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Topic: favorite cheap amp find and why |
Matthew Jackson
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 11 May 2013 3:25 pm |
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ok I just finished the days chores and thought it wouldbe fun to discuss favorite cheap amps. I am gonna wiegh in with a peavey 130 special last one was a craigslist amp dirty as heck with the foot switch after getting some fox chips I had less than 200 in it and it was great. what other under rated unknown amps.are out there for little money and why do you like it is there one out there that you belive a picker should pull the trigger conifers he sees one. hey life is tonshort for bad tone but who says money grows on trees
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telejo, la 400, a few wonderfull TG banjos, a red tele made from what ever parts I could find, a few dobros and my beat up/butt ugly Pitzfer aluminum upright bass. |
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Tim Marcus
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 11 May 2013 3:55 pm
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Peavey Session 500 - lots of power for little dollars $275
The EQ on that thing is touchy - you are only ever 1mm away from either great tone or terrible tone. If you looked at the amp funny it would turn into a brittle nightmare sound. However, with just the right setting, and the right amount of ambient moisture in the air it is a great amp 
Mine has been officially retired, but it was used by the keyboard player in an old band for years and sounded great with electric piano. My current plan is to use it as a boat anchor.
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Milkmansound.com |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 11 May 2013 5:10 pm
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| Was gonna use my LTD 400 for a boat anchor, but then I sold the boat. Works just fine as a door stop, however. |
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Stephen Abruzzo
From:
Philly, PA
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Posted 11 May 2013 6:04 pm
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Behringer GM110.....the old ones, before they added the effects/tuner in the updated version a few years ago and screwed the amp up. $100 new.
A pretty damn good clone of the Tech 21 Trademark 30 analog amps. Not so m any choices that one gets "paralyzed". lol |
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David Nugent
From:
Gum Spring, Va.
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Posted 12 May 2013 3:03 am
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| Peavey 'Prowler'..All tube signal path including reverb channel, only manufactured for a short while. This was Peavey's answer to the Fender 'Hot Rod' series I imagine. Very nice clean channel and lead channel isn't bad for six string either. Picked up a nice condition head version for $150.00. |
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Lee Dassow
From:
Jefferson, Georgia USA
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Posted 12 May 2013 6:21 am
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1982 peavey session 500 with controller That I fixed,
great tone, everything works. Sounds much better than my nashville 112. $550 for the trashville, $250 for the session 500. A little bit of a difference
wouldn't you say. Tennessee Lee
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2015 Mullen D-10 Royal Precision 9x8,-1990 BMI S-10 5x5-1972 Silver face Fender pro Reverb amp,-1965 Fender Super Reverb Amp,- 1966 Fender Showman Amp Two 15" JBL speakers,- 2006 65 Fender Twin Reverb reissue Amp,- 1982 Peavey Session 500 amp,-1978 Peavey Session 400,Goodrich Volume Pedals,John Pearse Steel Bars, |
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james sluder
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 12 May 2013 5:24 pm Peavy studio pro 110 queston .
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Does anyone use [or have used] the Peavy studio pro 112 transtube ,,65 watts rms .2 channel,,clean & lead.If so which channel do you use for psg..??
Thank's for any reply's
Jim !! |
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Mike Wheeler
From:
Delaware, Ohio, USA
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Posted 14 May 2013 8:41 am
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Here's another vote for the Special 130. I got one a while back. Replaced the old ICs with OPA2134s and it sounded really good. I pulled out the Scorpion 12 (yuck!!) and put a Nashville 112 Blue Marvel in it and WOW! It came to life!
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Best regards,
Mike |
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Tommy Boswell
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 14 May 2013 6:46 pm
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| A Peavey Special 112 head for $100. It had some minor issues like cutting out (cleaning fixed that), and no reverb tank (I had one sitting around). At first it sounded OK but not great. After trying lots of different speakers I bought the new Eminence EPS 12C and it really came to life. 160 watts into 4 ohms, it really sings. Now I plan to build it into a nice combo. |
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Tommy Boswell
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 14 May 2013 6:55 pm
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| Tim Marcus wrote: |
... and the right amount of ambient moisture in the air ...
