# Paul Reed Smith - heavy is coming....



## themike (Dec 11, 2013)

PRS is getting ready to unveil a pretty game changing metal based amplifier for themselves 








Is it actually metal? Whose using it? Well Mark Tremonti, Emil Werstler, Dustie Waring and Clint Lowery have been running it live for a while to name a few


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## myampslouder (Dec 11, 2013)

This excites me


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## AliceLG (Dec 11, 2013)

Hoping for 3 channels and MIDI switching PLEEEEEEEASE!


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## ridner (Dec 11, 2013)

is it going to be a djent amp? 

I sure as hell hope not


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## themike (Dec 11, 2013)

AliceLG said:


> Hoping for 3 channels and MIDI switching PLEEEEEEEASE!



While I am not shelling out any details, I have no problem telling you that it will not have midi switching. Don't fret - nothing an RJM Gizmo can't fix 




ridner said:


> is it going to be a djent amp?  I sure as hell hope not


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## rebornself27 (Dec 11, 2013)

Im sure it will be exellent im excited as well


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## themike (Dec 11, 2013)

Tremonti used it as his main amp for rythem and leads on the last European run and was more than happy - he usually runs several amps. Emil uses a Bogner Shiva and Mesa Rectifier blended live - he will be replacing them both with one of these. Dustie went from using straight Fractal to using this for a majority of his amplier sounds. 

I think its safe to say it's real... and it's mean!


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## technomancer (Dec 11, 2013)

I am still majorly irritated that I can't use PRS amps at my place due to EMF interference... the modified 2 channel H head I had from TGS.ca was an absolute tone monster but I couldn't tame the EMF hum 

It was fine everywhere else, but I do 90% of my playing at home so I'm sort of screwed


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## rebornself27 (Dec 11, 2013)

technomancer said:


> I am still majorly irritated that I can't use PRS amps at my place due to EMF interference... the modified 2 channel H head I had from TGS.ca was an absolute tone monster but I couldn't tame the EMF hum
> 
> It was fine everywhere else, but I do 90% of my playing at home so I'm sort of screwed



Oh thats terrible man i had a voodoo amps modded crate blue voodoo that would pick up radio stations Soccer games mostly all my other amps didnt lol sounded killer though


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## Edika (Dec 11, 2013)

themike said:


> PRS is getting ready to unveil a pretty game changing metal based amplifier *for themselves*



Why would PRS tease us like that? Unveil an amp like that just for themselves? 

Sorry I just couldn't resist! Great news and I would be very interested in hearing them. PRS is making some incredible guitars but they always seemed to me like a niche market brand. The last few years however they have really spread their awesomeness in more areas and price ranges!


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## Black Mamba (Dec 11, 2013)

themike said:


> Emil uses a Bogner Shiva and Mesa Rectifier blended live - he will be replacing them both with one of these.



Damn, if Emil's replacing his beloved Shiva and Dual Rectifier with this, I know it has to be the shit. Can't wait for more info!


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## SandyRavage (Dec 11, 2013)

Seven dust still has one of the best live tones ever. I'm quite curious.


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## Decipher (Dec 11, 2013)

Very intersting indeed!


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## Basti (Dec 11, 2013)

Just as long as they don't call it the _\m/_


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## JoshuaVonFlash (Dec 11, 2013)

Really nice seeing a company grow, for some reason PRS seems like they've been around almost as Gibson and Fender, probably due to the way their guitars look, they have a very vintage look to them. But they've only been around in mass production since the mid 80's. Pretty cool seeing them start to roll out and expand with new stuff.


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## goldsteinat0r (Dec 11, 2013)

I have a friend in a local band who is endorsed by them. He attended the PRS experience this past summer and got to jam one of these. Now this guy is a tone-fanatic. He and his co-guitarist have always used the highest end equipment in this scene (bogners and EVHs, all rackmounted shit, etc) and not to mention he ALWAYS has great tone. He would NOT stop talking about this head. He said it was not to be believed. I bet its going to rule.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Dec 11, 2013)

I'm going to say what I do for every high-end Maryland-made PRS product...

Please let there be an SE version, please let there be an SE, version, please let there be an SE version...


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## Seanthesheep (Dec 11, 2013)

.... if its 3ch this is gonna be good. the cleans and mid gain tones have always been killer on PRS amps, and having a matching metal channel would be great


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## technomancer (Dec 11, 2013)

Basti said:


> Just as long as they don't call it the _\m/_



Nope, it will be the \mm/


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## Robby the Robot (Dec 11, 2013)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> Please let there be an SE version, please let there be an SE, version, please let there be an SE version...



This...though I probably can't afford the SE either


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## flexkill (Dec 11, 2013)

The problem is the thing is probably going to cost 3-4 Grand or some shit.


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## TemjinStrife (Dec 11, 2013)

flexkill said:


> The problem is the thing is probably going to cost 3-4 Grand or some shit.



You mean like Diezels and Bogners and Friedmans and Camerons and Kochs?


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## flexkill (Dec 12, 2013)

TemjinStrife said:


> You mean like Diezels and Bogners and Friedmans and Camerons and Kochs?



Yeah exactly like that.


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## TheWarAgainstTime (Dec 12, 2013)

TemjinStrife said:


> You mean like Diezels and Bogners and Friedmans and Camerons and Kochs?



Honestly, I wouldn't be too surprised if it got up into the 3-4K range  

I feel like PRS can kinda decide to do that if other boutique amp companies and make a living from it, plus with the artist backing they have for it so far and a household name like PRS, I'd be a little shocked if they didn't milk that at least a little. I know they aren't really known for being an amp company on the same scale as Bogner, Diezel, etc. but it seems reasonable (or at least understandable)


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## JoshuaVonFlash (Dec 12, 2013)

flexkill said:


> Yeah exactly like that.


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## witeter (Dec 12, 2013)

This is why i want a Kemper


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## slowro (Dec 12, 2013)

Prs kicking all types of ass as usual. This is very interesting! Along with the new SE from Zach Myers 2014 is going to be loud!


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## Harry (Dec 12, 2013)

Game changing how? Does it also cook my dinner while amplifying my guitar? 



themike said:


> While I am not shelling out any details, I have no problem telling you that it will not have midi switching. *Don't fret - nothing an RJM Gizmo can't fix*



Sure, but some of us would just prefer it's built into the amp without having to buy a separate gizmo (no pun intended).
Not saying that makes it any lesser of an amp, mind you


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## themike (Dec 12, 2013)

Harry said:


> Game changing how? Does it also cook my dinner while amplifying my guitar?
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Guys like you are why I worded it the way I did - its gamechanging FOR PRS since they've never done a dedicated high-gain amp.


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## TemjinStrife (Dec 12, 2013)

flexkill said:


> Yeah exactly like that.



So? There's plenty of high-gain boutique monsters in that price range. Considering PRS are known for being a higher-priced brand, I'm not too worried about it.


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## themike (Dec 12, 2013)

TemjinStrife said:


> So? There's plenty of high-gain boutique monsters in that price range. Considering PRS are known for being a higher-priced brand, I'm not too worried about it.


 

I'm going to nip this in the bud right now and tell you guys this amp is handwired in the US and sub 2k. 

Happy Holidays


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## Underworld (Dec 12, 2013)

themike said:


> handwired in the US and sub 2k.
> 
> Happy Holidays




Wait what? You just ruined it for me. I might have to buy one and I'm broke  at least if it was 4k$ it would have been out of my range!


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## Rick (Dec 12, 2013)

Underworld said:


> Wait what? You just ruined it for me. I might have to buy one and I'm broke  at least if it was 4k$ it would have been out of my range!



You've been here long enough, you know how this place operates.


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## flexkill (Dec 12, 2013)

themike said:


> I'm going to nip this in the bud right now and tell you guys this amp is handwired in the US and sub 2k.
> 
> Happy Holidays


Thats Impressive!


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## Underworld (Dec 12, 2013)

Rick said:


> You've been here long enough, you know how this place operates.




Unfortunately, yes!


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## protest (Dec 12, 2013)

Underworld said:


> Wait what? You just ruined it for me. I might have to buy one and I'm broke  at least if it was 4k$ it would have been out of my range!



Seriously.. pisses me off that they're making this relatively affordable


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## Insinfier (Dec 12, 2013)

Under 2K?

Don't joke about such things.


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## FILTHnFEAR (Dec 12, 2013)

A hi-gain head on par with the quality of their guitars is likely to be be pretty juicy. 

Can't wait.


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## Black Mamba (Dec 12, 2013)

themike said:


> I'm going to nip this in the bud right now and tell you guys this amp is handwired in the US and sub 2k.
> 
> Happy Holidays


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## TeeWX (Dec 12, 2013)

themike said:


> I'm going to nip this in the bud right now and tell you guys this amp is handwired in the US and sub 2k.
> 
> Happy Holidays



That made this thread change from looking like a Ferrari advertisement to looking like something I might be able to actually purchase in the near future. Hooray.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Dec 12, 2013)

themike said:


> I'm going to nip this in the bud right now and tell you guys this amp is handwired in the US and sub 2k.
> 
> Happy Holidays


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## 7stringDemon (Dec 14, 2013)

No offense to PRS, but I'll believe that it gets heavy when I hear it. 

I'm expecting DT amounts of gain at best but I am ready and willing to be proven wrong.


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## HighGain510 (Dec 14, 2013)

Considering they're hand-wired in the US and have the price tag they do, I commend them on the idea alone. I had one of the PRS hand-wired TGS "Gain Monster" 100w heads and while the cleans were some of the best I've heard, the gain side was pretty fizzy/fuzzy overall and it had weird artifacts going on with the pinch harmonics that I couldn't get past. If they have a gain channel that matches the clean in awesomeness, I'll be adding one to the fold as I love my Kemper but I also love tube amps!  Plus the price point isn't too bad really, I just want to see specs and the video demos already so I can't figure out if I need to sell stuff to cover one of not!


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## themike (Dec 14, 2013)

7stringDemon said:


> No offense to PRS, but I'll believe that it gets heavy when I hear it.
> 
> I'm expecting DT amounts of gain at best but I am ready and willing to be proven wrong.



Oh... you'll like it


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## sage (Dec 14, 2013)

I am stoked to hear it. Fo' sho'.


