Atlanta Guitar Show & Music Festival
May 7 & 8, 2005

The Atlanta Guitar Show and Music Festival was one of the best shows for Pritchard Amps, particularly considering the sparse attendance. All day Saturday, players came and checked out the amplifiers and chatted with owner and volunteer Lance Hoskins.

Lance first saw Pritchard amplifiers at the nearly rained out 2004 Atlanta show and did not consider Pritchard Amps at first, but his memory of the amps’ wonderful tones drove him to read the Pritchard Amps’ website. Then with rational thoughts suggesting that his hearing was right after all, he bought an amp - but nominally only for the clean tone. However, after initially finding that his Black Dagger 1-12TB was warm and fat, he decided to check out the dirty tones too. Wow!!! Then he compared it with his renown tube head and full stack. That little Pritchard amp is louder and more cutting. The disbelief continued at the next rehearsal. “What did you bring that little thing for?” But soon, the disbelief turned to amazement, “Would you turn it down?” “Don’t point it at me!” Now, the Black Dagger 1-12 TB takes its place slightly in front of the back line at the Suckerhead gigs www.suckerhead.com.

 

Picture taken by Carolee

Lance’s experiences with his Black Dagger are like Carey Cox’s. He played through one at the first Atlanta Guitar Show in 2003 and a couple of weeks later bought his and took it to a jam. The looks down long noses were soon replaced by the need to turn up the tube amps to find their sweet spots, but to no avail - the Black Dagger 1-12 TB, like the Little Engine That Could, out shown them all. Carey’s stories can be read on thegearpage.net.

Tom Johnson, who has a Sword of Satori 4-10 TB as a result of the 2004 Atlanta show, also dropped in on Sunday to check out the new, light weight 4-12 TB combo - at a mere 75 pounds, it is lighter than most 4-12 cabinets. He reminded me of his Pritchard amp story. At an open mike night, another player used his 4-10 and then wondered which tubes it used. Tom replied that he did not know because he never had to take the amp apart. But that did not seem to matter to the other player because “that amp really rocks!!!” (See and hear Tom on the Pritchard Amps’ player’s page.)

Lance’s main impression of the many players testing Pritchard amps was that the amps seemed to be their amp. No matter what style that they played in from do-op through blues and rock to metal, there was a Voice Knob™ tone to suit them. A quick turn of the knob and their tone was right there.

Later, that night, Lance showed me his very professional recording studio and described his technique for recording the Tunnel Back™ cabinet. He said that the usual miking techniques did not do it justice and did not truly represent it. The ‘57's, even front and back, did not work as well as a ribbon room mike with a ‘57 in the front for some high-frequency fill-in. Quite unfortunately, the Pritchard Amps’ clips were not done that way, but soon the Suckerhead CD will be available.

Lance also recounted other players, metal players, visiting his studio and playing his Pritchard. The Black Dagger rose to all occasion, even black metal. That was good to hear because Phil Zuckerman and I have no real metal experience. This independent and very positive reaction is really appreciated.

Many thanks to Lance and his wife and bass player Bonnie for their very enthusiastic support and warm hospitality.

 

Spartanburg, SC Guitar Show
February 26 & 27, 2005

The Spartanburg show unveiled the new cabinet finish and the new 4-12 Tunnel Back™ cabinet. Many visitors thought the cabinets were “beautiful”. The 4-12 TB cabinet is a “beast”. The show was punctuated by the critique that the Pritchard amps were better than any of the vintage amps at the show.

Many thanks to the Bee-3 folks who moved the show to one of the best venues in the show circuit.

 

Philadelphia Fall Guitar Show
November 20 & 21

The response to Pritchard Amps is a turning point in the introduction of Pritchard amps to the guitar playing public. Many visitors to the Pritchard Amps’ booth had heard of us and many also heard that Pritchard amps should be checked out. The most notable comment was from an attendee to the earlier New York Tone Fest organized by Berry Weber and other supporters of The Gear Page, so that players might hear and play the best of the best amps in the world. He hoped that Pritchard Amps would attend the next Tone Fest !!

Another visitor checked out a Pritchard Sword of Satori in a 1-12/2-5 Tunnel Back™ cabinet and exclaimed that "the reviews weren't kidding."

