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Author Topic:  Milkman Pedal Steel Amps
Dave Zirbel


From:
Sebastopol, CA USA
Post  Posted 21 Oct 2011 7:44 am    
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Hi folks. I had the pleasure of test driving The Milkman pedal steel tube amp on the bandstand last night. The Milkman is hand built by Forum member Tim Marcus. Just saying that it exceeded my expectations, sounded and performed beautifully. Probably the best rig I've used. I am going to figure out a way to get one. Please check out the site for pictures. Last nights performance was recorded so hopefully we'll have sound clips with the ZB soon. Great job Tim! Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy
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Dave Zirbel-
Sierra S-10 (Built by Ross Shafer),ZB, Fender 400 guitars, various tube and SS amps


Last edited by Dave Zirbel on 21 Oct 2011 9:04 am; edited 1 time in total
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Chris Schlotzhauer


From:
Colleyville, Tx. USA
Post  Posted 21 Oct 2011 8:22 am    
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Looks like a Twin copy.
It has a 3 knob reverb like my Randall Steelman 500
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Dave Zirbel


From:
Sebastopol, CA USA
Post  Posted 21 Oct 2011 8:29 am    
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It basically is but only one channel (two jacks) 3 knob reverb (sounds great!) It's like a twin on steroids. Has all the things I like (fat, warm, punchy bass, responsive to attack). I'm thinking it's more towards a tweed sound than a BF or Silverface.
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Dave Zirbel-
Sierra S-10 (Built by Ross Shafer),ZB, Fender 400 guitars, various tube and SS amps
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Steve Norman


From:
Seattle Washington, USA
Post  Posted 21 Oct 2011 9:03 am    
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Tim has a great ear, I imagine anything he is in control of will sound amazing. I cant wait to hear one myself. You playing in Seattle any time soon Dave?
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Tim Marcus


From:
San Francisco, CA
Post  Posted 21 Oct 2011 9:05 am    
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thanks Dave!

@Chris - the amp is more closely related to a princeton reverb, but with a few tweaks to make it steel friendly. As I was telling Dave last night, its kind of its own thing. It does not behave like a Twin much - but it does have the same output and is the same size as a Twin.
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Milkmansound.com
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Dave Zirbel


From:
Sebastopol, CA USA
Post  Posted 21 Oct 2011 9:06 am    
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Steve, there's talk of getting up that way next year with a band I play with. We're called Tiny Television. Maybe you can help us find a venue or two up that way, and possibly share a bill. We play Americana.....
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Dave Zirbel-
Sierra S-10 (Built by Ross Shafer),ZB, Fender 400 guitars, various tube and SS amps


Last edited by Dave Zirbel on 21 Oct 2011 9:09 am; edited 1 time in total
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Dave Zirbel


From:
Sebastopol, CA USA
Post  Posted 21 Oct 2011 9:08 am    
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Quote:
It does not behave like a Twin much


Right! If it did behave like a Twin, I would probably just buy a Twin. Very Happy
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Dave Zirbel-
Sierra S-10 (Built by Ross Shafer),ZB, Fender 400 guitars, various tube and SS amps
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Steve Norman


From:
Seattle Washington, USA
Post  Posted 21 Oct 2011 9:42 am    
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Id be glad to Dave
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Kevin Hatton

 

From:
Buffalo, N.Y.
Post  Posted 21 Oct 2011 1:39 pm    
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Price? Lead time?
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Tim Marcus


From:
San Francisco, CA
Post  Posted 21 Oct 2011 2:06 pm    
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current lead time on an amp is about 2 months.

The price of the amp is $2999 (edited)

For those who are probably wiping their coffee off of their computer monitors right now - please keep in mind that this is a "boutique" product. I can not mass produce them in any way. Each one is hand built and I do a lot of hand selecting of parts and testing.

I have tried to lower the cost of the amp, but in order to do that it would drastically change the tone and response. As Dave said to me last night, "this is an instrument"

There is a list of components on my website, for those interested. This amp is constructed almost entirely (with the exception of the Italian speaker and Russian tubes) out of US made materials. I am very adamant about using US vendors, which drives the price up - however, it also makes the amp awesome.

This amp is designed to be extremely simple to service and should last, with proper maintenance, for a very very long time.