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## Alex6534 (Dec 14, 2013)

Patiently awaiting the Kemper profiles


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## Rick (Dec 14, 2013)

themike said:


> Oh... you'll like it



WTF


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## Malkav (Dec 14, 2013)

It's cool that they're doing this, but at the same time I can't help but feel that modern amps not having MIDI is a bit of a cop out...I mean it's not expensive to add, and if you don't use it there's no con to it being available.


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## jc986 (Dec 14, 2013)

I don't think I'd be wrong in assuming that the majority of guitarists don't use MIDI. Most amps on the market in the sub $2000 price range don't have MIDI.


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## Minoin (Dec 15, 2013)

There some amps below 2k that have MIDI (Hughes&Kettner, Marshall), but it is uncommon for most of the heads. 
It would've been nice, but since it is their first step into the high-gain amp territory, let's first see what they come up with. Excited to see how it sound, already looks fcking killer.


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## Malkav (Dec 15, 2013)

jc986 said:


> I don't think I'd be wrong in assuming that the majority of guitarists don't use MIDI. Most amps on the market in the sub $2000 price range don't have MIDI.




It's not about whether most guitarists use it or not in my mind, it's a positive addition to functionality that's actually really cheap to add.

Also, and this is in no way an attack on you, but one of the things I never understood is the comparison to other products, just because most other amps in that price range don't have MIDI doesn't really justify not having it. I used to work in this distribution company and I constantly butted heads with our manager because there were certain obvious flaws in the way we operated and I believed we could be better, in terms of business we were the biggest of this form of distribution agency and went way more out of our way to support our products than any other agency in the field, and often the response to my attempts to streamline things was "well we're still better than X or Y agency" and I just never got that, surely one should strive towards perfection, not just exceeding one's competition.

^ sorry for rantyness it's just one of those things I've never really gotten...

TLDR: MIDI is cheap, and useful, it would make a nice feature in my opinion.


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## themike (Dec 15, 2013)

Malkav said:


> TLDR: MIDI is cheap, and useful, it would make a nice feature in my opinion.




Most traditional amp builders still use analog switching - I mean even Peavey and Mesa do so while I understand where you are coming from - Midi is not the standard and not something they've done in the past. Luckily an RJM Gizmo will fix the issue for anyone looking to integrate this into a midi setup.


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## technomancer (Dec 15, 2013)

Ah yes and the bitching about feature set from people that would never buy one anyways begins. Welcome to SS.org, home of the complainers


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## Malkav (Dec 15, 2013)

technomancer said:


> Ah yes and the bitching about feature set from people that would never buy one anyways begins. Welcome to SS.org, home of the complainers



I wouldn't say that, if I want a piece of gear I work hard for it and I get it, but because I have to play and teach a variety of styles I look for versatility above all other features, this amp is priced to a point where it would be a very good possible option but given the way I run my live sounds MIDI would be super convenient for me 

EDIT: and because I live in the ass end of nowhere generally I don't get to play things in advance of ordering them, cause local agencies don't like to take risks with niche gear. I know the guys who rep PRS in my country quite well (They also import Dimarzio) and they are a lot more likely to bring in stuff that's new than many other agencies at least, but a lot of the time it's blind purchasing so small niggly things can turn into deal breakers. For instance if the EVH 5150 III 50 watt had the dirty and lead channels on the same EQ instead of dirty and clean I would own one by now.


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## HighGain510 (Dec 15, 2013)

Malkav said:


> It's cool that they're doing this, but at the same time I can't help but feel that modern amps not having MIDI is a bit of a cop out...I mean it's not expensive to add, and if you don't use it there's no con to it being available.



No con other than having to pay for something you don't need/want? Honestly I get the whole "why doesn't everything come with MIDI?!?!" argument and while it's a valid point that many folks, myself included, would love to see that implemented, it IS something that adds to the cost. If they're building in the USA and trying to keep price down, excluding MIDI is one thing they could do to help keep the price down. If you want to add it yourself with the RJM gizmo, it's there so have at it.

I can't help but agree with Techno here, if you weren't going to buy it at all, complaining that they didn't add it to the amp is a bit of a non-point, isn't it?  I for one am excited to check it out, and if I buy one and want to use it with say a G-Major II or something, I'll pony up for the amp gizmo. It is nice that the entry price doesn't force me to pay for MIDI since I probably won't need it.


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## Malkav (Dec 15, 2013)

HighGain510 said:


> No con other than having to pay for something you don't need/want? Honestly I get the whole "why doesn't everything come with MIDI?!?!" argument and while it's a valid point that many folks, myself included, would love to see that implemented, it IS something that adds to the cost. If they're building in the USA and trying to keep price down, excluding MIDI is one thing they could do to help keep the price down. If you want to add it yourself with the RJM gizmo, it's there so have at it.
> 
> I can't help but agree with Techno here, if you weren't going to buy it at all, complaining that they didn't add it to the amp is a bit of a non-point, isn't it?  I for one am excited to check it out, and if I buy one and want to use it with say a G-Major II or something, I'll pony up for the amp gizmo. It is nice that the entry price doesn't force me to pay for MIDI since I probably won't need it.



It's a bit presumptuous to assume I wouldn't buy it, I'm currently looking for a decent amp, and this falls into a price point that agrees with my budget.

As for the MIDI thing, it's not expensive, honestly if someone tells you it is I'd be very suspect, a friend of mine built a MIDI controller unit a few years back and the most expensive part was the chasis to put it in.


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## Albionic (Dec 15, 2013)

They don't put midi in as it adds elecronic circuits Ito tube amps and many guitarists view such things as witchcraft and will be put off. I agree with the midi thing in this day and age it's wierd we as guitarists haven't joined the rest of the music community and embraced midi. It's not prs who drive things it's the customer


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## HighGain510 (Dec 15, 2013)

Malkav said:


> It's a bit presumptuous to assume I wouldn't buy it, I'm currently looking for a decent amp, and this falls into a price point that agrees with my budget.
> 
> As for the MIDI thing, it's not expensive, honestly if someone tells you it is I'd be very suspect, a friend of mine built a MIDI controller unit a few years back and the most expensive part was the chasis to put it in.



Sorry I should have clarified as that wasn't directed at just you, more of a general comment. Lots of folks rail against stuff for not having every feature THEY can dream up but 9 times out of 10 have no actual interest in buying one in the first place.


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## technomancer (Dec 15, 2013)

Malkav said:


> I wouldn't say that, if I want a piece of gear I work hard for it and I get it, but because I have to play and teach a variety of styles I look for versatility above all other features, this amp is priced to a point where it would be a very good possible option but given the way I run my live sounds MIDI would be super convenient for me
> 
> EDIT: and because I live in the ass end of nowhere generally I don't get to play things in advance of ordering them, cause local agencies don't like to take risks with niche gear. I know the guys who rep PRS in my country quite well (They also import Dimarzio) and they are a lot more likely to bring in stuff that's new than many other agencies at least, but a lot of the time it's blind purchasing so small niggly things can turn into deal breakers. For instance if the EVH 5150 III 50 watt had the dirty and lead channels on the same EQ instead of dirty and clean I would own one by now.



I find it hilarious you instantly assumed I was talking about you when several people have been complaining about this or that in this thread on an amp that even the dealers don't have full specs on yet


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## DISTORT6 (Dec 15, 2013)

Does it have a built in fleshlight?
NO!?!?!?!?
P.O.S.!


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## Malkav (Dec 15, 2013)

technomancer said:


> I find it hilarious you instantly assumed I was talking about you when several people have been complaining about this or that in this thread on an amp that even the dealers don't have full specs on yet



Your post followed my post, just kinda assumed  meh


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## themike (Dec 15, 2013)

Glad we got that out of the way..... so yeah, killer amp..... sweet.


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## technomancer (Dec 15, 2013)

themike said:


> Glad we got that out of the way..... so yeah, killer amp..... sweet.



 

Looking forward to hearing some clips of this, most of the PRS stuff I've heard has been killer.


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## HighGain510 (Dec 15, 2013)

themike said:


> Glad we got that out of the way..... so yeah, killer amp..... sweet.



You said you weren't going to pre-order it... and then you took the one I wanted to order!  Color me jealous, hopefully they get specs and clips up soon, and then get these shipping sooner rather than later!


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## cardinal (Dec 15, 2013)

People are pre-ordering without knowing even any specs? Let alone hearing any clips? Wow, you guys must really like PRS.


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## Axewield31 (Dec 15, 2013)

Sounding very tasty.


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## Minoin (Dec 16, 2013)

cardinal said:


> People are pre-ordering without knowing even any specs? Let alone hearing any clips? Wow, you guys must really like PRS.



Hehe, indeed. A few on here will buy everything that has a AAA flamed top and PRS on it


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## HighGain510 (Dec 16, 2013)

cardinal said:


> People are pre-ordering without knowing even any specs? Let alone hearing any clips? Wow, you guys must really like PRS.





Minoin said:


> Hehe, indeed. A few on here will buy everything that has a AAA flamed top and PRS on it




Mike already got to check one out, that's why he ordered one. I'm waiting to see specs and hear clips before I would order anything. Not sure who that is directed at since there are only a few guys on here buying PRS stuff, but as far as I can tell no one has ordered on here without seeing specs.


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## Zalbu (Dec 16, 2013)

Could it be this one?

Instagram


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## themike (Dec 16, 2013)

Zalbu said:


> Could it be this one?
> 
> Instagram


 



Yup, they checked it out about two weeks ago 







Sorry, what we were talking about?


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## HighGain510 (Dec 16, 2013)

themike said:


> Yup, they checked it out about two weeks ago
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Hopefully they get those clips/specs up. No MIDI?! No go.... wait, what?   I get the feeling if the gain channel does high gain metal without the fizz of the 2-channel H I had, I'll end up with one of these.  Like I said, the cleans on Doug Sewell's amps are incredible! I had that PRS Original Sewell 50w head and that thing did the Plexi tones + chimey cleans for days, the 2-channel H did the Blackface Fender cleans incredibly well too! Just need that high gain goodness and I'm good! 

If it has on-board reverb (the reverb was killer on those amps too, btw) and an effects loop like his other amps I've owned, I'll be a happy camper!  Wishing I had kept my G-Major II now though...


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## technomancer (Dec 16, 2013)

Sooooo when is PRS releasing real information on this thing  Are we going to have to wait for NAMM to get the official release announcement?

