Amps Used by Speedy and Other West Coasters?

Rick Abbott · From: Indiana, USA

There is a thread in Wanted to Buy regarding what would be a good amp for a Stringmaster. The thought is, the guy wants a 40's and 50's West Coast tone.

My question is this: "What would Speedy use?"

I'd think in the 50's Fender amps would have ruled the WC.
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RICK ABBOTT
Sho~Bud D-10 Professional #7962
Remington T-8, Sehy #112
1975 Peavey Pacer

Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

... and Standel.
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My rig: Infinity and Telonics.

Son, we live in a world with walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with steel guitars. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg?

Mike Neer · From: NJ

Some stuff sounds to me like Speedy plugged right into the console. Standels were basically hi-fi amps, but I don't know if they are capable of as high fidelity as it sounds like on some recordings. The crystalline highs are not something easily produced by a loudspeaker on its own.
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Rick Abbott · From: Indiana, USA

Yeah, that makes pretty good sense. What about on the bandstand? I think Solomon, the guy in the other post is looking for a big and tight tone...and 50's vintage-vibe too. I have been eying Bob Bartoli's 59 Bassman reissue for this very use.

I figured live Bassman, low-power Twin, Dual Professional (w/2x10 V-front)? Or, something in this realm.
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RICK ABBOTT
Sho~Bud D-10 Professional #7962
Remington T-8, Sehy #112
1975 Peavey Pacer

Erik Alderink · From: Ann Arbor Michigan, USA

Standels, including the early 25L15 amps are very, very capable of reproducing high frequencies.
The JBL D130F has an aluminum dustcap which can create piercing high end.
Direct injection to the console, although certainly it was available from the very beginning of electronic recording, was not something commonly done until the early 1960s.
Could Speedy have been an exception to the rule, of course.
But that leads to increased difficulty in his ability to monitor himself during recording.
Put an RCA 44DX in front of a Standel, and you'd be amazed at the detail and dimension of sound you are able to create.
YMMV...

Mike Neer · From: NJ

You're right about the Standels with the JBL, but even some of it seems brighter than what they are capable of. I may be referring to 1960s Capitol recordings.
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Ron Whitfield · From: Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA

The hot ticket amp for the big boys was the new Fender Pro with the 15" JBL, and then it was the JBL that turned Crook's Standel's from average to legendary.

Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

Is the 4 x 10 Bassman completely out of the loop?

They were quite popular here on the LEFT COAST at that time. Most all of the steel players were using them.

I had gone from the Bassman with the 15 inch JBL to the 4 x 10's and realized much better sound.

PERSONALLY, I'd stay away from the 're-issues' as I've not found them to be ideal.

Jon A. Ross · From: not actually FROM Maine...

My experience with the reish Bassman is it's pretty good for everything except what your average blues guitarist likes about a real Bassman. Stock, it is a lot tighter overall than an old one, especially with the solid state rectifier that it comes with. I would deem it pretty ideal for a Stringmaster player who wants a good, tight sound. I have used one as God and Leo Fender intended it: as a bass amp, in low volume situations and it sounded great!

Brad Bechtel · From: San Francisco, CA

Moved to Electronics from Steel Without Pedals.
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Billy Tonnesen · From: R.I.P., Buena Park, California

In the mid forties and into the fifties, in So.Calif., you never knew when Leo Fender was going to show up with one of his Amps for you to try out where you were playing. His Amps in the forties were so superior to the old Gibson's, Epiphones, and Richenbackhers, that there was no comparison and just about everyone started getting them. I went out to the old factory one day to try one out. It cost $200. Leo insisted I take the 15" Pro with me and just send him $20 a month until paid off. He kept a ledger in his desk. I saw Speedy a lot in the forties and he used Fender Amps. When Standel came along I thought it was overrated for a Steel Guitar Amp. Probably good for recording but a little weak for a Bandstand Amp in a big Dance Hall.
My favorite Fender Amp was when the "Bassman" came out which I used for several years.
Iv'e posted this picture before of Speedy when he firest arrived with his homemade Steel in Ca. The
Amps shown are Fender's first with a 15" Speaker.
It was a stained wood cabinet with either a bright red or blue cloth front with three chrome strips. Leo also outfitted the Bob Wills road band with these Amps to get them out and known across the ciountry.

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Sacramento Western Swing Society Hall of Fame, 1992

Tim Whitlock · From: Colorado, USA

I've seen pictures of Vance Terry playing through what looks like a Fender TV-front Pro. Seems like two 6L6s would have been a good choice for steelers of the day.

In regards to Speedy, I have heard that he and Jimmy Bryant arranged their amps in a "v" configuration with one mike in between them. I hear the sparkle on those recordings that Mike is talking about but I never thought it was recorded direct. Can't rule it out completely though - maybe a combination.

