PRS Amp Settings - share the love!

[Boogie]

My pet peeve is finally being able to audition that ultra-cool amp that you've GASed for, only to have NO idea how to dial the amp in. I don't mean not being able to eventually find a good sound (it's all subjective) but to get the sound that drove you to that amp in the first place. For me, it was David Grissom with that low end growl and high string bloom. If you're at GC or Willcutt's or the Mom-n-Pop shop down the street, you only have a limited time to find that sound. How did he do that??!! And after monkey-ing around for 30 minutes, you lose interest. I want to help you avoid this disappointment!

Tip #1: PRS amps have truly musical tone controls throughout their entire range. Start with treb/mid/bass at 12:00.

Super Dallas: My current settings: V: 10:00, R: 7:00, T: 11:00, M: 2:00, B: 8:00, M: 3:00

Does anyone know where DG sets his with a 2x12?

(I'm not going to pretend that I know very much about the HXDA. Tip #1 still applies to a degree, but we have pros here. I'll let them comment)

[LSchefman]

Here's how I often set up my HX/DA for the Artist V, but remember that I use my guitar's volume control to get clean tones or gainier tones, and I do vary the settings from guitar to guitar (I'll describe where I set the guitar to start below); also, this is for a "general blues to rock tone" and note that I'm using a Mesa 2x12 with V-30 speakers:

HX/DA switches, from left to right: D/A, HX, HX

HX/DA gain: 2 o'clock

Bass gain: 8 o'clock

Treble: 11 o'clock

Middle: 1 o'clock

Bass: 2 o'clok

Presence: 10 o'clock

Master: set to overall volume preference.

When I set up my amp, I set the guitar's volume at around 6 and then set the amp to get a light crunchy rhythm tone. This way, when I turn the guitar up higher, I get more crunch, and later, more toward higher gain. Turn the guitar down a little, and I'm in clean territory.

Also, I set the EQ controls with the tone control around 6-7. This gives me the ability to brighten or darken the sound just from the guitar itself.

The beauty of using the volume and tone controls in this way is that the player now has an amp with MANY "channels" and tone colors, instead of turning the guitar up all the way and only having two sounds as with a channel switching amp.

Recent PRS models have very, very useful volume/tone controls with not too much high frequency loss when the volume is turned down. This is especially true of the Artist V and Sig Ltd., that are fairly bright sounding guitars.

[Steph]

That's a cool thread....

Wish I could test and contribute...

[RedGuitars]

I was literally shocked when I checked my settings... Every knob is at about 10:00. Boost switch is on (CAD Dallas).

[Boogie]

MartySnarf took a pic of David Grissom's HXDA settings at the Exp 2012 sessions, but the flash blew away the the settings for Bass Gain and treble. But here's what I can read for comparison to Les' post...which I find very interesting.

HX/DA switches, from left to right: DA, DA, HX

HX/DA gain: 10 o'clock

Bass gain: ???

Treble: ???

Middle: 11 o'clock

Bass: 1 o'clok

Presence: 10 o'clock

Master: 2:30 - almost 3:00

[Boogie]

Sweet 16 Combo

I snagged this from a Bryan Ewald video...

Clean
Bright Switch: ON
V: 11:00
R: 10:00
T: 11:00
M: 1:00
B: 1:00
M: 11:00

Max out the volume and master for big mojo! If nothing else, keep the master max'ed and jockey the volume around.

[Boogie]

From Premier Guitar's video coverage of Experience 2009, here's what DG had for settings on a Sweet 16:

Sweet 16 Combo - closed back
Bright Switch: ON
V: 1:00
R: 2:00
T: 10:00
M: 2:00
B: 12:00
M: 12:00

[mad monk]

From Premier Guitar's video coverage of Experience 2009, here's what DG had for settings on a Sweet 16:

Sweet 16 Combo - closed back
Bright Switch: ON
V: 1:00
R: 2:00
T: 10:00
M: 2:00
B: 12:00
M: 12:00

Keep in mind, this was the first year model. There have been a few revisions since. I believe these were described "too trebly". I have a 2009 model, and the bright switch isn't all that apparent in a guitar-cord-amp setup. Put a pedal in between, and the bright switch has a profound effect.