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Tim, I've often wondered if it was just me, or the weather, that makes a rig sound great one day and just so-so the next. Interesting comment! |
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Daniel Policarpo
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Posted 20 May 2013 4:17 am
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I had purchased a Laney GC-50 solid state amp for my stepson about 8 years ago. Got it for $65 at a guitar center blowout. He doesn't play his six string much these days,so I pulled it out to try the pedal steel out on.
It sounds fantastic! When going into the high frets, my Stage One can confidently sustain John Hughey land and the lows are very rich without being boomy. Great balance across the board. The amp has a clean and dirty channel and the clean channel is the natural choice for pedal steel. The EQ oddly does not have very much effect on the sound, something affirmed by other reviewers, but the little bit it does provide works well enough.
I am very impressed with the clean channel characteristics as the "level" and "gain" work together to provide the sustain and clarity required for most pedal steel work,without the sterility and coldness associated with many solid state amps in lower price ranges. Very warm. If you like the little bit of crunch that old Peter Drake and Lloyd Green recordings have, this amp may do the trick for you. It's not super clean, mimicking some of the natural drive that tube amps supply. While it is loud for 50 watts of solid state performance, I am on the look out for its big brother, the Laney GC 120. That one has 120 watts of solid state, which I think will be adequate for most live situations.
This GC 50 is great for practice and will work well live if mic'd. For $65 I am impressed, but would consider this amp even if it was more expensive. I like the sound better than the Peavey amps I have tried, and though usually I prefer tube amplification, I am now using this little solid state almost exclusively. I haven't heard Laney associated with pedal steel, they are more known for heavy metal endorsements,but the discontinued GC line sounds great for that classic country steel.
-Dan |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 20 May 2013 4:32 am
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| Tommy Boswell wrote: |
| Tim Marcus wrote: |
... and the right amount of ambient moisture in the air ...
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Tim, I've often wondered if it was just me, or the weather, that makes a rig sound great one day and just so-so the next. Interesting comment! |
I found this absolutely the case. Hot and humid promotes the sweetest tone. The sweetest tone I ever got was outside on July 12, 7 PM. 97° at downbeat, 83° dew point.
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2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Dan Tyack
From:
Olympia, WA USA
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Posted 22 May 2013 1:50 pm
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| Sano accordian amp for $300. The best pedal steel amp I've played until the Little Walter. Mine has 1x15 and two car radio type speakers on the side of the cabinet (I think for the tremelo and reverb). Insane tremelo. |
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Bruce Derr
From:
Lee, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 23 May 2013 6:04 pm
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| I have a Peavey Bandit 65 that I found at the dump years ago. It needed a few things (cabinet and speaker, actually) but worked otherwise! I made a cabinet for it and used it for years. Nice amp for tele and steel. |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Daniel Policarpo
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Posted 24 May 2013 7:04 am
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| Mike, I had one of those Crate 1s about 20 years ago. The market in St. Louis had a ton of them. For guitar, it was excellent with just a few minor adjustments to wiring contacts. |
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Peter Freiberger
From:
California, USA
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Posted 24 May 2013 11:04 am
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My favorite cheap amp is any of the Yamaha G100 series with one or two 12" speakers, or single 15" if you can find one. Not as cheap as they used to be, but still a bargain. They sound even better with a JBL or BW speaker.
