Nashville 400 kicks "Butt" for guitar!!

Jerry Hayes R.I.P. · Post by **Jerry Hayes R.I.P.** » 5 Jul 2005 9:01 am

Sorry for posting this late but on the weekend of June 25/26 I played the Elvis Festival which is an outside thing on the beach in Virginia Beach, Va. with an Elvis impersonator. I normally use my Fender Hot Rod DeVille 2-12 amp for these gigs but with it being in the shop I was going to use a smaller Fender 75 all tube amp for the gig. I got to the beach and found I'd brought the wrong amp and had my Nashville 400. I'd used it for guitar around the house on occasion and it sounded OK but nothing to write home about. Anyway, when I play steel I use this amp with a BBE Sonic Maximizer and it really sounds good on steel. I used the Nashville with the BBE for the Elvis shows and I couldn't believe the sound. On the 50's stuff with my archtop it nailed the old Scotty Moore sound and with a Tele for the later Vegas stuff it had the James Burton sound with a lot of bolitas!! With the extra power of the 400 and a large outside area it really did the job. Sunday the 3rd we had an outside "Gospel on the Lawn" fest at my church and I just brought my archtop and just plugged straight into the Nashville. Has anyone ever tried these for guitar? I love these amps and just might get another one soon......JH in Va.

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Livin' in the Past and Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.

Ken Byng · Post by **Ken Byng** » 5 Jul 2005 5:28 pm

I've used my NV400 for over 20 years playing both steel and Tele through it. Both sound great, though for me the Tele through a Fender Twin had a superior tone. The NV400 has to be the best all round amp ever made.

John Daugherty · Post by **John Daugherty** » 5 Jul 2005 6:02 pm

I believe ya Jerry. The NV400 has such a wide range of EQ that I can get any sound I want (and no noisy tube sockets). I think the NV112 works good also.

Mike Brown · Post by **Mike Brown** » 6 Jul 2005 4:52 pm

Thanks for the compliments guys!

Randy Carson · Post by **Randy Carson** » 6 Jul 2005 7:40 pm

Jerry,
I was just thinking of using a NV 400 for my steel since the black box, and other stuff has come along to help the solid state improve.

Please tell me what model of sonic Maximizer you use or the best way to find the right one and what does it do for you. Best to you my brother.

Randy[This message was edited by Randy Carson on 06 July 2005 at 08:47 PM.]

Jerry Hayes R.I.P. · Post by **Jerry Hayes R.I.P.** » 8 Jul 2005 9:42 am

Randy, it's hard to describe what a Sonic Maximizer does but it does it. All your frequencies sound better. An example is you can turn your bass full on and it's still fat but with punch you wouldn't believe. The one I have is a BBE brand and they're a one rack space thing that just sets on top of the amp. I have two of them. One I bought from Musician's Friend for $99.00 and the other I bought at a sale at Guitar Center for $79.00. On my NV400 I run it through the effects loop on the back of the amp which seems to work best. On some steel jams I've been to I've had statements made to me like "How do you get all that sound out of one amp?"...."Let me see your settings, that sounds great"....etc. There are only two knobs and a bypass switch on the thing and I just turn 'em both all the way on and it's wonderful.......JH in Va.

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It's all on 12, who needs 20!

Tom Campbell · Post by **Tom Campbell** » 8 Jul 2005 10:39 am

I've used the N400 in church many times. I run my Alvarez acoustic through it. The acoustic has a sound hole M1 Baggs pickup and the clarity is incredible! I was on the verge of getting an acoustic amp, but not anymore...its the N400 all the way!!

Ray Minich · Post by **Ray Minich** » 8 Jul 2005 11:02 am

After you've carried the NV400 200 yards across the parking lot and then up three flights of stairs, it'd better sound nice! And it does, it's worth it.

Bob Cox · Post by **Bob Cox** » 11 Jul 2005 6:45 am

Mike,what is a good nashville setting for a quick stage switch from steel to guitar.

Mike Brown · Post by **Mike Brown** » 11 Jul 2005 7:26 am

Bob, I haven't used a Nashville 400 for guitar at all. But, you should be able to dial in a suitable clean tone.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 12 Jul 2005 1:33 am

I think the Sonic Maximizer is the trick here..

400's are great amps but I think they need help for the single coil guitars...

t[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 12 July 2005 at 02:39 AM.]

Darrell Owens · Post by **Darrell Owens** » 12 Jul 2005 7:31 am

I have used a Nashville 400 for guitar quite often and it has a great sound. The key is the BBE. It is necessary for those transistor amps to get the sound you are looking for. The Session 500 is even better for guitar, but heavier, of course.