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Topic: Good amp for lap steel? |
Lee Gustafson
From:
Mohawk Michigan, USA
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Posted 29 Jan 2007 5:41 pm |
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| I stumbled upon this amp on the internet. I think it just recently came out. It's a Johnson JA-T25-R Laredo All Tube Amp. It puts out 25 watts RMS,has a 10 inch speaker,weighs 25 lbs. and costs about $275. I suppose this topic should be in the amp section, but I was curious if any lap steelers have seen one of these in person. It is quite good looking and one of the sites it can be seen at is instrumentalley.com. I might put it on my wish list! |
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Randy Reeves
From:
LaCrosse, Wisconsin, USA
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Posted 30 Jan 2007 5:05 am
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dont know that amp but I do have an amp I like for lap steel with similar specs. the ten inch speaker is a good thing. my amp is low powered but has great output. some times a bit dry sounding but with reverb added from a pedal the sound is sweet.
I like tubes for steel, although, some like solid state and a big fifteen inch speaker. |
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Peter Jacobs
From:
Northern Virginia
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Posted 30 Jan 2007 5:55 am
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I love my Blues Jr. for lap steel. It depends on what kind of sound you're looking for -- ultra clean or mildly overdriven. The Blues Jr. doesn't have a ton of clean headroom, but depending on your pickup and how you set the knobs, you can get terrific tones, clean or dirty.
Peter
Last edited by Peter Jacobs on 30 Jan 2007 11:08 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Keith Cordell
From:
San Diego
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Posted 30 Jan 2007 10:23 am
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| I love tubes for lap steel. I have recently acquired a Vox AC15 for mine, and I love the tone from the 12"er in it. Cool amps! |
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Derrick Mau
From:
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 30 Jan 2007 11:26 am
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Lee,
What may sound good on other peoples steel may not sound good for yours.
The best thing to do is to take your steel down to your local music shops, plug in, and listen. |
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Lee Gustafson
From:
Mohawk Michigan, USA
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Posted 30 Jan 2007 1:17 pm
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| Thanks for the input guys. I'm just starting out on lap steel. I started out on an Artisan and moved up to a Fender Studio Deluxe. My amp is a Crate GFX-15 practice amp with a 8" speaker. I don't play in public, but I need to work on my tone and technique. That's why I want a better amp. My buddy has an old tube amp, 12" speaker. We haven't even figured out the brand name, it's worn off, but it's all tube and makes my lap sound pretty good ($150). A Nashville 112 is another possibility. A non-tube amp called Tech 21 Trademark 60 looks very interesting and then I stumbled on this Johnson. I live in the sticks and can't walk in to a music shop to check these toys out. I was kind of hoping someone has tried the Johnson. The price is right. |
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Andy Sandoval
From:
Bakersfield, California, USA
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Posted 30 Jan 2007 2:01 pm
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| Lee, you might also check out the Roland Microcubes. They've got two models that are very portable, the smaller one also runs on batteries (quite a long time) and they both have amp modeling and effects built in. The reverb sounds great. |
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Randy Reeves
From:
LaCrosse, Wisconsin, USA
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Posted 30 Jan 2007 2:48 pm
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Lee, your little 8 inch speaker practice amp is a bit too small. the reason your lap steel found a voice with your friends amp was because of the increase in speaker size.
Johnson made an amp modeler stomp box. I wonder if that is the same company as the amp maker you are interested in.
my lap steel sounds huge thru my Fender Vibrolux. but then, it has two ten inch Jensens.
my little Gibsontte, 1958, has an on/off switch and a ten inch Jensen. that's it. the steel sounds great. I add reverb and Im there.
that vintage amp was a steal at 200$. keep your eyes open, as well, as some options. |
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Todd Weger
From:
Safety Harbor, FLAUSA
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Posted 30 Jan 2007 7:01 pm small watt = big tone
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For my money, small watts equal big tone, if you stick a mic in front of the speaker (either through PA or into the recorder).
I find the small wattage amps give up the tone sooner, and without the ear-splitting volume you need from the larger amps, and sound just fine if you're mic'ing them through the PA.
If you're a Led Zep fan, listen to those trackss again. Jimmy did just that with a small amp and a mic. SOUNDS HUGE... 
_________________
Todd James Weger --
1956 Fender Stringmaster T-8 (C6, E13, A6); 1960 Fender Stringmaster D-8 (C6, B11/A6); Custom-made 25" aluminum cast "fry pan" with vintage Ricky p'up (C6); 1938 Epiphone Electar (A6); 1953 Oahu Tonemaster; assorted ukuleles; upright bass |
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Bill Creller
From:
Saginaw, Michigan, USA (deceased)
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Posted 30 Jan 2007 9:21 pm
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It's pretty hard to beat a low powered amp, up to say 12 watts, for steel. Like Derrick says though some guitars work good with certain amps. Probably the pickups have a lot to do with that.
