So, you’re looking to buy yourself the best guitar amp for your PRS guitar. You’ve probably realised that it’s not a simple decision to make as there are so many amps out there to choose from. The good news is that it can be quite fun – especially if you like to get nerdy about your gear.
To give some help, we’ve listed below some amps that would be great for a PRS guitar.
Orange Rocker 15
Orange’s Rocker 15 opens the door to some tantalising tube-tone possibilities, delivering the iconic Orange sound without breaking the bank. It also features a half-power option that lets you turn this humble combo into the ultimate home practice amp.
Its enamel control panel follows Orange’s classic 1970s ‘graphics only’ format, using pictograms that describe the control functions. The Rocker’s dirty channel includes gain, bass, mid, treble and master volume controls, while the Natural clean channel has a single volume control. Although the Natural channel may only have a single volume control, it’s perfectly dialled in to flatter practically any guitar and could make your PRS guitar sound great. It sounds great, having a glassy treble giving way to an addictive chime at higher volume levels.
The dirty channel of the Rocker 15’s gain control has a very wide range, allowing fine control of moderately driven sounds, with plenty of Dark Terror-approved filth at the top of its travel, making it perfect for playing everything from classic Brit rock and blues to modern metal.
Reasons To Buy
- True stereo capability
- Great for pedal users
- Deceptively versatile
Reasons To Avoid
- Could do with side handles for portability
Fender Blues Junior IV
Fender’s Blues Junior has compact dimensions, and is lightweight and pedal-friendly, making it one of the most popular gigging combo amps in the world. In 2018, Fender updated it to the new Mark IV spec, which features various tweaks, including Celestion’s excellent A-Type loudspeaker. Its controls include gain, bass treble and middle, reverb level and master volume, with a small push-button ‘Fat’ switch.
In use, Fender’s Junior unleashes a stunning range of Fender tones, from spanky, sparkling cleans, to those fat and smooth midrange crunches that are spot on for blues and classic rock. Its fat switch adds a generous midrange boost and can be remote-controlled from a footswitch allowing greater versatility, while the improved reverb circuit is very impressive, with no noise and a smooth, warm delay that feels more integral to the Junior’s overall tone, that harks back to the best blackface reverbs from the 1960s.
Using Fender’s Blues Junior with a PRS guitar and an overdrive pedal with plenty of volume would be a great combo. The sounds from the amp are top-drawer and compares well against many so-called boutique amps costing four times the price. Factor in the amp’s compact dimensions and lightweight, and it’s easy to see why Fender’s Blues Junior remains one of the best clean amps in the world.
Reasons To Buy
- Stunning clean and drive sounds
- Works well with pedals
- Great built quality
- Relatively lightweight
Reasons To Avoid
- Not much high-gain potential without pedals
- May not be enough clean headroom for bigger gigs
Vox AC15C2
Vox’s AC15 ‘Twin’ keeps the all-important dual-EL84, cathode-biased output section of its forebear, but on the other hand, it’s still very unique. A quick scan across its top panel reveals two inputs for independent access to either normal or top boost channels.
One benefit of AC15C2’s larger, 2×12 enclosure is that it provides ample room for a full-length reverb tank, housed in the bottom. The amp also has an in-built tremolo effect, with controls for depth and speed. But the selling point of this amp is the pair of 25-watt Celestion G12M Greenback speakers. They’re the speaker of rock in so many cases, and while some purists prefer to have those Celestion Blues, they would increase the purchase price by quite a bit; and the increased power handling of two Greenbacks on the end of just 15 watts is quite a tantalising prospect.
It’s fair to say that even with the master volume set-up, the magic of the amp doesn’t really start until the amp’s lungs are at least halfway open, but happily, that’s not far from perfect for many of today’s pub and bar gigs, and it may even be too much for some.
Reasons To Buy
- Usable volume
- Classic tones
- Responds well to pedals
Reasons To Avoid
- Channels not linkable
- Heavy
- Not suitable for higher-gain styles without pedals
PRS MT 15 Mark Tremonti
PRS’s own Mark Tremonti is well-known as an avid gearhead and first impressions of the MT 15 are of a purposeful, working player’s tool with no unnecessary bells or whistles. The PRS MT 15 has clean and lead footswitchable preamp channels, with master volume and gain on the lead channel, also with volume on the clean channel. Both channels have their own bass, mid and treble controls along with a master presence control and a pull boost on the clean channel to add a mild overdriven edge.
Around the back, they have kept things simple with a series effects loop plus a half-power switch which drops the MT 15 from 15 watts down to around seven watts. At first glance, there’s no channel indicator, but when powered up, all the MT 15’s valves are lit by LEDs which will change colour: red for lead, blue for clean – they’re all very visible and very handy. The lead channel has no less than five gain stages and the amount of distortion and gain on tap is huge.
The PRS MT 15 has a clean channel that offers plenty of headroom to cater for any guitar while pulling the channel mid-boost function adds a sweet vintage Fender overdrive with a medium-fast response that’s great for country picking or blues.
Reasons To Buy
- Superb build
- Astounding high-gain tones
- Incredible value for money
Reasons To Avoid
- No onboard reverb
- Not the most characterful clean channel
Supro Blues King 12
Supro’s Blues King features a lightweight, highly resonant popular cabinet shape that’s based on the company’s 1950s Comet combo. Behind the control panel is a simple valve preamp and a pure class A single-ended output stage; meanwhile, grafted into its vintage circuit, is a cascaded FET overdrive section that adds independently footswitchable gain and for a wide range of distortion effects.
The amp also has a traditional spring reverb and a simple series effects loop, that adds extra sonic flexibility to this very vintage-looking combo. Whether you want to play some biting Chicago blues, smooth jazz, or down-home country to searing modern rock leads, the amp is perfect for smaller live gigs, backstage warm-up, home practice and even recording studios, thanks to its impressively low noise levels. If you’re looking for a small, portable and versatile valve 1×12 to go with your PRS guitar, then this could be a good option.
Reasons To Buy
- Excellent clean and classic-rock overdrive tones
- Usable for small gigs
- One of Supro’s most affordable amps yet
Reasons To Avoid
- Higher headroom and higher gain available elsewhere