In the Mood for a Lunchbox Amp

[HANGAR18]

I keep going to the store looking for something but I just can't find it. It would help if I knew what I want but I don't know what I want. Then suddenly it hits me. A lunchbox amp! A PRS lunchbox amp specifically, but they don't make one. 25/10 watts, clean tone, vintage distortion, modern distortion, a depth knob, a presence knob, both a master volume and a gain knob, reverb, tremolo, cab clone, DI out, EQ sliders, external BIAS adjustment contact points, what am I missing?

Would anyone else be interested in something like this? Has anyone heard of any lunchbox amp rumors? Announcements? Comments?

 

[13bats]

I keep going to the store looking for something but I just can't find it. It would help if I knew what I want but I don't know what I want. Then suddenly it hits me. A lunchbox amp! A PRS lunchbox amp specifically, but they don't make one. 25/10 watts, clean tone, vintage distortion, modern distortion, a depth knob, a presence knob, both a master volume and a gain knob, reverb, tremolo, cab clone, DI out, EQ sliders, external BIAS adjustment contact points, what am I missing?

Would anyone else be interested in something like this? Has anyone heard of any lunchbox amp rumors? Announcements? Comments?

there are rumours about a new Archon based Tremonti line with verb but nothing has been said in a while ,maybe when the Alterbridge record comes out in Fall

 

[Dusty Chalk]

I have heard no rumours, so I got a Quilter.

I just can't picture Sewell working with solid state, and I can't imagine a lunchbox tube amp being very light.

Maybe a MOSFET based amp?

 

[Deedsoftommy]

YES!! I've brought this subject up a couple times already! .

A handmade lunch box 1- 5 watts. Combo and head version. 12 inch speaker (no 10 inche!).

I've been EYING down the Fender Bass Breaker 15 (the only of the Bass Breaker's with reverb).

Come on PRS!!!! LUNCH BOX AMP!!! LUNCH BOX AMP!!! LUNCH BOX AMP!!!!! LUNCH BOX AMP!!!!! HEYYYYOOOOOOO

 

[Dusty Chalk]

12 inch speaker (no 10 inche!).

A 12 inch combo is not a lunchbox amp. You do realize you are in the minority on this, don't you? Anyone who wants a lunchbox amp does not want it driving a full size combo. That's just silly.

 

[Deedsoftommy]

A 12 inch combo is not a lunchbox amp. You do realize you are in the minority on this, don't you? Anyone who wants a lunchbox amp does not want it driving a full size combo. That's just silly.

It is a great idea for the person that can't afford a top of the line PRS amp and still want the quality of a hand wired lunchbox amp . Let ppl get their "hands wet" with the PRS sound and become part of this family of PRS users. Much like the SE Amps.(are those still made??)

 

[andy474x]

I keep going to the store looking for something but I just can't find it. It would help if I knew what I want but I don't know what I want. Then suddenly it hits me. A lunchbox amp! A PRS lunchbox amp specifically, but they don't make one. 25/10 watts, clean tone, vintage distortion, modern distortion, a depth knob, a presence knob, both a master volume and a gain knob, reverb, tremolo, cab clone, DI out, EQ sliders, external BIAS adjustment contact points, what am I missing?

Would anyone else be interested in something like this? Has anyone heard of any lunchbox amp rumors? Announcements? Comments?

I think the Custom 20 head is a little smaller than the 50? And probably a lot lighter. Really, the 2 channel format is fairly compact and light in general. And has most of those features! I mean, there's only so much you can fit in one box!

Once you get down to the size of a PRS amp head, I could care less about making it any smaller - but show me a lunchbox size cabinet that sounds like a 2x12, and you'll have my attention!

 

[Dusty Chalk]

It is a great idea for the person that can't afford a top of the line PRS amp and still want the quality of a hand wired lunchbox amp . Let ppl get their "hands wet" with the PRS sound and become part of this family of PRS users. Much like the SE Amps.(are those still made??)

Okay, so what you really want, is a more entry level amp, like an SE, not lunchbox -sized (or -weight).

'Lunchbox', to me, carries a very specific connotation, like the Orange Micro Terror or Tiny Terror, or the Zt ...what was it called again? ...oh, yeah, Lunchbox, or the Quilter 101 Mini (or the 201, like I got), or a Pignose, etc., etc.

