Amp recommendations?

[ZakTF]

Hi,

Yesterday, my 1994 Fender Blues DeVille 410 finally broke down. I'm considering buying a new amp and wondering if anyone has any suggestions?

I really need an amp that's loud enough to stay clean at large pub and club gigs, and my guitar is a Mullen D10 with humbuckers.

Thanks

Zak

[hickenjr]

I mean, it all depends on the variables.

If you're a firm member of the tube amp master race, a Fender Twin or something along those lines would be the most cost efficient.
Little Walters and Milkmans have good reviews but are much more expensive especially if importing.

Solid State? Well some of the best amps for steel have been SS.
Peavey Session 400s are usually described as the best Peavey steel amps ever made but as with the Fender Twin, they will break your back and after lugging my dad's round Harrogate for a gig, I don't know how he did it "back int' day".
I played Dave Wheelhouse's personal Sheffield through a modified Peavey Nashville 112 and it sounded wonderful but it was mic'ed so I don't know how it would cope in loud situations. He admitted he preferred his Webb amp as the Webb has more b s but as of my experience above, the backbreaking musician days of the 90s are gone and we can't afford roadies...steels are heavy enough as they are.

The newest line of Quilter Solid State steel amps are getting rave reviews tonally are very light and powerful.
The model in question is the 202 Tone Block combined with the TT12 Speaker.

Telonics amps have great reviews too.

It's all personal preference. I'm sure others here will chime in with theirs.

I would suggest trying an amp before you buy because what sounds good in your hands might not sound good in somebody else's, and vise versa.

[Tony Russell Davis]

I'm getting rid of stuff. Are you interested in a silverface Fender Twin £500? Or a Peavey Delta Blues (15in speaker) for £400? Both valve amps but the Peavey is only 30watts and may break up too much for steel.

[ZakTF]

Hi Steven, thanks for all the info! I do think I'm leaning towards getting some kind of fender twin (although I would love a milkman 115 if could afford one haha)..
I've heard good things about peavey session amps, apart from the weight.. Do they hold up well at very high volume?
(Also, if only the backbreaking days were gone for me haha! I'm always being "volunteered" to carry drums, amps, PA speakers...)

Hi Tony, I am interested in the silverface twin. Do you know what year it's from? and are the reverb and vibrato still working ok?

[hickenjr]

Hi Steven, thanks for all the info! I do think I'm leaning towards getting some kind of fender twin (although I would love a milkman 115 if could afford one haha)..
I've heard good things about peavey session amps, apart from the weight.. Do they hold up well at very high volume?
(Also, if only the backbreaking days were gone for me haha! I'm always being "volunteered" to carry drums, amps, PA speakers...)

Hi Tony, I am interested in the silverface twin. Do you know what year it's from? and are the reverb and vibrato still working ok?

The Peavey?

Well I used to annoy baseline junkie neighbors in my street with it (when required).
I also deafened some Harrogate locals and myself un-mic'ed, up against a nightclub sound system so I'd definitely say it can hold its own. I really should have let the soundman mic me as offered but I didn't want him to muddy my tone and keep me down in the mix on my solos

I own a re-issue Blackface Fender Twin. Apparently it had the pleasure of being owned by some semi famous metal band called "Pulled Apart By Horses"? Bought it for 600 used. Sounds great and is LOUD but the reverb failed shortly after buying it. Not an issue though as I use a pedal board. Both the Peavey and Fender have their benefits for me (apart from weight). The Fender is warmer and less harsh on the higher frets but I find the Peavey punchier and beefier with it's 15 inch Black Widow Speaker. In terms of volume, I don't see a real difference in volume between the Peavey and the Fender but of course, tubes sound better driven which is both an advantage and disadvantage.

I personally believe "your" sound can be closely achieved through most equipment though. There maybe slight differences such as beef or warmth but my general tone is relatively the same on everything. I played a Carter Starter through a Milkman "The Amp" straight into the PA at an Open Mic Americana Session last week, in Leeds @ The Northern Guitar Bar. Kindly provided by the event runner who is also a steel player. After a few EQ adjustments it really sounded lovely. You wouldn't believe I was playing a student model apart from it's rickety feel on the mechanics.

Tony is a top bloke if you wanna buy the Fender...the reverb probably won't fail on his

[ZakTF]

Haha that's great. Sounds similar to my Fender Deville (before it broke).. I've heard other people perform on regular guitar with 15 inch speaker amps, and I agree, they do seem to have a punchier sound than 12s or 10s. I imagine they handle the lower C6 notes well too.

That's interesting. I do like the warmth of a loud fender amp, but I wouldn't have thought that they would be the ideal choice for metal bands for some reason..

Yes, I think you're right, and as long as I get a loud clean tone, then that's all I really need. Also, I may have to travel up to that Open mic Americana session one day. Me and my friend are trying to get a similar thing set up in Sheffield, but we're not sure if there would be much interest in it.

Thank you for the info!

