Best amps for steelguitar

William de Gruchy · Post by **William de Gruchy** » 1 Feb 2014 10:20 am

What are the best 5 amps for steel?

Dickie Whitley · Post by **Dickie Whitley** » 1 Feb 2014 10:29 am

William, not trying to bypass your question, but the answer is, it depends. You're going to get answers here from "fans" of all types of amplifiers.

There are amps from Peavey, Fender, Milkman, Little Walter, and the list goes on. You really need to go to a music store and try out the amps they have and see what sounds good to you, because you're the final judge.

The term "best" is very subjective, and varies according to need. I hope this helps.

Steve Lipsey · Post by **Steve Lipsey** » 1 Feb 2014 11:32 am

What size halls do you play (without a mic on the amp)?
Is "ultimate tone" important to you?
Can you hear the difference between tube and solid state amps, and do you care?
Is weight important?
Do you care if it is new, used, or "vintage", with all that implies?
And, of course, what is your budget?

The more explicit you can be on these, the more possible it would be for folks here to make a recommendation that is relevant to YOUR needs...

Mike Kowalik · Post by **Mike Kowalik** » 1 Feb 2014 1:58 pm

First generation Nashville 400.....chrome corners and 1502-4 Black Widow......

Bill Moran · Post by **Bill Moran** » 1 Feb 2014 2:08 pm

Mike Kowalik wrote:First generation Nashville 400.....chrome corners and 1502-4 Black Widow......

Sounds like the Nashville is doing you well. If I had been a Peavey amp guy I would of kept that one.

John Palumbo · Post by **John Palumbo** » 1 Feb 2014 3:10 pm

No longer manufactured Peavey Session 400

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 2 Feb 2014 5:40 am

I agree that the question carries with it so many subjective variables.
Tone? I find it hard to beat a well-setup Twin, or a Session 500. But they're HEAVY. Those who like Twins rave even more about the Milkman, but they're as heavy as a Twin and kinda $pendy.
The Peavey Session 400 has great tone.
We have modern Class D amps that weigh next to nothing, but they don't sound quite like a Twin or a big Peavey (I've never heard someone say they like the sound of their 2lb units as much, but they're infinitely more back-friendly).
If you like those big solid states, then Evans and Webb are good.
But when I got my Twin, I sold my Evans. I'm NOT selling my 500 or LTD.
And, from reading here, there's other options.

Lightweight combos? It looks like the Roland Cube80 beats the Nashville 112, and you can buy two for the price of one. BUT, a lot of us like the sound of a 15

Tubes? Twins or a Milkman or a Little Walter. I think I'd lean towards the Milkman with the SICA 15.

BIG SS combos? I don't think any are currently in production, but the Peaveys are around in the used market. Anything with Nashville or Session in the name (the other "city"400s will work too, but many don't like the horns in the Austin or Reno).
Or Evans, or Webb.

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 2 Feb 2014 5:45 am

Dickie Whitley wrote: You really need to go to a music store and try out the amps they have and see what sounds good to you...

That will be ok for mass-market amps but not for the boutique products. For that, you're better off going to one of the steel shows with a lot of distributors: St Louis, Phoenix, Dallas... and even there you won't find folks like Little Walter or (maybe) Milkman exhibiting...

Bill Duncan · Post by **Bill Duncan** » 2 Feb 2014 6:29 am

Amp tastes vary and tend to change. I love the Vegas 400, and have two of them. But of late I have discovered tube amps. That too will probably mean various tube amps until I settle on one. Or two. Or three. So on, and so on!

Dave Grafe · Post by **Dave Grafe** » 2 Feb 2014 10:09 am

Everything everybody else already said is true, but there are a few amps that are more favored than others by pedal steel pickers.

Peavey's NV400, NV112, Vegas 400, Session 400 and Session 500

Fender's Twin Reverb, Showman, Pro Reverb, Deluxe Reverb, and Steel King

Evans, Webb, Standel and Randall all have built superior steel amps that experienced players still swear by.

More recently Ken Fox, Milkman and Little Walter amps have opened some eyes with their great tone and sensitivity, so you see there really are more than five "best" choices.

