Fender vs. Peavey amps

[Aron Odin Kristensen]

Hello! I am considering buying a Peavey Nashville as a christmas gift to myself this year. This is mostly because i feel like i should get an amp that is generally considered great for steel. However, i have heard that Lloyd Green used a Fender Twin with JBL speakers on the "In Person" live album by Charley Pride in 1968, which might be my favorite steel guitar sound ever. I know a keyboard player that has a Fender Twin with vintage JBL speakers, and i might be able to convince him to sell it to me.

Does anyone on the forum have a recording that directly compares Peavey and Fender amps? Could not find any comparison on YouTube. I would love to hear how they differ, sound-wise.

[Lane Gray]

I recorded a 3-amp shootout between a Milkman, a Twin (with a 15) and a Session 400, found here
https://youtu.be/uBpSbKqCFmA?si=oWuQsEwn97ImnLgf
I find the Session 400 sweeter than the Nashville, but only slightly.

[Aron Odin Kristensen]

Thats a very pleasant tone from the Peavey, Lane! I might have to go with a Peavey after skipping back and forth between the Peavey and the Fender in your video... Thanks for replying!

[Clyde Mattocks]

That's nice 3 way test. I have an old Session 400 and Twin Tone Master. I prefer my Session, but you make your Twin sound very good. I can't get that kind of clarity our of mine. Thanks for the demo.

[Lane Gray]

Clyde, I think I kinda used something like the same system for the twin as I did Peaveys
Set everything at 12, then play as I run the bass up til it gets "woofy" then back it off.
Then play as I run the mids up until I get the right balance of sweet and "nasal honk".
Then run the highs up until I get amount of bite that I want.
But the bass must always be hotter than the mids, and the mids hotter than the treble.

[Bob Carlucci]

In my mind no solid state amp anywhere compares to a good fender as far as clean sound for a pedal steel... However, there are just as many if not more that feel opposite, and like the peavey SS amps better for steel by a long shot.. 60's and well into the 70's it was mostly Fender ,,, From about 1976 onward until today, SS amps [ Peavey,Evans- Standel for a few guys} have become the standard for the majority.. LOTS of good players still use nothing but Fender tube amps.. It all depends on what you like I suppose.. Neither is "better" than the other, its all about which you like better.

[D Schubert]

The solid-state Peavey amp can tumble down a flight of stairs and will probably work just fine afterwards. The tube Fender amp will not. Not as important as tone, but still important.

[Bob Carlucci]

Fender amps have very good durability.. No tube amp is as tough as a 70's Peavey, but by the same token, NO amp from any maker should be subjected to a tumble down a flight of stairs.. As noted earlier, Fender amps were the standard for a long time, and over the decades i have heard very few complaints about their reliability....bob

[Brett Lanier]

A Fender with JBL’s is usually pretty great, but most of what you like about that Panther Hall sound (besides Lloyd) is that Sho-Bud fingertip.

A good sounding Sho-Bud through even a new Peavey will give you a pretty classic 60’s-70’s sound, whereas a newish all pull guitar with humbuckers through an old twin will still sound pretty smooth and modern.

[Colin Boutilier]

The solid-state Peavey amp can tumble down a flight of stairs and will probably work just fine afterwards. The tube Fender amp will not. Not as important as tone, but still important.

If my Twin takes a tumble down the stairs, I hope my car is parked near the bottom. Otherwise, its going to live there now.

If money were no object, I'd buy a Twin to leave at every venue I frequent.

[Lane Gray]

I've found that, with the right settings, the original Session 400 can sound as near to a Twin as a solid state can get. Much as I love my Milkman, I'm never getting rid of my 400.

[Bob Carlucci]

I had an original silver knob 70's session 400 and IMHO it was way better sounding than the many Peavey SS amps I had after... matter of fact, I still have an old Peavey Musician head[silver knob] 200 watts RMS, that I like just as much as the old Session 400 amps.. Through a single 15 cab with an old Weber California it is a powerful,clean , and warm old school sound,, Peavey changed something in the later amps, and they just sounded different than the older silver knob amps.. Don't know what that change was, but I could hear it... bob