The Steel Guitar Forum

what kind of amps were the old hawaiian guitarist using in the 30,s and 40,s? they all have such a clean warm sound. almost like a horn.

Mostly Gibson, Epiphone and Rickenbacher Tube amps with 10" or 12" speakers which gave the great sound.

The Epiphone-made Electar amps were great and used by many. I've owned quite a few of them myself:

yes, tube amps, one small speaker (8", 10", 12"), low power (15, 20, 30 watts).

The pickups in vintage steels also contribute to the "warm" tone. Single coil PU, not a lot of windings, resistance of about 6K to 8K ohms, and in some cases a large Magnet i.e. Rickenbacher and other 1930s steel guitars. The strings-through PUs, Valco, Rickenbacher, were especially warm (some would call it slightly distorted).

Removed.

Didn't Sears contract with differen't Amp manufacturers to make their "Silvertone" Amps ?

Did Oahu or Dickerson ever make a "Professional" size Amp ? I think they were pretty much "Stuent" models.

Didn't Sears contract with differen't Amp manufacturers to make their "Silvertone" Amps ?

Yes, most Silvertones were made by Valco Co. for Sears. Valco made Airline for Montgomery Ward, and several other brands for other companies, including Oahu. They made mostly student grade guitars, lap steels, and amps. But the Valco stuff does have "that vintage sound" compared to today's solid state amps, and humbucking pickups, etc.

Another aspect of vintage tone is the recording gear used in 1930s & 40s studios. In particular the mic's, tube consoles, and the "room sound".

I searched for decades.....to get that RICH, dynamic sound that JERRY BYRD produced on his early 1950 Mercury Records and detectable in nearly each and everyone of his recordings from that era. Aside from the Mercury Records, some of the early day KING records with Clyde Moody, Grandpa Jones, Cowboy Copas, etc., had unbeatable tonal qualities.

Without realizing it until many years later, I had nearly achieved THAT SOUND back when I was just 17-18 and did so with my triple-8 Fender and 4 x 10's bassman. I zipped right past it however, without ever noticing it.

Anyway, the search went on.

I got great sounds, (IMHO), out of my Bigsby with the 4/10's Fender Bassman and later with my '72 Emmons.

However, once I found a SOUND that more closely matched JERRY BYRD's 'sound'.......I was playing
my Rickenbacher.....Bakelite, thro my PEAVY LA 400, with 12 inch speaker. I discovered by turning up the SATURATION KNOB to about 2.5-3.0.......I got that same sort of 'popping sound' when the strings were plucked. GREAT SOUND!

Later, I mated the Ric with a Harmony, 8 inch ROLA Speaker and it was even better sounding. I then had the good fortune to latch onto a great little table top, radio size, OAHU amp with an 8 inch ROLA SPEAKER. GREAT SOUNDING.

In about 2005, recorded three Hawaiian CD's thro' an Epiphone Electar with about a 10 inch speaker and was really, really satisfied with that great sound.

My VOLU-TONE, IMHO, has delivered for me, the best authentic SOUND of OLDE, thus far.

I think the biggest mistake we steel players make is
wanting the biggest, best, heaviest and most expensive stuff we can lug home from the store.

The point was made above. THOSE OLDE Guitars, and the olde 'little' amps, were really designed for each other and they really sound the best when matched up. I've found ROLA SPEAKERS with about an 8 inch speaker is my favorite.

Wow Chas, what model is the ten string Rickenbacher?

Benjamin, my guess is, it's around a 1938. The pickup needs to be rewound, and it still is a nice sounding guitar. To be honest, the 6-string sounds better.

Ray,
Don't forget that recording technology was quite different in those days also.

John B.

Back in those days minor mistakes could not be fixed, you were stuck with them unless the whole Band did another take.

Billy,
Of course! But a lot of the mics were tube mics, the preamps were tubes, the consoles were tubes. Tube tape machines too. All contributing their warmth to the mix. The first time I ever recorded, it was in a single channel studio.

Removed.

Removed.

Removed.

Removed.

Removed.

Removed.

My favorite amp is still my old National, that I bought new in 1950. In fact I've built five clones of it in recent years. The original has a field coil speaker, and the clones have Weber speakers. I gave three of the clone away to friends and relatives.

Michael Lee!
Wonderful stuff!
My favorite lapsteel amp is my later '40's BR-1. Two 6L6 power tubes. Wish I could find the appropriate replacement handle!

John, don't know what type handle you need, but there is a place that has "stuff" for restoring old luggage, that may have something like that. It's Brettuns Village Trunk Shop.
www.brettunsvillage.com
Might be worth looking.....

I bought a handle there for a little Magnatone amp that I restored.

Thanks, Michael Lee, for another of your great history lessons and archival collections.

Thanks, Bill, for the luggage info. I needed an unusual handle for an instrument case and found something that looks like it will work.

Much obliged.

Andrew Roblin
International Sho-Bud Brotherhood
Member #79

OK, here's my take on the sounds of olde tymes.

First, let's not forget we will never know what those amps and steels really sounded like - only what the engineers and A&R-man made them sound like

I guess the safest way to go would be a 10 to 15 watt all-tube amp with a 10 or 12" speaker.
Allthough smaller speakers might sound lovely, the pros seldom bothered with those, IMHO.

Soundwise I'm hearing a lot of mild overdrive on those records: Not sure if it was intentional (= sounding reedy/trumpet like) or the limitations of technology of that age.
The recording mikes where most likely ribbons: Fat, mid-heavy sound with attenuated, silky highs. A huge factor in the equation!
Tone was rather dry. They did not patch in reverbs before 1947 and too much natural reverb tended to sound washed out on the jukeboxes.

BTW, I'm talking late forties, early fifties. (I sincerely apologise for coming across like the epitome of a wise guy - that's because I am )