Amps?

Todd Snelgrove · Post by **Todd Snelgrove** » 9 Nov 2021 12:20 pm

I'm a lifelong guitarist and a total newb pedal steel player, but it looks like I've landed a gig. So I'm thinking about getting an amp. I have a Peavey Classic 30 tube amp for guitar gigs but I think it's overkill for the PSG. I practise the PSG through a little beginner's Fender 10w practise amp but c'mon now.

Someone up the street is selling a Vox AC4C1, it's a little 4w tube amp that I think might be nearly almost kinda perfect (as long as I get a reverb pedal to go along with it)? At least that's the line I'm thinking of trying on my wife (without mentioning the reverb pedal add-on, of course).

Anyway, what do y'all play through, and what kind of advice do you have for an amp-searching newbie like me? To put thing into perspective: I'm playing a Sho-Bud Maverick student guitar and I suspect I will be for the next long-ish little while at least (my wife and I already talked about the possibility of an upgrade).

Rick Abbott · Post by **Rick Abbott** » 9 Nov 2021 12:30 pm

The common practice for steel amps is to have a lot of headroom, but it really depends on your situation how big that needs to be. A classic 30 would work for living room volume up to acoustic band stage volume. I use a 50 watt peavey solid state amp for rehearsals and some gigs. I have a twin reverb for bigger stuff/outside. 12 and 15 inch speakers are preferable to most players, but a low volume 10 is cool.

The classic 30 will work on the clean channel, scoop some mids if it's too crunchy. I like mids, and sometimes use a tweed deluxe for that reason. 10 watts is fine for purely acoustic living room stuff. All just my opinion.

Karl Paulsen · Post by **Karl Paulsen** » 9 Nov 2021 12:50 pm

The 4w amp would probably be nearly useless for gigging.

What you want for steel is generally loud clean headroom. Remember that most solid state steel amps are 200-300 watts.

Your Classic 30 would probably be fine for now, since you will probably have to dial it back a bit to keep clean. Is the opposite of overkill for steel.

If you want to buy a stage amp and don't have allot of cash, a bass amp with a 15" speaker is a good place to start. You can still find Peavey steel amps for under 400 bucks.

Larry Dering · Post by **Larry Dering** » 9 Nov 2021 5:08 pm

I have a classic 30 and never really cared for a steel sound from it. I use it for telecaster, and it kills with that. Get something with 100 watts or more designed for pedal steel.

Jon Snyder · Post by **Jon Snyder** » 9 Nov 2021 5:36 pm

I have a Fender Rumble 200 bass amp with a 15" speaker but no reverb for use with my bass guitar. Just getting started learning lap steel so I may get a reverb pedal and try it.

Karl Paulsen · Post by **Karl Paulsen** » 9 Nov 2021 6:58 pm

Jon Snyder wrote:I have a Fender Rumble 200 bass amp with a 15" speaker but no reverb for use with my bass guitar. Just getting started learning lap steel so I may get a reverb pedal and try it.

I think my previous steel player Steven Alderson used that same amp for a while. Sounded good.

I think there were a couple gigs where on a very small stage he sat on it. So there's that.

Michael Hill · Post by **Michael Hill** » 15 Nov 2021 8:20 pm

In my experience pedal steel into a 6 string guitar amp sounds very harsh. You need to load down the pedal steel pickup with something like a Sarno Freeloader or one of the Radial buffers with the 'drag' control.

Chris Brooks · Post by **Chris Brooks** » 16 Nov 2021 9:05 am

Hey Todd. Glad you are getting into PSG. At this point in your career, I'd recommend one of those good old used Peavey Bandits.

* It's got reverb so forget buying another pedal.

* Its 80 watts is louder than you know what. So you'll have lots of headroom, as Rick points out.

* You can tweak the midranges to get rid of some 'honk.' Save the Black Boxes and Li'l Izzies etc. etc. for later.

*It is durable and reliable.

And I'll bet there's one on your local Craig's List right now.

Chris

Steve Spitz · Post by **Steve Spitz** » 16 Nov 2021 10:33 am

The used Bass amp with reverb pedal is a good low budget solution, and you can likely sell the Bass amp fairly easily if you choose to upgrade.

The peavey solid state with reverb is great advice as well. If youâ€™re patient, they show up cheap on Craigslist etc..

Donâ€™t fall in a money pit. If itâ€™s not right, move on.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 16 Nov 2021 4:22 pm

Todd, I can tell by the way you talk that you're not using the volume pedal properly for pedal steel. Because when you do, no amp is "too powerful" for quiet, at home practice. Learn to limit your volume with the volume pedal, and not with the amp you use or the volume control on the amp!

The mindset, the techniques, the design, and the way we play the pedal steel is totally different from straight guitars. About all they have in common is strings and tuning keys.

Karl Paulsen · Post by **Karl Paulsen** » 16 Nov 2021 8:56 pm

Donny Hinson wrote:Todd, I can tell by the way you talk that you're not using the volume pedal properly for pedal steel. Because when you do, no amp is "too powerful" for quiet, at home practice. Learn to limit your volume with the volume pedal, and not with the amp you use or the volume control on the amp!

The mindset, the techniques, the design, and the way we play the pedal steel is totally different from straight guitars. About all they have in common is strings and tuning keys.

