“Small and mighty! The PR12 really is the ultimate 6v6 clean platform. Punchy cleans with volume and headroom way above it’s 12-watt persona. ”
I have recently decided to switch from a separate head in the form of a Dr.Z Maz 18nr and cab setup to a small footprint combo. American voiced, onboard reverb and compact was the brief. My local shop Peach Guitars was the destination as they always carry excellent stock.
It so happened to be the day which the new Dr.Z 'Z-lux' combo arrived in the store and I became the 2nd person in UK to get hands on with one. It must be said, I was mighty impressed by the amp. Fantastic sounding cleans, reverb and excellent onboard tremolo! For me though it had way more volume that I needed and was a bit weighty (45lbs +). I then tried to the Morgan amplification PR12 combo. The amp is a 1x12, 6v6 a mp with onboard reverb. From the moment I plug in I was impressed, as with the Z-lux before the amp had punchy cleans that were detailed and rich. The size and weight of the amp is excellent, easy to carry and will fit any where even on a small stage with a large band.
My concern in reading about the amp online and in videos was the clean headroom. I can confirm that the amp has excellent headroom and can get loud. In the two weeks I have owned the amp so far I done one 6 piece soul band gig and a rehearsal and in both cases I did not struggle for volume or headroom. During the gig the amp was mic'ed but this was a very large room within a Casino so everything was running through FOH for balance and projection.
One of the best features of the PR12 is the 'Dwell' control which allows you to control the decay of the reverb. This is very useful to achieve a huge range of sounds without the reverb every washing out the sound. So very simple but so very good!
In summary, the PR12 is an excellent 6v6 clean amp. Perhaps the best update on the Princeton design. Straightforward but very usable features for a wide range of sounds. Plenty of headroom, punchy cleans and great breakup tones at volumes that are comfortable at home but can compete in a band context when needed.
For more detials visit http://morganamps.com/amps/amplifiers/pr12/
My own PR12 during an afternoon tone testing with my good friend Joe Taylor and his Morgan RV35r. Comparing and contrasting then running both amps in stereo
“The Pr12 handles pedals very well. No FX loop won’t be a problem for all except perhaps for the most serious of delay and heavy modulation users. ”
Other contenders: Dr.Z new 'Z -lux' Combo. The Morgan AC20 head & Combo was a reference point for volume against the PR12 as it 20watts and has a power scaling feature.
Controls of my PR12. The Reverse 'Chicken' style dials finish the look.