Weight is 55lbs

Each amp comes with a canvas cover or I will source a flight case for you.
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Milkmansound.com
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Last edited by Tim Marcus on 12 Mar 2013 9:12 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Dave Zirbel


From:
Sebastopol, CA USA
Post  Posted 21 Oct 2011 2:07 pm    
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http://www.pedalsteelamp.com/The_Pedal_Steel_Amp/Home.html

It's not cheap. Quality product made in the USA! Very Happy
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Dave Zirbel-
Sierra S-10 (Built by Ross Shafer),ZB, Fender 400 guitars, various tube and SS amps
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Brad Bechtel


From:
San Francisco, CA
Post  Posted 21 Oct 2011 3:15 pm    
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I'm now a fan of yours on Facebook, Tim. Good luck with the amps!
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Dave Zirbel


From:
Sebastopol, CA USA
Post  Posted 21 Oct 2011 3:23 pm    
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And for 6 stringers he makes a great "supercharged" Princeton style amp (25 to 30 watts) which I played and loved as well!
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Dave Zirbel-
Sierra S-10 (Built by Ross Shafer),ZB, Fender 400 guitars, various tube and SS amps
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Bryan Daste


From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
Post  Posted 21 Oct 2011 4:24 pm    
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Very Happy
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Georg Sørtun


From:
Mandal, Agder, Norway
Post  Posted 21 Oct 2011 8:45 pm    
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Always good to have options.
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Marc Jenkins


From:
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Post  Posted 21 Oct 2011 11:33 pm    
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Tim, your amp sounds just incredible in the Frisell record. Big Kudos.
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Tim Marcus


From:
San Francisco, CA
Post  Posted 22 Oct 2011 9:25 am    
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thanks Marc!

I was totally blown away when Greg contacted me and asked to use the amp for that session. Not only is he a great player, but he is a really nice guy with a lot of great steel stories. He also gets some design points, because he came up with the idea for what I call the "Leisz Mod" which is that when a speaker is hooked up to the external speaker jack, the internal speaker cuts out. He likes to have the amp right next to him while recording and put a remote cabinet in an isolation booth.
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Milkmansound.com
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Milkman Sound on Twitter
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Marc Jenkins


From:
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Post  Posted 22 Oct 2011 9:31 am    
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That's a great idea indeed.

So when you say the amp is more like a high powered Princeton, what does that mean? Cathodyne phase inverter?
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Tim Marcus


From:
San Francisco, CA
Post  Posted 22 Oct 2011 9:42 am    
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the princeton was the only single channel BF era amp with reverb - so the front end (although it has a mid control for the EQ) is princeton like. It has a long tail PI though, which is more like a twin.

I have moved EQ points around, changed some values, and done a few more tweaks and transformer swaps to get the amp to be ideal for the pedal steel. Like I was telling Dave the other night - its kind of got its own thing going on. Its not super clean like a tweed amp, but it has lots of harmonics and sustain.

Another thing that makes it less Twin like is the way it has been constructed - because its single channel, I did not need to put the power supply on the other side of the chassis. If you know how to service amps, you will understand what a huge advantage this gives - you can have this thing up and ready to repair or modify in about 2 minutes. Its more like a tweed layout in a black face style enclosure. You can actually see which circuit is which by the way it is laid out - any competent tech who knows tube amps will know exactly what is going on without a schematic. I spent a lot of time on the layout with servicing in mind, because thats what I do!
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Milkmansound.com
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Milkman Sound on Twitter
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Marc Jenkins


From:
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Post  Posted 22 Oct 2011 10:24 am    
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Nice! I'm starting a steel amp build for myself; you've got lots of great ideas Tim.
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Brad Sarno


From:
St. Louis, MO USA
Post  Posted 22 Oct 2011 2:43 pm    
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Beautiful work there Tim!! Me wants.


Brad
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Dave Zirbel


From:
Sebastopol, CA USA
Post  Posted 22 Oct 2011 3:05 pm    
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Brad, the MM sounds insane (in a good way) with ZBs! Smile
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Dave Zirbel-
Sierra S-10 (Built by Ross Shafer),ZB, Fender 400 guitars, various tube and SS amps
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Ross Shafer


From:
Petaluma, California
Post  Posted 31 Dec 2011 9:03 am    
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rehearsed for our New Year's gig with Josh last night. It was his first night out with his new Milkman....sounded killer! I already liked what I'd heard from this rig at the bay area steel nerd get together a few weeks ago and I like it even better now! That's a nice amp you've got there Tim!
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Bob Hoffnar


From:
Austin, Tx
Post  Posted 31 Dec 2011 11:45 am    
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I just put it an order for one.
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Josh Yenne


From:
Sonoma California
Post  Posted 1 Jan 2012 1:34 pm    
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After playing and hearing this amp I put one on order also... I needed a high powered "big gun" amp that I actually liked... I just don't like solid state sound and my "deluxe" didn't quite have enough for a loud electric band.

Tim got it done for me just in time for my NYE gig... HOLY S#%T!!! Its sounds GREAT.

It's got the most amazing "growl" at all volumes... complex yet clean harmonics... crystal clear lows and highs with tons of LIFE.

It is a truly inspiring amp built by mr. Marcus there!

Very Happy
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