Steel Guitar Amps - Needs, Wants, Desires, etc...

[bradicusmaximus]

I'm looking at undertaking a project for a steel guitar player. I'm wondering if anyone has some thoughts on the subject. Not being a steel player myself, I know I don't have a complete and full understanding of the instrument and its nuance, but when has that ever stopped someone in the past?

I'm looking at roughly a 50 watt output to put it in a happy medium. The amp will be mic'd when played live, so it doesn't need to be a monster to push past the rest of the band. In terms of style of playing, think a lot less Hank Williams and much more Robert Randolf.

I would say that's about the biggest thing set in stone at the moment. Everything else is fair game. So any thoughts or insights into this?

[xtian]

You know our buddy at Milkman amps is enjoying success with pedal (and lap?) steel players. High-headroom blackface style.

But Randolph is kind of the Marshall flavor of pedal steel, isn't he? Kicks ass, is what.

[labb]

Look up Evans amps. It is a SS amp,and use to be big time in the Steel Guitar world. Was originally built in Texarkana, Texas. If you can come close to that sound you will have yourself something.

[Milkmansound]

yes I have a few different models specifically designed for steel guitar players. However, if they are after preamp distortion, Milkman is probably not the way to go unless you use pedals.

The trick is huge headroom, huge reserve of power for the low notes, and gotta put the midrange in the right place. Also try and minimize the intermodulation - don't eliminate it entirely - its the magic

50 watts is a good place to start. A pedal steel player will run out of headroom on a low power amp faster than a 6 string will. You can figure out the gain, and don't forget the sweet reverb!

[bradicusmaximus]

Thanks everyone for the responses so far. From what I've seen I think I'm conceptually in the right place based off the nuance of the instrument. I have a feeling the bigger challenge is going to be in getting the proper voicing in the tone stack to really cover the range the instrument has.

All in all, it should be a fun project. Hopefully I can share my experience as it moves forward.

[mauiboy81]

Your milkman amps sound great. I saw in another post that you're using a 20W amp on the road and that one was used on daft punks album. I imagine those work best in recording or mic'd situations?
Are you using the same preamp with the different power sections?
When you say to get the midrange in the right place do you mean less scooped than a blackface? More lower or upper midrange? Have you tweaked the fender tone stack or gone with something quite differenet?

Aloha to all

[Matt D]

I built a Dumble #124 Clone (thank you amp garage!) and use a cab with an early Peavey Black Widow 15." This setup really leaves nothing to be desired. It's like a sweeter sounding Fender Showman with better EQ options for steel. I play mostly clean non-pedal. The Dumble clone has tons of headroom and the overdrive has come in handy on some recording sessions.

That said, if I had the scratch I would buy two or three different Milkman amps in a heartbeat......