| Author |
Topic: Milkman Neo Speaker |
Charley Paul
From:
California, USA
|
Posted 30 May 2020 8:56 am |
|
Hi friends,
what can you tell me about the Milkman 300W Neo speaker for pedal steel. How does it compare to the other favorites around these parts?
I have yet to try a Neo speaker that I love, but I know these amps get some praise around these parts, so I'm reconsidering.
The last Neo speaker I tried was the Travis Toy 12. It is a fabulous speaker, but sounded like crap under my fingers. However, I may also try that again, depending on feedback, and especially since it was my own crap playing that affected my opinion more than anything. I like the sound of old Fender amps, but am looking to do 2 things with a Neo speaker:
1. Lighten the load. My D10 is heavy enough on its own....it would be nice to have a lightweight amp setup!
2. Record at lower volumes. I understand that one of the perks of the lightweight amps is that they also sound good at lower volumes. I can't crank my Fender amps at home to reach their sweet spot.
I'm looking for something to use with my Quilter Tone Block that has a full, rich sound, and can handle the power that amp puts out....maybe I'm asking too much, but thought that the collective knowledge of this forum might help me get some clarity! Worst case scenario is that I stick with my Fender amps and maybe even buy something new....I'd call that a win-win no matter what! |
|
|
 |
Paul Sutherland
From:
Placerville, California
|
Posted 30 May 2020 12:58 pm
|
|
Your questions and concerns cover a lot of territory. Let me start by saying I don't think Milkman Sound manufacturers their own speakers. They have in the past used Telonics and Jupiter. I can't say what they use now.
What Fender amps are you using? It's awful hard to get something like a Twin Reverb to sound it's best at very low volumes. But something like a Deluxe Reverb (22 watts) might do the job for you. If it's a 4 power tube amp you could pull two tubes and just run it on 2. There's lot of references to doing that on line. It's easy.
How long have you been playing? You can spend a lot of money and energy buying and sell equipment in an effort to get optimum tone when you just need to spend more time on the instrument. But you seem to already know that.
_________________
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing. |
|
|
|
Charley Paul
From:
California, USA
|
Posted 30 May 2020 2:04 pm
|
|
| Paul Sutherland wrote: |
Your questions and concerns cover a lot of territory. Let me start by saying I don't think Milkman Sound manufacturers their own speakers. They have in the past used Telonics and Jupiter. I can't say what they use now.
What Fender amps are you using? It's awful hard to get something like a Twin Reverb to sound it's best at very low volumes. But something like a Deluxe Reverb (22 watts) might do the job for you. If it's a 4 power tube amp you could pull two tubes and just run it on 2. There's lot of references to doing that on line. It's easy.
How long have you been playing? You can spend a lot of money and energy buying and sell equipment in an effort to get optimum tone when you just need to spend more time on the instrument. But you seem to already know that. |
Thanks for your reply, Paul.
I currently use a 66 Pro Reverb loaded with Jensen Ceramic Concert speakers. I absolutely love the sound of this amp, for steel and 6 string. But I just can’t get it to give up the goods at neighbor friendly volumes. I pretty much reserve this amp for outdoor gigs. With the lockdown, I’ve been busier than ever tracking for a few different projects. As much as I love this amp, it’s too much for home recording (at my house).
I also have a 65 DeluxeNon Reverb. I love it for 6 string, but not steel. It is loaded with a Weber 12F150...a fine speaker, but not my all time favorite, and definitely not my favorite for steel. I just bought a TT red for the Deluxe....I really like the sound of the Deluxe with Alnico. It greatly improves the sound for 6 string, but I still don’t love it for steel.
I’ve had this Quilter Tone Block 202 for about a year. I like it, and I’m hoping to find a speaker for it that is dedicated to steel guitar. I’ve tried the Travis Toy speaker (I may again), and also an EVM12L. I did not like the EV. I thought the Travis Toy speaker was nice, but has a more modern steel sound. I like vintage blackface Fender tones, but have yet to find a speaker with enough power to handle the Quilter. I saw the Milkman Neo made by Celestion, and am guessing it’s the BN series that Quilter also uses in their combo amps. But there isn’t much info about this speaker with steel guitar. Before I tried yet another speaker, I wanted to see if anybody else had used this or another Neo with good results? I’ve tried the Tone Block with the speakers in my combo amps, and it sounds great.....id like to build a steel dedicated 1x12 to act like a Blackface Fender Lite. But in order to do this, I want to first find a Neo speaker that I like. If not, I may just scrap the idea and find a tube amp around 30-50 watts that is more portable, and has a 6L6 power section. This would open up my speaker choices considerably.... |
|
|
|
Marc Jenkins
From:
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
|
Posted 30 May 2020 3:43 pm
|
|
| Tim at Milkman is very helpful. He has compared his speaker to JBL etc and can talk about the subtle and/or not so subtle differences. |
|
|
|
Marc Jenkins
From:
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
|
Posted 30 May 2020 10:51 pm
|
|
| Also - I have a Milkman speaker. It’s very clean, and sounds great. Not as nice as my 1962 Jensen (from an Ampeg) but light and handles power well for loud gigs, |
|
|
|
Paul Sutherland
From:
Placerville, California
|
Posted 30 May 2020 11:22 pm
|
|
Your Pro Reverb should be rated at 40 or 45 watts, so you are already down in the power range you suggested. You could try using a lower gain 12AX7 tube in V2 (the first preamp stage for the "vibrato" channel)(not all 12AX7 have the same gain), or even go down a step or two in gain to a 5751 or a 12AT7. That sends a less hot signal to the power tubes so you can turn the amp up a bit.
You could also disconnect one of the speakers. That will move less air, and it will raise the impedance load to the amp and thus cut the power output of the amp.
None of these things should hurt the amp, and they are easily reversible for when you need the amp to be louder.
_________________
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing. |
|
|
|
