The Steel Guitar Forum

What can you recommend for a small inexpensive amp for clean lap steel? Small and clean are the most important.

The small Roland Cubes sound good... I like my stereo Mobile Cube but it's not cheap ($160). Very portable, battery powered, mic stand adapter. On our local Craigslist you can usually find a Cube of some kind going for around $100.

Stephen Cowell wrote:The small Roland Cubes sound good... I like my stereo Mobile Cube but it's not cheap ($160). Very portable, battery powered, mic stand adapter. On our local Craigslist you can usually find a Cube of some kind going for around $100.

Thanks for the suggestion. Seems there's several Roland Cube's in different sizes. I guess as they go up in size (15, 20, 30, 40 etc), they sound better?

I like my Fender Mustang I

I have a Street Cube, Cube 60 and micro-cube. Micro may be too small for your needs but is nice to tuck in a suitcase.
Street Cube has mic/instr input, great for quick setup and can be run on batteries. Easily accomodates small quaint rehearsal/gathering.
Cube 60 quick easy plug n play with reverb/delay/chorus etc. all on board, several amp models. Clean, use the JC (Jazz Chorus) as is Rolands clean setting. I think this is standard on all cube models.

Sometimes you post as "Dennis" but let "Doug" handle the tough questions? Maybe a little Good Cop-Bad Cop routine? Or are you guys twins?

You might check out the Fender Mustang I. 20 watts and about $100.00. They get good reviews.

Doug Burling wrote: Thanks for the suggestion. Seems there's several Roland Cube's in different sizes. I guess as they go up in size (15, 20, 30, 40 etc), they sound better?

Not necessarily... the scheme appears to be a similar preamp with larger power amps... they do make the features go up with size as well.

I have the Mobile Cube (2.5w a side) and the 40XL... I've used the MC into a PA head with a 15" EV Force in a Dietz box and it romped and stomped... the 40XL has a full tone section (B/M/T) as opposed to just a tone control (treble roll-off) on the MC... all the 40XL lacks compared to the 80XL is a Presence control (in the tone section), a larger speaker (10" vs 12") and more loop time (the looper is strictly additive, which I find non-useful). Compare them on the website for more.

IMO they all have the basic JC Clean sound available, tone shaping with compression. As I've related, the Mobile Cube sounds really great for lapsteel... I leave it plugged in and turned on 24/7 (use an adaptor!). It's the only one that does stereo, too... well worth the extra cost vs the smaller mono Cubes IMO. It also appears to be the most compact... you don't get delay and reverb at the same time, another trade-off probably due to size. It is the smallest Cube.

Take your lapsteel guitar to GC and try them out... always good to shake up the pimply-faced shredders hanging out.

used...$30ish...





behringer cheapo

best with cheap eq and delay stomp boxes.

ha ha ...up above on the table is a rare thing of the past. it's called a 'dictionary'. anybody remember those? they're good for checking the spelling and meanings of words.

You can also check out the ZT Amplifier Lunchbox Amp. 200 watts in a very small package. Bare bones, ambience and tone with volume and gain. But you can also use an extension cabinet with this and treat it as a small compact head. I use one and love it. Very clean sound.

Jim Cohen wrote:Sometimes you post as "Dennis" but let "Doug" handle the tough questions? Maybe a little Good Cop-Bad Cop routine? Or are you guys twins?

So here's the deal. I'm Dennis (go by Denny), the dad. Doug is my son. I started the thread on my iPad. I haven't posted anything for a long time. My son (Doug) is also a forum member and he must have logged into the forum on my laptop at some point. Since it's set up to keep you logged in every time I go to the forum, it was signed in under "Doug Burling". I didn't notice this on my laptop when I posted a response on my thread. Hence, the thread was under Dennis Burling and the second post was under Doug Burling. Hope you can follow that.

I had given up on playing the lap steel because of tremors that have improved enough that I thought I'd give it another shot. My son (Doug) became very interested in the lap steel. I bought Doug a used Sierra Lap Steel as a gift. Well, Doug has a lot going in his life including a new baby on the way in November, buying a new house that he's remodeling and a new promotion at work which requires more hours. Doug dropped off the Sierra a couple weeks ago because he doesn't have the time to play it. Now I'm trying to get back into it. He also dropped off the Peavey Nashville 112 that sounds great with the Sierra. I'll be heading to Florida after Thanksgiving for the winter and I'm taking the Sierra with me, but I'm leaving the Nashville 112 at home. I don't have room to haul the amp back and forth and don't have a lot of room at our Florida location. That's why I'm asking for Small Amp Suggestions. I'll be leaving the amp in Florida.

Sorry, more information than you wanted to know.

Behringer GM110......the original ones that are clones of the Trademark 30 maps.....you can get these for under $100. Pretty good cheapo amps.

Great Response! It looks like there's some nice options out there. I searched the forum for "Roland Cube" and it looks like the Roland Cube 80 XL is a favorite, but bigger than I want and need. I'll probably pack up the Sierra Lap Steel and head to GC or Sam Ash. By the way, I can't see playing the Sierra on my lap. It weighs a ton. Good thing it has legs.

Vox DA5, a small and light amp which can run on batteries. Sounds good and has reverb and other fx.

Tom Wolverton wrote:I like my Fender Mustang I

I got one too...nearly new, for $40 off my local C-list. Good tone for $40!

I've got both the Vox DA5 and the Mustang I.
I like them both, but prefer the 'stang because the Vox's headphone out is too weak.
The plus for the Vox is that it can run off of batteries.

+1 on the Vox DA-5. It's a modeling amp, similar approach to the Roland MicroCube but with better sounding tonal options IMO.

(Try one out if you can-- you might want a bigger speaker for those beefy Sierra tones.)

Not a fan of the modeling amps I have tried (Vox and Mustang III). I'm seeing more Fender Pro Juniors pop up on Craigslist lately. That would be my affordable choice for lap steel.

For lap steel I like the ability to get a little grit in there if the amps is cranked. I little Fender Champion 600 you can find used for under 100 beans.