The only solid state amp I have is a Micro Cube. Everything else is tubes. I built 4 tube amps since November. One is a clone of a Princeton Reverb, and it's SWEET!!
BILL |
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Marty Smith
From:
California
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Posted 30 Jan 2007 9:57 pm
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27 watts tube pre 64 Magnatone bass amp with only a tone and volume control, and a 15 inch speaker.Non of that bass,treble,drive bs. I can play any steel on it and it will sound great. You should how in sounds with my Bigsby! To many watts will kill the sound ,i also have a fender twin with 1 15 that I cant stand because its got about 90 watts now. I can't get a good tone through it, money down the drain on that one.
I think low watts and a big speaker are the way to go.
Marty
Last edited by Marty Smith on 31 Jan 2007 1:58 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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John Drury
From:
Gallatin, Tn USA
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Posted 31 Jan 2007 10:05 am
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_________________
John Drury
NTSGA #3
"Practice cures most tone issues" ~ John Suhr |
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Loni Specter
From:
West Hills, CA, USA
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Lynn Oliver
From:
Redmond, Washington USA * R.I.P.
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Posted 22 Feb 2007 11:54 pm
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You might want to look at this thread.
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Lynn Oliver
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Loni Specter
From:
West Hills, CA, USA
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Posted 23 Feb 2007 12:22 am
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| Lynn Oliver wrote: |
| You might want to look at this thread. |
did you forget the link? |
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Loni Specter
From:
West Hills, CA, USA
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Posted 23 Feb 2007 12:23 am
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| ooops never mind. |
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Roman Sonnleitner
From:
Vienna, Austria
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Posted 23 Feb 2007 8:56 am
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I'm also in the "small tube amp" camp - but I prefer my lap steel sound slightly dirty, if you need a really clean, you need something with more headroom, like a Fender Twin or one of the SS pedal steel amps.
My 'dirty' amp of choice is the Carvin Vintage 16 (which I modded quite a bit), just used it on a gig two nights ago, with some friends' band, and despite the venue being not that bi (held about 100 people, I guess), since the Carvin is only 16 watts, I was able to turn it up to just below the point of breakup, where it really starts to sing and scream...
(Sorry, my amp isn't visible in the pics, the stage was rather small, had to place it sideways behind the PA cabinets...) |
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Kay Das
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 23 Feb 2007 12:35 pm small amps
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Just a note to anyone who may be stuck with a large powerful amp and hears the enthusiasm over smaller ones, particularly the valve jobs. The reason the smaller powered amps sound better is that they work the guitar signal very close to the sloping point or "knee" on the valve ( or transistor) gain characteristic curve. The valve has a softer and gentler sound because the knee is more gentle and generates a better mix of harmonic frequencies, softens up the attack when you pick, and this results in a warm sound, also lengthens the sustain if your pick-up does not generate enough.
If you are stuck with a large amp and wish to soften the sound as above, the same effect can be approximated with the use of a compressor. You will need to experiment with it so that it works at the knee of its own curve.
If I have been as clear as mud, send me an e-mail and will explain more fully. |
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Ron Randall
From:
Dallas, Texas, USA
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Posted 23 Feb 2007 3:33 pm
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I love my little Tweed Fender Blues Deluxe.
12" speaker, all tube preamp, 2each 6L6 power tubes. Reverb, Drive.
It has the sound I love. |
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Bill Creller
From:
Saginaw, Michigan, USA (deceased)
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Posted 23 Feb 2007 4:25 pm
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I have a clone of a 1955 Fender Tweed Deluxe. It cost me about 650 bucks to build it including a custom cab for it.
Not very impressive for steel guitar. Iv'e tried four different speakers in it, but I guess it's mostly a rock type amp for guys who like the break-up etc. |
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Lee Gustafson
From:
Mohawk Michigan, USA
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Posted 23 Feb 2007 8:12 pm
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| I love the responses to my topic, but nobody has checked out the Johnson Laredo amp that I mentioned in my original post. It's made in China , doesn't have a Jenson speaker,but I think it's a possibility for lap steel. Will somebody please check it out and tell me what you think? |
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Roman Sonnleitner
From:
Vienna, Austria
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Posted 24 Feb 2007 4:21 am
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Well, I have seen those on sale by some Ebay stores, but haven't tried it myself, and I think you won't find a lot of people who have - that's not a popular model, and it's relatively new...
