The Steel Guitar Forum

What works for one player might not work for another. I am into tube amps but Fenders just don't work for me. I don't like how 6L6 power tubes sound and that combined with the dip in the mids in Fender pre amps drives me nuts. Other guys sound fantastic with them so who knows ?

I use 12" speakers and have no problems with lows in my tone. The cabs I am into these days are the THD 2-12 s.
I have been using a prototype of the THD Bi-valve amp and it should not work for the steel but it does.

I also have a VHT rig that I am way into. I was just farting around on the web and I found a picture of me doing something goofy to a pedalsteel on there site.
www.vhtamp.com

Jeremy,

Have you tried the VHT 2/90/2 power amp in your rig ? How did it compare with your Mosvalve ?

Bob
<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Bob Hoffnar on 13 March 2002 at 02:04 AM.]</p></FONT>

Ray: Good point! It just depends on what you percieve as "good sound." I know great steel players who are perfectly happy to play thru a Peavey Nashville 400, a Session 400 or the new Nashville 1000 with no effects or maybe just delay. You can buy a used Nash. 400 on today's market for around $350. That's gotta be the cheapest option because maintenance will be pretty low. The Peaveys are reliable.

If I dedided to play thru a Fender Twin, I'd still want to add some kind of delay. Where tube amps especially Fender Twins get expensive is when you have to replace tubes. I haven't owned one in about 10 years, but I used have to replace all the tubes about once a year and just the cost of tubes was (then) around $150, then add labor. Imagine those die-hard guys who play through two Twins! It's those big power tubes that really cost you. Also, I believe that the sheer weight of a Twin, the jolts and bumps it endures by being moved around or rolled if it's on casters, hastens the demise of the tubes. They are pretty fragile.

That's why I use a tube pre-amp and solid state power amp. I only have to worry about two small 12AT7 tubes or the equivalent. I've used the current pair for about a year and so far no noise or sign of deterioration. I believe that someday, digital devices will replace tubes. But if you study catalogs and new product literature, it's obvious that guitarists, audiophiles and recording engineers prefer tube gear for certain applications. There are so many new products including mike pre-amps that are tube driven and the hybrid gear that combines tube and SS design, I think we'll be seeing glowing tubes for some time to come.

Everybody hears sound differently. If you search the Forum's database for this topic, you'll get some sense of the affection many steel players have for tube tone.

I hope I answered your question. I feel that I've found the most cost-effective solution to having great tone at reasonable expense. I have spent a lot of years (and dollars) to end up with what I've got.
--JR

John,
I think I understand a little better now where you are coming from. Thanks for the explanation.
Ray Rasmussen