HXDA Schematics?

[John F]

Looking for schematics for my HXDA combo. My presence knob makes no audible tonal difference in any position. I want to troubleshoot the problem but doing so without spare tubes or any idea where to start is preventing me from digging in and having a go.

If someone knows which tubes affect the presence I would appreciate some help.

 

[andy474x]

Tubes don’t do anything for the presence control (at least specifically), you would notice other things not working with a tube issue.

With PRS amps, it’s common for presence controls to be quite subtle until they’re turned up to 75%/3 o’clock-ish on the dial. If you can hear it in the last bit of the dial, it’s probably normal.

That said, it is one of my few pet peeves of PRS amps, the pot tapers are not uniform at all. Bass comes on quick, treble and presence very slow. They sound great, but it does make it a little tricky to hit the sweet spot with those hair-trigger controls.

 

[László]

That said, it is one of my few pet peeves of PRS amps, the pot tapers are not uniform at all. Bass comes on quick, treble and presence very slow. They sound great, but it does make it a little tricky to hit the sweet spot with those hair-trigger controls.

Perhaps I got lucky, but I don't have that problem with either of my CAD amps (the HXDA or DG30).

 

[John F]

The PRESENCE pot makes no discernable difference in the sound no matter any setting on the HXDA amp.

I have a PRS Custom 20 with a presence knob that makes a significant difference in sound no matter clean or dirty channel, preamp volume or poweramp volume.

I purchased this amp used, so I don’t know if someone has been in it or tweaked something.

 

[andy474x]

It may be faulty then… it should make a difference.

 

[Rider1260]

I doubt there is an available drawing unless your an authorized repair center , but PRS has always been really helpful with any amp problems I have had. If we are talking the HDRX 20 the presence does work and it pretty easy to hear.

 

[John F]

Thanks for the info. It is a HX/DA combo.

 

[László]

I'd contact PRS Customer Service. They really are quite helpful. Doug Sewell, who designed the amp and heads up the amp department, is a super nice guy.

 

[GGJJGG]

Question. So the master on the HXDA or the click master on the 25 anniversary control level to the power tubes. So is the best sound with those pretty much wide open?

 

[John F]

I’m playing bedroom volume, so my settings err on the side of quiet. I find that turning up the preamp volumes gives me the grit I want in HX or DA mode. The master just makes it loud or quiet. I prefer the grit this way when I use the amp most of the time. I’ve turned the preamp volumes off, cranked the master and then barely raised the preamp volume to get clean high headroom tones then I can push the front end with pedals. Most of the time I use a Magnatone Panoramic Stereo amp for clean tones with built in spring reverb and pitch shifting vibrato. The stereo speakers and pitch shifting vibrato remind me of a leslie speaker with the way the sound swirls around the room.

 

[László]

I’m playing bedroom volume, so my settings err on the side of quiet. I find that turning up the preamp volumes gives me the grit I want in HX or DA mode. The master just makes it loud or quiet. I prefer the grit this way when I use the amp most of the time. I’ve turned the preamp volumes off, cranked the master and then barely raised the preamp volume to get clean high headroom tones then I can push the front end with pedals. Most of the time I use a Magnatone Panoramic Stereo amp for clean tones with built in spring reverb and pitch shifting vibrato. The stereo speakers and pitch shifting vibrato remind me of a leslie speaker with the way the sound swirls around the room.

Those Magnatones are pretty sweet amps. I really liked the one I tried a while back. Seems like a nice amp to partner with an HXDA, they're very different.

 

[John F]

Those Magnatones are pretty sweet amps. I really liked the one I tried a while back. Seems like a nice amp to partner with an HXDA, they're very different.

My first tube amp was a Princeton Reverb Reissue. I loved it, had it for 7 years or so but sold it when I saw and heard a demo of the Magnatone. It is similar to the Princeton with a great spring reverb, and has the wonderful stereo pitch shifting vibrato. When you turn that on, the amp pans the sound back and forth between the left and right speakers bathing you in glorious swirling tones like a leslie. Not the same mind you, but oh so nice. Magnatone makes combos and heads in stereo and mono. They make 2 with the pitch shifting vibrato, the Twilighter has higher wattage, and the Panoramic which can do bedroom volume nicely. I first bought the Twilighter, but I couldn’t get it quiet enough. So I sent it back and got the Panoramic.

The Magnatone complements the HX/DA nicely. My new pedal board will arrive soon and I am building it out with a GigRig G3 which has 2 outputs. I’m setting it up to swap between the HX/DA and the Magnatone. I’m also setting it up with wet/dry which will be a new experience for me.

