PRS SWEET 16

When PRS Guitars namesake Paul Reed Smith crossed paths with amplifier guru Doug Sewell through a chance encounter at the Dallas Vintage Guitar Show a few years ago, a fruitful partnership was forged right away. The ultimate result of Sewell’s entry into the PRS family is the Sweet 16, handcrafted in the U.S. and powered by a pair of 6V6 tubes. Like wine tasters confronting a particularly subtle vintage, we were pleasantly surprised at the familiar flavors that jumped out: A dash of “Twin,” a taste of “Plexi” and a hint of “Tweed” all came to mind as we demo’d this amp. The 16-watt circuit made it easy to overdrive the preamp, power amp or both to taste. The reverb reminded us of TC Electronic’s beloved ducking circuit as it gently moved out of the way of each new pick attack.