Seeking a light weight amp that still sounds great

[Keith Calmes]

My small amp weighs 46 pounds and my back is killing me. Do any of you have information regarding an amp that is both easy on the back and easy on the ears?

Thanks,

Keith

[Larry Dering]

Forum member Ray DeVoe has a quilter TT 12 for sale in the amps section. This is the amp and speaker the great Travis Toy helped design. They are lightweight and sound great. Check out some videos of Travis playing at the Texas Steel Guitar Jamboree on YouTube.

[Rick Baker]

I've started using a Quilter Labs DirectAmp Stereo Amp Simulator, into a Jay Ganz Straight Ahead Power Amp (I carry two, they are 1 pd each), and then the speaker cab of my choice (love the Telonics with a TT12 or TT15). So then you have the weight of the speaker cab + 3 pounds total, while carrying a backup power amp - loud enough to move walls, as necessary! I still have a couple of Evans options, if needed, but the rig described above is KILLER!! and will not break your back.

Good luck in your search!

Bake

[Wayne Brown]

here's one idea... These I build in most configurations.
viewtopic.php?t=402870
thanks
wayne

[Dennis Detweiler]

TC Electronic BQ250 and a 12" Eminence neo bass speaker along with a TC Hall Of Fame reverb pedal makes a light weight and compact rig.

[Dave Hopping]

I've been very happy with my Milkman Half & Half PS300 15" combo.

https://milkmansound.com/

[Brooks Montgomery]

The Fender Tone Master Twin Reverb, for me, has become the swiss army knife amp. Sounds great, two channels, because of the attenuator switch, it works for tiny room practice, or big halls without needing to be mic’d.
I play lapsteel, pedal, guitar, and blues harp all through the same amp.

I have to admit though, I don’t use it for dobro only gigs or acoustic guitar—for that I prefer my Fishman Loudbox mini.

I have a variety of Fender tube amps that now stay in my gear room most of the time. Do the real tube amps sound better? Yes, somewhat. I notice the difference. But the band, nor the audience can hear the difference. And the weight, one-handed 33 lbs

[Bobby D. Jones]

When I turned 75, I set out to lighten my load gigging. I built a birch plywood cabinet, Installed a Eminence EPS-15C speaker 22lb. Added a Quilter Tone Block 202, 4lb. out the door 26lb.


This setup sure lightened my amp load gigging.

[Bob Hoffnar]

I'll put in a word for the Milkman half and Half. It's a great sounding amp and very light with the stock neo.

[James P Mitchell]

I just got the Half + Half. Sounds great. It's very loud, and very light.
Sounds great. It's a little poke-y for guitar imho but works great for steel.

[Larry Ball]

I just thought I would give Wayne’s (Out West Music) amp some recognition.

Wayne can design exactly what you are looking for. I was very specific in my request and Wayne delivered beyond expectations… I still have a couple of other amps, one being a Nashville 112. However Wayne’s design has outmatched both of them in Power (Headroom), clarity, tone and above all “Weight”.

I need say no more

[Jon Jaffe]

I have a Milkman Half-and-Half and a Quilter TT. Both are great lightweight amplifiers, but I prefer the Half-and-Half to the Quilter. (The Quilter is for sale soon.) What I have gone to is a small preamp and a powered speaker. First, I tried the Sesh 400 into a Jay Ganz Straight Ahead Power Amp I installed in a 12-inch speaker cabinet. That was OK, but I still had to supply reverb, delay pedals, and whatever else I wanted. Then, I got a SuperBlock US that would allow me to control my Quilter without turning my back on the club. The SuperBlock US into the Ganz was very lightweight, and I thought I had found the rig I wanted.
But I bought the Fender FR-12 powered speaker, and the combination with SuperBlock US was lightweight, uncomplicated, and sounded superb. I now have switched preamps to the TONEX One. It clips to the leg of my steel guitar and has multiple amp tones and pedals. The thing that ties all this together is the FR-12. It's 30bs.

[Steve Lipsey]

half& Half 28 lbs.
Milkman Pedal Steel Mini 32 lbs

....and the Mini is the best amp I've ever had...all tube, way more powerful than the spec implies, with the new Soursound transformer it somehow pumps the power up by a lot. Tim Marcus at Milkman calls it "the best amp he's ever made"

So you can have a relatively light amp and sacrifice nothing, and in fact, sound better than ever....

I, of course, knowing that the amp was light, got it as a head+cab with a Missing Link Hybrid JBL D-120 speaker, which added 12 lbs...so the pieces still are light (22.5lbs head and 33 lbs cab), and it is the ultimate dream amp...("holy grail" as Tim says)

Hatton case for my Williams is 17 lbs, 43 with steel...

[Chris Brooks]

Light--and cheap? Roland Cube 80.

[John Talbott]

I know a player who is using a Mark DV45 1x12 combo.
Only 22.5 lbs … He gets a real good sound out of it ….

John T.

[Dave Grafe]

I just solved the same problem with a Quilter Tone Block 202 in the TT12 package. I picked up an additional 15" cabinet and loaded ut with a JBL K130 for louder gigs, and if that is ever not enough it will drive them both with 200 watts. It works well enough that I just sold my "forever" Webb combo.

[Bruce Bjork]

Spark 2 with Dan Hogans settings, I have a hard time telling the difference between my Spark 2 and my Peavey 112 in a Tommy Huff cab with a 15” speaker. Nice deep bass and clear highs.

[Mike Christensen]

a cube 60 is a a nice amp depending on where you play. i have been using a Fender Tone Master Deluxe and it has been great. just recently tho got a Fender brownface Prin
ceton.Hard to use anything else now.This is for lap steel.

[Jameson Koweek]

They don’t get as much love here as some of the other Milkman amps, but I love my Milkman The Amp 100. Pair it with a 4 ohm 15” speaker and you are ready to play at any volume.

[Bob Watson]

I’ve been using a Fender Tone Master Deluxe for my main Pedal Steel amp for about a year and a half now, and it always sounds great. I use the line out on big venues and outdoor gigs. It weighs 24lbs!

[Tom Sosbe]

Boss Katana 100 great amp with built in affects. And won't break the bank.

[Dave Campbell]

i have been searching for a long time. i had a milkman half and half and never did agree with it.

i have tonemaster twin. i loved it, fell out of love, swapped a million speakers in and out, and fell out of love.

lately i've been using a stereo rig with two peavey session 400. you only have to move it twice!!!!

i just put two weber neomags into my tonemaster twin, so i'll try that for a bit.

i almost bought a 1974 twin eith jbl k120s in it.

i guess what i'm trying to say is that i have a problem, and sounds like you might have it, too!

i think the audience is living in the golden age of lightweight amps, but the rest of us might not quite be there yet.

[Rex Wiseman]

As I get older (and lazier) I too have looked for a lighter solution, but I love my old Peavey LTD 400s - so I pulled out the JBL in one of them and replaced it with the Eminence light weight speaker. Solved my problem.

[John Fields]

Peavey's new Nashville-Session 112 and 115 weigh in at about 26 and 25 pounds, respectively, and should be available this Summer.

[Bill Ferguson]

I have a couple of the new Peavey Nashville-Session (112 & 115) amps that I have been testing.
I promise you, it will be worth waiting just a few more months.