Matchless Amps ??

Bob Snelgrove · Post by **Bob Snelgrove** » 27 Oct 1999 11:31 am

Anyone tried steel through them? I played my strat through a 15 watt Matchless yesterday, no reverb, sounded unbelievable

Bob

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 27 Oct 1999 12:13 pm

The fact that Matchless is out of business notwithstanding, I don't think they would be a very good steel amp. They are great for guitar, but I don't thing they have the power needed for steel.

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 27 Oct 1999 12:20 pm

I've tried them out in studios and they are amazing. They are plenty loud and I would love to have one. My 710 pickup overloaded the front end of one of them so I would keep a buffer of some sort around to check them out. There are a bunch of great boutique amp companies around that are still in business that are worth checking out also. Bruno, VHT, Soldano....
Its great having a hand made amp that is just right.

Matchless prices are pretty impressive also...Oh well.

One solution to making a great guitar rig work for steel is to find a tube pre amp( Matchless makes one as well as a bunch of others) and power it with a class A tube power amp ( I use the VHT power amp).

You are right about reverb too. If the amp sounds good enough reverb isn't so important.

Bob

Mike,
Have you tried one of those amps out ? The medium and large models can blow over palm trees from 100 yards before they start breaking up ![This message was edited by Bob Hoffnar on 10-27-99][This message was edited by Bob Hoffnar on 10-29-99]

Johan Jansen · Post by **Johan Jansen** » 27 Oct 1999 2:21 pm

For about the same price as a matchless , you should try a Fender DualPRO from their custom shop. Made by the specifications from the first twins. Sounds great, and won't break up..... And LOUD, BRRRRRRRRRRR

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Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 27 Oct 1999 11:15 pm

A friend of mine has a guitar amp that sounds a lot like a Matchless to me,I believe that its made in Ohio,Its called Dr.Z .Im not sure where he bought it at,but it's only about 15 or 20 watts,but it's really loud.

Michael Brebes · Post by **Michael Brebes** » 29 Oct 1999 7:45 pm

The Matchless amplifiers are based on the Vox AC30 Top Boost design. The original ones had the Vox preamp section with another preamp section of their own design. The Vox pre was the one most used. It is a Class A power amp with most of them at 30W from 4 EL84 tubes. There is no feedback in the power amp circuit so they aren't known for being super clean. If you like the tone the Beatles got on their old records then you'll like 'em. I have a 15 watt version and it sounds great for some guitar work and lapsteeel/slide work, anything you want a bit more grit.

Bob Snelgrove · Post by **Bob Snelgrove** » 29 Oct 1999 8:24 pm

Bob H.,

What preamp do you use with the VHT?

How much power is the VHT?

thx

bob

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 30 Oct 1999 3:49 pm

I use an old "red knob" Alembic pre amp. I was checking out gear at a used instrument place and it just jumped out and grabbed me. It is based on the same front end as the Boogie studio pre which is a well made copy of a Fender Showman from what I have heard.

The VHT is rated at 50 watts a side and is extremly powerful. It uses 4 EL34 power tubes.

I was going to just buy an old Showman head but I couldn't find one that sounded right to my ear. I guess I don't like 6L6's or something. The overtones seem uneven on the Fenders. The high G# string sticks out.

I've been doing some really loud gigs with a rock type band and the stuff just sings. Its funny, I like the sound of all this tube stuff totally cranked up so much I've started playing like that in studios. Lays on the tape real sweet and clear but you do not want to be in the same room with the speaker cabs !

E me if you want more details.

Bob

http://www.vhtamp.com/

http://www.alembic.com/

Mike Fried · Post by **Mike Fried** » 31 Oct 1999 5:36 pm

I was the head bench tech at Matchless for a couple of years, so I can tell you with authority that some of the models are outstanding steel amps for recording, and a few models will cut it for club (or mic'd speaker) work as well. The problem is, the prices have gotten insane since the company folded. The 100w Chief 15" stack that I built for myself is for sale (with road cases) at Brockton Music for around $4700! Their smaller amps such as the Lightning (15w) are great recording amps and still sell for around what they did before the closure. And BTW, the only Matchless design based on the Vox AC30 is the DC30 series, and that is much-improved over the Vox in features (two channels, etc.) and construction. The aforementioned Lightning's preamp is loosely based on the AC30 design, but uses two EL84's rather than four.

Michael Brebes · Post by **Michael Brebes** » 1 Nov 1999 11:29 am

I agree with Bob Hoffnar that EL34's sound very good with pedal steel. They are a much more musical tube than the 6L6's, not quite as midrangey with a very open sound. I know that some people are scared at the prospect of switching power tubes in their amps because of the spec'ed heater voltage difference but, atleast with most amps I have encountered, the power transformers were spec'ed out with a lot more give and take than is the norm now, because the tolerances on the tubes cannot be that tight for heater currents. I've mod'ed over a Mesa Boogie and a few Fenders and they've been running fine with them for quite some time.

Jerry Hedge · Post by **Jerry Hedge** » 1 Nov 1999 10:09 pm

I would STILL stay with 6L6s in Fenders. Power transformers are expensive. If I were going to go with EL34s I would add a auxiliary filliment transformer or a different power transformer. I know that Matchless were designed to run hot. I read an interview of the company founder where he thought the amps sounded better if the tubes were really cooking. Did anybody hear about a Matchless that caught fire during a show on TNN? I heard it was on "Nashville Now".[This message was edited by Jerry Hedge on 11-01-99]