Ever use a SS bass amp for steel?

Jesse Pearson · Post by **Jesse Pearson** » 18 Feb 2006 8:55 am

Just wondering if any one out there has ever used a SS Bass Amp for playing out on Steel. I notice that some of the most popular steel amps have 15" speakers and the players turn their bass all the way up with just alittle treble and mid. The newer combo bass amps have a lot of stuff on them for E.Q. and I have a Carvin PB200 with a 15" speaker and a metal tweeter with a ton of E.Q. stuff on it. My favorite guitar amp is a Fender Bassman with 4 tens. Are the steel Amps with 15" speakers like Bass amps? Thanks... [This message was edited by Jesse Pearson on 18 February 2006 at 08:55 AM.]

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 18 Feb 2006 10:53 am

If you would do a search on the forum, you will find this has been asked and "hashed" over several times before.

My wife has a PB200 and I plugged my steel in at home one time and with a little adjusting it may work as an emergency steel amp.

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 18 Feb 2006 11:51 am

Oddly enough, it's that crossover network and tweeter that make a bass combo a poor match for steel guitar. The tweeter picks up overtones, pick noise, strings slapping the neck, etc. that give bass some definition and keep it from sounding muddy. It also helps an electric bass sound a little more like an acoustic bass. But steel and guitar are treble rich and sound harsh and shrill with a tweeter. That's why guitar combos and speakers don't have tweeters.

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Student of the Steel: Zum uni, Fender tube amps, squareneck and roundneck resos, tenor sax, keyboards

David Mason · Post by **David Mason** » 18 Feb 2006 12:16 pm

You might be able to unplug the tweeters easily enough and EQ your way into a good tone, it's worth trying if it fulfills a need. I have a Peavey "Austin 400" with a so-called acoustic channel on it, I unplug the horns and I can leave it over at the drummer's house and save a lot of trouble for my spine. Those little 6 or 7 band stompbox EQs can fix up things pretty well sometimes - it's cheap & dirty & gives purists hives, but unless you're at a steel convention nobody else minds.

Kevin Ruddell · Post by **Kevin Ruddell** » 18 Feb 2006 1:58 pm

If you can patch a different pre-amp into it's powerr amp section it might work out for you. I do that with my Ampeg SVT and bypass the front end pre-amp and it sounds great . The preamp in the ampeg amp is the best for bass I've used but horrrible for steel . Since there's inserts and effects loops I just use them with my Steel pre-amp

Jim Sliff · Post by **Jim Sliff** » 18 Feb 2006 2:21 pm

You can eq the tweeter right out of the mix with a ecent bass rig.

I've used both my SWR's as steel amps and they sound great - tube preamp for warmth, SS power amp for push.

Also tried an Alembic preamp with a Crest power amp and Acme low-B cabinets. That one would crumble drywall, and the tone was great.

Generally, I think bass and keyboard amps are good for steel - same idea, covering a wide tonal range. I've never had the tweeter cause problems - again, you just have to EQ it right and it's not a problem.

Jesse Pearson · Post by **Jesse Pearson** » 18 Feb 2006 2:46 pm

Just had a good read going through the achieves, thanks for the recommendation. The Carvin PB200 has 0 to 10 tweeter control and the graphic E.Q. is there to deal with the 800 Hz freq range of the steel. So I guess Bass amps can work o.k. if you need to go there. Thanks...

James Morehead · Post by **James Morehead** » 18 Feb 2006 10:20 pm

If you can get your hands on a Peavey Data bass, you will have something. 7 band eq, patch for preamp if you want, and 450 watts rms through a 15" 1502 BW. Weighs about like a twin reverb. I tried steel through it and kept getting loud pick noise. I pulled the bass down on the eq, and it cleaned right up. I use an RV 5 and a DD6 delay. Shobud D-10 with original single coil pickups, too.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 19 Feb 2006 5:56 am

I notice that some of the most popular steel amps have 15" speakers and the players turn their bass all the way up with just alittle treble and mid.

Yes, steel amps are generally anemic on the low end. A good bass amp that has a graphic EQ (like the DataBass Jim mentioned) can really kick, but you'll need the outboard EFX for 'verb, or a delay pedal. They do a great job if you like the "punchy" tone of someone like Chalker. Because of the closed back, though, they're pretty directional, and you have to put it fairly far back on stage to be heard well by the band.

Awesome for C6th stuff.

Michael McCorry · Post by **Michael McCorry** » 20 Feb 2006 11:20 am

Try a TNT, grahic EQ and built in chorus, 15" BW speaker...GIANT closed cabinet...really heavy..but cheap-o and if I must say so myself, sounds really good, has pre-post gain, crossover, high, low etc...I run it along with an Ibanex UE500 analog unit, compressor, chorus, EQ and Delay.
Ain't supposed to work ...but it does...great sound.BIG...I play laps and a Sierra Crown thru it..these amps can be had for approx. 150.00....also, annother sleeper is a Acoustic Control Corp. model #137...200watts+ solid state, trem-reverb ..two channels, and a 15" Emminence..open back,just grabbed one for 125.00....theres lots of ways to get to where you are going. Some more unconventional than others...IMHO

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"He who sacrifices personal liberties for a real or imagined sense of security, deserves neither liberty nor security"
Thomas Jefferson
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Sonny Jenkins · Post by **Sonny Jenkins** » 20 Feb 2006 12:12 pm

I'm thinking that any good bass amp would work well,,,,If you go through a ProFex or TransTubeFex,,,,,