At one day of his life, amp maker Doug Sewell had this surge of creativity flowing, as if wanting to create a song. Rightfully so, this led to the development of a tube amplifier that merged a good price point with quality aesthetics and superb tone. All of these poetic workings gave way to the Paul Reed Smith Sweet 16.

As its name implies, Sweet 16 is a 16-watt valve amp with simple controls (bright switch, volume, reverb, treble, mid, bass, and master volume). Sweet 16 combines 6 watts of cathode-biased 6v6 output tube power with reverb, a full TMB tone stack, and PRS' transparent master volume circuit. Changing sounds from sparkling cleans to crunches is done simply by turning the volume knob, eliminating the need for at least one pedal or switch. For consistency and reliability, the Sweet 16's circuit boards are assembled by hand, and shielded cable has been used for critical signal paths. Pots, switches, jacks, and power tube sockets are chassis mounted and connected via flying leads.

The preamp section contains two NOS Philips 12AT7s, a JJs ECC83S, and a Tung Sol Reissue 12AX7 to deliver a sound ranging from a crystal clear clean at low volume to a thick crunch a higher levels. The power section employ JJs 6V6 power tubes that are cathode biased to near class A in a push-pull configuration.

Just how much sweeter can Sweet 16 get? Sweet 16 may well be one of those simple and affordable amps that have a great boutique sound for a price that is not so boutique at all. The Paul Reed Smith Sweet 16 is priced at 1,659.00 USD from various dealers.