PRS Sonzera 20 Combo
A cool tone at even cooler prices from PRS’s new amp range
PRS’s massively popular Asian-made SE range has been going for nearly 17 years now bringing ultra high-end PRS guitars down to previously unheard-of price points. Now, Mr Smith aims to repeat that offshore success with the company’s all-new Sonzera amplification range, designed in Stevensville and made in China. Sonzera (which means cool/awesome/stunning sound in Brazilian Portuguese) consists of a 50-watt head and combo, together with this amp, the 20-watt Sonzera 20 1x12.
Compact and portable, the Sonzera 20 easily fits on a car seat and has a smart, business-like appearance. Inside the tough steel tray chassis, the electronics are mostly PCB-mounted with one large main board and smaller ones for front and rear panel stuff. The preamp valve bases sit on the main board, but the two 6L6 power valves are bolted direct to the chassis and wired to the PCB for improved reliability. The Sonzera 20 is a proper two-channel design with volume, bass and treble controls on the clean channel, while the overdriven side gives you gain, volume and a three-band EQ, together with a bright switch. Global presence and reverb controls round off the front panel; on the rear, you’ll find a series effects loop and comprehensive speaker outlet choices, as well as bias test points and adjuster pot.
The Sonzera isn’t fussy about what guitar you use; humbuckers and single coils sound equally good with a crisp blackface-inspired clean channel that produces plenty of low-end punch, while the lead channel’s hot-rodded Plexi-inspired tones cover everything from blues to modern rock, with a good scooped-mid effect. It’s often the case that amps with a lot of gain lose out on those more subtle mild overdriven tones but the Sonzera is equally inspiring with the drive control set low, especially with a dash of spring reverb. If you want to really rock, pushing the gain higher adds multiple layers of thick, harmonic-laden overdrive, with so much sustain you probably won’t need to unpack your stompboxes. This is top-drawer tone, and the beauty of the Sonzera 20’s low-powered output stage is that you can drive it hard at less than earsplitting volume levels for a superb touch-sensitive dynamic response that makes it sound considerably bigger than 20 watts: perfect for club/pub gigs.
PRS has hit the bullseye with the Sonzera 20 – it’s an ideal graband-go amp for stage and studio and you can have one of the world’s most coveted badges on your backline for a realistic price.
it’s an ideal grab-and-go amp for stage and studio