The Steel Guitar Forum

Hi!
My name is Marcos. I´m from Madrid (Spain). I´m 25 years old. I´ve been playing guitar for 12 years and last year decided to play steel guitar. Here in Europe it´s hard to find amps and I have the chance to get a Session 400 Limited from a forumite made in 1989. Could anyone explain me the differences between Nashville 400 and Session 400?

In simple terms, the Nashville will sound a lot better with your steel guitar.

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John Fabian
Carter Steel Guitars

www.steelguitar.com
www.steelguitarinfo.com
www.carterstarter.com
www.magnumsteelguitars.com

in my opinion if one or both those amps have the BW 1501 instead of the BW 1502 speaker that would be a plus, you can tell quickly as the 1502 has the ribbed cone, the 1501 is non ribbed, having said that, the 1502 is a good speaker and I have a few, but always liked the clearer sounding 1501 better

I still think that the NV 400 is the best amp that ever Peavey have put out in terms of basic quality of tone. Mine is over 25 years old and apart from having to change a couple of the tranformer caps it has been 100% all the way.

That model Session 400 (reissued LTD model) has a different EQ system than Peavey uses on other steel amps (e.g. Session 500, Nashville 400, Nashville 1000 and Nashville 112).

I could never get the EQ set and get a sound I wanted with my 1990 model Session 400 LTD. I had a hard time selling it (I tried from 1992 to 1998) unless I wanted to "give it away" and finally did a trade for a MosValve 500 power amp.

The Nashville series of amps have Peavey's "parametric EQ" for the mid which allows a more precise mid EQ tuning.

If the Nashville 400 you are considering does not have the tone mod, it needs to be done as it gives a 100% improvement in the tone.

Thanks for your replies
It seems to be more simple than I thought

Pardon my ignorance, are these Peaveys tube amps? I know these Peaveys are regarded as the best, but I just play at low volume at home, so I just use the old tube amps I've had since Ben Franklin discovered electricity.

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"Drinking up the future, and living down the past"--unknown singer in Phoenix

Marcos,
Since Europe has mostly 220 electricity and America has 110, is there a problem using American amps?

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"Drinking up the future, and living down the past"--unknown singer in Phoenix<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Darryl Hattenhauer on 10 December 2005 at 06:43 AM.]</p></FONT>

<SMALL>I could never get the EQ set and get a sound I wanted with my 1990 model Session 400 LTD. </SMALL>

Interesting. I have no problem getting a great sound out of mine, and it is a 1991 model. Sounds fantastic.

Darryl,
I read some people saying that it can have an effect on the sound. Other people say that they have played the same amp in Europe and in USA and they didn´t noticed anything.
I´ve never have the chance to hear it.
Please, excuse my english.

I've had 3 Session 400 Limited's and 1 70's Session 400. And I have got a lot better tone on those than any other Peavey amp. Just a difference in opinion I guess. But I'm with you Curt on this one.

...........of course, if you invested in a Goodrich 7A, you would be able to "dial in" your tone preference on any amp that you might be using.

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<img width=100 src=http://genejones.bizland.com/Gene%20Rad ... motion.jpg>
www.genejones.com

Gene,
That's the way I do it.

Marcos --------- I really don't know the real difference between a Session or Nashville. But if you have the chance to get a Session 400 -- From what I've heard and read about these amps --- I would go for it.
If you ever need service or advice , Mike Brown (who is with PEAVEY )is on the forum and can help you even it involves just a simple question or repair.
BTW -The new Nashville 112 is cetainly worth considering and I believe it is equipted to handle overseas current.
I have a Session 500 which came after the 400 but which ever amp you decide a Peavey is the best bang for the buck...Not to mention their service dept and support.
Best of luck to you and WELCOME to the forum!
James Stewart Jr.

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1975 Sho~Bud Pro III Custom (8-7)
1981 Peavey Session 500

Marcos,
You ought to hear my Spanish. It's Chicano--a dialect of Spanish spoken by Mexicans and Mexican-Americans (usually of both Indian and Spanish descent). I guess that Spaniards would react to it like Americans would to the cockney accent of some Englanders.

