"The Great and Ancient Bird of Kuheelay": Mayones Regius Core into PRS Archon 25 combo

[nightlight]

"Here you go, Decadent Kain. The Great and Ancient Bird of Kuheelay."

"Ah yes."

*smash*

What have you done, Decadent?"

"Take this, it will improve your life force."

"Ah, I can feel it working."

 

[LPMojoGL]

Archon is underrated.

 

[nightlight]

Archon is underrated.

It is. I've owned both a 50-watt combo and this 25-watt combo. I preferred the 25-watter and sold the 50-watt version.

What I really like about the 25-watt is the 5881 tubes that are in it. Very different than the EL84 tubes that come with most small amps. In that regard, I couldn't gel with the two Mesa Mark V:25s I've owned in the past. The bottom end is really thin and anaemic on most EL84 amps, at least in my experience, and that's one reason I never took the plunge and got one of those mini Friedmans or Engls.

I also like the Victory Kraken that I have, after selling the earlier one I had. Sounds huge for such a small amp. And both of them thump. There's now a Kraken MK3 that's out that I can't afford because I'm jobless haha

 

[LPMojoGL]

It is. I've owned both a 50-watt combo and this 25-watt combo. I preferred the 25-watter and sold the 50-watt version.

What I really like about the 25-watt is the 5881 tubes that are in it. Very different than the EL84 tubes that come with most small amps. In that regard, I couldn't gel with the two Mesa Mark V:25s I've owned in the past. The bottom end is really thin and anaemic on most EL84 amps, at least in my experience, and that's one reason I never took the plunge and got one of those mini Friedmans or Engls.

I also like the Victory Kraken that I have, after selling the earlier one I had. Sounds huge for such a small amp. And both of them thump. There's now a Kraken MK3 that's out that I can't afford because I'm jobless haha

What do you prefer about the 25w vs the 50w? USA or Indonesia?

Small amps that use big tubes: SLO30, MT15, Marshall Studio, Fargen Olde 800, etc...do seem to have more convincing big amp tones than those with 2xel84s. 4xel84s (or 6v6s) sound huge! Loud af, tho.

 

[nightlight]

I used to own an MT-15, I liked it a lot, but the Archon 25 sounded better, in my own experience. Mine is one of the old USA models, and despite being a 1x12 combo, it really thumps. I think that's also because of the speaker, a Celestion G12-75T. I've also hooked it up to a 4x12 with Governors and Tonkers, and a 2x12 with English Celestion V30s. Sounds huge.

There wasn't a lot of difference volume wise between the 50-watt and 25-watt, though the 50-watt had more headroom. The 25, on the other hand, was plain more aggressive.

Here's a video:

On EL84s, I just can't gel with them. I find that while the tone is spot on, the heft and girth and depth of bigger tubes is missing, so while the amp may be perfect in the mix, it can sound a bit 2D or thin when playing live.