Need help with an amp decision.

[mikeYekim]

Hey guys, I'm thinking of taking advantage of sweetwater's 0% interest for 24 month deal and pulling the trigger on a home/bedroom rig. I'm torn between two amps, one is the new Peavey 6505 MH, the other is the PRS Archon 25. I like my clean tones, I don't play them often but I still like to have that sparkle when I feel in the mood. I mostly play metal, doesn't matter what it is, death, black, prog whatever. The tone I'm looking to go for would be Opeth's "Ghost Reveries" tone, which I'm sure I could land with both amps but I'm worried the 6505 would be a little too harsh for that. Here is my pros and cons list:

6505MH:
Pros: Cheaper, more portable as a head and cab, able to switch from 20, 5 and 1 watt, has that MSDI direct for recording without a microphone. More gain on tap that I could ever need.

Cons: not a very good clean channel, although I've heard they've stepped their game up a little, the videos still don't show me that their clean channel is anything worth talking about.

PRS Archon 25:
Pros: Lots of gain, I've heard people call it smooth, articulate and organic. The clean channel is said to be one of the best there is in a high gain amp. I believe the amp is hand wired and well made.

Cons: No reverb, also it's about 500 dollars more than the peavey head and cab, so there's that to consider.

I'd appreciate any input you guys have, the videos on YouTube are limited and the guitar store near me doesn't have them for me to try.

 

[Jaxcharvel]

Don't know about the mini versions, but I've owned a 5150 and came very close to buying an Archon. For what you're going for I'd go Archon. It'll nail that Opeth tone. Very sweet amp.

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

Have you considered the EVH 5153 mini? It's smoother overall than the Peavey and has a far better clean channel. Probably not on the same level as the Archon, but it's at least in the middle, ya know? Plus the red channel is killer

 

[Given To Fly]

6505MH:
Pros: Cheaper, more portable as a head and cab, able to switch from 20, 5 and 1 watt, has that MSDI direct for recording without a microphone. More gain on tap that I could ever need.

Cons: not a very good clean channel, although I've heard they've stepped their game up a little, the videos still don't show me that their clean channel is anything worth talking about.

PRS Archon 25:
Pros: Lots of gain, I've heard people call it smooth, articulate and organic. The clean channel is said to be one of the best there is in a high gain amp. I believe the amp is hand wired and well made.

Cons: No reverb, also it's about 500 dollars more than the peavey head and cab, so there's that to consider.

I'd appreciate any input you guys have, the videos on YouTube are limited and the guitar store near me doesn't have them for me to try.

It sounds like you want the PRS Archon 25. While its probably well made, it is not truly "hand wired." If it were, "Hand Wired" would be in the title and the price would be much higher. The electronic components are hand-wired to the PCB which is normal for amps at this level. Its the electronic equivalent to a "sturdy handle."

When it comes to built in reverb, you either want fantastic reverb or no reverb. Generally, everything in between sounds like bad reverb and fantastic reverb starts to appear in amps costing $2500+.

The PRS Archon 25 is a 1x12 Combo that weighs 34 lbs. That is considered lightweight when it comes to tube combos. I'm sure you could handle it just fine. The Peavey may break down into 2 lighter pieces but in this case, I think the Archon is still more portable.

I'm not hating on Peavey. Their logo is still the best logo in the music industry, but I think the extra $500 for the Archon gets you a better amp.

 

[AkiraSpectrum]

If the Archon is within your budget then do it. American made tube amp with a good gain channel with good cleans? Can't go wrong with that.

 

[NinjaRaf]

If you're considering the Archon 25, there are SO many amps that size in that price range. 5153 50 watt would be a great choice, too. And, of course, the Mesa Mark V 25...which is an incredible little home studio amp with awesome distortion and clean tones. And the built in reverb is awesome, plus you can set it independently for each channel.

However...if you want to really save some money, check out this Hotone Heart Attack. The tone is based on a Mesa Dual Recto.

Here's a clip of my Mesa Mark V 25 (traded it for a full size Mark V): https://soundcloud.com/ninjaraf/pull-me-under-mrak-v

And one of my Hotone Heart Attack: https://soundcloud.com/ninjaraf/tripleshotone

 

[bnzboy]

I would recommend mark v25 to any guitar players out there. Great tones packed into a small package.

 

[cwhitey2]

Archon all day.


Best decision I have made in my life.



PS you can get just about any high gain tone you want out of the thing with a boost.

 

[Bearitone]

If I had to have ONLY ONE amp and there was no way I could get another one later then I would get the Archon.

Other wise I'd get the 6505mh now for high gain and a Dark Terror for cleans (since it seems like you want low wattage amps)

Honestly, the Dark Terror has my favorite clean tone of any amp I've tried. Don't knock it til you try it.

 

[mikeYekim]

I ended up going with the 6505MH and an Orange cab. I think the Archon while higher quality would probably be too loud and there weren't a lot of features for home studio use. Maybe one day if they release a head version I'll snag it and I'll already have the cab set.