The Musings of a newb as it relates to amps

[Corey Vierra]

Hello all,

Long time guitar player, first time seeing the guitar looking back up at me.

I was going to write a clever preface, but I haven’t finished all my Christmas shopping yet, so I’ll keep it to the point.

I have gathered that the vast majority of lap steel players prefer lots of headroom and clean tones as the baseline with which to play through. It makes sense. However, the very first electric amplifiers which tended to be bought along side their 6 string counterparts (one would be useless without the other) were not exactly mini Twins or light weight Hiwatts as far a headroom goes.

So I guess the question is: Are the Vivitones and EH-125/150/185 and similar ilk, , considered to be a suitable choice for Lap steel guitar nowadays?

I began to wonder this after hearing Charlie Christian’s name being referenced with the old Gibson’s amps all over the place. Initially I was a little excited to learn that Christian had played a lap steel guitar, as well. But alas I was not keen enough to understand otherwise.

So to circle back to myself. Having recently acquired an old Gibson Lap steel, should I even be entertaining the thought of buying an ES-150 amp (for lap steel playing)?

Are EH-150’s/185’s amps still considered viable choices for lap steels?

In my current stable of amps is a 1965 Fender Deluxe (non reverb) that sounds pretty damn good if i do say so myself.

End of transmission.

[Stephen Cowell]

I have a mint condition '41 EH150 guitar... would love to have the twin amp for this... but as far as playing, any amp will do. I think you'll find lap steelers like more dirt and compression than pedal steelers... I have a small tube amp collection (BF Champ, '61 tweed Falcon, '61 brown Princeton, etc) that are perfect, nothing beats a pair of 6V6's through a 15w alnico 12 cranked. Peddlers tend to favor monster solid-state amps, and if it's got twin aluminum strips down the sides it's gotta be good. I have Nashville 400 and Nashville 1000... but the monster Twin Reverb 130w with dual EV12L's rules. Except... for when the Strat comes out and I want to let the next county know, then the Marshall C&C 4140 is the Voice Of God.

You can have too many guitars... you *cannot* have too many amps.

[Nathan Laudenbach]

If you listen to lap steel from the thirties, some of the earliest electric guitar recording ever and compare them to just a a couple decades later the tone changed quite a bit. I love the tone of Dick Mcintires playing, in my opinion it was dirty and nasally and compressed which is a tone you can get through a small tune amp cranked up a bit. Then listen to Jerry Byrd playing throwing his Twin a few decades later and his tone is big a clean. I guess you’d want to find the lap steel recording you like the most and get an amp based on that sound. But if you have a chance to grab an old Gibson EH amplifier I wouldn’t hesitate.

Most lap steel people I know prefer the sound of a 12” speaker. I personally like a 10” speaker as long as the transformer is large enough to support some low end. I know people go on and on about tubes, but I feel that a speaker is the most component of an amplifier to get the right tone.

[Corey Vierra]

Thanks to the both of you. Both replies helped cement things that had already been leaning toward. With conventional guitar one of my favorite ways to amp up is the ‘65 blackface Deluxe on one side, and the ‘61 brownface Deluxe on the other.

With that said, I was able to procure a 1941 ES 185 amp today. (I had come this close to pulling the trigger on a Magnatone panoramic stereo only hours prior. Was also seriously scoping out the Carr Rambler). As it turns out all three were damn near the same price. It’s still hard to fully comprehend that I bought a piece of electronics that’s almost a century old.

Again I appreciate the sage advice that i have received thus far, and welcome more opinions on the matter whichever way they may fall.