New PRS sonzera amps

grungebob

only seen the press release and a few choice videos so far but if these amps are as good as the SE amps where (with hopefully more lead channel gain) then they should sell very well. 
I really liked my SE20 but it fell short on the lead channel. 

professorben

Look good, and Chris from BSC likes em, so they do the heavy.
pricing seems decent too.

grungebob

Yeah I think these could be a great seller. The SE20 I had did brilliant cleans and crunch tones but left you wanting more for hard rock etc 

timmysoft

Looking forward to trying one of these, even from the videos I still can't tell if it does heavy well. If it sounds as good as the archon, I'm all over it.

not_the_dj

Well the prices surprised me when I clicked the link in the andertons mail shot. That 50w head could be very tempting. 

ThePrettyDamned

Sounds like a good amp! Although, describing an amp as delivering 3D sounds is bizarre. Not horrendously bad looking either (a minor point, but let's face it, silverface fenders are a bit sexier than most modern not-fender-marshall-or-vox combos).

grungebob

Yeah the gain levels is what'll make or break this amp. 

DanR

Gain wise it's supposed to be a bit less than the Archon.

I like how it sounds and the two full featured channels is a big positive as is the price.

Negative wise, it's not the most aesthetically pleasing but I think that's the writing that makes me think that.

Jeremiah

Pity there's no 20w head...

grungebob

Jeremiah said:

Pity there's no 20w head...

For the price itd be easy to transplant into a different cab no?

thomasross20

20W head would be good. 
Sounds great online (!) but 18kg+ for the 50W head alone - ouch! 
20W should bring the weight down a tad.

timmysoft

thomasross20 said:

20W head would be good. 
Sounds great online (!) but 18kg+ for the 50W head alone - ouch! 
20W should bring the weight down a tad.

18kg is pretty light! It's an easy one hand lift!

not_the_dj

Anyone tried one of these yet? Looks like the usual UK stores have been getting stock.

Powerslave

I have one - the 20w combo - picked it up last week from Sound Affects in Ormskirk.

Not a lot of use yet as I'm laid out with flu of all things in June!

Enjoying what I've heard so far, though. Very nice clean channel that appears to be happy with humbuckers and splits (don't have any single-coil guitars). I'm used to mostly Marshall and Vox-like cleans, and it's neither of those. I'm guessing something part Fender, part its own thing but don't quote me on that!

Drive channel is a little more modern than I'm used to - but I don't think anyone under 30 would call it modern! It's tight-ish in the bass (and plenty available which comes on quickly with drive and volume so I've mostly dialled it out via the EQ at home).

I've set mine for a nice thick crunch, and hitting it with an EP for riffs and a Klone for leads. Takes them well, especially the EP (on both channels).

Reverb blends well, although there's not a huge amount (plenty for me as I only add a touch of ambience).

It's a slightly dark and mid-thick sounding amp (at low volume, the bright switch helps - as does a responsive set of EQ controls on both channels). I suspect this voicing is partly the speaker (type, and not yet broken in) and because I guess that lends itself to singing leads - which this amp wants to do on the drive channel (it's the PRS "thing" in my experience).

Of course, at gig volume then the amp may open up and the EQ of the voice change / balance out - I'm currently experiencing it in a "throttled" context at home, only.

The drive channel is "on" very quickly. I have only played it at home so far, but I can get a good tone (preferable to a pedal for me). However, it doesn't give me a lot of room to work within for someone such as me who doesn't require gain levels post-1982. Again, though, at volume this apparent amount of gain at low levels may thin out a touch.

At it's very lowest, barely audible volume the drive channel sounds pants - but notching it up a touch to good tone at home volume is quite possible.

Solid build from the outside, and they've put these together sensibly. I believe chassis-mounted transformers and valves, and then three separate circuit boards for front and rear controls and the main board.

The cab has a good depth to it, too. I'd have preferred it a touch wider, personally, which might have alleviated some of the mid-focus of the amp.

Its very much a "grab and go" amp. Clip-on tuner and an EP, or judicious use of the volume control on your guitar, and you're potentially done.