 

The New York City Tone Fest
October 24, 2004

The NYC Tone Fest was the inspiration of TheGearPage.net folks, particularly Barry Weber, to gather a variety of great amplifiers for attendees to listen, evaluate, and potentially play through. Eric Pritchard took four of the Pritchard amps to this show at the Smash Studios so that players would have more time to evaluate Pritchard amps. One of the amps, a Sword of Satori 1-12 Tunnel Back™ was recorded, but the results may not be so good because this cabinet requires front and back miking. Nonetheless, the Pritchard amps were given many kudos that day and in Gear Page threads after the Fest. Since Pritchard amps were the only solid state amps, it felt somewhat like walking into the lion’s den, but they did earn some kudos:

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”

 

The Arlington Texas Guitar Show
October 16&17, 2004

The Arlington Texas Guitar Show is one of the largest guitar shows and as usual was well attended. We handed out a record 500 brochures during the two show days. Thanks to Dan for helping out demonstrate the amps. Thanks also to Carlton Hobbs, who dropped in to check out the new Gold Estoc and saying later in a Gear Page thread, “The Pritchard is a 110% realistic tube tone...”

In a thread inquiring about favorite amps, Carlton wrote, “My favorite is still my Pritchard because it can do such incredibly good Marshall tones, Fender tones, and Jazzy tones, too...it can get pretty good Voxish tones through an un-Voxish speaker too.”

The Chicago Guitar Show
September 11&12, 2004

Many thanks to Jeff Meyer, the very first purchaser of a production Pritchard amp, for helping out at The Chicago Guitar Show. This show was quite interesting because two of the dealers across the aisle asked to use a Pritchard amp in their demonstrations.

Charlotte Show

Aug 28&29, 2004

Charlotte was another busy Show. More players listened to and played through Pritchard Amps now that they are becoming better known. Many thanks to Frank Robinson who graciously volunteered his playing all day Saturday.

Great American Guitar Show
June 26,27 Philadelphia, PA Updated July 7, 2004

Many thanks to Eddie Barney for his help in demonstrating Pritchard Amps at the show and showing off his nimble finger-picking styling that flowed into raging rock.

Thanks too, to Scott Lerner who stopped by and tried the new Gold Estoc - he found it quite like his own modern boutique amp.

Spring Ohio Guitar Show
June 13, 2004 Columbus, Ohio Updated July 7, 2004

Many players checked out the Pritchard Amps offerings and were treated to free prizes. Although the show was not as well attended as its winter counterpart, the Pritchard Amps' booth stayed quite busy with interested players.

Atlanta Guitar Show
Memorial Day Weekend Updated July 7, 2004

Many thanks to Carey Cox for his help in demonstrating Pritchard Amps at the show and bragging on his Pritchard amp so much that his friends had to check them out at the show.

Unfortunately, the weather was not kind to any of us, particularly Frank.

Country Roads Open Mike Nights
Sunday Nights Updated May 12, 2004

The Country Roads really rocks Sunday nights as Donny and his band sets the evening’s tone with high energy sonic impressions. Eddie, the lead guitar player, tested Pritchard amps each evening and continually finds them simply amazing. On the third evening, he wanted a Tele sound and Pritchard suggested trying the P voice for the Sword 4-10 that Eddie likes so much. It worked. The following set, Rick joined the fray and played another Sword with a different voice. It sounded great and different. Still later, Cindy played an acoustic set using the Sword in the A voice. Her performance really put to rest the notion that one can not possibly use a guitar amp for acoustic. Jeff joined Eddie and extended the rocking night to about 2 Monday morning.

The next weekend Pritchard brought the near ancient bass prototype rig (350 honest watts pumped into an 18 plus and two extended range 12's) for Phil to check out. Eddie played a Sword 1-15 Tunnel Back™ and Jeff played the new Gold Estoc in a 1-12 Closed Back. The synergism was outrageously high – was definitely and evening to remember. Both Donny and Jeff thought the articulation and sonic separation was superb. Mr. Bill, a show promoter, gave it all a thumbs up!!

A Pritchard bass amp is on its way.

