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Author
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Topic: Your remarkable non-peddle amp
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Scott Houston
Member From: Oakland, CA
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posted 20 July 2005 06:32 AM
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The post the other day about the Gibson LP Jr. amp got me wondering if we could get a thread going here in No Peddlers very specifically dealing with the amps non-peddlers use. Generally posts here about amps get moved to the Electronics board, although occasionally some like the Gibson post get to stay here in No Peddlers. I'm sure it's all at the mods' discretion (and they do a great job at decreting, I'm NOT complaining) but the Electronics board is a drag to go through because it's 98% pedal steel stuff and most of the time half of that is about only two different Peavey amp models. This is especially a shame because there are just so many different, odd, vintage, small, or otherwise neglected amps that might be perfect for us here on the other side. So... what's in your rehearsal space/basement/bedroom? Why? Got some sound samples? Make an amazing find? Funny amp story? I would love to read your thoughts about the best amp you've ever played your non-ped through. [This message was edited by Scott Houston on 20 July 2005 at 06:33 AM.]
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Jeff Strouse
Member From: Jacksonville, Florida, USA
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posted 20 July 2005 06:53 AM
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I agree Scott...I'd like to see amps for us no peddlers stay right here. The posts get lost over in electronics, and many of us rarely venture out of the non-pedal forum anyway. I have a Peavy Nashville 400 downstairs that I use (it's very heavy, so I don't move it much). I have a little amp called a "Pro" amp upstairs. I think it's probably a generic brand, but it has a pretty good sound. It also has a dirty channel which I never use. It's lightweight, so I can carry it places. In fact, I took it to Hawaii once and kept it up in the cabin with me. In the bedroom, I have a Micro-Cube. Great little amp! It will go on batteries if need be. All have reverb, which is a must for me. I'd like to know a good tube amp to get...lightweight, great sound, durable... and without breaking the bank. |
Joel Newman
Member From: Myersville, Maryland, USA
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posted 20 July 2005 07:15 AM
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I think this is a worthy thread . . . I wish I had lot's o' moo-laa to spend on all kinds of music gear but I don't so I make my reg. el. guitar stuff work for my ric b6 . . .(I know it's Sacrilegious).
I use a marshall mg100 hdfx head and I have a pacific cabinet with a celestion 12" speaker in it(I forget the model #). Plenty o' headroom for clean sounds and of course it channel switches for the dirt, the effects are ok but I really don't use em much, I do like the reverb however.It's solid state however,(argh!! I know!!!!), but the newer solid state amps are much warmer than in days of yore, and no waiting for tubes to warm up . . . the fan makes alot of noise on boot up but it chills out after a min. or two.
I'm interested to see if there really is a difference in amp tastes for steel as opposed to reg. el. guit.
To me it seems like it should all be interchangeable as guitar is guitar,(hmmm maybe cuz I only have 6 strings, frequency wise it seems to be in the same ball park, I guess you 10 stringers outta chime in . . .)Any hoo just curious to see what others use and think . . . |
Bill McCloskey
Member From:
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posted 20 July 2005 07:53 AM
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I have a Nashville 112 and a Roland Micro cube. But I just got an Alesis Roadfire 15 which I'm currently in love with. I bought the Nashville based on all the reports, but for my style of lap steel, I found something missing with it. I actually enjoyed playing through the Roland much better and its great to take on the road and the batteries last forever. However, I just got this Alesis, and it beats out the roland for pure sound, plus the built in effects are amazing. It has a built in battery, which I haven't tested yet to see how long it goes. I'm still on the search for the perfect amp. |
Charlie McDonald
Member From: Lubbock, Texas, USA
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posted 20 July 2005 08:06 AM
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Danelectro DM-25. 60's. |
John Bushouse
Member From:
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posted 20 July 2005 08:17 AM
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I posted over on the Les Paul Jr. thread - I traded in another amp for that one because(1) it's simple. One knob, for volume. Kind of like my guitar, which has a volume pot for each pickup (no tone controls). (2) it's quiet - only 5 watts. I can crank it up without blowing out my ears. At reasonable volumes the amp sounds like an amp oughta sound (in my opinion). I looked for other new amps that would fit the bill; none had the low wattage combined with the extremely simple layout. I did find some old amps at one of my local shops (Guitar Showcase, in San Jose), mostly Montgomery Wards - type amps that sounded pretty good cranked up, but in the end I decided I wanted to go new (grounded plugs, new tubes, etc.). |
