Anybody tried these amps?

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 10 Mar 2002 5:54 pm

So I'm reading amp descriptions in a recent Mucisians Friend catalog and I'm wondering about some of these amps.
Anybody tried a VOX Cambrige 30 or a Fender Priceton 65 for steel?

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 10 Mar 2002 6:10 pm

Oops...
Should have checked the Harmony Central review site first I guess.
Apparently the VOX sucks.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 10 Mar 2002 6:22 pm

I have tried the Princeton, and it does not have enough power for medium-large gigs. The Vox is smaller and cheaper yet, and certainly not intended, or suitable, for pedal steel. If you want a small Fender, I would recommend the "Stage 100". It's less than $100 more than the Princeton, and easily twice the amp. Unless you just want it as a "practice amp" (which is a waste of money, to me anyway) anything under 60-70 watts just won't cut it for pedal steel.

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 10 Mar 2002 6:51 pm

Here is a fun site to check for reviews: http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data/

That should get you to the amp section.

I'm looking for 2 amps for my basement.
I have been using two Danelectro Nifty-Fifty 15W 8" speaker guys, with an RV-3.
The Nifty-Fifty's kept breaking (el-cheapo circuit board) and now the warrenties are expired (plus they discontued the line as far as I can tell) so I can't get anymore free ones (they were only $99 brand new!). I'm down to one Nifty-Fifty and I'm tempted to track down another one because they look cool and sound O.K., but no more suitcase trips to St.Louis/Dallas, they didn't survive (even though I packed them full of socks and underwear!).

I don't need volume but dependability would be nice... And anything in the ballpark will do tone-wise.

I need a mini-Stereo Steel rig. The real ones are 300W with 2 15" cabs but I think that would be overkill for the basement.
I still have a Session 500 if I need to play loud.

I was thinking I would get something with at least enough power to play a gig with amps mic'd (the Nifty-Fifty's couldn't handle a gig, even mic'd).
I was thinking about 2-30W VOX amps just because they were 30W and looked kinda cool, but they got bad reviews.
The Princeton 65 had mixed reviews.

Any good solutions?
I'm familiar with the Peavey line.
After looking at all those amps in Musicians Friend I'm wondering what other brands have to offer (Fender, Marshall, VOX, LINE 6, ect...).

[This message was edited by Pete Burak on 10 March 2002 at 06:53 PM.]

Glenn Austin · Post by **Glenn Austin** » 11 Mar 2002 7:51 am

How about a Traynor YCV40. I've never tried one yet but I've heard guys raving about it. Supposed to be a sort of a vintage Fender clone, and all tube.

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 11 Mar 2002 8:24 am

I haven't heard of Traynor but will check them out.

Basically, I just traded away a Nashville 400 and sold a perfectly awsome Fender Twin Reverb locally because I never want to play that loud again.

I'm hoping to find a local buyer for the Session 500 I have also.

I saw the Fender "Champion 30", and might check two of those out.

I guess I'm wondering what is the first "real amp" above practice amps?

I'm thinking 2-30W amps with outboard stereo effects is all I need.

If the gig requiers more volume I'd rather pass it off to another steeler.

I see alot of these 30w-ish amps in the $200-$300 range.

Roland has a Keybaord amp that looked interesting too.

If anyone has tried any amps in this power/price range, please let me know if you found something you liked.

Thanks in advance,
~pb

Dennis Wood · Post by **Dennis Wood** » 11 Mar 2002 8:58 am

I have a KB60 Keyboard amp I have used for practice at other bandmembers homes because of the size and weight issue. I don't care for the sound as its really mushy with poor string seperation. It only has Low and High eq adjustments. The sound is better using outboard effects like a TTFex but still sounds like a closed back keyboard amp,,,IMHO..
I play thru a Peavey "Special 130" that one of our bandmates has at his place when we practice there and i really like the sound of the 130 plus its quite a bit smaller and weighs less than a nashville400.

DW

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Sierra U-12 Crown Gearless, Peavey Nashville 400,
Peavey TransTube Fx,
Peavey Stereo 212,
Peavey TT Bandit w/ex speaker. Tele, Strat, 1970 Les Paul Std.
1997 Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail Classic......

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 11 Mar 2002 9:07 am

Pete, I don't care how many you use...30-watt amps won't cut it! You'll never sound "big league" using just "toys".

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 11 Mar 2002 9:42 am

It's all in the hands baby!!!

Like I said, I'm concidering sticking with the Dano's because they sound great to me, and their only $99. (I won't travel with them anymore though.)

Not gonna do it!
I'm done with all the high power stuff.

