PRS Expands Their Amp Line for 2011

The annual “Experience PRS” event has become the occasion where the company premieres its new products, as well as the event where the company offers its customers exclusive access to the latest and greatest PRS gear,  including electric and acoustic guitars and a line of high quality amplifiers.

While the Stevensville, Maryland based manufacturer is known for stringed instruments, its amp line was unveiled at this year’s fourth annual open house event. A highlight of the open house are some supercharged amp demonstrations with several limited run amplifiers that reflect the company’s high standards and focus on innovation.

With many of us developing our own music using home studio software and gear, PRS has moved in our direction with its twenty-five piece limited run of Experience PRS 2010 Recording Amps. External switches on many gain and tone components that are normally inaccessible create a nearly infinite tonal and gain palate, making this “universal” amp perfect for recording.

At this year’s open house event, famed producer Peter Denenberg and guitarist Nick Moroch led special home recording demonstrations, which showcased the amp’s ability to go from metal to super clean tones and cover everything in between.

“We’re very happy with this amp. It sounds highly musical,” said Paul Reed Smith. These amps are available in both black tolex and paisley coverings, and both options come standard with distinctive curly maple panels.

PRS was also proud to unveil its first two-channel amplifier, in pre-production form, at Experience PRS 2010. A unique gain channel circuit blends vintage and modern tones making this an extremely versatile and flexible amplifier. An effects loop with adjustable send and return is also featured.

Designer Doug Sewell stated, “This amp is an exciting foray into newer design, tone, and feature territories. My love for single channel amps guided this project from start to finish as I wanted to avoid some of the inherent compromises associated with some switchers. I worked hard on allowing each channel to stand on its own short of building two separate amps in one box and kept it as simple and intuitive to use as possible. I personally find it very addictive and great fun to play.” Only twenty of these hand wired, numbered, and signed units were produced for the event.

To round out the amplifier offering, PRS offered a very limited number of Sweet 16 and PRS “30” amps with special aesthetic appointments, including some with classic tan and brown tolex covering and others with stained curly maple fascias. These amps all incorporate the latest updates and tweaks as the PRS Amplifier team continues their quest for uncompromised tone.

Experience PRS guests had the opportunity to play these amplifiers in two unique settings: Mike Clark, Amplifier Sales Manager, and Doug Sewell were on hand with an arsenal of PRS guitars to guide the PRS faithful through each amp on the main factory floor. Meanwhile, Peter Denenberg, recording engineer extraordinaire, and Nick Moroch (David Sanborn, etc.) were on hand to show how each of the new amps performs in a home recording environment.