Outwest Steel Guitar Amp Idea

[Wayne Brown]

I promise this WILL be long winded LOL

All of us musicians have always searched for that elusive sound/tone from an amplifier we all have in our heads. From the original Fender Twin to today's modern boutique amps.

For me, Years of searching for a extremely/very clean sounding amp (yes this is very subjective) was always just out of reach. Technology had not caught up to what I wanted. The closest I ever got clean was an Original Rolandjc 120 from Japan. Which I still own to this day.

The cabinet has been changed. The speakers were changed out immediately when I bought the amp, to Peavey 12" speakers and then to Eminence 12" and they are still in the amp. I also loved the Univox 130L and would still be using it today however the original outputs are no longer available.


So moving on... I kept up my search and by accident when we were on a trip to Saskatoon Saskatchewan. I stumbled upon a Gallien Krueger MB500 light weight amp head at just 3.5 lbs. I brought it home and was playing around with it, in different scenarios, Bass, Acoustic, Electric guitar (Tele) and then tried steel. This thing was great. However it is no longer made by the manufacturer. There were different models as well. It's baby brother the MP200 and it's bigger brother the MP800. However I was happy with this model.
Fast forward a couple of years and I had paired it with a Peavey Duel Deltafex and put into a 3 rack unit.

Did some research and matched it up with a Eminence deltalite II and I had a great sounding very clean Steel guitar, Acoustic, Electric and Bass amp. WOW talk about a universal amp. With an extreme amount of headroom because of the power this thing has. 500 watts @4ohms and 350@8ohms.


I also found out at this point that a good friend of mine Dwayne Neufeld had been thinking along the same line as myself...LOL except his was more weight related. He had basically the same rig (different configuration of course). So I bought his extra MB500 he had.

Now how to get the bulkiness and weight down some more:
So I built a combo unit for it and put it all into one cabinet. The weight comes in at 42lbs however this is for my studio only so the weight is not really a factor here.



I used this combo for Mr John Lacey at our resent Outwest meet and greet and the amp got great feedback and reviews. I then was asked if i would build and sell them. So I may have a bit of a solution. Of Course in very limited quantities.

Since these are not being made anymore and seam to be very reliable. We have procured a couple of MB500s, MB200s and Peavey Deltafex and Boss rrv-10 reverb units

1) I am going to try and get the weight under 35lbs on the 15" model and close to 25lbs on the 12" model. I will be building them this fall and then John Lacey said that he would be willing to demonstrate both these in a video for you folks. On how clean and clear the sound is.
2) So would any of you folks be interested in an amp like this?
2a) Please understand I AM NOT RE-BRANDING ...just assembling the components into a viable clean Steel etc amp.
3) I also wish to thank Gallien Krueger, Peavey and Eminence for making great products.
Thanks
Wayne

[Dan Kelly]

Hey Wayne!

Your idea sounds pretty interesting.

Personally, I like the fact that the MB 500 has a XLR Out and a line out for direct applications. The effects loop offers options as well. The line out / chain out is interesting because it gives you the option of running powered cabs with the EQ and front panel controls for a really powerful rig. It will be interesting to see how the 4 band EQ works with PSG. It seems like there is interesting possibilities there.

Again, my own personal preference is for a separate head and cabinet to break up the weight but a combo weight of 42 pounds is not unreasonable. The look of the combo is appealing.

Looking forward to the demo! Good luck on your endeavor.

[Len Amaral]

I have a GK-500 and I believe it has a 12AX7 preamp? I haven’t used mine in quite a wile but I may fire it up to see how it sounds. What are your settings?

[Wayne Brown]

I'm am sorry Len but you say you have a GK-500 amp with a tube pre amp. The MB500 is a small rack mount solid state amp head.

My settings would not be the same at all as your amp. However here is a picture of the MB500 of what it looks like and the settings I use.
Thanks
wayne

[Wayne Brown]

I'm sorry Dan I've been so busy here I total forgot to answer you. I apologize for that. Yes with the XLR in the back of all the MB series is great. This is one of the first questions I got asked from John Lacey because a lot of players are DI-ed into the front front end when they gig. I have also used it in numerous recording sessions. extremely quiet.
Thanks
wayne

[Wayne Brown]

Hi again folks
One of the folks that was at this years meet and great had previously heard this combo amp I put together for myself. He seamed to really like the sound/tone of the amp. He also concurs with Dan Kelly's Idea of splitting the head components and speaker cabinet into two separate pieces to lighten the load even more. So with that said I am almost finished building his 2 part amp system using the components discussed in this post earlier. I will post some pictures and story later this week. Doing this to his specs did pose some interesting challenges however, Once again my wife Lori came to the rescue. I will tell that story when the pictures are posted.
Thanks
Wayne