I don't know why this keeps coming up with PRS amps -- this is just not Sewell's style, he designs high-end, excellent tube amps.

Maybe I'm wrong about that, I'm not privy to inside information, but that's just how I perceive their reputation in the amp biz, based on what I've seen from them so far.

 

[László]

I don't know why this keeps coming up with PRS amps -- this is just not Sewell's style, he designs high-end, excellent tube amps.

+1

Thank goodness.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

Is not my Mini Rec a lunchbox amp? It sure looks like one when sitting on top of my Mesa 2x12 vertical cab and peeling the paint off the walls. So, lunchbox amp doesn't have to mean a tiny speaker cab. I used mine with 1x12, 2 1x12s, and a 2x12.

A lot of us were asking for an Archon 25 head. Just a head version of an existing amp. After hearing how much difference a big cab can make, I'd be more than happy with that and a 2x12. Looks like I'll be getting a 50 watt instead though, since they've never even hinted at one.

 

[aristotle]

So what do we mean by Lunchbox? My Archon 100 head isn't much bigger than a lunchbox.

I have many lower power amps. In some cases (DG30, Marshall Astoria, Fender Deluxe head) they sound great, but they are actually quite loud when run straight out. I also have several really low power amps (everything from the 1W Marshalls to the Yamaha THR), but in all of those cases, I find that it sounds better, even (and particularly) in the "bedroom" environment, to have a high power amp dialed back than to have a micro power amp cranked. The cost difference is certainly a good argument for something lower power, but the tones you can get out of an Archon 100 with the master set to bedroom volumes is better than any low power amp you'll ever find for the Archon genre of tones. Same goes for the HX/DA 50 or MDT 50 or Freidman HBE100 or Marshall 6100 or Marshall JVM410. They are just plain better than what you'll get out of a lunch box amp in my opinion.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Is not my Mini Rec a lunchbox amp?

So what do we mean by Lunchbox?

I've already stated my opinion -- I think the lunchbox amps are in a much smaller class than a small tube amp. I think by its very nature, it is solid state. Tubes require 'iron' (transformers) to compensate for their output impedance, which make them heavy, and so -- in my humble opinion -- disqualify them as lunchbox amps.

My Archon 100 head isn't much bigger than a lunchbox.

Unholy carp, dude, how many people does that lunchbox feed?

 

[sergiodeblanc]

The thermos should come with delay.

 

[HANGAR18]

Good question. What exactly is a "lunchbox amp"? To answer this question, one must size up the competition, identify the top dog currently out there and then outdo them with something better and worthy of the brand name PRS. In order for PRS to come up with a hand wired lunchbox tube amp which outdoes the competition, the bar (imho) has been set by the Mesa Boogie Mark Five;25 and that is the one to beat. I already have one of these amps but I think PRS can outdo Mesa in this category if they try.

http://mesaboogie.com/amplifiers/electric/mark-series/mark-five-25/index.html

 

[aristotle]

I've already stated my opinion -- I think the lunchbox amps are in a much smaller class than a small tube amp. I think by its very nature, it is solid state. Tubes require 'iron' (transformers) to compensate for their output impedance, which make them heavy, and so -- in my humble opinion -- disqualify them as lunchbox amps.

OK, by that definition, what you say makes sense. Something like the tiny Yamaha with small built-in speakers and a headphone jack and built-in effects and whatnot does allow you to carry a small box and a guitar and do your thing wherever and whenever. I can see that.

The OP though was talking about at least a dual channel amp at up to 10/25W. My main point is that by the time you do that, you may as well get a PRS 2 channel (H/C/Custom) head. I just can't see how the size / weight / power of one of those heads precludes them from any use that you'd put a slightly smaller lighter head that was 10/25W.

Probably the disconnect with me is that I seem to be relatively alone in finding almost universally that when a manufacturer puts out a lower power version of a higher power amp that the higher power amp sounds better, even when dialed back to the volume of the lower power version. Other than cost (which I agree makes a difference) I just don't see the advantage.

 

[László]

Probably the disconnect with me is that I seem to be relatively alone in finding almost universally that when a manufacturer puts out a lower power version of a higher power amp that the higher power amp sounds better, even when dialed back to the volume of the lower power version. Other than cost (which I agree makes a difference) I just don't see the advantage.