 

[László]

My first tube amp was a Princeton Reverb Reissue. I loved it, had it for 7 years or so but sold it when I saw and heard a demo of the Magnatone. It is similar to the Princeton with a great spring reverb, and has the wonderful stereo pitch shifting vibrato. When you turn that on, the amp pans the sound back and forth between the left and right speakers bathing you in glorious swirling tones like a leslie. Not the same mind you, but oh so nice. Magnatone makes combos and heads in stereo and mono. They make 2 with the pitch shifting vibrato, the Twilighter has higher wattage, and the Panoramic which can do bedroom volume nicely. I first bought the Twilighter, but I couldn’t get it quiet enough. So I sent it back and got the Panoramic.

The Magnatone complements the HX/DA nicely. My new pedal board will arrive soon and I am building it out with a GigRig G3 which has 2 outputs. I’m setting it up to swap between the HX/DA and the Magnatone. I’m also setting it up with wet/dry which will be a new experience for me.

The new Magnatones are super-nice. I'm pretty sure the one I tried was a Twilighter, it didn't have the stereo stuff of the Panoramic model. But it had plenty of power and heft, and I dug it.

The last vintage Magnatone I played through was a collector friend's Estey back in the early '00s - sounded really good, too.

In a way, these amps remind me of my first tube amp, a '66 Ampeg Reverberocket II (bought new! ).

Not that the tone is the same, but the Ampeg also had enormous headroom, and only broke up when it was set very loud. It wasn't scooped like a Fender; the midrange had a lot of clarity and cut. It had an optical tremolo circuit, not a bias or harmonic trem.

My experience with the Twilighter was that it had terrific headroom and a lovely midrange, though the mids on the Magnatone seem more 3D than I remember the old Ampeg's.

The Gig Rig switcher is great. I used a Lehle switcher with similar amp isolation circuitry for a long time and it was noise-free (It didn't switch pedals, though that's not something I'd use, or speaker cabinets). At this point I switch 4 amps and 4 speaker cabinets with a KHE rack mount unit. Gives me a lot of flexibility, and there's room for four more amps - which my studio has the space for, but my wife's patience may not!

 

[RickP]

I looked long and hard for a schematic, but never found one. Anything I did find is here: https://forums.prsguitars.com/threa...are-your-hxda-knowledge-with-the-world.44624/

There is a post with operating instructions for the “25th Anniversary“ amp, a predecessor of the HX/DA, there. Nothing groundbreaking, but useful information. There are also interior shots of the amp. You’ll see it’s quite nicely done inside, so testing or component replacement isn’t as messy or difficult as on mass-produced PRS amps.

Presence is a “high-high“ treble control, so it’s not as apparent as the others, especially at certain settings. But you can definitely hear the edge it provides so I have to assume something’s not quite right.

 

[John F]

Rarely

I looked long and hard for a schematic, but never found one. Anything I did find is here: https://forums.prsguitars.com/threa...are-your-hxda-knowledge-with-the-world.44624/

There is a post with operating instructions for the “25th Anniversary“ amp, a predecessor of the HX/DA, there. Nothing groundbreaking, but useful information. There are also interior shots of the amp. You’ll see it’s quite nicely done inside, so testing or component replacement isn’t as messy or difficult as on mass-produced PRS amps.

Presence is a “high-high“ treble control, so it’s not as apparent as the others, especially at certain settings. But you can definitely hear the edge it provides so I have to assume something’s not quite right.

Thank you for looking!

 

[Bogner]

Bogner Said Rarely About What?

 

[RickP]

Bogner Said Rarely About What?

You know how Bogner likes his steaks cooked…

 

[Bogner]

You know how Bogner likes his steaks cooked…

Medium Rare...Ly.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

And Stevie Wonder likes his donuts -

We Jammin’

 

[Faded]

I’m playing bedroom volume, so my settings err on the side of quiet. I find that turning up the preamp volumes gives me the grit I want in HX or DA mode. The master just makes it loud or quiet. I prefer the grit this way when I use the amp most of the time. I’ve turned the preamp volumes off, cranked the master and then barely raised the preamp volume to get clean high headroom tones then I can push the front end with pedals. Most of the time I use a Magnatone Panoramic Stereo amp for clean tones with built in spring reverb and pitch shifting vibrato. The stereo speakers and pitch shifting vibrato remind me of a leslie speaker with the way the sound swirls around the room.

I’m playing nearly the same amps. A limited edition 25th with a Panoramic Stereo for cleans.

Wonderfully versatile setup.