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Topic: Question about a light/small form factor setup |
Noah Levy
From:
California, USA
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Posted 30 Mar 2022 6:38 am |
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Hey there everyone,
I have a two-part question, but I'd like to establish the context first. I'm a junior in college and have been playing pedal steel since 2017. In my freshman year, I had a GFI student model fresh from the factory and I played it through a headphone amp (because I have roommates) and if I wanted to jam, I had some small fender amp. This year, my setup is more limited and I have very little physical space for steel. Sadly, because of this, I left my setup at home across the country. That being said, I wanted to ask if anyone knows of a specific model of steel guitar that is super light, reliable, and tonally reasonable? I was thinking of a Zum Encore because I've heard they are super reliable, but it may be out of my price range at the moment. Is a Zum Encore relatively light? The second part of my question, is can anyone recommend a small form factor monitoring setup for one person? The USB-charged headphone amp I used didn't sound the best, so there's gotta be a better way to do it while still keeping the volume to a minimum. Pedal steel is really my first instrument and I wanna keep practicing while at school but in order to do that I need the smallest, lightest, and quietest setup I can afford. What do y'all think?
Thank you guys,
Noah Levy |
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D Schubert
From:
Columbia, MO, USA
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Posted 30 Mar 2022 7:11 am
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If it was me, I'd ship the guitar to myself (budget 150-200 bucks). If that's not possible, pick up a budget lap steel and practice slants/chords in various tunings -- E, E7, E6, A, A6, C6, etc. -- that occur with various pedal combinations.
And look hard at a Quilter Superblock US. It functions well with headphones, XLR out, or external speaker. Abut 4x6" footprint
https://www.quilterlabs.com/index.php/product/superblock-us
Last edited by D Schubert on 30 Mar 2022 2:07 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Noah Levy
From:
California, USA
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Posted 30 Mar 2022 7:20 am
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| That seems like a pretty good solution. I may try and sell the GFI to upgrade to something new, but the Quilter Superblock seems to be exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks for your response. |
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Al Evans
From:
Austin, Texas, USA
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Posted 30 Mar 2022 7:29 am Re: Question about a light/small form factor setup
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| Noah Levy wrote: |
...Is a Zum Encore relatively light? |
Just under 50 lbs. in the case.
--Al Evans
_________________
2018 MSA Legend, 2018 ZumSteel Encore, 2015 Mullen G2, G&L S-500, G&L ASAT, G&L LB-100, Godin A4 Fretless, Kinscherff High Noon |
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Noah Levy
From:
California, USA
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Posted 30 Mar 2022 7:44 am
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| That sounds pretty light to me! thank you. |
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Ken Pippus
From:
Langford, BC, Canada
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Posted 30 Mar 2022 7:47 am
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| It’s light, and it’s a very nice little guitar. Think you’ll find it a significant upgrade. |
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Kully Stiles
From:
Long Beach, CA
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Posted 31 Mar 2022 2:52 am
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| Strymon Iridium is the best small headphone monitoring solution hands down. The stereo room reverb makes it feel like youre not wearing headphones and the amp modeling is killer. |
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K Maul
From:
Hadley, NY/Hobe Sound, FL
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Posted 31 Mar 2022 4:47 am
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The lightest, most compact pedal steel you’ll find is an EXCEL. Amazingly high quality and it doesn’t take a year to get one once you order it.
https://fuzzypsg.com/int/
_________________
KEVIN MAUL: Airline, Beard, Clinesmith, Donner, Evans, Excel, Fender, Fluger, GFI, Gibson, Hilton, Ibanez, Justice, K+K, Live Strings, MOYO, National, Oahu, Peterson, Quilter, Rickenbacher, Sho~Bud, Supro, TC, Ultimate, VHT, Williams, X-otic, Yamaha, ZKing. |
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Jim Pitman
From:
Waterbury Ctr. VT 05677 USA
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Posted 31 Mar 2022 5:58 am
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| I'm with K Maul. The Excell surely won't disappoint. Perhaps beyond your budget - something to save up for? |
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Noah Levy
From:
California, USA
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Posted 31 Mar 2022 6:59 am
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Thanks for your responses, everyone. I'm probably gonna grab one of the headphone monitoring solutions you mentioned, and probably save up for a new guitar in time.
Thanks again for your help guys, means a lot.
-Noah Levy |
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