Eric:
Dear Al,
What do you think about my amps being the beginning of a new
amplifier paradigm?
Al:
Hummm, the amps "are" the new paradigm. Finally
did a gig last night that wasn't an XLR out to the board gig,
or a studio thing. So I was able to open the thing up for
a change. I'm liking the clean sounds more, I was backing
up a fiddle player on some ballads and the tone held together
very nicely and yet when I pushed the preamp with my TS80,
a Tube Screamer, the amp sang, nice controllable upper harmonics.
Just really nice. Its the only amp I have ever owned that
everyone "always comments on. Your whole amp is the new
paradigm. I predict a slow build to a resounding cresendo.
I
just "came up for air" after three hours in "the
dungeon". I'm BLOWN away! I won't need any "30 day
trial" - I was sold after 30 minutes! It actually sounds
"rounder" and less compressed than my Bluesbreaker;
categorically NOT like a SS amp! I haven't spent much time
"gettin' my learn on" with all the different controls/settings,
but with all the knobs at 12 noon, "Boost" on, "Input
volume" at 3/4's, and both channels dialed into "M"
for Marshall, the thing is everything I'd want in an amp!
Individual note and string articulation is mind-blowing; controlled
feedback - NO problem! Also, each guitar sounds like itself
(and different from each other), which is one thing that I've
noticed to be missing from other SS and modeling amps I've
played. The "S" for solo and "V" for Vox
voicings are full and great-sounding too; I probably wouldn't
have much need for the other voicings. The " F"
Fender tone is too "flat" for my tastes.
I'd
recommend the Sword of Satori with the 12" TB (tunnel
or open-back) cabinet; as far as volume level goes, this thing
is loud enough to play a stadium! And it sounds good turned
all the way down, too!
- Joe Ganzler, Les Paul Forum
I
did a show a few weeks ago and had to use the house Twin Reverb,
because of load restrictions, man did I miss the Satori. That
Twin just couldn't compare, and it was a good Twin not an
Evil Twin.
I'm
heading to Europe in the early Spring to help support a release
I'm on. I'll have a different cartage amp, the "amp of
the day" at every venue, and I'll be hurtin' for certain.
- Allen Watsky
If
ever there was a Nobel prize for work done in regard to amps
and tone, especially based on solid state, EP [Eric Pritchard]
would get one immediately. - TheGrooveking, TheGearPage.net
"Another
thing thats great is any type of pickup sounds great thru
the Pritchard, I've played teles, strats, Pauls, a Reverend
slingshot custom with p90's they all sound great."...
"It is impossible to get a bad sound out of this amp."..."This
is no one trick pony like most amps out there." -
Posted by Gamaliel on Harmony-Central.com
"I
had a chance to hear nearly the full line of Pritchard amps
at a "Gearpage ampfest" a couple of months back
- I thought they sounded almost exactly like tube amps, and
good ones at that. Blindfolded, I couldn't have known the
difference. They're not cheap, though still somewhat less
expensive than tube counterparts. Pretty lightweight for their
power ratings too." - Gordon, Telecaster Discussion
Page Reissue
Gerry
Attanasio discussed buying a Pritchard amp with a friend,
who thought Gerry was totally out of his mind to pay two grand
for a solid state amp. But Gerry studied the Pritchard Amp
website, listened to the demo clips, listened to the Guitar
One Magazine demo clip, and bought a Sword of Satori 1-12
Tunnel Back™. After playing through it, it became obvious
that the amp exceeded his expectations. So the next day, he
visited his friend with his new amp. After listening to and
comparing the Pritchard, the verdict was that the Pritchard
was indeed a “magic amp.”
"I've
never gone 6 months without buying more amps since I got on
Ebay in 1998. My Pritchard amp has kept me from getting a
new amp for 18months. I still get GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome)
all the time, but I play my Pritchard a then GAS is resistible"
- Carlton Hobbs, TheGearPage.net
The
aspect of the amp that I find so intriguing is the feel of
my guitars in my hands when I play through the Pritchard.
It's not a tube amp, not a transistor amp or a tube/transistor
hybrid. It's something different, and better than all 3.
Another thing is that the amp sounds "better" on
the gig than it does in the practice room which is the opposite
of most amp situations. You know the drill. You dial in the
perfect tone at home, go to the gig and find that your tone
was an illusion. Well not the case with this amp. It's an
instrument in its own right.