As for guys pre-ordering, I know of two amps that were preordered and would bet they both went to people that have seen/heard the prototype


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## themike (Dec 16, 2013)

technomancer said:


> Sooooo when is PRS releasing real information on this thing  Are we going to have to wait for NAMM to get the official release announcement?
> 
> As for guys pre-ordering, I know of two amps that were preordered and would bet they both went to people that have seen/heard the prototype


 
Well, thats not entirely true. They went to me and another gent. He hasn't heard it, but is a loyal PRS/PRS amp guy. The other one is coming to me 

And what - my tasty tid bits aren't good enough for you? WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME, INTERNETS?!?! Official info should be released this week along with specs, photos and demo video.


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## technomancer (Dec 16, 2013)

themike said:


> Well, thats not entirely true. They went to me and another gent. He hasn't heard it, but is a loyal PRS/PRS amp guy. The other one is coming to me
> 
> And what - my tasty tid bits aren't good enough for you? WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME, INTERNETS?!?! Official info should be released this week along with specs, photos and demo video.



Cool, looking forward to seeing specs etc


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## asmegin_slayer (Dec 16, 2013)

themike said:


> Official info should be released this week along with specs, photos and demo video.



So what went down during the process of getting this amp built? I'm assuming that the musicians from other bands put in their thoughts about what a high gain amp should sound/feel and have spec wise. 

Can you give us info as to what most musicians wanted the amp to be modeled after? Or was this a closed door operation and PRS assuming what musicians require in a high gain amp?


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## themike (Dec 16, 2013)

asmegin_slayer said:


> So what went down during the process of getting this amp built? I'm assuming that the musicians from other bands put in their thoughts about what a high gain amp should sound/feel and have spec wise.
> 
> Can you give us info as to what most musicians wanted the amp to be modeled after? Or was this a closed door operation and PRS assuming what musicians require in a high gain amp?


 
I mean I don't work there so I can't give you any official explanations but I know its been in developement for almost 2 years but really came together this year. They did infact take opinions and ideas from artists and Dustie Waring, Clint Lowery, Mark Tremonti and Emil have been running them live for a while all with positive regards. I think they just set out to make a metal specific amp that still was very PRS. When you build a company like that up to where it is, you want to retain some of that identity that carried all through the years and I think they did that quite well on this.

Like Matt said they've done the 100 watt modded heads in the past but they were simply revisions of existing amps so this is not just a clone of some other amp and I think people will see that once they start hearing them.


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## protest (Dec 16, 2013)

My body is ready for the heavies


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## Jazzedout (Dec 16, 2013)

Should go nicely with my 513!!!


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## Insinfier (Dec 16, 2013)

I've been looking for that one versatile amp that I'd keep my entire life. Is this thing really going to cost less than a new Dual Rectifier? 

Maybe around the 5150 III 100W price?


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## themike (Dec 16, 2013)

Insinfier said:


> I've been looking for that one versatile amp that I'd keep my entire life. Is this thing really going to cost less than a new Dual Rectifier?
> 
> Maybe around the 5150 III 100W price?


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## Andromalia (Dec 16, 2013)

I still have two kidneys....


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## Insinfier (Dec 16, 2013)

Andromalia said:


> I still have two kidneys....



Don't do it. 

Wang Shangkun, Chinese Teen Who Sold Kidney To Buy iPad, Too Weak To Face Alleged Harvesters In Trial


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## themike (Dec 17, 2013)

PRS Archon Amplifier





A powerful and imposing high-gain amplifier with a clean channel not normally found in amps with this much crunch.
The PRS Archon amplifier has the impact and flexibility suited for todays heavy music.
100W/50W (Switchable) | 
2 Channels | 
6L6GC Power Tubes


*High-Gain Heavyweight*

Greek for ruler or lord, the PRS Archon is a commanding and versatile 2-channel amp with aggressive overdriven tones and sparkling cleans with plenty of headroom. The Archons lead channel was designed with five gain stages before the master volume, delivering full, lush distortion. The clean channel provides ample headroom with rich clear tones that retain clarity even at high volume and are an excellent platform for pedals. The Archon has remarkably responsive tone with incredible note separation, whether youre playing on the clean channel or chugging on the lead.
Utilizing a no flash or trash approach, the Archons control layout features volume and tone controls for each channel, a global depth control to add a thunderous low end, and a presence control to effect the high end chime. A half-power switch allows players to choose either 100 or 50 watts of output adding to the Archons extreme flexibility.


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## themike (Dec 17, 2013)




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## asher (Dec 17, 2013)

Purdy.


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## Black Mamba (Dec 17, 2013)

I don't think I've wanted a piece of gear more in my life than right now. PRS did it again!


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## themike (Dec 17, 2013)

Sorry guys, I tried to warn you. PM me your addresses and underwear sizes. I'll try and get you all replacements as a token of my apologies


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## protest (Dec 17, 2013)

My body...it was not ready.


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## rebornself27 (Dec 17, 2013)

Sounds and looks badass


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## VBCheeseGrater (Dec 17, 2013)

Looks nice, be i need a solo boost or 3rd channel. I'm don't like having to run EQ/Boost in the loop. Not that i'd be running out to get one anyway, but amp makers should consider this need for gigging guitarists more


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## HighGain510 (Dec 17, 2013)

Can't wait for mine!  Only thing I would have liked was on-board reverb as the modded 2-Channel H I had sounded INCREDIBLE with the stock clean channel and on-board reverb, but that's easily fixed with running a G-Major II in the loop so not the end of the world!


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## Insinfier (Dec 17, 2013)

And now...the price...


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## themike (Dec 17, 2013)

Insinfier said:


> And now...the price...


 
Ive been posting the price for a week - its MAP is $1899. Dealers set their own prices but thats around where it will be.


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## gunshow86de (Dec 17, 2013)

themike said:


>




Not to derail, but anybody notice Dustie's SE with the Floyd? Is he getting a sig for NAMM?


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## themike (Dec 17, 2013)

gunshow86de said:


> Not to derail, but anybody notice Dustie's SE with the Floyd? Is he getting a sig for NAMM?


 
Its a Cu24 Floyd SE - its a new model for 2014.


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## thrashcomics (Dec 17, 2013)

holy shit


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## AkiraSpectrum (Dec 17, 2013)

dang.


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## fitterhappier (Dec 17, 2013)

Wow. Sounds incredible.


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## Danukenator (Dec 17, 2013)

"I don't really think there is an amp that exists that has a stellar clean channel and a stellar over-the-top, if you want it, dirty channel."



I'm not a great guitarist but I've had multiple amps that can do this.


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## Metaldestroyerdennis (Dec 17, 2013)

It's like a 5150 III... but I like the voicing better on the EVH metal channel. Granted, they cover different ground and are aimed at different players, but I feel a bit let down by how thick it sounds. I would want it if I were playing Chevelle, but not In Flames.


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## ridner (Dec 17, 2013)

that was CRUSHING!!!!!!!!


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## CTID (Dec 17, 2013)

Danukenator said:


> "I don't really think there is an amp that exists that has a stellar clean channel and a stellar over-the-top, if you want it, dirty channel."
> 
> 
> 
> I'm not a great guitarist but I've had multiple amps that can do this.



Unless you're talking about boutique $3k+ amps, there really aren't very many. There's tons of amps that have a great clean and a usable distortion, or vice versa, but there's not very many _affordable_ amps that do both well enough to make you stop and say "Holy shit, this amp is extremely versatile."


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## Doub13 (Dec 17, 2013)

VBCheeseGrater said:


> Looks nice, be i need a solo boost or 3rd channel. I'm don't like having to run EQ/Boost in the loop. Not that i'd be running out to get one anyway, but amp makers should consider this need for gigging guitarists more



I use a ducker, I made it myself and have a larger knob on it so that I can use my foot to get minor adjustments, I hate using a volume pedal to set level and they are all so big. It is a volume pot in a small enclosure. If you like your amp sound and only have 2 channels, you can use this to set a rhythm volume level for when it is ON, turn it off and your amp is opened up. I like it for gigs where I don't know the soundguy, or am the soundguy while also playing. Instant lead boost without changing a thing. I used a True bypass switch and a 10k pot, 100k works better for some players. I set it pretty drastic, so that when I turn it off, my sound takes over on stage and is great because I get no tone shift. I use it second to last in my effects loop and right before my Boss RC-300 looper for rhythm ducking for the loops. 

I have always heard bad things about a booster in an effects loop, unless using it directly into the return in order to bypass the preamp and use the booster as a pre. Any time I have tried a booster in my loop it just messes up the level of the effects too much. The ducker is a great way to keep your sound and level for your leads and turn it on to get quiet for the singer.

The cool thing is it can also be used on your clean channel, turning a 2 channel amp into a 4 ch amp in its own way. Many soundguys have thanked me for having it, every first note of my solos are heard, no more sound guy flying the fader up for my leads 2 bars late.

Do you have trouble with the life span of your power tubes using a booster right before them like that? I always think of a booster as a pre-amp boost, not so much a leveling boost, unless used after a pedal.


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## Rick (Dec 17, 2013)

Did Emil equate "extreme metal" with Chimaira?


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## Randyrhoads123 (Dec 17, 2013)

It's a really thick and awesome sounding amp, but I don't think it's quite tight enough for what I'd play....

Although the sound clips seem to have the gain turned up pretty high, I'd like to mess with the amp myself, maybe turn down the gain a bit to see how it sounds. It's cool to see PRS finally branching out a bit more to rock/metal players with this though!


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## VBCheeseGrater (Dec 17, 2013)

Doub13 said:


> I use a ducker, I made it myself and have a larger knob on it so that I can use my foot to get minor adjustments, I hate using a volume pedal to set level and they are all so big. It is a volume pot in a small enclosure. If you like your amp sound and only have 2 channels, you can use this to set a rhythm volume level for when it is ON, turn it off and your amp is opened up. I like it for gigs where I don't know the soundguy, or am the soundguy while also playing. Instant lead boost without changing a thing. I used a True bypass switch and a 10k pot, 100k works better for some players. I set it pretty drastic, so that when I turn it off, my sound takes over on stage and is great because I get no tone shift. I use it second to last in my effects loop and right before my Boss RC-300 looper for rhythm ducking for the loops.