Finally a pedal steel player tried out a Pritchard amp, a Sword 1-15 Tunnel Back™. Keith wanted a tone that would compensate for the pedal steel’s excessive treble, so I switched in the B voice. It all worked, as one listener put it, "quite fabulously". Keith found the Pritchard amplifier to be thick, fat, and responsive, with the highly prized artistic overdrive. He also noted that he would need only one amp, not one for his steel and another for his guitar – a real saving when loading in and loading out.

DC Metro One Day Guitaraholics Roundup
April 17, 2004, Gaithersburg, MD

The Guitaraholics Roundup was a must since it was quite close. The predawn travel start was rewarded by many players testing and loving Pritchard Amps. Many thanks to the Birds and Moon Forum members who dropped in and played.

 

 

Nashville, Tennessee Show
March 6-7, 2004

The highlight of the spring Nashville show was a player who was testing the new Gold Estoc amp in a 1-12 Closed Back cabinet. After listening to the clean tones, he tried the dirty ones and found all sorts of interesting harmonics even when playing through the Practice Jack™. Our respect for others at the show kept us from the really crushing tonal levels that this 60-watt clean, 180-watt peak-distorted-power amp has. We wish him the best of luck in the Nashville guitar scene.

 

Spartanburg, South Carolina Show
February 28-29, 2004

The South Carolina Show, another great show put on by Bee-3, is quite memorable for the record number of players who tried out Pritchard amps. We handed out a record number of $100 discount certificates!

Many special thanks to Frank Robinson who spent Saturday playing for and chatting with other players.

 

New York City Tone Fest
Feb 15, 2004

After the successes at earlier tone fests by Carlton Hobbs and Carey Cox with Pritchard Amps, Eric jumped at going to the New York City Tone Fest held at the Montana Studios at 823 11 th Avenue. Phil and Eric prepared for the anticipated 20 minute demo time (5 minutes per amp, 2 amps per person) with these amps:

Black Dagger in a 1-12 Tunnel Back™ Cabinet,
Sword of Satori in a 4-10 Tunnel Back™ Cabinet,
Gold Sabre (soon to be renamed Gold Estoc) in a 1-12 Closed Back Cabinet, and
Sultry Margaux in a 1-12 / 2-5 Tunnel Back™ Cabinet.

They demonstrated several tones in each of the amps starting with the sparkling, full-bodied clean tones from Margaux and then doing clean, dirty or clean, crunch, dirty sequences through the other amps until all 10 voices and the Watts Knob™ had been demonstrated. Afterward, we got a round of applause and many further compliments.

After the demos, the jams began. Jose Wales had a great time wailing upon the Sword 4-10 for three tunes. Scott Lerner checked out his styling on it in the last tune. Then it was nearly six and time to load out and head home.

There were numerous other boutique amps there too. They ranged from the high-powered Diezel, Mad Professor, and Fuchs down to a Divide By 13, Clark, and Supro. No other amps showed the versatility of the Pritchard amps. The high-powered tube heads weighed more than the Pritchard combos. The Pritchard Amps readily met the tonal challenge, won handily in the versatility and weight factors, and often were a thousand or so less expensive. It really looks like the Bluesdoc prediction that Pritchard amps will be the next trend in amps might become true.

 

The 2004 Winter Ohio Guitar Show
Jan 11, 2004

Thanks to Guitar Digest for putting on a great show. Players were lined up out the hall, down the sidewalk, and along the road. Certainly, it was a good show. There were quite a few who remembered Eric from a show years ago when he was asking players how well his prototypes were working. Several players checked out the amps in depth by going through all of the many voices. Pritchard amps were quite well received; some players came back to play some more. One visitor checked out the construction and found it to be quite cleanly and solidly designed. Players were quite impressed with the light weight – the amps range from 35 to about 50 pounds. Perhaps the most significant is the 4-10 weighing in at a mere 42 pounds, a savings of 25-35 pounds.

Al Pepiak played the amps and will have a review in Guitar Digest soon. Thanks Al.

Thanks to Bill and Rob and all the Guitar Digest folks.

