Best Amp for playing in a Hank Williams Tribute band?

Joe Burke · From: Toronto, Canada

I'm playing my Fender Stringmaster in this band at gigs of about 50 - 100 people. For a couple of the shows I've used a Vintage 47 National amp which has a 12" speaker and is about 15 watts. I love this amp at lower volumes, but our amps aren't being mic'd on this gig, and it's breakup is too heavy at the volume needed.

Don Helms I believe used a 1948 Fender Pro (TV model) with a 15" speaker (according to a post here). I suppose this would be ideal, but are too pricey for me.

Anyone have advice on a nice vintage sounding amp that has enough power for gigs like these?

Thanks!

K Maul · From: Hadley, NY/Hobe Sound, FL

It’s nothing fancy but I think a FenderBlues Jr. (tweed would look best for this gig) would be a relatively inexpensive but good quality solution.
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Jon Light · From: Saugerties, NY

I've never played one but -- look at some Youtube demos of the Quilter Aviator Cub US. It's got a choice of Fender Tweed, Blonde or Blackface voices and it's got a master volume. I play an Aviator Mach 3 and love it. But I expect that if I didn't occasionally need its 200 watts (for clean pedal steel), the 50w Cub would work well for me. I've heard people say that it can keep up with a rock drummer so it can get loud. But most importantly, you can dial in some light tweedy breakup and then adjust your master volume to match the needs of the gig.

James Holland · From: Alabama, USA

I'd think anything voiced like a Tweed, with a 12 or 15 inch speaker would be close enough? I've got a 5E3 with an efficient speaker that would fit my imagination, and a Deluxe Reverb with a "Bassman" switch, thinking a Bassman would also be in family. The main thing might be Helm's E6 tuning, and the rumor that he didn't use slants?!?

Jim Kennedy · From: Brentwood California, USA

The Blues Jr is a 15 watt amp and is designed to break up pretty quickly. It is pretty loud for 15 watts and I did small gigs with a 4 piece combo for several years with it. I also used it for a time to play harmonica with a blues band. I replaced the the 12AX7 preamp tubes with 12AY7 tubes so I could push the amp hard with the harmonica without feedback problems. Worked ok for that purpose, but I doubt you would be happy if your current setup is not loud enough.
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Samuel Phillippe · From: Douglas Michigan, USA

gary pierce · From: Rossville TN

Fender Deluxe TM

K Maul · From: Hadley, NY/Hobe Sound, FL

Joe Burke · From: Toronto, Canada

Thanks for the tips.

I think I'll try a Blues Jr first. And maybe a quilter.

Also tempted to try a Milkman The Amp with a cabinet.

Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

Maybe get another amp like the one you have and use both.

What I do for a vintage steel amp sound when I need a lot of volume is use whatever loud amp I have and one of Brad Sarno’s Earth Drives. It’s great for subtle amounts of overdrive.

Another way is to use your amp as the front end (speaker out) into a fryette power station. That would be perfect but expensive. It will sound and respond exactly like your current rig.
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Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

I’d get a newer amp with an old “tweed” design.. Something like a Peavey Classic 30, Classic 50, or a Crate Palomino 40 can be had for $400 or less, used. They have better power, but still maintain the vintage look.

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

This question is hard to answer without an idea of your budget. $100, $300, $600, $1000, $2000, and so on?

I think a real tweed Pro is as good as it gets. I have a '53 - it's a transition model with the 5C5 chassis but wide-panel cabinet. That is the sound, IMO. But a real one is ridiculously expensive now. They're actually one of the more affordable tweed amps - 15" speakers are kinda' not the thing for most guitar players - but that's not saying much.

However, there are all kinds of people building tweed clones now. Some are pretty expensive, but others are reasonable. Here's a Painter (made in Austin, TX, I believe) 5E3 tweed Deluxe clone fairly reasonable (except I think shipping would be pretty salty to Canada) - https://reverb.com/item/68267009-painter-amps-tweed-deluxe-5e3-clone - a friend of mine had one EXACTLY like this (wouldn't surprise me if this is the same one - he sold it a while ago). It sounded very tweedy, and pretty loud. His had a lot of headroom.

But these kind of amps pop up from time to time pretty reasonable. I picked up a VVT tweed Deluxe clone and a Jones (made in Indiana) tweed Super clone, both at guitar shows very reasonable. But again, what's your budget? Most of this stuff, even well-priced used examples, is gonna be in the $600-1000 range. There are some out there - I see a 2x10 tweed Bandmaster type thing, there's a guy with a tweed Pro clone, and they do show up from time to time. If you have more dough, there are lots of guys who will build one for you.

