The Milkman 85W Pedal Steel Amplifier is a Milkman amplifier. Close alternatives include the Friedman BE-50 Deluxe and the Two-Rock TRCR100HD 100W Classic Reverb Tube Guitar Amp Head. It pairs well with the Marshall Guv'nor and the Zvex Fuzz Probe.
Milkman 85W Pedal Steel Amplifier
Milkman · amplifier
The Milkman 85W Pedal Steel is a hand-wired boutique amplifier built in San Francisco by Tim Marcus specifically for the demands of pedal steel guitar, a strong quad of 6L6 output tubes that Marcus conservatively rates at 85 watts but that can realistically push past 115 watts, running through a turret-board hand-wired construction with bespoke Soursound transformers and Jupiter capacitors. John Mayer picked one up in November 2014 and publicly praised it as one of the best new guitar amps he'd heard in a long time, later detailing a tube swap, a JAN 5751 in the V1 preamp stage, to fine-tune its character further, an unusual and specific piece of gear for a guitarist better known for his Two-Rock and Fender-based rig than for pedal steel-oriented amplification.
- boutique
- stage
- clarity
- preamp
- transformer
- more saturated tones
- driven
- country
Good for
- Live
- Studio
Genres the Milkman 85W Pedal Steel Amplifier is commonly used in
- Country
- Rock
Pedals that stack with the Milkman 85W Pedal Steel Amplifier
Marshall Guv'nor
Marshall
25% matchThe transparent tone has headroom to spare — Marshall Guv'nor gives it mid-forward to fill it with
Zvex Fuzz Probe
Zvex
22% matchThe transparent tone has headroom to spare — Zvex Fuzz Probe gives it fuzzy to fill it with
Carl Martin PlexiTone
Carl Martin
22% matchRun Carl Martin PlexiTone into that transparent platform and it finally gets some high gain
Boss BF-2 Flanger
Boss
13% matchPut Boss BF-2 Flanger after Milkman 85W Pedal Steel Amplifier in the signal chain, clear of Milkman 85W Pedal Steel Amplifier's own gain stage
Wampler Mini Ego 76 Compressor
Wampler
10% matchWampler Mini Ego 76 Compressor's own compressed character is the real reason this is worth trying
Dunlop MXR M299 Carbon Copy Mini
Dunlop
9% matchMilkman 85W Pedal Steel Amplifier leans into a clean amp's front end, precisely the platform Dunlop MXR M299 Carbon Copy Mini wants — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Strymon BigSky
Strymon
7% matchPut Strymon BigSky in Milkman 85W Pedal Steel Amplifier's effects loop, clear of Milkman 85W Pedal Steel Amplifier's own gain stage — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Tone City Dry Martini
Tone City
tonal matchTone City Dry Martini is voiced for a clean amp's front end — Milkman 85W Pedal Steel Amplifier gives it exactly that
Alternativessee all similar tone character →
Friedman BE-50 Deluxe
Friedman
93% similaritysimilar tone character
Two-Rock TRCR100HD 100W Classic Reverb Tube Guitar Amp Head
amplifier
92% similaritysimilar tone character
Sunn 100s
amplifier
91% similaritysimilar tone character
Fargen Micro Plex Full Stack
Fargen
91% similaritysimilar tone character
Bogner Ecstasy 3534
Bogner
91% similaritysimilar tone character
Blackstar HT Stage 100 Head MkII
Blackstar
91% similaritysimilar tone character
Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp
Mesa Boogie
90% similaritysimilar tone character
Blackstar Artisan 100
Blackstar
90% similaritysimilar tone character
Mesa Boogie Mark I
Mesa Boogie
90% similaritysimilar tone character
Reinhardt The Storm 33
Reinhardt
90% similaritysimilar tone character
See all alternatives to the Milkman 85W Pedal Steel Amplifier (cheaper + boutique) →
Questions people ask
What are good alternatives to the Milkman 85W Pedal Steel Amplifier?+
The closest matches in character are the Friedman BE-50 Deluxe, the Two-Rock TRCR100HD 100W Classic Reverb Tube Guitar Amp Head, the Sunn 100s.
What pairs well with the Milkman 85W Pedal Steel Amplifier?+
Strong matches from rig and tone-complementarity evidence: Marshall Guv'nor, Zvex Fuzz Probe, Carl Martin PlexiTone — The transparent tone has headroom to spare — Marshall Guv'nor gives it mid-forward to fill it with.