Douglas Schuch
From:
Valencia, Philippines
|
Posted 30 Aug 2018 4:24 pm |
|
Apologies up front for what will be a longish post to explain a simple discovery.
Background - I bought a used Stereo Steel (older Gold Face) about 3 years ago here on the forum, and must say I love the amp, and have found GD Walker to be more than helpful for someone who bought his gear used. About two years ago I read on the forum where a lot of people were raving about their Carvin bass amps for pedal steel. I saw a sale on the most basic model - the BX250, so decided to give it a try - it has an extensive EQ sections with some similarities to the Stereo Steel - maybe I could get a similar tone from it? When the amp arrived, I rushed to try it out... and HATED it! I simply could not get a good tone out of it. So I boxed it up, tried to sell it locally, and then put it on a shelf and forgot about it.
The past year has not been an easy one for me - 1 year ago next week my home of St John got hit by a Cat 5 hurricane, followed 2 weeks later by another Cat 5 (but only Cat 1 strength here on St John). Tourism, the business I depend on for a living, was pretty much ruined for a year and counting. I'd been pondering semi-retiring as soon as I could finish projects on my "shack-teau" I bought on the island - and they are getting close to being done. I am taking to my partner, who lives in the Philippines (I left there 3 years ago to raise retirement funds) about starting a business. To make a short story long, I am planning on heading back to the Philippines as soon as I sell my house. It is getting harder to get stuff into the Philippines without being charged more than purchase price in duty, plus the shipping, so have been trying to figure out how to get a basic steel rig to use once I am there. I want an amp that is very compact (so I can toss it into my backpack) runs on 220V (I have two friends who've blown up amps plugging them into 220!), and that sounded decent. My thoughts turned to the Carvin I had ignored - it runs on 90-250V. And this is where it got interesting.
I use a Zoom Multi-Stomp MS 50G for reverb, occasionally a touch of delay, etc. And it has amp sims. I've played with amp sims before, and sometimes used them, but was never entirely satisfied, but they've been improving. So I turned on the Twin Reverb sim on the MS 50G, and wow! What a difference! It went from the dull, muddy tone I hated about this amp to a very bright (initially too bright), clear sweet tone! A little tweaking, and I had a tone I am very satisfied with. To be honest, I'm not sure which I prefer now - the Stereo Steel, or the Carvin. I need a few days to play around more with it - we all know how weather, sinuses, and many other things can affect how we hear tones. But I think I found an amp solution I can toss in my backpack and take to the Philippines without having to spend any money.
Now, I'm not saying to rush out and buy a Carvin amp (actually, they don't even make that model anymore). I still think the best option for most players is an amp made for pedal steel (Stereo Steel, Telonics, Peavey, Quilter, Milkman). I do think the Multi-stomp is a nice toy to have - it is pretty difficult to figure out how to set it up, but otherwise a lot of tools in one tiny box. What I am saying that if you have a Zoom Multi-Stomp and one of the bass amps some have touted for steel, and were disappointed in the sound, give it a whirl. You just might be pleasantly surprised.
One last note - I tend to like a very bright, "West Coast" tone from my steel. The Stereo Steel is, I think, kind of known for this. And the main takeaway I think is that amp sims have come a long way in a very short time. It may not be your first choice for gear, but it might be a cheap solution to let you be happy with an amp you don't like, at least until you can afford to replace it.
_________________
Bringing steel guitar to the bukid of Negros Oriental! |
|
