PRS archon thoughts

[gtr31]

^^^^ I'm pretty sure there is a 25 watt

Not in the head chassis only combo . my dealer said they were going to put one 25 watt in headshell ,but never happened

Rumour is a Sig line with Tremonti this year

 

[Bxlxaxkxe]

It's metal but check out the thread with the playlist of 11 different amps.

 

[jc986]

If anyone wants to send me a DI if I would be happy to reamp it through my Archon and record it.

 

[Mailman1971]

I bought mine on a whim after watching this clip.
Was pleasantly surprised.

Mine does not sound scooped at all in the room (unless I want to do that)
Is super fat thick sounding amp. Oozes out some bad ass tone.

 

[Bxlxaxkxe]

I bought mine on a whim after watching this clip.
Was pleasantly surprised.

Mine does not sound scooped at all in the room (unless I want to do that)
Is super fat thick sounding amp. Oozes out some bad ass tone.

That's my favorite clip so far

 

[Bxlxaxkxe]

If anyone wants to send me a DI if I would be happy to reamp it through my Archon and record it.

What're your thoughts on Archon vs Uber? More similarities than differences?

 

[jc986]

They can definitely be dialed in for a very similar sound. The Archon is inherently tighter with the bass response and has a smoother gain structure than the Uber. The voicing is a bit more modern sounding than the Uber as well. The Uber is more focused in the low mids while the Archon seems to be more focused on the high mids. The Uber can be dialed in a bit more aggressively than the Archon, and has more grit in the gain structure. The Uber is capable of a ton more bass. Cleans are better on the Archon. I favor the Archon for lead playing, and prefer the Uber for straight up metal rhythm.

 

[Whatamada]

I thought I´ll just put in my two cents.
Having owned and played Diezel VH4, Herbert, Hagen together with Mesa Dual Rectifier and Mark V, I must say that the Archon is the better amp (for me).

The clean channel is just bigger and warmer than all previous mentions, and the Hagen has an amazing clean channel, so I´m not jst throwing big words around.
When it comes to the lead channel, it´s hard to explain but it´s just so easy to dial in whatever tone you´re looking for.
It can be fat, tight, mid heavy, scooped....whatever
The Diezels are not that hard to dial in, but the recto is a chapter of it´s own.

I would like to say that the lead channel is a mix of the fatness and chugh from the two-channel recto and the amazing midrange from the Diezels. The gain structure itself is modern, and you can get superattacked and muffled if that´s your thing

For me, the Archon is an amp for life, and I swore by my Herbert and Hagen for a long time.
It´s just so simple and amazing you just wanna rock out!

The fact that it´s not nearly as big or heavy to carry helps too

 

[Crunchtime]

Just how bad is the loop? I hear it is very noisy even with no pedals.

Thinking about getting one but would not like a hiss on my clean channel at all. I like to use various pedals in the loop.

 

[jc986]

The loop issue was only an issue on the first batches of the 100 watt heads. Even then there shouldn't have been any issues with having no pedals in the loop. There are some threads on the PRS forum that go into much greater detail, but apparently the loop's impedance was too hot for some pedals on the earlier batches and they have rectified that I believe early in 2015. PRS will also correct the loop issue on earlier heads for no charge (other than shipping).

I run a TC Electronic Flashback and an MXR 10 band EQ in the loop and there is no added noise. Mine was made in October 2015

 

[DennisJr]

I also own an Archon 100 head, it's an absolutely incredible sounding amp! It's near perfect for a "solo" amp but does great rhythm guitar well too. I changed out the JJ 12AX7's for the gain stages of the Lead Channel for some NOS balanced Mallard 12AX7's and it REALLY opened the Archon up on the gain side of things!!! I know some have had problems with the fx loop, which I have too, but the new factory mod on the loop level components that they have done has made the fx loop near perfect for me.
I use ONLY a G-Lab Smooth Delay in the loop and it does great!! I used to use a TC Flashback but have moved up a tad to the G-Lab.