Brad Bechtel
Moderator From: San Francisco, CA
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posted 20 July 2005 08:21 AM
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I'll leave this in No Peddlers as requested.A lot depends upon how loud you want to get when you play. I find that a Fender Pro Junior (15 watts through a ten inch speaker) is just fine for most situations I'm in. I currently play through an old Fender Princeton Reverb, which is to me just about the perfect lap steel amp. If I were playing any louder, I'd use a Fender Deluxe Reverb. It also depends on the tone I'm trying to achieve and the volume at which I can achieve that tone. Smaller tube amps break up at a lower volume, giving that growly sound that I like. If you want to play very clean sounds, then a solid state amp will give you a better tone (and will be much lighter to carry around). I think that the Peavey Delta Blues (15 watts tube amp, 15 inch speaker) is a very good choice as well. Previous posters have mentioned the Roland Micro Cube very favorably, but I haven't had the chance to play through it. I think the Gibson Les Paul Junior amp sounds swell. ------------------
Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars |
Bill McCloskey
Member From:
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posted 20 July 2005 08:48 AM
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BTW, the Alesis Roadfire is 8 inch speaker, 15 watts. 80 preset effects, 10 banks of programmable effects. Has a foot pedal that moves between effects and controls the amount of effect that is in the mix. |
Tom Baylis
Member From: Portland, Oregon
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posted 20 July 2005 08:54 AM
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I'm a newbie to the steel community, so mine is from a learning curve viewpoint. I was using a Peavey Classic 30 tube amp, not bad but it didn't have a lot of character. I recently got a stock '68 Fender Princeton (no reverb, great tremolo), and just love it with steel. 12 watts of warm yet perky bliss, and plenty of oomph for my music rooom. I run the signal thru a Lexicon LXP-1 and then to the amp. My Supro screams, and the Dual Pro is clear as a bell. I figure if I ever learn enough to pass muster for live work (hah), I can mic it with one of my old Shure SM57's. It's a start, anyway. |
Brad Bechtel
Moderator From: San Francisco, CA
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posted 20 July 2005 09:10 AM
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The Alesis Roadfire is new to me. It looks like a shrunken down version of the Roland JC-120 to me!------------------
Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars |
Michael Aspinwall
Member From: Arizona, USA
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posted 20 July 2005 10:07 AM
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I've got a Peavey Delta Blues with a 15" speaker that I use for most of my guitar work, but for the lap I always come back to my old Peavey Special 130 with a 12" Eminence. Nice thing about the Special 130 is that it's got the full boat of tone controls including parametric mid and presence plus real good reverb and a footswitchable "drive" channel. A very small combo that I've often sat on to play when I'm working on a small stage. Reliable (pritnear indestructable) and you'll find 'em on ebay under $200. |
Gerald Ross
Member From: Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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posted 20 July 2005 10:27 AM
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The Alesis Roadfire looks very good. I would consider it as an alternative to the Roland MicroCube, but at 32 lbs, I'll have to pass.I'm still looking for a decent heftier replacement speaker for the MicroCube. ------------------
Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar' 
CEO, CIO, CFO - UkeTone Records
Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website
Board of Directors Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association |
Bill McCloskey
Member From:
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posted 20 July 2005 10:32 AM
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Has anyone run into a light portable power source for amps that do not have battery capability? |
John Billings
Member From: Northfield Center, Ohio, USA
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posted 20 July 2005 11:10 AM
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I like my '56 Fender Pro Amp. If i want real "dirt", I'll plug into my old Oahu. Real "clean" my modded Princeton Reverb.
JB |
Brent LaBeau
Member From: North Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
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posted 20 July 2005 12:11 PM
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I really enjoy the tones I get out of my old red Electro from my '64 Ampeg Gemini I. It's got a 12" Jensen Concert speaker in it and some of the deepest reverb (gotta have that) I've ever heard. It just sings.
