PRS HDRX 20 - 20-watt Tube Head Reviews

Of all my amp heads, even though I still would have to say my Hughes & Kettner heads are the best because of performance and features, this PRS HDRX 20 is my favorite nonetheless. Such great tones. Love it!

I've owned this and used it at home and with my band since about March. I run it with a Fuchs 212 with Scumback speakers.
The amp is very loud and very flexible and very tasty. It can easily be used live without pedals but it takes pedals so well that I wouldn't do that.
Some light drive or boost and modulation are all I need for a lot of awesome sounds. Just a great sounding amp for not a lot of money. Well done PRS.

About a year ago, I have this head ordered from Sweetwater. Tried it through the Marshall slanted cab with some darker sounding Celestions. It was to tame the Marshall Mini Plexi head that I used to have. The combination didn't work, and the amp was returned.
Fast forward, one year later approximately, changed speakers to Greenback and Greenback 55Hz, came across this amp, and ordered again... Bingo! This is the best combination that has entered my studio. Pure Marshall goodness for late 60s sound! I don't even know why I ordered this head again... Touch of destiny, I guess. This head (if quality of it holds) will be here for a long, long time. I have Fender Blackfaces, Mesa Boogie, and other stuff. Since I have this amp tuned-in, I use no other and that is for about 2 months, or so. Swapped tubes to NOS goodness, but that does not mean much... Highly recommended sound machine!

Sounds great but louder than I thought even with a master volume. I needed to get an attenuator for home use. Takes pedals well and I am able to achieve the Hendrix tone I fell in love with at 14. Took me longer than I thought it would to dial in because of all the different tones available. I think pedals effect tubes differently than solid state heads, or digital, so that being said it took me awhile to figure out my gain structure. Every little adjustment on your pedal or guitar volume makes huge differences. It's kinda an electric beast you have to tame. Rolling back volume on my guitar produces such different tones with this amp, I never noticed such a difference on solid state or digital...everything in line really shines thru with the head.
Because of new AZ shipment center my head came in less than 24 hours of ordering.

The best sounding British voiced amp for under 1K. I own many top end amps so I wasn't expecting this good. Wasn't too stoked at first while dialing in the two channels going off the chart that came on top of the amp but then I decided to put all the controls to noon and work from there and I found a very usable tone using a dirt pedal. You won't be hiding any mistakes with this amp. Included a pic on my amp settings that work for me.

Picked this up after getting rid of a modded JCM800 that was way too much for home use. As soon as I plugged in, I was able to draw out some amazing tones out of this amp. I paired this with an open back 2x12 loaded with WGS Green Beret speakers, and it sounds incredible. It loves pedals and works with all my guitars, be it single coils or humbuckers. Best amp for the money I've bought that was new. I don't miss that JCM800 now.

20watt amp ?? This beast is like a 40-50 watt amp easy. (Plexi power) you can gig with this for sure. Lots of control on tones and as always PRS makes another incredible product. It has a very glassy sound on its own if you want that but I'm a pedal guy and this plays well with others. Add a univibe pedal(J. Rocket) and your jimmy Hendricks at Woodstock lol. I paired it with a Marshall 2x12 160w vertical cab.

This is an amazing low-watt Plexi! I got this not because I play a lot of Hendrix stuff, but because I wanted an amp that did Plexi really, really well. I play all kinds of styles, and I have amps that will get me to Plexi territory when I'm in the mood for classic rock, but nothing that really specializes in it. As soon as I got this connected and turned it on, I was so glad I decided to pull the trigger on it. Tone for days and days and days. Whatever Jimi had done to his amp, I'm so glad that Paul and Doug were able to recreate it! I've played multiple guitars through it now, and it sounds great with all of them, but my favorite is my Les Paul Custom (shocker, I know...). Those pickups, that guitar, this amp - perfection! I'm not playing any Hendrix, but I'm playing this amp all day long!!!

PRS really did a rock out job on this amp, hard to find good amps in this price range, that carry great tone and the volume is not over the top for controlling the sound.
If I had created this amp, I would of added an overdrive and distortion to the amp with a equalizer.
The only flaw this amp has, was the pin roll was not in all the way on one side of the amp and not tucked in all the way, and did not go all the way to the end. that was quality control at their prs factory.
but, i tucked it in the best i could, and still love this amp for the perfect volume, tone, and control.
I would like to find an amp like this in a twin cab with the head controls built in, with wheels.
but im really diggin this amp. I may even consider coming back to post up a video. really happy with my purchase. thank you for the value, the tone and volume control. perfect.

Well, this is quickly becoming my favorite amp. This amp sounds thick and has such a great rich sound.

I've used it mainly has a 70's rock machine and it delivers it well. It also has a great fat single coil sound that I've always looked for.

This amp won't disappoint if you're looking a vintage rock sound.

PRS knocked it out of the park with this. Once you know how to dial it in properly, it is killer sounding. I recommend getting the matching 1 x 12 cab too. The Celestion V-type speaker complements it big time. I would also recommend to bias it to around 8 to 8.5 for the best sound. at least for me it is.

