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Topic: Seeking a light weight amp that still sounds great |
Keith Calmes
From:
New Jersey, USA
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Posted 3 Jan 2025 6:49 pm |
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My small amp weighs 46 pounds and my back is killing me. Do any of you have information regarding an amp that is both easy on the back and easy on the ears?
Thanks,
Keith
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Keith Calmes
New Jersey
Stage One Encore with pedals
Remington doubleneck without pedals |
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Larry Dering
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 3 Jan 2025 9:32 pm
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| Forum member Ray DeVoe has a quilter TT 12 for sale in the amps section. This is the amp and speaker the great Travis Toy helped design. They are lightweight and sound great. Check out some videos of Travis playing at the Texas Steel Guitar Jamboree on YouTube. |
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Rick Baker
From:
Myrtle Beach, SC
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Posted 3 Jan 2025 9:36 pm Small Amp
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I've started using a Quilter Labs DirectAmp Stereo Amp Simulator, into a Jay Ganz Straight Ahead Power Amp (I carry two, they are 1 pd each), and then the speaker cab of my choice (love the Telonics with a TT12 or TT15). So then you have the weight of the speaker cab + 3 pounds total, while carrying a backup power amp - loud enough to move walls, as necessary!  I still have a couple of Evans options, if needed, but the rig described above is KILLER!! and will not break your back.
Good luck in your search!
Bake
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Emmons Legrande Lacquer SKH D10 9/7 ('cause I'm an Emmons guy)
Evans Amps
Quilter Labs DirectAmp Stereo Amp Simulator w/ Straight-Ahead Amps
1998 VG Strat (Roland G-5)
1988 Squire Strat (Cousin Kenny said so) |
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Wayne Brown
From:
Bassano, Alberta, Canada
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Dennis Detweiler
From:
Solon, Iowa, US
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Posted 4 Jan 2025 5:43 am
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TC Electronic BQ250 and a 12" Eminence neo bass speaker along with a TC Hall Of Fame reverb pedal makes a light weight and compact rig.
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1976 Birdseye U-12 MSA with Telonics 427 pickup, 1975 Birdseye U-12 MSA with Telonics X-12 pickup, Revelation preamp, Carbon Copy Delay and Hall Of Fame Reverb, Crown XLS 1002, 2- 15" Eminence Wheelhouse speakers, ShoBud Pedal, Effects Pedals. 1949 Epiphone D-8. |
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Dave Hopping
From:
Aurora, Colorado
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Brooks Montgomery
From:
Idaho, USA
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Posted 4 Jan 2025 9:24 am
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The Fender Tone Master Twin Reverb, for me, has become the swiss army knife amp. Sounds great, two channels, because of the attenuator switch, it works for tiny room practice, or big halls without needing to be mic’d.
I play lapsteel, pedal, guitar, and blues harp all through the same amp.
I have to admit though, I don’t use it for dobro only gigs or acoustic guitar—for that I prefer my Fishman Loudbox mini.
I have a variety of Fender tube amps that now stay in my gear room most of the time. Do the real tube amps sound better? Yes, somewhat. I notice the difference. But the band, nor the audience can hear the difference. And the weight, one-handed 33 lbs
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A banjo, like a pet monkey, seems like a good idea at first. |
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Bobby D. Jones
From:
West Virginia, USA
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Posted 4 Jan 2025 4:57 pm
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When I turned 75, I set out to lighten my load gigging. I built a birch plywood cabinet, Installed a Eminence EPS-15C speaker 22lb. Added a Quilter Tone Block 202, 4lb. out the door 26lb.
This setup sure lightened my amp load gigging. |
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Bob Hoffnar
From:
Austin, Tx
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Posted 5 Jan 2025 9:12 am
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I'll put in a word for the Milkman half and Half. It's a great sounding amp and very light with the stock neo.
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Bob |
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James P Mitchell
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 5 Jan 2025 9:24 am
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I just got the Half + Half. Sounds great. It's very loud, and very light.
Sounds great. It's a little poke-y for guitar imho but works great for steel. |
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Larry Ball
From:
Airdrie, Alberta, Canada
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Posted 5 Jan 2025 9:29 am
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I just thought I would give Wayne’s (Out West Music) amp some recognition.