Actually i made the same device as my first pedal build! It was useful just as you mention, but it required cables going from loop to stage back to loop (or fx loop on off). I think the Pod has me a little spoiled. It probably doesn't help that before the pod, i was running dual amps with all kinds of effects pre and post for my cover band, so i've really become averse to solutions requiring cables across the stage.If i ever go back to a head, the footswitch needs to control both the fx loop and solo boost, or the amp have midi switching.

anywho, my old problems do not make the amp any worse, just explaining "needs a solo boost" stance


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## Insinfier (Dec 17, 2013)

Randyrhoads123 said:


> It's a really thick and awesome sounding amp, but I don't think it's quite tight enough for what I'd play....
> 
> Although the sound clips seem to have the gain turned up pretty high, I'd like to mess with the amp myself, maybe turn down the gain a bit to see how it sounds. It's cool to see PRS finally branching out a bit more to rock/metal players with this though!



You'd really have to try it out yourself. Nothing wrong with plugging your favorite tubescreamer into it, either.


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## Danukenator (Dec 17, 2013)

CTID said:


> Unless you're talking about boutique $3k+ amps, there really aren't very many. There's tons of amps that have a great clean and a usable distortion, or vice versa, but there's not very many _affordable_ amps that do both well enough to make you stop and say "Holy shit, this amp is extremely versatile."



I wasn't bashing the amp, it sounds great in the video. I just thought the quote was classic marketing phrase. It seems every high-gain amp ALWAYS has someone trying to make a preemptive strike against the stigma that all high gain amps have horrid cleans.


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## TemjinStrife (Dec 17, 2013)

CTID said:


> Unless you're talking about boutique $3k+ amps, there really aren't very many. There's tons of amps that have a great clean and a usable distortion, or vice versa, but there's not very many _affordable_ amps that do both well enough to make you stop and say "Holy shit, this amp is extremely versatile."



-Mesa Mark series
-Mesa DC series
-Mesa F series
-Mesa Rectifier series
-Fender ProSonic Series
-Budda Superdrive series
-Fryette Pittbull
-Fryette Sig:X
-Fryette Deliverance

Just off the top of my head, and all in the general price range of this "Archon" or lower...


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## Danukenator (Dec 17, 2013)

^ My mesa can get really nice cleans and dirty tones with some TLC!

I didn't want to say it myself because I thought people would think I was diminishing the amp.


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## waynexx (Dec 17, 2013)

Damn! That thing is awesome) one of the best high gain head in years


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## Krucifixtion (Dec 17, 2013)

I'll take one of these and a Randall Satan


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## zimbloth (Dec 17, 2013)

I love people making definitive declarations based on meaningless sound clips. This amp looks promising and all, but unless you've tried this out in real life, its just typical internet hearsay. I'm a PRS fan and even carry their products at my shop, so I'm not trying to be negative. I actually believe this will be a great product, but lets all settle down a little bit here  

I can't stress this enough: sound clips on the internet are for the most part completely worthless, apart from just fun. In a studio environment _anything_ can be made to sound terrible or amazing. Its all about how it interacts with your personal rig in real life that counts.


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## technomancer (Dec 17, 2013)

TemjinStrife said:


> -Mesa Mark series
> -Mesa DC series
> -Mesa F series
> -Mesa Rectifier series
> ...



I've owned a good handful of the amps you listed as well as a PRS amp with the Sewell clean, and there was no comparison of the clean channel. Think of a REALLY good Fender clean and you've got the PRS clean channel  The Mark is pretty good, the other mesas are really not and the Fryettes aren't that impressive either 

Don't get me wrong, the entire page for the amp is obviously marketing hype as it IS a marketing page for an amp, but the PRS clean channel really does kick ass 

I'm really happy with my Kemper but this does look seriously cool... wish my local PRS dealer was getting one of these in so I could try it out, but I really doubt they'll get one


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## Insinfier (Dec 17, 2013)

This is such a minor thing, but I like the standby and power being integrated into a single switch. It makes it really simple for someone just jumping into the amp for the very first time.

Maybe I'm just silly for liking something so silly.


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## Steinmetzify (Dec 17, 2013)

Insinfier said:


> This is such a minor thing, but I like the standby and power being integrated into a single switch. It makes it really simple for someone just jumping into the amp for the very first time.
> 
> Maybe I'm just silly for liking something so silly.


 
Nope, you're not. Nice feature, that.

I dig the clip; would like to try one. I love 6L6 amps with a darker voice and that clip sounds thunderous.


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## HighGain510 (Dec 18, 2013)

TemjinStrife said:


> -Mesa Mark series
> -Mesa DC series
> -Mesa F series
> -Mesa Rectifier series
> ...



Having owned most of the amps in that list at one point or another, I can't say I entirely agree with your statement...  The Mesa Mark V had a KILLER clean and two pretty sweet gain channels, but it's more expensive than the PRS head is so that's not an apples-to-apples price range comparison unless you're going new vs used, but that would pull more used amps into the Mesa range so again that wouldn't really be the same thing. The Fryette/VHT stuff I've owned has been hit or miss on cleans, the two CLX's I've had sounded killer clean but the Sig:X I had and the two UL's I played had pretty weak clean channels, very thin and bright-sounding. 

So again, and as always it's IMHO, but it really isn't always so easy to find a great-sounding high gain amp with a fantastic clean channel. The closest thing I've found was the 5150 III 50w head, the cleans on that amp are fantastic and the high gain is one of the best I've heard, even battling stuff that is into the $2K range, honestly.  THAT amp was pretty revolutionary and I commend the gent who put together the design as it smokes, the only change I wish it had was not forcing the clean and gain 1 channels to share controls since that pretty much turns a killer 3-channel amp into a 2-channel amp when the clean was dialed in nicely.  

I say again, if this amp has the clean channel from the 2-channel H I owned AND a revamped high gain channel, PRS will absolutely have a winner on their hands. USA-built, high quality components, great tone for under $2K is a win-win. I look forward to receiving mine, I never really base my thoughts on an amp solely on website sound clips or studio-recorded videos, some of Nick's comments definitely ring true there. That being said, I've heard a lot of amps that had pretty much garbage clips on the product site sound clips page end up sounding monstrous in person and something most folks don't always factor in when listening to clips is that the amp EQ'd for the sound in the room vs the amp EQ'd for recorded tones are two TOTALLY separate things. 

I watched that little snippet someone recorded on their phone of Misha playing the amp and listened to it through my headphones and those little chugs at the end sounded HUGE, and since he was just playing in the room and not trying to dial it in for a recorded tone, that probably gives you a better idea of what to expect of the amp when you're actually sitting in the room playing it.  Like I said, I pre-ordered one so I'll definitely be posting my thoughts once I get to spend some quality time with it soon.  I'm excited, Doug Sewell knows his shit and since the 2-Channel H wasn't really designed for metal-style gain, I'm hoping now that he's specifically focusing on that kind of tone and they had folks involved who know good metal tones, they'll be putting out something killer!


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## cardinal (Dec 18, 2013)

Kudos to PRS for makin a PCB amp the right way with all those flying leads. Very nice. 

Tremonti clip on the PRS website sounds cool. Someone on Rig Talk said the amp would sound like a gainier 5153 blue channel, which I can hear a bit. Five gain stages??? lol. Not sure you'd be able to dial it back for any reasonable crunch sounds, but 1) I could be surprised and 2) doesn't look like it's intended to do that. Looks like its just supposed to be clean + really high gain. 

Tiny little 100 watt head, too.


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## protest (Dec 18, 2013)

HighGain510 said:


> ...Like I said, I pre-ordered one so...



Dibs.


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## TemjinStrife (Dec 18, 2013)

My point was that amps like that do exist in this price range. Everyone who's saying that a beautiful clean channel and beastly gain channel don't exist in amps in the near-$2k price range is, frankly, blowing smoke up PRS's ass a little bit 

Hell, my Sunn T50C (which eventually became one of the Fender ProSonic revisions) has an absolutely beautiful sparkling Fender-like clean channel and a beastly, dynamic metal-capable gain channel... and that was a $1000 amp back in the day. My F-30 will do sparkling AC30 cleans, chimey crunch, and Metallica. A Mesa Mark V is only ~15% more than the Archon, putting it in the same price range, and adds a hell of a lot of features. The Deliverance will do a bold clean and beastly modded Marshall saturation on one channel with your volume knob. Even the Vengeance has a pretty solid clean channel, although I found the gain channel to be a bit dark for my preferences. And the 5150 III hits those requirements at just over half the price, or at about the same price if you get the full-sized head.

I'm glad PRS is offering a new model in this price range, and from clips it sounds pretty awesome and a great addition to the market. I can't wait to try one, but I don't think it's quite the groundbreaking, unique, distinctive step forward you are all making it out to be


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## protest (Dec 18, 2013)

TemjinStrife said:


> My point was that amps like that do exist in this price range. Everyone who's saying that a beautiful clean channel and beastly gain channel don't exist in amps in the near-$2k price range is, frankly, blowing smoke up PRS's ass a little bit
> 
> Hell, my Sunn T50C (which eventually became one of the Fender ProSonic revisions) has an absolutely beautiful sparkling Fender-like clean channel and a beastly, dynamic metal-capable gain channel... and that was a $1000 amp back in the day. My F-30 will do sparkling AC30 cleans, chimey crunch, and Metallica. A Mesa Mark V is only ~15% more than the Archon, putting it in the same price range, and adds a hell of a lot of features. The Deliverance will do a bold clean and beastly modded Marshall saturation on one channel with your volume knob. Even the Vengeance has a pretty solid clean channel, although I found the gain channel to be a bit dark for my preferences. And the 5150 III hits those requirements at just over half the price, or at about the same price if you get the full-sized head.
> 
> I'm glad PRS is offering a new model in this price range, and from clips it sounds pretty awesome and a great addition to the market. I can't wait to try one, but I don't think it's quite the groundbreaking, unique, distinctive step forward you are all making it out to be



I agree. The others do have a point though that if its clean channel is completely incredible than that's a great feat, but there are other amps that have really good cleans, and really good gain.

Not taking anything away from this amp because there aren't a lot of amps that do both things great, but the Mesa Marks and the 5150 III immediately came to mind, even the new Rectifiers have pretty sweet cleans.

Also, someone's amazing clean sound is another's too dark/bright clean sound, so you know lol.


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## technomancer (Dec 18, 2013)

TemjinStrife said:


> I'm glad PRS is offering a new model in this price range, and from clips it sounds pretty awesome and a great addition to the market. I can't wait to try one, but I don't think it's quite the groundbreaking, unique, distinctive step forward you are all making it out to be



I think you missed the "for PRS" part of that statement  I think the point that HighGain and I were trying to make is that the pricing isn't out of line for the feature set and it is going to be a killer sounding amp


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## Metaldestroyerdennis (Dec 18, 2013)

This thing is ridiculously cheap for PRS


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## Key_Maker (Dec 18, 2013)

I'll have to try it, in the clips although sounds good, i have heard that sound from every amp i have owned, the only things that the market have give like "new" stuff, imho, are the DAR (well, not that good), maybe the Fortin/Randall stuff and maybe the ENGL stuff, everything else sounds like a revamped 6505/Rectifier/Slo/JVM.

