Steel Amps

Dennis Love · Post by **Dennis Love** » 9 Feb 2009 1:31 pm

Hey y'all, Got my steel about three years ago and was just planning to fiddle around with it. Now, I'm starting to play live, and I'm wondering if I should invest in a steel amp. I've got a Marshall tube amp that is great for my 6 string guitar and was just wondering if I would get any noticeable change in tone by switching to say a Steel King or a Peavey Nashville. Any thoughts would be really appreciated. Thanks, Dennis

Roger Francis · Post by **Roger Francis** » 9 Feb 2009 1:50 pm

A nashville series is great for steel!

Jeffrey Shu · Post by **Jeffrey Shu** » 9 Feb 2009 2:28 pm

I started playing through a Peavey bass amp because of the 15" speaker, but it didn't have any reverb. Never liked the sound I got from my other guitar amps - partly, I think, because of the smaller speaker size, but also because guitar amps are tweaked so much for that particular instrument.

Paul Norman · Post by **Paul Norman** » 9 Feb 2009 4:17 pm

An amp that is designed for steel sounds better. The
pre-amp as well as the speaker has a special design.
Usually a 15 inch speaker gives the best sound, but
a few years ago Peavey came out with the Nashville
112 which revolutionized steel amps. I tried others
with 12 inch speakers(regular) and they just wouldn't sound right. I went to AZ back in 2005 to a
Steel Convention (SWSGA) and every little factory steel
booth had a N112 and they are fantastic.
The Nashville 400 (15 in) sounds real good but heavy.

Leslie Ehrlich · Post by **Leslie Ehrlich** » 9 Feb 2009 7:43 pm

What amp you should buy depends on what kind of music you want to play. If you want a clean country type sound, then go for a steel amp (Fender Steel King or Twin Reverb, Peavey Nashville series, Evans, Webb, etc.)

I like playing heavy hard driving rock music, so I prefer an overdriven Marshall type tone for my PSG.

Tom Quinn · Post by **Tom Quinn** » 9 Feb 2009 7:57 pm

Well ya got two kinds of steel amps... ya got yer Session 400s and you got yer Nashville 400s... it's up to you!

Bobby Snell · Post by **Bobby Snell** » 9 Feb 2009 10:00 pm

Dennis, do you like how you sound through the Marshall? After 3 years, what's the sound in your head that you want to hear?

Marshalls are certainly capable of producing "clean" enough tone for steel (Leslie's Constant Quest for Crunch notwithstanding

), but it is different from Peaveys. I have and will continue to use both...and Fenders too. Pedal steel is certainly a demanding instrument for an amplifier. It's usually a good idea to have more watts than the lead guitarist!

Ray Montee · Post by **Ray Montee** » 9 Feb 2009 10:19 pm

When I started playing, I played a Fender triple neck thro' a Fender Bassman 15 inch. It was very deep and somewhat mushy.

I upgraded to a Fender Bassman 4 x 10's and it was a swell amp.

My transition to an Emmons and a Session 400 brought mixed emotions. A little too sterile for me. I acquired an LA Session 400 w/12 inch spkr and it's really nice.

My great sound is realized when I play both Session amps with a ProFex II. No matter what setting I select, It's a great sound IMHO.

Just get out there and try them ALL! Any adjustments you dial in on the Session units should be done very slowly, small micro adjustments, and the results will be surprisingly magnificant. YOUR guitar and amp should be MATCHED as CLOSLY as possible.

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 10 Feb 2009 5:32 am

When I played steel in the infamous R&B band, "Hot Potato And The AbdoMen," I used a Marshall 100 watt full stack. It sounded pretty good with my old Shobud. But not as good as my Twin with a 15"er.

Doug Palmer · Post by **Doug Palmer** » 10 Feb 2009 5:40 am

I've tried a lot of amps. For the money the Nashville 112 is a winner. Small, light weight, powerful, clean and cheap. All my other amps are growing spider webs.

Doug

Ron ! · Post by **Ron !** » 10 Feb 2009 7:42 am

Well ya got two kinds of steel amps... ya got yer Session 400s and you got yer Nashville 400s... it's up to you!

hmmmm......I used every steel guitar amp in the book and only one jumps out big-time.
That is the Fender Steelking.Some people don't like them because of the sound it has but that can be changed by turning your master volume on 10 and dial in with the gain.
Most people don't do it that way and the result is that the amp don't sound right.
I honestly say that the Steelking(setup like mentioned)will blast the Nashville 400 and the session 500 right of the stage.

Ron

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 10 Feb 2009 10:33 am

Some of us have tried the solid-state steel amps, but have gone back to Fender tube amps. Not all the way back to the expensive early-breakup black-faces, but back to the '70s clean-to-the-top silver-face Twin family (Twins, Duals, Vibrosonics, Super Twins). Clean and great tone.

Tom Quinn · Post by **Tom Quinn** » 10 Feb 2009 11:46 am

I'llstick with my '74 Session 400.

Remi Villeneuve · Post by **Remi Villeneuve** » 11 Feb 2009 3:31 am

I tried two amps... I am still a newbie with just over a year of playing...

I have both, a 65 Pro Reverb and a 73 Deluxe Reverb.

For me, the Deluxe is way cleaner than the Pro which breaks up around 2. It is pretty weird because the Deluxe is supposed to be half power (20 watts) of a Pro (40 watts) and for an equal volume level the Deluxe is still cleaner....
And a silverface Deluxe is pretty easy to find.

Mike Sigler · Post by **Mike Sigler** » 11 Feb 2009 4:44 am

I have been using Tom Bradshaw's WEBB AMP, and after playing it for the last 2 or so years, everything else sounds lifeless.. Just my veiw's for my style of playing...

Ken Byng · Post by **Ken Byng** » 11 Feb 2009 4:51 am

Mike Sigler wrote:I have been using Tom Bradshaw's WEBB AMP, and after playing it for the last 2 or so years, everything else sounds lifeless.. Just my veiw's for my style of playing...

I'm with you on that one Mike. The Webb is just altogether a bigger sound than anything else I have played through. It's an incredible sounding amp with so much tonal variation that it is near impossible not to get a great sound. It is not cheap but then you do tend to get what you pay for, and this is a real boutique amp. Just for interest sake, I removed the rear port cover on mine.

Larry Scott · Post by **Larry Scott** » 11 Feb 2009 5:07 am

Qoute

It's an incredible sounding amp with so much tonal variation that it is near impossible to get a great sound.

Ken I hope you meant near impossible to get a
bad sound

Ken Byng · Post by **Ken Byng** » 11 Feb 2009 12:32 pm

Ken Byng · Post by **Ken Byng** » 11 Feb 2009 12:37 pm

Larry - leaving out a little word like 'not' gave that sentence a whole different meaning to that intended. It's a good job that you are awake.

Thanks

Ken

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