real quick, and she plugs it in... BAM!!! With the Fender, the bass is probably 5-6 dB louder! Man, I thought that the SS212 was just being underpowered, but turns out that the LTD bass was just really quiet!

Man, my left ear is STILL ringing from that baby...

Of course, she hated the tone of the Fender, but still. Maybe we should look into upgrading those bass pickups on her LTD (after we repair the strap button, of course).

Anyway, another great story of the Steelsound cab holding its own regardless of the circumstances!

 

[Justice]

For the record, that light on your BX3000T is the limiter, not a "clip" light. And it (the limiter) is obviously doing its job which is why you have not damaged the amp or cab and are not getting all distorted.

That said, if she likes the tone of the bass, but the bass is not sending a hot enough signal for the amp (was the limiter light still staying on with the louder P bass?) then before you go changing the pickups (which will probably change the sound of the bass) you might want to look into a simple solution like the Behringer Preamp Booster pedal [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] it does a simple clean boost and has 2 band EQ if you require a little tone shaping. Plus its only $20 (cheaper than pickups) and may be just what you need to heat up the signal from her bass.

 

[Dkerwood]

For the record, that light on your BX3000T is the limiter, not a "clip" light. And it (the limiter) is obviously doing its job which is why you have not damaged the amp or cab and are not getting all distorted.

That said, if she likes the tone of the bass, but the bass is not sending a hot enough signal for the amp (was the limiter light still staying on with the louder P bass?) then before you go changing the pickups (which will probably change the sound of the bass) you might want to look into a simple solution like the Behringer Preamp Booster pedal [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] it does a simple clean boost and has 2 band EQ if you require a little tone shaping. Plus its only $20 (cheaper than pickups) and may be just what you need to heat up the signal from her bass.

Groovy. Yeah, sorry, it's a habit of mine - any light that comes on due to a lot of gain I just call a clip light... be it compression, limiter, protection, whatever... I just call it clip.

I'm gonna assume that the limiter light was on hardcore with the P bass... I was busy playing the song and didn't pay too much attention... but it didn't sound overdriven or anything, it sounded just... well, HUGE.

Thanks for the tip on the preamp booster. I hadn't thought of that. Who carries them? I know that since Boss threatened to pull their products from any store that stocks the Behr clones, I can't find any of their pedals to save my life.

EDIT: The other thing to consider is her wireless kit. I'm not sure how it all works together. I'll just have to check her receiver and make sure that it's pumping out some adequate gain before worrying about anything else.

 

[Justice]

Thanks for the tip on the preamp booster. I hadn't thought of that. Who carries them? I know that since Boss threatened to pull their products from any store that stocks the Behr clones, I can't find any of their pedals to save my life.
.

Where did you hear about Boss doing that? From a retailer? Don't really matter anyway since the suit was settled.

Anyway, probably the best place to get the Pre-amp booster would be Music 123 Link Removed ... $20 free shipping. And a good return policy. (funny, Music123 also carries Boss pedals)

Ahh..and checking the output of the wireless is a good idea as well. How does the rig respond when she uses a cord?