Steel King vs. Nashville 112

Mark Metdker · Post by **Mark Metdker** » 16 Dec 2004 5:28 am

Just got my Nashville 112 yesterday. Man what a tone! I haven't gigged with it yet. If it doesn't have the volume I need, I will get a Steel King for the big gigs. Haven't heard the Fender yet, but it will have to kick some butt to equal the tone of the little Peavey.

------------------
Zum U-12 w/True Tone pickup
G&L guitars
Peavey Nashville 112

Band Pics
http://community.webshots.com/album/176544894AuXSmi

seldomfed · Post by **seldomfed** » 16 Dec 2004 12:39 pm

"I have tried two N112's, and found them lacking in the power department. I play fairly loud outdoor gigs all summer. Two Nashville 112's just won't cut it. Sorry."

B0B - I mic' it outdoors and it works fine.
PA does all the work. Low vol. on stage - ear splitting vol. in the crowd!

You must have a banjo player in the group to need all that volume

chris

------------------
Chris Kennison
Ft. Collins, Colorado
"There is no spoon"
www.book-em-danno.com
www.seldomfed.com

Bobby Bowman · Post by **Bobby Bowman** » 16 Dec 2004 1:40 pm

I don't understand you fellows that say you can't get enough power and/or volume with the 112's. I play mine very loud when I need to,,,just as loud as I did with my 1000's and I still have room for more. No breaking up either. The 1000's and all of the previous 400 series that I've had over the years would break up when playing loud heavey chords. Not my 112's.
Maybe it's your cords, volume pedal, pot taper or set up or maybe even your pick ups.
I don't believe I could play through 2000 watts and get any better sound than I do with the 112's.
Maybe mine are an exception, I don't know. I've played through three different sets of 2 amps and a couple of times with just one amp and they just amaze me every time I plug into them. I hardly ever set my pre over 4 and my post over 6. I've tried them at 7 and 10 and they were clear as a bell and so loud that my ears and the rest of the boys in the band couldn't stand it.
Here's my set up: from guitar into Goodrich 7A Matchbox, into a Korg AT-120 tuner, into my Goodrich 120 volume pedal, into my Peavey Pro-Fex II, out of the Pro-Fex into the front hi gain of the 112's with the reverb turned completely off (0). I've tried a Hilton pedal, a Genisis 3, a DD3 and an Allissis unit,,,all with virtually the same results. I have even played them just straight in with no effects and they kicked butt big time. I use George L cables throughout. I normally play my 71 Emmons D-10 push pull, but I've tried several other guitars and they all can be extreemly loud. I had these amps ordered through a dealer direct from the Peavey factory and to my knowledge they are factory stock amps.
I certainly don't question that some of you don't get all the power and volume that you say you need, but from my own experience, I just wonder why.
BB
If you think you need to, or want to, feel free to call or email me and we'll talk about it.
BB

------------------
If you play 'em, play 'em good!
If you build 'em, build 'em good!

Bobby Boggs · Post by **Bobby Boggs** » 18 Dec 2004 10:05 pm

How does the Nashville 112 stack up against the old Peavey Session 400's and LTD 400's from the 70's tone wise?Anyone have both to compare.I'd like to hear from folks who have both and can set them side by side and plug from one to the other.Thanks..bb

Bobby Bowman · Post by **Bobby Bowman** » 19 Dec 2004 7:33 am

Bobby,
I have both,,,,,a very old LTD 400-S and my new 112's. Even though I very much like the 400-s, to my ears the 112's are a lot sweeter, fuller sounding amp. And the reverb on the 112, even though I don't use it unless I'm playing amp only, is a lot better than the 400-s.
BB

------------------
If you play 'em, play 'em good!
If you build 'em, build 'em good!

Jeff Lampert · Post by **Jeff Lampert** » 19 Dec 2004 8:59 am

Bobby, the only comparison I made was with my Nashville 400. Obviously, this is all subjective, but I thought the 112 was clearly superior sounding.

------------------
Jeff's Jazz

Jack Abraham · Post by **Jack Abraham** » 19 Dec 2004 12:09 pm

In my opinion, the Nashville 112 is considerably more than just a rehearsal or small venue amp. I purchased one this last Thursday, practiced with it at home on Friday, and then took a "leap of faith" Saturday night by playing it at a gig for its first time.

We played at Cain's in Tulsa - lots of musicians and some big sounds. At one point at the end of the night, there were 2 drummers, mandolin, fiddle, piano, dobro, bass, pedal steel, and @ six guitarists playing at one time on "Take Me Back to Tulsa".