BUT looks soooooo good that i wouldn't mind to own it just for that.


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## Captain Butterscotch (Dec 18, 2013)

I _need_ this amp! The price is about 2k less than what I had thought it would be and the clips really impressed me.


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## Malkav (Dec 18, 2013)

So what speakers are in the cab? And are there only 4x12 cabs, or will there be a 2x12 as well?


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## Jazzedout (Dec 18, 2013)

Malkav said:


> So what speakers are in the cab? And are there only 4x12 cabs, or will there be a 2x12 as well?



PRS Guitars | Stealth Speaker Cabinets


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## Malkav (Dec 18, 2013)

Jazzedout said:


> PRS Guitars | Stealth Speaker Cabinets



Ah! Cool, thanks! Didn't know the cabs were already a product


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## feraledge (Dec 18, 2013)

Am I the only one confused about 5 gain stages with no gain knobs or switches?
Am I missing something??


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## Insinfier (Dec 18, 2013)

feraledge said:


> Am I the only one confused about 5 gain stages with no gain knobs or switches?
> Am I missing something??



Weird. I noticed the dual Master Volumes. Possible the individual volumes on the separate channels act as gain controls? Similar to the Peavey 5150's pre and post gain knobs.


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## protest (Dec 18, 2013)

feraledge said:


> Am I the only one confused about 5 gain stages with no gain knobs or switches?
> Am I missing something??



On one of the PRS amps I played it's gain knob was labeled volume, and it's volume know was labeled master.


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## zimbloth (Dec 18, 2013)

A lot of over-thinking going on in here. Guys will just have to try it in real life, until then no one knows what it really sounds like, how it feels to play, what speakers it tends to mesh well with, how it responds to different kinds of pickups/tunings,etc.


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## ADevilsDaydream817 (Dec 18, 2013)

Black Mamba said:


> I don't think I've wanted a piece of gear more in my life than right now. PRS did it again!



just going to requote cause i cant say that any better myself.


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## HighGain510 (Dec 18, 2013)

Insinfier said:


> Weird. I noticed the dual Master Volumes. Possible the individual volumes on the separate channels act as gain controls? Similar to the Peavey 5150's pre and post gain knobs.



Yep, that's exactly how it works. The PRS Sewell Original 50 I had was built the same way, master volume and the other volume acts as the gain knob.


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## drezdin (Dec 18, 2013)

zimbloth said:


> I love people making definitive declarations based on meaningless sound clips. This amp looks promising and all, but unless you've tried this out in real life, its just typical internet hearsay. I'm a PRS fan and even carry their products at my shop, so I'm not trying to be negative. I actually believe this will be a great product, but lets all settle down a little bit here
> 
> I can't stress this enough: sound clips on the internet are for the most part completely worthless, apart from just fun. In a studio environment _anything_ can be made to sound terrible or amazing. Its all about how it interacts with your personal rig in real life that counts.



dude. this is the internet. no room for common sense here


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## themike (Dec 18, 2013)

zimbloth said:


> A lot of over-thinking going on in here. Guys will just have to try it in real life, until then no one knows what it really sounds like, how it feels to play, what speakers it tends to mesh well with, how it responds to different kinds of pickups/tunings,etc.



I mean the same can be said about any piece of gear ever posted or printed anywhere that people haven't personally played, right? 

What would you like to know? There are a few people on this board who have gotten to play it and would probably be more than willing to answer you guys.


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## zimbloth (Dec 18, 2013)

themike said:


> I mean the same can be said about any piece of gear ever posted or printed anywhere that people haven't personally played, right?
> 
> What would you like to know? There are a few people on this board who have gotten to play it and would probably be more than willing to answer you guys.



No its cool to share clips and talk about it, thats the fun of forums. I just am weirded out by the definitive (ie: "this is the best amp to come out in years") matter of fact statements from people who have not played it or know what it really sounds like.

By all means, get excited by this. Im sure it will be sick. I would just rather hear it for myself before declaring it the best amp of all time personally


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## narad (Dec 18, 2013)

themike said:


> What would you like to know? There are a few people on this board who have gotten to play it and would probably be more than willing to answer you guys.



Judging from the initial reactions I would say: on a scale from game-changing to transcendent, how would you rate this amp? 

In all seriousness, looks promising even if it doesn't live up to the endorsers' raves. That's just a surprisingly good pricepoint for PRS.


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## Seanthesheep (Dec 18, 2013)

how long until it gets modelled by fractal?


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## vanhendrix (Dec 18, 2013)

I'm not really understanding the control layout for this amp. 2 channels that each have volumes and master volumes? No lead boost or anything?

I feel that if this amp had a third channel, it would have utterly replaced the 5153 as the de-facto high gain amp around these parts. Especially at that price point.


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## 3074326 (Dec 18, 2013)

Seanthesheep said:


> how long until it gets modelled by fractal?



I was actually excited for this, then I realized I'll have the amp in a future update and got even more excited. 

I am hopeful that my store gets this amp, though. Would really like to hear the actual thing, and if it's good (which I expect) - sell the .... out of it!


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## HighGain510 (Dec 19, 2013)

vanhendrix said:


> I'm not really understanding the control layout for this amp. 2 channels that each have volumes and master volumes? No lead boost or anything?




Someone asked that question on this page already:




Insinfier said:


> Weird. I noticed the dual Master Volumes. Possible the individual volumes on the separate channels act as gain controls? Similar to the Peavey 5150's pre and post gain knobs.



Answer was already provided:



HighGain510 said:


> Yep, that's exactly how it works. The PRS Sewell Original 50 I had was built the same way, master volume and the other volume acts as the gain knob.


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## Wrecklyss (Dec 19, 2013)

I've never really looked into PRS amps before because i saw the name and assumed i couldn't afford it, but i really want to try one of these (with KT77s!)


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## Rook (Dec 19, 2013)

Sounds cool, surprised by the price tbh.


Don't see any games changing by the way haha.


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## thrashcomics (Dec 19, 2013)

i am excited to try one as i had to sell my bad cat when i was without job a few months ago. if nothing else we can all agree it is one of the best LOOKING amps around.


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## Malkav (Dec 19, 2013)

thrashcomics said:


> i am excited to try one as i had to sell my bad cat when i was without job a few months ago. if nothing else we can all agree it is one of the best LOOKING amps around.



To be a bit of a downer again, the looks kinda worry me, I mean don't get me wrong it's very attractive, but when it does start to show wear from the rigours of live use that'll be heart breaking


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## hairychris (Dec 19, 2013)

Couple o' thoughts, $0.02 stuff mainly:

1) Muddy from the clips on gain but I like that clean. This could just be the clips, though. As Nick said you need to hear it in person, however there are people (like me) who have bought amps on-line as they aren't available locally. Hopefully better clips will follow.

2) I really like the way the guts look. Seriously top quality there.

3) Midi schmidi. At that price point you're buying tone and not additional complication. I'm a Diezel Einstein user so am down with that approach, and the PRS amp looks to be point-to-point as opposed to the Diezel's PCB.

4) Looks like a nice price for US, especially at street price of $1750ish.

5) BUT when exported to UK/Europe it'll go up in price. What this is may put it against some very stiff competition (Diezel D-Moll, etc).

Note: In the UK a new 100w 5150 iii = $2450 and Mesa Mk V = $3950 if you want to compare prices.

Note 2: Diezel D-Moll starts at $2350 for the ugly finish. Herbert & Hagen are approx the price of the Mesa Mk V.


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## InfinityCollision (Dec 19, 2013)

hairychris said:


> the PRS amp looks to be point-to-point as opposed to the Diezel's PCB.



Hmm... PRS could've saved themselves a few bucks to no detriment here. Though I guess PRS' target market might be more likely to buy into hand-wired snake oil 

Kinda curious what it sounds like at lower gain settings.


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## themike (Dec 19, 2013)

Rook said:


> Sounds cool, surprised by the price tbh.
> 
> 
> Don't see any games changing by the way haha.




As I said in the initial post, and a few times after, it's game changing FOR PRS, not the amp community 




InfinityCollision said:


> Hmm... PRS could've saved themselves a few bucks to no detriment here. Though I guess PRS' target market might be more likely to buy into hand-wired snake oil
> 
> Kinda curious what it sounds like at lower gain settings.


 
Its not really a marketing trick or "snake oil" as you say, its just craftsmanship. Same way some builders handcarve things and others mainly CNC things. People enjoy the extra details and its a plus when it's there.


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## Albionic (Dec 19, 2013)

Yeah when that prs hits the uk it will sit squarely in the boutique market. I thought it sounded great. I'm never sure what to make of the whole pcb vs point to point debate one is not really better than the other. People like to know it's there as that's how amps were originally built but it in no way effects the function of the amp. I put it down to aesthetics it's kind of a status symbol to have a point to point amp and I'm down with that.

In the us it will make a lot of sense but here in the uk it will probably only appeal to prs enthusiasts. For me I'd rather save a bit of cash and buy an orange amp I recon you can get similar tones.


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## technomancer (Dec 19, 2013)

Albionic said:


> Yeah when that prs hits the uk it will sit squarely in the boutique market. I thought it sounded great. I'm never sure what to make of the whole pcb vs point to point debate one is not really better than the other. People like to know it's there as that's how amps were originally built but it in no way effects the function of the amp. I put it down to aesthetics it's kind of a status symbol to have a point to point amp and I'm down with that.
> 
> In the us it will make a lot of sense but here in the uk it will probably only appeal to prs enthusiasts. For me I'd rather save a bit of cash and buy an orange amp I recon you can get similar tones.



The biggest thing with tagboard construction is that it makes the amp slightly easier to repair, especially if you're talking PCB with surface mounted components vs tagboard with flying leads like the PRS appears to be.


