Oh, yeah...Solomon Ho'opi'i Ka'ai'ai is the king of Hawaiian guitar. His later work
on electric lap steel (after he became a follower of Aimee Semple McPherson) was just
not as flashy or exuberant as his early 78's. Both volumes of his Rounder releases
are well worth owning.
As far as a Twin Reverb goes, that should be a great amp for steel. Here's what Jerry
Byrd has to say about it in the book "The Hawaiian Steel Guitar and Its Great Hawaiian
Musicians" (edited by Lorene Ruymar, published by Centerstream Press):
"My personal preference in an amplifier is the older-style tube amp. I use a Fender
Twin. I keep the volume set at about 4 on a scale of 1-10, the reverb at 4 as well. I
like the treble turned almost off and the bass nearly wide open. The final adjustment
in tone is done on the guitar itself, keeping the volume wide open on the guitar."
I guess it depends on the type of sound you're trying to get. A Twin will be
extremely clean at just about any volume. If you want a bit of bite to your sound,
consider getting a smaller amp (the Fender Pro Junior or a Deluxe Reverb) and cranking
it to eleven.
It could just be your National, you know. Some of those old National pickups haven't
held up as well as other guitar pickups such as Fender or Gibson.
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Brad's Page of Steel:
http://www.well.com/user/wellvis/steel.html
A web site devoted to acoustic and electric lap steel guitars
