Wizard of Ozz
Well-known member
I just received my brand-new 2011 Suhr PT100 amp today… and after playing this monster for the last 2 hours straight… all I can say is believe the hype! Not only is the Kool-Aid great tasting, … it sounds great going down too. As far as getting both classic Fender-like cleans and classic Marshall-like overdrive from one box, this amp is unequaled in its delivery. It’s simply amazing. I’ve owned a bunch of amps. Pretty much every high-end, high-gain channel switcher known to man (some 2-3 times over) and the PT100 is easily in my top 3.
I’ve also owned both the CAA OD100SH/SE and the OD100SE+ previously. The PT100, for my likes and needs, is far ahead of these previous incarnations. The PT100 has that high-end, and aggressive “Marshally-mid cut” that both the previous OD100s I owned lacked. The PT100 is both brighter and edgier than any of the previous OD100s I’ve played or owned, which is a good thing for me. The OD100SE+ is a cool amp, but it was a little too smooth and dark for my taste. The PT100 just has that mean, cutting, sharp edge to the tone, that slices thru pretty much any sort mix. The clean channel is still the best I’ve heard on any channel switcher, and is near identical to a good early 1960’s Fender Blackface Twin Reverb. The clean is great, but I’m more of a high-gain fan.
Therefore for me, the 2nd and 3rd channels are the main attraction here. Both of these channels have plenty of gain and just the right voicing for just about any sort of music from classic rock, to hard rock, to most styles of metal (except for death or black metal). If you are a fan of any sort of ‘80s hard-rock or classic metal bands, this amp will blow you away. Van Halen, Ratt, Dokken, Maiden, Aerosmith, Motely Crue, G-n-R, and Whitesnake tones are all easily dialed in without much time and effort. Think of a really great, chunky, warm, thick Marshall JCM800 2203, with a bunch of preamp gain added (but not that sort of thin, buzzy, fizzy, ice-pick distortion that sounds like a Boss pedal thrown in front of your amp), and the ability to further fine tune your tone with extra tone shaping knobs to dial in the right amount of low-end thump or high-end cut to taste. Also the tone is very open and un-compressed. Which is hard to believe with this much gain on tap.
One of the real standout features, is the natural sounding transition from channel 2 to channel 3. Many times in high-gain channel switchers, going from channel 2 to 3, is like almost plugging into a different amp altogether. Or sometimes, channel 2 is so weak and anemic sounding, there’s a huge and un-natural sounding gain, equalization, and volume jump when switching channels. Not so with the PT100. Channel 3 builds on everything great found in channel 2, and just magnifies it. This is also on of the few amps I’ve owned where I can get almost every sort of tone I need from channel 2. I usually wind up using the lead/high-gain channels in most amps 80% of the time, as the voicing and amount of gain work better for me… not so with the PT100. Channel 2 is where I can see myself spending most of my time, as the equalization, voicing, and gain on tap is plenty for most anything. And I don’t need to add a boost (which is something else worth mentioning) to get there. Then I can kick on channel 3 when needed. The touch sensitivity and response to twisting your guitar’s volume and tone knobs, is also pretty amazing as well. The amp actually responds to your guitar volume changes and pick attack… not many channel switching amps, with this level of gain, are this sensitive and responsive. With the PT100 I get 2 useable and similarly great sounding high gain channels, what a concept!
A couple of great additional features worth mentioning are the Whomp Switch which lives up to it’s name, and adds a ton of bass and low-end. Good for low-volume playing, but not needed when you crank this monster. Also the new fx loop has 3 switches for on/off, pedals/rack (+4/-10 dB) units and parallel/series operation. Really cool and well thought out features. I’ve only had the chance to run my Eventide TimeFactor thru the loop so far, but it sounds great and super transparent. No added noise.Also the feedback knob (power amp resonance/dampening control) and presence knobs, really allow you to shape your tone to be as tight/bright or loose/dark as you like it. Many other amps I’ve owned would greatly benefit from these features.
Build-quality and craftsmanship are exceptional everywhere. The PT100 (like all the previous OD100 models) is built like a tank. This is one of the few amps, where I wouldn’t change a thing. Also more builders need to use hex-bolts to hold the chassis in the head-box like Suhr does, as they don’t strip out as easily as regular Phillips head screws. The PT100 uses 4 EL34s power tubes and 6 12AX7 preamp tubes. The stock JJ power and preamp tubes sound great by the way.
