thinking about a new amp

[gush]

I have been listening to prs amp clips and I have been liking the lead tones I hear. I like my amp but the lead tones the prs amps produce sound better to me. Not sure what amp to consider but what I need is two channels to keep me versatile and 50 watts or less. 30 watts would be good.

I don't care for amp controls on top but maybe not a deal breaker.

Nobody carries prs amps in my area so I've never played through one. I was in a guitar center in Des Moines last year and they had a used prs amp but I didn't have time to try it.

 

[markintime]

You can see what I really like in my sig. But still I would like a PRS if I had the $$$.

 

[andy474x]

If I were shopping for an amp, I would be looking hard at a 2 Channel Custom. It's a refinement of the previous 2 Channel H amp, which already had a lot of fans.

 

[gush]

What is it about the 2 channel custom that you like?

There is a 2 channel H on ebay pretty cheap but I'm not ready to do that yet. I don't think Iwant to buy a prs amp off of ebay but this one is from a music store.

 

[László]

Gush, I know you stated a preference for a two channel amp (and the two channel PRS amps are great and incidentally have front mounted controls, not top mounted), but at least try an HXDA or a DG30.

Yes, they're single channel. But they sound amazing and are the real deal. Controlling the amp's breakup from the guitar isn't a big deal, it works well, and you get a really pure, wonderful sound.

The other suggestion I have is to consider the Archon 50. Yeah, it's high gain, but it doesn't have to be, and I've heard online clips with it sounding great even with classic rock tones. The cleans are wonderful. I know Aristotle gigs with one often, and he's expressed big time enthusiasm for his. The reviewer in Guitarist says that there are even country players who run Archons because of the cleans!

It's my straight-up belief that these amps are in the category of the very best amps in the world, and the pleasant surprise is that relative to other very high end amps, they're doing it for realistic coin. If The Allman Brothers and David Grissom can gig with them (and they do) seems to me that they are at least worth investigating and talking to a dealer about.

I also want to say that any questions I have had have been dealt with wonderfully by PRS' amp department. I just love these amps and highly recommend them.

 

[gush]

Even though a two channel amp is what I want, if an HX/DA or a DG sounds the best to my ears then that's what counts. I would adapt.

The thing is, we now have our old drummer back and I have convinced the guys we need to step it up a notch. To me that says practice more, refine tone, and work to make the band better than ever. So far they are on board. This is what has gotten my interest in tone improvement going.

I'm going to have to figure out where to go to try these things out. I would buy one sight unseen if I could get a great deal on it.

 

[aristotle]

If you're looking for a no-brainer, can't go wrong answer, I'd go with the 2-channel C. I like the H and the Custom for sure, but the EL34's in the C does it more for me. To me, it's the more "traditional" rock tone of all of the 2-channel amps that PRS has put out. I think that I might be in the minority though since the 2-channel Custom is essentially a next gen H, and I'm sure they went with that because the H was more popular than the C.

As Les mentioned, the Archon is fantastic, and I do gig it regularly. I happen to really like the tones you get out of the lead channel of the Archon, particularly with the gain dialed back a bit, but it might not be for everybody. Also as Les mentioned, I'd get an Archon strictly because of the clean channel alone.

I also personally like running an MDT or HX/DA or DG30 in old-school fashion, but I do get that if you gig, depending on the material you do, it may be less practical. If you're not planning on gigging the thing though, that's pretty much irrelevant since a couple of knob twists on the amp will set it up to whatever you want it to be. Also keep in mind that the 30W DG30 is way less home-friendly than a 100W Archon. There are tones you can't get out of the DG30 (or MDT or HX/DA) without it being at least relatively loud. Not the case as much with the Archon (or any of the 2-channel PRS amps).

 

[Bluesboy998]

I agree with Aristotle the Custom 50 is an exceptional amp covers a wide range of tones mine has 6l6's never tried el 34's curious to hear what it sounds like.

 

[vchizzle]

What amp are you using now?

I have great results with the Archon. Clean is AWESOME. High gain is AWESOME, I roll my guitar volume down often for a crunch tone. I also run an Xotic AC Booster in front of the clean at times depending on what I'm after. Still haven't tried it in 50W mode because it sounds so great in 100...even at home at low volumes. They can be had cheap if you wait for the right deal.

 

[gush]

Im using a 1994 peavey 5150. I put a custom tube set in it last year and that really tightened up the tone.