I can imagine the clean channel gives a nice edge of break up / early classic rock tone when cranked, but I've only used it mostly clean thus far.

Solid 2-button foot switch but - personal gripe of mine - captive cable at the switch end. Please just make them with a socket, and let us attach a cable ourselves! Makes it easier choosing cable length, replacing cables / switches, using universal switches where possible, unplugging the cable from the switch and packing away the pedalboard, etc.

Would've preferred an LED on the amp to indicate reverb engaged (I sometimes use subtle levels which can be hard to pick out when playing). That being said, kudos for making the reverb footswitchable.

At just under 700 quid, I think PRS will sell a bunch of these right across the guitar-playing demographic - already a huge back-order I believe.

usedtobe

If you've just typed all that, it ain't flu!
  

Powerslave

usedtobe said:

If you've just typed all that, it ain't flu!
  

The drugs are kicking in and I'm bored! Plus the wife's at work, and I can't reach the TV remote!

not_the_dj

Thanks for the info @Powerslave it'll be later in the year when I'll be seriously looking so hopefully the initial rush will have died down and they'll be available to try out rather than all pre-sold.

grungebob

Yeah thanks for that. It's certainly an amp I'm looking forward to trying tail end of the year. 

Chester

Powerslave said:

I have one - the 20w combo - picked it up last week from Sound Affects in Ormskirk.

Not a lot of use yet as I'm laid out with flu of all things in June!

Enjoying what I've heard so far, though. Very nice clean channel that appears to be happy with humbuckers and splits (don't have any single-coil guitars). I'm used to mostly Marshall and Vox-like cleans, and it's neither of those. I'm guessing something part Fender, part its own thing but don't quote me on that!

Drive channel is a little more modern than I'm used to - but I don't think anyone under 30 would call it modern! It's tight-ish in the bass (and plenty available which comes on quickly with drive and volume so I've mostly dialled it out via the EQ at home).

I've set mine for a nice thick crunch, and hitting it with an EP for riffs and a Klone for leads. Takes them well, especially the EP (on both channels).

Reverb blends well, although there's not a huge amount (plenty for me as I only add a touch of ambience).

It's a slightly dark and mid-thick sounding amp (at low volume, the bright switch helps - as does a responsive set of EQ controls on both channels). I suspect this voicing is partly the speaker (type, and not yet broken in) and because I guess that lends itself to singing leads - which this amp wants to do on the drive channel (it's the PRS "thing" in my experience).

Of course, at gig volume then the amp may open up and the EQ of the voice change / balance out - I'm currently experiencing it in a "throttled" context at home, only.

The drive channel is "on" very quickly. I have only played it at home so far, but I can get a good tone (preferable to a pedal for me). However, it doesn't give me a lot of room to work within for someone such as me who doesn't require gain levels post-1982. Again, though, at volume this apparent amount of gain at low levels may thin out a touch.

At it's very lowest, barely audible volume the drive channel sounds pants - but notching it up a touch to good tone at home volume is quite possible.

Solid build from the outside, and they've put these together sensibly. I believe chassis-mounted transformers and valves, and then three separate circuit boards for front and rear controls and the main board.

The cab has a good depth to it, too. I'd have preferred it a touch wider, personally, which might have alleviated some of the mid-focus of the amp.

Its very much a "grab and go" amp. Clip-on tuner and an EP, or judicious use of the volume control on your guitar, and you're potentially done.

I can imagine the clean channel gives a nice edge of break up / early classic rock tone when cranked, but I've only used it mostly clean thus far.

Solid 2-button foot switch but - personal gripe of mine - captive cable at the switch end. Please just make them with a socket, and let us attach a cable ourselves! Makes it easier choosing cable length, replacing cables / switches, using universal switches where possible, unplugging the cable from the switch and packing away the pedalboard, etc.

Would've preferred an LED on the amp to indicate reverb engaged (I sometimes use subtle levels which can be hard to pick out when playing). That being said, kudos for making the reverb footswitchable.

At just under 700 quid, I think PRS will sell a bunch of these right across the guitar-playing demographic - already a huge back-order I believe.

So you settled on a PRS then Powerslave - glad you are enjoying it .. despite your manflu