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Topic: Time to amplify my Asher electro hawaiian jr.... |
Christopher Blood
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 6 May 2020 5:07 pm |
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Right now all i have is a Fender Rumble 200 bass amp with a 15 inch speaker that I'm playing through. I have to say the lap steel sounds great through it and it can be louder than I'll ever need.
As far as bass amps go it's not large or heavy (32 pounds) but it is bulky.
I'm thinking maybe I need a proper guitar combo to play through. Don't need a lot of effects but reverb is a must. My bass amp doesn't have reverb but it does have a drive channel that sounds pretty good with the lap steel. One problem is cost is a BIG factor after buying the Asher. Would like to keep things under $200 or lower if possible. I play mostly at church so something smaller than my bass amp to carry back and forth would be nice but I'm not totally against bringing the bass amp.
I'm kind of partial to Fender but am not against other brands. I've read that some folks are using the Mustang amps but not sure if I need all that amp modelling.
The Fender Champion series looks interesting. They have a 20 watt version with an 8 inch speaker and a 40 watt version with a 12 inch speaker. I could get one of those and patch it into my bass amp if I ever played an outdoor gig where I needed more loudness. It would make sense to me that the 40 watt 12 version would probably sound better.
OR I could just buy a reverb unit and just use my bass amp all the time.
So what do you all think? Suggestions other than buying something above my budget? |
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Chris Bauer
From:
Nashville, TN USA
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Posted 7 May 2020 4:34 am
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Lots of options out there but it might be easiest to advise if you could say a little about what you don’t like about your current sound and the kind of sound(s) you’re after. (Or is it just the bulk of the Rumble that you don’t like?)
Lap steel often sounds great through bass amps. For some sounds, a stomp box or two in front of the amp might also get you where you’re trying to go. |
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Christopher Blood
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 7 May 2020 5:53 am
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| Love the sound through the rumble bass amp. I just would like something a bit smaller and with reverb. I like a warm sound and the rumble achieves that. |
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Michael Butler
From:
California, USA
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Posted 7 May 2020 9:21 am
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you couldn't go wrong with a deluxe reverb or even a princeton reverb if you don't gig.
i use a 66 deluxe reverb or a tweed deluxe 5e3 clone that i built along with a 65 fender reverb unit.
play music!
_________________
please see my Snakeskin's Virtual Music Museum below.
http://muscmp.wordpress.com/ |
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David Spires
From:
Millersport, OH
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Posted 8 May 2020 6:54 am
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If you like what you are getting with the bass amp, at your budget - get a reverb pedal.
I'm loving the Fender Pro Jr., but I don't know that I would call it "warm", when compared to a bass amp - and it's way above your budget.
Good luck!
David Spires
_________________
2021 MSA Legend XL 10&7; Asher Electro-Hawaiian Junior Lap Steel; '79 OMI Dobro 66 w/ Scheerhorn cone and setup; '64 Hand-wired Re-issue Fender Princeton Reverb |
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Chris Bauer
From:
Nashville, TN USA
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Posted 8 May 2020 8:43 am
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100% on what David said.
Otherwise, if you know you want something less bulky, you might look for a Boss Katana 50 watt. They're super light, sound fine, has any effect you'd ever want, and you can find them used in your price range.
I suspect you're likely to like the sound of the Rumble better - at least I know that I would - BUT that would give you something lighter and more versatile that still sounds reasonably good once it's dialed in. |
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Christopher Blood
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 8 May 2020 8:49 am
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| I think that may be the way to go. Looking at the danelectro spring verb. Looks pretty straight forward. If I really need to go small I have one of those Behringer powered monitor things that sounds ok. 150 watts into a 6.5 inch speaker. |
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Douglas Schuch
From:
Valencia, Philippines
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Posted 8 May 2020 4:15 pm
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If you want a poor man's Blues Junior - I.E., you like a low-power, easily over-driven tube amp, you might consider the VHT Special 6. I have one for my harmonicas, but like the sound I get playing my Fender Deluxe lap steel through it. It's more or less based on vintage Fender Champion amps. You would think, at 6 watts, it would not be very loud, but it will surprise you. This is not an amp you pick because you want to have extensive control over the equalization of the tone - it has a single tone knob. It is an amp you buy because you want a nice, sweet tube tone, and the ability to easily control the breakup - pre-amp tube, power amp tube, lots, or just a touch - fairly easy to get. The power tube is a 6V6, which my understanding is it gives a smoother, creamier more gradual breakup than the EL 84's of the Fender Pro Jr.
