Sorry if this has been discussed here before, and I'm sure it has:
I'm just getting back into playing gigs with my steel after a few years of "retirement," and my amp situation needs upgrading. I've used an old Peavey LTD (with 15") a Peavey Renown (2-12") and even my Genz Benz acoustic amp, usually going stereo into any two of these. What I'd like are some suggestions for a powerful (as in, plenty of volume, plenty of headroom) steel amp, clean with lots of range even at loud setting. The guys I'm working with like to crank it...
Thanks in advance,
Steve Gorman
Los Banos CA
Amp suggestions
Moderator: Dave Mudgett
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Steve Gorman
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Tony Prior
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well Steve from my point of view( narrow maybe) things may not have really changed all that much. If you still have that old LTD kickin' around with a 1501 or 1502..clean it up and drag it along.
there are obviously several newer excellent amps out there from Peavey, Fender, Webb ,Evans etc..but many will also come with a hefty price tag..the new Peavey Nashville 112 is also a fine consideration at around $400.
BUT..do keep in mind that there are lots of folks still burnin' with the Session 400's, LTD's, Vegas 400 and especially the Nashville 400's..
A couple hundred watts with a hefty 15"er will always do the trick..whether it's brand new or 20 years old..
good luck..
t
there are obviously several newer excellent amps out there from Peavey, Fender, Webb ,Evans etc..but many will also come with a hefty price tag..the new Peavey Nashville 112 is also a fine consideration at around $400.
BUT..do keep in mind that there are lots of folks still burnin' with the Session 400's, LTD's, Vegas 400 and especially the Nashville 400's..
A couple hundred watts with a hefty 15"er will always do the trick..whether it's brand new or 20 years old..
good luck..
t
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Jeff Lampert
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Since a big concern of yours is power, you might also consider a Peavey Nashville 1000. It is voiced specifically for steel guitar, has 300 watts, and a 15" Black Widow speaker which has tremendous power handling capability. It weighs a little over 50 lbs. and many pros use it. A few years back, they were around $700-$750 new (a cover was extra) at a discount from a reputable dealer. I'm not sure how much they are now. Call Steel Guitar Nashville to see how much they are if you're interested. The 1000 also appears for sale used in the For Sale: Amps section of the Forum usually for around $450 to $500, often including a cover.
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jim milewski
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David Doggett
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Steve, about a year ago I started playing pedal steel again after almost 20 years out of music. Here's my experience. First you have to decide if you want a tube sound or are satisfied with solid state.
For solid state, I started with a Nashville 400 (200 watts) at a good used price. That was fine for low volume gigs, but sounded crappy when stressed out for loud rock club level gigs. If your band likes to crank, as you say, I doubt that anything smaller than the NV 1000 (300 watts) will do. This is a powerful but typically sterile solid state amp. There is a device called The Black Box, that adds a little tube sounding warmth (do a search here on the Forum for where to get one). You can also add a little tube warmth with a separate tube preamp, or any of the many processors (POD, Digitech, Korg etc.) that digitally imitate tube tone. These work pretty good up to moderate volumes, but I found that at high volume, the sound of the solid state amp takes over.
An interesting new possibility is a small light-weight 300 watt ultra clean amp head by Line 6, that has many imitation tube amp models built in. All you need to do is plug it into a speaker of your choice.
Of course you can use smaller amps like the NV 112 (80 watts) and mike it through the PA. But you lose control of your sound and many PA operators don't know how to handle steel well.
I found that I really wanted tube sound. I just love the harmonic warmth in the lows and mids, and highs that sizzle rather than pierce like an ice pick. The main draw back to tube amps is their extra weight. I solved this for myself by putting big tube amps into head cabinets and running into a separate 15" speaker (I prefer 15" for steel, some steelers prefer 12"). The smallest tube amp with enough clean headroom for cranking steel is a Fender Twin Reverb (85 - 135 watts, depending on the model). Regular guitar players have run the prices sky high on the old '60s black-face Fenders, which they like for their crunch and early breakup. But I've found that the cleaner and more powerful silver-face Fenders of the '70s are best for steel, and their prices are good. The silver-face Dual Showman is like a twin, but in a more manageable head cabinet. The more recent Fenders and reissues don't sound as good to me.
The real sleeper out there for steel is the Fender Super Twin. It sounds like a silver-face Twin, but has 180 watts. Regular guitar players don't care much for them, because they won't distort at any listenable volume, so the prices are low. These bohemoths come with two 12s and weigh around 90 lbs. This is totally unmanageable for me (I'm 58 and still rockin'), so I got a head cabinet from Mojotone ($200) and put the chassis in that. It's now a compact 60 lbs. of gorgeous tube tone, with all the headroom I'll ever need. The Super Twin comes with and without reverb. These days you can get separate effects units with multiple types of reverb.