I'll tell you one of my favorite series of amps for nonpedal steel - don't laugh - an 80s Peavey Backstage or Backstage Plus, or an 80s Peavey Studio Pro 40 or Studio Pro 50. The Backstage series goes from 20-35 watts RMS, and those Studio Pros are 40/50 watts respectively. I'm always shocked how good they sound with my Clinesmiths. I generally turn the bass way up and the treble way down for a more vintage sound. I specifically suggest these 80s models - I never went for the chainsaw distortion in the later ones. These amps are generally very reasonable (I have four, and I don't think I have $200 in the bunch), and pretty bulletproof. Only thing ever to go wrong with the four I have is the socketed reverb chip was dead when I got the SP 50. I just pulled the chip and put in a new one. And a better reverb pan is always a good idea. But you don't need reverb for the Don Helms sound. The Saturation control, used very subtly, gives a pretty durned nice slightly-pushed tube-style tone. Another great design from Jack Sondermeyer. Here's a SP 40 at $250 - https://reverb.com/item/77666463-peavey-studio-pro-40-usa-40-watt-1x12-guitar-combo-amplifier-free-shipping - that's actually not cheap for these, but it's free shipping and it's nice and clean. But these and the Back Stage series show up pretty often, and if you're patient, they can often be had for a song.

There are lots of other reasonably priced amps out there that will give you a nice tone, but I generally have to just go play some amps to know what's good and what's not.

BTW - I like the Blues Jr. I think it's one of Fender's better modern designs. But my experience is that is pretty much in the range of the 15 Watt Vintage 47 you now have. But there are different versions of the Blues Jr., and some seem to break up very quickly, and others stay pretty clean longer. I don't know the ins and outs, but I think if you want to go that way, I'd bring along your Vintage 47 for comparison and try some of the different ones.

Scott Swartz · From: St. Louis, MO

One of the problems re the clean headroom of the Blues Jr is the bias is not adjustable, and on the couple of them I worked on the El84s were running ridiculously over biased and therefore mushy.

A pot to the adjust the bias can be added to the PCB by a tech pretty easily but there will be some cost.

Still not a ton of headroom since its 2 EL84s at low plate voltage but it could maybe work for vintage lap steel with some grit.
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Joe Burke · From: Toronto, Canada

I certainly want a little grit! Just not starting with grit.

Bob Hoffnar - I own a Brad Sarno’s Earth Drive. It's great. I'll try it with a louder amp.

Dave Mudgett - I think if this gig continues I will buy a 50s Fender Pro. But in the meantime I'm going to try something a little cheaper. I like your Peavey suggestion, and found a Studio Pro 50 nearby for $200 (Canadian). I might pick it up and give a try. I'm sure I can sell it for about the same if I don't like it. I also like this idea because they don't take up a lot of stage space.

I've also noticed a few Peavey Delta Blues 115 for sale. They kind of look the part, and I think a 15' speaker might be nice. I've read they can be good for non-pedal.

The hunt is part of the fun!

Brooks Montgomery · From: Idaho, USA

That attenuator switch on the Fender TM’s, either Twin or Deluxe, sure gives you a lot of options from a tiny room, to a big one. And a Black Box butters it up a little extra.
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Dave Stagner · From: Minnesota, USA

A lot of EL84 amps use self-bias rather than fixed bias, so it's not adjustable. (Self bias is how preamp tubes are biased. Most power tubes aren't suitable for it, but EL84 tubes are.)

To me, it seems like the choice is either use an amp that is period-correct in terms of construction (tweed Fenders, basically), or amps that just sound good and give you the sort of loose grind of those tweed amps. And tweed amps, especially modern reproductions, tend to be woefully underpowered. They're fine if you're miking them for the PA, but it's a problem if you're trying to play live and compete with a band using your amp alone.

Another possibility is to use a low gain overdrive or dirty boost pedal with whatever big, powerful, clean amp you normally use for pedal steel. I'm a big fan of using pedals to warm and soften a loud clean amp. That way I'm not dealing with the "sounds great only at this exact volume" problem of a lot of small tube amps.

Finally, I'll bet you could get a very appropriate sound out of a Milkman amp, with just the volume and eq knobs. The master volume and solid-state power section has plenty of headroom, but the preamp can get really warm if you crank it up. I keep the input volume set at about 10 o'clock on my Milkman 100 to keep it clean enough for my hippie-tonk tastes, but run it up to noon and it could probably do Don Helms really well.
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Stephen Cowell · From: Round Rock, Texas, USA

I saw the Fabulous Thunderbirds play at a record release in Austin... curious, I went to the backline and looked in the amps.. Fender tweeds, with metal octal preamp tubes.

You want the original honk and grind? This will get you there... the only amp I know of that ships with octal pre tubes is the Little Walter ($$$). They use glass, but you could maybe sub a metal tube to get it honkier.

