What PRS amps do you own?

[László]

That Custom 50 sounds great!

 

[Chester]

That Custom 50 sounds great!

Awesome eh? Bernie would sound great through anything as long as it growls and bites. His tech says he is LOUD, with great dynamics. A guy who honed his chops on NMV Marshalls back in the day ..

This thing sounds great at studio levels too. I changed the JJ's in V1-3 for TAD's and a Tungsol to give it a bit more clarity with the power section below 5, and it sounds truely excellent. Responds very well to guitar volume rolling, which I do a lot. Seriously good amp, and like the gut shots of an Archon in a previous post on this thread, neatly wired and put together. What's not to like ..

 

[andy474x]

Andy, here’s a rough sketch I drew years ago to help me visualize a potential project. It’s dimensionally accurate, so maybe it could be of some help?

In all but my PRS cabs, I’ve swapped speakers a bazillion times. In the Boogie 2x12s, I stuck with 2 configs for live use, all C90s (the Mesa version of a Celestion Lead 90) and the other is a mix of Warehouse Veteran 30 and ET65. The WGS speakers are simply fantastic. I also have an ET65 in a little custom maker’s 1x12 that I’ve used with every amp I have with stellar results. It sounds sublime with the MkIII when I’ve dialed it to be a blues amp (long story) and did well in the MkIII’s open back combo cab. Not many speakers do well in closed and open back cab applications. But the pine 2x12 stays V30 because it defies what I perceived as typical V30 cabs.

Very interesting - how do you find the C90’s compared to the V30’s? I’ve also been very interested in Lead 80’s, thinking if they have less of “the spike” and a touch more top end presence, they would be a very good fit. I’ll probably try the V30’s in it first, because I have them, but ya know... speakers.

I came very, very close to getting the ET10’s from WGS for my 2x10 Vibrolux. Went with Webers, but would like to have tried them.

 

[Boogie]

Very interesting - how do you find the C90’s compared to the V30’s? I’ve also been very interested in Lead 80’s, thinking if they have less of “the spike” and a touch more top end presence, they would be a very good fit. I’ll probably try the V30’s in it first, because I have them, but ya know... speakers.

I came very, very close to getting the ET10’s from WGS for my 2x10 Vibrolux. Went with Webers, but would like to have tried them.

Keep in mind that my pair of 2x12s came stock with C90 on top and EV below. The half-back design gives the option to have the top open or sealed, and the bottom is a ported closed back. One cab has the WGS ET65 in the top, open and the Vet30 bottom. The other has both C90s, closed top. The results are completely different!

When playing in a 90s-ish trio - Wheezer/Cake/Jet stuff - the MkIII with extensive pedalboard loved the C90-loaded cab. It had bite and cut without the mid hump of a V30 cab. It also could take anything the amp could dish out...good for the numerous outdoor gigs we did. It sounded really good. Being the only guitar meant that I needed the midrange that other speakers specifically scoop out. At the other end of the spectrum, at the same time, I joined a classic rock cover band and used almost the same rig except the WGS loaded cab. Loved it so much that I dropped another ET65 into the MkIII combo. That was insanely good! Got so many compliments from other guitarists on those results.

Except for the Vet30, I’ve not had a V30-loaded Boogie cab. Not until the PRS pine 2x12 did I have them. That’s not a fair comparison because I don’t think the pine cab sounds at all like a V30-loaded animal. Every other V30 cab I’ve played - 1x12, 2x12, or 4x12 - sounded like the traditional Mesa Rectifier cabs. That’s an awesome tone, but not what I needed, so I avoided them believing the speakers defined the sound. Wrong! It’s the cab and grill, mostly...then the speaker. Being perfectly honest, I don’t think I know what a V30 sounds like compared to an ET65, but the results, in my cabs, lead me toward the WGS for bass response, mids range, and breakup character.
My application always dictated the choice.

 

[Leif Robertson]

Sonzera 20
DG-30

 

[MoggyMel]

2-Channel H 20 watt special combo with a 1x12" speaker and 6V6 tubes from back when the 2-Channel was 50 watts only and had C and H transformer variants. It is my Fender Deluxe Reverb replacement with some additional gain available as an added bonus. It weighs a ton and a half which is my only complaint, but if you want tubes, a beefy transformer, and a cabinet that does not rattle, rumble and fall apart, you also get the weight.

 

[Boogie]

2-Channel H 20 watt special combo with a 1x12" speaker and 6V6 tubes from back when the 2-Channel was 50 watts only and had C and H transformer variants. It is my Fender Deluxe Reverb replacement with some additional gain available as an added bonus. It weighs a ton and a half which is my only complaint, but if you want tubes, a beefy transformer, and a cabinet that does not rattle, rumble and fall apart, you also get the weight.

