Next PRS amp metal?

[CoreyT]

I have heard rumors here abut an amp aimed more for metal.
I see the metal pickups in that thread, so what is next for an amp?

Got to hear the HX/DA amp at Paul's Meet & Greet on Monday at my local dealer, and my son and I had to leave just as they were switching over to the new 50 watt Custom head into a 2x12 cabinet.
I do like the sound of the Custom, and Mike gets some nice darker tones from it here at 6:36 in the video below.
But I am curious if a more darker amp is coming down the pike.

 

[jfb]

I have this feeling we will be seeing something a bit more metal soon.

 

[themike]

Do I think the higher ups and PRS care particularly for metal? Not really.

Do I think guys like Shawn and other employees understand the value of appealing to metal players? Absolutely, 100%.

With that being said I don't know if I would put all my chips into a metal only amp. They've played around with adding higher gain to normal amps but nothing that was strictly for it. If they do, I would bet it would be a CAD amp. Who knows though, maybe Doug has a little more say in his department than say someone trying to develop a guitar for the main line.

I'm simply basing my predictions off of the fact that we have yet to see a 7 string, baritone, or a stereotypical metal guitar (floyd, super hot pickups etc) in the main production line yet in the 70s Paul was persuing people who played extreme music for it's time like Carlos, Al and Howard.

 

[WEDGE]

It needs to go to eleven.....

 

[themike]

It needs to go to eleven.....

And come in "Blacker".

 

[aduayer]

there's lots of kind of metal... my "H" 50W amp gives more gain then I need, but I understand what you mean.

 

[themike]

there's lots of kind of metal... my "H" 50W amp gives more gain then I need, but I understand what you mean.

Exactly. That's kind of the beauty of PRS and the reason I understand why they don't need specific niche instruments per se - they just craft things that are extremely versatile.

 

[Drew]

A metal amp? I don't think an amp is necessarily a one trick pony if it has super high gain. Look at the Mesa Mark Series and Marshall JVM. Both the JVM and Mark V can basically do it all....and do it all well... from slightly overdriven blues tones to bone crunching saturation. Its just a matter of how many gain stages there are. The Mark V has 7 pre-amp tubes. I think if PRS followed the Mesa road map on amp versatility they could really hit a home run. However a lot of the PRS amp guys are probably on the older side and thus wouldn't want to pay extra coin for an amp that CAN do metal but is something they will never dive into. So, I'd say the chances of a super high gain amp that is a regular production item is probably at or near zero.

 

[László]

I'm simply basing my predictions off of the fact that we have yet to see a 7 string, baritone, or a stereotypical metal guitar (floyd, super hot pickups etc) in the main production line yet in the 70s Paul was persuing people who played extreme music for it's time like Carlos, Al and Howard.

Not to quibble too much, but Carlos, Al and Howard were not extreme tone players, even for the 70s or 80s. They were, and are, extremely GOOD players, but there was metal type stuff around in those days with heavier tone. This is especially true by the early 80s.

However a lot of the PRS amp guys are probably on the older side and thus wouldn't want to pay extra coin for an amp that CAN do metal but is something they will never dive into

Being one of those older guys...my last amp before the HX/DA was a Mark V. As a studio guy, I occasionally have to get heavier tones, and the Mark is a versatile amp. But I can push the HX/DA with a variety of outboard stuff to get those sounds, and in fact have done so in my ad work.

As good as the Mark V sounds - and I absolutely loved mine - I think I'm further ahead with the HX/DA because its basic tone is so darn good that it's an amazing platform that a player can take in a lot of directions.

People sometimes forget that Hendrix, Page, and others got some very heavy tones with just an early Marshall and a fuzz box; today's pedals give the player significantly more variety and offer some very heavy tones indeed. Try a Way Huge Swollen Pickle in front of just about any amp, and it can be driven into some pretty amazing insanity, and there are many other pedals that can do that.

I get the idea of being able to plug into an amp with a cable, and have your tones on tap. That's the thinking behind the Mark V. But that does come at a price in terms of basic tone and transparency, in my experience. And that may in fact be the reasoning behind PRS not going to a metal amp, although I have a feeling that they will come out with a heavy amp anyway.

Just my personal thinking and two cents.

 

[JustRob]

I would be really interested in one, but another I am looking at has a built in attenuator and recording output. I'm holding out to see what, if anything, comes out but I fear I might not be the market they aim for. That sucks because I really would prefer to stick with PRS.

 

[themike]

Not to quibble too much, but Carlos, Al and Howard were not extreme tone players, even for the 70s or 80s. They were, and are, extremely GOOD players, but there was metal type stuff around in those days with heavier tone. This is especially true by the early 80s.

Maybe extreme was the wrong choice of words - off the beaten path? Not your parents music? Somewhat underground for their time? I dont know but I feel like you get me LOL

Heck, I'll even listen to some live Sanatana from back in the day now and my mom asks me what noise I am listening to haha

 

[László]

Maybe extreme was the wrong choice of words - off the beaten path? Not your parents music? Somewhat underground for their time? I dont know but I feel like you get me LOL

Heck, I'll even listen to some live Sanatana from back in the day now and my mom asks me what noise I am listening to haha

I do get what you were saying. I think underground applies.

But if you listen to, say, Hendrix, Ted Nugent/Amboy Dukes, Steppenwolf, MC5, and several other bands from the era, you hear a lot more fuzz, feedback, etc. If you consider the antecedents of metal, I think it's in those directions.

I remember being in college and hearing Santana for the first time in 1968, and digging the fusion of Latin and Rock, but I didn't think it was heavy at all. My parents were really into Latin music, so...they kind of dug Santana.

