Archon Amp Comparison * Now with SOUND CLIPS!

[elvis]

I am having a conversation with DreamTheaterRules about the Archon. He brought up some of the comparisons that we've read out in the wild to try to describe how the Archon sounds relative to other well-known amps.

Today I saw a video that made me fire up my Electradyne. It is my favorite amp for tone, not so great for versatility. After playing that, I would say that the Archon is a lot like the Electradyne tone-wise (assuming you use only the clean and vintage HI modes), but with the addition of:

1. Individual channel controls
2. Way more gain on the lead channel
3. Depth - the king of all knobs
4. A really quiet FX loop

I got an RA100 to get these features, but the aggression just wasn't there as far as I could dial it. I swapped it for an Archon and right out of the box it had that tone. And the RA doesn't have either Presence or Depth. The Archon has a much bigger, more focused low-end as well.

I won't get rid of my Dyne (especially since vintage LO is awesome), but my Archon is the amp I gig with.

 

[13bats]

Hey Elvis ,

I saw you at boogie board and noticed you had a Rectoverb 25 combo , how did that compare to Archon in clips it sounds a lil brighter , maybe the Filmore speaker which I actually do like

 

[elvis]

Hey bats, I still have a Mini Recto, which is exactly the same as the Rectoverb 25, except no reverb. I found that with the 1x12 combo I hated the tone. Very boxy and squirrelly to dial in. I could drive it into a recto 2x12 and get the exact same tone as the Mini Rec, and if I drove the Rectoverb cab with the Mini Rec I had the same issues as the Rectoverb. So it was definitely the combo enclosure character. It helped to put it on top of a second cab, but that defeated the purpose for me.

I swapped in a V30 for the Fillmore and they are nearly identical to my ears. Certainly not different enough for me to prefer one over the other.

The Archon sounds nothing like a rectifier. The rectos have a very strong mid-grind that is their character. It gives a lot of presence and is loose and slushy, while the lows are tight. To me the grind is localized to a certain frequency range, it's really recognizable. The Archon has a lot of mid saturation goodness, but it is a bit more buzzy than the recto, more like a Marshall, but without the high-frequency nastiness. It seems like the design filters out highs at just the right frequency so you get juicy sat when you play low and you get clear fundamentals when playing up high. Nobody has to cover their ears.

I'd compare it to a DSL, but with a low-mid resonance, not that mosquito tone that you get from the DSL. And HUGE lows. The Archon can push some air! I have to really dial the Depth back when I play with my band or I'll stomp all over the bass. And it's tight, it'll knock your toupee off for sure. Muted low notes are punchy and brutal.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

and it sounds good at lower volumes!

 

[bodia]

and it sounds good at lower volumes!

so get one already!

 

[Deleted member 5962]

 

[Boogie]

...The Archon sounds nothing like a rectifier. The rectos have a very strong mid-grind that is their character. It gives a lot of presence and is loose and slushy, while the lows are tight. To me the grind is localized to a certain frequency range, it's really recognizable. The Archon has a lot of mid saturation goodness, but it is a bit more buzzy than the recto, more like a Marshall, but without the high-frequency nastiness. It seems like the design filters out highs at just the right frequency so you get juicy sat when you play low and you get clear fundamentals when playing up high. Nobody has to cover their ears.

I'd compare it to a DSL, but with a low-mid resonance, not that mosquito tone that you get from the DSL. And HUGE lows. The Archon can push some air! I have to really dial the Depth back when I play with my band or I'll stomp all over the bass. And it's tight, it'll knock your toupee off for sure. Muted low notes are punchy and brutal.

That's the best description I've read, to date.

Have you played a DGT with you rig set to "stun"? I'm curious how it's pickups would influence an amp with big, tight low end.

 

[elvis]

Thanks, Boogie!

No, I haven't tried the DGT with it. I have played a bunch of different guitars with a bunch of pickups, including a tele and a 7 string with PAF-7, and it just always sounds great.

I have been making recordings of my Archon raw tone vs. other amps, and am getting to where I think I'm capturing the tone character pretty well. I may start posting.

Oh great and wise forum members, any recommendations on where to host recordings (not videos)?

 

[dmatthews]

Been successful using shared links in Dropbox.

 

[alantig]

Done the Dropbox thing - if you get a lot of downloads, you can run into traffic issues (I had my account suspended for a day). I've used Soundcloud as well.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

SoundCloud?

 

[elvis]

Thanks for the inputs! Trying out Soundcloud. Here are some tracks. Archon vs. Shiva. Same cab, same mics, same inputs. Track name gives details (FX on or off, Archon volume and depth settings). Both amps are tuned to sound how I like them, and about as close as I could get them.

I'm not experienced at recording, so this is a work in progress. But at least the comparison is somewhat scientific.

First part is my SC245 with Cold Sweats. Bridge, then Neck, then both, with volumes rolled back a bit. Second part is my Tremonti in Drop Db with 0.011s.

Comments and advice welcome. Enjoy!

https://soundcloud.com/user-436015192/sets/amp-comparison-11-5-2016

 

[13bats]

It's funny how similar they actually
Do sound Shiva maybe a little
Thicker but it's close
Thanks for doing this that drop D part in the end is what I wanted to hear
From them as compared to the Rectoverb I played

 

[krb813]

Hi everyone. I have an Archon 100 head which I like but not sure I necessarily love at times. I'm looking at the Mesa JP2C. Do any of you have both and can give me some insight in terms of the differences?

 

[elvis]

Added some more amps per requests:
Mini Rectifier Vintage and Modern Modes
JP-2C Ch2 with and without Shred
Electradyne Vintage LO and HI

Enjoy!

The laboratory:

 

[13bats]

I like the sound of most of the amps here , the Mini Rec while I like the tonality is one that stands out to me as smaller ,thinner sounding maybe the smaller glass and iron

I liked the Archon and Shiva best for the Modern rock Breaking Benjamin Shinedown stuff we do

 

[Boogie]

That is a superb setup.

 

[elvis]

the Mini Rec while I like the tonality is one that stands out to me as smaller ,thinner sounding maybe the smaller glass and iron

That is why I've gone for the big iron. I gigged with that amp for a couple of years. The mids are great, but there just isn't any thump. Good backup amp, though.

That is a superb setup.

Thanks! I have a lot to learn about recording, though.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

The Mini Rec CAN sound thin, but that can be dialed out. The Modern setting sucks out a LOT of mids and I noticed that as well as soon as that clip started, It's not going to have the thump or low mid punch of a big glass/iron amp, but trust me it punches above it's weight class and can easily be anything but thin.

There are some great amps in that lineup. Archon is still my favorite!

 

[elvis]

+1

To be clear, I loved gigging with the MR. I just hit a point where I really needed more, and I moved back up to 100W amps. I do miss having a much lighter load.

In terms of the clips, I will be doing some more with different mic placement and also DI via a PDI-03 and a CabClone. For sure the clips don't really capture what I hear in the room. At the least, they are apples-apples. Stay tuned!