This may technically be true, and no doubt good volume pedal is one of the top priorities. However, some amps can be pretty touchy for the sort of low volume apartment playing that may be required in certain homes.

Even my absolutely lovely Milkman Half and Half takes a very light touch to get the volume knob in that precise sweet spot where it's audible at very low volume while also leaving you with a good usable range for your volume pedal to work with.

Even though I'm a floor below them, I don't even bother trying to use it after the kids go to sleep. I just plug into a multi effects pedal and play through headphones.

John Talbott · Post by **John Talbott** » 17 Nov 2021 10:57 am

Hi Todd

You may want to look at a peavey special 130.

130 watts. 12inch speaker.

What's very useful in this amp is that it has a shiftable mid ...

Ken Pippus · Post by **Ken Pippus** » 17 Nov 2021 11:01 am

There was a recent flurry of enthusiasm for these:

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-amp-pedal/st-jo ... 1592790041

Charles Petrie · Post by **Charles Petrie** » 17 Nov 2021 7:26 pm

Ken Pippus wrote:There was a recent flurry of enthusiasm for these:

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-amp-pedal/st-jo ... 1592790041

I was just going to recommend the same. I use the head version of the Katana with a 1x15 cab and think it sounds wonderful. All the muscle you need for most gigs and lots of fun effects and settings to explore as you learn. I think its a great choice for a new player. Plus, there's almost always a couple of these around on local classifieds for less than $250. Big fan.

Steve Sycamore · Post by **Steve Sycamore** » 18 Nov 2021 1:34 am

Unrelated to amps, but if you're new to PSG don't tune to the same pitches as your 6 string guitar. Equal tempered tuning pretty much wrecks the sound and perception of the instrument. It's better to either get a tuner that supports other tuning systems or learn to tune it by ear once a low A is set at 440 Hz (for example). More detail about this belongs in another forum here.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 18 Nov 2021 1:51 am

As Donnie stated above, Volume Pedal technique is mandatory. I dare say that most Steel players are "setting on" about 50% pedal when playing, or less, the full pedal is used for sustain , thus that is why we use high powered amps, to carry the sustain which diminishes rapidly.

There are NO STEEL AMPS that are too loud, Too Heavy ? Yes, but NOT too loud. WE control the level.

RE: A Twin Reverb is NOT overkill, its just dang heavy ! It can be used on ANY GIG in ANY situation, Bedroom to Shea Stadium . I personally used a TR for near 30 years, it was the only amp I owned. Bedroom to stage.

This doesn't mean we don't have small amps for practice, rehearsal etc, we do, but they are not for stage.

Acquire an amp that fits what YOU WANT TO DO, which is hopefully playing out with others. Like they say, don't show up to a Gun fight with a Cap Gun !

Good luck !

Dave Campbell · Post by **Dave Campbell** » 19 Nov 2021 4:15 pm

hi todd,

it's hard to find appropriate cheap amps in our neck of the woods.

if there is a drummer on the gig i don't think you'll be a happy camper even with the classic 30. the classic 30 is probably loud enough cranked up, but those el84s will get dirty pretty quick, which tends to make a pretty unpleasant experience for the steel.

as others have said, an old peavey solid state item is probably gonna get you the most bang for your buck on kijiji or facebook marketplace. tony's comment about no steel amp being too loud is hilariously correct. also his comment about heavy.

Jim Sliff · Post by **Jim Sliff** » 22 Nov 2021 4:07 pm

As a long time Tele, Steel & other electric instrument player and amp/guitar tech - your Classic 30 will work just fine for home and small clubs.

BUT - it needs to have the right tubes in it and be "tuned" for both guitar and steel use by a good amp tech - which any tube amp player should know of.

the Classic 30 is a fixed bias amp, and good power tubes and a bias adjustment on the "colder" side (not tonally - it's a tech term!) will get you more headroom while still working for guitar. I know it sounds odd, but "fixed bias" amp can have the power tube bias adjusted; "cathode bias" amps are self-adjusting.

The bias needs to be checked every time power tubes are changed, and adjustments made if necessary.

Also, a lower gain preamp tube like a 5751 or 12AY7 will also help clean up the sound and increase headroom.

Also, if the amp is over 15 years old it needs to be serviced - the electrolytic filter and bias caps have a service life of 15-20 years, and nw ones tighten up the sound...and if an old one blows it can fry your power transformer.

Last - a change to a speaker with higher volume breakup is highly recommended for that amp and pedal steel. A Weber California or Chicago; a Celestion G12M-65 creamback; or a Tone Tubby Humbolt (a personal favorite for lower-powered amps) would be aa huge improvement over the stock speaker.

But at the very least have the amp checked out by a tech (NOT a Guitar Center tech - find an actual tech shop or an independent guitar store with a full-time tech) - and serviced as necessary (and absolutely - even if the tech says no to worry about it!) if it's an older amp.

NO need to buy a new amp, and the tone will be much warmer with better harmonic reproduction with a good, well tuned tube amp.

The smaller amps you mention are not suitable for pedal steel, unless you plan to play at whisper volume.

For years I gigged with either a 35W 1x12" Holland Little Jimi or a 1966 Fender Deluxe Reverb (22 watts) and never had a headroom or volume issue. Larger venues mike the amps - along with everything else except drums in some cases - and handle the "hall" volume.