The Steel Guitar Forum

I'm in the market for an amp to use with my lapsteel and can't decide if a small tube amp that can be naturally or internally overdriven with pre gain control is better or should I get a less expensive solid state amp with an overdrive pedal (huge selection these days!)
I'll be playing blues and rock. I already have a Peavey 112 I use for my pedal steel but wanted something even smaller so not sure which type to buy.
I don't see the point in spending a lot of money on a boutique hand wired tube amp then having to tweak the sound even further by using a pedal. But I do want that screaming sustaining lapsteel blues sound.

Fender Blues Jr is nice. Not a whole bunch of headroom (only 15 watts), but a nice amp for the price. Gain, Vol, High, Mid, Low, onboard reverb (a little buzzy, tho'), fat switch.

EL84/12AX7. Breaks up nice for gritty stuff, for sure, likes FX pedals.

Is this for home use or home/gig use? How many watts do you need?

Fender Blues Jr is good. Mine has all of the Bill-m mods and so my tubes are 6V6.

Egnater Tweaker 15 is also a good deal too.

Stephen its for home and small gig use.
Thanks for some good suggestions so far!

Hughes & Kettner Tubemeister 18 with built-in power soak.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TM18H

Erv, I have never seen an amp with so much confidence in its appeal that it was made with only one input and one knob!
That's a leap of faith for sure.
If only our pedal steel amps were that simple!

Stephen Abruzzo wrote:Hughes & Kettner Tubemeister 18 with built-in power soak.

Yeah, that thing is a monster. Lots of features. Loud as most folks need for a moderate room. I know a guitar player that uses one. We play everything from light jazz to hard rock and it sounds great.

A bit pricey though and you still need a cab.

Tony,
Yes, we are getting back to the basics, for sure!

Have played a Valve Jr. on 6 string. Wouldn't by my first or even fifth choice given the other options out there.

For my money I would get one of the new Quilter Mini heads and match it with the cab of your choice.

http://www.quilterlabs.com/index.php/pr ... -mini-head

Tony Palmer wrote:Stephen its for home and small gig use.

i'd keep your eyes open for one of these, or something like it.

https://reverb.com/item/6320-alamo-embassy-1960-s-black

i got mine for $80, shipped, years ago.
my roommate got one recently for the exact same price.

they sound great, record well, and because they are so low powered and also seem to have a really inefficient speaker, they are perfect for home use.

i've used mine by itself for really small gigs, and used it as a preamp for a big amp as well...(www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qvoSuxaO7I)

i've both mine and my roommate's together for a slightly louder (but still quiet) gig.

that's probably way more info than you want, but that's what i'd do!

Tony, you should drop by my place and try out some of my amps. I lost count I but have a nice selection of everything.

I use a Pignose G40V. A little tube amp with 40 screaming watts. They pop up online for around $250.

Two lightweight (22lbs) offerings I've used with great success, both at low volume gigs and home:
Tube:
Blackstar HT5 Combo
Clean ch cranked gets into ACDC territory.
Dirty ch. Sings with sustain and crunches like Black Sabbath should you need that. Really great blues amp.
Caveat: you will run out of clean headroom if the band is not very controlled. Has a line out or you can mic it.

Transistors:
Roland cube 30 or 40xl
Lots more headroom, delay, reverb, multiple gain styles. Channel switching if you need it. A very analog, modelling amp.
It's a do it all small light box. I often use it for small venue pedal steel.
Need something louder? Cube 60 or 80XL Adds 12lbs

If you want tubes and more clean headroom the blues Jr or a Princeton reverb with your favorite drive pedal should cover lots of ground.

If you can play your guitar through the amps first, they may sort themselves out right quickly.

Happy Hunting

Hey, i'd like to add that i've had great results (both in studio and live..) with a late 50's Webcor tube reel to reel. I bought it cheap off of shopgoodwill.com. I just took the two wires off the internal speaker and stuck them onto a Switchcraft 1/4" jack, drilled a hole in the back panel wired it up and BOOYA! Thick Greezey tone that goes into "Rockin' The Fillmore (Humble Pie for those guessing') territory at full-tilt. just crank it up and use a VP. It's a 8ohm out, I've ran it through ALOT of different speakers, currently it sounds best into a mid 80's Marshall 1965A cab (4x10 Celestial G10L-35's).

Wow that's pretty inventive Joel. Lenny I'm in Florida for the winter, down in the Keys
Im thinking the best bang for the buck might be a used Fender Blues Jr and be done with it. I can't get a sound I like from any of the overdrive pedals into a solid state amp.

Both the Blues Jr. and the Pro Jr. are excellent choices for lap steel. All three of mine (all are older models built in Oregon, not the newer models from Mexico) employ a 1/4" phone jack for their speaker connection, which makes experimenting with different speaker cabinets quick and easy.

Additionally, they both have been produced for a long period of time, so there's a gazillion used units out there. They have a good reputation, so if you find you don't like it (doubtful), you shouldn't have a problem if and when it comes time to sell.

Damn! Erv, that's a mighty fine looking blues amp

Tony,
Thanks! I don't know if they make that one anymore, it was kind of a custom model. I believe it had a special kind of a speaker in it.

Erv if you don't mind me asking, what do you use that amp for?
Your avatar shows you at a pedal steel and there's no info in your signature,
Just curious...

I play quite a bit of non-pedal.
I have a covey of lap and console steels.
Don't get me started!

I gotta agree with Erv. The Blues Jr is a great way to go. For lap steel, I prefer a 12" speaker.

How about a Vox AC4TV or a little fender vibro champ... and mike it. Only thing is you will need to add a reverb pedal as these amps do not have.

K

Or even a smaller vox mini tube amp

http://www.amazon.com/Vox-AC4TVmini-Tub ... B003E8CGC0