 

NASHVILLE SHOW
Dec 6&7, 2003

Pritchard drove through the first snow storm of the winter for the Mike Teppe’s Winter Guitar Show that was December 6 and 7. The show highlights for Pritchard Amps were the professional musicians who tested the amps. They liked them. It did not matter that there are no tubes in Pritchard Amps. In fact, since Pritchard Amps have great tone combined with great versatility, having no tubes reduces their reliability worries.

 

Philadelphia Show
Nov, 22&23 2003

Thanks to Phil Zuckerman who contributed his excellent playing talents in demonstrating the amps. Also thanks to all the musicians who demoed the amps. Much media was their and as a result Pritchard Amps earned some great reviews.

 

Arlington Show
Oct 18&19, 2003

Thanks to Carlton Hobbs and Thomas Lansford, for volunteering their playing talent for the two days of the Arlington Show. The turn out was huge and had non stop attendees from open to close.

 

 

Jacksonville Show
2003

Thanks to Brad Shuppert, who helped Pritchard Amps demonstrate the artistic capacity of the amps in front of the Jacksonville crowd.

 

Charlotte Show
Aug 23&24, 2003

Charlotte was another busy Show. Many players listened to and played through Pritchard Amps. Many thanks to Frank Robinson who graciously volunteered his playing for two days.

Dallas Amp Fest
Aug 9, 2003

Carlton Hobbs took a Pritchard Amp's Black Dagger 1-12 Tunnel Back™ to the Dallas Amp Fest where it was selected as "Most Innovative". Additionally Carlton, while impressed with other amps' tones, remained convinced that the Pritchard Amp tone was excellent and that the Pritchard Amp was more versatile.

Philadelphia Show
June 21&22, 2003

The success of the Atlanta and Chicago shows continued at the Philadelphia Guitar Show. The discussion started by Carey Cox on the PRS Forum plus the announced amp demonstrations by Tyrone Shuz made the Pritchard Amps booth a player meeting place. From the resulting posts, there were quite a few players quite impressed with the tones emanating from the many Pritchard amps at the show. No matter what guitar Tyrone used, a L-7, a Nocaster, a vintage Strat, or a PRS McCarty, the sound was great, ranging from warm, fat clean through singing blues to liquid, high-gain tones. Even an inexpensive Squire sounded simply great with these amps.

Two magazines had representatives at the show to review the amps. You can read them in Jazz Improv and Guitar Digest. Jazz players will really appreciate the musical nature of overdriven notes. Not only don’t Pritchard amps complain, they add another dimension - the conversion of picking strength into harmonic expression.

Thanks to all of the folks who visited the Pritchard Amps booth. Since playing is the last word, more thanks to players who did. They found that the amps truly are understated and are in fact multi-dimensional, warm, fat, thick, liquid and alive, even with the Watts Knob™ turned down or with the speaker plugged into the Practice Jack™.

A special thanks to Tyrone Shuz, a.k.a. Robert Fiester, who demonstrated the amps. Robert has seen the development of the Pritchard amps from the earliest days, circa 1987. He has played and critiqued many of the long succession of prototypes that has led to the current amps.

Atlanta Show
May 30-June 1, 2003

Pritchard amps rewarded players who tested them with great multi-dimensional tonal experiences that push the envelope to greater satisfaction. Players of all musical persuasions, from jazz to rock, heard great tone. They often wondered what sort of tubes were being used in these super-new, highly-patented circuits, 6L6's, EL34's?

A special thanks to those players who publicized their discovery on the web. The word has circuitously traveled full circle via web forums.

A very special thanks to Brad Shuppert who drove hours and hours to check out Pritchard amps and to help demonstrate their wonders.

Chicago Show

May 3&4, 2003

The Chicago Guitar Show debuted our first show to sell Pritchard amps was quite successful. As soon as the amps were heard the compliments flowed: Warm, Fat, Plenty of Sag, Simply Super and Inspiring. They are so good they make you want to play. Players were amazed at the versatility, big sound, small size, and light weight. (The 4-10 weighs 25 pounds less than traditional 4-10's.)

 

Booth visitors really appreciated versatility of the Voice Selector, it gives the amps a broad tonal appeal. The power of the Watts Knob™ was also evident because we could demonstrate the amps at reasonable levels without loosing tone.

 

Special thanks to Jeff Meyer of Elgin for his help in making the Pritchard Amps first showing a real success.