Pedal Steel Amps

Paul Hefti · Post by **Paul Hefti** » 21 May 2024 11:17 am

Hi Folks; Sometime watcher, new member & 1st post - happy to be here.

Amateur pedal player for twenty years, plugged into whatever was handy. I know nothing about PSG amps - have seen praise for Milkman here, and that's as far as I've travelled. I have an Emmons SD10 on order, & need an amp & seat to go with it. I'm interested in easy carry amps, combo or two piece, low volume situations. However, I crave the beauty of the Pedal re-created in whatever size amp I can carry. It's the classic "I want light but refuse to sacrifice tone for size" request.

Any - ANY - stuff on great amps - bring it my way, please.

Thank you. Paul

Cartwright Thompson · Post by **Cartwright Thompson** » 21 May 2024 12:04 pm

Take a look at the Quilter 202. It can be used with the Quilter “dock” or an aftermarket cabinet. Great sounding and very easy to move around.
I’ve owned or tried most of the typical pedal steel amps and it’s the best sounding solid state amp I’ve ever heard. For a tube amp, a Twin Reverb with JBL’s would be my first choice, but that’s a whole other can of worms.
Are you by any chance related to Neal Hefti?
Sorry, just had to ask…

Donn Lewis · Post by **Donn Lewis** » 21 May 2024 1:51 pm

I have been using the Milkman half & half Pedal Steel 12" combo. Great tone, light weight and DI out for recording/PA. A great choice you will not regret.

Dave Hopping · Post by **Dave Hopping** » 21 May 2024 2:33 pm

And I have the Half & Half with a 15". Sounds at least as good as my Session 500 and split-cabs Twin Reverb (with JBLs), and at 30 pounds is textbook grab-and-go. Tube pre-amp, class D power. Pricey, but absolutely worth it.

Larry Dering · Post by **Larry Dering** » 21 May 2024 5:26 pm

Paul, as you are new and will get lots of suggestions on everyone's favorite amp here's my take. I own a variety of steel and guitar amps including the quilter 202. But having attended so many steel shows the most popular in use is the Peavey Nashville 112. I see more of these sounding great across the Midwest. Lots of the old style Peavey Nashville's, Telonics are also popular. Quilter is good with Travis Toys endorsement. I personally favour the tone of my Fender Mustang 3 V2. I also have the tube Twin Reverbs and a Tonemaster Twin. The Tonemaster is a lightweight easy carry. It sounds great too.

Chris Brooks · Post by **Chris Brooks** » 22 May 2024 7:25 am

Hey Paul.

Question #1 from a commenter might be, "What's your budget?"

What is your budget?

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 22 May 2024 4:34 pm

I've played for over 60 years, have lots of amps and pedal steels, but i've never owned a "steel amp".

You might want to read others' comments here before you drop a couple of grand

viewtopic.php?t=396526&highlight=Donny:

Eric Dahlhoff · Post by **Eric Dahlhoff** » 25 May 2024 9:38 pm

The Quilter amp heads are the best!
But you also need a speaker...

My new "favorite" combo amp for lower volume jamming is a Fender Tonemaster Deluxe Reverb. Great sound, light weight.
My Strat, lap steels and pedal steel are all very happy with it

Dave Grafe · Post by **Dave Grafe** » 26 May 2024 3:04 am

Do not overlook the importance of the speaker in your equation. One reason the $1500 Quilter TT12 and the older Peavey Nashville line-up are so successful is the matching of good amps with speakers that are useful for steel guitar, with low distortion, smooth response, and clean, clear highs. Lots of steelers have favorites and there are other threads on the topic here, but if you are looking at used gear the Peavey BW and JBL alnico speakers will almost always be a win.