Of course I plug into the accordian input.Or there's the Rick Johnson custom cabinet that holds a '65 bassman head and a Jensen p15n. Nothing but tone, sweet, sweet, tone. |
seldomfed
Member From: Colorado
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posted 20 July 2005 12:15 PM
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I use 1 of two amps depending on the situation. I play in a Hawaiian band with Stringmaster. I use a Fender (15w, 12") Princeton Reverb II or the AER Compact 60. The Fender with my Stringmaster is a classic tube sound and the Princeton is pretty light to carry. I also like the AER. It has a clean tone and a nice digital verb. Has a great XLR-out to run to the PA for larger gigs. Just an incredibly versitile amp at 13lbs!. Has two channels so I can us an acoustic guitar at the same time if needed. Lately I've been using both on most jobs. The fender for the steel (if the gig is small or if I can get the soundhippy to mic it), and the AER for the acoustic. (and as a backup).I have some old 8" speaker tube amps that are fun to use once in a while too. I have an original 50's Gibson GA-5 (mine is labeled 'Skylark' but is same as the LP-Jr., an old Supro(Valco), and an old Rickenbacher tube(metal case), and the coolest little tube amp of all - the Magnatone Movieola! (thanks Sage).
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Chris Kennison
Colorado |
Rick Garrett
Member From: Tyler, Texas
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posted 20 July 2005 12:30 PM
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I have a big ol heavy paint pealing off the walls session 500 and also a 30 watt Genz Benz acoustic amp that don't sound too bad with the lap steel. Surprising headroom out of the smaller amp. The Session is just for the jam room. Sounds fantastic but its a load and a half. Rick |
Mike Ruffin
Member From: El Paso, Texas, USA
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posted 20 July 2005 01:36 PM
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I recently sold my Peavey Nashville 112 and bought a Traynor YCV12WR. I like the tube sound much better. I really like the wine red tolex and oatmeal grill, too. I also have a copy of a '59 Fender Tweed built by Joe Stertz. It has a real classic sound and a real classic look. Tubes rule!! |
Bill Creller
Member From: Saginaw, Michigan, USA
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posted 20 July 2005 02:32 PM
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I'm not up on current amps that are available. My favorite since I got back into playing about five years ago has been my old National 15 watt tube job (I love tubes!)
I have a lot of amps right now (funny how they just migrate to your house isn't it)
I believe my next best sounding amp is an old Gibson GA8T tremolo amp that I picked up locally for 200 bucks. It has about the same power as the National. I bought the National new in 1950, and had to replace all the caps before it became dependable, but the covering is worn off the corners badly, so now it has character too!
I would like to have an old Fender Princeton Reverb, which seems to bring big bucks used when I checked Ebay last year.[This message was edited by Bill Creller on 20 July 2005 at 02:37 PM.] |
John Bechtel
Member From: Nashville, Tennessee,U.S.A.
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posted 20 July 2005 06:44 PM
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I have an ESTEBAN G–10 Amp. that came with my ESTEBAN AL–100 Acoustic/Electric Flat~Top. It’s 10–Watts w/4” or 5” speaker in a cabinet that measures about H-9½”xW-8¾”xD-6”. It has (1)-Input, Volume, Overdrive~Button, Treble, Bass and also a Headphone~Jack & ON/OFF Switch. But, since I don't plan to use it; I really should Post it in the For~Sale Section for $65 Shipped to 48-States. The weight is less than 10#. You can see it on my website if you click here “Big John”
Edited: to say: I’ve just tried it and it sounds good to me! [This message was edited by John Bechtel on 20 July 2005 at 11:06 PM.] [This message was edited by John Bechtel on 21 July 2005 at 10:08 PM.] |
Gary Anwyl
Member From: Palo Alto, CA
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posted 20 July 2005 08:07 PM
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Bill McCloskey asked about power sources for AC powered amps.For doing outdoor gigs without AC power, my group uses a single JBL EON 15 for a PA. It a powered speaker that puts out 180W. We use a Powerpack 300 to supply the power. It has a sealed lead-acid battery rated for 20 Amp Hours at 12V. It will easily power the JBL EON for more than two hours. Costco has it for $79 plus shipping.
