Which Fender?

Dennis Lee · From: Forest Grove, Oregon, USA

I have a Peavey NV112 which has good tone. I also have an Evans se200, but was told the Fender sound is still hard to beat for a change. Has anyone used a smaller Fender besides the Steel King and been happy with the sound and adequate power for psg application? Any comments or experiences are appreciated and taken into consideration here.

David Doggett · Posted 14 Aug 2007 11:30 am

When people talk about Fender tone, they usually mean the tube amps. Some people like the warmer tone of the pre-CBS black-faces, but the early breakup is a problem for pedal steel. The silver-face Fenders play cleaner with more headroom. The king of tube Fender steel amps is the '70s silver-face Vibrosonic, with 100-135 watts and a 15" speaker. A SF Twin with 2x12 is also a classic. For more power, the Rivera era Super Twin Reverb is awesome. Steelers need these high power amps not so much for the sheer volume as for the long sustain you can get with the volume pedal in big loud venues.

The SF Pro Reverb (60 watts, 2x12) is good in the studio and for smaller/quieter venues. But it is the same size and almost as heavey as a Twin. The next smaller SF Fender is the Vibrolux, with 40 watts. It lacks a Mid tone control, and the 2x10 speakers sound a bit shrill for steel. The SF Deluxe Reverb with 20 watts and 1x12 has trouble giving enough volume. Even miked, it has inadequate stage volume for anything but small quiet venues. It also lacks a Mid control.

So there is a gap in the SF line between 20 and 60 watts. In the modern PC board Fender tubers, the Hot Rod and Blues Deluxe (40 watts, 1x12) is a workhorse for regular guitar, but has too early breakup to be very useful for steel. The Hod Rod and Blues Deville with 60 watts and 2x12 has been found useful as a medium power tube amp for some steelers. A new contender is the Super Sonic (60 watts, 1x12), which attempts to mimic both the Vibrolux and the Tweed Bassman. Early reports are that it is a very bright amp for steel.

Another choice is the hand wired Tweed Twin Custom Reissue (40 watts, 2x12). It is expensive and on the bright side.

In terms of the bigger modern PC Board Twin family, there is the Vibrasonic Custom (100w, 1x15), '65 Twin Reissue (80w, 2x12), and the Twin Custom 15 (80w?, 1x15). These are not bad for steel, but they don't have the tone of the silver-face Fenders, and the PC Board construction is more difficult to repair and mod.

Marc Jenkins · From: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

I've been borrowing a friend's Hot Rod Deluxe while my amp's being repaired. It has been biased for cleaner headroom, and it is plenty loud and clean for me right now. Plenty.

Dave, my understanding is that the Pro Reverb was 40 watts, and then bumped up to 70 towards the end of their run, basically a Super Reverb with 2 x 12's. I've thought that this would make a great steel amp for me, as I rarely play all that loud, and my Blues Jr. ALMOST cuts it with the loudest group I play with...

David Doggett · Posted 14 Aug 2007 1:26 pm

Marc, you are right. The SF Pro Reverb ranged from 40 to 70 watts. My 70 watt one with the stock two 12s weighed 64 lbs., and with a single 15" JBL weighs 60 lbs. For me it was just too close to a Twin in size, weight and power. If I have a venue where I don't need a Twin size amp, I want something down around 50 watts and 50 lbs. I have tried a Hot Rod Deluxe, and it just doesn't have quite enough clean headroom for me. I intend to try a Hot Rod Deville and a Super Sonic.

Pete Burak · From: Portland, OR USA

Dennis, I have a 1976 Fender Vibrosonic for sale if you are interested.
This was Fenders "Steel Amp" of the 70's era.
I have gone to a rack system and haven't used the Vibrosonic in a while.
I used it either alone, or in stereo with a Nashville 112, and that was a great sound.
Let me know,
Pete B.

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