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 26 May 2024 4:33 am

meh.. a good amp is a good amp... guys go crazy over the unbelievable tone they get out of their latest and greatest $5,000 hand built boutique amp.. I personally don't get it. For decades great steel players used off the shelf stuff and got classic sounds because they played well and had good ears.. There is NO "best" amp... If you buy a clean powerful amp such as a Fender Twin, or a Peavey Session whatever, and make sure a GOOD speaker is in it, then you have great steel amp... same goes for other brands.. I have sounded well on Roland amps if you want to go lighter or more modern.. Try a bunch of different amps and see what sounds good to YOU!
Always remember this- Most of the great pedal steel sounds from the 60's through about the 2010's were made on plain old well functioning, well maintained Fender or Peavey amps that may or may not have had speaker upgrades. yes, some guys used Evans/Sho Bud/Standel "pedal steel amps", but the majority used the same stuff that a local musician could buy in the neighborhood "mom and pop" music store.. Early on in the 60's some guys even used Fender bassman amps and got great sound, and they are not a pedal steel amp at all... Get what appeals to you of course, but a lot of money on boutique is not really necessary to sound great.. Practice IS! bob

John Sims · Post by **John Sims** » 27 May 2024 6:22 am

Any Peavey steel amp should work fine unless you are doing studio work, even then they've ruled the roost for years...

Chris Brooks · Post by **Chris Brooks** » 30 May 2024 5:46 am

What John just said. Even a Peavey Bandit with mid-range tweaked . . . and there are lots of those around.

Thornton Lewis · Post by **Thornton Lewis** » 2 Jun 2024 5:14 pm

It's all about the budget and the load in. Big budget and strong? Fender twin or peavey Nashville 400.
Big budget kinda feeling it going up the stairs?
Quilter and a cab (Travis Toy 12, other quilter combos, Peavey Nashville 112.)
Less cash? For low volume gigs, I think Rolands are great and the built in effects are good enough. You can probably find one for less than $200.

Larry Ball · Post by **Larry Ball** » 3 Jun 2024 7:00 am

I have a Peavey Nashville 112 and it is a Fantastic amp in so many ways. However to give me aging back a little rest I started looking for an amp that was powerful , light weight and had great tone. I found the “Boss Katana - Mark11 , and haven’t looked back. The price is right at $525 Cdn. for me living in Canada. I mic the amp to put it through the board for bigger venues rather than using the DI which is also available.

Have a gander, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Larry

Larry Hopkins · Post by **Larry Hopkins** » 3 Jun 2024 10:25 am

Sent you PM
LARRY

John Fields · Post by **John Fields** » 7 Jun 2024 5:15 am

Get you a used Nashville 400 or Nashville 112 to hold you over until the new Peavey model comes out in a few months....

Gil James · Post by **Gil James** » 7 Jun 2024 6:25 am

??!! Sneak preview?.....Mr.Fields?

Brett Day · Post by **Brett Day** » 4 Jul 2024 4:12 pm

I use a Peavey Nashville 112, and it's been my main steel amp for twenty years, and it's still my favorite amp for pedal steel. When I started using it, I was playing a GFI Ultra D-10 through it, but it now gives my Jackson Blackjack Custom a great sound, even when the volume is low

Chris Brooks · Post by **Chris Brooks** » 5 Jul 2024 6:34 am

Nashville 112 for me too, Brett. Combination of great sound, pedal in and out, effects in and out, reasonable weight . . . and cost!

Chuck Lemasters · Post by **Chuck Lemasters** » 5 Jul 2024 7:24 am

I may be a tin-eared hack, but having owned three of the high dollar amps, both class D and tubes, I am back to using a Nashville 112….the 200 and 300 watt class D amps seem closer to the 80 watts of the Nashville 112, than to the real 200 watts of a Nashville 400, and lack the tone shaping capability of the Peaveys’ mid range controls. That, to me, outweighs any lack of tube sweetness….

James Holland · Post by **James Holland** » 5 Jul 2024 1:50 pm

For lighter low volume gigs, you can more than get by with a Blues Jr, Classic 30 or Bandit, or a Katana - repeakering can make the biggest difference. I ocassionally use a Pro Jr at a community dance, re-handwired with a 10" JBL and do fine on volume. But, for a bar gig with a loud cover band, Ill take more fire power like a Twin.