The clean channel is borderline Mesa Mark V clean!!! It's REALLY REALLY fat and VERY clean!! Tons of head room!!

In short...I love my Archon!!!! It's definitely a gathering of some different high gain amps all kinda rolled into one. It has some 5150, Bogner Uberschall and JCM800 type things going on...which is very nice!! Never getting rid of it! It's going to stay with my other amazing amp collection because it holds its own with them.

I agree it is similar to the Uberschall in a lot of ways, and with the bright switch engaged it can definitely get some of that 5150 high end sizzle and aggression. Any particular reason you put up a pic of Mark Tremonti's rig?

I use the same rig as Mark but I didn't have a picture of my rig all set up...so I used a picture of his because it's exactly the same.

 

[hatrick00]

Any good demos of this amp that doesn't sound like mid scooped dog shit?

2:30-3:00 on of this demo may possibly one of the worst amp tones I've ever heard. I was honestly interested in the amp but clips I've seen heard are pretty bad.

this is pretty much exactly what mine sounded like.... wasn't a huge fan, couldn't sell it fast enough. lots of people really like them though. i agree about the mid range, the amp just didn't sound very punchy or in your face, in my opinion.

 

[Bxlxaxkxe]

I also own an Archon 100 head, it's an absolutely incredible sounding amp! It's near perfect for a "solo" amp but does great rhythm guitar well too. I changed out the JJ 12AX7's for the gain stages of the Lead Channel for some NOS balanced Mallard 12AX7's and it REALLY opened the Archon up on the gain side of things!!! I know some have had problems with the fx loop, which I have too, but the new factory mod on the loop level components that they have done has made the fx loop near perfect for me.
I use ONLY a G-Lab Smooth Delay in the loop and it does great!! I used to use a TC Flashback but have moved up a tad to the G-Lab.

The clean channel is borderline Mesa Mark V clean!!! It's REALLY REALLY fat and VERY clean!! Tons of head room!!

In short...I love my Archon!!!! It's definitely a gathering of some different high gain amps all kinda rolled into one. It has some 5150, Bogner Uberschall and JCM800 type things going on...which is very nice!! Never getting rid of it! It's going to stay with my other amazing amp collection because it holds its own with them.

I agree it is similar to the Uberschall in a lot of ways, and with the bright switch engaged it can definitely get some of that 5150 high end sizzle and aggression. Any particular reason you put up a pic of Mark Tremonti's rig?

I use the same rig as Mark but I didn't have a picture of my rig all set up...so I used a picture of his because it's exactly the same.

 

[glassjaw7]

I put up a couple clips in my NAD thread. I don't think they sound like mid-scooped dog shit, but your mileage may vary.

Unboosted, bright switch on: https://soundcloud.com/guitarjunkie986/ ... -bright-on

Boosted, bright off: https://soundcloud.com/guitarjunkie986/ ... bright-off

Those sound good

 

[Mailman1971]

Any good demos of this amp that doesn't sound like mid scooped dog shit?

2:30-3:00 on of this demo may possibly one of the worst amp tones I've ever heard. I was honestly interested in the amp but clips I've seen heard are pretty bad.

Yeah that sounded like an AM Radio.
Not sure what the hell was going on. Mine sounds complete opposite of that thin buzz.

 

[glassjaw7]

Yeah that one isn't selling it for me at all.

Also, dennisjr

 

[Mailman1971]

When I got mine I pretty much did like the guys in PRS video.
Plugged and played with everything about noon.
Really has this missive thick tone.

 

[BrentSSL]

What pickups have you guys played through it?

 

[jc986]

EMG 81, EMG 85, JB, Black Winter, Nazgul, Sentient, DiMarzio Dominion, D-Activator, SD EMTY, Fender Fat 50's, SD SSL-5, BKP Painkiller, PRS #7.

Sounds great with all of them.

 

[Mailman1971]

I have x2n in all my guitars. Sounds incredible.