I'm fully confident that I'll find a nice little setup that will do just fine.
To be perfectly honest, I don't care if I ever play a gig with a drummer ever again.
And that's the only reason you need the power, for the volume.

The only reason I use 2 amps is because I like using stereo effects like the the Digitech 2112 and even simpler, the Boss RV3.

It's not about volume for me, and I simply don't have the problems with "tone" that others seem to get hung up on.

The Traynor amp mentioned above got great reviews. But if I'm gonna spend $800+ for 2 amps I might as well go the $1200 for the Stero Steel rig. To be honest I'm not that crazy about tubes amps anymore either.

Man, the new Fender amps I've read about so far got awful reviews. Lots of "It broke after 2 days" type stuff.

Thanks for your input though Donny, and hope to meet you in person at an upcoming steel show.

Anybody else got a low power amp they like for steel?

Brad Burch · Post by **Brad Burch** » 11 Mar 2002 9:59 am

I use a 67 Ampeg Reverberocket tube amp with my Shobud and haven't even considered changing. It is rated at about 18 watts but is a very loud 18 watts, through a 12 inch speaker. It has the best sounding reverb I've heard (big 24 inch reverb tank) and a fantastic tremelo. I like the tube sound over solid state but my steel is about 85lbs so a fender twin is out. I play with a drummer and keep this amp on about two at practice. I played a show about a week ago at a 500+ capacity theatre and miked it through the PA,...I kept the amp on about 3 or 4. The sound was crystal clean and I couldn't have been happier. This amp weighs about 30 pounds and looks like a million bucks. I get comments on it everywhere I go.

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 11 Mar 2002 10:34 am

I'll check it out.
30lbs is my limit!

Brad Burch · Post by **Brad Burch** » 11 Mar 2002 1:06 pm

The Ampeg I have is an original built in 1967. I bought it in a music store in Atlanta in excellent condition for $350. The reissues I haven't tried, but I've heard they aren't that great, same as most new reissues with a circuit board and cheap cabinet. These old Ampegs are fairly plentiful and still reasonable. There is no comparison in the tone, looks, and loudness of these Ampegs compared to a Fender Princeton they are more like a Pro Reverb. The Gemmini series came with slightly more power and a 15" Jenson. Would like to find one of those to try with steel also.

Jim Eaton · Post by **Jim Eaton** » 11 Mar 2002 1:39 pm

For "coffee house" gigs that I play with basicly a "folk trio" with 2 acoustic guitars, I use a Peavey Envoy 110, 40 watts w/10" skr. Plenty of power for those gigs.
Never should have sold that old black face deluxe reverb though! LOL
JE:-)>

Dave Zirbel · Post by **Dave Zirbel** » 11 Mar 2002 1:53 pm

I played a gig the other night at a club in CA called the Sweetawater and used a Peavey Bandit 65 with a 12" Black Widow. The soundman complimented me on my tone and to my surprise he had to take me out of the mix! We had a drummer that night.
Most of the older Bandits come with Scorpion speakers and the new ones comes with Scheffields I think. The BW speaker made the difference, but it probably weighs more than 30lbs.
I also used an early 1970's Fender Deluxe Reverb with my '52 Fender Custom and it was great. Again we had a drummer. It was at a quiet coffee house gig.

Dave[This message was edited by Dave Zirbel on 11 March 2002 at 01:57 PM.][This message was edited by Dave Zirbel on 11 March 2002 at 05:11 PM.]

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 11 Mar 2002 4:42 pm

Great Testimonials!
Anybody else got a good low power amp story, please let us know.
Thx
~pb

Earl Foote · Post by **Earl Foote** » 11 Mar 2002 5:40 pm

I sometimes use a 22 watt Fender 65 Deluxe Reverb re-issue for steel & guitar. I played for 12 years with nothing but a Peavey Backstage Plus for steel & guitar. The band I was playing with had a nice PA and we let it do most of the amplifying. (drummer played electronic drums, bass player went direct) There is a place for small wattage amps (but not the toy shelf!) I would think that a couple of 30 watters would sound nice especially with a stereo effects unit.

Just another opinion,
Earl

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 11 Mar 2002 6:08 pm

Pete,
I know a very busy sesson steel player in L.A. that has had fantastic results using the Vox 30 amp. It might be worth checking out.

I have used the small Ampeg amps and I was very happy with them.

Also that amp I was using in Portland is only 30 watts and I have been covering medium sized rooms with it. Loud, clean and clear as a bell. It was the THD Bi-valve prototype. It has been really shining in the studio work I've come up with in the last few weeks. They are building a combo version of it that Dan Tyack has been using. They are a bit pricey for the sort of thing you are talking about though.