Bottom line: If you want classic Fender cleans and modified Marshall crunchy, high-gain tones from one box, this amp has no equal. Try one ASAP.
Great job Pete Thorn and John Suhr … you guys rock!
Here are a few pics:
And before anyone screams for clips… enjoy:
I’ve also owned both the CAA OD100SH/SE and the OD100SE+ previously. The PT100, for my likes and needs, is far ahead of these previous incarnations. The PT100 has that high-end, and aggressive “Marshally-mid cut” that both the previous OD100s I owned lacked. The PT100 is both brighter and edgier than any of the previous OD100s I’ve played or owned, which is a good thing for me. The OD100SE+ is a cool amp, but it was a little too smooth and dark for my taste. The PT100 just has that mean, cutting, sharp edge to the tone, that slices thru pretty much any sort mix. The clean channel is still the best I’ve heard on any channel switcher, and is near identical to a good early 1960’s Fender Blackface Twin Reverb. The clean is great, but I’m more of a high-gain fan.
Therefore for me, the 2nd and 3rd channels are the main attraction here. Both of these channels have plenty of gain and just the right voicing for just about any sort of music from classic rock, to hard rock, to most styles of metal (except for death or black metal). If you are a fan of any sort of ‘80s hard-rock or classic metal bands, this amp will blow you away. Van Halen, Ratt, Dokken, Maiden, Aerosmith, Motely Crue, G-n-R, and Whitesnake tones are all easily dialed in without much time and effort. Think of a really great, chunky, warm, thick Marshall JCM800 2203, with a bunch of preamp gain added (but not that sort of thin, buzzy, fizzy, ice-pick distortion that sounds like a Boss pedal thrown in front of your amp), and the ability to further fine tune your tone with extra tone shaping knobs to dial in the right amount of low-end thump or high-end cut to taste. Also the tone is very open and un-compressed. Which is hard to believe with this much gain on tap.
One of the real standout features, is the natural sounding transition from channel 2 to channel 3. Many times in high-gain channel switchers, going from channel 2 to 3, is like almost plugging into a different amp altogether. Or sometimes, channel 2 is so weak and anemic sounding, there’s a huge and un-natural sounding gain, equalization, and volume jump when switching channels. Not so with the PT100. Channel 3 builds on everything great found in channel 2, and just magnifies it. This is also on of the few amps I’ve owned where I can get almost every sort of tone I need from channel 2. I usually wind up using the lead/high-gain channels in most amps 80% of the time, as the voicing and amount of gain work better for me… not so with the PT100. Channel 2 is where I can see myself spending most of my time, as the equalization, voicing, and gain on tap is plenty for most anything. And I don’t need to add a boost (which is something else worth mentioning) to get there. Then I can kick on channel 3 when needed. The touch sensitivity and response to twisting your guitar’s volume and tone knobs, is also pretty amazing as well. The amp actually responds to your guitar volume changes and pick attack… not many channel switching amps, with this level of gain, are this sensitive and responsive. With the PT100 I get 2 useable and similarly great sounding high gain channels, what a concept!
A couple of great additional features worth mentioning are the Whomp Switch which lives up to it’s name, and adds a ton of bass and low-end. Good for low-volume playing, but not needed when you crank this monster. Also the new fx loop has 3 switches for on/off, pedals/rack (+4/-10 dB) units and parallel/series operation. Really cool and well thought out features. I’ve only had the chance to run my Eventide TimeFactor thru the loop so far, but it sounds great and super transparent. No added noise.Also the feedback knob (power amp resonance/dampening control) and presence knobs, really allow you to shape your tone to be as tight/bright or loose/dark as you like it. Many other amps I’ve owned would greatly benefit from these features.
Build-quality and craftsmanship are exceptional everywhere. The PT100 (like all the previous OD100 models) is built like a tank. This is one of the few amps, where I wouldn’t change a thing. Also more builders need to use hex-bolts to hold the chassis in the head-box like Suhr does, as they don’t strip out as easily as regular Phillips head screws. The PT100 uses 4 EL34s power tubes and 6 12AX7 preamp tubes. The stock JJ power and preamp tubes sound great by the way.
Bottom line: If you want classic Fender cleans and modified Marshall crunchy, high-gain tones from one box, this amp has no equal. Try one ASAP.
Great job Pete Thorn and John Suhr … you guys rock!
Here are a few pics:
And before anyone screams for clips… enjoy:
