The Steel Guitar Forum

I agree Scott...I'd like to see amps for us no peddlers stay right here. The posts get lost over in electronics, and many of us rarely venture out of the non-pedal forum anyway.

I have a Peavy Nashville 400 downstairs that I use (it's very heavy, so I don't move it much). I have a little amp called a "Pro" amp upstairs. I think it's probably a generic brand, but it has a pretty good sound. It also has a dirty channel which I never use. It's lightweight, so I can carry it places. In fact, I took it to Hawaii once and kept it up in the cabin with me. In the bedroom, I have a Micro-Cube. Great little amp! It will go on batteries if need be. All have reverb, which is a must for me.

I'd like to know a good tube amp to get...lightweight, great sound, durable... and without breaking the bank.

I think this is a worthy thread . . . I wish I had lot's o' moo-laa to spend on all kinds of music gear but I don't so I make my reg. el. guitar stuff work for my ric b6 . . .(I know it's Sacrilegious).
I use a marshall mg100 hdfx head and I have a pacific cabinet with a celestion 12" speaker in it(I forget the model #). Plenty o' headroom for clean sounds and of course it channel switches for the dirt, the effects are ok but I really don't use em much, I do like the reverb however.It's solid state however,(argh!! I know!!!!), but the newer solid state amps are much warmer than in days of yore, and no waiting for tubes to warm up . . . the fan makes alot of noise on boot up but it chills out after a min. or two.
I'm interested to see if there really is a difference in amp tastes for steel as opposed to reg. el. guit.
To me it seems like it should all be interchangeable as guitar is guitar,(hmmm maybe cuz I only have 6 strings, frequency wise it seems to be in the same ball park, I guess you 10 stringers outta chime in . . .)Any hoo just curious to see what others use and think . . .

I have a Nashville 112 and a Roland Micro cube. But I just got an Alesis Roadfire 15 which I'm currently in love with. I bought the Nashville based on all the reports, but for my style of lap steel, I found something missing with it. I actually enjoyed playing through the Roland much better and its great to take on the road and the batteries last forever.

However, I just got this Alesis, and it beats out the roland for pure sound, plus the built in effects are amazing. It has a built in battery, which I haven't tested yet to see how long it goes.

I'm still on the search for the perfect amp.

Danelectro DM-25. 60's.

I posted over on the Les Paul Jr. thread - I traded in another amp for that one because

(1) it's simple. One knob, for volume. Kind of like my guitar, which has a volume pot for each pickup (no tone controls).

(2) it's quiet - only 5 watts. I can crank it up without blowing out my ears. At reasonable volumes the amp sounds like an amp oughta sound (in my opinion).

I looked for other new amps that would fit the bill; none had the low wattage combined with the extremely simple layout. I did find some old amps at one of my local shops (Guitar Showcase, in San Jose), mostly Montgomery Wards - type amps that sounded pretty good cranked up, but in the end I decided I wanted to go new (grounded plugs, new tubes, etc.).

I'll leave this in No Peddlers as requested.

A lot depends upon how loud you want to get when you play. I find that a Fender Pro Junior (15 watts through a ten inch speaker) is just fine for most situations I'm in. I currently play through an old Fender Princeton Reverb, which is to me just about the perfect lap steel amp. If I were playing any louder, I'd use a Fender Deluxe Reverb.

It also depends on the tone I'm trying to achieve and the volume at which I can achieve that tone. Smaller tube amps break up at a lower volume, giving that growly sound that I like. If you want to play very clean sounds, then a solid state amp will give you a better tone (and will be much lighter to carry around).

I think that the Peavey Delta Blues (15 watts tube amp, 15 inch speaker) is a very good choice as well. Previous posters have mentioned the Roland Micro Cube very favorably, but I haven't had the chance to play through it. I think the Gibson Les Paul Junior amp sounds swell.

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Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars

BTW, the Alesis Roadfire is 8 inch speaker, 15 watts. 80 preset effects, 10 banks of programmable effects. Has a foot pedal that moves between effects and controls the amount of effect that is in the mix.

I'm a newbie to the steel community, so mine is from a learning curve viewpoint. I was using a Peavey Classic 30 tube amp, not bad but it didn't have a lot of character. I recently got a stock '68 Fender Princeton (no reverb, great tremolo), and just love it with steel. 12 watts of warm yet perky bliss, and plenty of oomph for my music rooom. I run the signal thru a Lexicon LXP-1 and then to the amp. My Supro screams, and the Dual Pro is clear as a bell. I figure if I ever learn enough to pass muster for live work (hah), I can mic it with one of my old Shure SM57's.

It's a start, anyway.

The Alesis Roadfire is new to me. It looks like a shrunken down version of the Roland JC-120 to me!

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Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars

I've got a Peavey Delta Blues with a 15" speaker that I use for most of my guitar work, but for the lap I always come back to my old Peavey Special 130 with a 12" Eminence. Nice thing about the Special 130 is that it's got the full boat of tone controls including parametric mid and presence plus real good reverb and a footswitchable "drive" channel. A very small combo that I've often sat on to play when I'm working on a small stage. Reliable (pritnear indestructable) and you'll find 'em on ebay under $200.

The Alesis Roadfire looks very good. I would consider it as an alternative to the Roland MicroCube, but at 32 lbs, I'll have to pass.

I'm still looking for a decent heftier replacement speaker for the MicroCube.

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Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'



CEO, CIO, CFO - UkeTone Records
Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website
Board of Directors Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association

Has anyone run into a light portable power source for amps that do not have battery capability?

I like my '56 Fender Pro Amp. If i want real "dirt", I'll plug into my old Oahu. Real "clean" my modded Princeton Reverb.
JB

I really enjoy the tones I get out of my old red Electro from my '64 Ampeg Gemini I. It's got a 12" Jensen Concert speaker in it and some of the deepest reverb (gotta have that) I've ever heard. It just sings.
Of course I plug into the accordian input.

Or there's the Rick Johnson custom cabinet that holds a '65 bassman head and a Jensen p15n. Nothing but tone, sweet, sweet, tone.

I use 1 of two amps depending on the situation. I play in a Hawaiian band with Stringmaster. I use a Fender (15w, 12") Princeton Reverb II or the AER Compact 60. The Fender with my Stringmaster is a classic tube sound and the Princeton is pretty light to carry. I also like the AER. It has a clean tone and a nice digital verb. Has a great XLR-out to run to the PA for larger gigs. Just an incredibly versitile amp at 13lbs!. Has two channels so I can us an acoustic guitar at the same time if needed. Lately I've been using both on most jobs. The fender for the steel (if the gig is small or if I can get the soundhippy to mic it), and the AER for the acoustic. (and as a backup).

I have some old 8" speaker tube amps that are fun to use once in a while too. I have an original 50's Gibson GA-5 (mine is labeled 'Skylark' but is same as the LP-Jr., an old Supro(Valco), and an old Rickenbacher tube(metal case), and the coolest little tube amp of all - the Magnatone Movieola! (thanks Sage).


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Chris Kennison
Colorado

I have a big ol heavy paint pealing off the walls session 500 and also a 30 watt Genz Benz acoustic amp that don't sound too bad with the lap steel. Surprising headroom out of the smaller amp. The Session is just for the jam room. Sounds fantastic but its a load and a half.

Rick

I recently sold my Peavey Nashville 112 and bought a Traynor YCV12WR. I like the tube sound much better. I really like the wine red tolex and oatmeal grill, too. I also have a copy of a '59 Fender Tweed built by Joe Stertz. It has a real classic sound and a real classic look.

Tubes rule!!

I'm not up on current amps that are available. My favorite since I got back into playing about five years ago has been my old National 15 watt tube job (I love tubes!)
I have a lot of amps right now (funny how they just migrate to your house isn't it)
I believe my next best sounding amp is an old Gibson GA8T tremolo amp that I picked up locally for 200 bucks. It has about the same power as the National. I bought the National new in 1950, and had to replace all the caps before it became dependable, but the covering is worn off the corners badly, so now it has character too!
I would like to have an old Fender Princeton Reverb, which seems to bring big bucks used when I checked Ebay last year.<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Bill Creller on 20 July 2005 at 02:37 PM.]</p></FONT>

I have an ESTEBAN G–10 Amp. that came with my ESTEBAN AL–100 Acoustic/Electric Flat~Top. It’s 10–Watts w/4” or 5” speaker in a cabinet that measures about H-9½”xW-8¾”xD-6”. It has (1)-Input, Volume, Overdrive~Button, Treble, Bass and also a Headphone~Jack & ON/OFF Switch. But, since I don't plan to use it; I really should Post it in the For~Sale Section for $65 Shipped to 48-States. The weight is less than 10#. You can see it on my website if you click here “Big John”
Edited: to say: I’ve just tried it and it sounds good to me! <font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by John Bechtel on 20 July 2005 at 11:06 PM.]</p></FONT><font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by John Bechtel on 21 July 2005 at 10:08 PM.]</p></FONT>

Bill McCloskey asked about power sources for AC powered amps.

For doing outdoor gigs without AC power, my group uses a single JBL EON 15 for a PA. It a powered speaker that puts out 180W. We use a Powerpack 300 to supply the power. It has a sealed lead-acid battery rated for 20 Amp Hours at 12V. It will easily power the JBL EON for more than two hours.

Costco has it for $79 plus shipping.
<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Gary Anwyl on 20 July 2005 at 08:08 PM.]</p></FONT>

Scott, I've always thought it would be fun to get an old radio cabinet--many have room for a bigger speaker--and refit the amp into it. There may not be a market for it, but as a one of a kind thing, it'd be fun.

My set-up (for now) is my 1950 Fender Deluxe with a Boss RV-3 and the Micro Cube.
Great sound when both are on and balanced.

The Fender sounds great straight but I turn on the pedal when I want a little delay & reverb. I find I use the pedal less than I used to. Hard to beat that old tube sound.

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JCFSGC,RMSGC,HSGA member since 2005
Fenders- Georgeboard- Melobar
Boyett's Glass Bars

Since gettin' my Micro Cube ... it's become my "most used" amp.

When I get a chance to play out ... I always turn to my Fender Pro Junior.

But when it is time to test a pick-up and/or new steel ... it's my 135 watt 70's Fender Twin Reverb ... that gets the nod.

Most folks who come over to have 'a-go' at my steels ... ultimately end up usin' the Twin also ...

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<font size=1> Aiello's House of Gauss</font>

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