When this amp was announced I was immediately interested. I searched out ever prerelease review I could find. The reviews just drove my want for it even more. I contacted my sales engineer Zak Bauman to find out when they would become available. I have purchased several items from Zack and true to his excellent customer service, he gave me a call as soon as Sweetwater got them. The amp arrived a few days later. I'm not going to go into great details of how it sounds and preforms. I simply could not do it justice with my words. What I will say is, all the praise from the reviews is spot on. I could not be happier with the amp, especially at the price. The top end on this amp is beautiful, and it still gets really dirty when you want it. The Master volume control is perfect and makes it a great around the house or bedroom amp that still has all the power you need to get loud. Thanks again to Zack Bauman, the customer service from Zack and Sweetwater is second to none.

John

Did A/B/C comparison with this amp, a handwired Marshall JTM45, and a 50 watt lead. This amp has the specific things that are better about each. I like it better than either. Don't expect it to really be 20 watts though. The truth is 30-40 watts. If you're looking at getting it to do the plexi thing at low volume, forget it. By the time the master is up enough for the coveted plexi-style power tube distortion, it's seriously loud, as loud as a JTM45. Great amp though! Loving mine!

Does a better job of sounding like an old plexi than a new Marshall does. High quality. The only thing that's off, but not really unexpected, is that the so-called "20 watts" is baloney. It's actually 35-40 watts. About like a JTM45. Don't buy for "bedroom level" use, but do buy for a live band/gigging amp. Some may even need to attenuate for stage use. Sweet spot is way louder than a Deluxe Reverb or any actual 20 watt amp. Consider it, both in tone and output level, somewhere between a JTM45 and a 50 watt plexi lead.

I just love this amp. It sounds great with almost every one of my guitars. But this is a personal choice of tone. I have a few EMG 81/85 equipped guitars and it just sounds thin. With that said the amp really loves single coil, P90 and humbuckers. I have a elite Strat w gen 5 pups and it sounds great, a few 50's reissue Strats that sound great, the amp really loves Gibson Les Pauls. Some of my toys would be considered as "vintage" but I bought these toys new….. lol. I have a 100w Super Lead ('74) and this amp (PRS) sounds equal to the super lead when the super lead is connected to my Rivera soak and dimed. I have two H&K 1/12 Cel V30's in them. This lil amp can get real loud, its very reactive, and sonically it sounds great. I honestly haven't been this excited about a amp in years…….

First off I'll say that tone is completely subjective. Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to amps. This one has exceeded any and all expectations I had when I bought it. I've finally found that sound I've been chasing my whole life. That grit, growl, and chime of a lead plexi in a compact package that can be played at reasonable levels thanks to the master volume. I haven't stopped smiling since I plugged it in. Sounds great no matter what guitar I plug in or speaker cab I use. In fact, enough writing, back to playing.

Better than I even thought. Like a Plexi with perks. The mods include the bright and mid gain switches. The bright switch only affects the treble volume and eases off as you turn it up but in conjunction with the treble control allows a wider treble response that's not dependent on volume like the Marshall's bright cap is. The mid switch works both the treble and bass volumes and in conjunction with the presence control gets you more midrange control than the typical Marshall. The best mod imho is the internal jumpered treble and bass volume circuits unlike the 4 input one on a Marshall. The addition of a master volume mod is the icing on the cake. Studio/Apartment/Bedroom players will love it. The clean sound can be Plexi or Vox like chime. The blues, crunch, and natural overdrive round out its overall diversity. It loves pedals so JCM800/900 gains for metal can also be had. The noise floor is really low too. It's really loud for just 20watts due mostly in part to the pair of Tung-sol 5881's for the power section. If you play out it will keep up in a band under most circumstances with a 2x12" or 4x12" cab. For the money it's definitely a deal.

This amp has replaced my SV20H. It has more options and sounds great, especially with single coils. Took me a little more time to figure my SG through it. I like the mid punch micro switch better than I thought. The bright switch on and mid switch off brings this amp to the Plexi level and setup can be treated as if you are playing the real deal. The master volume is additional feature that contributes to the amp versatility (and reduced loudness). I like the fact it is 5881 tube power, because I have some NOS pairs of those tubes around. For me - this is a win-win in every way.

I've always had either Fenders or Fender voiced Mesas. That's just been my voice since grade school. Over the past few years, I've gotten a lot more work in different style jobbing bands, and while I've gotten by during that time using the Lovepedal Purple Plexi to cover my Marshall sound, I have wanted a dedicated amp to really dial in that punch and breakup. This amp really does deliver, and I am surprised how much I really enjoy the cleans. My only gripe is that to gig it I need to use the 2x12 HDRX cab, which sounds so amazingly good; however, it vibrates the light end of HDRX20 right off the top. Once I stabilize it with some rubber or foam I'm sure I'll be happy.

Great little head for the price.Sounds good-I don't know if it sounds more "Hendrixy" than other amps. The labels on top of the knobs are not visible at all from above. Does PRS play his guitars laying on the floor?