Edited to say: Ha - Billy you beat me to it (about the Pro amp) - good story!

Earl Hensley · From: Las Vegas Nv.USA

Speedy told a few times about him and Jimmy using 1 mike on their 2 amps. Place them in a V and go to pickin'. I have probably every record they ever did and their sound was GREAT.
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Hand made George Washburn Spirit,
Fender Tele', Native American Flute, Rogue 6 string lap steel
Epiphone Les Paul, potato-bug mandolin

Eric Stumpf · From: Newbury, NH 03255

Marian Hall used this 1954 Standel 25L15 for several years. Other West Coast Standel 25L15 owners were Speedy (had one of the first few made), Dick Stubbs, Ernie Ball and Les "Carrot Top" Anderson.

Dave Grafe · From: Hudson River Valley NY

That's great history Billy, thanks for sharing Very Happy

Kirk Eipper · From: Arroyo Grande, Ca.

This is so cool.
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www.kirkeipper.com

Brad Sarno · From: St. Louis, MO USA

Seriously cool topic and info...

B

Mike Neer · From: NJ

I remember when Speedy's homemade steel was for sale about 10 years ago. It was in rough shape, but I wish I would have picked that one up.
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Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links

Rick Abbott · From: Indiana, USA

Just thinking out loud:

The trend has been towards clean (that's subjective) and clear tones for many years.Maybe this is generally true because the pedal steel requires a harmonic structure to the out-put sound that reduces midrange distortion when notes are moving against one-another. There were hifi amps in the 40's and 50's. Did anyone try them out? A MacIntosh P.A. might have really sounded cool. Or, were those amps just as prone to overdrive as a tweed Fender circuit? It sounds like the JBL speaker was a (maybe THE)definitive moment in amp clean tones early on.
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RICK ABBOTT
Sho~Bud D-10 Professional #7962
Remington T-8, Sehy #112
1975 Peavey Pacer

Tim Whitlock · From: Colorado, USA

I really like the variety of sounds that steelers from the 30s - 50s got, somewhat attributable to the limitations of the amps that were available to them. You often hear a slight, or sometimes not so slight, bit of distortion as they push their amps to heard. I find the hint of distortion to be very pleasing to my ear and it gives the steel a good dose of warmth and character. By comparison the uber clean sound of recent years is less interesting. Just MHO of course.

Dave Grafe · From: Hudson River Valley NY

I strongly suspect that the attraction to cleaner sounding amps may be linked to the increasingly complex waveforms made possible by the introduction of pedals, three and four strings moving at a time rather than one or two.

Rick Abbott · From: Indiana, USA

Dave, that's just what I meant to say! Well said.

Ray, did you notice any unwanted distortion, back in the day, when you used pedals? Your quad has pedals right? You mentioned a tweed Bassman, what other amps did you find good, bad or ugly?
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RICK ABBOTT
Sho~Bud D-10 Professional #7962
Remington T-8, Sehy #112
1975 Peavey Pacer

Billy Tonnesen · From: R.I.P., Buena Park, California

A lot of us in So.Calif would replace the two 6L6 power tubes in the Fender Tweed Amps with 5U4 Tubes which were basically the same tube, only what was called Industrial Grade. In the 50's you could buy a matched set for about $5.00. They were supposed to give the Amp a little more power.
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Sacramento Western Swing Society Hall of Fame, 1992

Jussi Huhtakangas · From: Helsinki, Finland

Hank Thompson had Standels for his whole band. A 25L15 has only one input, but Hank asked Bob Crooks to build one with four inputs for his two fiddle players ( two fiddles, two mandolins ). For awhile, when Billy Carson was in the band, Leo had him sneak in a line of Fender amps. But all through the 50's and 60's Hank was pretty much a Standel guy.
Billy Jack Wills' band for awhile was equipped with Magnatone amps, it was the rare Triplex model that Vance Terry and Tiny Moore were using:
http://www.vibroworld.com/magnatone/180.html

Jerome Hawkes · From: Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA

i believe i read where Hank Thompson had one of the more modern personal studios around at the time - those cuts he made in the 50's sound as hi-fi as anything you will find from that era - MUCH better than what was coming out of Nashville. Hanks 50's recording quality is what Nashville didnt get until the early 60's.
i think in general, the west coast engineers/equip was far more cutting edge - adapting postwar & movie audio advancements, whereas the east coast studios really sounded dated.
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'65 Sho-Bud D-10 Permanent • '54 Fender Dual-8 • Clinesmith T-8 • '38 Ric Bakelite • '92 Emmons D-10 Legrande II

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