Credit where it's due dept.: Mike Johnstone was the first guy I heard playing a G100-112. I tried it and immediately started looking for one of my own. |
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Len Amaral
From:
Rehoboth,MA 02769
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Posted 25 May 2013 5:02 am
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| Crate Power Block close out at GC $59.00 with small speaker cab. Bunch of ways hooking it up but for a small gig was OK. Not special but OK. |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 25 May 2013 7:02 am
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| My favorite cheap amp find is the Polytone Mini Brute II in flight case that I picked up for $100.00 from Republic Airlines. Republic was swallowed up by Northwest in 1986, so I’ve had it for a while now. It had belonged to a famous jazz guitarist who was an endorser for Polytone. The airline “lost” the amp and its owner immediately filed a claim. He probably got a new one from Polytone the next day. Lots of people bad mouth these amps, but I’ve had no problems whatsoever. It sounds great for steel. With the exception of very large rooms or outdoor venues, it was my main gigging amp for years. Sounds great with my ‘71 Emmons D-10. Very portable, dependable, and good sound for such a little amp. |
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Dave Grafe
From:
Hudson River Valley NY
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Posted 25 May 2013 7:47 pm
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| Fender Blues Junior if you don't have to be loud |
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Scott Duckworth
From:
Etowah, TN Western Foothills of the Smokies
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Posted 26 May 2013 3:29 am
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I have a Behringer K1800FX. Cost $300 new. I played it yesterday side by side with a Nashville 400, and the Behringer actually sounded better, just not as powerful. The Behringer K3000FX is a 300 watt amp compared to the 180 watts of the 1800, and might be a better am for the steel. Same control configuration, just more power (and 15 pounds heavier).
_________________
Amateur Radio Operator NA4IT (Extra)
http://www.qsl.net/na4it
I may, in fact, be nuts. However, I am screwed onto the right bolt... Jesus! |
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Bill Bassett
From:
Papamoa New Zealand
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Posted 26 May 2013 5:03 am Yamaha
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| Yeah, I'm with Peter on this. I have 2 Yamaha G112. A matched pair. I know where to pick up a third but they want 300. I'd pay 200. Still workin on that. |
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Dan Beller-McKenna
From:
Durham, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 26 May 2013 5:36 am
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I picked up a Peavey Special 130 for a paltry $40 a few years back. It was a great little amp, but when I came into a Nashville 400 in okay shape for $125, I couldn't justify holding on to the 130, which was only an inch or so shorter and about five pounds lighter. Later I got a NV 400 in pristine shape for $175 and sold the first one.
All that said, at the moment my favorite cheap amp find is the Ampeg BA112 I picked up from Guitar Center for $125. It is, to me ears, the best low wattage small amp for steel I have ever come across. Thanks to Cartwright Thompson for the recommendation. I do some gigs with an acoustic folk act, and this fits the bill perfectly.
Dan |
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Dan Tyack
From:
Olympia, WA USA
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Posted 26 May 2013 8:32 pm
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| Peter Freiberger wrote: |
My favorite cheap amp is any of the Yamaha G100 series with one or two 12" speakers, or single 15" if you can find one. Not as cheap as they used to be, but still a bargain. They sound even better with a JBL or BW speaker.
Credit where it's due dept.: Mike Johnstone was the first guy I heard playing a G100-112. I tried it and immediately started looking for one of my own. |
I agree with this. Stu Shulman turned me on to this amp way back when they were new. I used one as my second amp with Asleep at the Wheel. The clean sound is good, but the overdrive is the best I've ever heard from a solid state amp. Great Carlton mellow LA rock and roll sound. |
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Bill L. Wilson
From:
Oklahoma, USA
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Posted 27 May 2013 11:21 pm Great AmpDeals.
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| A friend gave me a B100, Yamaha Bass amp, w/a 2-15" spkr cab. The amps, I bought real cheap, several years ago: A SF '77 Deluxe Reverb, for a 100bucks, a SF '71 Pro Reverb, for 160bucks, and a Session 400 Limited, for 200bucks. The most I've ever paid for an amp is 1200bucks, for a '76 Twin Reverb, w/JBL's, that I bought from a friend 2yrs ago. I just recently spent 200bucks for lumber, tolex, grill cloth, and hardware, to build 2cabs, and split that heavy son of a gun up. Now I can have my tone without gettin' a hernia. All of the Fenders and the Peavey are great for steel, it just depends on how loud you wanna play. |
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