[This message was edited by Gary Anwyl on 20 July 2005 at 08:08 PM.] |
Scott Houston
Member From: Oakland, CA
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posted 20 July 2005 08:29 PM
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Wow, this is more responses than I imagined. It's interesting to read what you all are using. Seems like instruments get all of the attention, but amps make such a huge difference and they hardly get discussed here at all. I've been enjoying a Songworks Little Lanelei lately, it's 7 watts with a 6" speaker. It's got a sweet old-timey sound and for something so small it's much louder than you might expect. I play senior centers 90% of the time and it's great for that-I can just stick it in my backpack. Last week I played it at a club with two amped guitars, fiddle and bass and 200+ bodies. It held up fine for stage volume and was fine miked for the room. It's real nice being so portable. They make a 33/50 watt version also but in truth I don't know that I'd ever need it. I would like to get a cabinet for it with a bigger speaker though. Wonder if I should just salvage an old junk amp and pull the electronics out or something? (By the way, I really do know how to spell "pedal", guess the "No Peddlers" pun got the better of me...) |
Charlie McDonald
Member From: Lubbock, Texas, USA
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posted 21 July 2005 03:48 AM
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Scott, I've always thought it would be fun to get an old radio cabinet--many have room for a bigger speaker--and refit the amp into it. There may not be a market for it, but as a one of a kind thing, it'd be fun. |
Gary Boyett
Member From: Colorado
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posted 21 July 2005 04:37 AM
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My set-up (for now) is my 1950 Fender Deluxe with a Boss RV-3 and the Micro Cube.
Great sound when both are on and balanced. The Fender sounds great straight but I turn on the pedal when I want a little delay & reverb. I find I use the pedal less than I used to. Hard to beat that old tube sound. ------------------
JCFSGC,RMSGC,HSGA member since 2005
Fenders- Georgeboard- Melobar
Boyett's Glass Bars
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Rick Aiello
Member From: Berryville, VA USA
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posted 21 July 2005 05:31 AM
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Since gettin' my Micro Cube ... it's become my "most used" amp. When I get a chance to play out ... I always turn to my Fender Pro Junior. But when it is time to test a pick-up and/or new steel ... it's my 135 watt 70's Fender Twin Reverb ... that gets the nod. Most folks who come over to have 'a-go' at my steels ... ultimately end up usin' the Twin also ...  ------------------
Aiello's House of Gauss
My wife and I don't think alike. She donates money to the homeless and I donate money to the topless! ... R. Dangerfield
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Peter Jacobs
Member From: Northern Virginia
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posted 21 July 2005 09:12 AM
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I use a 2001 Blues Jr -- it's my live amp but I could use it at home, too, since it's a master volume amp. Sounds great and bluesy, but not much clean headroom. Wish I had a Princeton Reverb, though -- I love that tone.I also got a Line 6 GuitarPort, which lets me practice using headphones through the PC. Pretty decent amp and effect emulations, and I can mix in CDs to play along. I actually practice a lot more now, because I can play while my 7-year old is sleeping. Peter |
Karl Oberlander
Member From: Austin, Texas, USA
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posted 21 July 2005 03:53 PM
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I've been using a BF Fender Bandmaster head with a single JBL D-130A speaker and a Holy Grail reverb unit with my stringmasters. This gets a nice clean but warm sound without any distortion. But I also use a '67 Fender Champ that has an 8" Jensen speaker for the six strings like the Oahu and the Supro. Those sound pretty fabulous with that little amp. I used to use one of my Fender Super Reverbs that I modded to take 6550 power tubes but the 4 speaker system seems to break up more than I intended even with the 6550 tubes. It is a GREAT blues amp though. I've also got a Roland JC-120 head linked through a Roland RE-501 Reverb Echo unit that has a nice tape loop delay and chorus. This runs to a 2-12 box with a pair of JBL K-120's used with an Alkire Eharp D-10. Sweet! But as you can see I'm all over the map here in the studio. I sometimes play directly into the mixing board and through a software effects unit called Guitar Rig. That comes up as a plug in for Sonar and has incredible effects features. Pretty amazing!Favorite is still one of the Champs though. It just has 6 watts but it's a killer for tone with good 6V6 tubes. ObeWanKobe ------------------
Gibson D-8 Console Grande - Stringmaster T-8 - Alkire EHarp D-10
Fender Super Reverb
kobe@austin.rr.com
http://home.austin.rr.com/kobeco
[This message was edited by Karl Oberlander on 21 July 2005 at 03:54 PM.]
