New HX?

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.

Well, you're right about misconceptions. TONE does not come from the fingers. Phrasing, style, etc. comes from your hands and your playing, but a properly fretted note sounds the same no matter whose left hand is fretting it. But picks, strings and every other single thing in the chain makes a difference in the tone.

And I'm a little beyond gimmicks when it comes to tone and circuits. I know how they work. And if you don't like a good plexi, that's fine with me, but I've heard more than one of them sound great, and obviously, hundreds of thousands of others have too, or they wouldn't want them.
 
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I do from time to time think of a little list of give aways to save my wife from having to figure out what to do with everything.
Being serious for a moment, I have thought the same thing. There’s no guarantee that my grandson will follow the guitar path, and while he just turned 6, even 10 years from now, dumping 17 guitars on him is not a solid move even if he does. If he doesn’t, my poor wife wouldn’t even know what to do with all of my stuff.
 
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After the fuss this will probably fade in sales like the Mayer amp and even the other core amps.

I thought he was working on something creative given the lockdown comments.
 
Surprising (sort of) takes on what makes an amp worthwhile.

I've always thought of PRS as a company that makes musical instruments and amps for the stars and arena-playing musicians, and makes those items available to the general playing public as well. That's the core and CAD lines. There is a custom shop above, and SE and S2 lines below, for those who want those options. But the Core and CAD stuff are the "musicians playing to the masses" lines. That being the case, it doesn't surprise me at all that there is a 100 watt amp there, as that's what many touring pros use, sometimes multiples of them. And there's a 50, because a lot of pros use those. A touring pro wants an amp that sounds a certain way and doesn't break... the CAD amps, if you're in PRS land. Overall, it's been a pretty successful way to think for PRS.

Plenty of pros are still using old amp circuits from the 50s-60s in current music genres, so the "heyday" of these amps is still very much ongoing. If Paul and Doug decided this was an amp to make, they have people talking with them that wanted it. They didn't just toss a dart in the dark and hit a Hendrix poster. And we can buy it too, if we want. Or not.

I like it when they introduce new stuff, even if it isn't stuff I'm going to use. Like the Fiore, which has nothing for me, but I'm glad they went that way because it'll have something for others. Options are good, even if they aren't your thing.
 
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Halo product I get, bit of a strange one though

Sonzerra meh, MT15 - strange there is no useable lower volume unlike similar victory lunchbox heads.
 
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.

Bit off topic here. I believe that "Tone is in the fingers" is a misnomer. The actual AURAL qualities (various frequencies and their amplitudes) that reach our ears come from the vibrational characteristics of the guitar and any electronics involved in the signal chain. Yes, if you plug Eddie Van Halen into a Supro while he's playing a Danelctro, he is going to be recognizable as EVH. But he isn't going to have the sound (tone) for which he is recognized. The "in the fingers" part is recognizing the technique and stylistic characteristics of each individual player. The style and technique of vibrato, chord voicings, bending, timing (pocket), note choice, etc., are what make EVH sound like EVH no matter what gear he is plugged into.

As for the amp, I think it sounds great. But, it is a bit out of my comfort range for spending on an amplifier.
 
Well, you're right about misconceptions. TONE does not come from the fingers. Phrasing, style, etc. comes from your hands and your playing, but a properly fretted note sounds the same no matter whose left hand is fretting it. But picks, strings and every other single thing in the chain makes a difference in the tone.

And I'm a little beyond gimmicks when it comes to tone and circuits. I know how they work. And if you don't like a good plexi, that's fine with me, but I've heard more than one of them sound great, and obviously, hundreds of thousands of others have too, or they wouldn't want them.


+1. Saw this after I posted my little bit.
 
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.

I know quite a bit about amp circuits and an amp design. A plexi is not just a tone. It is a response to one's playing. The amp feels like it is breathing when cranked up. That is due to the relatively short signal path that contains two gain stages, a cathode follower to buffer the gain stages being loaded down by the tone stack, a phase-inverter, power tubes, and a output transformer to convert a high voltage/low current hi-impedance circuit to a lower voltage/higher current lower impedance circuit. Adding an effect loops alters the tone and response of the amp and so does adding gain stages and switching. The plexi circuit responds well to a post-phase inverter circuit, but that is an easy mod. Like most older amp circuits, every component in the plexi circuit makes a difference.

By the way, VH1 was recorded on a 100W plexi. Granted, a variac was used to lower headroom, but it was still a plexi. A plexi was used on all of the early albums. Eddie's tone became arguably more fizzy with less bite when he switched to higher gain amps. Almost all of the Dokken albums were recorded with a 100W plexi. The 100W circuit is not all that much louder than the 50W circuit because it is only a 3dB increase in power and its take 9dB to double the sound pressure coming out of the amp. It is often stated that a 10dB increase power is required, but 9dB results in doubling of the sound pressure. That means we have to double the power three times (e.g., a 400W plexi would produce twice as much sound pressure as a 50W plexi). What the 100W circuit brings to the table is more girth and headroom. There really is not the much difference between a metalface Marshall and a plexi Marshall. Sure, Marshall used different transformers over the years, but that was driven mostly by cost and attempts to prevent amplifiers from blowing up when dimed, especially while still under warranty. The major changes were interstage coupling and cathode bypass capacitors to make the amps brighter.
 
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