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## Albionic (Dec 19, 2013)

Yeah I guess there is that. would have been nice if they'd built a proper laced cableform though I think that looks untidy


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## Captain Butterscotch (Dec 19, 2013)

themike said:


> As I said in the initial post, and a few times after, it's game changing FOR PRS, not the amp community





themike said:


> As I said in the initial post, and a few times after, it's game changing FOR PRS, not the amp community





themike said:


> As I said in the initial post, and a few times after, it's game changing FOR PRS, not the amp community





themike said:


> As I said in the initial post, and a few times after, it's game changing FOR PRS, not the amp community





themike said:


> As I said in the initial post, and a few times after, it's game changing FOR PRS, not the amp community





themike said:


> As I said in the initial post, and a few times after, it's game changing FOR PRS, not the amp community





themike said:


> As I said in the initial post, and a few times after, it's game changing FOR PRS, not the amp community



FOR ....S SAKE PEOPLE


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## vanhendrix (Dec 19, 2013)

HighGain510 said:


> Someone asked that question on this page already:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




My confusion was about there being no other method to boost the volume for a solo. Seems like an odd design choice is all.


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## InfinityCollision (Dec 19, 2013)

themike said:


> Its not really a marketing trick or "snake oil" as you say, its just craftsmanship. Same way some builders handcarve things and others mainly CNC things. People enjoy the extra details and its a plus when it's there.



As a hobbyist I can appreciate the pleasures of hand craftmanship. I hand-wire circuits for my own use all the time. But this is a product being sold by a major company and the hand-wired nature of the amp is part of their marketing for it per its inclusion on the product page. This is typical of any amp manufacturer (or pedal manufacturer for that matter) offering hand-wired circuits, so PRS isn't alone in this by any means. As an engineer, it's a bunch of horsesh*t. A properly designed PCB layout is no better or worse than a properly designed turretboard or point-to-point layout, aside from the aforementioned potential of somewhat greater difficulty of repairing surface-mounted PCB, and is typically cheaper to produce in mass quantity. So even if it is more difficult to repair, it becomes a question of putting out more money up front or putting up more money _if_ it becomes a factor in a repair down the road. A poorly designed turretboard layout can be just as bad as a poorly designed PCB for both user and technician alike.

Part of the cost of this amp is going into labor that has essentially no functional benefit to the user and it's being marketed as a feature. That's snake oil in my book  It wouldn't stop me from buying it if I wanted one (I draw the line at advertising use of carbon-comp resistors ), but it's something to think about.

Hand-carved vs CNC I tend to see a little differently for several reasons. So much build time still goes into work by hand even with a CNC, and the benefits are typically not that high from a cost standpoint when you account for programming time, cost of equipment, etc. The greatest benefits of CNC at present are precision and repeatability. I also tend to choose builders for their ability to accomplish a specific vision; those looking for a fancy new superstrat may feel otherwise. I feel that the amp market has less of that trait, though this may be influenced by my willingness to take an iron to just about anything


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## Albionic (Dec 19, 2013)

InfinityCollision said:


> As a hobbyist I can appreciate the pleasures of hand craftmanship. I hand-wire circuits for my own use all the time. But this is a product being sold by a major company and the hand-wired nature of the amp is part of their marketing for it per its inclusion on the product page. This is typical of any amp manufacturer (or pedal manufacturer for that matter) offering hand-wired circuits, so PRS isn't alone in this by any means. As an engineer, it's a bunch of horsesh*t. A properly designed PCB layout is no better or worse than a properly designed turretboard layout, aside from the aforementioned potential of somewhat greater difficulty of repairing surface-mounted PCB, and is typically cheaper to produce in mass quantity. So even if it is more difficult to repair, it becomes a question of putting out more money up front or putting up more money _if_ it becomes a factor in a repair down the road. A poorly designed turretboard layout can be just as bad as a poorly designed PCB for both user and technician alike.
> 
> Part of the cost of this amp is going into labor that has essentially no functional benefit to the user and it's being marketed as a feature. That's snake oil in my book  It wouldn't stop me from buying it if I wanted one (I draw the line at advertising use of carbon-comp resistors ), but it's something to think about.
> 
> Hand-carved vs CNC I tend to see a little differently for several reasons. So much build time still goes into work by hand even with a CNC, and the benefits are typically not that high from a cost standpoint when you account for programming time, cost of equipment, etc. The greatest benefits of CNC at present are precision and repeatability. I also tend to choose builders for their ability to accomplish a specific vision; those looking for a fancy new superstrat may feel otherwise. I feel that the amp market has less of that trait, though this may be influenced by my willingness to take an iron to just about anything



I agree! I myself am an electronics technician for an aircraft electronics company and standards for soldering/assembley don't come higher than that and I assemble electronics I do not "craft" them. And the electronics inside of the amp look very untidy so when people call an amp or pedal crafted it always makes me laugh.


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## zimbloth (Dec 19, 2013)

Could not agree more ^. The "hand-wired" thing is so overrated, mostly by people who are bedroom players in it for the "prestige" who dont understand how things really work. A properly designed and quality PCB-board amp setup is just as good as a hand-wired amp.


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## cardinal (Dec 19, 2013)

InfinityCollision said:


> Hmm... PRS could've saved themselves a few bucks to no detriment here. Though I guess PRS' target market might be more likely to buy into hand-wired snake oil
> 
> Kinda curious what it sounds like at lower gain settings.



Looks like a PCB amp to me? Well laid out with full sized components and flying leads, but PCB. Nothing wrong with that. JCM 800, SLO, and may others are built this way.


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## themike (Dec 19, 2013)

zimbloth said:


> Could not agree more ^. The "hand-wired" thing is so overrated, mostly by people who are bedroom players in it for the "prestige" who dont understand how things really work. A properly designed and quality PCB-board amp setup is just as good as a hand-wired amp.



You realize I am the one who emphasized handwired right? It's literally mentioned once on the whole Archon website simply put " Robust PC boards with extensive handwired construction" in a slew of other notations so its not like there are billboards proclaiming it to be lifechanging because someone in Maryland soldiered capacitors to a board.



zimbloth said:


> A lot of over-thinking going on in here. Guys will just have to try it in real life, until then no one knows what it really sounds like, how it feels to play, what speakers it tends to mesh well with, how it responds to different kinds of pickups/tunings,etc.



If I recall your Engl Ironball thread correctly, you and a handful of people heard it at NAMM and continued to express how much you liked it, right? Thats the same thing thats going on here as well as the same way you felt "German made vs Chinese Made" was a difference in quality and components and I feel that is also whats up for discussion here.

Bottom line is no one is proclaiming this is revolutionary for amplification, no one is proclaiming that it being handwired makes it instantly better, and the few people who have played or heard it were very, very impressed.


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## zimbloth (Dec 19, 2013)

themike said:


> You realize I am the one who emphasized handwired right? It's literally mentioned once on the whole Archon website simply put " Robust PC boards with extensive handwired construction" in a slew of other notations so its not like there are billboards proclaiming it to be lifechanging because someone in Maryland soldiered capacitors to a board.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Dude I'm on your side here. I love PRS gear and none of this is aimed at PRS. Hell, I do business with PRS and also happen to own 4 PRS guitars in my personal collection. I'm just cautioning those who are making definitive statements without having even tried it to settle down. Thats all 

My statements are more in a general nature, not aimed at the Archon, which I firmly believe will be an awesome amp.


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## Albionic (Dec 20, 2013)

^^ same goes here the amp looks cool just a commentary on what guitarists are prepared to pay money for


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## macgruber (Dec 20, 2013)

it looks like a mean USA made amp for a fair price. deal with it.


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## Albionic (Dec 20, 2013)

I don't believe anyone has said otherwise


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## purpledc (Dec 20, 2013)

call me intrigued. I was very disappointed to find that PRS didnt have a high gain amplifier design when they started doing amps a while back. I found it odd most of their endorsed artists at the time were making heavier music. But I knew one day it would happen. But in typical PRS fashion they seem to wait to do things right. If it took them this long to make a high gain amp, im confident the thing will melt faces. I honestly dont think PRS is one to make false claims of anything. If they say heavy is coming, I would recommend investing in a jock strap.


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## themike (Dec 20, 2013)




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## metalvince333 (Dec 20, 2013)

Those are absolute beauties! I'm very curious to give one a try!


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## zimbloth (Dec 20, 2013)

Looks killer.


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## themike (Dec 21, 2013)

Archon prepping for tonights show with Chimaira!


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## rebornself27 (Dec 21, 2013)

Damm why do amps like this come out right after i buy all new gear lol.Its on my list now thanks themike lol


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## Rook (Dec 21, 2013)

themike said:


> As I said in the initial post, and a few times after, it's game changing FOR PRS, not the amp community



Yes thank you, I can read 

I don't think it is a game changer for PRS, more of a dip of a toe. It'll be a game changer if it's successful and they do more in the 'metal community'.

I don't think they're miles out of their comfort zone, if it were more distinctly metal maybe, but since it's being taken up by people like Tremonti etc...

Yep nope. Agree with me or not, this isn't the game changer, if there's a next one - a step further in that direction - that will be. This is still distinctly PRSy to me.

Just me though.

EDIT: I think this sentence expresses my point a little more concisely; I feel this amp is still likely to appeal to PRS's usual type of customer base with maybe a slightly wider scope, rather than a whole new crowd.

EDIT EDIT: Forgot to say, I can't tell much from clips but if this feels anything like their other amps I'd be really curious to try it out. Still think they nailed the price which, granted, is uncharacteristic of PRS aha.


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## Wrecklyss (Dec 21, 2013)

^Tremonti has always had a great guitar tone even if he did get stuck in a band with a douchey front man. Maybe not the heaviest tone of all time, but a crunch with purpose and the clarity to distinguish every individual note. I know his old rig consisted if tones blended from Fender, Two Rock, and Bogner so if this one amp fits his needs then i would like to at least try it out. Add to the equation a price that doesn't tempt me to sell a kidney on the black market and i'd be more surprised if this doesn't find a way into my rig (also a sucker for Made in U.S.A. goods).


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## Rook (Dec 21, 2013)

I don't disagree, but I dunno, despite being heavy Tremonti, since that's the example we're going with, has quite a traditional high gain sound. I know that sounds oxymoronic but I would imagine a strong portion of PRS users go for that kind of sound.

I'd say when I was selling PRS they were half blues lawyers and half mid/high gain rockers of varying forms.

I definitely look forward to seeing what this leads to, that market they'll start to touch on with this could lead to PRS _actually_ changing their game and doing something really original which I think would be great for both them and us amp fans.


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## Ben.Last (Dec 21, 2013)

Not to pile on, but I agree with Rook. While I'm sure it's going to be a great amp, the fact that, right now, it's only in the hands of guys that were already a) playing PRS guitars and b) squarely in the hard rock genre makes it hard to call this a game changer for PRS or the industry YET.


