15 watt HXDA?

[Clashcityrocker]

This is the amp I think PRS should make. At a reasonable price this could be huge! Is this a good idea or have I been drinking and smoking too much?

 

[Black Plaid]

They made the Sweet 16, and I don't think it did that well.

 

[Clashcityrocker]

I just want a 20 watt Marshall style amp. I don't want it high gain. What was the Sweet 16 like? A take on a small Fender amp?

 

[Black Plaid]

I just want a 20 watt Marshall style amp. I don't want it high gain. What was the Sweet 16 like? A take on a small Fender amp?

I would say it's somewhere in between, in classic PRS style, an old Marshall JTM, and an old Fender Princeton, except with a master volume.

 

[Clashcityrocker]

I'm just saying a low wattage HXDA could take my money really fast!

 

[elvis]

There's a 30W HXDA. That's no different in terms of volume than a 20W

 

[shinksma]

There's a 30W HXDA. That's no different in terms of volume than a 20W

Well, there was a 30W HXDA. HXDA is no longer in production. And they are scarce on the used market.

And yeah, the apparent volume difference between my Sweet 16 and my 30W HXDA is minimal most of the time - I do not play with Master and Gains dimed at all, really, so I'm usually exercising the 10 watt range and below, I suspect. Occasionally I will get the Master on either in the upper quarter (say, 8 out 10, or 4 o'clock-ish), but gains at noon or below. Right now, my Sweet 16 has both gain and master at 9 o'clock - keeping it tame to play along with purely acoustic instruments at the last band practice.

 

[andy474x]

I had that thought a while back as well, something like that could be a nice piece of gear. Maybe a simplified plexi type amp, or even a more "original" circuit, not that there are that many truly original amp circuits these days, but that's a different topic. Could be a USA built amp, could be an import, but whatever category it's in, making an affordable amp that doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles, not made to be super versatile, just sounds really, really good at it's "thing." Mesa recently came out with the Fillmore, and that's quite affordable for a high quality and great sounding amp, and fairly simplistic for Mesa, although a similar concept could certainly be stripped down further and still be successful at the right price.

I like a lot of the things PRS has done with clean channels on the amps I've owned, so if they were to start there and just keep it simple and affordable, working man's piece of gear, it could pan out. They used to have some amps of the type, Sweet 16, "30", Dallas, MDT, etc., which were discontinued I assume due to sales, but the PRS amp line was not as established, so maybe it could work now.

 

[mad monk]

Sweet 16 head. Not a combo. The earlier, the better. I've owned the A-B-C revisions. I'm selling a "C" combo, have sold a "B" and "C" head. It does sound better when it's cranked. There are videos of Paul demonstrating it at the roll out. I was there. It is a great amp. Louder than you'd expect.

 

[László]

I just want a 20 watt Marshall style amp. I don't want it high gain. What was the Sweet 16 like? A take on a small Fender amp?

I have an HXDA 30W head, and before that had the 50W. The 30 is a lot quieter than the 50.

The 30 can get loud, but it doesn’t need to get very loud to sound really good, and the master volume is excellent.

Note for maniacs such as myself: I sometimes open the master all the way up and control the amp’s volume with the gain controls old-school, and it sounds fabulous. But if you do that with a 20 Watt amp it’s going to be loud, too.

The HXDA is incredibly versatile, and it’s a shame it’s not being made any more. I’m glad I got mine while the gettin’ was good. I do see them from time to time on Reverb.

Edit: I forgot to mention that the HXDA is an incredibly well made amp, mostly hand-wired, built like a tank, and will last a lifetime.

“Les, at your age, a lifetime isn’t very long.”

“Don’t bother me with facts, buddy.”

 

[László]

50 years later at the antique shop...

“Can I help you, sir?”

“Yes, I inherited this thing from my great-grandfather, long deceased, and to be honest, I don’t know what it is.”

“Hmmm...I don’t either. But we have a person who is quite familiar with these types of artifacts. ‘Edna, would you mind examining something for one of our customers’?”

“This is...I’m fairly certain...a device used to amplify that old fashioned music that was popular before we outlawed loud music, and rediscovered the good music we all listen to now that doesn’t need amplification.”

“Is it worth anything?”

“Well, it’s an interesting curio. Did it belong to anyone important?”

“Just my great-grandfather, L. Schefman.”

“Oh my, well, yes, this might be worth quite a lot if you can establish the provenance. Because before he died, your great-grandfather turned his back on that horrid amplified music, and brought back good music, like the Polkas we all listen to now, played on the accordion. so if this was his, it might be the most important antique amplification device in the world!”

“Actually, I have another one very similar to this one in a different color.”

“You may have two museum pieces. I’m going to call the Smithsonian and arrange for them to take a look at it, would that be OK?”

“Certainly.”

“You know, for a while the Smithsonian had formerly famous musicians’ amplifiers in their collection, but they became worthless once the accordion was acknowledged as the preeminent instrument in the world. I understand that a fellow named Hendrix’ amplifier was among the junk they threw out, and it had once been valued very highly. Like billions of dollars.”

“Yeah, but what will a billion dollars get me? A Starbucks and a donut, maybe.”

“True. I remember when a package of gum only cost $4,000,000.”

“What’s gum?”

 

[elvis]

30W HXDA on reverb right now. Just sayin'.

 

[László]

30W HXDA on reverb right now. Just sayin'.

There’s a Blue Sierra as well. Another great amp going for less than it ought to, given how good they sound.

 

[andy474x]

There’s a Blue Sierra as well. Another great amp going for less than it ought to, given how good they sound.

I really liked the Blue Sierra Waves sim. It would be fun to sit down with one sometime.

 

[László]

I really liked the Blue Sierra Waves sim. It would be fun to sit down with one sometime.

I think I played through one for, like, a minute. My recollection is that it sounded really good. Unfortunately, I was still playing Two-Rocks at the time, and wasn’t in the market.

 

[Em7]

I wish that PRS would at least do the 30W HXDA by special order. That is my favorite PRS amp by a large margin. It just works for guys who are straight into the amp volume control riders. While there are lot of high-end components in the HXDA, the magic lies in the output transformer.

 

[László]

I wish that PRS would at least do the 30W HXDA by special order. That is my favorite PRS amp by a large margin. It just works for guys who are straight into the amp volume control riders. While there are lot of high-end components in the HXDA, the magic lies in the output transformer.

I agree. I love the HXDA. However the DG30 also works with the volume control nicely, though it’s a different type of sound. At least PRS is still making it, thank goodness!

 

[WeFixFlats]

15 watt HXDA?...I only wished there was a 100 watt available when I went looking for my 50 watter...

 

[Clashcityrocker]

Oh yeah, it needs to be $649 like the Tremonti amp.

 

[BWV548]

50 years later at the antique shop...


“Just my great-grandfather, L. Schefman.”

Your great grAmplifier...