MILKMAN The Amp 100 vs Half and Half

Karen Sarkisian · From: Boston, MA, USA

Hey guys, so I'm after a smaller amp for bar gigs. Has anyone played both the half and half pedal steel and the amp 100 who might be able to give me a recommendation ? thanks..
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Dave Hopping · From: Aurora, Colorado

I have the Half & Half 15 and it's just great-- lightweight, small footprint, sounds superb. I sit my Half and Half right behind me and use it as an instrument monitor. The feed to the board works equally well with a mic or the line out.

That said, I can see some advantages to an Amp 100. If your bar gigs involve in-ears and/or no amps onstage, not having to carry a cab to work might be helpful. Even if you do carry a cab, having the choice of cabs and speakers works out too. A further upside is the economics; very probably an Amp 100 plus cab will save some bux over the cost of a Half & Half 12" combo, and more bux over the cost of a 15".

Downside-- more stuff to hook up and keep an eye on.

Karen Sarkisian · From: Boston, MA, USA

thanks dave..
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Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

I use both and prefer the half and half for throw and go daily gigging. The 100 is more versatile but the half and half is more simple and loud enough for Texas stages without screwing around. Both sound fantastic.
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Karen Sarkisian · From: Boston, MA, USA

Thanks bob!
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Steve Lipsey · From: Portland, Oregon, USA

Why not call Tim Marcus and chat about it? He's played all the Milkman amps, of course....and has a good sense of the power vs. loudness issue.
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I've had both and now just kept The Amp (mine is a 50).

It is on the pedal board...and I have a couple of speakers to choose from depending on the gig...a 10" in a small cab for practice and small gigs, a 12" in a big cab for medium gigs, and both (which bumps the amp to 100 watts) for really blowing the doors off with a stack...

So I only have to carry the minimum weight to each gig..and no single piece weighs much at all...(and your Amp 100 would go to 200 watts with two speakers!)

And many times now I just play into the PA from the XLR out....after all, The Amp final is solid state, so is the PA, so why not? It sounds great! Or use the PA to augment The Amp for even more power (XLR or mic it to get speaker sound), or to have my amp be mostly a monitor.

I have a theory that your amp should weigh no more than [100-(your age)], had a Twin early on, a Marshall Stack, then lots of Milkman Amps (each one lighter than the last), and now The Amp should take me the rest of the way...

Of course, if I was still a real youngster, I'd probably be playing a rig like this one...John Cipollina's from Quicksilver Messenger service...

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Asa Brosius · Posted 1 Mar 2022 7:12 pm

I packed a 50watt 'the amp' in a road case for over a year- thinking backup, or running it through a less than ideal backline amp, but I never used it, and eventually passed it on. I loved the package, the size, the thoughtfulness of the build, but I could never warm up to the direct sound recording, and it felt underpowered for hot modern steel pickups. Folks I like use it, but it wasn't for me- maybe the 100watt version solved that problem. However it was great in a pinch for electric guitar with the right speaker.
Meanwhile I've used a half and half combo happily for years- particularly for projects where an LTD, my country favorite, was a little too clean country. It's survived a 7ft drop and bounce on pavement, and several flights unscathed. Tim Marcus, the builder, has always been quick to respond with any questions or concerns.

Karen Sarkisian · From: Boston, MA, USA

thanks everyone, i am leaning towards the half and half head now, much appreciated !
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Karl Paulsen · From: Chicago

I don't get out to play much, but how important to you is having less individual items to load into the gig? I have the Half and Half 15" combo. It's so darn light that I think it's worth it to have amp and speaker all-in-one box rather than having to carry separate head and amp.

Best of luck whatever you end up with.
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Tom Wolverton · From: Carpinteria, CA

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Tom Dillon · From: La Mesa, California, USA

Karen,

I owned both and played many gigs with them. Here's my 2 cents:

Half and Half head with either a Telonics 15, JBL D130, or TT12 cab. All the clean volume you'd ever need. Good tone for steel. Great spring reverb. Direct out for sending to the PA (but without speaker simulation, I'd use a Neunaber Iconoclast for that). Amazingly light.

The Amp 50 with or without a cab. I used this more often, always sending the XLR out to the PA, usually without a cab. I always used in ear monitors. When using a cab it's plenty loud for stage volume or without help from the PA in smaller rooms. I'd say it has very similar tone to the H&H. Nice digital reverb. I didn't miss the mids EQ knob at all. It's very forgiving and sounds great (to me) at most EQ settings.

For my situation, I liked The Amp 50 better than the H&H.
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Tom Dillon
- MSA Legend, On-Trak, fiddles, mandos

Karen Sarkisian · From: Boston, MA, USA

thanks Tom, I found a used 15" combo at guitar center that i am going to try out...
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Dave Hopping · From: Aurora, Colorado

Karen-
How did the tryout go?

Karen Sarkisian · From: Boston, MA, USA

its getting shipped to my local guitar center so I havent tried it yet. will do tomorrow. I miss having a 15" speaker so i think it will be great..
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Jeff Rady · From: Colorado, USA

I ordered the Amp 50W and 100W Version, with plans of returning one of them. I returned the 100w version. I play guitar and steel. I was able to get more tone out of the 50W for both instruments. It seems like I just couldn't get as nice overdriven amp tone for guitar with the 100W, and for steel the 100W didn't seem to to have enough character. Can't really explain it, but the 50 W just seemed tonally more interesting for both instruments. I was playing out of a Telonics 15 inch.
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b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

I use the Half and Half 15". It's light weight, sets up quickly (just plug it in), and works well in any venue, indoors or outside. There's plenty of power if you need it, or you can use input 2 for low volume play and practice.

The idea of The Amp just didn't appeal to me. Don't know why.
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