All in all it is my favorite buy of '04. After all these years
it's good to find products that are innovative and exciting,
that work well and enable artistry. Considering what you get
I think it's a bargain. How can you put a price on inspiration?
- Al Watsky
NYC Tone
Fest
chi
- “I met some amp builders...
Eric Pritchard (monster tones from SS amps, esp. that one
with 12-inch and 5-inch speakers)”
riffmeister
- “And speaking of the Pritchard
- definitely had its own thing going, and I thought it sounded
wicked good!!!”
trisonic
- “Pritchard amps...are truly
outstanding amps (of any kind).”
scottl
- “Eric, which model was the one
Andy F and I checked out?? [Sword of Satori 4-10 Tunnel
Back™] that thing was amazing!! Really organic...
It would have fooled anyone for sure!!! Kudos”
TheGearPage.net
"Pritchard
amps produce a warm, clean and full-ranged sound that is ideal
for stringed instruments of all types, even electric and acoustic-electric
violins. I was especially impressed with the way the Pritchard
amp picked up my Tucker Barrett 6 string electric violin.
Keep up the fine work!" - Alan Oresky, performing
and studio musician
"I
wouldn't sell my Pritchard amp even at the current new prices,
because then I'd just have to buy a new one." -
Carlton Hobbs, Satisfied owner and player
“Those
amps really sound good, fat ass sound, sweet, round with great
tone definition. If not better than any boutique amp, then
at least as good.”
- James Lott, Sun
Studios chief recording engineer
www.sunstudio.com
In
his Jazz Times Review: "Aside from the amazing fullness
of tone, I was also struck by how tight and articulate the
Sword of Satori sounds. There's never any flab, and chord-work
always sounded concise and punchy....Guitarists in need of
excellent amplification and possible life-changing experience
ought to seek one out."
- Russell Carlson, Jazz Times
Full Review
"I
would recommend the Pritchard Sword of Satori to any working
guitarist who has a wide range of stylistic needs" -
Mike Kennedy, Jazz Improv
"Every
player needs a Pritchard amp" - Tom Johnson,
Lead guitar player for
Humble Pie, Tzer, The Impressions and Chuck Berry
www.tzer.org
"The
Ultimate Guitar Amplifier" - Bob Miles, Jazz
Improv Magazine and Miles of Music Television show
Full Review
"The
Tele through this (F) voice would pacify the vintage Fender
tone connoisseur." - Trent Salter, Musicians
Hotline Full Review
Eric
has done more research and knows more about tube circuits
than anyone I know. In the process of recreating the tube
sound, he has created an amplifier with a unique voice like
no other. The amp is quite lyrical and has amazing sustain.
You gotta check out this amp !!
- Winn Krozack, PRS Guitars, Research and Development
"Eric
has worked incredibly hard over a long period of time to understand
the dynamics and inner workings of tube circuits. He is in
the rare position of being not only a very skilled electrical
engineer, but he completely understands both discreet/solid
state/op amp circuitry and physics as well as tube amp circuitry
and physics. The most recent [amp] I played through sounded
great. I could easily use it in concert and no one would believe
it wasn't a really good tube amp."
- Paul Reed Smith, PRS Guitars
"Eric,
asked me for a quote. But the only thing I feel like doing
when I get home from my practice is playing my Sword of Satori."
- Dr. E Paul Quarantillo III MD.
“I
ran into Eric Pritchard (who worked with Paul in the early
days, refer to your PRS Book) this weekend at a guitar show
in town. He has just started Pritchard Amps, I think this
was his second show with these. What tone! He was also nice
enough to let me play a PRS Paul built him in the 80's through
it! Check out www.pritchardamps.com. Cool new product!”
- Carey Cox, PRS Forum
“Very
impressive! I played through one for a while at the Atlanta
Guitar Show and liked it enough to order. Eric got it to me
today and I am blown away at what a quality amp this is...
I was able to go from a smooth jazz tone to a hot lead with
endless sustain. A great new amp. I highly recommend!”
- Carey Cox, PRS Forum
For those
of us who have long sought after a solid-state amplifier that
can produce those rich, elusive, full harmonic tones that
our tube amplifiers of the past used to produce (without resorting
to microprocessor based sampling systems or multiple effect
devices) there is finally a tube emulation solid-state guitar
amplifier which provides exactly that. Pritchard amplifiers
combine the low volume warmth typical of the tube amplifiers
of the past (a characteristic that is still very desirable
for blues and jazz) without sacrificing even one moment of
that high energy, balls-to-the-wall sound that is needed for
rock & roll. Eric Pritchard's amplifiers are the answer
to the question "when is someone going to build a solid-state
amplifier that sounds like a tube amp?" Well guess what,
Eric Pritchard has done just that!
