The Steel Guitar Forum

Ok, so I have only been playing for about 17 months, I actually have been gigging regularly for about a year however.

I have a NV 1000, couple of NV112s and a 400, as well as a steel king.

I also recently bought a Brad Sarno black box.



My current rig and best sound yet by far;

Mullen D10 (stock mullen pups)
Black box
Hilton Volume pedal
Steel King amp.


Wow! it has such warm lows, and very bright yet subtle highs and sustain that lasts for days.

I think my search is over (for now) for great tone!

Anyone else playing this combo?

You go Dan, that rig should about do it for sure!

I have the black box, you know how you hear people say such and such was like taking a blanket off the amp, well this thing sure enough does.
I'm playing my nused Mullen D10 thru a Reeves Custom 100, a clone of the early 70's Hiwatts, it sounds pretty nice.

yeah, Don, until you run that same rig through a high powered clean tube amp. If the Black Box changed the sound in a way you liked, a tube amp is even further in the same direction.

Not necessarily the lightest weight per watt (my Fox 5F8B weighs 46# or so for 100W of 6L6 power) but just try it out through a Fender or MusicMan tube amp to hear another side of the tone of that Mullen guitar. Some people actually prefer solid state (I was one of them for a while) but the sound many of us fell in love with in the 70s or 80s was recorded through tube amps. Headroom is an issue with tubes but at a low enough stage volume 100W (like the Fox or a Twin or some of the THD amps) can be plenty loud with enough to spare to stay clean.

I understand your euphoria. I've been there several times. I've been at it for way more decades than you have years. Unfortunately, the euphoria probably won't last. And buying a tube amp probably won't make the euphoria last either. It's just human nature to look for that greener grass no matter how green yours is (sad to say). There are a lot of great sounding solid state amps but many of us feel that there is some magic in them tubes -- give it a try sometime . . . and . . .

ENJOY THE BUZZ WHILE IT LASTS.

Hey Larry Bell, if you think those Fenders sound good you oughta try a Hiwatt!

YOU might want to try a Fox
Cleanest 100W tube amp I've ever heard and it can do crunch with the best of them -- at 42# with a neo 15.

No, it's not a HiWatt -- it's a steel amp based on the 1959 Tweed Twin circuitry and voiced for steel with an absolutely killer full range ultra-light speaker.

sorry for the slight topic drift -- I'll try to do better

42 pounds sweetens up the tone quite a bit!

Thanks for all of the replies guys..
Larry - I actually have a few Fender tube amps.. not an old blackface Twin which is what I wish I had, but I have a hot rod deluxe (Steel sounds great, not nearly enough headroom) and also a 2X12 Deville (steel sounds great, more headroom than the deluxe, but still not nearly as much as the steel king).

This is another subject, but on the Deville, I have thought about changing out the 12AX7 pre amp tubes for 12AT7's for lower gain, also changing out the white labled groove tube 6L6's for some Red label 6L6 (they have the most headroom w/out breaking up).

Or just forget it and buy a Twin... even a 65 re issue would do good to I think.. anything with 4 6L6's has to be strong!

I do see a Twin in my future.

I get a fantastic tone out of my session 500.I know those Fender steel kings sound good,,,but so many people,,,,,from what see on here,,have tbl with them.I know the 500 is heavy as heck but the sound and power of a 500 is hard to beat.

I dont think a steel king sounds anywhere near as good as a sessions 500 amp
500 is heavy but they sound fantastic
I wish I had mine back
I play through a nashville 112 right now
and I would not trade it for a steel king
just my thoughts on it

Ive never played thru a steel king but some of the guys rave about them.I just know my 500 sounds so good.I have a couple session 400s a fender100bassman head with 115e cabs/1501s,an old ltd.which I love,,even an old nashville pro amp but the 500 sounds tops compared to any of these.The tone is outstanding and it seems to be more powerful than the 400s.It has a great reverb considering most peavey reverbs arent all that.The built in phasor sounds great.....I wish it had been a chorus instead.Sorry for the rant.Thomas Malugin

[quote="Don Hinkle"]Ok,



My current rig and best sound yet by far;

Mullen D10 (stock mullen pups)
Black box
Hilton Volume pedal
Steel King amp.




Told you so !! Have to look long and hard to beat that setup .

ok....here's my take on it. over the years my path has taken me through a super reverb, a sho-bud xmas tree, a standel custom 24, an ltd 400 and a nash 400.

the pv's (ltd and nashville) are far superior in a common sense performance aspect. ...and more compact, powerful, cheaper, more reliable ..etc.
need i go on?

if they don't deliver the magic tone it's 'my' fault, not the amp!

chris ivey wrote:ok....

the pv's (ltd and nashville) are far superior in a common sense performance aspect. ...and more compact, powerful, cheaper, more reliable ..etc.
need i go on?

if they don't deliver the magic tone it's 'my' fault, not the amp!