The 112 held its own just fine. I also like the Steel King - the Nashville 112 just works out better for me. Just wanted to throw in my two cents about the "power" issue - don't worry about it.

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 19 Dec 2004 12:16 pm

One of the wonderful things about the Nashville 112 is that it doesn't clip when it reaches its full volume. It seems to compress instead. That's very nice. Older solid state amps had this nasty hard-edge clipping distortion when you pushed them too far.

Yes, I do play very loud sometimes, and I do play with a band that gets very loud on stage. We don't mike the amps. If you don't play on a loud stage and you don't want tube distortion in your sound, the Nashville 112 might be the perfect amp for you. It is a great sounding steel amp for those clean and pretty tones.

steve takacs · Post by **steve takacs** » 19 Dec 2004 4:50 pm

Does anyone know if the Nashville 112 is also made for 220 volts? Is it available overseas yet? thanks, steve

David Higginbotham · Post by **David Higginbotham** » 19 Dec 2004 5:59 pm

Well, I have had many amps and played my first gig with my 112 last night.

1) The first comments from others, "what a cute little amp!"

2) Last comments from others, "I can't beleive that much sound comes out of that little amp!"

I am very satisfied with the tone and output of this amp. One of my reasonings with the 80 watts was that with the 200 and 300 watt amps I was using, the volume was usually set around 3, so I wasn't using that much power anyway. I also tried 12 inch speakers for the first time earlier this year and decided I definitely prefer them to 15's. After many effects, rack & pedal, I now just use a delay pedal and the reverb on the 112 and I am very pleased. Throw that in with a 5 year warranty, outstanding customer service, and only 42 lbs, you can't go wrong for the price. You can almost buy two 112's for the price of a Steel King.
Dave

Tracy Sheehan · Post by **Tracy Sheehan** » 20 Dec 2004 12:23 am

Chris.I have a nv 112 and it honkes.You asked b0b if he had a banjo player in the band.I heard he is the banjo player.Tracy.

Mark Metdker · Post by **Mark Metdker** » 20 Dec 2004 5:16 am

I gigged with my new Nashville 112 for the first time this past saturday night. I was using the guitar, amp reverb, and a delay pedal. It sounded great, and had plenty of power. Very happy with it.

------------------
Zum U-12 w/True Tone pickup
G&L guitars
Peavey Nashville 112

Band Pics
http://community.webshots.com/album/176544894AuXSmi

Mike Brown · Post by **Mike Brown** » 20 Dec 2004 6:46 am

Steve, the Nashville 112 is available for overseas markets.

Mike Brown
Peavey Electronics Corporation

Bill Ferguson · Post by **Bill Ferguson** » 20 Dec 2004 1:04 pm

Well it's time for me to add my 2 cents worth.
Got my NV112 last Thursday, took it to my club gig Friday & Saturday night and to an OUTDOOR gig on Saturday afternoon. No mic'ing, no going direct, just straight amp and reverb. No other effects.

This little amp is one of the best I have ever used. CLEAN, warm sound and plenty of power with Pregain at 5 and Post Gain at 9 oclock.

My band said I had the best tone ever and they liked the sound I got on C6th because it was super clean with no bottom end thump you sometimes get with a 15" speaker.

All I can say is thanks to Peavey for now starting to save me from back pain.

Bill Ferguson

Franklin · Post by **Franklin** » 21 Dec 2004 6:48 am

I have yet to try out the new Peavey but I can comment on my experience with the new Steel King.

I used the Steel King for a week in various settings. In the studio it's really nice, offering a comparable tone to my old twin and as Bob said it actually can sound like the old Standel with some tweaking. There are alot of variations within this amps sound. It was really quiet, clean, warm, and punchy when needed at lower studio volumes. I rate it very highly for that setting.

I ran into a problem when I took it to a "Players" rehearsal. To keep up with the volume of Brent's single Twin Reverb, in an unmic'ed situation, I had to crank the Steel King to its capacity. When I did, the tone I liked at lower volumes went out the window. Perhaps it was a speaker overload? It was still fairly clean at its capacity but the smooth highs became shrill and the bass notes muddy, which makes me wonder if its something internal? I don't know what caused this, Anyway I told Bruce Jr. about the rehearsal experience and he said most guys are using two Kings for louder situations. In the past I have only used one amp to cover that rehearsal.

All in all the Steel King is a nice amp for most situations.

