New HX?

1) Most folks aren't using 100w heads anymore so that is puzzling. Maybe this is for the collectors while the 50w is for the working guys?
2) I'm going to reserve judgement on the sound quality but everything I've heard has not been very good to my ears. I'll attribute some of that to PRS needing to get some better guys to do these demos. When you have to rely on Tyler Larson to sell your product, you are in trouble. I love Tylers channel but he's not the guy you want doing the demo on this. You just released a product with Authentic Hendrix on it. Bring out the big guns to sell it, even if you have to pay them handsomely.
3) No built in attenuation or variable wattage is a colossal blunder. This is 2021. Yeah, this is more or less a re-issue type amp but you need to bring it into the 21st century for it to be usable for a lot of players. From a marketing perspective, the worst thing any company can do is to try to sell you a product, but disclaimer that you need to buy yet another product to get this most out of the product they are trying to sell you. When you get into the 3k plus range for amps, it's not really going to matter much if you have to raise the sticker a few hundred more to include some needed and expected features.
4) Building on #3, we aren't allowed to discuss specific MAP, but holy crap! I have to imagine the Hendrix estate is making out well on these. That's a super basic amp for that kind of money.

Just my 2 cents.
 
Should have just re-issued the 100 watt HX/DA with a re-engineered front panel/cabinet, 1/2 power switch and an effects loop. And this time include an Owners Manual.

And keep the Hendrix Estate out of it...

"purportedly used..."...Every Marshall Head made in that era sounded just a minuscule different than the next one off the assembly line. That is common knowledge and a historical fact.
 
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My 2 cents: I REALLY want to like PRS amps, but I have not found one for me yet. This one is very targeted and I am not the audience.

I have already owned and sold a C, H and MT15. I have played through a HX/DA and DG. The Original Sewell was THE BEST tone from a PRS amp, but did not have the feature set I need.

I will continue to hope.
 
Should have just re-issued the 100 watt HX/DA with a re-engineered front panel/cabinet, 1/2 power switch and an effects loop. And this time include an Owners Manual.

And keep the Hendrix Estate out of it...

"purportedly used..."...Every Marshall Head made in that era sounded just a minuscule different than the next one off the assembly line. That is common knowledge and a historical fact.
This was my hope, maybe even a Variac with set “safe” range (the wishfully named HX/DA/EVH), as that might be the only thing you could add to an already-superior amp.

I’d like to stay positive, though, so I’ll just say I hope this one serves the needs of the player who wants both a Plexi and a PRS build, with that feature set. If nothing else, it’s a boon to attenuator makers!
 
1) Most folks aren't using 100w heads anymore so that is puzzling. Maybe this is for the collectors while the 50w is for the working guys?
2) I'm going to reserve judgement on the sound quality but everything I've heard has not been very good to my ears. I'll attribute some of that to PRS needing to get some better guys to do these demos. When you have to rely on Tyler Larson to sell your product, you are in trouble. I love Tylers channel but he's not the guy you want doing the demo on this. You just released a product with Authentic Hendrix on it. Bring out the big guns to sell it, even if you have to pay them handsomely.
3) No built in attenuation or variable wattage is a colossal blunder. This is 2021. Yeah, this is more or less a re-issue type amp but you need to bring it into the 21st century for it to be usable for a lot of players. From a marketing perspective, the worst thing any company can do is to try to sell you a product, but disclaimer that you need to buy yet another product to get this most out of the product they are trying to sell you. When you get into the 3k plus range for amps, it's not really going to matter much if you have to raise the sticker a few hundred more to include some needed and expected features.
4) Building on #3, we aren't allowed to discuss specific MAP, but holy crap! I have to imagine the Hendrix estate is making out well on these. That's a super basic amp for that kind of money.

Just my 2 cents.


Well that's one perspective. The one of someone who is not a buyer for this type of amp. The whole thing with "great" plexi amps is 1) the purity of the circuit and 2) the choice and synergy of the chosen components and their affect on the tone. High end, carefully chosen components, in a hand wired amp are not cheap. Look at the Louis Electric Cobra (Tag's thread at TGP) and you'll see a circuit that every single component was not only very carefully chosen, but even after rejecting multiple parts that don't spec exactly as they want, they still play the amp and then mod it some to get the exact tone they want. Overall a relatively "basic" circuit, but done to the highest degree. People are raving at the bargain that it is at $3500 and saying it's $2K under it's nearest real competitor.

If you want complex options and multiple features, there are more than a few amps out there that have them. This one is about purity of tone. If you don't get that and think it's overpriced and ill conceived then this amp is not for you.
 