Henry Matthews · Post by **Henry Matthews** » 2 Feb 2014 8:00 pm

These are just my personal opinion on amps listed in order:

Peavey LTD with mod
Nashville 400 with a mod
Session 500
Evans FET 500
Nashville 112

Tony Glassman · Post by **Tony Glassman** » 2 Feb 2014 8:35 pm

Revelation preamp + World 1.2 amp

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 2 Feb 2014 8:37 pm

My top favorite amps I have owned:

1: Milkman ( kinda blew my vintage Fenders and everything else out of the water) I currently use them.

2. 71 Fender Deluxe reverb
3. 66 Fender showman
4. Headstrong lil king reverb
5. Peavey Nashville 400 ( not my favorite sounding amp but always got the job done.)

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 2 Feb 2014 9:12 pm

lots of options, but.......

nashville 400 will always cut it.

Dale Rottacker · Post by **Dale Rottacker** » 3 Feb 2014 6:56 am

I played through a Fender Twin for years, before getting a Session 500...like a dummy I sold it to a friend who was much smarter then I because I wanted a Session 400, but ended up with a Session 400 Limited...my Son now has that amp and I got another Session 500, then Jim Lindsey told me about playing through a 500 and a Session 400, (the older 70's 400 with the Spiderweb on the Magnet), I found one and now playing through both a Session 500 and a Session 400 and have never been as happy with what I'm hearing coming into my ears...now if I could hit more correct notes...

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 3 Feb 2014 8:26 am

I would see if this rig is still available.
This is the best Amp for Pedal Steel.
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopi ... d6d3c09d8e

Fred Glave · Post by **Fred Glave** » 3 Feb 2014 10:36 am

I personally like my Cube 80XL and my Fender Deluxe DSP 90. They are both small and light and have external speaker capability for larger rooms. Tone on the Cube is whatever you want it to be and crystal clear. Pretty much the same on the Fender.

Jerome Hawkes · Post by **Jerome Hawkes** » 3 Feb 2014 11:53 am

best steel amp i ever played thru was 63 fender bassman w/ 15" 4ohm JBL 130
i really like the Session 500 & Fender Vibroverb w/ 15" but i'm not dragging those around so they are useless other than they sound dang good. Session 400's are great too, when they are working 100%, but everyone i've played had issues of one sort or another.
best pound for pound, feature for feature, dollar for dollar, excellent sounding amp with plenty to get the job done is the Roland Cube 80xl

if i had the funds & need - i would go Sarno V8>TC Furlong powered cab

Brett Lanier · Post by **Brett Lanier** » 3 Feb 2014 3:12 pm

My current favorite is a mid 60's solid state Standel Custom XV. A friend of mine described it as sounding "like listening to a country record from the 60's". In a blind taste test, I really doubt most people would guess it's a solid state amp...

Also really like my FYD steel amp, twin reverb, and McIntosh mc50. The mac needs a pre or line out from another amp, but the sound quality is just so good! If I run a line out from my twin, the speaker that's powered by the mac sounds better, especially the highs which are never ear piercing.

All that said, I'd really like to try a Milkman and a Roland cube80.

Bill Moran · Post by **Bill Moran** » 3 Feb 2014 5:48 pm

I think I'm in love !!

Fred Glave · Post by **Fred Glave** » 4 Feb 2014 9:28 am

I realize that it's a matter of personal preference, but I like solid state amps for some reason.

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 4 Feb 2014 12:19 pm

me too. i used a super reverb for the first 3 years or so....then found a sho-bud xmas tree..then a standel custom 24...then a peavey ltd400. each was an improvement over the last. solid state gives you immediate presence and attack.
still favor the ltd ...but have done a million gigs with my nash400 also cause it gets the job done right.

Niels Andrews · Post by **Niels Andrews** » 4 Feb 2014 1:27 pm

The new Telonics Combo. Why? Because Fed Ex just delivered it! That's why.

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 4 Feb 2014 1:55 pm

would be fun to change this topic to:

best steel amp 'under $400'

for the blue collar musicians.

Jean-Sebastien Gauthier · Post by **Jean-Sebastien Gauthier** » 4 Feb 2014 3:15 pm

My favorite amp is my Roland Cube 80GX.