another MT-15 thread

vchizzle

Zomb!e Nine, DFZ
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Was doing some random web browsing while watching my football team get pounded, I saw an MT-15 in stock that was only about an hour away. As the game got worse, I called the store and asked them to hold it so I didn't waste the drive time. They did and I went.

Tested it briefly in the store and it sounded good enough to take home. They gave me a nice shiny CU24 to plug in but the cab was Crate with unknown speakers so I wasn't putting a lot of stock in anything. I think I've had it for about 3 weeks or so now.

Did some playing at home through V30 loaded cab and it sounded great. Yes, the lead channel master volume is kinda touchy when trying to dial in bedroom volumes. I found throwing a Boss graphic EQ in the loop with it's dB slider all the way down made a world of difference on the taper of the master volume. A volume pedal probably works to help this as well. Most of the other details have been covered lots already in other threads.

I decided to take it to band rehearsal after only a day a home to see how it would sound. Well, it never made it back home. It sounded fantastic in rehearsals over the last few weeks. The voicing is a little different than the Archon(my normal gigging amp), but similar enough. Maybe I could dial them in more similar, I haven't really tried. I just decided to dial in the MT15 where I thought everything sounded good which is where I left all the knobs set. It cuts through the mix well, I may even like it better in the band mix than the Archon?!?:eek:
I do use an ISP decimator in the loop to quiet things down a little. It's quiet enough in a rock band setting on it's own, but I like to be able to go dead silent when not playing. My playing dynamics with the amp don't change with my setup and I don't hear any tonal difference. I roll off my neck pickup volume all the time to get a clean or crunchy tone. This amp does that every bit as well as the Archon.
All that said, I decided to gig it Thanksgiving eve and it performed great. What's even better is it's nice and light. I honestly think this amp is tough to beat at what it does. I haven't even mentioned the great clean channel. I play it with the boost switch pulled out and it sounds great. I've always said the Archon was a great amp and priced awesome. I gotta say that the MT15 is equally as nice in a smaller, lighter, less expensive package. Bravo to Mark, Doug and PRS for getting this thing to the market. Great work.
 
That's awesome, V. Glad to hear it's working out in the band setting! Love me some MT-15

@DreamTheaterRules, maybe you DO need one of these!
Funny part is I really bought it as an amp to leave downstairs in the man cave and jam on while I’m watching tv. I didn’t really expect it to work as well as it does working the volume knobs on the guitar. Once I heard it was loud and held together on the bottom end, my thoughts shifted a bit. What if I can carry something that’s 1/2 the size and weight and it still sounds as good?

Keep in mind, I haven’t abandoned the Archon. My live rig is set up where I can plug in either amp whenever I want. I will still use it plenty. The volume taper of the 100 watt actually lends itself better to jamming at home. I’ll likely be renewing my Archon love at home for now. I still need to get my home pedalboard up and fully operational.
 
Funny part is I really bought it as an amp to leave downstairs in the man cave and jam on while I’m watching tv. I didn’t really expect it to work as well as it does working the volume knobs on the guitar. Once I heard it was loud and held together on the bottom end, my thoughts shifted a bit. What if I can carry something that’s 1/2 the size and weight and it still sounds as good?

Keep in mind, I haven’t abandoned the Archon. My live rig is set up where I can plug in either amp whenever I want. I will still use it plenty. The volume taper of the 100 watt actually lends itself better to jamming at home. I’ll likely be renewing my Archon love at home for now. I still need to get my home pedalboard up and fully operational.

Completely agree with your take on the Archon and it being better suited for low volume home jamming. I feel the same way about my 50w Archon. I have an ATMA and the MT-15 in the basement. The ATMA is a great low volume solution, but the clean channel leave much to be desired, IMO. I find myself using the MT-15 Clean and a bunch of pedals. Especially since the Clean Channel volume is a little more forgiving on the volume knob. I haven't played the ATMA in quite a while. May have to move it.
 
I haven't played the ATMA in quite a while. May have to move it.

I found that if you play with that tone knob on the clean channel, you can find something you really like. There is definite compromise though if you gravitate towards the "blackface" side of the EQ. IMHO, it adds too much bass along with the treble. I tone that down the the Timmy when I use it. Luckily, I normally go above noon, so towards the tweed side, and it works pretty well there. IMO, if you're a blackface guy, you might struggle with that clean channel with no individual control over bass and treble.

Knob about about 2:00, five watt setting makes for a nice tweed tone. Then set your gain channel to 60s mode with the gain cranked up and EQ'd to taste, and you've got a nice two channel tweed style amp. In fact, that plus a nice fuzz face (my 69) or OD (FD3 or Barber Gain Changer) is a great gained up tweed/early marshall type sound! (Or, 70s mode to mid gain and you've got tweed cleans/ early marshall on the gain side.

I almost had a trade worked last week that might have made me sell mine as well. A guy wanted to trade me a brand new 5150 III 50 watt head plus some cash for my Vox. That amp might have replaced the ATMA. For now though, it's safe.
 
Welcome to the club!

The MT15 definitely surprised me as well - purchased for home recording and was into my live rig before I knew what hit me. Like you said, the portability factor is huge. Hard to find a fault with it!

