Is the PRS Archon 50 the amp I am looking for?

A

andross182

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Hey everyone!

I am currently searching for a new amp and am wondering what your experiences with the Archon family are and wanted to check and see if it would meet my needs.

I currently own a 2x12 Mesa Boogie Roadster combo, and while I do enjoy the master volume feature, the drive channels have the usual fizz to them that Mesas tend to have at lower volumes. I purchased a rectoverb 25 head and a matching 1x12 cabinet but not only does this amp not have a master volume, it seems to go from off to LOUD extremely quickly, I guess this is a known occurrence with these amps, as the pot ends lift from their contact on the extreme ends of the dial.

I play the Roadster on 50 watts and the Rectoverb 25 on 25 watts however I am looking for something...more. I have watched probably every Archon video on youtube (and even sat through the 45 minute Chappers/The Captian/Andertons review video) and I absolutely love the sound.

I am still on the fence about combo vs head, and whether or not I should just go for broke and get the plum archon 100 head (if they are still available) as it would match my violet tremonti. The cabinet I would pair the amp with would be a mesa 2x12 vertical cabinet if I went the head route.

What do you guys think? Are there any Mesa players here who decided to go down the Archon path?
 
I find that playing almost any high gain tube amp at low volumes produces a lot of fizz. Disclaimer, though, is that I don't have an Archon.

Word on the street is Mark is working with PRS right now to make an even lower wattage and more affordable version of the Archon for home use. Might be worth waiting for!
 
I have an Archon and love it.

I do not have a Mesa and don't know whether I'd love it or not. Sorry.

I also have an MDT, two Riveras and a Fender and love all of them (although not equally), so I may just love amps.

That's all I got.

Go purple!
 
andy474x said:
I find that playing almost any high gain tube amp at low volumes produces a lot of fizz. Disclaimer, though, is that I don't have an Archon.

Word on the street is Mark is working with PRS right now to make an even lower wattage and more affordable version of the Archon for home use. Might be worth waiting for!
Click to expand...

I suspect that the Archon SE probably won't be shown till NAMM 2016 from Tremonti comments about it being a pro to in early stages
 
I don't notice the fizz on the Archon (100/50 head - either setting). I have a Mark IV that I never quite bonded with, but the Archon's gain seems to be a bit more well-rounded than the stereotypical metal fizz you seem to get from pedals and other amps. I can say that the Archon seems to keep its tone at lower volumes, and there's a ton of range on the gain channel.
 
13bats said:
I suspect that the Archon SE probably won't be shown till NAMM 2016 from Tremonti comments about it being a pro to in early stages
Click to expand...

I am a big fan of lunch box amps, I did see the video with Mark talking about it, wish we had a better time frame of the amp though.
 
I recently " downsized" from a peavey triple xxx half stack and a Mesa tremoverb half stack to a Mesa mini mark with a 1x12 thiele cab and an Archon 25 combo plugged through a Mesa rectifier 2x12 cab. Both amps ran at half power don't have any fuzz really. They both have their own distinct sound. Like em both. I wish the Archon 25 came in a head version though. I'd say you can't go wrong with any of the Archons.

Interested to hear more about this other archon model.
 
I have an Archon 100W, which has a 50W mode, and it is very usable at all volume levels - although I must say I really like the higher volume settings...I SAID I REALLY LIKE THE HIGHER VOLUME SETTINGS!

Sorry... :)

I use my Archon in both 100W and 50W modes, and both sound very nice. I would imagine the 50W Archon (that has a 25W mode) would be very nice at full volume and just as usable, if not even more consistent, at lower volumes.

I say go for it, but I'm biased, like a tube.
 
Should I...shouldn't I....what do you think...I dunno...cavils and caveats...

If you think it will be the amp for you, just buy it. Obviously what you have isn't cutting it for what you want, and you like what you heard in the Archon clips. That's all it comes down to in the end.

The rest is just rationalization. Desire to get a certain sound can't be reasoned, it's emotional. Either you can get it from what you have, or not. If not, the only questions are, "Can I afford a new amp, " and "How many watts do I need?"

By the way, get a purple one.

And you need 100 watts. ;)
 
Last edited:
Yeah, it's not watts, it's gain. And contrary to the designers' intentions, it does sound really good at low volumes. I just found an application in which I prefer it to my beloved MDT.
 
Guess I'll put in a call to my sweetwater rep tomorrow and see if he can get a purple 100 watt head!
 
I spoke with my sweetwater rep and he said that the plum archon 100 isn't even in their system, but he assumes they are getting them, depending on how limited the production run was anyway...
 
It was pretty limited -- he'd need to contact the distributor and see if they have any left. That's how I got my cabs -- I waited until the last day of July to express my interest, and they had already made all they were going to make.
 
Great job guys! No one said, "this way to the methadone clinic", you said, "here, use my syringe!" :laugh:

Every PRS amp I've plugged into was impressive. Some more than others, but all were solid, quality instruments. Finding one that speaks to you is the fun part of the search, but trusting in the brand is easy. Good luck! :cool:
 
Hah! Right? Archon 100 vs Archon 50, this decision is going to drive me mad! As far as my actual use of it, I play every Sunday at church. The current guitarist uses a hot rod deluxe III which is why I was kind of leaning toward the archon 50 combo...but being that the archon head is smaller anyway it would look oh so nice sitting on a Mesa vert 2x12....
 
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