New Peavey Steel Amp

Tom Quinn · Post by **Tom Quinn** » 29 May 2011 7:26 am

My first-year 1974 Session 400 with an EV 8 ohm bass speaker is still the best sounding steel amp I've ever played. I don't even play steel anymore, don't own one, but I'm hanging onto that amp. Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky someday and get another Emmons original...

Nashville 400s are okay too if you are too weak to carry a full-size Session 400. Great amp for old guys...

Bob Snelgrove · Post by **Bob Snelgrove** » 29 May 2011 12:06 pm

Tom Quinn wrote:My first-year 1974 Session 400 with an EV 8 ohm bass speaker is still the best sounding steel amp I've ever played. I don't even play steel anymore, don't own one, but I'm hanging onto that amp. Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky someday and get another Emmons original...

Nashville 400s are okay too if you are too weak to carry a full-size Session 400. Great amp for old guys...

EVM-15B, not L?

bob

James Yoder · Post by **James Yoder** » 29 May 2011 12:46 pm

Tom is that a 12 or 15 ,, Jim Yoder

Tom Quinn · Post by **Tom Quinn** » 29 May 2011 1:24 pm

Sorry, Altec Lansing 421A 8 ohm 15" Bass speaker. Don't know why I was thinking Electro-Voice...

James Yoder · Post by **James Yoder** » 29 May 2011 1:29 pm

Thank you much Tom

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 2 Jun 2011 5:48 pm

Dave H. said:

Me,I'd like to see a Session 500 RI with a Neo speaker and one of those lightweight power amps.

Amen... If it didn't affect the sound of the old Session 500. Great tone, but too heavy and too awkward to carry (like the Fender Super Reverb). I unfortunately had a lemon S500. It died several times on me under warranty and I switched to a Nashville 400 in 1983, and that amp and speaker (BW 1502) have not even burped in the last 28 years. I did have Ken Fox do his upgrade a couple of years ago and made a great amp even better.

Regarding the BW speakers used in the NV400, I have a 1502-4 in mine (original speaker), so the run of NV 400's started with the 1502 and changed to the 1501 later. I still prefer the 1502 over the 1501. Much fuller sound, better tone in the bass - the 1502 seriously lacked the same "body" in the bottom end (I also had another NV400 with the 1501).

Bob Watson · Post by **Bob Watson** » 2 Jun 2011 8:19 pm

The Session 400 and the LTD are my favorite PSG amps. I like the other Peavey Steel amps but none of them ever sounded as good as a Session 400 or LTD to me. I've heard some Nashville 400's that were modified that sounded great but I've never had the chance to play through one.

Jonathan Mitguard · Post by **Jonathan Mitguard** » 12 Jun 2011 10:17 am

[quote="Greg Cutshaw"]Maybe the availability of super low cost amps like the Gallien-Krueger MB200 200W Ultra Light have killed the interest in combo amps. Now you can mix and match your amp with different neodymium speaker cabs. Roll your own super lite combo or split them for ridiculously low separate weights."
Greg are you using one of these? 2lbs and 200w is intriguing. Of course I've gotten way into tube tone but perhaps a black box in the line would do it.

Bob Snelgrove · Post by **Bob Snelgrove** » 12 Jun 2011 10:25 am

Jonathan Mitguard wrote:
Greg Cutshaw wrote:Maybe the availability of super low cost amps like the Gallien-Krueger MB200 200W Ultra Light have killed the interest in combo amps. Now you can mix and match your amp with different neodymium speaker cabs. Roll your own super lite combo or split them for ridiculously low separate weights."
Greg are you using one of these? 2lbs and 200w is intriguing. Of course I've gotten way into tube tone but perhaps a black box in the line would do it.
What about the tube preamp MB's? Best of both worlds?

bob

Ken Byng · Post by **Ken Byng** » 12 Jun 2011 11:57 am

I have around 8 Peavey amps in my garage. The best one for me by a mile is the NV400. The worst was the Session 500. Big, bulky and heavy, it was also the most unreliable of all of the Peavey amps that I owned. My Nashville 400 gave me 25 years of unbroken service. I don't get the Peavey 112 - it doesn't ring my bell for live gigs, although I have heard Buck Reid and Tommy White sound great through them.

