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Topic: What difference |
John Sheffey
From:
Greeneville Tennessee, USA
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Posted 20 Feb 2009 5:39 am |
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| What characteristic makes a steel guitar amp sound so much different than a guitar amp? |
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Steve Feldman
From:
Central MA USA
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Posted 20 Feb 2009 7:01 am
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Which guitar amp?
_________________
"...An admission of interest in protracted commentary is certainly no reason to capitalize on surmised aberations that do not exist." - BH |
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John Sheffey
From:
Greeneville Tennessee, USA
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Posted 20 Feb 2009 7:03 am
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| Say a Peavey Special 150 |
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Steve Feldman
From:
Central MA USA
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Posted 20 Feb 2009 7:15 am
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Sorry - I don't know much about that amp in particulat. Some solid-state, 150 watts w/ a 12" speaker. It's a bit underpowerer with respect to other Peavey (etc.) steel amps, but it sounds like it might not be bad for steel in a smaller room or if miked. Generally, when I think of guitar amps, I think of tube amps where you're looking for the ability to provide some tube or preamp distortion. Most steel players want tons of headroom and clean, clean signal.
_________________
"...An admission of interest in protracted commentary is certainly no reason to capitalize on surmised aberations that do not exist." - BH |
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John Sheffey
From:
Greeneville Tennessee, USA
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Posted 20 Feb 2009 7:34 am
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| sounds great with lead guitar, plug a pedal steel in and it sounds like an electric guitar |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 20 Feb 2009 7:39 am
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I second Steve's comments.
With a steel amp, you are looking for something that radiates a "clean" sound.
Most 6 string players are looking for an amp that they can dial in "distortion". |
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John Sheffey
From:
Greeneville Tennessee, USA
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Posted 20 Feb 2009 7:43 am
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this amp has both clean and dirty channel.
I was wondering if the reverb is bad. How could you tell? |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 20 Feb 2009 8:18 am
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| John Sheffey wrote: |
I was wondering if the reverb is bad. How could you tell? |
If you like the way it sounds, it's good. If you don't like the way it sounds, it's bad.
The choice of amps is another totally subjective thing. As has been said, we generally prefer amps that have lots of headroom. But opinions and personal tastes vary.
Trust you instinct. If you're not pleased with the sound of your amp, try something else. If you are pleased, stick with it.
_________________
Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin |
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David Doggett
From:
Bawl'mer, MD (formerly of MS, Nawluns, Gnashville, Knocksville, Lost Angeles, Bahsten. and Philly)
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Posted 20 Feb 2009 10:10 am
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| Steel guitars are a solid plank, without that skinny neck and neck-joint, and they mostly have a single bridge pickup. Also, the standard E9 tuning has a couple of strings higher than the 1st string of guitar, and steelers spend much of their time well up the neck. All of this means steel has a higher brighter sound than regular guitar. Compared to guitar, steel usually needs to roll of some highs, and have stronger bass to fatten up the thin sound. Using a bigger speaker helps, as does an amp EQ that is toward the beefy side. Steelers use a lot of long-sustain, multi-string harmony work, and except for rock and blues that requires an ultra-clean tone to maintain the clarity. All that, plus the use of volume pedal reserve for sustain, means a need for lots of clean power. |
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