Wayne can design exactly what you are looking for. I was very specific in my request and Wayne delivered beyond expectations… I still have a couple of other amps, one being a Nashville 112. However Wayne’s design has outmatched both of them in Power (Headroom), clarity, tone and above all “Weight”.
I need say no more
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Sho~Bud SD10 LDG, Show-Pro SD10 LDG, Peavey Nashville 112, Boss Katana 100 MK11, Telonic's F100 Multi-Taper Super Pro V/P, Wayne Brown “Custom Designed Amp” |
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Jon Jaffe
From:
Austin, Texas
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Posted 9 Jan 2025 5:39 pm
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I have a Milkman Half-and-Half and a Quilter TT. Both are great lightweight amplifiers, but I prefer the Half-and-Half to the Quilter. (The Quilter is for sale soon.) What I have gone to is a small preamp and a powered speaker. First, I tried the Sesh 400 into a Jay Ganz Straight Ahead Power Amp I installed in a 12-inch speaker cabinet. That was OK, but I still had to supply reverb, delay pedals, and whatever else I wanted. Then, I got a SuperBlock US that would allow me to control my Quilter without turning my back on the club. The SuperBlock US into the Ganz was very lightweight, and I thought I had found the rig I wanted.
But I bought the Fender FR-12 powered speaker, and the combination with SuperBlock US was lightweight, uncomplicated, and sounded superb. I now have switched preamps to the TONEX One. It clips to the leg of my steel guitar and has multiple amp tones and pedals. The thing that ties all this together is the FR-12. It's 30bs. |
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Steve Lipsey
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Posted 10 Jan 2025 1:20 pm
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half& Half 28 lbs.
Milkman Pedal Steel Mini 32 lbs
....and the Mini is the best amp I've ever had...all tube, way more powerful than the spec implies, with the new Soursound transformer it somehow pumps the power up by a lot. Tim Marcus at Milkman calls it "the best amp he's ever made"
So you can have a relatively light amp and sacrifice nothing, and in fact, sound better than ever....
I, of course, knowing that the amp was light, got it as a head+cab with a Missing Link Hybrid JBL D-120 speaker, which added 12 lbs...so the pieces still are light (22.5lbs head and 33 lbs cab), and it is the ultimate dream amp...("holy grail" as Tim says)
Hatton case for my Williams is 17 lbs, 43 with steel...
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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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Chris Brooks
From:
Providence, Rhode Island
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Posted 11 Jan 2025 3:41 pm
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| Light--and cheap? Roland Cube 80. |
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John Talbott
From:
Castle Rock, Colorado, USA
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Posted 11 Jan 2025 7:57 pm
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I know a player who is using a Mark DV45 1x12 combo.
Only 22.5 lbs … He gets a real good sound out of it ….
John T.
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Emmons LLG II
Mullen D10
EMCI RX D10
GFI Ultra D10
L120, L10k & StageOne Volume pedals
PV Spcl 130, NV112, NV400 & LTD400
Alesis Q-Verb/GT
PV TranstubeFex
Match-Bro |
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Dave Grafe
From:
Hudson River Valley NY
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Posted 12 Jan 2025 6:03 pm
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| I just solved the same problem with a Quilter Tone Block 202 in the TT12 package. I picked up an additional 15" cabinet and loaded ut with a JBL K130 for louder gigs, and if that is ever not enough it will drive them both with 200 watts. It works well enough that I just sold my "forever" Webb combo. |
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Bruce Bjork
From:
Southern Coast of Maine
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Posted 14 Jan 2025 2:47 pm
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Spark 2 with Dan Hogans settings, I have a hard time telling the difference between my Spark 2 and my Peavey 112 in a Tommy Huff cab with a 15” speaker. Nice deep bass and clear highs.
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Banjo, Dobro, Guild D-40, Telecaster, Justice Pro Lite 3x5, BOSS Katana 100, Peavey Nashville 112 in a Tommy Huff cabinet, Spark, FreeLoader, Baby Bloomer, Peterson StroboPlus HD, Stage One VP.
"Use the talents you possess; the woods would be very silent indeed if no birds sang but the best" |
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