New Amp Day

[MarcWink]

Well, I took a trip to my local Guitar Center to pick up a couple sets of strings and to perhaps check out an American Pro II Tele, but a new amp ended up following me home...a fire breathing demon; the Archon 50 combo. I elected to try the American Pro II Tele through that amp rather than the Blues Deluxe or the Tonnemaster Reverb Twin since I felt the Archon would give me a better sense of how the Tele would sound dirty, well, I ended up putting the Tele back, grabbing a US CE 24 and letting it rip. Color me impressed. The clean channel is nice, though a little sterile not having any reverb, but the dirty channel. That's magical. Very easy to get a range of dirty tones, but it seems to like it's purpose-built for speedy metalcore riffing. As a bonus, now I get a freebie PRS pedal. I'm leaning toward the Horsemeat Overdrive to use as a boost to both the clean and dirty channels (not that the dirty channel "needs" a boost). The Archon is without a doubt a solid choice for modern metal tones and is a great alternative to the 5150's and Dual Rectifiers of the world.

With all that being said, what reverb pedal are folks finding works well with this amp?

 

[bodia]

Love my Archon. It made me move on from my MkV

 

[andy474x]

Can’t go wrong with the MXR M300 if you’re looking for a stupid easy but well featured reverb.

Congrats on the amp!!!

 

[MarcWink]

Love my Archon. It made me move on from my MkV

I'm loving this amp thus far. The clean channel is really great with my Strat. Then the dirty channel, it's just pure brutality the way that I have it dialed in. The only reason I'd need a boost in front is to just add a little gnarliness to pinch harmonics and make them sustain a little longer.

Can’t go wrong with the MXR M300 if you’re looking for a stupid easy but well featured reverb.

Congrats on the amp!!!

I'll have to look at the MXR. The last reverb pedal I used was a Walrus Audio SLO for more ambient sounds, but it really is a one trick pony type pedal. I want something that gives me the option of just a straight spring, hall, or plate reverb with a decay and level/mix knob.

 

[MarcWink]

Well, I ended up going with an EHX Holy Grail reverb. It works quite nicely in the loop. Does what I want, a subtle spring reverb for clean tones. I'm presently in the process of retooling my pedal board around the Archon and will be relegating my Delta Blues to strictly backup duty given that I also have a Helix and the Archon to cover high gain tones. If push comes to shove, I can run the Delta Blues 4 cable method with the Helix and just forego the amp and cab modeling on it.

 

[Bogner]

Can’t go wrong with the MXR M300 if you’re looking for a stupid easy but well featured reverb.

Great Pedal And Deserves Far More Credit Than It Gets IMO.

 

[Prina]

Welcome to the Archon world! The lead channel is killer.

 

[WingerRules]

The gain channel does not have to be only for the brutz. You can get fatter/smoother grainy tones. Not that we don’t need the brutz, but it can do more than that.

 

[Bogner]

The gain channel does not have to be only for the brutz. You can get fatter/smoother grainy tones. Not that we don’t need the brutz, but it can do more than that.

Oh?

 

[WingerRules]

Oh?

Oh, I’m sure you know this. You have TWO of them! LOL. So I know you’ve twisted the knobs. (TWSS)

 

[MarcWink]

The gain channel does not have to be only for the brutz. You can get fatter/smoother grainy tones. Not that we don’t need the brutz, but it can do more than that.

Wait, whaaaaat? In all seriousness, yes, the Archon can do the dad rock thing, but the high gain tones are incredible. My settings aren't far from being just at noon on the EQ with the bright switch on and the gain at about 11:00. That's plenty for me to get into modern metal territory, and I ended up going with the freebie Horsemeat and with that set to lo gain as a boost, WOW! What a tone.

 

[bodia]

The non brutz….

 

[Davey]

Glad you like it OP.
The Archon is such a versatile amp.
Doesn't get the recognition it deserves at all.

 

[WingerRules]

Wait, whaaaaat? In all seriousness, yes, the Archon can do the dad rock thing, but the high gain tones are incredible. My settings aren't far from being just at noon on the EQ with the bright switch on and the gain at about 11:00. That's plenty for me to get into modern metal territory, and I ended up going with the freebie Horsemeat and with that set to lo gain as a boost, WOW! What a tone.

Yes, as basic as it may sound, everything at noon and gain at 11:00 is KILLER tones from the Archon. Plus, from there, just messing with depth and presence can take that to several very different territories.

And yes, I bet the.... ODPWTCN is a GREAT pedal! (OD Pedal With A Crazy Name... for now... til I come up with something better).

 

[WingerRules]

Glad you like it OP.
The Archon is such a versatile amp.
Doesn't get the recognition it deserves at all.

I try, but nobody will listen!

 

[Davey]

I try, but nobody will listen!

I know, I don't know what it is about PRS and amp in the same sentence and some people turn up their nose.
Also I think they weren't marketed well so they are unknown to some.
But we know and when you know....you know!

 

[WingerRules]

I know, I don't know what it is about PRS and amp in the same sentence and some people turn up their nose.
Also I think they weren't marketed well so they are unknown to some.
But we know and when you know....you know!

Absolutely! I used to get ticked at the bedroom rock stars at TGP saying Paul didn't know how to make an amp sound good and ridiculous things like that. I'd post a video and say "this sounds fantastic! But not at 55db you play at. Paul makes amps for professional musicians who play live on stage. They aren't made to perform optimally at levels your wife can sleep through from one room away." I used to get fairly snarky with some of them... slamming amps like the HX/DA and others that have multiple demos of them sounding fantastic and they'd say those things. I really felt bad for PRS do make some amps this great and get very little respect from the masses. But that just proves again just how little the "majority" actually knows about gear...

 

[Bogner]

Absolutely! I used to get ticked at the bedroom rock stars at TGP saying Paul didn't know how to make an amp sound good and ridiculous things like that. I'd post a video and say "this sounds fantastic! But not at 55db you play at. Paul makes amps for professional musicians who play live on stage. They aren't made to perform optimally at levels your wife can sleep through from one room away." I used to get fairly snarky with some of them... slamming amps like the HX/DA and others that have multiple demos of them sounding fantastic and they'd say those things. I really felt bad for PRS do make some amps this great and get very little respect from the masses. But that just proves again just how little the "majority" actually knows about gear...

While I Admit PRS Could Have Marketed And Rolled Things Out Much Better The Fact Remains That The CAD Amps Are Great At What They Do. The TGP Faggots Would Love The PRS CAD Amps If They Were The Exact Same Amp With A Different Name On Them. Of Course That Changes Every Week So Maybe They Would Only Like Them For A Week Or Two But They Would Still Like Them...LOL.

 

[Bogner]

Oh, I’m sure you know this. You have TWO of them! LOL. So I know you’ve twisted the knobs. (TWSS)

I Have And Surprisingly They Twist Both Ways And Can Create Some Incredible Tones In Any Style One Can Think Up. At Least The Two I Have Can. Maybe I Lucked Out And Got Two Good Ones?

 

[WingerRules]

I Have And Surprisingly They Twist Both Ways And Can Create Some Incredible Tones In Any Style One Can Think Up. At Least The Two I Have Can. Maybe I Lucked Out And Got Two Good Ones?

I think they are ALL good ones. Mine sounded incredible right out of the gate and I've never changed anything in it (for more than a few seconds).