Archon 25 Tone Controls Act Like Volume Knobs!

[Iridefastest]

ridemfast55​

0 seconds ago
I recently bought a PRS archon 25. When I turn all of the tone knobs(bass, middle, and treble) on the lead channel to zero I still get a sound from the amp when playing the guitar. However, when I turn all of the tone knobs to zero on the clean channel I do NOT get a sound while playing the guitar. It’s as if I turned the volume down to zero instead. Is this normal? If not, what is the possible problem and solution?

 

[Toolmaster Of Brainerd]

ridemfast55​

0 seconds ago
I recently bought a PRS archon 25. When I turn all of the tone knobs(bass, middle, and treble) on the lead channel to zero I still get a sound from the amp when playing the guitar. However, when I turn all of the tone knobs to zero on the clean channel I do NOT get a sound while playing the guitar. It’s as if I turned the volume down to zero instead. Is this normal? If not, what is the possible problem and solution?

That's normal.

What's your reason to turn bass middle and treble all to 0?

 

[DISTORT6]

That's normal.

What's your reason to turn bass middle and treble all to 0?

It’s all about that presence, man! THE PRESENCE!

 

[László]

It's normal. The difference between the two channels no doubt relates to the different circuit path in Channel 2.

What's your reason to turn bass middle and treble all to 0?

It's actually a good way to find out what each knob does, independent of the others, when you're learning a new amp.

 

[Iridefastest]

Thanks all for responding!

“What's your reason to turn bass middle and treble all to 0?”

I was comparing the archon clean channel to the clean channel of another amp listening to the effects of each knob and like LSchefman noted learning the amp.


“It's normal. The difference between the two channels no doubt relates to the different circuit path in Channel 2.”

I’m trying to figure out if the archon is acting, normal, is defected or had maybe been modified.
Compared to another amp (Peavey classic 30) both channels on the Peavey still produce a sound with tone knobs turned to zero.
Do other Archon 25 clean channels behave this way?

 

[Deleted member 5962]

Compared to another amp (Peavey classic 30) both channels on the Peavey still produce a sound with tone knobs turned to zero.

The Peavey is a very different amp from an Archon. The topology of amp will determine how these things all interact. Where the tone stack is placed in the gain stages, how many gain stages there are, etc.

So, with regards to turning the knobs to 0, while people may think "why would you do that," your answer is a good one. Learning how each knob reacts and interacts is an important step in learning an amp, and in learning the differences between different amps. Everyone get's caught up in starting with everything at noon, and that's totally ok, but if you don't know what the knobs do, you don't even really know what everything at noon even means, frequency response wise. If you start studying this out, and use the SD tone stack calculator, you'll see some amps are the flattest with B and T dimed and mids at 0. Or vice versa. And there are other variations... and you'll see the peak of one change as you dial the other, etc. Some amps have tone stacks where turning one knob affects the response in both other ranges, while some have them that if you turn the mids, the B and T are hardly affected at all.

So while starting with everything at noon is ok, some amps sound great there and others won't. Ha, very few of the Mesa amps I tried sounded anywhere close to their best with the tone knobs at noon.

 

[László]

So while starting with everything at noon is ok, some amps sound great there and others won't. Ha, very few of the Mesa amps I tried sounded anywhere close to their best with the tone knobs at noon.

"Les, can you think of an obvious, sophomoric comment utilizing the words, 'knobs' and 'noon'?

"I can, if by 'sophomoric' you mean 'sophomore in middle school'. Then again, noon, nooner, what's the diff?"

 

[alantig]

Then again, noon, nooner, what's the diff?"

Er.

I mean, I like noon, but a nooner is better.

I've never had a noonest.

 

[László]

I've never had a noonest.

That's probably a good thing. They're addictive.

 

[Iridefastest]

I’ve read Eric Clapton set some or all of his tone knobs to zero on some songs he recorded.

 

[László]

I’ve read Eric Clapton set some or all of his tone knobs to zero on some songs he recorded.

That would be on the guitar, not the amp.