Suggestions for a small amp

Joe Lipman · Post by **Joe Lipman** » 19 Feb 2005 3:59 pm

I've started playing with some acoustic musicians and need a small lightweight amp for my pedal steel.

Does such an animal exist? If so, does anyone have specific amps they would recommend?

Thanks in advance for any advice on this.

Joe

Roger Kelly · Post by **Roger Kelly** » 19 Feb 2005 4:47 pm

Sounds like you might need to get a Peavey 112. Bobbe Seymour has them at a good price.
All who have them are liking them.
http://www.steelguitar.net/ <FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Roger Kelly on 19 February 2005 at 04:51 PM.]</p></FONT>

Michael Whitley · Post by **Michael Whitley** » 20 Feb 2005 11:20 am

I like a silverface Champ.

Brad Sarno · Post by **Brad Sarno** » 20 Feb 2005 12:01 pm

Silverface Princeton Reverb is nice too.

Brad Sarno

Rand Anderson · Post by **Rand Anderson** » 20 Feb 2005 1:17 pm

i dont care much for the smaller fender tube amps for steel. they wont give you to much volume or headroom without breaking up. especially on lower stings(c6). i just fell in love with my peavey nashville 112. great tone and power in a pretty small and lightweight package. i was lucky to find a slighty used on on ebay for under $400. if it is too much you should also look at some older peavey solid state combos. a studio pro 40 or a studio pro 112 (older model that looks like mini nashville 400). you can find these for about $100. good luck

David Friedlander · Post by **David Friedlander** » 21 Feb 2005 9:12 pm

Hey Joe,
I play an S10- which I think is easier than D10 or 12 string.

I love little amps myself.
Deluxe Reverbs work well for me.
I've also had good luck with Marshall AVT30- it's small and cheap.

I just bought a Line 6 Sypder II. 2 10's 120 watts and less than $400.
Also half the weight of a Twin.
Of course it's all personal taste.

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 21 Feb 2005 9:46 pm

Depending on the volume you need to project, all the above suggestions have a place, IMO. It doesn't take much to overwhelm the acoustic guys I play with, and I usually can't use anything as large as a NV 112, but YMMV. The smaller solid state amps Rand suggests would probably work fine for me, and also be cheap. But in this situation, I usually run a Pod into a Silverface Vibrochamp. The Pod (set on Twin Reverb with gain down) cleans up the Vibrochamp, though I agree, you're not gonna get a lot of low end. A Princeton Reverb is better, but they're pretty expensive these days, even for Silverface. With a Pod or other modeler, you might look for a Princeton (no reverb). Gets you the 10" speaker, they're very clean sounding, and quite a bit cheaper than the reverb model. I did force a 10" speaker into a Vibrochamp some time ago - it did help the low end a lot. You would probably want to change the baffleboard out so you could return it to stock later. If there's anything larger than a real small PA involved, I give the soundman my Pod line out to put in front-of-house and use the small amp as a monitor, I haven't met a singer yet who likes steel in the monitor mix. We try to keep the stage volume very low so the acoustic instruments can be miked without howling.

Mike Brown · Post by **Mike Brown** » 22 Feb 2005 6:18 am

The Nashville 112 amp fits this bill. http://www.peavey.com/products/browse.cfm/action/detail/item/104983/number/00459770/cat/273/begin/1/Nashville%3F+112.cfm

If you have questions about Peavey products, call me toll free in North America at 1-877-732-8391, ext. 1180.

Mike Brown
Peavey Electronics Corporation

John Daugherty · Post by **John Daugherty** » 22 Feb 2005 7:17 am

Joe, I don't think you can beat the Peavey Nashville 112. In my opinion, it is an amp that does it all.
Light weight,wide tonal range,plenty of power.
I have used a lot of amps in my 50 years of playing. I believe the NV112 will perform with the best of them and the price is right.
Then you have guys like Mike Brown providing the best customer service imaginable.

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 22 Feb 2005 8:44 am

I play pedal steel with a country acoustic jam once a month. There is not even a PA. I tried a Peavey Delta Blues, which is a small 30 watt tube amp with a 15" speaker. I found the EL34 power tubes a little too bright and clear for my tastes. Then I tried a Fender Pro Reverb with a 15" speaker. Fantastic warm tube tone, but the amp was too big and heavey. Then I found a Music Man 112 for a bargain. This is a small, light amp with a 12" speaker. It has a solid state preamp and 6L6GC power tubes like the Fenders. It is not quite as warm and rich sounding as an all-tube, but has better tone than any solid state amp I have ever heard. In spite of its small size and weight, it has an unbelievable 100 watts output. Not that you need that with an acoustic group, but it means you can dial in all the lows you want to get that 12" speaker sounding almost as good as a 15". I'm sure the NV112 is a great amp, but I just don't like the sterile solid state sound. Especially with acoustic groups, the warm tube sound seems to help blend in, and the acoustic musicians love it. A Fender Deluxe would be about the smallest Fender tube amp I would want to play steel through, even with acoustic groups (the screaming drunks at the bar and a half dozen acoustic flat pickers banging away can get pretty loud). My ideal small amp doesn't exist. It would be a 40 watt silver-face Vibrolux with a custom cabinet and a 15" speaker. I have tried one with a 15" external speaker, and it was heavenly.

Walter Hamlin · Post by **Walter Hamlin** » 23 Feb 2005 3:30 pm

Definitely the N112.
Was playing Saturday night and the new lead picker was astounded at the sound of it. Says he is going to get him one. Of course I told him to see Bobbe.