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## Metaldestroyerdennis (Dec 21, 2013)

Ben.Last said:


> Not to pile on, but I agree with Rook. While I'm sure it's going to be a great amp, the fact that, right now, it's only in the hands of guys that were already a) playing PRS guitars and b) squarely in the hard rock genre makes it hard to call this a game changer for PRS or the industry YET.



That's probably because the only people who had access to it were on the prs roster...


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## Ben.Last (Dec 21, 2013)

Metaldestroyerdennis said:


> That's probably because the only people who had access to it were on the prs roster...



Did you notice my upper case "YET"?


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## themike (Dec 22, 2013)

Metaldestroyerdennis said:


> That's probably because the only people who had access to it were on the prs roster...



Im not on the PRS roster... neither is the member on here who said he played it.... I also don't remember Misha being on the PRS roster either 

And everyone is entitled to their opinions, I'm only excited because I thought it was great. I've never been a PRS amp player.... ever and I just hope you guys get the chance to give it a fair go at a dealer because I really do think it sounds great and is solid for it's price.


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## BeyondDan (Jan 3, 2014)

Wow that sounds (and looks) promising!!! Looks gorgeous!


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## HighGain510 (Jan 3, 2014)

I'm excited for Tuesday....


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## SeditiousDissent (Jan 3, 2014)

I was a tad skeptical when I first saw the teaser. In general, PRS isn't known for catering to the "high gain" crowd. The \m/ pickup name is hysterical, but I give them mad props for listening to their clientele. (IMO they need to bring back #7's. Those were the best sounding pups they've ever made). Upon hearing the clips, I must say that I was slightly underwhelmed. Did both channels sound good? Abso-friggen-lutely! It did not, to my ears, change the game, however. 

I think this amp has gobs of potential, though. I love Alter Bridge and Sevendust's live tone, and, if it can honestly take the place of an Uberschall, VH4, Two-Rock, Randall and Fender amps (swallowing a huge grain of salt with that statement...sorry, I'm cynical, but they're giving them to current major artist endorsees), then it might definitely be worth looking at regarding future amp purchases. The price seems right, too.

I would like to hear it through different settings (progressively going through each channel); with a couple of different ODs (TS-style and maybe a Marshall BB style); through speakers other than the typical V30 (this amp seems like it would CRUSH with some EV Black Labels or Fane Medusas). 

I'm waiting for the Private Stock Archon. It's basically the same amp but the baffle will be a carefully selected "10 Front," you will get your choice of private stock finish, Brazilian rosewood with mammoth ivory inlay knobs, genuine Swarovski crystal pilot light AND it comes with a suede amp cover...All that for only 5x the price of a stock Archon and a 10 month wait.


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## budda (Jan 4, 2014)

I'd just like to try one. I know paul works to bring his best to the public, and his hxda demo at TGS gave me some GAS. 

Once TGS gets one in I'll swing by and check it out. Maybe even bring the Peters..


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## 7slinger (Jan 5, 2014)

CTID said:


> Unless you're talking about boutique $3k+ amps, there really aren't very many. There's tons of amps that have a great clean and a usable distortion, or vice versa, but there's not very many _affordable_ amps that do both well enough to make you stop and say "Holy shit, this amp is extremely versatile."





TemjinStrife said:


> -Mesa Mark series
> -Mesa DC series
> -Mesa F series
> -Mesa Rectifier series
> ...



Rivera - killer cleans, best I've played on a high-gain amp. Had the Sig:X and a Rivera at the same time; Rivera won the clean battle.

That said I have interest in this amp. Been ampless for a while, can't decide whether to go the Kemper/Fractal direction, or pick a real amp and go with something like a 2notes torpedo load box. My live playing days are done at this point, just need at-home levels and recording capabilities.


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## HighGain510 (Jan 6, 2014)

7slinger said:


> Rivera - killer cleans, best I've played on a high-gain amp. Had the Sig:X and a Rivera at the same time; Rivera won the clean battle.
> 
> That said I have interest in this amp. Been ampless for a while, can't decide whether to go the Kemper/Fractal direction, or pick a real amp and go with something like a 2notes torpedo load box. My live playing days are done at this point, just need at-home levels and recording capabilities.



I had a Rivera K-Tre and the cleans were fantastic, but the gain channel was less than awesome, IMO.  Might have needed more volume to really come alive but I had it shaking the walls and windows of my house and still wasn't really feeling the gain channel personally. The cleans were, however, quite awesome and Rivera is known for their clean stuff as they follow the Fender-ish side of things obviously.


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## themike (Jan 6, 2014)

7slinger said:


> That said I have interest in this amp. Been ampless for a while, can't decide whether to go the Kemper/Fractal direction, or pick a real amp and go with something like a 2notes torpedo load box. My live playing days are done at this point, just need at-home levels and recording capabilities.


 
If it helps I am in the same boat as you and sold my AxeFX II for this amp. The reason being is that while I loved the Fractal - impulses and sims are getting great for playing at home. The gap between what the fractal did and what software did is, while not neck and neck, closing.


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## 7slinger (Jan 6, 2014)

HighGain510 said:


> I had a Rivera K-Tre and the cleans were fantastic, but the gain channel was less than awesome, IMO.  Might have needed more volume to really come alive but I had it shaking the walls and windows of my house and still wasn't really feeling the gain channel personally. The cleans were, however, quite awesome and Rivera is known for their clean stuff as they follow the Fender-ish side of things obviously.



I was running a KR55. Cleans awesome, gain channel, eh, usable but not ideal. Still, I've heard worse gain channels than that one and like I said imo the best cleans avail on a high gainer. built like a tank too



themike said:


> If it helps I am in the same boat as you and sold my AxeFX II for this amp. The reason being is that while I loved the Fractal - impulses and sims are getting great for playing at home. The gap between what the fractal did and what software did is, while not neck and neck, closing.



I'm afraid I won't like the tweakability of the axe or kemper. I have a pod x3, and while I know that model is old news, I got it when it first came out. never got around to messing with it, still don't have any interest in messing with it. I just want to play with good tones and not have to mess around forever to get them


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## themike (Jan 6, 2014)

For anyone curious about the size of this thing, it's slightly bigger than 5150 III *MINI *


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## Underworld (Jan 6, 2014)

Hum! Would look great between my Mesa 4X12 and my 5150 III mini!


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## phonix (Jan 6, 2014)

Sound pretty good in the short demos would like to see how you can shape the sound more with a proper play-through style demo.


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## Metaldestroyerdennis (Jan 6, 2014)

themike said:


> For anyone curious about the size of this thing, it's slightly bigger than 5150 III *MINI *



Two amps with chickenhead knobs? You win this thread.


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## HighGain510 (Jan 7, 2014)

Today is the day!!!  So stoked to get home as I should have an Archon sitting there waiting for me!  Likely won't be posting up thoughts for a bit though as I'd prefer to get to know the amp a bit first!  Also need to get my 4x12 cab wired up with speakers as I moved all my good speakers to my 1x12 cabs...


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## Wrecklyss (Jan 7, 2014)

^^i understand not posting your first impression, but could you post a few clips?


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## 7slinger (Jan 7, 2014)

HighGain510 said:


> Today is the day!!!  So stoked to get home as I should have an Archon sitting there waiting for me!  Likely won't be posting up thoughts for a bit though as I'd prefer to get to know the amp a bit first!  Also need to get my 4x12 cab wired up with speakers as I moved all my good speakers to my 1x12 cabs...



lucky duck


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## themike (Jan 8, 2014)

Finally got mine from the clutches of FedEx. I'm letting her have a day to warm up before heating up dem' glass tubes but sheesh - this thing is solid, compact and beautiful!


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## protest (Jan 8, 2014)

For those that were saying the clips seemed too thick or not tight enough, I read that the bright switch gives the gain a sharper focus. I'm guessing the clip was recorded without the switch engaged. Maybe the guys here will be able to attest to that.


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## zimbloth (Jan 8, 2014)

protest said:


> For those that were saying the clips seemed too thick or not tight enough, I read that the bright switch gives the gain a sharper focus. I'm guessing the clip was recorded without the switch engaged. Maybe the guys here will be able to attest to that.



Also clips should always be taken with a grain of salt anyways, theres a million variables in play. Knowing PRS it'll sound great in real life but I know I could never know for sure until I played it for myself. Years of people fawning over the Rectos recorded tone and me hating how they sound without studio magic involved has taught me to never take recordings overly seriously, for better or worse


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## 155 (Jan 8, 2014)

I like everything except the prs signature on it...yuck


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## technomancer (Jan 8, 2014)

zimbloth said:


> Also clips should always be taken with a grain of salt anyways, theres a million variables in play. Knowing PRS it'll sound great in real life but I know I could never know for sure until I played it for myself. Years of people fawning over the Rectos recorded tone and me hating how they sound without studio magic involved has taught me to never take recordings overly seriously, for better or worse



Yep we got it the first few times


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## Rick (Jan 8, 2014)

HighGain510 said:


> Today is the day!!!  So stoked to get home as I should have an Archon sitting there waiting for me!  Likely won't be posting up thoughts for a bit though as I'd prefer to get to know the amp a bit first!  Also need to get my 4x12 cab wired up with speakers as I moved all my good speakers to my 1x12 cabs...



Jeez, Matt, did you win the last Powerball lottery?


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## themike (Jan 8, 2014)

protest said:


> For those that were saying the clips seemed too thick or not tight enough, I read that the bright switch gives the gain a sharper focus. I'm guessing the clip was recorded without the switch engaged. Maybe the guys here will be able to attest to that.


 
Yes, everyone besides Dustie had all knobs set to 12 o'clock and the bright switch disengaged. 

Here is a clip for the new Custom 24 Floyd SE that's coming out but it's all Dustie playing the Archon and I think it shows off a brighter tone on the distorted channel.


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## Dethyr (Jan 8, 2014)

I hate Creed,, a lot, I don't mind Alter Bridge at all but one thing about Tremonti is that he has always had top notch tone no matter what.


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## asher (Jan 9, 2014)

Does that Dustie video remind anyone else of a Recto somewhat, or do I just have weird sound associations?

(this is not a bad thing imo)


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jan 9, 2014)

I was thinking the same thing. Sounded like a tighter Recto.