- Jeffrey Meyer <jmeyer515@msn.com> [owner
of a Sword of Satori in a 1-12 closed back cabinet]
I can
honestly say I have not enjoyed an amp this much. Every week
I seem to stumble on a great, and I mean GREAT tone! Thanks
for putting in all of the years on these amps, your work has
paid off. - Carey Cox <Carey_Cox@msn.com>
“After
many years of playing through tube amps and trying countless
solid state and more recently, modeling amps, the Pritchard
Amp has what the others have lacked. These amps have the full
tone and 3-D sound that is missing from previous attempts.
Another strength is how versatile these amps are. You can
go from smooth jazz tones, warms leads with endless sustain,
to screaming leads. With the Practice Jack™ you can
do all of this at home! Thanks to Eric, the tube amp has been
retired (along with all of the repair costs) and so has the
endless search for one source for a broad range of tone!”
- Carey Cox <Carey_Cox@msn.com> [owner of
a Black Dagger 1-12 Tunnel Back™]
Pritchard
Amps give me control over a huge variety of tones, which are
all warm. The power is amazing. The soul of these amps is
like a fine red Bordeaux. My satisfaction a scale of 10 is
an 11. - Pete Gordon, Berkeley Springs, WV [owner
of a Sword of Satori in a 1-12 / 2-5 Tunnel Back™]
I had
a ball watching you [Tyrone] demo them. And I was definitely
quite impressed with these amps, even when I played through
them. - Twitch, PRS Forum
They are
expensive for production amps, but very cheap for boutique
amps. I demo 'd with my Gibson L7C, PRS Hollowbody II, Nocaster,
and Strat. The amps could do anything from clean warm jazz
to blazing liquid lead tone. - Tyrone Shuz, Fender
Forum
I'll join
in to say that the Pritchard amps were pretty impressive.
- Dan Gardner, PRS Forum
“I
remember Tyrone saying he'd be at the Pritchard amp table,
and it was very nice to meet him. I probably could have stayed
there all day and listened to him play. I did try out one
of the Pritchard amps, and I must say, I was very impressed.
I am not in the market for an amp, but if I were I would absolutely
give these strong consideration if it were in my price range.
They are not cheap, but I would say they are very much worth
the money. And they have an excellent "practice [jack]"
feature, which allows for great tones at lower levels. A built
in attenuator if you will, but this is not a tube amp. But
I don't think anyone would know by listening. Very versatile
amp, clean to nice crunchy gains, and does the bedroom/basement
volumes great. Couldn't open it up [show rules], but I'm sure
it can handle the high volumes very well also.” -
Twitch, PRS Forum Post
I cannot
tell you how many jaws dropped when we mention the amps have
no tubes. These amps are not "fantastic considering they're
SS". They're just plain great amps, period.
- Tyrone Shuz, Fender Forum
The
"L" voicing is very smooth, creamy, and articulate.
That's the most "D"[umble]-ish voice, and could
be construed in that ball park. With my HB II, it sounded
more "D"[umble]-ish than the Carlos tones on the
sample above.
The
"F" voicing seems to the the best "D"[umble]
clean tones, because the "D"[umble] cleans are really
an "F".
I
own a '66 Bassman, and sold a '64 recently. Bassmans are much
closer to Marshall Plexi than traditional Fender. The "M"
voicing will work fine for this tone.
As
for Trainwreck, the "M" voice gives you that kind
of crunch, very dynamic, especially with a closed back cab.
The "V" voice comes close to some 'wrecks as well,
but I think it has a tad less gain, it's more like an AC-30.
Let
me reiterate that Eric's amps are analog, and since he's emphasizing
the "back end" distortion-wise, you get all that
randomness and liveliness we all love. And it /feels/ right,
because it ain't digital. There's no feeling of a "middleman"
like the modelers give you. Eric's amps are extremely responsive.
Quote
from Tyrone Shuz in a discussion of various famous, highly
regarded amps versus the Pritchard Amp - guitarfunk@hotmail.com
www.funkyguitar.com
