What kind of amp should I buy?

Gary Coates · From: New Jersey, USA

Hi everyone. I'm new to the Pedal Steel. Been playing guitar for over 35 years. (still not very good at it) but I decided to try my hand at the Pedal Steel anyway. I recently bought an old Sho Bud. I got her home and with a little guidance from the internet, managed to get her tuned up and working properly. I have an amp but it's made for acoustic guitar so I am looking for something small and reasonably priced to play the Sho Bud through.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Paul Norman · From: Washington, North Carolina, USA

Nashville 112 best all-around. Lightweight 12" speaker designed for steel, Reverb. Play large or small venues and priced reasonable.

Steven Finley · From: California, USA

Hi Gary,
Welcome to the world of Steel Guitar.

Much of your choice will depend on your pocketbook, your need for reliability of an Amp, weight, and the sound you are looking for. The type of music you played on guitar will probably influence what you want to hear on Steel. If you go to the "Electronics" section on SGF you will see a posting I did re mfgrs which caused a lot of uproar I guess. Some people are real loyal to their brand irregardless of problems. But the posting highlights problems you might deal with.

If you are a beginner, not planning on playing out, hit the pawn shops, etc., find a used one (almost any brand) for real cheap. When you get good, invest in an Evans. The better you get the less satisfaction you will have with anything else.

Dave Grafe · From: Hudson River Valley NY

Your amp "made for acoustic guitar" will have adequate clarity and eq control to work really well with the PSG, particularly if it has a decent reverb.

Lots of folks will tell you you have to have this gadget or that thingamabob to play the steel but I heartly recommend that you save your money until you actually need something you don't already have.

The thing to do instead is set yourself up where you are comfortable and start picking that thing.

Stephen Cordingley · From: Ontario, Canada

for your amp, do you have a specific "sound" in mind?

when I first heard a Peavey Session 400, I thought, "yeah! that's THE classic Nashville country sound"
when I heard the Fender Steel King, I thought, "clean, but no big thrill..."
after I got some Peavey's and played 'em for a while, they sometimes started to sound kind of shrill and thin
now I play thru a Fender Steel King (and a Jazz King) and I'm loving the deep reverb it gives me (maybe it's my playing that is shrill and thin...)

my point/opinion is that sound/tone is subjective and varies over time/from day to day ... if you're not sure what you want, listen to somebody good playing some amps: ask yourself if you'd like to sound like that ... maybe don't expect to find the "ultimate sound" that will thrill you forever...

I'll let somebody else chime in on the reliabilty, cost, tube/solid state and other considerations...

Johnny Thomasson · From: Texas, USA

A Nashville 400 is good trade-off between cost and performance. There are better amps to be had of course. But lots of pros use 'em, and you can pick up a used one for $300-350. NV400s are the go-to amp for lots of steelers. They're not particularly lightweight, but they've got all the clean power you'll ever need. Ken Fox sells a chip upgrade kit for about $35 that sweetens up a stock unit considerably. I have one with the Fox chip upgrade in my stable, and like it a lot. Lots of people like NV112s and they're considerably lighter, but a 112 will cost you more, and doesn't have the power of a 400.

Just another suggestion; you need to get something you'll like. I have a high-end Trace-Elliot acoustic amp, and while it does a great job for what it was designed for, it doesn't work for psg at all.
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Johnny Thomasson

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