I always wanted to do a side by side of this and a Deluxe. Is the voicing similar, despite the gain options? Beautiful amp!

 

[László]

2-Channel H 20 watt special combo with a 1x12" speaker and 6V6 tubes from back when the 2-Channel was 50 watts only and had C and H transformer variants. It is my Fender Deluxe Reverb replacement with some additional gain available as an added bonus. It weighs a ton and a half which is my only complaint, but if you want tubes, a beefy transformer, and a cabinet that does not rattle, rumble and fall apart, you also get the weight.

Beautiful package. Really.

 

[MoggyMel]

I always wanted to do a side by side of this and a Deluxe. Is the voicing similar, despite the gain options? Beautiful amp!

I did not get to do a lot of comparison between the two, but here is what is stuck in my rapidly degrading memory. The 2-Channel was a tiny bit thicker and fuller than the Deluxe even in the cleanest settings. The difference was not huge, but noticeable if you focused on it. It was a very good facsimile of the Deluxe, but not an exact clone. Overdriving the clean channel gave some really nice creamy distortion without losing too much articulation and without getting too flabby or mushy. The Gain channel went way beyond what the Deluxe could deliver. While you could overdrive the Deluxe and get some nice distorted tones, the 2-Channel was way beefier and thicker with the Gain channel.

This 20 watt 2-Channel does not get into the heavy metal and hard rocks tones even with high output pickups. I have a Mesa Boogie for that purpose. When I want super clear and chimey, I will go with my Matchless Lightning. The 2-Channel fits nicely between the two and leans closer to the Matchless mainly because of the cleans. I hope this helps to answer your question.

 

[TRGuy]

J-MOD100 at the moment, but hoping for an MT-15 soon! I've been foolishly waiting for them to hit the used market, but they don't seem to be at the moment, must be too good!

 

[Deleted member 5962]

"Too good for the money" seems almost a certainty. Heck I've seen a couple used ones for sale, and both were the same thing... "I don't use more than mid gain levels so it has too much gain for me." Both knew what it was when they bought it, but they played them and bought it anyway! If you don't want high gain, get a Sonzera.

 

[kurtswiz]

Just joined this Forum.
Got an original Sweet 16 Tuxido head and 1 x 12 Tuxido cab, a Custom 50 H head, and a Custom 100 H head in Black Cherry with matching 4 x 10 cab, 2 x 12 open back Tuxido cab, and a 2 x 12 big mouth closed cab.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

Just joined this Forum.
Got an original Sweet 16 Tuxido head and 1 x 12 Tuxido cab, a Custom 50 H head, and a Custom 100 H head in Black Cherry with matching 4 x 10 cab, 2 x 12 open back Tuxido cab, and a 2 x 12 big mouth closed cab.

Welcome to the forum. I want your Custom 50 head. Thank you.

 

[bodia]

Just joined this Forum.
Got an original Sweet 16 Tuxido head and 1 x 12 Tuxido cab, a Custom 50 H head, and a Custom 100 H head in Black Cherry with matching 4 x 10 cab, 2 x 12 open back Tuxido cab, and a 2 x 12 big mouth closed cab.

Welcome, and congrats!

 

[ViperDoc]

Keep in mind that my pair of 2x12s came stock with C90 on top and EV below. The half-back design gives the option to have the top open or sealed, and the bottom is a ported closed back. One cab has the WGS ET65 in the top, open and the Vet30 bottom. The other has both C90s, closed top. The results are completely different!

When playing in a 90s-ish trio - Wheezer/Cake/Jet stuff - the MkIII with extensive pedalboard loved the C90-loaded cab. It had bite and cut without the mid hump of a V30 cab. It also could take anything the amp could dish out...good for the numerous outdoor gigs we did. It sounded really good. Being the only guitar meant that I needed the midrange that other speakers specifically scoop out. At the other end of the spectrum, at the same time, I joined a classic rock cover band and used almost the same rig except the WGS loaded cab. Loved it so much that I dropped another ET65 into the MkIII combo. That was insanely good! Got so many compliments from other guitarists on those results.

Except for the Vet30, I’ve not had a V30-loaded Boogie cab. Not until the PRS pine 2x12 did I have them. That’s not a fair comparison because I don’t think the pine cab sounds at all like a V30-loaded animal. Every other V30 cab I’ve played - 1x12, 2x12, or 4x12 - sounded like the traditional Mesa Rectifier cabs. That’s an awesome tone, but not what I needed, so I avoided them believing the speakers defined the sound. Wrong! It’s the cab and grill, mostly...then the speaker. Being perfectly honest, I don’t think I know what a V30 sounds like compared to an ET65, but the results, in my cabs, lead me toward the WGS for bass response, mids range, and breakup character.
My application always dictated the choice.