I would be interested in loud amps if I had a place to enjoy them. I have a 2 Channel Custom 50 that I keep the master on the lead channel at 9:00 and the clean channel at 10:00. Every once in a while I will go louder, but I really don’t come close to using the power of the amp. Even my 15 watt Univalve is too loud for me without using the built in attenuator (which doesn’t sound as good). But that is just me and my context. I don’t see any reason for PRS to include an attenuator, direct out, or power scaling. The external signal capture options are evolving quickly and putting that into an amp will leave it quickly outdated (like my Univalve or Mesa CabClone). Let the companies that specialize in that technology do their thing and let PRS put their resources into making great tone. PRS can’t do it all.

The greatest thing about this amp is that Paul got to realize a dream of his by cracking open the amp he has been lusting over most of his life. Cool!
 
I use a 100 watt head. If you need an attenuator to play it, maybe you should just stick to practice amps

I use a 100 Watt Lone Star, in addition to my PRS and other amps. It has a different feel and more headroom. There have always been good reasons to have 100 Watts on tap besides volume!

As to MV amps, any gain stage - and a master volume is a gain stage - affects the tone. Eliminate the various gain stages, and you have a purer tone. The classic amps of yesteryear sounded great in part because they were pretty simple circuits.

"purportedly used..."...Every Marshall Head made in that era sounded just a minuscule different than the next one off the assembly line. That is common knowledge and a historical fact.

So what?

Variability among amps was not unusual for that era. Every Fender also sounded different, too. Back in 1968 I lined up 4 or 5 black panel and early silver panel Bassman heads and played through them all in order to pick the one I liked best. Of COURSE they sounded different - but they also all sounded great. It was like choosing a guitar. All of them sound different, too.

The fact is that Hendrix' amps were modded with different parts. So they're going to sound MORE different than a stock Marshall from that era. But the question here isn't whether the HX sounds like a 'typical' plexi Marshall. It's whether the HX sounds like Hendrix' modded touring Marshall.

So for me, the sole question is whether you like the sound of the amp. If the answer is yes, then it's a desirable amp, unless it's not well made. It appears to be well made (after 7-plus years, my PRS amps have been bulletproof).

Someone complained about the endorsement of the estate, but makes no sense to complain about a stamped endorsement from Hendrix' estate. It was probably a condition of allowing the amp to be taken apart and copied.

Whether it's got some official endorsement on the back is irrelevant to the tone. If it's unnecessary to have that official endorsement, it's equally unnecessary to worry about some machine printed autograph on the rear panel that's irrelevant to the tone or build quality of the amp. It just doesn't matter.

They'll sell a lot of these amps, because a lot of players want that tone. I have an HXDA. I plan to hang onto the HXDA (I love the DA options on that amp), but I'll add one of these to my studio if it sounds appreciably different head-to-head (I think it probably will).

I record music for a living. I expect an amp like this will have tremendous appeal for people like me. Bedroom players can dick around with attenuators, and I'm sure it won't be long before someone profiles the amp with a Kemper.
 
My 2 cents: I REALLY want to like PRS amps, but I have not found one for me yet. This one is very targeted and I am not the audience.

I have already owned and sold a C, H and MT15. I have played through a HX/DA and DG. The Original Sewell was THE BEST tone from a PRS amp, but did not have the feature set I need.

I will continue to hope.
I'm the same way.......love the prs guitars like no other but the amps don't trip my trigger. I will admit this one does generate some interest but I'm playing one FIRST.
 
Well that's one perspective. The one of someone who is not a buyer for this type of amp. The whole thing with "great" plexi amps is 1) the purity of the circuit and 2) the choice and synergy of the chosen components and their affect on the tone. High end, carefully chosen components, in a hand wired amp are not cheap. Look at the Louis Electric Cobra (Tag's thread at TGP) and you'll see a circuit that every single component was not only very carefully chosen, but even after rejecting multiple parts that don't spec exactly as they want, they still play the amp and then mod it some to get the exact tone they want. Overall a relatively "basic" circuit, but done to the highest degree. People are raving at the bargain that it is at $3500 and saying it's $2K under it's nearest real competitor.

If you want complex options and multiple features, there are more than a few amps out there that have them. This one is about purity of tone. If you don't get that and think it's overpriced and ill conceived then this amp is not for you.

Um... Some people have too much money and have misconceptions about where tone comes from. I think Eddie proved without a doubt that it's from the fingers. This cork sniffing "purity of the circuit" stuff is a marketing gimmick for amp makers that want people to spend thousands on amps with chosen top shelf components. You are right. I'm not the prime marketing target for this amp. Maybe I would be if it had more utility. But, a non-master volume amp with no effects loop and no built in attenuation doesn't scream "usable". Let me clue you into something else. Plexis were never "great". It was the tool available at the time but the legend of the plexi is one that is blown out of proportion.
 
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