Jeff Newman's Amp Set-Up

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 11 Jul 2001 6:28 am

Jeff was one of the earlier, if not the earliest, proponents of using two amps. At one time he used a delay unit and a chorus unit, running the delay to both amps and the chorus to one amp. I don't believe he was wild about "stereo" f/x units. He just thought that the overall tone was great if the player had a bit of chorus coming out of one amp. Does anybody know what he is using nowadays?

Lee, from South Texas

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 11 Jul 2001 6:31 am

By the way. If you want to add a second amp, just for a bit of chorus, I've found that you don't need another 200 watt amp with a 15 inch speaker just for that. A smaller amp with a 12 inch speaker will work fine.

Lee

Larry Bell · Post by **Larry Bell** » 11 Jul 2001 7:25 am

Lee,

I have no idea what Newman is using these days (I doubt he plays many live gigs anyway) but my experience tells me that, unless you are micing both speakers of a stereo system and sending them separately to individual channels of the PA AND panning one hard left and the other hard right, you will hear very little stereo separation out of two amps side by side on stage. I have several ways to go for a stereo stage setup, but rarely use them.

Stereo can be very important in the studio, if the engineer is willing to give you two tracks. Used properly, a good stereo mix can make your steel sound as big as the Grand Canyon (if that's what you're after). However, in live settings, especially on stages where there isn't much room to separate the two channels/speakers, I don't believe you'll hear much difference from mono.

There are several reasons to use two amps:
* headroom (probably the most valid use)
* two different sounds/one optimized for lows, one for highs -- or one SS and one tube amp
* etc. (this category includes stereo

)

I've gone to clubs where my buddies are using two amps, thinking there's some stereo magic going on. Not usually. I just don't hear much stereo unless the speakers are properly miced or widely physically separated.

YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY -- just my opinion.

LTB

------------------
Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Emmons D-10 9x9, 1971 Dobro

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 11 Jul 2001 7:45 am

Larry - We don't even mike instruments in our band, so stereo isn't an issue. I really like the overall tone I get using my Evans and a NV400. Sometimes I'll stack one on the other. Again, stereo isn't the issue for me. Tone is.

Lee

Mike Brown · Post by **Mike Brown** » 11 Jul 2001 8:10 am

I am not speaking for Jeff, but he is a Peavey endorser and I do work with him with concerning new Peavey products. I visited with Jeff about 1 1/2 ago and he is still using the Peavey Session 2000, PX300 and a Nashville 1000 amp. Not all at one time, but when I've seen him perform at the various steel shows, he uses the Session 2000 and PX300 setup.

I've always admired his tone. He has the "ear" for good live performance tone.

Darvin Willhoite · Post by **Darvin Willhoite** » 11 Jul 2001 11:21 am

Jeff was the first player I heard using the Profex II, the DPC 750 amp, and 115E speakers, 10 or 12 years ago. He has always had a great tone every time I've heard him.[This message was edited by Darvin Willhoite on 11 July 2001 at 12:26 PM.]

Frank Parish · Post by **Frank Parish** » 11 Jul 2001 4:09 pm

I used two Session 400's and a Profex II for years playing stereo and there's nothing to compare to real stereo sound even if you're the only who can hear it. When I had to go back to one amp, it took me forever to get used to the sound or lack of it. When I finally developed a sound I was satified with again using only one amp I got a gig playing on a stage big enough to have two amps and to seperate them about four feet apart. Guess what set-up I'm using.

Jeff Peterson · Post by **Jeff Peterson** » 11 Jul 2001 4:50 pm

When it comes to headroom, for a small club, my Nashville 1000 can get seriously loud....no problem there. On tour, I run stereo(VMP-II, TubeFex, DPC 1400, 2 X 12 or 2 X 15) because we use 'in ear' monitors, and myself and our FOH engineer can distinguish left and right absolutely.

Danny Hullihen · Post by **Danny Hullihen** » 11 Jul 2001 5:01 pm

I've heard Jeff Petersons performances live, and it is awesome!

clive swindell · Post by **clive swindell** » 11 Jul 2001 10:50 pm

I was with Jeff when he played with Jim & Jesse at the Gibson theatre at Oprymall a few weeks ago. He used just a Nashville 1000 and a Profex and sounded just great.

Dave Diehl · Post by **Dave Diehl** » 14 Jul 2001 5:02 pm

I have to concur with Mike. I have spent many hours with Jeff and I can't say enough about the man and what he has done for me. He never fails to "wow" me with his playing. Jeff convinced me that the Profex II and DP750 sounds better with the 112E's than the 15's. I have to agree.[This message was edited by Dave Diehl on 14 July 2001 at 06:05 PM.]

Paul Graupp · Post by **Paul Graupp** » 15 Jul 2001 10:49 am

Jeff: I was wondering if you use or have experimented with reversing the phasing on one of the stereo cabinets. I have helped some others set this up but last friday was the first time I've used it myself. I sounded like that program on PBS, Echoes. It seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere. It was hard to pinpoint from on the stage but it certainly was a whole new ball game. The best programs I found on my Tube-Fex were those with a little Chorus like your Steel # 4 or anything with a Splitter (SP) function included. Your Record program also sounded really good in this configuration.

Best Regards, Paul

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 15 Jul 2001 11:53 am

* [This message was edited by Gene Jones on 02 May 2002 at 03:05 PM.]

Paul Graupp · Post by **Paul Graupp** » 15 Jul 2001 3:02 pm

Gene: I just went back to the stack: (no pun intended..) The band (??) I'm in wanted more steel level so I put one speaker on the oposite side of the stage and cross phased it. The sound was unbeleivable to me. I'd never had that effect before. The second night, second set, the lead says I'm too loud, to turn it down and I obliged him and went back to the arrangement you're using and what I had been using.

I built a couple small cabinets, about 12"X12" for Reece to try a more intimate stereo set-up. Using a seperate amp to power the side cabs, he placed one directly to each side of himself and at a lower volume level,on mike stands, still using his main amp behind him. I tested the system here before I sent it to him. The sound is completely different from two cabs behind or beside you.

I helped Marty Stuarts guys set up a year or so ago while waiting to catch Gary Hogue but he had been feeling sick and stayed at the motel and I had a job to play. They put his two mains at 45 degree angles, turning them towards center, behind his head and at ear level. Approximnately two feet away, 15" JBLs as I recall and I can only imagine the sound he was hearing. I regret now not having talked to him because I would have liked to know if he had this wiring reversal in effect.

Regards, Paul

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 15 Jul 2001 4:53 pm

*

[This message was edited by Gene Jones on 02 May 2002 at 03:06 PM.]

Paul Graupp · Post by **Paul Graupp** » 15 Jul 2001 5:12 pm

Gene; At least you have a GOOD working enviorment and that is nice to hear. Music is supposed to be Harmony and when that is missing, you can't make good music. Let me know if you go to something different. This is becoming a new discovery zone for me.

Regards, Paul