2021 PRS Sonzera 50

Overview

I acquired this amp for a reasonably price - but it was actually an Archon that was pictured on the Guitar Center site, so I was somewhat hoping to have snagged a USA Archon for $500. When it arrived and it was the Sonzera instead, I contemplating returning it, but after playing the amp for a while I decided to keep it.

It’s definitely no Archon, not as high gain, but sort of similar in basic design. It has two channels, a real spring reverb tank, and both channels have fully independent EQ, a bright switch, and reverb controls. The normal channel is very clean, only getting gritty at the highest volume settings, but with a separate master control you can get some dirt at reasonable volumes. It’s extremely thick and bassy, with a natural compression that makes it very easy to play. The gain channel shares the same bass side bias, at the cost of some clarity. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a muddy amp, but it’s very easy to get too muddy with the bass control at anything above around 10 O’clock, and with a massive amount of gain on tap you can lose the focus easily. Despite the huge amount of gain, I don’t think this is really meant to be a high gain metal amp like the Archon. Instead, it’s a great amp for musical styles with full sounding clean chords, and a drive channel that can do a searing but smooth solo - something akin to a Fender Supersonic.

Overall, it’s a surprise hit for me and sounds unlike anything else I have. It’s not my favorite amp or sound, but it has a very unique place and the spring reverb in particular is really good sounding on this one.