• Guys, we've spent considerable money converting the Les Paul Forum to this new XenForo platform, and we have ongoing monthly operating expenses. THE "DONATIONS" TAB IS NOW WORKING, AND WE WOULD APPRECIATE ANY DONATIONS YOU CAN MAKE TO KEEP THE LES PAUL FORUM GOING! Thank you!

Paul Reed Smith not only makes great guitars, I've heard lots of good things about their amps, too...

IMMUSICRULZ

Well-known member
Joined
May 25, 2021
Messages
616
Originally having designed guitars for guitarists such as Ted Nugent and Al DiMeola (both of whom still play his guitars to this day), Paul Reed Smith's profile as a guitar manufacturer didn't take off until the late Eighties, when guitarists such as Neal Schon, Howard Leese, Nancy Wilson, Joe Walsh, Alex Lifeson and Mark Tremonti started playing his guitars.

But he is also known for making bass guitars as well as amps, which several of his clients have owned and played (including John Mayer, who joined PRS in 2018 after years of playing Fender Stratocasters). Even Brad Whitford of Aerosmith has been known to play both Paul Reed Smith guitars and amps.

Looking at some of Paul's amps on Sweetwater, a lot of them are really cheap--especially the Mark Tremonti signature amps, which are only $749, compared to a Vox AC30 amp, which usually costs between $499 to $2,599! Maybe this is why Paul Reed Smith isn't as known for his amps.

A Paul Reed Smith amp would be paired best with a Paul Reed Smith guitar, but I've also seen people play a Les Paul and an Ernie Ball Music Man guitar through a Paul Reed Smith amp. It sounds pretty good.
 

corpse

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 9, 2007
Messages
4,876
Originally having designed guitars for guitarists such as Ted Nugent and Al DiMeola (both of whom still play his guitars to this day), Paul Reed Smith's profile as a guitar manufacturer didn't take off until the late Eighties, when guitarists such as Neal Schon, Howard Leese, Nancy Wilson, Joe Walsh, Alex Lifeson and Mark Tremonti started playing his guitars.

But he is also known for making bass guitars as well as amps, which several of his clients have owned and played (including John Mayer, who joined PRS in 2018 after years of playing Fender Stratocasters). Even Brad Whitford of Aerosmith has been known to play both Paul Reed Smith guitars and amps.

Looking at some of Paul's amps on Sweetwater, a lot of them are really cheap--especially the Mark Tremonti signature amps, which are only $749, compared to a Vox AC30 amp, which usually costs between $499 to $2,599! Maybe this is why Paul Reed Smith isn't as known for his amps.

A Paul Reed Smith amp would be paired best with a Paul Reed Smith guitar, but I've also seen people play a Les Paul and an Ernie Ball Music Man guitar through a Paul Reed Smith amp. It sounds pretty good.
IM-
These refeeds of other peoples media are specifically NOT what this place needs. This is an ad.
I- no we- want to hear about your experience- your joy- your dilemmas.
All of your posts are like this.
This is crap.
 

Wally

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 27, 2003
Messages
3,535
Originally having designed guitars for guitarists such as Ted Nugent and Al DiMeola (both of whom still play his guitars to this day), Paul Reed Smith's profile as a guitar manufacturer didn't take off until the late Eighties, when guitarists such as Neal Schon, Howard Leese, Nancy Wilson, Joe Walsh, Alex Lifeson and Mark Tremonti started playing his guitars.

But he is also known for making bass guitars as well as amps, which several of his clients have owned and played (including John Mayer, who joined PRS in 2018 after years of playing Fender Stratocasters). Even Brad Whitford of Aerosmith has been known to play both Paul Reed Smith guitars and amps.

Looking at some of Paul's amps on Sweetwater, a lot of them are really cheap--especially the Mark Tremonti signature amps, which are only $749, compared to a Vox AC30 amp, which usually costs between $499 to $2,599! Maybe this is why Paul Reed Smith isn't as known for his amps.

A Paul Reed Smith amp would be paired best with a Paul Reed Smith guitar, but I've also seen people play a Les Paul and an Ernie Ball Music Man guitar through a Paul Reed Smith amp. It sounds pretty good.

You forgot to mention one of if not THE earliest user of PRS guitars….Carlos Santana. And…the guitar Paul Reed built for Santana is quite different from any other PRS model due to Carlos Santana’s requests as to the particulars….body shape and carve, scale length…. I remember the relationship between Santana and PRS guitars as being one of the main ingredients of PRS success.

I have seen and played through only one PRS amp….I was impressed.
 

Pat Boyack

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 19, 2011
Messages
4,510
The MT-15 is a great head. Fenderish cleans and a good dirty side. Also, the Archons are cool but we got the last batch of American made ones. They will be made in Asia from now on.

I'm surprised that Doug Sewell is not mentioned. The PRS amps he designed are their best IMHO.
 

corpse

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 9, 2007
Messages
4,876
I am fascinated by the PRS amps- part of me really want's a modern amp- but I just don't have the room.
I am going to give the Archon a listen. I could get it and leave it in the rehearsal space- right?
Oh devil- get thee behind me...
 

Mr. Papa

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 14, 2002
Messages
1,418
Notwithstanding the odd OP, I have a PRS / Sewall Custom 50 and it's one of the best channel switching amps, ever. Blue channel is great Fender black panel clean with a really nice reverb. Red channel is Marshall's greatest hits starting with a JTM sound that reminds me of Brothers in Arms. I love it, and it's still here but the Mesa Mark V I A / Bed it against is gone. If you see one in the shop, or any Sewall, I recommend checking it out.
 

Tollywood

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 16, 2022
Messages
394
The MT-15 is a great head. Fenderish cleans and a good dirty side. Also, the Archons are cool but we got the last batch of American made ones. They will be made in Asia from now on.

I'm surprised that Doug Sewell is not mentioned. The PRS amps he designed are their best IMHO.
I have two PRS heads which are the best amps I've ever owned, and I have had about twenty amazing amps over the decades to weigh them against.

The PRS 25th Anniversary head is my favorite. It’s based on a Marshall Plexi. After that run they renamed it the HX/DA amp. That’s Hendrix/Allman. It has treble boost and gain boost knobs which really let you shape your tone like no other amp. It’s like cris crossing the four inputs on a Plexi. It has EL34s. I use an external Benson reverb tank with this one.

At one time, I had seven killer half stacks and I would play one each day of the week. One day, I stopped doing that and I only played this one every single day. Then, I sold several of them since I was only playing this PRS.

That led me to buy the other PRS head, which is a David Grissom. It has EL84s. It sounds beautiful and has a reverb tank and twin cooling fans. Both heads have very few knobs, which I really like. I had a Rivera KR7 with way too many knobs and channels for me. Both of these PRS heads are single channel. I keep it simple, dial in my one channel rock tone and play like that, rolling down the volume on the guitar to clean it up a little, like EVH.
 

Greywolf

Active member
Joined
Oct 2, 2023
Messages
135
The real gems in PRS 's amp line are the ones from CAD (custom amp dept) hand wired and component by component vetted by Doug Sewell . The only one still in production is the DG30, David Grissom's personal choice imagine a botique AC30 top boost . I'm lucky to have one, along with the 50w Blue Sierra which is the 50w version of Derek Trucks amp, a paisley plexi PRS Parlor.jpg.
 
Last edited:
Top