Smaller Fender Amps....maybe other smaller amps

[Patrick Rusert]

What ohm speaker are you using for your extension speaker with your Princeton amp?

I have an 8 ohm spkr that I use with my Deluxe Reverb.

Geo

Same here. I don't notice the loss of power/volume with the mismatch. But I'm going for the bass/fullness and not as concerned with having a little extra sustain in the bank.

[Wayne Ledbetter]

I appreciate all the comments so far. My question is has anyone used other smaller amps and had good results. I started this mostly as Fender but maybe there are others need to consider. I have been thinking about the Milkman. My wallet and me are having an argument about that...lol. But there maybe some out there that has had good experience with other brands. Thanks.

[Jerry Gleason]

Another small amp to strongly consider is the Quilter MicroPro 200-8 Mach II. I have used mine mainly as a guitar amp, but i recently had occasion to play pedal steel though it, and I was amazed. I would have never believed that an 8” speaker could keep up with C6th pedal steel, but it certainly did, and with plenty of low end, at volumes that were comparable to that for which I’d normally use a much bigger amp. I thought I’d have to use an extension speaker, but it wasn’t necessary. I used the second channel for steel, with a Zoom MS-50G driving it for eq, and a little delay. That leaves the main channel for six string, so it’s a great rig for doubling. You could do it the other way around, of course, but I haven't tried it that way.

It might not be the thing for everybody, but it’s worth considering. It’s very “Fenderish” sounding, relatively affordable, and weighs only 19 pounds. Plug in a extension speaker if you want to blow the walls down.

[Dennis Anderson]

I have gone the head/cabinet route and have been very happy with the Quilter Aviator and the 101 mini... Fenderish and they sound great. Regarding Milkman, I have been very interested but put off by the hefty price tag. When Tim pre-announced the 30 watt Dairy Air compact head for a more affordable price, I took the plunge and put my deposit down. I'm so looking forward to getting that 6L6/6V6 beauty and retrieving some of that classic tube goodness/mojo. As always, the WAITING is the hardest part.

[John Billings]

I have a modded early Seventies PR. Allen PT, which you can set up for big power tubes, and a Dr. Z OT. A 12" Celestion, P12 80? i'd have to look. It's loud and clean. Tech did a mod that puts the power supply the same as a Deluxe. It's 19.5 watts. My late friend Jerry Brightman used it for his Patsy shows, and we used it in the Performance shop to test every guitar. He loved it! RIP Jer!

[Tony Prior]

the obvious question may still loom.

What do you need an amp for? home, small gigs, large gigs, Shea Stadium ?

[Godfrey Arthur]

Fender has a new no frills amp that has blackface Deluxe circuitry on two channels, is all tube but EL84's instead of 6L6's. 2x12's like a Twin.

It's more of a British amp approach but the fact that it has the Deluxe circuitry may get you that Fender Deluxe tone but in a higher wattage of 30 watts instead of the standard 22 watts.

No effects but has power attenuation meaning you can take it down from 30 to 18 watts which turns it from a Blackface Deluxe to a Brown early 60's Deluxe.

A footswitch chooses between the two channels.

At 50 lbs its 14 pounds lighter than a Twin if that makes a difference.

Worth a try if your local store has one to hear it.

It's not in the boutique price range which would be a welcomed plus.

They are made in Mexico so that could be something to consider vs somewhere outside of North America.

The cabinet is Birch ply construction which is a first for Fender.

[Wayne Ledbetter]

Tony I have a Fender Twin that I can use if I need muscle. I was looking for suggestions from experience regarding smaller amps for small gigs but still have nice sound. There have been many good comments and suggestions. It seems there are some pretty good options. I guess I was using the experience of guys that already done that. Thanks to all for taking time to share.

[bob drawbaugh]

if you want to stick with Fender take a look at Randy Beaver's highly modified Fender Blues Junior. Even if you bought the Blues Junior new and had it modified, it would be 100s of dollars cheaper than a Quliter, or Evans. I think it's under 30 pounds to boot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIwxb0Z8cpk

[Stephen Abruzzo]

I picked up a Fender Blues Jr that had just about every "Bill M" mod done to it.

It's wonderful and gives me all I need for lap steel.

Blues Jrs run on EL84s. With the BillM mods, it now runs on a pair of 6V6s and through a Cannabis Rex speaker.

