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Topic: Milkman Pedal - Optimizing for Pedal Steel? |
Joseph Carlson
From:
Grass Valley, California, USA
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Posted 6 Mar 2018 3:40 pm |
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Hello,
I've been thinking about the soon to be released Milkman Half and Half 50 watt pedal and how would you go about setting up a rig for pedal steel using this pedal on some kind of pedal board and an extension cabinet.
Would you want the steel to go straight into the Milkman amp pedal so it is the first thing your pickup "sees"? If so, how does the volume pedal fit into the equation?
What if you plan to use other pedals? Doesn't appear to be an effects loop.
What about using a Sarno Black Box in conjunction with the amp pedal? Would that be overkill?
Maybe steel guitar -> black box -> volume pedal -> earth drive -> delay -> milkman pedal -> some kind of 4 ohm 15" neo speaker in a cab
Finally, what sort of a speaker and cab would you suggest to get the best clean headroom and pure pedal steel tone?
Any thoughts or insights would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Joe |
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Tim Marcus
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 7 Mar 2018 11:11 am
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The best way to think about The Amp is to think of it the same way as any other tube amplifier head, ignoring the fact that its a pedal.
So if you are using effect pedals - plug your steel into them and then into the input of The Amp. From there, out to a speaker or PA system through the direct out.
If you are using a lot of pedals before the input, I would suggest an active volume pedal, buffer, or something like the Black Box. If you are plugging straight into The Amp from a volume pedal, the Black Box is something you can probably skip.
If you are using The Amp has a preamp into another amplifier, again you can probably skip using a Black Box. In that case I would run The Amp first, then go through other effects via the "pedal level" out and into the input of your amplifier.
The Amp can be used with any speaker between 4 and 16 ohms. A good lightweight Neo 15" speaker cabinet will be a nice choice.
_________________
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Sonny Jenkins
From:
Texas Masonic Retirement Center,,,Arlington Tx
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Posted 9 Mar 2018 6:11 am
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It seems to me that all these new "pedal" type or small class D amps (MB200, Quilter Blocks etc) are voiced more for the guitar world,,,understandable because of market size. Will this new Milkman be voiced for Pedal Steel Guitar,,,or,has it been demo'ed for steel (PEDAL steel)???? I think due to the demand for power/speaker required for pedal steel,,,vs the demand for lighter weight from the steel guitar community that an amp,,,voiced especially for steel guitar (as Peavey has always done) that would reduce the weight, would find a huge market in the steel guitar community.
Can this NOT be done? Seems like some of our resident electronics gurus, that understand the requirements of pedal steel, would have already jumped into that mix? |
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Bob Hoffnar
From:
Austin, Tx
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Posted 9 Mar 2018 7:14 am
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Milkman amps are built by a steel player and sound great with pedalsteel. They are my favorite amps just about ever.
I'm not sure what "voiced for pedalsteel" means though. Is there a general difference between guitar and steel amps ?
Is it an EQ thing ? What frequencies are involved ?
Is it gain structure ? Maybe input sensitivity because steel pickups are so much hotter than guitar pickups ?
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Bob |
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Sonny Jenkins
From:
Texas Masonic Retirement Center,,,Arlington Tx
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Posted 9 Mar 2018 8:31 am
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Well,,,as the post states,,I'm NOT referring to the Combo amps,,,but the recent small "heads" such as MB200, Quilter Tone Blocks, and the Milkman "pedal",,or box that the OP was referring to.
As for voicing of an amps components,,I'm certainly not electronic techy enough to know the particulars,,,just that ALL Fenders don't have the sound qualitys that would be desirable for pedal steel,,,same goes for VOX, Peavey and,,,well I guess all amps. And I,m calling that difference "voicing",,,maybe the tech term would be something else. Seems that some are "voiced" for keyboards, some for Bass, some for guitars etc. Pedal steel I would think would be a rather small market by comparison.
I think Milkman stated in an earlier post that the "pedal" had not been demo'd with pedal steel yet,(but would be later) which led me to think it might be targeted toward the guitar market,,,maybe a bad assumption???
That being said,,I, for one am REALLY looking forward to this pedal,,,or amp head (? coming out,,,it will definitely be a serious consideration for me,,being one of those old guys that is ever looking for a way to lighten the load! |
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Tim Marcus
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Sonny Jenkins
From:
Texas Masonic Retirement Center,,,Arlington Tx
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Posted 9 Mar 2018 2:57 pm
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| Thanks Tim,,,yes,,that's what I was wondering about. Do you have any idea as to "when" they will be available,,,April?,,,May?? |
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Joseph Carlson
From:
Grass Valley, California, USA
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Posted 9 Mar 2018 4:31 pm
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| Thanks for the info Tim! I’m thinking this pedal might solve the age old riddle of doubling on tele and pedal steel. Just add an A/B switch. |
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Tim Marcus
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 11 Mar 2018 9:55 am
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I am hoping to start shipping The Amp by the end of April.
My advice would be to find a dealer and pre-order one to guarantee that you are in the first production run. Thats what I am telling all of my customers, since I will not be selling these direct.
An AB switch would be great for switching instruments. When I play guitar and pedal steel, I just pull the cable from the pedal steel and stick it into the tele. Same idea 
I will be posting links to the pedal steel demos at the end of the month. I can link to them in this thread |
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