Smallest amp for steel...new!

Tony Palmer · Post by **Tony Palmer** » 23 Mar 2006 4:48 pm

Billy Phelps was playing through this amp with the Brian Sklar band in the Carter room all weekend at Dallas.
Anyone familiar with this amp?
It's tiny!

Matthew Prouty · Post by **Matthew Prouty** » 23 Mar 2006 5:28 pm

Thats the Jazzmaster Ultralight Head from Fender.
www.fender.com

Amplifiers > Ultralight

M.

Russ Tkac · Post by **Russ Tkac** » 23 Mar 2006 6:51 pm

Now that's what I'm talkin' about!

Gene H. Brown · Post by **Gene H. Brown** » 23 Mar 2006 8:39 pm

Tubes? How much?

Thanks
Gene

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If You Keep Pickin That Thing, It'll Never Heal!

Mike Fried · Post by **Mike Fried** » 23 Mar 2006 9:38 pm

List price is $928 for the head...

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 24 Mar 2006 2:21 am

thank god it's not $950.00 !

Bill McCloskey · Post by **Bill McCloskey** » 24 Mar 2006 5:14 am

It is selling for 649.95 on zzounds.com

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 25 Mar 2006 8:15 am

wow guys.. 250 watts!,,, Only 7 pounds!!! Kinda pricey tho'..... bob

James Cann · Post by **James Cann** » 25 Mar 2006 8:27 am

wow guys.. 250 watts!,,, Only 7 pounds!!! Kinda pricey tho'. . .

Pricey? What decent 250W amp can you find that sells for less (via the forum or anywhere else)? What you get here for your $ is comfort and karma in amp transportation![This message was edited by James Cann on 25 March 2006 at 08:28 AM.]

Chris Bauer · Post by **Chris Bauer** » 25 Mar 2006 8:55 am

My back already likes the idea! How'd it sound?

Curt Langston · Post by **Curt Langston** » 25 Mar 2006 9:06 am

Schweet! Wonder how it sounds for pedal steel? Anyone know?[This message was edited by Curt Langston on 25 March 2006 at 09:10 AM.]

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 25 Mar 2006 9:10 am

It's 250 watts into 2 ohms. What kinda speakers would one use? For steel?

Curt Langston · Post by **Curt Langston** » 25 Mar 2006 9:16 am

Two Black Widow 1203-4's, built into one cabinet, or two![This message was edited by Curt Langston on 25 March 2006 at 09:16 AM.]

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 25 Mar 2006 9:18 am

Upon reading the manual, there are some interesting tidbits to be found. Why do both speaker wires carry 20 volts? It says you have to be very careful not to let either wire contact ground. Hmmm,,,,,,,,,
The effects look like they'd be very usable for steel.
"
"CAUTION: Speaker outputs have
20 volts present on BOTH conduc-
tors and the amplifier will shut down if either
one comes into contact with a grounded surface.

Any exposed metal on plug jackets must
not touch ground when speaker cables are
connected; use insulated (plastic) plug jackets whenever
possible. "
[This message was edited by John Billings on 25 March 2006 at 09:35 AM.]

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 25 Mar 2006 10:07 am

This could be the wave of the future. Matched with something like the Vox ToneLab hybrid tube modeler for tube warmth, one might have the best of all worlds. Neodymium speakers would go well with it.

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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** » 25 Mar 2006 10:53 am

Crate has that little amp out now too, Stewart & World amplifiers are using the new technology, in 20 or 30 years we'll be hobbling around the old folk's home with our walkers and canes looking at 20 lb., 200 watt Marshall "stacks" the size of a breadbox saying "Why didn't WE have that stuff?!?"

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 25 Mar 2006 11:17 am

Apparently you (guys) have never heard of Acoustic Image or Walter Woods amps .....

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 25 Mar 2006 11:35 am

From the online manual:
" Speaker outputs have
20 volts present on BOTH conduc-
tors"
Could one evn use conventional speakers with this amp?

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 25 Mar 2006 11:50 am

Reading the speaker manual, it says it's a Jensen 12', with a 2" voice-coil, Neo magnet. Both the amp and the speaker use a specialized cable for the amp/speaker connection. Sooo, you gotta buy the speaker with the head, unless you're just gonna use the headphone jack! Do all Neo speakers require that 20 volts on both conductors?

Joey Ace · Post by **Joey Ace** » 25 Mar 2006 3:10 pm

More at http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum11/HTML/008362.html

Be aware you need a 2 ohm speaker to get the 250 Watts.

John Fabian · Post by **John Fabian** » 25 Mar 2006 5:54 pm

How'd it sound

It sounded very good through the "experimental" prototype hardwood cabinet (shown partially on the left) which may or may not become available.

The standard cabinet sounded ok but tended to be a little on the bright side.

The 250 Watts is RMS but it is limited to prevent blowing the speaker . Consequently, the amp was not quite able to keep up at high volumes.

On the bright side, for most small venues, it should perform very well and it has a direct out DIN connection built in.

There may also be a matching single channel version to go with the experimental cabinet (slightly higher price of course) and the final configuration of the these experimental amps may end up as being able to handle 2 12" cabinets or a 15" cabinet. I'll keep you guys updated as I get more information.

For those of you in the DFW area, we have both amps in our shop and you are welcome to come in and try them out for yourselves.

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John Fabian
Carter Steel Guitars

www.steelguitar.com
www.steelguitarinfo.com
www.carterstarter.com
www.magnumsteelguitars.com
[This message was edited by John Fabian on 25 March 2006 at 05:55 PM.][This message was edited by John Fabian on 22 May 2006 at 11:51 AM.]

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 28 Mar 2006 4:40 am

Could one evn use conventional speakers with this amp?

Yes, of course.

Do all Neo speakers require that 20 volts on both conductors?

No, that 20 volts is just a quirk of the amps design.

I'm sure the specialized speaker jack will turn off a few buyers. I wouldn't consider the amp for just that reason. [This message was edited by Donny Hinson on 28 March 2006 at 04:40 AM.]

Darvin Willhoite · Post by **Darvin Willhoite** » 22 May 2006 10:08 am

The Speakon connectors are a great idea in my opinion. They do not short out when plugging in, or unplugging like a 1/4" connector does, and they lock in place. Also, they have setscrews to hold the wire in place, making the cables easy to repair if you need to in the field, no soldering required. The connectors also have a built in strain relief.

Acoustic Image has used this type of connector on their amps for several years. On the last pair of speaker cabinets I built, I put 1/4" and Speakon's both in the jack plate for more possibilities.

BTW, I just got my new Jazzmaster Ultralight amp in today, I'll post my impressions after I've played with it for a week or two.

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Darvin Willhoite
Riva Ridge Recording

Bobbe Seymour · Post by **Bobbe Seymour** » 22 May 2006 1:09 pm

Darvin, you are a smart man. Conventional jacks do short out when plugging in or out, and have caused many an amp to blow the output transistors.
By the way, we do handel this great little amp as a Fender dealer.

Bobbe