The Steel Guitar Forum

I'm moving to Ireland soon and would like to take a giggable, but very small amplifier with me. The only one that seems to fit the bill is the ZT Lunchbox and I was wondering if it could hold up at a gig (mic'd and with pedals for reverb of course). I know they can do the job for a telecaster.

I got one...sent it back after a day. Not much clean headroom (have to keep GAIN knob way down or it distorts), and I didn't like the tone much - really sterile. Some here do use them though - but I believe they use more than one, which fixes the headroom thing, but wouldn't help the tone...

If small and light is what you want, and you have a few bucks to spend, check out the Milkman Pedal Steel Mini (I use one, with a 12", 40 watts, 35 lbs.) or the upcoming Milkman Hybrid (400 watts, 30 lbs).

There are a few of these amps lying around the office where I work, this thread reminded me to take one home and try it out with the steel. After spending some time with the amp I have to agree with Steve. It would work OK for 6-string or lap steel, especially as a platform for pedals, but I wouldn't want to use it for a psg gig. It might could work with a larger extension cab and decent reverb pedal, but at that point you're getting into the cost and size of a NV112. For the price range & size I'd check out a Fender Blues jr. Or for a little more $$, a Princeton or Princeton Reverb.

The most portable amp would be the GK MB200, 2 lbs. Just get the amp, find a suitable speaker after you get to Ireland.

MB200 Here!

Amp = 2 lb

Add effects & speaker and you've got 200 watts.

h

Yeah, that's a great idea. I use an RV3 pedal with an MB200 and a 15" Eminence lightweight speaker and I'm done.

I've had one of these amps for several years. It does not sound good with psg. As others have said ...sterile and no headroom to speak of. It needs to be used with a reverb or delay pedal. It also needs to be set on the floor to get any kind of low end response. I find that, for guitar, it sounds terrible if you are playing alone. For some reason it does well with a band. I have no idea why this is. That said, I've used it for numerous gigs and rehearsals, playing guitar, including a 17 piece big band. I've often been asked "where is your amp?" It lives in the trunk of my car in the event that it is needed as a back-up.

One of my bandmates bought a ZT Lunchbox. He was lured by the light weight and claim of 200 watts. It was without doubt the worst sounding guitar amp I've ever heard. It looks like a space heater. The cabinet is cheap particle board painted silver. It may have been 200 watts by some measurement, but it wasn't loud. By buddy returned the amp, lesson learned.

i have 2 of the larger ZT Club amps. I run them with a Sarno Black Box and a POD XT set to a stereo chorus. They sound fine with the boxes, but very sterile by themselves.

These amps are designed for rock guitarists who want distortion. They are not designed for steel players looking for a clean sound with lots of headroom. However, you can get a clean sound out of them. You just have to turn the gain down 90% and use the volume control.

The club only has bass and treble controls. It would be better if it also had a midrange control.

I tried a lunchbox, but didn't like it.

I have a Lunchbox, I use it for small club gigs with a Tele, or a 6-string lap steel, going through a Boss ME50. Probably a bit lightweight for a PSG.I usually run the volume full up and the gain about 1 o'clock, the tone at 11 o'clock and the ambience about 8 or 9 o'clock. A bit of distortion using the neck pickup but the others are ok.You do need some kind of effects ahead of the amp. I tried the Club, found it to be very sterile. My mail amp is a Fender Deluxe reissue, I love it but not where I have to climb stairs. I can get a relatively fat sound with the Lunchbox, if I back off the tone control on the guitar. Another option for a lightweight amp would be a Fender Mustang II, but they are thinner sounding than the Lunchbox.

Jim Cohen wrote:Yeah, that's a great idea. I use an RV3 pedal with an MB200 and a 15" Eminence lightweight speaker and I'm done.

I agree with Jim. Put a Sarno Black Box or Freeloader between the guitar and the RV-3 and it's better yet.

I think it would be hard to pick a worse amp, sound-wise, for pedal steel...they have about zippo clean headroom on the bottom end. You simply can't push a bunch of power into a toy-sized speaker in an un-engineered box, and expect to have any quality in the sound.