My main amp is a Bradshaw Webb amp, which is vastly superior to anything else that I have played through. I have a Black Widow 1501 in it with a Neo magnet. Awesome sound.

Curt Langston · Post by **Curt Langston** » 12 Jun 2011 1:48 pm

Bob

What about the tube preamp MB's? Best of both worlds?

Maybe..............

But............

How about this?

Shazam!

600 watts of pure sweetness!

Oh yeah...................

Hiro Keitora · Post by **Hiro Keitora** » 13 Jun 2011 7:02 pm

Curt, I play through that Genz Benz. The EQ responce is very "steel" friendly as is. You can scoop "mid" at the right spot.

Of course, the speaker cabinet is Marrs Ultra-lite with 1501-4 Neo in it. Great match!

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 14 Jun 2011 3:38 am

I need another new amp so my medocre playing sounds better

So far, the N400, Twin Reverb, 67 Showman etc are not making me sound any better...it's definitely the amp...

David Mason · Post by **David Mason** » 14 Jun 2011 6:44 pm

Yup, buy your way to talent. It's the only hope. Quit all that damn practicing so you can get a second job, and then you can afford the very best.

Hiro Keitora · Post by **Hiro Keitora** » 14 Jun 2011 6:59 pm

Hey, anything inspires you musically and make you smile, go for it.

Then again, something to be said about rigging around $6,000 worth of stuff to a bar/grill and stay up till 4:00am for what we get paid, second job starts to look really good---

Chris Schlotzhauer · Post by **Chris Schlotzhauer** » 15 Jun 2011 2:31 am

I have an older Nville 400. I never use it.
I have a Nville 400, un-modded. It sounds great plugged straight into the amp, but I need a POD with all of the different types of music I play. For some reason the 400 doesn't work well with the PODxt.
So my main rig is a Nville1000 and the POD works great though that amp.
Can't figure that one out for the life of me

Edward LeVasseur · Post by **Edward LeVasseur** » 18 Jun 2011 5:15 pm

Too bad about Peavey not wanting to develop more amps for Steel,Steel guitarists have been supporting Peavey all these years

Steve Spitz · Post by **Steve Spitz** » 19 Jun 2011 1:24 pm

I`m betting Peavey has done the research on the profitability of developing a new steel amp. The size of the market (small) likely doesn`t make financial sense for them to do it now, particularly at a time when many have less diposable income. I wouldn`t look at it as ignoring or abandoning the steel community.

Like any company that wants to stay in business, if the profit justifies the R+D costs, they make a new steel amp. If not.... No new steel amp.

Mike Brown · Post by **Mike Brown** » 20 Jun 2011 8:12 am

Thanks for the explanation Steve. You are correct...........it has to be a profitable venture in order to persue it and the state of the U.S. economy does not justify the costs involved. What happened to Webb amps, Evans amps and even Fender Steel King? Especially the Steel King as it was short lived. A good educated guess tells me that Fender did not see it as a worthwhile venture and dropped the idea.

Edward, please understand that Peavey Electronics supported the steel guitar community for 35 or more years when other amplifier manufacturers did not. We are proud of this accomplishment and would proudly continue developing new ideas for steel amps. To be honest with you, how many steel guitarists think that the newer steels are better than their old Shobuds. Probably none. It's the same with music, most people love older music than the new..................and I don't expect that to change either.

Just a thought.

Roger Francis · Post by **Roger Francis** » 20 Jun 2011 12:03 pm

Thank you Mike and PV for all your support over the years, we appreciate it or at least most of us do.

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 20 Jun 2011 1:08 pm

What happened to...Evans amps...

Click Here

Ken Byng · Post by **Ken Byng** » 21 Jun 2011 3:33 am

Double post

Ken Byng · Post by **Ken Byng** » 21 Jun 2011 3:36 am

Mike Brown wrote:
What happened to...Webb amps...
Click Here

An update on the future of the Webb amp is at the top of the page.

Ted Tonjes · Post by **Ted Tonjes** » 17 Jul 2011 3:36 am

I love my NV 112 however if I could only get rid of this annoying hum. I've asked several (qualified) people however no solution for that so far...

Ted

Paddy Long · Post by **Paddy Long** » 18 Jul 2011 8:10 pm

Mike - just keep on making those wonderful Black Widow 1501-4's !!!!!!

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