How does it sound different from your Archon?
 
I found that if you play with that tone knob on the clean channel, you can find something you really like. There is definite compromise though if you gravitate towards the "blackface" side of the EQ. IMHO, it adds too much bass along with the treble. I tone that down the the Timmy when I use it. Luckily, I normally go above noon, so towards the tweed side, and it works pretty well there. IMO, if you're a blackface guy, you might struggle with that clean channel with no individual control over bass and treble.

Knob about about 2:00, five watt setting makes for a nice tweed tone. Then set your gain channel to 60s mode with the gain cranked up and EQ'd to taste, and you've got a nice two channel tweed style amp. In fact, that plus a nice fuzz face (my 69) or OD (FD3 or Barber Gain Changer) is a great gained up tweed/early marshall type sound! (Or, 70s mode to mid gain and you've got tweed cleans/ early marshall on the gain side.

I almost had a trade worked last week that might have made me sell mine as well. A guy wanted to trade me a brand new 5150 III 50 watt head plus some cash for my Vox. That amp might have replaced the ATMA. For now though, it's safe.

I'd lean, for cleans, more BF than Tweed. Don't get me wrong, I really, really like the Atma. It's just that lacking clean channel. Oh well, no real reason to sell it. Until I need some room, that is! :p
 
Oh well, no real reason to sell it. Until I need some room, that is! :p
Exactly! And if you're a fan of 70s rock tones, and/or mild breakup with a fuzz pedal, the ATMA is better suited for that than the PRS amps because you've got more range in the lower gain areas to play with.
 
Welcome to the club!

The MT15 definitely surprised me as well - purchased for home recording and was into my live rig before I knew what hit me. Like you said, the portability factor is huge. Hard to find a fault with it!

How does it sound different from your Archon?
I’d have to do an actual comparison, which I haven’t really done. I think the Archon has a thicker sounding midrange? And maybe the mids are more dominant as you increase the middle eq knob. Like the Archon mids might be a wider shelf, where the MT15 mid is a narrower shelf as you increase the knob. This is all gut reaction without actually a/b’ing both. I could be completely wrong.
 
I’d have to do an actual comparison, which I haven’t really done. I think the Archon has a thicker sounding midrange? And maybe the mids are more dominant as you increase the middle eq knob. Like the Archon mids might be a wider shelf, where the MT15 mid is a narrower shelf as you increase the knob. This is all gut reaction without actually a/b’ing both. I could be completely wrong.
In watching the video with Doug, he said MT wanted the treble voice where it was at about 3:00 to be the amount of treble with the knob at noon on the MT15. I don't know if he was just making examples, but if that comment was literal, it should be brighter at the same settings as well.
 
In watching the video with Doug, he said MT wanted the treble voice where it was at about 3:00 to be the amount of treble with the knob at noon on the MT15. I don't know if he was just making examples, but if that comment was literal, it should be brighter at the same settings as well.
That is probably true as well. I always run with the bright switches on with my Archon too. The mid knob on the Archon is like a wall of midrange rather than a narrow, notched frequency. It’s a great wall. I can set the mid knob just about anywhere and like it. I have to experiment more with the MT15 mid knob to see how it operates.
 
That is probably true as well. I always run with the bright switches on with my Archon too. The mid knob on the Archon is like a wall of midrange rather than a narrow, notched frequency. It’s a great wall. I can set the mid knob just about anywhere and like it. I have to experiment more with the MT15 mid knob to see how it operates.
Agree, unless using single coils which I rarely do, bright switches (both) always on with Archon. Also agree about the width of the mids control. I have toyed with a 10 band MXR EQ in the look and got some KILLER fine tuning, but that pedal suddenly got noisy so I took it out of the loop.

I'd like to try an MT15. But with the Archon sitting there, I really don't need it. While I love the form factor, I actually think I'd get a 25 watt Archon before an MT15 just to have at least one combo. But, I don't need that either. LOL (Still wish I had bought the purple/tan combo I played before buying one though! If I had it, I'd keep it and the head.
 
I’d have to do an actual comparison, which I haven’t really done. I think the Archon has a thicker sounding midrange? And maybe the mids are more dominant as you increase the middle eq knob. Like the Archon mids might be a wider shelf, where the MT15 mid is a narrower shelf as you increase the knob. This is all gut reaction without actually a/b’ing both. I could be completely wrong.

Haven't tried an Archon, but that's exactly what I hear in clips of it, vs. what my experience with the MT15 has been.

What would be really crazy and cool, and I fully do not expect to come to fruition, would be an amp with either 3 channels, one clean, one MT, one Archon, or 2 channels but with switches like the HXDA to switch the lead channel from Archon to MT. Dreams are what keep us moving forward, right?
 
Haven't tried an Archon, but that's exactly what I hear in clips of it, vs. what my experience with the MT15 has been.

What would be really crazy and cool, and I fully do not expect to come to fruition, would be an amp with either 3 channels, one clean, one MT, one Archon, or 2 channels but with switches like the HXDA to switch the lead channel from Archon to MT. Dreams are what keep us moving forward, right?

I like the way you think. Other than I’d probably want another amp.
 
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