The Steel Guitar Forum Store 

Post new topic Steel Guitar Amp or Keyboard Amp? / Mike Brown, you want to
Reply to topic
Author Topic:  Steel Guitar Amp or Keyboard Amp? / Mike Brown, you want to
jeff reynolds


From:
Jackson, Ms.
Post  Posted 27 Oct 2000 9:26 pm    
Reply with quote

Im New at this steel thang but have been a guitar picker for 20+ years so right now I'm Playing my steel thru one of My Fendr Twin Rev. amps
Seems logical to me that a keyboard amp would do good as a Steel Guitar Amp. I'd like to read what some of you think about this ,,, maybe some of you have tried a keyboard rig for steel????
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Donny Hinson

 

From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
Post  Posted 28 Oct 2000 6:04 am    
Reply with quote

Reasons???

The keyboard amps that I have seen are big, bulky things, without a lot of controls and effects. (Unlike steels, most keyboards have their own effects and controls built-in) I also find the selection of keyboard amps very limited.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Jack Stoner


From:
Kansas City, MO
Post  Posted 28 Oct 2000 7:38 am    
Reply with quote

Any amp can be used for any purpose. How well it will work for a given application can be good or bad. I would rather have an amp that is designed primarily for a particular purpose. Same with the speakers in the amps - e.g. the Peavey amps use speakers that are "voiced" for steel guitar applications and are different than the speakers that are used in their (lead) guitar amplifiers and "voiced" for lead guitar applications.

I have a Peavey Nashville 400 and it's great for steel, but I'm not thrilled with it's sound when I play my Telecaster through it.
Conversely I've played through some great sounding lead guitar amps that were $hitty for steel.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Dean Brown

 

From:
Austin, Tx.
Post  Posted 28 Oct 2000 8:46 am    
Reply with quote

Hi Jeff,
I played steel through a keyboard amp for several months. I used a Peavey KBA300 with 1 15" scorpion plus a horn. FANTASTIC keyboard amp, but not so good for steel. Keyboard amps are designed for a different level of input than a guitar or steel amp. I switched to a Nashville 1000 and that made a world of difference. My advice.... stick with an amp built for the instrument you're playing. By the way, the Fender Twin reverb makes a great steel amp.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Dan Tyack

 

From:
Olympia, WA USA
Post  Posted 28 Oct 2000 11:32 am    
Reply with quote

The problem (IMHO) with keyboard amps is that they typically use a horn, going for more of a hi fi type of sound. I personally like the sound of a twin a lot better.

------------------
www.tyacktunes.com
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

Ingo Mamczak

 

From:
Luimneach , Eire.
Post  Posted 28 Oct 2000 7:09 pm    
Reply with quote

Hi Jeff ,
My steel amp is a Carlsbro " sherwood " keyboard amp . There is a huge range of sound from lows to highs , but it does lack a little bit of warmth which I like from a tube amp .
Ingo .
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

Cliff Swanson


From:
Raleigh, NC
Post  Posted 29 Oct 2000 6:08 am    
Reply with quote

Jeff,

Do you not like your steel thru the Twin? One possibility that could be an interesting opportunity for you would be to put a 15" speaker in the Twin...

Cat
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Ernie Pollock

 

From:
Mt Savage, Md USA
Post  Posted 29 Oct 2000 1:42 pm    
Reply with quote

I agree with Cliff, you should jerk those standard 12" speakers out & make a board for a 15", a JBL 130 would be nice, if they still make those, or a Black Widow Peavey would probably work good in that twin reverb. I had an old Pro Reverb amp that I did that too back when I first started playing steel, it worked real nice for me, kind of wish I had it back!! I also want to mention that I have a Fender Keyboard 60 amp that I use to play my rhythm tracks (Mini-disc) through, I use one channel for a mike, and bleed a little of the steel guitar into one of the other channels, I also use an Evans SE 150 (High Voltage)it seems to work real nice together like that, at least for my purposes. I have tried the Keyboard amp by itself, not quite so good standing alone. I sometimes slave a Session 400 onto that Keyboard amp also. I must be nuts huh? http://www.hereintown.net/~shobud75

------------------
View user's profile Send private message

Mike Brown

 

From:
Meridian, Mississippi USA
Post  Posted 31 Oct 2000 8:58 am    
Reply with quote

Hello Jeff,
Sometimes our customers can give you a better response than I from their experiences with using the various amps. I receive questions daily about using various Peavey products for steel guitar. Although I do play a lot of live gigs using amps that are not designed for steel(just to get an idea of the pros and cons), I do take a Nashville 400 or 1000 with me just in case. However, I have never tried a keyboard amp as my guess is that the tweeter will break up.

Apparently, Dan Tyack has tried this before and might be able to provide more info than I.
View user's profile Send private message


All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Jump to:  

Our Online Catalog
Strings, CDs, instruction,
steel guitars & accessories

www.SteelGuitarShopper.com

Please review our Forum Rules and Policies

Steel Guitar Forum LLC
PO Box 237
Mount Horeb, WI 53572 USA


Click Here to Send a Donation

Email admin@steelguitarforum.com for technical support.


BIAB Styles
Ray Price Shuffles for
Band-in-a-Box

by Jim Baron
HTTP