I have a The Fisher turntable preamp that has one 6SC7 on a tiny chassis... I modded it to remove the RIAA EQ and wired it as a booster... it gives that vibe.

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Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

My tweed Pro has some metal-can octal preamp tubes. They can get microphonic in a high-gain amp, but they're fine in this amp. But I think glass octal preamp tubes are fine too. The difficulty is finding these tubes in glass. The metal cans are much more prevalent.

I forgot about the Peavey Delta Blues 115 - that would probably an appropriate choice at a reasonable price. I've played a few, they sounded pretty good for guitar or nonpedal steel. I found them weak for pedal steel. They're not super loud or super clean, but probably have more juice than the Vintage 47 or the Blues Jr. If you search for threads on them, you'll see quite a few people here have used them. Many of the comments recommend a different speaker - e.g., here's a comment about using a nice old Jensen - https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=191202 - and there are lots more threads discussing these. But I've never owned one, so take my comments with a grain of salt.

I'm using the original speakers in my Backstage/Studio Pros, but I should really try some different speakers. I have a bunch, I need to just throw some in to try. I haven't had a ton of motivation because the originals sound good to me for Telecaster and nonpedal steel, which is what I use them for.

BTW - the Bandit 65 is pretty similar to the Studio Pro, but has even more juice yet. Again, I specifically suggest the original Bandit (early 80s, 50 watts) or the Bandit 65 (mid-80s, 65 watts), not the later ones. I owned one several years ago. I left it at a commons rehearsal space to avoid having to haul an amp, but one day it wasn't there. I voiced my extreme displeasure, but didn't sweat it because those things were dirt cheap then. They have since gained some respect and aren't quite as cheap as they were. I really liked the stock Scorpion speaker for Tele, but not so much for steel. I think I put in a fairly stout Eminence speaker when I used it for steel, that smoothed out the sound some. The Scorpion has a pretty significant honk to it - again, great for Tele, but to my tastes, too exaggerated for steel.

Joe Burke · From: Toronto, Canada

Dave - A while ago I was playing non pedal in a country band. Doing mainly Merle, Nelson and Hank. I had a Peavey with a 15" Scorpion (I forget which model). Super heavy, but sounded great and I loved it! Should've kept it.

I didn't get a chance to check out the Studio Pro yet. And I'll take a look for a Bandit 65.

Stephen Cowell · From: Round Rock, Texas, USA

Just found out about these guys... this Reverb listing has sold already. They made 50's Gibson clones and they used the octal preamp tubes.

https://reverb.com/item/4167682-buffalo-harp-amp

The website on the back of the speaker label is defunct... this one went for 750$, much cheaper than LW.

Vintage Gibson amps are a good deal right now compared to Fenders of the same era, although they're going up.
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Gary Meixner · From: New York, USA

Joe,

The Fender Blues JR is a great amp but might be a little under powered. I have one that I modified with kits from Bill M Audio to run 6l6 power tubes. It puts out about 40 watts and sounds fantastic. Bill M is no longer in business, but you might find a Blues Jr with the mods already done, if so, check it out. There were a number of mod options available so check them out carefully. Some kept the original EL84 tubes and modified the tone stack. Other mods went further and restructured the power section. All made a huge improvement to an already very good amp. In the end you have a compact, portable amp with a lot of character that could give you that sound. I currently use a Milkman "The Amp" with a 12 speaker that is powerful, super light and awesome. I have never tried to get a Don Helms sound from it, but I bet it is in there. Good luck.

Gary Meixner

Steve Spitz · From: New Orleans, LA, USA

+1 for the Peavey Delta Blues, with the 15”. I paired one to my Stringmaster , and it sounded really nice. It looks the part, if that’s a concern. Cant cut the mustard for pedal steel.

It also sounded great with my Deluxe and Super as well, which shouldn’t be surprising.

Not sure how mandated the era correct appearance is , but fairly certain the majority of the audience doesn’t care.

Another option may be a tweed speaker cab, with a new lightweight power amp. Peavey made tweed cabs with a 15”, among others.

Lots of good suggestions and good choices. Enjoy the hunt.

Joe Burke · From: Toronto, Canada

Update - I found a used Peavey Delta Blues 115 nearby on Facebook Marketplace. I picked it up yesterday. So far so good. I have a Hank gig in 2 weeks, and I'll try it there.
Thanks for all the advice!

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

The PV Delta Blues is a nice amp, but do remember it is a Classic 30 ( 30 watt rated) with a 15 and Tremelo. It's a 4x EL84 based power amp. I had one for a while, its a kool amp, hope it does the trick for you !
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Eric Philippsen · From: Central Florida USA

Some time ago I a played in a band that did a Hank Williams tribute gig. It was kinda’ a big deal and there were a lot there. I played a T8 Stringmaster which absolutely nailed the tone. I ran it thru a NV400.

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