Nashville 112 or a Twin reverb??? I need your advice

Alex Piazza · From: Arkansas, USA

Ive been playing low wattage devilles and deluxes for quite a while doubling on guitar and steel. In live situations Im usually in small clubs miked. Im getting tired of not having the headroom needed for steel on the clean channel. Im about to suck it up and take the advice ive been getting from fellow forumites and either use two amps. or, Should I go with a twin and use stomp boxes after an AB switch?

Can a nashville 112 handle a 250-300 max club miked? Im only using E9th.

My other option is the twin with a 15" speaker and using an ab switch with a few stomp boxes for guitar. Is anyone out there using this setup. And if so please elaborate.

I know these are two different questions, but any info would be great. thanks.

David Nugent · From: Gum Spring, Va.

alex...e-mail sent.

David Doggett · Posted 6 Sep 2008 3:13 pm

Your choice seems to be a matter of tone and weight. Don't have one, but from many reports on the Forum, an NV112 miked will handle small to medium clubs, unless the stage volume is really loud. But if you are also playing guitar, you might not like the solid-state tone. The Twin will have more volume, and will have clean tube tone, but of course weighs a lot more. With either one, you will have to go to stomp boxes for grit, crunch or distortion. The Twin will make those sound a little better. It's mostly going to be about how the guitar sounds. If a Twin with boxes works for that, fine, and you'll have great clean tube tone for steel. If not, stick with your HR or Deluxe for guitar, and get an NV112 for steel.

Steve Hotra · From: Camas, Washington

David;
If I could ask a related question:
How would a 112 work with a POD X3L modeler?
I use one for my electrics and pedal steel as well.
Thanks
Steve
_________________
Guitars: Rittenberry SD S-10, Gretsch Black Falcon. Effects: Wampler Paisley, Strymon Timeline, Sarno Earth Drive.
Fractal FM9
Amps: Mesa Express 5:25, Jazzkat Tomkat & Boss Katana head / various cabs.

Chris LeDrew · From: Canada

I just bought a Fender Twin Custom 15" to double on steel and guitar. The guitar sounds fine, but the steel breaks up fairly early. I am mic-ing this amp in a 300 -seater, generally. I am going to try some different tubes to tame down the break-up, but I do believe that this reissue was never meant for steel. I was hoping this would be the answer when in reality I need to bring my Session 400 if I want the job done right.
_________________
Jackson Steel Guitars
Web: www.chrisledrew.com

CrowBear Schmitt · From: Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France

how bout a PV Nash 1000 then ?
i got one & it kicks butt

Alex Piazza · From: Arkansas, USA

The nashlille 1000 seems like a good idea. I was just a little concerned about the wieght issue. I wonder how much of a difference there is in wieght and power between the 112 and 1000.
Im used to playing through low watt tube amps, and for the most part Ive liked the sound. I really dont mind a little break up at loud volumes for the more bluesy licks. A twin might be the way to go.
Hmmm?? I guess it comes down to either having to lug around two medium sized amps. Or, one hudge amp and dealing with an AB switch and a couple of pedals. Confused

Chris LeDrew · From: Canada

Alex, if you don't mind the break-up, the Custom 15 might be perfect for you.
_________________
Jackson Steel Guitars
Web: www.chrisledrew.com

Alex Piazza · From: Arkansas, USA

Chris, I dont know if the older I get the louder im starting to play. Maybee my ears are starting to go bad. I never used to send the several hot rods Ive owned into overdriven sounds. Now they are almost unusable It gets so bad. Im leaning more on one of those twins. The problem for me ,and im sure a lot of folks, is that you never know until you gig with something. So I just end up buying gear blind. Ill realize that its not right and then I end up needing to get rid of whatever it is in order to buy the next one. Thank god for ebay!

CrowBear Schmitt · From: Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France

a good Twin w: JBLs is a great amp but heavy !
my nash 1000 weighed 58 lbs w: the black widow speaker
i replaced the magnet w: the PV neo mag & reduced the weight by 6 lbs approx
you can crank that amp up, it don't break up

Kevin Hatton · From: Buffalo, N.Y.

Alex, the answer is yes it can. The settings on the amp are critical. The Nashville 112 is the most amazing steel amp for its size that I've ever used. As long as you are miced you will have no problem. The key is setting the bass at no more than 5.

Marc Jenkins · From: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Alex,

I'm in a similar situation. I've tried a Session 400, but I could NOT live with it's tone for 6-string. Great for steel. While my old Garnet tube amp was at the tech's, I played through a Twin Reissue 2 x 12" at a big outdoor festival. It was on the verge of breaking up, but sounded great. And it had enough balls to be heard by the Hammond player (who likes a CRANKED Leslie) on the far side of the stage, and a LOUD guitar player between us. Plus bass and drums!