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## Given To Fly (Jan 9, 2014)

Awww...a nice distraction from the Ibanez speculation thread. It's sad, I know...:no please:

PRS made a cool amp!  It sounds good in the videos; I think their marketing strategy is a little different, "we made an awesome amp with a great clean channel too!"  At that price ($1900), it seems PRS is competing with Bogner. In fact, it reminded me of the Bogner Shiva 20th Anniversary. The price difference is about a $1000 but the Bogner is pretty much a 4 channel amp, so that makes sense. Anyways, good for PRS!


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## taliababa (Jan 29, 2014)

Has anyone who has ordered an Archon gone about changing tubes? I'm seriously considering getting one, but I'm concerned about biasing. My tube amp experience is limited to Mesa/Boogie and their fixed bias amps. I've never done it before so it's a bit of a concern. I see the external bias jacks to measure voltage. Is there an adjustable pot in the chassis that can be tweaked? I like trying different tubes and would hate to have to send my amp away for something as trivial as a tube change. 

Can anyone suggest a reasonably inexpensive multimeter? It's been ages since I've used one. The last time was 25 years ago when I was in the Air Force.


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## zimbloth (Jan 29, 2014)

taliababa said:


> Has anyone who has ordered an Archon gone about changing tubes? I'm seriously considering getting one, but I'm concerned about biasing. My tube amp experience is limited to Mesa/Boogie and their fixed bias amps. I've never done it before so it's a bit of a concern. I see the external bias jacks to measure voltage. Is there an adjustable pot in the chassis that can be tweaked? I like trying different tubes and would hate to have to send my amp away for something as trivial as a tube change.
> 
> Can anyone suggest a reasonably inexpensive multimeter? It's been ages since I've used one. The last time was 25 years ago when I was in the Air Force.



Biasing is really easy. I can walk you through it if youd like sometime. You can give us a call and I can walk you through the steps. I bias our amps here and it makes a big difference. I havent personally biased an Archon yet as we're still waiting for the ones we have on order to show up, but its all the same pretty much. I got my Bias Probe from Eurotubes.com


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## XeoFLCL (Jan 30, 2014)

*mod edit: maybe try searching next time since there's this 9 page thread about it *


This thing sounds amazing. Holy shit. I mean, I've been _extremely_ happy with my Carvin V3M, but god this is really pushing my GAS limits....

Has anyone here gotten their hands on one yet? I'm really tempted to cave and start putting cash towards one but I think I'm going to wnt to hear it from someone and/or something other than big name PRS endorsees and through a PRS video .

_
Woops, I just quicksearched PRS Archon through the front page and thought there'd be a thread titled that since it's news, I totally missed this thread. my bad 
_


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## FretsOnFyre (Jan 31, 2014)

Seriously, if Mark Tremonti is using it that's good enough for me


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## protest (Jan 31, 2014)




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## zimbloth (Feb 1, 2014)

protest said:


>




Always appreciate people sharing, but I really don't think this video is doing the amp any favors, as thats not what it really sounds like. Sounds like a Line Out direct to the board. Hopefully someone releases a more polished recording of this amp soon for people to hear (something I realize is not always easy, hence the proliferation of amateur clips like this).

Don't mean to be negative, but having heard this thing, I just don't think its an accurate depiction of the amp IMO


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## technomancer (Feb 1, 2014)

zimbloth said:


> Always appreciate people sharing, but I really don't think this video is doing the amp any favors, as thats not what it really sounds like. Sounds like a Line Out direct to the board. Hopefully someone releases a more polished recording of this amp soon for people to hear (something I realize is not always easy, hence the proliferation of amateur clips like this).
> 
> Don't mean to be negative, but having heard this thing, I just don't think its an accurate depiction of the amp IMO



I think pretty much everybody realizes NAMM floor amp recordings universally suck


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## zimbloth (Feb 1, 2014)

technomancer said:


> I think pretty much everybody realizes NAMM floor amp recordings universally suck



You would think so man, but sadly I get calls all the time from people who watch things like this and form a definitive opinion based upon it. So I feel I owe it to people to put that disclaimer out there even if I sound like a broken record sometimes


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## bobbybuu (Feb 1, 2014)

FretsOnFyre said:


> Seriously, if Mark Tremonti is using it that's good enough for me



I love his live tone.


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## narad (Feb 2, 2014)

protest said:


>




What's a "djint" sound? Is that Periphery III?


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## BeforeTheTrial (Feb 2, 2014)

This is EXTREMELY interesting!


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## zimbloth (Feb 7, 2014)

I had a chance to sit down and spend some quality time with the Archon this week, as we received our initial shipment of them. I am happy to say these are AWESOME amps! To me they sound like what I wish a Bogner sounded like. Really thick, punchy, and warm but very tight and responsive. And _incredible_ clean tones too. No mud of fizz. I was skeptical of these because I did not get along with their other amps previously and I never trust sound clips/endorsee testimonials, but it's definitely legit.

I really love it. It has a unique sound all of its own. None of the sound clips Ive heard resemble what it actually sounds like IRL, I recommend people interested attempt to find one to try out first hand. It sounds killer at lower volumes too, and all the EQs are usable and sensible. For high-gain I tested a number of guitars through it: PRS loaded with BKP Emeralds tuned to B, my Ibanez Apex100 with BKP Abraxas/Trilogy tuned to A, and an ESP FRX with EMG 81/60s and it sounded rad with all 3. 

One thing about the ridiculous cleans: As a test, I ran a Tube Screamer with the level on it maxed out, and the clean channel still sounded gorgeous and did not break up. The clean channel is very warm and full, but with just the right amount of chime. Huge headroom.

I'm not going to sit here and say its the best amp ever or anything, but what I can say its definitely in my top 3 amps under $2000 on the market for sure. Epic amp that smokes just about everything else I've heard in its price range. I hope to post clips soon if I can come up with any that do the amp justice.


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## technomancer (Feb 7, 2014)

We were sure you'd love it when you got it in stock


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## Chasethebreather (Mar 8, 2014)

zimbloth said:


> I had a chance to sit down and spend some quality time with the Archon this week, as we received our initial shipment of them. I am happy to say these are AWESOME amps! To me they sound like what I wish a Bogner sounded like. Really thick, punchy, and warm but very tight and responsive. And _incredible_ clean tones too. No mud of fizz. I was skeptical of these because I did not get along with their other amps previously and I never trust sound clips/endorsee testimonials, but it's definitely legit.
> 
> I really love it. It has a unique sound all of its own. None of the sound clips Ive heard resemble what it actually sounds like IRL, I recommend people interested attempt to find one to try out first hand. It sounds killer at lower volumes too, and all the EQs are usable and sensible. For high-gain I tested a number of guitars through it: PRS loaded with BKP Emeralds tuned to B, my Ibanez Apex100 with BKP Abraxas/Trilogy tuned to A, and an ESP FRX with EMG 81/60s and it sounded rad with all 3.
> 
> ...



How would you say it stacks up to the 5150III 100? Gassing pretty hard for one after the videos I've seen and your comments.


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## zimbloth (Mar 9, 2014)

Chasethebreather said:


> How would you say it stacks up to the 5150III 100? Gassing pretty hard for one after the videos I've seen and your comments.



I think it smokes the 5150 III, but thats not really saying much IMO. The Archon has way more low-end punch, note definition, and just sounds more huge and focused. The cleans are incredible too. But again. I'm probably not the best person to ask about the EVH because I hate those. To my ears those sound cardboard and thin, with no balls at all. Just bland to me, relative to the amps I am used to anyway. I tried EQ'ing it every which way, boosting it, could not get a sound I was happy with on the EVH, whereas on the Archon pretty much every setting sounds great. 

Have yet to have someone come in and try the Archon and not walk away impressed. Its a great amp. I doubt you'll be disappointed, but if you are, you could always return it and get the Fender amp or something else later.


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## Chasethebreather (Mar 9, 2014)

zimbloth said:


> I think it smokes the 5150 III, but thats not really saying much IMO. The Archon has way more low-end punch, note definition, and just sounds more huge and focused. The cleans are incredible too. But again. I'm probably not the best person to ask about the EVH because I hate those. To my ears those sound cardboard and thin, with no balls at all. Just bland to me, relative to the amps I am used to anyway. I tried EQ'ing it every which way, boosting it, could not get a sound I was happy with on the EVH, whereas on the Archon pretty much every setting sounds great.
> 
> Have yet to have someone come in and try the Archon and not walk away impressed. Its a great amp. I doubt you'll be disappointed, but if you are, you could always return it and get the Fender amp or something else later.



Thanks for the advice. I actually use a 5150III at the moment and really like it. It does lack in the low end department but I've found that it sits in our live mix very well, letting the bass do its job. However, the Archon seems to me almost like a combination of a hot rodded marshall and a rectifier. Two amps that I'm not a huge fan of one their own, but together, could sound like a sonic apocalypse. Probably gonna end up with one shortly


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## ambler3 (Mar 9, 2014)

I think Mikael Åkerfeldt should pick one up for Opeth, if they return to their heavier style


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## zimbloth (Mar 10, 2014)

Chasethebreather said:


> Thanks for the advice. I actually use a 5150III at the moment and really like it. It does lack in the low end department but I've found that it sits in our live mix very well, letting the bass do its job. However, the Archon seems to me almost like a combination of a hot rodded marshall and a rectifier. Two amps that I'm not a huge fan of one their own, but together, could sound like a sonic apocalypse. Probably gonna end up with one shortly



It doesn't remind me much of a Marshall or Mesa. It has its own sound, but if reminds me more of a Fryette or Bogner but different. Very articulate and focused, but thick. It definitely loves PRS guitars too.


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## Key_Maker (Mar 10, 2014)

zimbloth said:


> It doesn't remind me much of a Marshall or Mesa. It has its own sound, but if reminds me more of a Fryette or Bogner but different. Very articulate and focused, but thick. It definitely loves PRS guitars too.



Sorry for insist but, Bogner Shiva or Uberschall? I'm pretty familiar and i just could hear the guy from BTBAM testing it at the Namm but couldn't try it by myself.


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## zimbloth (Mar 10, 2014)

Key_Maker said:


> Sorry for insist but, Bogner Shiva or Uberschall? I'm pretty familiar and i just could hear the guy from BTBAM testing it at the Namm but couldn't try it by myself.



Comparing it to other amps isnt very helpful as it has a distinct voicing, but the Archon does have the thickness and gain that a Diezel or Uberschall has, but with more definition and tightness. Not as compressed.


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