 

[CoreyT]

Maybe my use of the term metal is maybe to hardcore?
Like I mentioned earlier, I like the sound Mike Ault got from the Custom 50 near the end.

I have a few amps at home, and they are all way too loud for my place.
The Carvin V3M is 50 watts, 25 watts, and 7 watts.
Even on the lowest setting it can blow you away, but you can get everything from clean to heavy metal with it.

My newest amp, a Blackstar HT5-R head into an Orange cab with 1x12 Celestion Vintage 30 is 5 watts, and it too is way loud if you turn it up.
What I like though is there is no master volume on it, it is all balls to the wall overdrive even at a whisper.
And it has a clean channel too that is very clean.

If PRS could make a "Custom 5" that sounds like this or the Custom 50, that would be great.
And in a head config, I much prefer a separate head and cab over a combo.

Lot of us do not gig out, we play at home and do not need the 50 watts.

 

[vchizzle]

I don't know. I'd like to see them at offer a CAD that goes in this direction though. I played through a new Custom 50 and it's getting closer to what I'd want in an amp, but not quite there. It's not so much an amount of gain issue, more of a voicing thing for me. I don't know that there'd be the market for them to step into with a core line \m/ amp. It's already heavily crowded.


I know when I'm at EXP this year, I will be searching out that amp in the \m/ pickup vids to see where it sits in comparison to the custom 50.

 

[vchizzle]

The video with Clint and his SE also gives a little hope as well, appears to just be a Custom 50 he's using in the vid(if that's indeed the amp he played through). The lower tuning obviously adds to the metal sound too.

 

[andy474x]

Maybe my use of the term metal is maybe to hardcore?
Like I mentioned earlier, I like the sound Mike Ault got from the Custom 50 near the end.

I have a few amps at home, and they are all way too loud for my place.
The Carvin V3M is 50 watts, 25 watts, and 7 watts.
Even on the lowest setting it can blow you away, but you can get everything from clean to heavy metal with it.

My newest amp, a Blackstar HT5-R head into an Orange cab with 1x12 Celestion Vintage 30 is 5 watts, and it too is way loud if you turn it up.
What I like though is there is no master volume on it, it is all balls to the wall overdrive even at a whisper.
And it has a clean channel too that is very clean.

If PRS could make a "Custom 5" that sounds like this or the Custom 50, that would be great.
And in a head config, I much prefer a separate head and cab over a combo.

Lot of us do not gig out, we play at home and do not need the 50 watts.

I think it would be great if PRS started making amps with a wattage selector. My SE 30 sounds great cranked, but for lower volume situations, it's just too much. I can grab my hot rodded 5w Epi VJ head and cab, and it's a lot more practical. The USA 30 or 16+ would be cool with a wattage selector. Also wouldn't mind seeing a single channel 5 in the SE range, maybe with the Sweet 16 preamp.

 

[László]

Here's my feeling on low wattage amps for metal:

For me a big part of the metal sound is a tight, muscular low end without flab. In truth, you really need 100 watts to achieve that kind of bottom tightness and power. Otherwise it's just grindy middle frequency gain that doesn't really "get there." And it's muddy. Might as well use a pedal or a good modeler.

A low-wattage amp for metal reminds me of playing a concert piano piece on a little living room console piano instead of a grand piano. You can do it, but it isn't gonna be very impressive sounding, and you can never get the dynamics right. So you have to throw your technique off, etc.

But I love low wattage amps for classic rock, blues, etc.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

I don't know, the examples above seem like there is enough gain going on for me if I were still doing metal. I do feel that I'm maybe not into the EQ choices that the guys playing them have used.... I've got a "metal" gig in October, maybe one of you will loan one to me for the show so I can make a proper judgment. :hello:

 

[andy474x]

Here's my feeling on low wattage amps for metal:

For me a big part of the metal sound is a tight, muscular low end without flab. In truth, you really need 100 watts to achieve that kind of bottom tightness and power. Otherwise it's just grindy middle frequency gain that doesn't really "get there." And it's muddy. Might as well use a pedal or a good modeler.

A low-wattage amp for metal reminds me of playing a concert piano piece on a little living room console piano instead of a grand piano. You can do it, but it isn't gonna be very impressive sounding, and you can never get the dynamics right. So you have to throw your technique off, etc.

But I love low wattage amps for classic rock, blues, etc.

Agreed... I should've clarified that I was referring to the amp line in general when talking about wanting wattage selectors or a low powered amp. I think the Blackstar, etc. stuff is great for guys that want a metal sounding practice amp, but honestly I don't think PRS could put out a similar low wattage metal focused amp and offer it at a price that would make it attractive. It just wouldn't have enough practical applications, as you mentioned Les.

I seem to remember a video for the Blistertone where Paul describes using some part of a 100 watt power supply in the amps, which are 50 watts, to really get that tight bottom and attack instead of the sag of a cranked vintage style 50 watt.

 

[vchizzle]

Here's my feeling on low wattage amps for metal:

For me a big part of the metal sound is a tight, muscular low end without flab. In truth, you really need 100 watts to achieve that kind of bottom tightness and power. Otherwise it's just grindy middle frequency gain that doesn't really "get there." And it's muddy. Might as well use a pedal or a good modeler.

A low-wattage amp for metal reminds me of playing a concert piano piece on a little living room console piano instead of a grand piano. You can do it, but it isn't gonna be very impressive sounding, and you can never get the dynamics right. So you have to throw your technique off, etc.

But I love low wattage amps for classic rock, blues, etc.

I don't know Les, there's some pretty great low watt heads out there that do metal quite well. Now I don't 100% disagree with your statement - I love it loud and proud and prefer a 4x12 for almost everything. But again, there's some great sounding low watters out there that can tear it up and be pretty heavy sounding.