Eric, I assume you know about Brad Sarno's Black Box and Revelation Preamp. These are very high quality, low production, tube systems. As such they are the only thing I know of made for steel that is anything like the boutique tube guitar amps. Um...actually I just remembered one other boutique tube product for steel (http://www.alessandro-products.com/amps.html.). Alessandro hand makes a tube amp for jazz and steel. Even though his shop is near here, I have never heard one of his amps. He does repair work for Clapton, and is considered one of the top amp techs and designers on the East Coast. His Italian Greyhound amp is designed for clean jazz, and might work for steel. And his Basset Hound amp is designed for bass or steel. These are clean tube amps. Of course he also has several models for rock and blues with the kind of controlled distortion one expects in a boutique guitar amp. He makes his amp with beautiful natural wood grain cabinets. He also has a less expensive line of Working Man amps with tolex covers.

[This message was edited by David Doggett on 09 November 2006 at 11:28 AM.]

As a note, at the SJ steel jam last weekend there were a number of pickers with the same guitars, and a number with the same or very similar amplification. Despite which no one sounded at all like anyone else. It was very easy to differentiate players.