Mike Poholsky · From: Kansas, USA

Hey Alex, Just an idea. Get a tube Twin Reverb, put the the electronics in a seperate head cabinet(Lots of places to get a head cabinet), then you have the option of different speaker combinations for steel or guitar. Or there are Fender Showman Heads for sale on Ebay all the time. Solves the weight problem and gives you more flexability with a great sounding tube amp. I'm surprised David Doggett didn't mention it. I know thats his MO. Sounds like a GREAT idea to me. My '64 Twin with 2 EVM-12S Speakers weighs in at about 90 lbs. Sure sounds GOOD but as soon as I get some extra cash and time, I'm splitting it apart. In the meantime I'm using a Fender Steel King w/ BW 1501-4 Speaker. Great steel amp, but it ain't TUBES!
_________________
Zumsteel 12 Universal
SGBB
ShoBud VP
'64 Fender Twin Reverb/Fox Rehab
Fender Steel King w/BW 1501-4
FX to Taste

Chris LeDrew · From: Canada

Excuse the aside, but can someone remind me the tube swap for more clean headroom? I recall someone mentioning AY7's.......
_________________
Jackson Steel Guitars
Web: www.chrisledrew.com

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

To my tastes - a Twin Reverb is too loud for most non-jazz guitar situations I'd encounter, but might be fine for a real loud gig or large stage. Great for PSG or jazz guitar, though - again to my tastes. I double on guitar using the NV 112 by running through a Pod and then into the Effects-In. Of course, this is just my tastes, but the NV 112 is generally too squeaky clean for guitar by itself but the Deluxe Reverb emulations on the Pod soften it up nicely.

For steel, I like the NV 112, although I'm finding I get a bit more clarity out of the NV 1000's I've tried. But mic'd for E9, I can't imagine why the NV 112 wouldn't work just fine just about anywhere I can think of.

Chris - 5751 (nominal gain of about 70), or perhaps a 12AY7 (nominal gain of about 45). There's a chart on comparative gains in this old thread:

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=64201

My caveat is that I have never liked 12AT7 (nominal gain of about 60) as the first preamp tube in an old Fender. The ones I've tried sounded thin, for some reason. YMMV, maybe they're worth trying if you never have.

All this stuff is strictly YMMV.

Chris LeDrew · From: Canada

Thanks a million, Dave!
_________________
Jackson Steel Guitars
Web: www.chrisledrew.com

Cliff Kane · From: the late great golden state

If you like the Fender sound I don't think you can beat the sound of a steel through a Twin, and a 15" would be a bonus, too. I can see the convenience of the 112, though. I use a smaller and lighter amp than my Twin for most gigs because it has good tone and volume and is really easy to tansport and carry, but if I had to choose just one amp it would be a Fender Twin.

Mike Brown · From: Meridian, Mississippi USA

The Nashville 112 weighs 42.5lbs. and the Nashville 1000 weighs 57lbs..

Dan Tyack · From: Olympia, WA USA

One thing that I've done when size/weight is most important is to use a small tube amp or head that I like the sound of, and then use a transistor amp to make it as loud as it needs to be.

On the tube amp/head side you need an amp with a good sounding line out (not a preamp out) so that you capture the full sound of the amp.

If you were going to stick with Peavey, their Windsor Studio amp and JSX little combo would fit the bill.

Most of the little Fenders or Peaveys don't have a line out, but it's not hard to put one in, or to use an attenuator like the THD Hotplate if you don't want to modify your amp.

Probably the lightest weight setup like this that I've used was a little THD prototype tube head into a tiny Steward power amp into a 1X12" cab with a Neo Celestion. The whole thing couldn't have weighed 40 lbs. That's with the tube head being used just as a preamp, but I personally like the sound better when you power a speaker with the tube amp and have a seperate speaker for the transistor amp. I've done the latter using seperate cabs, but also using a THD 2X12" stereo cabinet being driven by a THD BiBalve and a Crate Powerblock. The latter setup wasn't exactly light, but it was lighter than a Twin (easier to cart around at least) and it could get as loud and clean as your would ever want (or your ears could stand).

David Doggett · Posted 8 Sep 2008 8:32 am

Dan, I'm trying to figure out what you mean there at the end. Do you power one speaker by the tube amp, and the other speaker in the same cab by the ss power amp? Since the power amp is so much more powerful, wouldn't the tube amp speaker be totally drowned out?

Ben Jones · From: Seattle, Washington, USA

I have a crate powerblock (and a bad back). i cannot figure out why my powerblock doesnt get very loud. With volume all the way up i can barely keep up with the drummer volume wise. Im driving one 8 ohm 15 onch speaker in mono... I dont understand why its not LOUD? Confused

Matthew Prouty · From: Warsaw, Poland

I have a 65 Twin w/ a 15 for sale. Selling it to pay for my Evans I just picked up.

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=140836

Lots of clean head room and has a beautiful tube tone.

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

Eric Philippsen · From: Central Florida USA

Here's a fundamental, underlying problem. Too often a steel guitar amp sounds good for steel and not for guitar. And vice versa. A twin is an exception.

Cliff Kane · From: the late great golden state

Twins and other Fender amps are cool because they have two discrete channels that you can switch between with an A/B box, or run two inputs at the same time. Granted they aren't voiced radically different or made with completely discrete gain structures like a Boogie, Rivera, etc., but you can use the different channels for different applications. I think this adds a lot of versitility that you don't get with single channel amps.

Forum Index > Electronics		Next oldest topic :: Next newest topic