wax&wires

PRS Unleashes Tube Amp Line Up

PRS has partnered with Doug Sewell to develop its first ever line of amplifiers.

Here’s a quote from Paul Smith himself:

“I met Doug Sewell at the Dallas International Guitar Show several years ago and needed an amp for that evening’s performance, so I borrowed one of his and was floored. We started working on this series and tried every conceivable component and circuit combination. Derek Trucks, David Grissom and several other known amp tone artists are now using this new amplifier line both live and in the studio. We’re pleased to be working with Doug and to have him leading the PRS amp team.”

PRS will start its life as an amp maker with three models:

Dallas:
Reminiscent of classic 6L6 American reverb amps, our Dallas model offers sweet highs, solid lows and modest midrange. This model gives you an open 3D tone for huge sounding cleans. The Dallas amp leans toward the clean side but moderately overdrives nicely.

Blue Sierra:
Evocative of classic British and American amps – but with a distinct Texas attitude – the Blue Sierra offers gain structured for equally great cleans to medium gain overdrive tones. With the Blue Sierra it’s easy to get a big 3D sound and hard to get a bad one at any setting. Available in EL34 or 6L6.

Original Sewell:
Recalling the complex tones and harmonics of 50′s era amps, the Original Sewell brings you sweet highs and tight lows that surround a warm midrange. The Original Sewell has a smooth tone that was crafted to give an expressive, vocal quality to lead work. Notes bloom and sustain with rich harmonics enhancing your fundamental notes. Available in EL34 or 6L6.

I’m a bit surprised not to see a 6V6 or EL84 amp in the line up. I also wonder if the amps will be custom made to each owner like a smaller boutique company, or if they’ll mass distribute them through the lanes that PRS  has established through the years. My guess would be that they would develop a structure similar to Mesa/Boogie with production models that you can pick up at any local Guitar Center, and then a custom line only available at certain shops and through the company directly (like their current “Private Stock” line for guitars).

Here’s a quick video of Derek Trucks (The Allman Brothers Band) talking about why he likes his PRS amp:

One thing is for certain, they put a great skin on the amps and they really turned out beautiful.

You can see more pics, and learn more about the PRS line of amplifiers by visiting the PRS site.

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 17th, 2009 at 12:12 am. It is filed under wires and tagged with amp, guitar, namm, prs, tube. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.