The Steel Guitar Forum

I'm in the market for a lighter amp with enough power for gigs, and was wondering what the forum's current thoughts are on the ZT Club for pedal steel. I currently have a Peavey Austin 400 that is just too heavy. I've used a ZT Lunchbox for years when I played a Fender, but I feel the small speaker is just too limited sonically for my current 12 string Marlen.

Other amp suggestions under $500 are welcome, too.

Forum member the late Mike Perlowin said he used one and sang it's praises. I have a Lunchbox and it's a good guitar amp. For pedal steel I run a amp simulation effects pedal and it's good for home use. Not enough low end for a band. Do a search for Mike's post some years back.

Thanks, Larry. I did find Mike's posts, they were helpful. I too have a Lunchbox and like the portability and power. I've used it for pedal steel but it's not great. I thought the 12 inch speaker on the Club might be better. I used the Lunchbox rigorously over the last decade on different instruments, and it's still kicking.

Andrew, have you considered a Roland Cube? The 80 watt version with a 12" speaker will do the job for the small gigs that we often play. They are slightly over $200 used from Guitar Center; probably less from your local Craig's List.

And I bought a Cube 30 with a 10" for my small guitar gigs. Perfectly sufficient.

Andrew, I have used the speaker out on my Lunchbox into a separate 12 inch cabinet or a 15 cabinet with better results. Because the limited EQ I find it best to use a processor in front for reverb and amp emulation. That leads to extra pieces so I prefer a grab and go setup in a combo amp. The Boss Katana is decent for steel.

That's an idea, Larry. I also considered getting a compact head and single 15" cabinet.

Chris, I'm considering the Roland but not sure if it will have enough clean power to cut through the noisy bands I play with.

It's kinda pricey but the Quilter TT 12 inch combo is a awesome piece of gear. I have seen several steel shows with these in action and they do sound great plus it's lightweight and small. I will eventually have one.

That does seem like a fine amp, and it was also recommended to me by Doug Beaumier. A little out of my budget at the moment.

Mine too. I have a Quilter 101 mini 50 watt tone block, no reverb amp head. I use the effects loop for a reverb and delay pedal. It will do 100 watts on 4 ohm. Good sounding little head for it's size.

Milkman "The Amp" in either 50/100 or 10/200 watt model. Beautiful tube front end and reverb, nice clean power section, then whatever speaker cab you need for the gig...using 2 cabs doubles the power...

99% of the time I ust go direct from the XLR out to the PA, with the Cabinet Simulator switch on...no speaker except what I hear in the monitors...

Nothing beats a 2 lb. tube amp...

I hear good things about Boss Katana amps. They are not expensive. More and more folks are saying a 12” speaker is fine for steel. I’m one of them.

Steve, that's a great idea, and I almost went that route.

K, thanks for the recommendation! Good to expand my decent budget amp vocabulary beyond Peavey. I tend to agree that 12" sound fine for steel.

Thanks to everyone for your input. I ended up buying a ZT Club at a decent price. My first impressions matches what others have said. It's a very transparent amp that doesn't add much warmth (if any), but it's extremely clear and clean with a ton of headroom. I don't have any other steels to compare, but the Marlen's natural warmth and sweetness come through just fine. Maybe a less naturally sonorous guitar would make the amp sound a bit "sterile", but that's not my experience so far. It's certainly different than the Peavey Austin 400, but not worse. Honestly, I haven't missed a second speaker so far, but we'll see how it goes at a gig.

It's so much smaller and lighter than the Peavey, too! Obviously this is a big draw. But it's remarkable how much power ZT has squeezed into this little box.

Andrew..
I actually use a ZT Lunchbox often when needing an amp for a not-quite-as-important gig or jam...fed by my Milkman "The Amp" to get the tube vibe, which I can't live without..once heard, it can't be forgotten (I'm just an old tube amp junkie)...and The Amp has the nice reverb.

It is way smaller than any of my speaker cabinets and sounds about the same as using my 10" Jupiter in a small cab..

Hmmm....maybe I should just get a tiny old ZT expansion speaker for the Milkman amp....Ebay, here I come!

That's a good idea, Steve. I also still use the Lunchbox for certain gigs and jams, especially with my cheapo lap steel (it sounds better with the smaller range of the lap than the pedal steel). For portability and power it just can't be beat. Really a pretty amazing little piece of technology.

This is what Mike Perlowin said many years ago.

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.

Yeah, I actually bought one years ago and returned it after a day...but I now appreciate it (I scored one cheap on Ebay) for what it CAN do, not what it CAN'T...it is mid-rangy and typically solid-state sterile...but is perfect for lap steel, somehow it just sounds great, and its size/weight/power formula makes it a "go to" for gigs where "perfect" tone isn't the goal...as I mentioned, it sounds like my Jupiter 10" speaker in a Champ-sized cabinet, but is smaller and has the amp built in!

I bought the zt extension speaker and it added a bit more dimension but not a great deal of better tone. Also tried a few 12 inch extension cabinets and overall it didn't charge much. However using an effects pedal with amp simulation like the Pod xt really improved the overall sound and quality. So that's how I use it for steel.

Well,...the extension cab is a little under $200 used, but weighs almost as much as the whole amp (7 lbs.vs. 9.5 Lbs)...so I'll just keep bringing the amp...with the Milkman front end it sounds pretty good...there is a real limit to what you can do with a speaker cabinet that small...

Well,...the extension cab is a little under $200 used, but weighs almost as much as the whole amp (7 lbs.vs. 9.5 Lbs)...so I'll just keep bringing the amp...with the Milkman front end it sounds pretty good...there is a real limit to what you can do with a speaker cabinet that small...

I agree. If I remember the extension is only rated at 50 watts. Seems odd when the ZT lunchbox is claiming so much more power. My old ZT lunchbox only has the ambient effect. The newer versions sounds much better with reverb. That said, by using the pod xt I have plenty of reverb and delay to use. It's strictly a home practice unit for me. I prefer the big speakers for a gig. I imagine the Club does much better.

Took the ZT Club to a small brewery gig last night and it was just fine. Incredibly clean and loud. I honestly couldn't tell the difference between it and my Peavey Austin 400, except I could load it in and out with one hand while also holding my electronics case.

Sounds like a winning plan. Can't beat lightweight gear that satisfied your needs.