Best amplifier for steel playing

[Jerry Overstreet]

Well Colin, I've used several MosValve/TubeWorks power amps in component systems for 35 yrs. Separate power amp, Blue Tube pre with steel mod, Tubeworks reverb unit but I hadn't tried any of their guitar based combo amps until about 5 yrs. ago.

I guess it depends what you like. Mine is 100 W RT2100 and I use it on the pure clean channel with a Black Widow 1203-4 or a 1201-8. The stock speaker is some Eminence design 12 in. that I didn't like for steel

Also, even at 100W getting a perfectly clean stock sound is tricky, especially for C6, so I use my little Boss SE70 which has all my eq and effects settings dialed in to suit.

I'm also considering getting one of TC Furlong's Sesh 400 for the front end just for steel.

I also play guitar and the TW amps are killer for guitar IMO. You can also stack the preamps for some dirt and edge, but the all out distortion settings are a little much for me. Of course that is what the Tube Driver amps are all about.

Never used the Tube Driver so I can't say about that model...maybe OK without the Tube Driver circuit if you want clean steel.

I guess you won't know unless you try it.

You can feel free to disregard my findings as I might not be the best judge here.

[Austin Tripp]

For the last 3-4 years, I’ve used a TT15 on stage and in studio. I still have the TT15 but now I’ve started using a TT12 on stage and I dig it. It cuts and still has the low end that I love with my G2 universal. I’ve used several amps over the years, Evans, Little Walters, Fenders, Peaveys etc. I have had wonderful luck out of all the amps I’ve used but I love the simplicity of the Quilter Toneblock 202 into a cab. It’s tiny so if I ever have problems with it on the road (thankfully I have a back up) I can throw it in my backpack and bring it home. For my tone and playing style, I favor solid state amps over tubes.

[Ken Metcalf]

For Me.
Old Twin, Little Walter.
If they are too heavy Tone master Twin with Black Box.

[Earl Foote]

I like my Tonemaster Twin Reverb, so without a doubt it's the best steel amp

[Tony Prior]

Ok I'll play but I'm not really adding anything other than personal opinion from a 50 year journey. Keep in mind though that I have been a double duty player ( Tele and Steel) for the entire ride. My first preference was always a Rig that I liked for the Tele.

So here it goes. What's best ?

From the 70s thru the 80's and into the mid 90's it was a 1970 Twin reverb with stock speakers. I did put a 15" JBL in the cab at some point near the end of the run. That TWIN was glorious, should have kept it but I took time off in the 90's until early 2000's, Played Fender Jazz Bass in a Pentecostal Church Band.

Early 2000's , rejoined a Country band tried playing thru a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe , tone was fine but headroom was not good, stepped up to a Hot Rod Deville. Kept that amp in my stable until around 2022.

2005 joined another local Country band and went thru a plethora of amps. Several different PV Nashville 400's which to me were always mid range strong. I never really liked them for the Tele but others swear by them

Continuing on I finally grabbed a 1971 Twin Reverb and a 1967 Showman Head. basically the same amp but the Twin got almost all of the gig duty as it is an all contained combo amp, less gear to carry. My last years of Steel duty before going on Tele full time was the 1971 Twin reverb and occasionally the late 90's Hot Rod Deville, a very close 2nd to the Twin. Important, both of those amps I used the Fender Gold Label 12's which are Eminence, supposedly LEGENDS. Strong hi end, mild MIDS and smooth bottom end. Not that it matters much, my Tele Rig was a Dr Z Maz 38, not the Twin.

Today, while I have moved all the heavy iron amps( Dr Z, Fenders , PV's) I have a few cabinets hanging around and If I happen to go out on a Steel gig I will use the DV Mark 250 Watt head which weighs 4 lbs. The EQ section is pretty darn good plus it has on board reverb.


So whats best for Steel ?