[Wayne Brown]

Hi Folks back again like I promised. I finished the 2 piece amp yesterday as the customer is coming over today to pick it up. As promised the weight tally is as follows. The head final weight is 16LBS.
The speaker cabinet final weight is 21.5LBS

My good friend John Lacey is also attending and would like to try out the amp. LOL even though he has already played with all the components at our meet and greet. Well basically it gives us all another excuse to just talk/play steels (my favorite subject). And I get a treat. I get to snoop around John's Zum Hybrid...WooHoo. Anyways I had a chance to sit down and dial in the amp a little last night and test it out and I am very pleased. It's Very clean and a has ton of head room. Also as I stated before in the last post that this version presented a few challenges. Those were all easily fixed by Lori. The power cords, speaker cord, wall wart and power bar. Which normally would be connected/mounted in the speaker compartment part and patched through can't be done due to lack off room. So Lori designed a storage bag to put all that in so it can sit in the bottom of the speaker cabinet for transport.

Next I'll be on building another GK MB500/15" version like mine.

But I am going to try to make it lighter. I will also be building at this same a GK MB200/12" version as well. This should prove to be a lot lighter.
stay tuned...Thanks Wayne

[Larry Ball]

“THANKSGIVING JOY” The amp that Wayne made for me was better than expected. The craftsmanship of both Lorie’s and Wayne’s designs are impeccable. I was also lucky that John Lacey was there. He took my “Show-Pro” with a Z10 pickup from “Steeltronic’s “ in it for a test drive using the new rig. I sat in awe at what I was hearing, the clarity and power of the amp . Of course John’s skills on the steel had something to do with it. However the sound/tone was good as any I have heard throughout the years and I am a “Tone Freak” with good musical ears after playing over 50 yrs (six string and steel). As I am still playing gig’s the weight of the amp was critical to me as I am in my golden years . Wayne answered the request also , so taking this beauty out of my studio will be a blessing on my back.

Thanks again Lorie and Wayne….

[Wayne Brown]

Thanks for the kind words Larry. It actually worked out that a lot of folks are or were looking for the same thing i have been searching for, for years. I think I have come pretty close. By adding all these different components into one viable unit I get the most versatile, clean sound, powerful amp I have ever had. Thanks to Gallien Krueger, Peavey, and Eminence. With an added bonus of being light. This amp works really well for my Steel guitar, Acoustic guitar, Telecaster, and even Bass guitar. One single amp all rolled into one multi use amp. I will be starting to build another 15" combo version soon and will also be building a 12" version as well.
Thanks
Wayne

[Wayne Brown]

ttt

[Dennis Detweiler]

TC Electronic BQ250 into an Eminence 12" Neo bass speaker and HOF reverb pedal makes a compact and light rig.
I meant to post this on Keith's message. Sorry.

[Wayne Brown]

I will be building a couple of these soon 15" and 12" versions
thanks
wayne

[Wayne Brown]

Well folks I got it done and I have to say I am quite happy. I have two 15" versions, and one 12" version built, and they turned out great and sound awesome. The best news of all... as a combo amp there is no back breaking weight involved and a lot of crystal clean power with a ton of headroom. Here are the specs for these amps I put together.
15"
Gallien Krueger MB500...500W@4ohm/350W@8ohm...weight 3lbs
Peavey duel Deltafex, lots of different pedals in a convenient single rack mount and I love the way the effects sound with this unit. weight 6.2lbs however you can put any rack unit in here or have a lighter Deltafex twin installed @3.0lbs
I use the Eminence Delta lite II 15" 8ohm speaker @5.7lbs. This gives me 350 clean watts for my Steel guitar, acoustic or telecaster and you can also play Bass through it. This is one of the most versatile amps I have ever owned. You can also expand it by adding another 8ohm speaker and make the amps output @4ohm which will increase your wattage to 500.
Total weight completely assembled is approximately 28.75lbs




The 12" version specs are...
Gallien Krueger MB200...200W@4ohm/140W@8ohm...weight 2lbs
For affects you can use whatever you wish, however I use a Boss RRV-10 Reverb weight @2lbs
I use the Eminence Delta lite II 12" 8ohm speaker @5.7lbs. This gives me 140 clean watts for my Steel guitar. You can change out the speaker for a 4ohm and boost your output power to 200 watts.
An extremely light weight combo coming in at 24lbs.



I will be posting a listing in the amp buy/sell on this forum as well
Thanks
Wayne