You are not alone!

I completely agree; and I'll double down my agreement when the higher power amp is switchable to a lower wattage, as so many new amps are these days. What's the advantage of a switchable power level when amps have such effective master volume controls now? You invariably get a different character to the amp, and sure, that can be a viable alternative option.

I will be the first to admit my own error in selling my 50W HXDA and going for the 30W version. It's the first time I've ever sold the higher output model, and gone for the lower output model. I didn't gain a significant advantage in terms of volume - the amp needs to be loud to sound right - but the 50W is a fatter sounding amp. I'll keep the 30, because it is still a stellar amp, but having had the 50, I know the difference.

I hear the same thing with the lower power Mesas, and many other low power amps. In fact, I mentioned in another thread, my son picked up his 5W Epi amp that he'd loaned a friend years ago, when he was in town, and we tested it with one of my 212 cabs. Sounded good, but we still had to turn it to the same volume level that I set my 100 Watt Lone Star to, in order to get everything sounding right.

As Aristotle says, the only good reason I can think of to go "lunchbox" is the savings in dough.

Of course, the feeling among so many guitar players is that they need low power amps, and the manufacturers will meet that demand, so it's a good marketing tool to make low power amps.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

Good question. What exactly is a "lunchbox amp"? To answer this question, one must size up the competition, identify the top dog currently out there and then outdo them with something better and worthy of the brand name PRS. In order for PRS to come up with a hand wired lunchbox tube amp which outdoes the competition, the bar (imho) has been set by the Mesa Boogie Mark Five;25 and that is the one to beat. I already have one of these amps but I think PRS can outdo Mesa in this category if they try.

http://mesaboogie.com/amplifiers/electric/mark-series/mark-five-25/index.html

This is more my take as well. When the lunchbox amp craze started a few years back, the talk at The Gear Page was about Orange Tiny Terror, Dark Terror, Egnater Tweaker, Mesa TA15 and amps like that. So what was being called "lunchbox amps" were many times nice, but small tube amps with up to 25 watts or so, but the lunchbox designation came mainly from the small size. When the Mini Rec came out it was often called the greatest lunchbox amp of them all. Since then others have come out from Engl, Bogner and other higher end makers (Atma anyone?), and of course the Mark V25. I think everyone knows I own the Mesa Mini Rec, V25 and had a TA15. All of these are in multiple "lunchbox amps" discussions at TGP.

IMHO, I don't think the debate is whether big amps sound "bigger." PRS makes what appears to be a great amp in the Archon 25, and it's not high power, but it's also not small glass/small iron. Most people who I've read say it punches harder than the EL84 25 watters. There would be no compromise in anything, heck, it would sound BETTER, in a head version and choice of cabs. And, it could be on the smaller side.

I don't want to be controversial, but I'll go a step further. TGP is the biggest musicians forum on the net. If you read or participate in the amp section there, you'll know there is a HUGE demand for great sounding, but not large and heavy, amps. I think PRS is actually missing out on that market by not having an Archon 25H. And that could be a gateway drug to the bigger boxes. Word of mouth there can make or break an amp company. These amps are great, but don't get a lot of word of mouth there. I think an Archon 25 in the hands of a few of the right people could provide a big increase in amp sales for PRS. If you think I'm overestimating how important this is, ask Mesa how many Mini Recs and V25s they've sold. I'll give you a clue. So many that first the Mini Rec and then the V25 were selling so fast they had to delay other planned amp introductions for OVER 2 years because they can't keep up with building those two mini monsters. Does anyone here think an Archon 25 head can't stand with or sell with those two?

 

[WeFixFlats]

After listening to this demo:

If PRS made the Archon 25 watt head, they'd sell a ton of them, in my opinion.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Oh, okay, then I will butt out of this conversation, since I had a completely different mental image of a lunchbox amp.

I still think you should give 10" speakers a chance, though. They can sound really good.

 

[CoreyT]

I too own the Mark Five 25 and two mini Rec 1x12 cabs with the upper one a slant cab.
Many folk's like the Archon 25 watt combo, but I would buy the 25 watt head right now if they offered it.
Making a 25 watt Archon head makes sense since you can use different cabs instead of using the speaker that comes with the combo.

I think they would sell a lot of these, at least one to me for sure.