The Steel Guitar Forum

My late-'70s Session 500 has done a fine job for a long time,but amp years can sometimes be like dog years and I need to start thinking about a replacement stage amp.I also have a NV112,and although I'm happy with what it does,I still like a 15'speaker and lots of headroom.
So what do y'all like for a high-power steel amp? Steel King,Twin Reverb RI Custom 15',Evans SE-200? Are there others?

Tom Bradshaw's Webb 614-E

ken has a great suggestion with webb and also evans makes some fine amps also another one would be a nashville 400 with ken fox's mod done to it. If you have not heard one with Ken's mod you need to find one to try and you will be hooked.

Scotty's Music still has new Nashville 1000's available. Check out their website;
http://www.scottysmusic.com/

I have an evans head. It is 200 watts at 4 ohms.
I run an 8 ohm cab which cuts the power some. I really like the tone on the evans but I play in loud bands and running an 8 ohm cab, it just doesnt quite have enough power. It would probably be fine at 4 ohms.

Bang 4 $ the Nashville 1000 kicks butt

I have had a lot of amps since 1947 . The Evans FET 500 which is still for sale used here on the forum is a great amp ,built to last many many years, Has a great sound and 200watts of power. I have had 8 Nashville 400,s and have found them to be great reliable 200 watt good sounding amps. Right now I am using a Nashville 400 and a Nashville 112 which really works well for me . The nashville 400 has great power and the 112 has great tone and together they are hard to beat.The 12 has only 80 watts but don,t let that bother you . I saw Paul Frankiln using one 112 a few months ago playing with The Time jumpers at The Station Inn in Nashville and he was cooking. Buck Grantham

Thanks,guys-
Now I've got a few ideas and something to save up for.I was REALLY surprised to find the NV112 is the only steel amp Peavey is making now.

Dave...You may want to check past Forum discussions regarding Fender amps, their reliability factor seems to be in serious question.

Crowbear speaks with wisdom beyond his years !!!

Everyone will agree that Peavey is bullet proof. However the Vegas would rate #1 for tone and the Session 400 as #2. I have never owned or played a Webb but I think the Evans and Steel King have the edge on Peavey for tone. Not as much power but that doesn't seem to bother the 112 fans.
Guess I'm uneasy with running a amp wide open and I don't plan on sitting one 10" from my head. The reason I said that, I seen Corkey Owens, in a show last fall, and he had his 112 on a stand in his left ear. Not more than 10". That is his business but the sound man sucked and he was not in the mix. I really wanted to hear Corkey but it didn't happen that night.
My thoughts ! Peavey has some great amps. Vegas is my pick. If you want tone, without paying over $2000.00, the Evans SE200 or Steel King is the ticket.
Some day I want to buy a Webb. I have found none I could afford so far. But you never know, someday.
By the way,I played a county fair tonight, with a very good sound company, and my Vegas kicked butt.
That was what I was told after the show, anyway !!
The sound man must of liked it. I could hear my guitar, on the house mix,over my amp on stage.

I have a 70's Twin that I like, but unless you get one with JBL's you'd do well to change out the speakers. I use a WEber California and Blue Dog in mine, sounds great with clean headroom for days.

If you want something you don't have to mess with, a new RI Twin sounds great but doesn't have the headroom of the UL 135w version.

Either way, make sure your roadie's got a strong back!

I just made a Twin for a customer in Lake Tahoe. My prices are reasonable for hand soldered point-to-point wired amps. You can see the twin at http://tube-tone.com/twin.php If you're interested, it would take about 4 weeks to get one together for you.

Raybob

this is off topic, but hey raybob...i used to live in lake tahoe a few years ago and i am the guy you made a bridge for my banjo made of bone...what an experiment that was...anyway, i just wanted to say hi and tell you thanks for showing me your sierra that one day...besides jerry garcia, you are the dude that inspired me to take up steel, thanks a lot man...tell doug and the big fat skinny guys i said hi, if they are still around...oh, and yeah, a ul 135 watt twin loaded with jbls will do you right, and if you put auricaps in it, you will be amazed at how incredible an experience it is to sit in front of and play steel...but yeah, it weighs a ton...so get a split cab made and it isn't so bad...aloha

i wouldnt want to tell anyone what amp to buy i use fender for 6 string peavey nv 112 nv 1000 for steel peavey service is second to none as far as im concerned mike brown is always quick to help this is something to consider

My preference is my Walker, by Jerry Walker, maker of the Stereo Steel. Mine is a mono amp with a built in Alesis Nanoverb and a rebuilt D130. It's 300 watts and only 42 lbs. Prefer it to my Nv. 112, Nv 400, Vegas 400, Session 500, LTD 400 and a Webb I borrowed from Dan Tyack decades ago. Someday I would like to A/B it with a Tonic or Revelation tube preamp and a TC Furlong split.

I have tried most everything from fender to webb to shobud to gibson/epiphone to a big rack full of toys and hands-down the best sounding combo amp TO ME is the Randall Steel Man 500 (SGA500) with a JBL E130 at 4 ohms. I have two of them now, one with an Accutronics 3-spring long-decay and the other a 3-spring medium-decay reverb tank. Both have bigger sound, better EQ, all-around best sound per pound per dollar for my shobud and emmons guitars than any other that i have tried so far. I paid between $600 and $700 each but several of these sold recently on the forum for somewhat less than that.

IMHO

Cant go wrong with the old bullet proof standard, Nashville 400.
Man... Thats a work horse, and keep the black widow, JBL,S blow out for a pastime.

I have a Session 500 - sounds fine, but is WAY over the weight limit. I just finished tearing apart and putting back together my late 70s LTD 400, which is a Session 400 chassis in a significantly smaller box - the size is very close to the Nashville 400.

I'll tell you, this amp sounds fantastic. Clean but warm, it even sounds great with a Strat straight in cranked up. The bottom end is breathtaking - I've had Twin Reverbs that didn't sound this good with a Strat. Did I say clean? I put a 15" Fender 4 Ohm speaker that I think was originally out of a Steel King, just tremendous. Of course, it sounds great with a 4 Ohm 15" Black Widow too.

If you want classic clean pedal steel sound, I think the Peavey stuff sounds great if you know how to work it, and is great bang-for-the-buck. I like the LTD 400, Session 400, Nashville 400, 1000, and 112 - each has its own thing going. Of course, a nice Twin Reverb, Webb, or Evans is great too. I suggest trying a bunch out and let your ears decide.

Nothing sounds like a Session 500. They remind me of a '72 Cadillac...just huge. And they absolutely roar with Peavey deep "clean" tone, a massive sound that projects yards into the audience.

I've had every big Peavey, numerous units of them, and through about 25 years they were all I used. Many steelers I'm sure have done the same.

As long as that fabulous tech support is there, choose the model you like and keep them flying.

(Until that new 500 watt, digital light-weight power amp, Neomag speaker version comes out!)

Evans. I'm using an RE 200 with a 10 inch speaker. Great string separation on the C6th. Also it does not break up when using the 8th pedal, C down to A, at high volume. Kind of surprising really for such a little amp. Don D.

Dave - or anyone else - I have a nice clean Nashville 400 that I thought I was going to use and decided to stay with my Vegas 400 - $375 shipped in the conus 563-357-0688

Hook, I've never used a Webb amp. Are they heavy? Are they exspensive? The Evans is one and not the other Don D.