[Jif]

I'm using Fender Super Twin at the moment, it must be the heaviest combo ever carried by man 180 watts of valve power, I stuck a couple of McKenzie speakers from the 1980's in it, they are old heavy but great sounding speakers, I must be mad

But what a sound, it has a 5 band valve graphic eq on top of the "normal" tone controls, so lots of tweakabilty to get that tone you're after. I have taken it out a few places, the first time I took it to Gartcosh, (Scottish Steelies Meet), I turned it up to about 5 on the channel volume and 5 on the master and gave it a blast, Donny reckoned they could hear me on the other side of Scotland

Anyway I wouldn't recommend it for gigging, unless you own a winch, in fact I'm thinking of just reverting to the Roland Cube for going out.

But it's hard to beat the Fender valve sound

[ZakTF]

Hi Jif,

180w seems crazy for a guitar amp... But I like it haha, maybe I will look out for one, one day.. (i bet the extra power would be useful for outdoor gigs too.)

Are roland cubes good for steel? I used to have one for regular guitar, and it was a good amp.

Lately, I've been practicing through a 2x8 bass amp I have, and it sounds great so far, the C6 especially. I'm just not sure how it'd sound at gig volume..

[Ken Byng]

I'm using Fender Super Twin at the moment, it must be the heaviest combo ever carried by man 180 watts of valve power, I stuck a couple of McKenzie speakers from the 1980's in it, they are old heavy but great sounding speakers, I must be mad

But what a sound, it has a 5 band valve graphic eq on top of the "normal" tone controls, so lots of tweakabilty to get that tone you're after. I have taken it out a few places, the first time I took it to Gartcosh, (Scottish Steelies Meet), I turned it up to about 5 on the channel volume and 5 on the master and gave it a blast, Donny reckoned they could hear me on the other side of Scotland

Anyway I wouldn't recommend it for gigging, unless you own a winch, in fact I'm thinking of just reverting to the Roland Cube for going out.

But it's hard to beat the Fender valve sound

Jeff - I had a Fender Super Twin back in the 1970's, great amp. But God - my back remembers it even today. I took the 2 speakers out, removed the baffle and replaced the existing speakers with a single 15" Electrovoice unit. (See below). I had it for a couple of years until I traded it in for the worst amp for reliability I've ever owned - the Peavey Session 500!

The big issue for me with valve amps are the price of the valves themselves. Decent valves these days are not easy to come by, and what is available cost a small fortune.

** The Peavey Valve King (if you can find one) is great for steel guitar, being 100 watts of valve power with 2 x 12" speakers. I have one and put a couple of 12" Telonics speakers in it which has dropped the weight considerably.

** Roland Cubes are really good for getting a clean or a gritty sound for steel and I have a pair of the 80 watt jobs.

** The Webb 61E has been very popular in the USA for many years by discerning pedal steel players, led by Mr Tommy White. I have one with a 15" Eminence EPS 15C in it.

** A used Peavey Nashville 400 can be picked up for a song these days, and are super reliable. Mine is 40 years old and still working perfectly.

** A used Fender Twin Reverb is the holy grail of tone for many older players, but it's a hernia job - especially one that has a pair of 12" JBL speakers. Lloyd Green uses a number of amps, including the Fender Hot Rod which he likes very much.

** The Quilter range of steel guitar amps are highly rated by those who have tried them.

So many good amps to choose from.

[Jif]

Hi Jif,

180w seems crazy for a guitar amp... But I like it haha, maybe I will look out for one, one day.. (i bet the extra power would be useful for outdoor gigs too.)

Are roland cubes good for steel? I used to have one for regular guitar, and it was a good amp.

Lately, I've been practicing through a 2x8 bass amp I have, and it sounds great so far, the C6 especially. I'm just not sure how it'd sound at gig volume..

You can pick them up relatively cheaply as they were not the most popular of combos, maybe something to do with the doctors bills for back problems

Being 180w it can be used at lower volumes with tons of clean headroom which is ideal for steel.

The Roland cube is a great wee amp, I have the older 60w version and stuck a McKenzie 100w 12" speaker in it, which got me closer to the tone I was after. Plenty of ooomph there too, worth trying to see if it would work for you.

Jeff - I had a Fender Super Twin back in the 1970's, great amp. But God - my back remembers it even today. I took the 2 speakers out, removed the baffle and replaced the existing speakers with a single 15" Electrovoice unit. (See below). I had it for a couple of years until I traded it in for the worst amp for reliability I've ever owned - the Peavey Session 500!

The big issue for me with valve amps are the price of the valves themselves. Decent valves these days are not easy to come by, and what is available cost a small fortune.

Unfortunately it's not just the speakers that make it ultra-heavy, it has massive, heavy mains and output transformers in order to supply that much power, but I guess changing the speakers would make it a bit more portable

It had been lying up in my attic for a few decades, so had decent valves in it already, I know what you mean re modern valves though, Russian and Chinese valves lack the quality control, which is probably why they are cheaper but hit or miss. Even many American brands are manufactured in Russia these days, though I guess they have a bit more quality control applied.

Nice to hear from you Ken, hope you are keeping well