The Steel Guitar Forum

Anyone ever use one of these for steel? A buddy sent me this, and said it looked like a steel amp.

They are great steel amps!
I have a MM 115Hd One Hundred, that has been a steel amp all it's life. My friend Ted and I went to the store to buy another Twin, but the guy talked him into playing with the MM. We played out the next night, and he went to the store Monday, and bought it.
(After he died, his wife finally sold me his guitar, and gave me the non working amp). I did some maintenance, and replaced the tubes, and have used it ever since!) It has an EVM 15L.

Yup, this one has an EV 1x15 as well. I figured it would be a good one - and a good price too. My buddy says he'll pick it up for me and bring it when he heads this way. Thanks for the info.

Haven't played through a 115, but I have played through a 112 Music Man. I don't think it was a 130, i think it was a little less power but it was a great steel amp.

If this 115 sounds like the example I played, you will likely be very pleased.

I had the 130 but with 2x10's and played guitar through it.

Music Man amps was Leo Fender's work after his hush period when he sold Fender to CBS.

Leo determined to knock the silver face Twin into oblivion achieved his goal but this time using a hybrid solid state/tube preamp section in some of the earlier models.

The amp was made to have lots of clean power to cut through on stage.

Thanks guys - I'm still trying to justify the expense haha. What I really want is a Vibrosonic, but am waiting for the right time financially - this just popped up for a really good price.

It is my understanding that the Music Man design was already in production when Leo was able to come aboard. He told Forrest that he thought they had gotten it backwards. He would have made a tube preamp with a SS output.
(Seems others are doing that now!)

Bill A. Moore wrote:It is my understanding that the Music Man design was already in production when Leo was able to come aboard. He told Forrest that he thought they had gotten it backwards. He would have made a tube preamp with a SS output.
(Seems others are doing that now!)

You're correct in a way, Forrest White and Tom Walker who were Fender employees started a company called Tri-Sonic together with Leo who after the no-compete clause Leo signed with CBS expired, Leo jumps out as president and they launched the Sixty-Five combo changed the name of the company (Tri-Sonic to Musitek, Inc) to Music Man and released the other amps including the 130.

Leo has creative credit for the Sixty-Five as he worked behind the scenes while consulting for Fender/CBS waiting for his deal with CBS to end.

As far as the solid state hybrid, they did change some issues. One design used a tube in a different way on the front end in the preamp.

And yes, Hartke sells a bass amp that has a tube preamp with the SS power amp. In fact there is a choice of both tube and SS preamp in the Hartke amp.

Music Man were Leo's last amps!

And while Music Man was ongoing, Leo and George Fullerton had their G&L company in the works.

I was thinking of the Milkman Half and Half!

Bill A. Moore wrote:I was thinking of the Milkman Half and Half!

Hehe, well one can't patent an "idea" and the better mouse trap will always be.

I have one of the first production models of the 115 HD 130 EVM amps, and I bout it specifically as a steel amp, and I thought it was GREAT! Then the speaker blew from doing outside gigs without sound reinforcement, so I replaced the EVM 15B with a JBL E-130 and the sound was TERRIFIC!! I still have it, and when I play the bigger shows, I'll bring it out and use it (It weighs a ton!). My opinion only!

I dunno, I might be a throwback to an earlier time, but IMO the MM amps are good, but man you really do miss that Fender tube preamp sound, and the sweetness it imparts to the overall sound..
music man amps, sound fine, but no way do they compare tonally to a good vibrosonic which is what the OP stated he really wanted. I had several and wanted to like them as much as a Fender but that solid state preamp just didn't cut it tonally. They ARE louder than Fenders, just don't have the character. If you really know and love the Fender sound, and thats what you want, MM amps don't sound the same,, just sayin'. bob

Bob Carlucci wrote: MM amps don't sound the same

I'll agree. Guess Leo did not want a patent lawyer knocking on his door with that big "eye" behind him/her.

they are excellent amps but don't forget that they are a hybrid circuit so they will never sound exactly like a Fender. I used a 2x12 HD130 for a while, extremely clean but the stock speakers can be very muddy, very mid strong.

If I recall, Randy Beavers used one of these very often at some shows, excellent tone !

I still have 3 MM's...2- 115-65's and a 212-65. I gigged with one of the 115's w/JBL D130 from the late 70's until around 2000..Great work horse amps ! I switched to a '69 Fender Dual Showman Reverb which I like better,but I'm still loyal to the MM's. I put a Sica 15" in one of them and it sounds superb too. All 3 have the 12ax7 phase inverter,so they're earlier ones. I should add that I started out with a 1965 Twin Reverb that had a D130 in it...That Fender sound has always been a beacon !

My amp guy loaned me his MM 115 while he was working on my Twin Reverb. I found it to be one of the best amps I've ever played for electric guitar but it had an upper mid emphasis that didn't translate well for my steel guitar. As others have said, it lacked the top end sweetness of a Fender. I should mention that I play a 1958 Fender 1000 so it might very well work better with modern PSG pickups.

Duped!

In my reply I was not trying to be a Negative Nelly.. The OP stated he wanted a Vibrosonic, and tonally they are different sounding amps.. MM are good amps of course, but IMHO the speakers simply didn't sound as good as the various models Fender used , and I really missed the tube preamp. Bought at least 5 MM amps and none ever stayed with me very long.

Others will disagree understandably, but in all honesty, the are 100 times more guys using Fender amps than MM amps for pedal steel, IF they use tube amps at all... bob

Almost every one you find will be over 15 years old and be overdue for service. Tube amps ned electrolytic filter capacitors replaced every 15-20 years (that's the average service life - and a blown one can nuke your power transformer).

So a "Free" amp will cost roughly $200=$450 just in normal, required service depending on how many tubes need to be replaced. And it should be checked out by a qualified tech right away - if you wait until something goes wrong, a "repair" job can mean $250-500 on TOP of the service cost.

And they EAT power tubes. They run very high plate voltages, and reasonably fresh, good quality power tubes and filter capacitors are critical. I see these amps quite often - and almost always because of blown power tubes or power section caps.

Great clean-sound amps but not inexpensive to own and maintain unless you do all your own work. If you don't, you should know a qualified amp tech that';s local. otherwise it's not a good amp for a non-tech player.

agree with Jim here. I've had several come thru my shop ( part time) over the years, DOA. What I always found was the solid state drivers just ahead of the power tubes went on vacation ! they are not expensive parts but require massive surgery to replace. Other than that, loud clean and heavy !

Jim Sliff wrote:And they EAT power tubes.

Could be that it's because these amps were made when tubes were still available made in U.S.A. and it wasn't considered that the U.S. would stop making quality tubes.

Today's tubes are a toss as to being rugged.

I have used Music Man amps since they came out in the mid 70's. The early 130 and 65 amps with inverter tubes definitely sound best. Cut the treble cap from .0033 to .002 and double resistance on negative feedback and they sound looser and more Fendery. KT77 output tubes sound really good. Just bias on the cool side. JJ KT77 or Gold Lion. EH 6CA7 if you are using head for bass guitar. excellent bass heads. They have really good low mid punch. My 210-65 has been a great telecaster amp with Eminence Ragin Cajin speakers. It will stay clear in any stage situation. Using JBL or some of the newer speakers is a BIG improvement in these amps. I have never had any serious problems with any of my amps.