PRS: MT 15

The PRS name is no stranger to intense distortion amps. That’s right, the Archon is one of the best, this side of an EVH 5150 in terms of a gnarly, no-holds-barred distortion. But that was a good 5 years back. The name is somehow fading into obscurity with no firm ambassadors pushing it through. Enter the MT 15. 

Features

The MT 15 is a Mark Tremonti – PRS  project that created waves in its initial conception stages because it was slated to be a heavy-distortion type player. Tremonti, with all due respect, has limited leverage when it comes to heavy music. I would deem his drive turf as a hard hitting distortion type, it’s never the heavy, deathly type. With this in mind, punters everywhere were rather skeptical it would win the general players over, never mind the Tremonti loyalists. Judging by the features alone, we are dealing with a very deserving utilitarian unit; a lower wattage amp (15W with half-wattage capacity) with two dedicated channels featuring  independent EQ controls. It also features a presence control at the front face so fine tuning one’s voicing is duly taken care of. Over at the rear, a foot switch access is provided together with the FX loop which is now becoming standard feature with lower wattage amps. Interestingly, PRS provides biasing access as well which I encourage potential owners to steer clear of; leave this tinkering to the pros. The heart of this amp features a pair of 6L6 power tubes & six 12AX7s in the pre-amp section. Having 6L6s in there is saying something for an amp of this compact nature. The usual deal would be the 6V6 or EL84 for lower wattage units but hearing this amp in action justifies the presence of the 6L6s in there.

Rating: 95%

Tone

We start by jumping straight into the territory that matters – the drive channel. This is what defines the MT 15; a good sweep of distortion voicings starting with Blues Breaker-esque crunchiness to all out metal zone with superb saturation. Folks, you can dial in a Wampler Pinnacle-type of hard distortion here if you are not a heavy metal fiend by any definition. We owe this possibility to the very effective EQ section plus that presence control mentioned previously. For the more adventurous, channel your supplementary pedals into the loop & you can get very dedicated prog & lead tones from this one. I could even pull off a deep, Holdsworth-esque, legato-friendly tone; it’s a matter of exploiting what you have plus the fact that the MT 15’s potent serving of drive is more useful than being a one-trick pony. 

The clean tones tread a Marshall path. In fact, your single coils could sound more interesting than you thought, especially all you Hendrix-clean type fans. This is an impressive measure to say the least because the MT 15, through a discerning 1 x12” cab, would handle your cleans adequately. I’d say it’s one of the best sounding coming from a unit that excels in distortion primarily. The downside of it is – it might be an individual anomaly – the volume drop was significant in half watt mode. I had to crank it up to about 80% volume level to get a nice ‘normal’ response but judging by the headroom allowance here, I’d wager that many of us would prefer it in full watt mode for that awesome push with lots of beef. 

A thing to note with this amp is its volume. It’s one heck of a loud amp despite its 15W attribute. One more time – it’s loud! Yes, even in half watt mode, it will easily crush a 30/ 40-watter combo at duplicate volume levels. So not so good news for those of us who wish to acquire one for domestic use thinking the 50% wattage observance would solve volume issues. Please do not be discouraged, there are plenty of simple attenuator or volume related pedals to see this through. 

Rating: 88%

Conclusion

Is the MT 15 the lunchbox amp to own when it comes to good saturated drive tones & some good cleans to boot? You bet. Adding to that, it’s priced to thrill. It won’t be a painful acquisition but you know it’s not that cheap either. I need to remind amp fans out there that the MT 15 is not a comprehensive replacement for whichever high-performing lunchbox amps that ever attained acclaimed status. It’s just voiced differently, not as venomous & hissing as the EVH, not as impressively compressed as the Peavey & certainly not as ultra-crunchy as the average Friedman. The MT 15 is your idea of the best-sounding distortion pedal in an amp format with a no-frills performance. It lacks a reverb feature, in my opinion, to add depth to immaculate solos. If you peddle death metal at the very least, that reverb is unnecessary. The clean performance here, on a personal note, is an unexpected bonus. You would certainly not buy it for its cleans per se but it’s there for the taking. Last but not least, please PRS, reconsider that carrying handle there that sticks out like a sore finger when other amps have the collapsible version. If you embrace high gain & occasional cleans, this is a rewarding amp to acquire.

Final rating: 90%

PRS: MT 15 (15W amp head)

Availability: Davis GMC

Price: $850

PICS: PRS/ musiczoo