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Described as an English sound with an American twist, the PRS 30 Combo was the first of the company’s 30 Watt cathode biased combo in a series of lower wattage amps released from 2009.

The  30 Watt Combo features a quartet of EL84 tubes with a control layout similar to PRS's Dallas model and a 1 x 12 cabinet with ET65 WGS speakers.

"The PRS 30 combo offers classic EL 84 tones with some special tweaks to the EQ section that give it a character all of its own. All this in a compact but powerful package… the PRS 30 Combo excels at everything from Country to Classic Rock to Blues," said PRS Amplifier Business Unit Manager Michael Clark.

Paul Reed Smith joined forces with master amp designer Doug Sewell and collaborated for nearly four years before unveiling the highly anticipated PRS tube amp line in early 2009. With a tip of the hat to both classic American as well as British amps, PRS has produced a line of amps that catered to the needs of varied playing styles and served up some distinct and unique tonal possibilities. 

"We married the Sweet 16 Combo and the Dallas Amp in a 30 Watt version. Gigging musicians looking for both a broad range of genre and broad tonal range will appreciate the versatility of this amp in many different venue settings," said Paul Reed Smith.

PRS 30 Combos are handmade in Stevensville, Maryland USA. Other features include reverb, bright switch and a special master volume that is dialled out of the circuit as the amp's volume is at max setting.

We have found the PRS 30 to be very touch sensitive. It has a wide variation of response depending on how hard or soft you play. It cleans up nicely when rolling off the volume of the guitar, and you can play rhythms with a clean sound and then give leads a boost by turning the guitar volume all the way up for a semi-overdriven tone. The amp offers a variety of different tones just based on the velocity of your playing and the volume settings on your guitar.

The onboard US made WGS (Warehouse Guitar Speakers) 12” speaker is a fine sounding unit – robust and strong with no real colouration of its own. It just transparently delivers every bit of fine tuned all tube goodness that the amp creates.

The PRS 30 is a fine combo for many musical styles including classic rock, blues, funk, R&B, and country. As a standalone amp, it doesn’t venture into high-gain modern metal territory, so it probably wouldn’t be the first choice for metal guitarists. 

It is a pretty straight forward amp design. Besides not having a high-gain option, there is no channel switching for an instant change of sounds, and there isn’t an effects loop. Overall, the PRS 30 succeeds in producing an English sound with an American twist. It offers classic EL84 tones with some adjustments and tweaks to the EQ section to give it a unique character and a sound all its own.

This a sweet sounding USA made all tube amp from one of the guitar world’s premium builders – Paul Reed Smith. Its one owner bought it new in Sydney and it has rarely been out of the house. It has its original 240v power supply so stepdown transformer required in Oz. The amp presents in pristine, virtually new condition with no changes, modifications, no repairs and no issues.

Video Demo from PRS -