Paul[This message was edited by Franklin on 21 December 2004 at 06:54 AM.][This message was edited by Franklin on 21 December 2004 at 06:59 AM.][This message was edited by Franklin on 21 December 2004 at 07:12 AM.]

Sam Marshall · Post by **Sam Marshall** » 21 Dec 2004 5:42 pm

Mr. Franklin,
Thank you for posting your thoughts on the Steel-King.

Best Regards,
Sam Marshall

Bobby Boggs · Post by **Bobby Boggs** » 21 Dec 2004 6:24 pm

Paul Franklin wrote:

I ran into a problem when I took it to a "Players" rehearsal. To keep up with the volume of Brent's single Twin Reverb, in an unmic'ed situation, I had to crank the Steel King to its capacity.

I have to ask.Was this a large rehearsal hall?Were you having to play louder than you would at say and average size Nashville bar?I'm just trying to get some idea of how loud you were playing when the tone changed.

I'm interested in the Steel King.However if the tone is going to poop at volumes we now have to play at to keep up with guitar players in average honky tonk settings. This would take me out of the mix so to speak.

Anyone know why guitar players play so loud?

Also how do they get away with it??Brent I can understand,But even average or bad guitar players get away with playing way too loud.It's like people just expect it and accept it.

Sorry I drifted off topic a bit.Now back to the Steel King or Peavey 112.[This message was edited by Bobby Boggs on 21 December 2004 at 06:31 PM.]

Jeff Lampert · Post by **Jeff Lampert** » 21 Dec 2004 8:15 pm

Brent I can understand,But even average or bad guitar players get away with playing way too loud

So if you play real good, it's ok to play too loud. But if you don't play good, then you gotta play soft. I'll remember to tell that to the next guitar player I see. I'll also make sure I duck.

------------------
Jeff's Jazz

Bobby Boggs · Post by **Bobby Boggs** » 21 Dec 2004 9:28 pm

Jeff my dad always told me if can't play good, play real soft.Or was it? If you can't play good, play real loud??

Ok now, lets hear more about those Steel Kings and 112's.

Franklin · Post by **Franklin** » 22 Dec 2004 8:40 am

Bobby,

If you put tables and chairs in this hall I would guess maybe 1oo comfortable to 150 crammed. I have used my Nashville 400 with no problem there. Brent was not playing too loud. My experience tells me that when people noise is added to the equation we all would have to play even louder.

I too, was ready to jump in and this changed my mind. I have all the bases covered in the studio. I was hoping that amp could cover all my live gig needs. If I always played in a mic situation there would be no problem.

Paul

Franklin · Post by **Franklin** » 22 Dec 2004 8:46 am

Bobby,

This was the same rehearsal hall Peavey used to showcase the 1000 to a dozen or so steelers spearheaded by Jeff Newman. I think you may have been there, can't remember. Anyway I'd guess we were playing slightly louder than that day.

Paul

Jay Ganz · Post by **Jay Ganz** » 22 Dec 2004 10:27 am

Since there's always some variables here & there, I'd say you'd have to try it a few
times in that situation to really get an accurate representation of the amp.
I've noticed when using the King (or even my
old original '65 Twin Reverb) that when you really have to crank it & there's alot of "competition" on stage, some amps seem to perform differently than when you're in a
more controlled environment.

Larry Robbins · Post by **Larry Robbins** » 22 Dec 2004 10:49 am

Played my first gig with my steelking last Sunday. Smallish club(180 cap.)no problem being heard. We play moderatly loud. Two other local steelers were there that night and gave me compliments on the tone of this amp.( they did not mention my playing )

Franklin · Post by **Franklin** » 22 Dec 2004 1:08 pm

Jay,

I measure everything by past experiences. I spent three hours of rehearsal tweaking this amp with no good resolve to the situation. I believe I've learned when an amp is delivering or not. My Stereo steel amp, Mesa Boogie, and Nashville 400 have all maintained the same tonal characteristics at the capacity level that they have under a more controlled level and they have all performed well during these Players rehearsals. We always use the same hall and this particular Steel King did not deliver at a capacity level. After the rehearsal I took it home and cranked it to the max and its tone again changed into an undesired tone. Trying different halls doesn't change the fact that this particular amp went south on me. A week is a fair trial for any amp.

Anyway, as I said its a good amp for most situations.

Paul

[This message was edited by Franklin on 22 December 2004 at 01:23 PM.]

Franklin · Post by **Franklin** » 22 Dec 2004 1:10 pm

Larry,
Was your amp mic'ed?
Paul