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Mike D
Member From: Phx, Az
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posted 21 July 2005 04:43 PM
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Blues Jr. for home, practices and 'jams'. '68 Super Reverb for gigs.------------------
Half-assed bottleneck and lap slide player. Full-assed Builder of resonator instruments.
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Kevin Ruddell
Member From: Toledo Ohio USA
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posted 21 July 2005 05:06 PM
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I bought a Peavey Classic 30 amp when I started playing non pedal steel as I prefer tubes and immediately had to change the poor sounding stock tubes. It still sounded hot so I changed the power tubes to Czech JJ Tesla's and the first 2 preamp tubes to 12AT7 JJ's instead of 12AX7 . The JJ Tesla tubes are way better than the Sovteks and Electro Harmonix ones for me in this amp . The amp still didn't have that chimey sound I remember from playing a Fender Twin in the 70's and a Fender Super Reverb in the 80's though . The guy who sold it to me at the music store said that the 6L6 Fender amps are a Class A amp and the Peavey is a class A/B amp similar to other EL84 power tube amps like Vox. He said if a EL84 power tube amp is a Class A amp that Fenderish chimey sound would be there. Actually what really wound up making it work great for my 3 non pedal steels is the Tech 21 Sansamp Acoustic DI which is for piezo pickup instruments and fiddle , mandolin and guitar. I used to use it with great results on my acoustic bass. I plug my non-pedal guitar into it, then the amps ( also a Fender Pro Jr. ) The Tech 21 is a very quiet transparent direct box with active 3 band eq and a sweepable mid frequency knob. You can blend in a tube emulation circuit from 0 to 10 and it sounds very musical . The unit runs on a wall wart or seemingly forever on a 9 volt battery and has a built in effects loop with 3 pin xlr direct out . If I would have known all this before purchasing I would have probably bought a Fender Deluxe and I could have saved myself a lot of trial and error but I just didn't know . The Peavey seems to be really popular with electric guitar players for blues , rock or country. I use a Lexicon MPX 100 in the effects loop of the Peavey and turn off the reverb in the amp . The Lexicon sounds thin plugged into the front of the amp but great through the loop. |
Steve Pierce
Member From: San Rafael, California, USA
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posted 21 July 2005 08:36 PM
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I'm glad we could share this amongst us non-peddlers. I think we use a wider variety of amps than those guys.I use the same amp I use for guitar. It's a Reverend Hellhound with 2 6L6s and a 12" speaker. It can be 40 watts, or 60. Great amp all around. It's always fun to play with the master volume and gain to shape whatever tone you're in the mood for. My only complaint about the Hellhound is that the reverb is a little thin. ------------------
Steve Pierce |
Kris Oka
Member From: San Francisco, CA, USA
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posted 21 July 2005 08:42 PM
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Hey Brad Bechtel, when we get together and I hope soon, I'll let you try my Roland Microcube. It is quite an amazing little amp with a built-in chorus, flanger, phaser, delay and reverb. Roland must own Boss. It is supposed to run for 20 hours on 6 AA batteries. No kidding. You can get an AC adapter but why bother. Very portable but probably more as a practice amp. You can take it to the park or to the beach. My Nashville 112 sits idle because it more fun to play thru the Microcube. Kris |
Dan Tyack
Member From: Seattle, WA USA
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posted 21 July 2005 09:53 PM
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My favorite non-pedal amp is the same as my pedal steel amp: THD BiValve through a THD 2X12" cab with a Celestion and a K-120. |
Paul Honeycutt
Member From: Colorado, USA
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posted 21 July 2005 11:25 PM
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I usually play through a Mesa Boogie Studio .22+ with an Altec Lansing 417-8H speaker. Second choice is a '52 Valco "Champ" with a Weber Signature 8" speaker. It likes the steel much more then a regular guitar. I'd like to have an amp like that, but with a little more power and a 12" speaker. I guess a tweed Deluxe would work. I've only sampled a Micro-Cube, but I was very impressed. |