Bottom line: if you want something solid state and off-the-shelf, get a NV 1000. If you want the thrill of tubes, go shopping on line for used silver-face Twins, Duals or Super Twins at nearby music stores or on Ebay. <FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by David Doggett on 05 October 2004 at 07:01 AM.]</p></FONT>
For solid state, I started with a Nashville 400 (200 watts) at a good used price. That was fine for low volume gigs, but sounded crappy when stressed out for loud rock club level gigs. If your band likes to crank, as you say, I doubt that anything smaller than the NV 1000 (300 watts) will do. This is a powerful but typically sterile solid state amp. There is a device called The Black Box, that adds a little tube sounding warmth (do a search here on the Forum for where to get one). You can also add a little tube warmth with a separate tube preamp, or any of the many processors (POD, Digitech, Korg etc.) that digitally imitate tube tone. These work pretty good up to moderate volumes, but I found that at high volume, the sound of the solid state amp takes over.
An interesting new possibility is a small light-weight 300 watt ultra clean amp head by Line 6, that has many imitation tube amp models built in. All you need to do is plug it into a speaker of your choice.
Of course you can use smaller amps like the NV 112 (80 watts) and mike it through the PA. But you lose control of your sound and many PA operators don't know how to handle steel well.
I found that I really wanted tube sound. I just love the harmonic warmth in the lows and mids, and highs that sizzle rather than pierce like an ice pick. The main draw back to tube amps is their extra weight. I solved this for myself by putting big tube amps into head cabinets and running into a separate 15" speaker (I prefer 15" for steel, some steelers prefer 12"). The smallest tube amp with enough clean headroom for cranking steel is a Fender Twin Reverb (85 - 135 watts, depending on the model). Regular guitar players have run the prices sky high on the old '60s black-face Fenders, which they like for their crunch and early breakup. But I've found that the cleaner and more powerful silver-face Fenders of the '70s are best for steel, and their prices are good. The silver-face Dual Showman is like a twin, but in a more manageable head cabinet. The more recent Fenders and reissues don't sound as good to me.
The real sleeper out there for steel is the Fender Super Twin. It sounds like a silver-face Twin, but has 180 watts. Regular guitar players don't care much for them, because they won't distort at any listenable volume, so the prices are low. These bohemoths come with two 12s and weigh around 90 lbs. This is totally unmanageable for me (I'm 58 and still rockin'), so I got a head cabinet from Mojotone ($200) and put the chassis in that. It's now a compact 60 lbs. of gorgeous tube tone, with all the headroom I'll ever need. The Super Twin comes with and without reverb. These days you can get separate effects units with multiple types of reverb.
Bottom line: if you want something solid state and off-the-shelf, get a NV 1000. If you want the thrill of tubes, go shopping on line for used silver-face Twins, Duals or Super Twins at nearby music stores or on Ebay. <FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by David Doggett on 05 October 2004 at 07:01 AM.]</p></FONT>
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Erv Niehaus
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Sidney Malone
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In my opinion and a growing list of others the G. D. Walker Stereo Steel can't be beat!!
www.stereosteel.com
Good Luck!!
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MSA Millennium S-12U
Fessy S-12U
Walker Stereo Steel, Hilton Pedal
www.stereosteel.com
Good Luck!!
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MSA Millennium S-12U
Fessy S-12U
Walker Stereo Steel, Hilton Pedal
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Mike Brown
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Hello Steve,
Welcome back! Although the speaker configuration hasn't changed "that" much(15" speaker seems to be the most popular)in the last 20 years, Peavey stepped out on a limb a couple of years ago by introducing the Nashville 112 amplifier with a 12" speaker. Here is a link to both the Nashville 112 and Nashville 1000 amplifiers; http://www.peavey.com/products/shop_online/browse.cfm/action/final/wc/1A1B31/fam/1B3/c/1/nashville.cfm
I frequent this Forum daily and also attend the major steel guitar conventions in the U.S.. The owner and founder of Peavey Electronics is very supportive of the steel guitar community. I invite you to check out the steel guitar portion of the Peavey website here; http://www.peavey.com/support/steelguitaristinfo/
If you have any questions about our products, I can be reached toll free at 1-877-732-8391, ext. 1180 and will be glad to answer any questions that you might have about Peavey products.
Mike Brown
Peavey Electronics Corporation
Welcome back! Although the speaker configuration hasn't changed "that" much(15" speaker seems to be the most popular)in the last 20 years, Peavey stepped out on a limb a couple of years ago by introducing the Nashville 112 amplifier with a 12" speaker. Here is a link to both the Nashville 112 and Nashville 1000 amplifiers; http://www.peavey.com/products/shop_online/browse.cfm/action/final/wc/1A1B31/fam/1B3/c/1/nashville.cfm
I frequent this Forum daily and also attend the major steel guitar conventions in the U.S.. The owner and founder of Peavey Electronics is very supportive of the steel guitar community. I invite you to check out the steel guitar portion of the Peavey website here; http://www.peavey.com/support/steelguitaristinfo/
If you have any questions about our products, I can be reached toll free at 1-877-732-8391, ext. 1180 and will be glad to answer any questions that you might have about Peavey products.
Mike Brown
Peavey Electronics Corporation
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Steve Gorman
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Mark Metdker
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Steve, I love my old Session 500. The best $300 bucks I ever spent.
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Band Pics
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David Doggett
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Sidney is right. The NV 1000 is the perennial standard for a solid state steel amp. But there are other clean, high-power solid state steel amps with 15" speakers: Stereo Steel, Webb, and now the new Fender Steel King. Fender is also now makeing the Twin reissue (85 watts) with a single 15" speaker (forget what it is called - Twin Custom?).