For those of you wondering exactly what the BillM mods entail, here's the list:

•Tone stack optimization
•"Twin" tone stack mod
•Added adjustable power tube bias control
•Installed audio taper volume pot
•Installed audio taper reverb control
•Installed metal Switchcraft input jack
•Added aux. speaker jack
•Added line out jack
•Added standby switch
•Added presence control
•Upgraded to 22W Heyboer OT with 4/8 ohm switching
•Octal tube conversion to run 6V6 power tubes
•Connected the unused half of V2 as a cathode follower between preamp & tone stack; changed V2 to a 12DW7
•Upgraded speaker to Eminence Cannabis Rex

[chris ivey]

if you're a serious working steel player, just get an old $300 used peavey 400 steel amp and be done with the problem.

[bob drawbaugh]

if you're a serious working steel player, just get an old $300 used peavey 400 steel amp and be done with the problem.

Chris I dont think the Peavey 400 qualifies as a smaller amp. I had one up until a couple of years ago. As I remember it was about 90 pounds. Well, ok maybe not 90 pounds but it was heavy.

[chris ivey]

so is a deluxe reverb, and they won't even cut it!

[Wayne Ledbetter]

Nashville 400 is about 67 pounds. Nashville 1000 is about 57 pounds. Nashville 112 weighs about 42 pounds. Fender Twin is about 64 pounds. Fender Bassbreaker that has been mentioned is about 50 pounds. Fender Deluxe is about 42 pounds. Fender Princeton is about 34 pounds. Quilter Steelaire about 32 pounds. Milkman Half/Half weighs 31.5'or 33.5 depending on speaker size. Noticed some mentioning potential weight of amps. This pretty much a summary of those mentioned that are combo amps. It is my opinion that more goes into the equation than just weight. But I have a pretty big amp. I started this as what options of smaller amps are there. I did begin by mentioning Fender. Guess because there are a bunch of them out there.

Chris I had a Peavey Session 400 for some time that I used with a MSA Classic and a D12 Emmons P/P. Amps and things have changed so much along with steel guitars. I guess I wouldn't mind trying one of the smaller Peaveys. I did mention that earlier on. I got a Fender Twin last year just like some of the steel players used in the old days. I guess I wanted to try tube sound. I have noticed that there are quite a few solid state amp players using accessory equipment and modifications for some kind of "tube " sound, I guess that's what it's for. Want to thank all that take time to comment.

[bob drawbaugh]

There are several smaller amps on the market, Evans, Quilter, Milkman. Everyone I've herad sound great. But your going to pay for them. I have a Peavey Nashville 112. While it small it's not as lite as the other amps I've mentioned. The quilter 200 Mach II HD is only 26 pounds. There is a video on youtube of a guy demonstrating his lite weight setup and it sounds great. If the price is not a turn off this may be an option for a small lite grab and go amp. Then maybe have somthing bigger when times call for it. Quilter is using different sold state circuitry and the reviews say it has tube like response, but with solid state reliability.

[Lane Gray]

A LTD with a neo 15 will be about the same weight, maybe less, than the Nashville 112.

[Brad Bechtel]

That new Fender Bassbreaker line of amps looks promising, but they won't be available until January 2016 from what I can tell. Fender doesn't even have them listed on their website yet.

I doubt that an amp with two 12" speakers would qualify as a "small amp" per the title of this discussion.

[Steve Perry]

That new Fender Bassbreaker line of amps looks promising, but they won't be available until January 2016 from what I can tell. Fender doesn't even have them listed on their website yet.

I doubt that an amp with two 12" speakers would qualify as a "small amp" per the title of this discussion.

All but the 15 watters seem to be available from MF and GC now. I'm anxious to try them out in store.

[Steve Hinson]

Hard to beat the Peavey Nashville 1-12 with the lightweight Eminence neo speaker...less than 40 pounds and if it ain't enough power,your band is too loud.

[Carl Mesrobian]

I use a 70's Deluxe Reverb with a JBL or my 60's Princeton Reverb with Altec Lansing 10 and a mic. There's not a lot of headroom in these guys, but a good speaker can make a huge difference. I like the sound of the Princeton better. All you need is a Princeton on 3-4 and a good sound guy The prices on these have skyrocketed, but if I look for another tube amp I'd check out Vintage Sound amps.

I've heard a lot of good about the Peavey Nashville 112, but haven't fired one up (yet).