But, as others have said, it all depends on what you want for tone. Vintage? Modern? Lots of clean headroom? Early tube distortion? Do you want to run a ton of effects?
_________________
Bringing steel guitar to the bukid of Negros Oriental! |
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Christopher Blood
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 10 May 2020 9:45 am
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| Played an outdoor church service this morning on the Asher through the Fender bass amp and it sounded great. Handled the situation no problem. I've got a reverb unit on order so I think I'm all set. |
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Posted 10 May 2020 11:17 am
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Imagine my surprise three years ago vacationing on the island of Oahu, and my wife and I go for dinner at Dot’s Restaurant to enjoy one of the greatest Hawaiian steel players on the planet, Bobby Ingano (with his trio) and I look at the amp next to him onstage.
He was playing his Rick Frypan through a very small Roland Cube amp.
Sounded great!
_________________
Mark
Last edited by Mark Eaton on 14 Jun 2020 4:54 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Christopher Blood
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 22 May 2020 1:56 pm
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The Fender bass amp sounds good with the Asher but it's a handful to haul around especially when not needed. I have to lug it up and down 12 steps each time.
I ended up getting the Kantana 50 and I'm pretty happy with it.
I'll be using it at church and I imagine the 25 watt setting will be as loud as I'll need to be. |
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Ken Pippus
From:
Langford, BC, Canada
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Posted 22 May 2020 2:03 pm
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| Amps used to be heavy! That Rumble would have been a life saver. |
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Christopher Blood
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 22 May 2020 2:52 pm
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| Oh yeah,I used to own an Ampeg fridge. |
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 22 May 2020 3:06 pm
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Just a couple comments...if you want small and relatively cheap, try a Yamaha THR10. I love mine...easy to dial in a great sound and it has a surprising amount of low end. Alan Akaka regularly gigs with his...just put a mic in front of it, and it will work (as long as stages aren't crazy loud).
Also, I agree about how well bass amps work with lap steel sometimes. I ended up with a VibraSonic from the 90s (way more amp than I'll ever need) and the Yamaha...but when I was looking I took my Clinesmith frypan to a few guitar stores and plugged into lots of nice amps...Fender Twins, various blackface reissues, a Vox AC30, modelling amps...all of them left me cold. On a whim I walked over to the bass section, plugged into what was likely a budget Fender Rumble...hit some low C13 chords and was like...that's the sound.
One of my favorite sounds is to biamp, using a bass amp and guitar amp simultaneously to boost clear lows while still having a tubey warmth and slight reverb on top. But that's not easy without a roadie 
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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Paul Awalt
From:
Greenwich, Ct.
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Posted 24 May 2020 8:45 am amp
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| What Milkman Amp would work the best. |
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Steve Lipsey
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Posted 24 May 2020 1:16 pm
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Milkman? Whatever you can afford...I found him long ago and have migrated through nearly every amp he's made, one after another. Pedal Steel Amp for Twin reverb level power with amazing tone, Pedal Steel Mini (40w) for an amp that I could push into creamy sustain now and then, and now the Milkman "The Amp", fits on my pedal board I had (others also)....still gets that pretty tone, but not quite a pretty when pushed, but with that much power, overdrive mostly comes from the pedal of you choice.
I have a formula that might help you choose:
The weight of your amp should be no more than = 100-(your age)
But why not check Tim Marcus and chat about what you are looking for? Email finds him quickly as a start...
_________________
www.facebook.com/swingaliband & a few more....
Williams S10s, Milkman Pedal Steel Mini & "The Amp"
Ben Bonham Resos, 1954 Oahu Diana, 1936 Oahu Parlor |
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Christopher Blood
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 27 May 2020 7:16 am
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| Chris Bauer wrote: |
100% on what David said.
Otherwise, if you know you want something less bulky, you might look for a Boss Katana 50 watt. They're super light, sound fine, has any effect you'd ever want, and you can find them used in your price range.
I suspect you're likely to like the sound of the Rumble better - at least I know that I would - BUT that would give you something lighter and more versatile that still sounds reasonably good once it's dialed in. |
You're right Chris. I'm still dialing in the Katana but I'm not getting anything close to the nice warm sound of the Rumble 200. Maybe I should have gone with a smaller version of the rumble for the lap steel? |
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Christopher Blood
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 27 May 2020 2:46 pm
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| Read through some posts on the katana here. Tried using the acoustic channel instead of the clean channel. Warmed things right up. Sounds good! |
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