PRS Amp With Cleanest Tone.

tabl10s

New Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2012
Messages
843
1Oct will make 40 years since I purchased my last amp, but I have the bug again. Which PRS do you think would be a good match for me?

How do they compare to Two Rock, Dumble or Trainwreck? Was the JMod the ultimate amp(I have a fully loaded, low-hour, Mark IIC+).
 
@LSchefman @RickP and @DreamTheaterRules are your guys.

I believe HX/DA, Archon and DG amps are well thought of.

Depends on what you want to use it for and if you’re happy to purchase used, as I don’t believe they are in production at the moment.

However you may find NOS.
 
Compare, quality-wise? As well if not more so, especially if you target an older CAD amp. If you’re looking for a Two Rock, Dumble, or Trainwreck experience, you won’t find that type amp from Doug. It’s just not his thing.

However, as a 30+ year owner of a MkIII, investing in a Super Dallas has been very rewarding. Unlike the Boogie, the SuperD is a fantastic pedal platform that lets the amp personality shine through with the right pedals and can really transform it into a different beast. A diverse direction than Randall Smith’s approach.

The entire Dallas line is great and doesn’t get much lime light, but the HXDA and Archon are also beauties in their own right. You owe it to yourself to find all that you can and audition them all.
 
Clean is so subjective also as to the flavor you prefer. I like a little hair on the clean instead of squeaky clean.
This. Define "clean".

If you mean truly no "hair" or "dirt", just the electric guitar sound EQed through an amp and made louder with a bit of natural compression, the Archon has a great Clean channel. And because it is a two ch amp, the Lead channel is good and crunchy.

If you like to be able to get a great clean tone, but also add dirt at higher gain settings, the DG or HXDA are probably what you want, as they are fantastic single channel amps.
 
Clean tone is largely a function of headroom, and it mostly controlled by the power limits of the preamp/power tubes and the construction/number of the speakers used. While you can get a squeaky clean tone from a 15 or 20 watt amp, it will only do so to moderate volume. On the other side, pushing a larger wattage amp to distortion often makes them oppressively loud. A lot of words for a simple reality: your amp has to fit your environment in order to get the clean/distorted tones you want at a volume you can use.

As an option for higher powered amp than your space/ears/neighbors can tolerate, you can get a device like the UA OX Amp Top Box and make it work. You can’t really ramp up a quiet amp as easily without a PA.

Option 3, and something that’s really come along since you last amp purchase, is modeling. I use the Fractal Audio Systems Axe Fx III, and there are other good ones as well. That’s a whole other discussion!

So if you’ll share a little bit about your intended uses (gigging/home/neighbors) and music styles or maybe some artists or songs that are examples of what you’re going for, and the guys here can make suggestions from that. You have an awesome and flexible amp already, so you can take your time wading in. The IIC+ is one of the amps I’d like to add when I can, so you’re in a good place.

BTW, I’ve never owned or played a Dumble or Trainwreck, but they sound very different to me on recordings. The Two Rock I played was more mid-focused, maybe between the brighter, grindier Trainwreck and the more muscular sounding Dumble. The only amp I have that’ll bridge that much ground (besides the Axe Fx) is the Mesa Road King II, due to its ability to mix and match power tubes. I’ll be interested to see what suggestions come up here!
 
Turn down the gain and turn up the master on any of the single channel PRS amps, and you have a killer clean tone. So it's awfully hard to say.

I've owned quite a few Two-Rocks (Dumble style amps), and they have a lovely clean tone. I've had a Komet (Trainwreck style amp) in the studio and played it long enough to know that I liked it very much, enough that I'd consider getting one if in the market for another amp (headroom depends on the model).

My two favorite amps here are the HXDA and the DG30, both of which stand up well to my old Two-Rocks and the Komet, and I prefer the PRS amps for the way they do "edge of breakup."

When it comes to liking a clean tone, you really have to play the amp and see. I should also mention that the preamp tubes used make a huge difference. I use NOS tubes in my amps (RCAs, GE, Brimar, Mullard, Siemens).
 
The Custom 50 also has a good/high headroom clean channel. Similar to the Archon, but maybe just a hair thicker and more harmonically juicy... if you don’t mind me making up adjectives.
 
Big fan of HX/DA cleans, but to be fair I haven't played or owned any of their other models. They're very big and full sounding, very much like Orange, Fender Bassman, Marshall Lead50/Bass50 amps of the 60's-70's. \

IMHO, YMMV, Batteries Not Included, Some Assembly Required, etc.
 
Another vote for NOS tube cocktails. I was sad when my last =C= EL34s died.

I honestly prefer the NOS Siemens EL34s by quite a lot. Tighter bass, more balanced highs. You can still find them at fairly reasonable NOS prices.
 
That’s a solid recommendation. Thanks!

Welcome! Most of the Siemens EL34s on the market were made in Germany before or during the early 1980s. RFT (East Germany) also made OEM Siemens tubes once West German manufacture stopped, but I don't know the timings on when that was. However, they're excellent tubes.

If memory serves, Doug Sewell recommended them.
 
Welcome! Most of the Siemens EL34s on the market were made in Germany before or during the early 1980s. RFT (East Germany) also made OEM Siemens tubes once West German manufacture stopped, but I don't know the timings on when that was. However, they're excellent tubes.

If memory serves, Doug Sewell recommended them.
...and Mesa still sells them @ $180.00 a pair. Last time I bought a pair of pairs - I don't remember them costing that much.
 
i'm confused by "HX/DA" and "clean" being used in the same sentence.

If you turn down the guitar, it cleans up like a champion and sounds fantastic. Don't be confused. This can actually be done, just the way Hendrix did it.

For that matter, try it on a good fuzz. Cleans right up, another Hendrix trick he did on lots of tracks.
 
If you turn down the guitar, it cleans up like a champion and sounds fantastic. Don't be confused. This can actually be done, just the way Hendrix did it.

For that matter, try it on a good fuzz. Cleans right up, another Hendrix trick he did on lots of tracks.

Les, does that make it clean amp, or just a grizzly beast of an amp with very little being put into it? ;)
 
Back
Top