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Topic: Opinions on two-channel options |
Dan Beller-McKenna
From:
Durham, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 19 Mar 2015 4:40 am |
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I have been gigging a lot lately with my Nashville 400. Don't need the volume that the Twin Rverb would need to hit the sweet spot, but I like the 15" speaker better than my Roland Cube 60 (which I do take on some especially quiet gigs). The Session 500 is reserved for emergencies.
I find myself needing a) a back-up solid state amp for drummerless gigs and b) an amp with two channels to switch between pedal steel and Catcan. Currently I am using an A/B switch to send both to the single channel of the NV 400 or Cube 60, but they have very different volume baselines. And whereas I can adjust the EQ on the catcan (using a Zoom MSg50) to accommodate pedal steel settings on the amp, it is hard to do on stage and needs retweaking for each new room. That would be much easier to do on a separate amp channel (simpler, easier to see, etc.)
I have two immediate options, each for $200:
Option 1: Peavey Vegas 400. I am guessing I would like the sound of this slightly better than the NV 400. Worried about the few extra pounds, though, as well as the extra space on stage (which is often at a premium in my current gigging life).
Option 2: Randall Rg-120ph head; '70s orange stripe (so, presumably, Commander, FET vintage). I have a good 15" cabinet loaded with a JBL I could pair with this. These early Randalls seem to be a mystery in the steel world: a few people swear by them, but most people seem never to have tried one (which includes me). Obviously this option means carrying two pieces instead of one, but each would be relatively light.
Thoughts?
Last edited by Dan Beller-McKenna on 19 Mar 2015 5:20 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 19 Mar 2015 4:50 am
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They both sound good to me. And a Vegas on its side takes up about the same footprint as a Nashville.
If you like the lighter box weight, the head wins.
_________________
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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Chris Walke
From:
St Charles, IL
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Posted 20 Mar 2015 9:16 am
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Unfortunately, the days of 2 discreet channels on a guitar amplifier seem to be over, unless you can shore up the funds for a Milkman Sideman amp. Wish I could - that's exactly what I'd like to have in my arsenal.
I play lead guitar & pedal steel, so I'm looking for very different tones for each. Fortunately, I have my Uncle's old Silvertone 1484, which has 2 channels, each with its own inputs (2 per channel!). Very convenient.
These days, you see all manner of 2-, 3-, & 4-channel amps, but with only one input. Seems it's more about having more settings for one instrument. Less convenient for multi-instrumentalists, for sure.  |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 20 Mar 2015 10:43 am
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I'd be tempted to get a small mixer if I were a multi instrumentalists with a 1 channel amp.
Wait. If you have multiple channels but 1 input, you could just run an A/B switch before the amp. Change the box, change the channel, done.
_________________
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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Chris Walke
From:
St Charles, IL
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Posted 24 Mar 2015 8:13 am
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| Lane Gray wrote: |
I'd be tempted to get a small mixer if I were a multi instrumentalists with a 1 channel amp.
Wait. If you have multiple channels but 1 input, you could just run an A/B switch before the amp. Change the box, change the channel, done. |
Both of those ideas work. I recently needed 3 inputs and wanted to carry a smaller combo, so I brought my 1-channel amp and ran 3 instruments into a small mixer. Mixer out to buffered pedal and into amp. Worked pretty well - was able to have independent volume & eq for each instrument. |
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Les Cargill
From:
Oklahoma City, Ok, USA
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Posted 24 Mar 2015 3:17 pm
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| Run the catcan into the Zoom before an A/B switch and EQ the Zoom for the catcan, the amp for pedal steel. The Zoom should provide enough gain to make it equal to the pedal steel. |
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Dan Beller-McKenna
From:
Durham, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 24 Mar 2015 3:29 pm
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Thanks for all the ideas, guys.
Les,that's what I am doing. The problem is that each amp, each venue, and each combination thereof, presents different reactions between to the Catcan settings on the Zoom and the pedal steel settings on the amp.
Having gigged this rig a couple of times since my post, I now put a Boss GE-7 between the Zoom and the A/B pedal. This allows me to make micro tonal and volume adjustments for the Catcan on the fly--not something one wants to be messing with in the Zoom settings.
This helped a lot; probably as much as having a two channel amp. If I have lots of time and powerstrip slots, I give the GE-7 a walwart. If not, it can last pretty long on a 9v battery, so long as I pedal it off when the Catcan is not in use (most of the night). |
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Steve Lipsey
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Posted 25 Mar 2015 10:52 am
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Exactly what I do....and if the GE-7 noise bothers you - it can add noise when any sliders are high at all - there are lots of places to get it modded to kill the noise (I used Analogman). Now it is transparent...
_________________
https://www.lostsailorspdx.com
Williams S10s, Milkman Pedal Steel Mini & "The Amp"
Ben Bonham Resos, 1954 Oahu Diana, 1936 Oahu Parlor |
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Dan Beller-McKenna
From:
Durham, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 25 Mar 2015 1:53 pm
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| I used to have that problem with the GE-7 when I used it briefly as a dobro simulator, sliders in the zigzag pattern. In this setup, I only cut withe sliders (mostly the bass), so no noise issues. |
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