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Topic: What does a Matchbox do? |
Trevor Stellflug
From:
Portland Oregon, USA
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Posted 24 Jan 2024 1:09 pm |
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Im still not sure what a Matchbox is used for.. could someone explain?  |
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John Larson
From:
Pennsyltucky, USA
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Posted 24 Jan 2024 1:38 pm
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It's a buffer. It boosts the signal from the instrument to the amplifier.
_________________
Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous; praise is meet for the upright. Give praise to the Lord with the harp, chant unto Him with the ten-stringed psaltery. Sing unto Him a new song, chant well unto Him with jubilation. For the word of the Lord is true, and all His works are in faithfulness. The Lord loveth mercy and judgement; the earth is full of the mercy of the Lord.
- Psalm 33:1-5 |
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Travis Bubenik
From:
Marfa, Texas
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James Holland
From:
Alabama, USA
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Posted 24 Jan 2024 3:53 pm
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| I just got one. It does function as a tone and volume control. But, the best thing I'm getting out of it, is this cool swell of sustain. Its a sound I hear on recordings that is now coming from my amp. Im really enjoying what it does. |
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Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
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Posted 24 Jan 2024 5:23 pm
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I'll toss in my 2¢ here. In terms of what you will hear is a cleaner signal from your guitar with a little more boost. The unit helps to unload the pickup caused by external devices and high capacitance cables. The muddier or more loaded down with external devices you have in the chain, the more benefit you will notice in your sound with the MB in line.
Another characteristic of using a MB that has a volume and tone control is having external control of volume and a tone sweep from wide open bright to a darker tone going CCW.
You might like the more pristine sound. Some players prefer the warmer sound without it though. |
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Trevor Stellflug
From:
Portland Oregon, USA
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Posted 25 Jan 2024 4:19 pm
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| Thanks to everyone for the answers, seems like ill have to buy one and see if I like it |
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Tucker Jackson
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Posted 25 Jan 2024 4:48 pm
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Trevor, we'll probably be on the same bill (again) soon. You can try out my impedance-matcher to see what it does. It's a Freeloader, but does the same thing to your signal as a Matchbox. Or just buy the one for sale if you're wanting more tone control because the price seems reasonable.
If I recall, you run from guitar, to volume, to amp with no other effects, right? In that chain, it's like Jerry said... an impedance matching unit will probably yield a brighter tone. |
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George Biner
From:
Los Angeles, CA
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Posted 26 Jan 2024 3:37 pm
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When you plug a guitar into an amp, the pickup is "loaded" by the input circuit of the amp, and it lives in an "operating point" (OP) that is determined by the amp input resistance. That may or may not be the best sounding OP. (I believe that typical amp input R's are quite high, so the pickup is barely operating.) Imagine if you had a way to vary the amp resistance, so that the pickup lived in a different, better sounding OP -- that's what the Matchbox does. It lets you vary the resistance the pickup is seeing, which changes the sound considerably. Brad Sarno can chime in on this.
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Guacamole Mafia - acoustic harmony duo
Electrical engineer / amp tech in West Los Angeles -- I fix Peaveys
"Now there is a snappy sounding instrument. That f****r really sings." - Jerry Garcia |
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