But just looking at the specs:
I doubt that it's 25 W - with two EL84 tubes ist should be more like 15 to 18 W (not that that would make a whole lot of difference in loudness).
Featureswise, it's not bad, spring reverb (probably solid state driven, though - since it has only got 2 preamp tubes), FX loop, 3-band EQ (some similar models only have 1 tone knob).
Since it has a 10" speaker, and runs on EL84 poser tubes, I expect it does not have a whole lot of bass, but will be chimey and jangly at the top end. Probably somewhere in the Vox AC15 range.
Probably PCB-contruction with board-mounted tube sockets.
There are quite a few EL84-driven models in a similar vein, from Vox, Carvin, Peavey, Crate, Epiphone, etc., mostly made in CHina, this one seems to be on the lower end of the price range for such models...
You could also read this (with all the usual caveats concerning HC reviews...):
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/product/Johnson/JA-T25-R+Loredo+Combo/25/1 |
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Todd Weger
From:
Safety Harbor, FLAUSA
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Posted 24 Feb 2007 5:24 am Re: small amps
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| Kay Das wrote: |
Just a note to anyone who may be stuck with a large powerful amp and hears the enthusiasm over smaller ones, particularly the valve jobs. The reason the smaller powered amps sound better is that they work the guitar signal very close to the sloping point or "knee" on the valve ( or transistor) gain characteristic curve. The valve has a softer and gentler sound because the knee is more gentle and generates a better mix of harmonic frequencies, softens up the attack when you pick, and this results in a warm sound, also lengthens the sustain if your pick-up does not generate enough.
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Kay -- that hits the nail on the head pretty well, I thought!
Roman -- man, that is one wild set up on stage you guys have there. I see you on lap, a harp player who doubles on glockenspiel (set up on a beer case, too -- nice touch! ), a bass, groovy silver glitter guitars and is that a BANJO I spy on the right!!???
Do you have any sound clips you can post? At first, I thought I saw a vibraphone, and thought that maybe you guys were playing some kind of exotica stuff or something, but then realized they weren't vibes, and then I saw the BANJO!??
Sorry. I'm just teasing.  I play banjo, too (4 string 'plectrum' banjo - more for polka and old-time styles, not bluegrass).
Is that the steel you built yourself? Looks great.
Tschüss!
_________________
Todd James Weger --
1956 Fender Stringmaster T-8 (C6, E13, A6); 1960 Fender Stringmaster D-8 (C6, B11/A6); Custom-made 25" aluminum cast "fry pan" with vintage Ricky p'up (C6); 1938 Epiphone Electar (A6); 1953 Oahu Tonemaster; assorted ukuleles; upright bass |
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Roman Sonnleitner
From:
Vienna, Austria
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Posted 24 Feb 2007 5:50 am
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Yup, that's a banjo you're seeing there, and my homemade lap steel, oh and that guy (who also plays electric guitar and accordion on other songs) isn't playing a harmonica/harp, but a jew's harp...
Not in the pictures are the keyboard (with barrelhouse piano sound), flügelhorn, xylophone, clarinet, violin, trombone, etc. that are also played by band other band members.
That's not my own band, those are friends of mine, their band is called Rewolfinger, they call their music "trash country", they mostly play traditionals, old folk tunes, country classics, with really elaborate arrangements, and some noisy guitar playing. Are you familiar with a band called The Pogues? Their attitude and sound is not that different from that of the Rewolfinger guys...
Here's a link to some stereo/3D pics of the gig that some guy took:
http://www.primovision.de/Rewolfinger__07/rewolfinger__07.html
The pics are from their CD release party - I did the cover photos for the CD (traditional black & white photography is my other hobby), and also play lap steel as a guest on one of the songs on the CD. You can listen to some of their stuff (but not the song that I played on - which is called "The Darkest Hour Is Just Before Dawn") on their (German language) homepage at www.rewolfinger.com or on their Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/rewolfinger - I'm sure you'll really be amused by the singer's strong German accent... |
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Bill Creller
From:
Saginaw, Michigan, USA (deceased)
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Posted 24 Feb 2007 2:08 pm
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The max power dissipation for the EL84 (6BQ5) is listed at 17 watts, that's for two tubes in push-pull. I don't think that amp has that much power, like 25 watts, but like you said, it really isn't a big deal if it's somewhat less. Many amp mfgrs are a little over enthusiastic with the performance figures.
It would be interesting to try one out though. |
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