Kris Oka
Member From: San Francisco, CA, USA
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posted 21 July 2005 11:54 PM
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Gary Boyett, how do you couple your Fender Deluxe with your MicroCube? You said when both are on and balanced. Kris |
Gary Boyett
Member From: Colorado
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posted 22 July 2005 03:46 AM
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The amps are tied together right now with an A-B pedal. You can choose A (fender) or B (micro)or Both. When I have two steels hoked-up I use the A-B pedal to switch guitars and use the RV-3 (reverb/ delay)pedal for the amps. The RV-3 has one input and two outputs. I currently only have the RV-3 going to the Fender so I can turn it off when I want that classic or blues sound. ------------------
JCFSGC,RMSGC,HSGA member since 2005
Fenders- Georgeboard- Melobar
Boyett's Glass Bars
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Alvin Blaine
Member From: Sandy Valley, Nevada, USA
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posted 22 July 2005 04:05 AM
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quote:
Your remarkable non-peddle amp
I could be here all day if I started listing my remarkable amps. I'll just say that I have over 20 Fender amps of every size(champ to Dual Showman) from 1949 to 1972. Then about a half a dozen Rickenbacher amps from the '30s-'50s. Along with a few Valco's, Silvertone's, Magnatone's. For the stringmaster I really like the '58 Bandmaster with three ten inch speakers. |
Joseph De Feo
Member From: Narberth, Pennsylvania, USA
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posted 22 July 2005 04:08 AM
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Gary ... That's an interesting combination.
I like to combine amps for a sound. I take
an old Silvertone 2 channel and take the speaker out into a Hot Plate attenuator,
used to simulate speaker load only. Run the
out into my Deluxe Reverb copy (Bruno). I take an A-B switch to each channel of the
Silvertone and change one channels 12ax7 to
a 5751 while I leave the other alone. This
pre-amping of the Deluxe lets it sing at
very low volumes, but the A-B switch lets
me power down the gain for a cleaner sound.
 [This message was edited by Joseph De Feo on 23 July 2005 at 08:45 AM.] |
seldomfed
Member From: Colorado
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posted 22 July 2005 12:10 PM
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Steve Pierce - I also have the Reverend Hellhound amp. Cool amp! I've changed out the 1st 12AX7 for 12AT7 and it cleaned it up a little. I usually use it for my strat in a country band. But it is nice for steel in blues moods. Just not as clean as a Fender for Hawaiian or Country for me.SO! Given we all like MicroCube's - has anyone tried any of the bigger Roland Cube amps???? They all have similar features (ala MicroCube) but more power, and bigger speakers. Seem like they might be a good alternative for live. chris ------------------
Chris Kennison
Colorado
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Mike Neer
Member From: NJ
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posted 22 July 2005 12:37 PM
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Do you all really like the MicroCube that much? I mean, the novelty of a battery powered amp that sounds better than a Pignose is cool, but novel is about all it is for me (and a good amp to bring along to picnics, etc.). The thing really has no tone or life as far as I'm concerned. The notes are way too squashed sounding. I like to hear the notes jump out of an amp the way they do with a good Fender or the old Epis that I have--lots of midrange punch. |
Bill Leff
Member From: Santa Cruz, CA, USA
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posted 22 July 2005 01:43 PM
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Mike's on the $$$. I own a MicroCube, and it's a great little amp in a pinch, but it has a very compressed/squashed sound, even when run completely clean. I much prefer the sound of any of my tube amps (Fender Deluxe Reverb, Montgomery Wards "Airline", and Sears Silvertone). I've done my own "shootout" at my home and there really is no comparison.[This message was edited by Bill Leff on 22 July 2005 at 01:44 PM.] |
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