The Steel Guitar Forum

In terms of the weight of tube stuff, I just try to look at it not as a heavy amp, but some really convenient work out equipment (hauling this stuff is the only upper body workout I get).

<SMALL>I feel that the sound of steel guitars on today's recordings is closer to the 'thinner' characteristics associated with SS amps - maybe another reason for Peavey's success.</SMALL>

Could it be just the opposite? With so many people using Peavey amps, that sound became the "norm"?

That occurred to me as I was typing my 'post'...

....but I do think that the digital age has eradicated that some of that old warmth and colour - it sounds to me like today's music is tailored to the sound-systems that MOST consumers have access to. Speakers are smaller, and, first and foremost, these songs have to sound good on the radio - it's commonplace to run the finished job through a pair of small speaker-enclosures after the mixing process.

The chicken or the egg....

------------------
Roger Rettig

First of all, Peavey is great stuff for steel and it's great to see a manufacturer looking out for "us".

That said, I prefer tube gear for guitar and steel. Tube gear is heavier than SS gear. For some, that alone may be reason enough to buy SS.

GOOD tube gear (today that usually means vintage or boutique) is pricier than SS equipment. That, too is a valid reason to consider SS equipment. Reliablity can be made a non-issue.

Tubes and tube electronic gear have survived many a not-so-gentle landing in B-17's, P-51's and F-86's. They've survived flak over Berlin and Haiphong harbor, amphibious landings in the Pacific and NASA launches in Florida. Tube musical equipment has bounced around for thousands and thousands of miles on backroads and highways for decades and when properly chosen, checked and maintained will - reliably - deliver a sound that to some ears is still unmatched.

Unlike the gear of the past, much of today's tube equipment is designed for price point and cosmetic appeal, not durability. Know what you're buying. Ask around.

Likewise, not all of today's replacement tubes are as reliable as those of the past. Some are. It pays to know the difference and choose carefully. Good power tubes will last two years even with very, very heavy usage. Some don't last a month. Know what you're buying.

Some currently available rectifiers will last five years or more, some won't last a week. Good preamp tubes can last ten years. Again, know what you're buying. If you're changing tubes more frquently than this, you don't need more tubes, you just need moe reliable gear, better tubes and perhaps a better tech. All are out there.

IMO, good tube techs are harder to find than good tube gear itself. Many modern techs never got proper training in tube radio circuits since those circuits disappeared from common usage before many of the modern techs came along. To find a good tech, ask around. In Chicago get a hold of Ned Carlson at Triode Electronics or Mark Baier at Victoria Amplifiers. Either should be able to point you in the right direction.

You want tubes? Play tubes.
Mike

Good Post Michael
I like your way of thinking,,the question is

"Tu be" or not "Tu be" that is the question.I agree wholeheartedly with your comments.

I sold Randall SS amps and they were great.
I put them up against a Marshall Tube stack and Randalls SS took em hands down and no
problems with the SS circuitry..good techs are hard to find these days and very few are knowledgeable regarding Tube amps.

I started in 1948 with a Gibson BR-9 outfit
as soon as I moved up to a fender d-8 I went to the Princeton reverb,tremelo amp
In 1959 I bought a fender 1000 and a Showman amp with a single 15' speaker.This was the light cream colored amp, as was the guitar.I played fender amps for the next 25 years.I had a couple of dual showmans and a couple of twins and a super reverb.I played all my steels thru these great fender amps.
I also played a Guild MK IV Starfire.I had a great sound coming from the showman amps. One of my best friends for years played with a Bandmaster,and he had a great sound.
I don't remember having that big a problem with tubes. If I remember correctly,at one point I switched from the 6L6 tubes to 5881's We did sort thru a bunch and tried to match them as close as possible.
I now play thru a Evans SE 500 and that is a great amp.I also use two Nashville 400's a lot. I have a Lashley LeGrande 600 amp and it sounds good but has to be the heaviest thing ever built.I also use a Boss DD-3 delay and thats it.No rack,no processors or what ever.Sixty nine and still learning.....
Bud

Jody
I wish some of these younger guys could go thru the feeling I had when I heard my first Fender Steel.After going thru a number of Oahu, Supro ,Gibson,Etc, Etc, lap steels I went and bought a new Fender dual eight and it was like a whole different world.Maybe Fender did go to H---- after it was bought out but so did a lot of other companies.I still got my Fender 1000 and my old double eight and I crank them up once in awhile.I also pick on a LeGrande 111.
I wonder what some of the steelers would do if all the pull rods fell off one night.?
LOL. Thanks for all you did for us pickers thru the years.

Bud

I've used Peavey Amps for years. I've had a Nashville 400 for 15 years & ordered a new 1000 three years ago and still have them both. But this past Christmas I got myself a new Fender Twin Reverb (65 reissue). Let me tell you boys. . .the Twin Reverb is sweet. Great sustain when I use my profex with it, and to my ears the cats meow. It seems now the Twin Reverb goes out with me on gigs more and more, and the Peaveys are getting to stay at home. I still like the Peaveys but I guess I've just always been a Fender Man. Nick <FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Nick Reed on 13 March 2003 at 04:36 AM.]</p></FONT>

Hi Nick, Hi Wllis,,,Join The Club,however from what you posted you have been members for years.