Geesh, I dunno, but if you are playing double duty I would lean towards a Fender Twin reverb old or new. If its Steel only, a solid state something or other in the 200+ watt range like a PV Nashville, you can't kill those amps.

I think sometimes we concentrate too much on tone when we should be concentrating on our playing. If you grab an amp that can't deliver "clean tone" at stage level, you will know it in a NY minute. Then of course, the next day, just like the rest of us you will go amp shopping again ! Welcome to the club !

[Fred Treece]

I had a late 70’s Silverface Twin, and a Boss GT-10 paired with a Tech 21 Power Engine speaker cab. The Carter S12 I was playing sounded great through both of them. The biggest difference was the Twin weighed about 75 pounds and the Boss/Tech 21 stuff weighed less than 40. I sold the Twin.

Now, you can buy an amp modeler/IR unit that fits in your guitar case and a good powered speaker for under $300. For all the players on the Forum who rave about the ToneX modeling units, I’m surprised nobody has mentioned them yet. Quilter preamps are pretty compact, somebody mentioned those. On the upper end, cost-wise. Same with Kemper profilers.

[Erv Niehaus]

I'm a big Tube Works fan.
Erv

[Dan Baltz]

Some thoughts about amps. In a previous life, I worked as an electrical engineer. Amplifiers were designed for most applications to have a flat response from 20 Hz and higher with low 3rd harmonic distortion.
Class A amps had the least distortion and highest power dissipation followed by class B with some distortion and reasonable power drain. Most older analog amps were of the B type and newer ones are digital where freq. response can be more or less dialed in. For the steel guitar, frequency response is mostly in the midrange with plenty of head room for high volume sounds. Big speakers are needed for low frequencies but since we are midrange, large size woofers should not be necessary.

Also, as we get older, our ears lose the higher frequencies around 1 kHz and up. I think that is the big variable and why one player prefers one amp over another. I would like to hear from present day audio engineers as to what the state of the art is today regarding hardware and software design goals since I am also in the market for an amp. Thanks for putting up with my ramblings. Dan Baltz

[Fred Treece]

Dan -

Thanks for that. Your expertise is appreciated. I believe there are other electricians and engineers (maybe some audiologists too) on the forum and hopefully they will respond.

If you are in the market for an amp that works well with pedal steel guitar, I think the best thing you can do is go out and listen to some players. If you hear somebody that you like, go up and ask about the rig. Chances are good you won’t be able to get the guy to shut up about it.

[Dan Beller-McKenna]

Oh what the heck, I'll jump in.

I've had Peaveys that I used for several years. My favorite was the LTD 400. I went through Lots of Quilters, but they all seemed "almost" great, but not great enough. My '71 twin is still my favorite amp but it's too heavy and has to be turned up too loud for sociably acceptable stage volume to get the best tone out of it, so it stays in the closet. Alas. I suppose some day I'll be asked to play outdoors without going through a PA, and then it might get the call.

At 33lbs, the Tonemaster Twin Reverb solves that issue for me, although I know a lot of people here don't like it. Not as good as my twin through the Peavery/JBL 15" speaker (and, really, what is?), but good enough to win out for taking to a gig over the tube twin. The xlr out with cab sim is a winner too.

That said, by far my favorite amp these days is the Marsh Mello-verb Jr. It's a 40 watt, single 12" tube combo at 34lbs. Excellent on-board reverb and great xlr our with cab simulation. Can't say enough good things about this amp! Sounds just as good at bedroom volumes as it does on a loud stage.

[Dave Hopping]

I've used a Session 500, a Fox-chipped 112, a Twin-Reverb Custom 15, the same Twin in a head-cab with a 2-12 D-120F Bassman cab, and a Milkman 15" Half & Half combo. The Session, Twin, and Milkman sound equally as good, although different from each other, but the Milkman gets the nod for portability every time.
Honorable mentions go to a Music Man HD150 2-12(Eminence) and a reissue tweed Bassman.