PRS Sonzera 20 Review
Our Verdict and Review Summary
The PRS Sonzera reminds me of a heavier and more modernized Fender tube combo, with two channels, a lot of warmth, and some heavy saturation on the drive channel if you crank it. PRS will always be known for their guitars, but the Sonzera is a solid addition to their amp lineup, and a great option for mic'ing in the studio or on stage.
To test the Sonzera I opted to use a non PRS guitar, just because I thought it might give a more realistic experience. I used a D'Angelico semi-hollowbody electric guitar, which did a nice job complimenting the warmth of the Sonzera tube circuits.
As I mentioned in the summary box, the Sonzera is very simple, with no bells and whistles, but a beautiful tone.
This reminds me of amps like the Fender Blues Junior that are bare bones, putting all their weight behind tone quality. But the Sonzera beats Fender amps in the gain category, with a much heavier and modern distorted tone. It can handle subtle, bluesy gain levels as well.
It's closer to a Mesa Rectoverb than a Blues Junior.
For my review I tested the 20 watt version, though most of this applies to the 50 watt version as well.
This review covers my experience in detail and not just a list of specs.
Comparison Table
We'll start with a comparison table that pits the Sonzera against several other similar amps that are appreciably close in price range. If you want to add more, you can do so via the search option below the table.
Amp | Model | Rate | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| PRS Sonzera 20 | 91.5 | |
 | Fender Blues Junior | n/a | |
 | Mesa Mark V:25 | 94.8 | |
 | Marshall DSL20HR | 95.2 |
Compare More Amps
If you want to compare the Sonzera to more amps, we have a ton in our database that you can add to the comparison table at the bottom of this page. We don't have everything, but we have a lot, and add to it regularly.
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Our disclosure↬
For most of our product reviews we take our own photos, in-house. Thank goodness for portrait mode. For those interested in using these photos, that is completely fine with us as long as you give us credit and don't claim the work as your own. Simply linking to guitarchalk.com near the photo is totally fine.
PRS spares some back panel functionality and gives you more tone quality. Tube amp craftsmanship at its finest.
Review Card
IDEAL FOR: Clean tones, heavy(ish) distortion, Fender tube amp fans, amp minimalism, pedalboards.
TONE
98
CONTROL
88
VERSATILITY
95
PRICE/VALUE
85
- Fender tube vibes with some added heaviness
- Celestion speakers
- JJ ECC83S tubes in the preamp sound fantastic
- Power chords are full and satisfying
- Responsive EQ with a lot of variety
- Footswitch included
- I'd like more of a reverb trail, but that's a small complaint
PRS Sonzera 20 Price Guide
Prices updated Mon, September 25th, 2023.
Sweetwater Pricing
Price Alert
Price History
Price History for PRS Sonzera 20 20-watt 1 x 12-inch Tube Combo Amp
Statistics
| Current Price | $999.00 | September 19, 2023 |
| Highest Price | $999.00 | September 5, 2023 |
| Lowest Price | $999.00 | September 5, 2023 |
Last price changes
| $999.00 | September 5, 2023 |
Tone (cleans and distortion)
The Sonzera has a separate clean and gain channel that's footswitchable, which helps keep things simple.
Both channels are completely independent of each other.
All sounds are really warm and full, echoing the qualities of PRS guitars, especially the McCarty and Custom 24. PRS instruments typically produce a very percussive and chunky tone, and the Sonzera helps promote that.
Clean and gain channels on the Sonzera 20. Both sound fantastic.
For a demo, I wanted to make sure you could hear it mic'd. Unfortunately, I don't have this set up yet, so I went with the demo PRS put together which gives you a little bit of everything. Their demos are way better anyways.
Lots of depth and punch, not unlike the PRS guitars.
The lead channel got me to what sounded like a broken up version of the clean channel, on the lower drive settings. Cranking the drive gave me the heavy gain I mentioned earlier. I think it's more at home with those more subtle settings, but for an amp with a lot of vintage vibes, it can get pretty aggressive.
Even at 60 percent or so, I got some pretty good bite and dirt.
In the demo video, he covers the drive knob at 100 percent around the 4:50 mark.
No complaints about the tone.
Controls
I'm not much of a "tweaking" type of player.
Typically I set pedals and amps and then literally tape the knobs because I don't want them messed with.
So with simpler amps, I'm even less likely to move things around. But, to be honest, I never really felt like I needed to with the Sonzera. I like more bass in the EQ, and the Sonzera pumped out a lot, even with the bass knob around 60-70 percent, so I tinkered with that a bit.
Otherwise, I mostly used this EQ:
- Bass: 6/10
- Mids: 6-7/10
- Treble: 5
- Presence: 6-7/10
I should add, pushing bass all the way up was too messy.
Though it's a simple control scheme, there's still plenty of flexibility to work with.
I had to work a bit to get some chime out of it, but the bright switch helped, along with some added mids and pushing the treble to around 7-8/10.
You get a footswitch that controls the channel selection and reverb on/off.
Here are a few more control notes:
- Presence/reverb are global
- Two-band EQ on the clean channel
- Three-band EQ on the lead channel
- Effects loop
- Standby switch
The Sonzera is a good bring-your-pedalboard amp that'll do the tone-relate heavy lifting.
Price and Value
The PRS Sonzera 20 is priced in the same range as comparable combo amps. For example, you should look for the following features:
- Single speaker combo
- 10-20 watts
- Two channels
- Tube preamp and power amp
Increased wattage, channels, and controls (flexibility) will run the price up.
The VOX AC series, Fender Hot Rod Deville, and Blackstar HT Stage models are all good comparisons. If you go down to something like the Fender Blues Junior, we see a $250 price drop for a single channel and 15 watts instead of 20 watts.
Always check the price guide above for updated numbers.
Ideal fit and wrap up
The Sonzera will have a lot of appeal for the following situations:
- Looking to mic an amp instead of going from a direct out
- Relying on a pedalboard for flexibility
- Simplicity
- Those wanting to save money on wattage
It's definitely for the high intermediate to advanced players, based on pricing alone. Just keep in mind that you're paying primarily for tone and quality components, which is the case with most high-end tube amps.
And while our PRS Sonzera 20 review can help, you always need to consider your own situations before pulling the trigger on something like this.
Don't listen to reviews that say "It's a great amp for everyone!" or any of that crap.
The reality is that it's not great for everyone.
It's a great amp, sure.
But it requires some context to see if it will work for you. Hopefully I've provided that, based on my own experience, subjective though it may be.
If you have questions about the Sonzera, hit me up in the comments section.
Thanks for trusting our content.
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