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Topic: worst steel guitar amp |
Jim Peters
From:
St. Louis, Missouri, USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 31 Jan 2006 6:05 pm |
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I tried playing thru the worst steel amp I've ever heard tonight. It is my Reverend Hellhound.
This is a GREAT guitar amp, loud,light and oozing with character.
Steel is another story.
My GFI overloads the input into useless distortion at whisper volume.
It sounds BAD!!
Anyone else got a least favorite? JP |
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Russ Wever
From:
Kansas City
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Posted 31 Jan 2006 9:55 pm
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I didn't realize Reverend Hellhound was a 'steel amp' per se - I think the Reverend has given up amps anyhow.
Your question does bring to mind the Sho-Bud slide-pot amps with the VU meter ( Model S15 ?)
~Russ |
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Bobby Boggs
From:
Upstate SC.
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Posted 31 Jan 2006 10:19 pm
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| The Sho-Bud slide-pot amps were the worst sounding amps I've played thru that were designed for steel.Just my opinion.I'm sure there is someone out there who has one and loves it...........bb |
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Alan Harrison
From:
Murfreesboro Tennessee, USA
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Posted 1 Feb 2006 7:42 am
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| I have to agree with Russ and Bobby, the Sho-Bud slider. Mine spent more time on road between Bakersfield, CA and Arkansas than it did with me. It blew up on the first Job I tried to pay with it. Ever try to finish a job playing steel thru a Fender Bassman? It didn't work long enough for me to hear what it sounded like. |
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Jim Peters
From:
St. Louis, Missouri, USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 1 Feb 2006 2:03 pm
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| Any pics of that old Shobud? JP [This message was edited by Jim Peters on 01 February 2006 at 02:05 PM.] |
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Jim Peters
From:
St. Louis, Missouri, USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 1 Feb 2006 2:05 pm
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Russ, you're right on both counts. The twin was not a steel amp either, but works"ok"  JP |
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Larry King
From:
Watts, Oklahoma, USA
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Posted 2 Feb 2006 6:02 am
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| I had a friend with one of those Sho bud amps you're describing. He found out that it picked up R F signals and C B's. One night in church, at a very serious moment, alter call, where the minister was making an invitation, a C B signal came through, very loud I might add. It went something like this "George, you old son of a ....., I haven't heard from you in a long time". It was embarrassing and I can't remember if anyone got saved or not but shortly after that the amp went to hell. |
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Jerry Roller
From:
Van Buren, Arkansas USA
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Posted 2 Feb 2006 6:58 am
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Thanks a lot guys! I have one of those old slider ShoBud amps and was soooooo proud of it. My bubble has been bursted big time.
Jerry |
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Russ Wever
From:
Kansas City
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Posted 2 Feb 2006 2:40 pm
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Larry,
You're absolutley correct!
I totally forgot about that 'feature' on the Sho-Bud amp -
I used that amp on a Johnny Frigo jingle session in Chicago and it began picking up a local radio station playing Maria Muldars' Midnight At The Oasis!
That tune'll give you a time-frame of when that was!
At least we all heard Amos Garrett's great guitar solo, haha!
Weren't those amps actually manufactured thru Baldwin, anyhow?
~Russ |
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Jim Phelps
From:
Mexico City, Mexico
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Posted 2 Feb 2006 2:54 pm
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Best or worst is going to be very subjective. If you like your Sho-Bud slider amp, who cares if someone else doesn't like it?
The worst sounding amp FOR ME that I ever played steel through, has been acclaimed as being really great by some other forumites here, too. It was a Fender Super-Twin with vintage Celestion speakers. I had a silverface Fender Twin with JBLs too, and compared to that sound, the Super Twin sounded like thin, brittle garbage. I hated it for regular guitar too. I bought it from a friend just because it was in great shape and had those Celestion speakers and was priced right. Later I substituted a different tube in one of the preamp stages and it sounded absolutely gorgeous. I've still never found another amp that sounded like that, with the "wrong" preamp tube in it. I wish I hadn't sold it, but the substituted preamp tube made it sound fantastic but also lowered the gain quite a bit and I needed more power. But if I ever find another at a good price, I'll grab it and change that same preamp tube. |
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David Doggett
From:
Bawl'mer, MD (formerly of MS, Nawluns, Gnashville, Knocksville, Lost Angeles, Bahsten. and Philly)
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Posted 2 Feb 2006 4:35 pm
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The worst steel amp I ever had is worth over two grand these days. It was a blackface Super Reverb with a mismatched 8 ohm 15" JBL speaker. As a novice, I bought it used from Sho-Bud in the '70s on their recommendation for use with my used Maverick. That amp was a 2 ohm amp meant for 4x10. So in addition to the traditional low headroom of a blackface, that 8 ohm speaker load made it really crap out early. And it was huge and weighed a ton. When I quit music to go back to school, I took the speaker out and sold the amp for peanuts. What a dummy. 
When I started playing again a couple years ago, I got the clean playing NV400 I lusted after in the '70s. But I discovered I didn't like the sterile solid state tone, especially at high volume. After trying dozens of amps, I discovered the silverface Fender tube amps were the ones for me. My Pro Reverb, Dual Showman Reverb, and Super Twin Reverb (all through one or two 15" JBLs) all have about the same glorious sound, just different levels of headroom. The right tubes do make a difference. Also, there are some tricks to work the Super Twin - it has a default setting for volume cut, unless the boost footswitch is plugged in and switched on. Without that it has about the volume of a regular Twin. With the boost kicked in, it has all the volume anyone could possibly need. [This message was edited by David Doggett on 02 February 2006 at 04:37 PM.] |
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