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Author
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Topic: Pedal Steel thru a small combo Bass Amp????
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jeff reynolds
Member From: Jackson, Ms. & Greenville, Ms, USA
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posted 01 March 2004 09:15 AM
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Has anyone everplayed steel thru a small combo bass amp? Is it a warm sound? and what's you suggestion as to which is a good bass amp to use? |
David Doggett
Member From: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
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posted 01 March 2004 01:50 PM
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Jeff, I routinely plug my pedal steel into bass amps to see what happens. It depends on the bass amp. Good ones (small or large) have full spectrum sound with multiband EQ. You can get good steel sound from those. Moderate quality ones may have full spectrum sound, but only limited EQ adjustments, and you will have the same tone problems with them as with regular guitar amps. Cheap bass amps usually have poor highs, so your tone will sound muffled. They will all be very clean, but even the tube ones will not be very warm. Oh, and none of them have reverb, and they're all heavey.[This message was edited by David Doggett on 01 March 2004 at 08:57 PM.] |
William Peters
Member From: Effort, Pennsylvania, USA
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posted 01 March 2004 05:36 PM
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Jeff,I have a Peavey TNT 115 bass amp which of course works great for bass, but there is no way to get the eq right for steel. It has a 7 band graphic equalizer plus a bass and treble pot, but it just doesn't sound anything like I want it to. I have even tried adding an effects unit with an equalization patch and reverb, but still it doesn't suit me. I have a borrowed Session 400 that sounds so great, and that is my standard right now. Maybe a Fender bass amp, or some other brand would do the trick, but I can't recommend Peavey's TNT. BTW, I bought the TNT for bass, not steel. Bill |
Bob Carlucci
Member From: Candor, New York, USA
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posted 02 March 2004 04:20 AM
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Try a Fender Bassman. No better sound anywhere for steel. The 40 watters are underpowered for serious gigs,but they sound sweet. I'll bet a later Bassman 70 or 100 head with the right cabinet would also sound great for steel.. Let's put it this way... Did Fender make ANY tube amps that wouldn't work great for steel guitar?? . I've used so many I stopped counting,and every one sounded good from the biggest to the smallest,including a few oddballs like a 140[fabulous!!! Wish I still had it].. 75 Combo w 1x15 [great!!!] and a PA 100 [great too ... and CHEAP!!!]... bob |
Jay Ganz
Member From: Out Behind The Barn
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posted 02 March 2004 07:30 AM
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You can try a Hartke Kickback 112.
Guys like Terry Crisp & some others were
using them as part of their stage set up
some years back. I had a new one given to
be by a former company rep who owed me a
favor. It's 120 watts & only about 35 lbs.
Tone & volume are decent. You would need
some kinda reverb to add to it.
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My Steel MP3's
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Darvin Willhoite
Member From: Leander, Tx. USA
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posted 02 March 2004 08:13 AM
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I have a Peavey Basic 112 that I have played steel through. I used a Boss SE-50 for effects and I really liked the sound I got. I normally use this amp for the low crossover output with my Peavey Session 500. This combination works really good too.------------------
Darvin Willhoite
Riva Ridge Recording
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Larry Bell
Member From: Englewood, Florida
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posted 02 March 2004 09:17 AM
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Best recorded steel sound I've ever gotten was with a push-pull through my '65 Bassman. If you keep the amp within its clean range, I think it sounds better than any other tube amp I've tried. I usually run the Bassman head through a BW 15 for steel, but it runs out of steam onstage, even at low volume. I have used the Bassman with a Session 400 in stereo and that was also a killer sound. I still prefer my twin Standels for any size venue.  ------------------
Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps
[This message was edited by Larry Bell on 02 March 2004 at 09:19 AM.] |
Wayne Cox
Member From: Chatham, Louisiana, USA
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posted 03 March 2004 06:56 AM
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The sound you get is always the sum total of the components used  steel,pickups,cords,gadgets,amp,etc.).
Keeping that in mind...Bass amps are not my first choice for steel,but I have gotten a decent tone out of a few. They should have at least 100 watts. Watch out for the speaker/s,as bass speakers are not designed for high frequencies. This can work to your advantage if your steel has too many highs.
I have heard that high frequencies at high volume can overheat the speaker coil in some brands of bass speakers. So, use caution!
~~W.C.~~ |
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