Bob

[This message was edited by Bob Hoffnar on 11 March 2002 at 06:11 PM.]

Ken Fox · Post by **Ken Fox** » 11 Mar 2002 8:27 pm

Pete, I have a 1966 Deluxe (non reverb) that I restored completely. I use a 1960's greyframe JBL that I had reconed with an E130 kit. I play two amps on the gig. I was using it and a Session 400 recently on a gig. We were pretty load! Too my surprise, I checked and the Deluxe was carry most of the work load that evening.
The thing that you need to remember is a
6db increase in SPL can be obtained by using four times the amp power or a 6 db more efficient speaker. That why the JBL works so well in this amp. This 22 watt amp has the same output as an 88 watt amp with a less efficient speaker arrangement.

Al Marcus · Post by **Al Marcus** » 11 Mar 2002 9:27 pm

Pete- I know where you are coming from, join the club.
I have an original Crate 65 watt amp, with ext spkr jack, Effects line in line out, mid anylizer, etc.12 inch spkr with a big magnet. It weighs 29 Lbs. and I like that. It was the old hardwood cabinet. I took off the wood trim and took off 7 Lbs.I have owned it for 16 years, seemed to handle most jobs I played.

I had a Nashville 400 and a Peavey LTD with Jbl 15 inch, they were both very good amps.But I sold them, too heavy for me to even lift up.

Mike Brown mentioned Transtube Fex 112 as a pretty good amp for steel and still about 30 LBS.

So Still kept my old Crate....al

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 13 Mar 2002 10:15 am

With all that said... In the pit of my stomach I still want a full blown Walker Stereo Steel System.
Any comments on these?

Jim Smith · Post by **Jim Smith** » 13 Mar 2002 10:30 am

I've been using my Stereo Steel rig for two or three years now. Never had a problem and the sound is great!

GD Walker puts all the goodies that a steel player would want - great set of tone and volume controls, stereo effects loop with individual volume controls, direct outs built in with level control and ground lift, auxillary RCA inputs with volume control for a CD or tape player, and headphone jack with volume control. One of the bands I play with runs everything into the PA and uses earbud monitors. I don't even take my speakers for those gigs.

I use a Boss GX-700 multi-effects unit instead of the Digitech unit that he sells with his rig, so I can't comment on the Digitech, but they sound great with the other Stereo Steel rigs I've heard.

Jim Cohen gets very "acceptable tone" with his!

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Jim Smith jimsmith94@charter.net
-=Dekley D-12 10&12=-
-=Fessenden Ext. E9/U-13 8&8=-

Robert Parent · Post by **Robert Parent** » 13 Mar 2002 10:34 am

I have a small 50 watt Music Man with a 12 inch JBL speaker. Sounds great with more than enough volume for what you are looking for. I have even used it at a VFW's and other small small gigs with success.

Michael Johnstone · Post by **Michael Johnstone** » 13 Mar 2002 10:43 am

I picked up the aforementioned Fender Champion 30 recently and couldn't be more pleased.I'd say it was a big step up from a "practice" amp - it weighs almost nothing and can be had for $200 new.It might be solid state but it really has that "blackface tube" sound.It has reverb and an overdrive channel that I don't normally use but have checked out and it does what those things are supposed to do.I play bebop jazz box thru it and it's perfect for that even on a fair sized club gig.I play my Stringmaster and Sierra 12 string thru it at home and in the studio and it sounds sweet for that also - especially w/my Nanoverb.With a little stiffer speaker in there,it would hold the bottom end of my Sierra a little better at higher volumes - but it's not bad as is.Fender also makes a Champion 65 which is not that much larger and has a 12" speaker - now THAT would probably bear a close listen if one was looking for a small,cheap,totally giggable steel amp with the old blackface Fender sound but w/no tube hassles. -MJ-

Garry Kirchmeier · Post by **Garry Kirchmeier** » 13 Mar 2002 11:25 am

I've tried several amps with my Mullen, from the Evans, the Webb, Fender, Emmons and I think by far, the best sound comes out of one of G Walker's stereo units. I do not use matched speakers and that improved the sound as well. I'd vote for the Stereo Steel!

Billy Easton · Post by **Billy Easton** » 13 Mar 2002 11:40 am

I vote for the Walker Stereo Steel system. I
messed around with Peavey's, Fenders, Aims, and some I don't even remember. They were decent amps, but nothing touches the sound and convenient features of my Walker Stereo Steel System. I used the Digitech Quad 4 with matched 15" JBLs. I finally bit the bullet and got the system that I have had for 2 years now and I no longer even look for a new amp!!! My opinion....I would choose the Walker.

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Billy Easton
Casa Grande, AZ
Where the Sun Always Shines