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"Drinking up the future, and living down the past"--unknown singer in Phoenix

Gene,No disrespect intended, but I have used a Super Sustain 7A for a long time. And I have had some amps that I don't think a 7A, or a Black Box would have help. Just one of those things I guess. Anyway you can always get another one and start again.
Happy Holidays!

An after thought to my post.
There was an article which told the history of Peavey Steel Amps . Facts on all the models were spelled out and even the history behind the development of the Session's and Nashville's.
This article might help our new member if someone remembers it and could post it.
I tried to find it but was unsuscessful.
James,Jr

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1975 Sho~Bud Pro III Custom (8-7)
1981 Peavey Session 500

Thank you all for taking your time to help me. I really appreciate it.
I visit this forum almost everyday and learn a lot of things. Thanks to Bob for supporting it.
James, you´re right. The Nashville 112 is the only one that is imported in Europe, and it goes around 800 euros... A thousand dollars aprox.
I´ve read only but good things ´bout this amp. Maybe I should wait and save more money for it. Best regards,
Marcos

so tone is subjective ?

always is..

just a reminder, the Session 400 Limited is NOT the same as the original Session 400's..easy to confuse the two in title..

but..not the same amps.

I have 3 versions of Peavey Steel amps. Session 400, Nashville 400 and Session 400 Limited..they do not sound the same..

Each can cut a gig with no problems.

for me, my opinion..
#1 Session 400

#2 Nashville 400
(The one I have the most confidence in)

#3 Session 400 Limited

each can be dialed in just fine, but they are different.<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 11 December 2005 at 06:12 AM.]</p></FONT>

I spent some time the last few days playing steel through my Nashville 112 and I think it may be the best steel amp Peavey ever made, and I either own or have owned most of them. It is an amazing little amp, and don't let the 80 watt rating fool you, its LOUD. If you need more power than this, either mic it, or run the XLR out to the PA.

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Darvin Willhoite
Riva Ridge Recording

What I'd like to see/hear is the "Session 400 Limited" but with all of its opamps upgraded to the Burr Browns and then have the signal caps upgraded a bit. That amp is more like an old Session 400 but uses opamps. It still has the simple and passive EQ circuit that so many love about the older Session and LTD. It seems that a real cleaned up "Limited" could really come to life with the clean up and upgrade.

Brad

Hello Marcos,
Welcome aboard! First of all, here is an article that I wrote a few years ago about our history of designing and manufacturing steel guitar amplifiers; http://www.peavey.com/media/pdf/steelguitar/31years.pdf

We have designed and manufactured steel amps using the same high standards that we have always used. It is a matter of personal opinion as to what you prefer your amp to sound like. At this time, we manufacture the Nashville 112 and the Nashville 1000 steel guitar amplifiers which offer the cleanest, clearest sound reproduction available. The Nashville 112 is available through our distributor in your country. Your distributor is;
Peavey Electronics Ltd.
Great Folds Road
Oakley Hay
Corby
Northants NN18 9ET
UNITED KINGDOM
phone-49-6851-800070
e-mail-sales@peavey-eu.com

I think that you would really like the Nashville 112 amplifier, but the Nashville 400 is also a great steel amp. We do ship this model to your country. Here is a link to this model from our website;
http://www.peavey.com/products/browse.cfm/action/detai l/item/104983/number/00459770/cat/273/begin/1/Nashville%3F+112.cfm

My personal e-mail address is mikebrown@peavey.com and I will be glad to answer any questions you may have about our products.

Mike Brown
Peavey USA<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Mike Brown on 12 December 2005 at 07:50 AM.]</p></FONT>

Thanks to all!!!!
I think the Nashville 112 will fit me. I´m going to buy it. Thanks Mike for all that great information.

You are welcome. If you have a question, be sure to send me an e-mail and I will be glad to assist.

Thanks for your interest in Peavey products.

Mike Brown
Peavey Electronics Corporation