I recently tried V30s in a Bogner CB212 and couldn’t do the icepick. It was too much. My last two gigs have been with a pair of Fane alnico and ceramic speakers in an Avatar Forte 212 and Vertical Avatar 212 with Scumback H and M 65s. The Fanes were incredibly hi fi and sounded really good out of the side-vented cab and the Scumbacks are pure rock and roll. They sound amazing. The cab makes more of a difference than I ever realized. For example, I run a Creamback M in an open back Carr combo and it sounds incredibly balanced and punchy, whereas the same speaker in a ported closed back Bogner and/or Dr Z CB 212 sounds like garbage. Dead. Completely uninspiring. Is it possible for individual speakers in the same cab to be out of phase?

 

[SJP]

Mesa Single Rectifier
Mesa Rec 4x12
*** I just got an MT-15*** It sounds amazing but: many threads out there about the terrible buzz,static… I have a slight buzz,static in my speaker cab from my Mesa and MT-15 with the volume at 0 , same exact buzz even from my Bose system but that's from the circuitry in the house. But this MT-15 has loud static as soon as the lead volume and gain goes up...static like AM Frequency. My Mesa Single Rec is quiet. Is this normal? Also the MT-15 doesn't have an output level/knob for the volume. If I want to jam at night somewhat quietly even at 7watts and at 1 on the lead volume its too loud. You cant turn it down slightly because then its at 0. It would be great to set the lead volume to 1 and have the output level/knob to fine tune/adjust the lead volume. Is there anything out there I can use to control the lead volume since this MT15 doesn't have an output level/knob?

 

[Boogie]

I recently tried V30s in a Bogner CB212 and couldn’t do the icepick. It was too much. My last two gigs have been with a pair of Fane alnico and ceramic speakers in an Avatar Forte 212 and Vertical Avatar 212 with Scumback H and M 65s. The Fanes were incredibly hi fi and sounded really good out of the side-vented cab and the Scumbacks are pure rock and roll. They sound amazing. The cab makes more of a difference than I ever realized. For example, I run a Creamback M in an open back Carr combo and it sounds incredibly balanced and punchy, whereas the same speaker in a ported closed back Bogner and/or Dr Z CB 212 sounds like garbage. Dead. Completely uninspiring. Is it possible for individual speakers in the same cab to be out of phase?

Being totally honest, I bought the PRS pine 2x12 because there was zero icepick. Was that due to the amp? Probably, which was why I insisted on getting the matched amp/cab set that I’d heard in person. It’s the most unique cab with V30s I’ve experienced so far.

Scumbacks...I’ve wanted to try those for years but been afraid to just slap them in one of my 2x12s for the reason you mentioned above...unpredictability. I may just buy a pair and start experimenting for the hellovit.

Out of Phase? Sure it’s possible. Try swapping electrical polarity to the speaker and see if there’s a difference. And if it is a 2x12, swap polarity in one of the speakers. If one speaker shows excursion (pushes out) and he other, at the same time, shows incursion, it’s definitely out of phase electrically.

 

[watelessness]

Add the MT15 to my list...

 

[ViperDoc]

Being totally honest, I bought the PRS pine 2x12 because there was zero icepick. Was that due to the amp? Probably, which was why I insisted on getting the matched amp/cab set that I’d heard in person. It’s the most unique cab with V30s I’ve experienced so far.

Scumbacks...I’ve wanted to try those for years but been afraid to just slap them in one of my 2x12s for the reason you mentioned above...unpredictability. I may just buy a pair and start experimenting for the hellovit.

Out of Phase? Sure it’s possible. Try swapping electrical polarity to the speaker and see if there’s a difference. And if it is a 2x12, swap polarity in one of the speakers. If one speaker shows excursion (pushes out) and he other, at the same time, shows incursion, it’s definitely out of phase electrically.

Check out Pete Thorn’s YouTube Scumback demos.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

I recently tried V30s in a Bogner CB212 and couldn’t do the icepick. It was too much. My last two gigs have been with a pair of Fane alnico and ceramic speakers in an Avatar Forte 212 and Vertical Avatar 212 with Scumback H and M 65s. The Fanes were incredibly hi fi and sounded really good out of the side-vented cab and the Scumbacks are pure rock and roll. They sound amazing. The cab makes more of a difference than I ever realized. For example, I run a Creamback M in an open back Carr combo and it sounds incredibly balanced and punchy, whereas the same speaker in a ported closed back Bogner and/or Dr Z CB 212 sounds like garbage. Dead. Completely uninspiring. Is it possible for individual speakers in the same cab to be out of phase?

Thanks for the report. I've wanted to try the Scumbacks for years, and now that the Fanes are back, I've wanted to try them as well.