The "best" amp I've ever owned!

[Gearjoneser]

Re: The "best" amp I've ever owned!

Nice job Scott! I'd better buy one of yours eventually, since the price is a fraction of Matchless. So, did you say Jeff Seal and you might get a reverb circuit put into an EL-84 amp? That's what I want, since most EL-84 amps don't have it.

As far as the comment about a Matchless being as clean as a Twin....yes, they're not only just as clean, they've got a nicer voice with glassy open natural tone. Think of Fender as tap water, and Matchless as Evian!
One thing you'll notice between a Fender and Matchless is how much quieter the idle is. When you turn off standby, you don't even hear the Matchless turn on. It's almost startling that it's dead quiet, and when you start to play, how loud and rich sounding it can be. It's SOOOOO revealing of your playing that if there's even a hint of slop or string noise, the Matchless will let you hear it loud and clear. It makes you very aware of your hands!

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: The "best" amp I've ever owned!

While monitoring this thread, I've been playing my new silverburst strat/Fat 50's through my Chieftain and Bassman LTD. Just like Lew said, the Matchless is the one you'd pick, if you did a listening test. The Fender has a bit of idle hiss, while the Matchless is silent. The Fender has more nasal to the mids, while the mids on the Matchless are rich and wide. When you turn up the bass on the Bassman, and bridge the 1st and 2nd channels to fatten it up, it's not as bell clear and room engulfing as the Matchless. The highs are pretty similar, although the Matchless has more transparent and airy highs.

Don't forget, the Fender Bassman LTD is one of the best amps Fender has, but you can't deny the $3300 Matchless tone. It's like a Rolls Royce compared to a Cadillac.

 

[Scott_F]

Re: The "best" amp I've ever owned!

Scott...That is a beautiful lookin amp!

Very nice work indeed!!!

Thanks. I'm getting better. The 30 watter is rough because I had to cut out the transformer holes to get the 30 watt trannies to fit. But there is a lot of room above the EL84's to put in two new sockets. That and a couple of minor component changes and I'm set.

Just gotta get through these next two amps first.

 

[dd12939]

Re: The "best" amp I've ever owned!

You guys are making me wish I had a lot of money to drop on amps. I can only imagine the tones those monsters are putting out. mmm...

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: The "best" amp I've ever owned!

You guys are making me wish I had a lot of money to drop on amps. I can only imagine the tones those monsters are putting out. mmm...

Don't feel bad. At 19, not many people are buying amps over $750. I used to do what everyone does....find the best for the cheapest. Over time, you start to sell that stuff off, and add money, and it keeps going up from there.
There's plenty of great amps you can get that sound great for far less money. Celtics for example.
As a matter of fact, I'm advertising my Bassman LTD in the local papers for $850 firm. I'll probably sell that and a couple other things, and turn it into another amp. That damn Fargen VOS still haunts me, but holy crap....$2150!! :smack:
Yes, it's an addiction for me that started at age 14. :13:

 

[Hoss]

Re: The "best" amp I've ever owned!

this was an awesome thread to read...i've never played through a matchless, but from your descriptions...i can almost imagine...if they have better cleans than Rivera i think i'd melt...Scott if you do a 30 watter with verb...i may have to buy one for sure!!! i'd get serious about that real quick and start my wheels turnin!

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: The "best" amp I've ever owned!

Wow...thanks for all of the input on this thread guys! Scott: Nice looking work! Who's making those trannys for you? Or are you buying them from Matchless?

Concerning Matchless clean vs Fender clean: it's just as Gearjoneser describes it.

But there is '59 Fender Bassman clean (which is sort of glassy and Marshall like) and blackface Fender clean which is less glassy and covers a range from Jazz clean to Country clean to Surf clean...just dial it in on any blackface Twin Reverb or Super Reverb. Less mids and a differant character to the mids than '59 tweed Bassman clean...not quite so plucky and snarly when you dig in. Both are grid biased amps...the long tailed pair circuit found in '59 Bassmans, blackface Fenders, Marshalls, etc.

Matchless and Vox cleans are differant...wider, richer, more textured, (woodier?), bigger...thicker without sounding stuffy or wooly. The Matchless and Vox are CATHODE biased amps...that creates a differant tone that more touch sensitive and similar to the tone of a Class A design like the Fender Champ.

But it's not just about the cleans...the Matchless allows me to shape the note with my hands and picking attack. I can back off on the volume on my guitar and pick gently and the tone clears up...I can dig in and shape the note with my pick and get it to growlor sing.

Also, my favorite channel is the pentode channel with the volume, tone and cut control. That's the one I play through most and it reminds me alot of the best qualities of my old 50's Fender tweed Deluxes and Super.

Only the tone is more versatile and the range from clean to growl to overdriven is right there...just adjust the controls and the master volume to taste and adjust your playing style and picking attack.

I do miss the Fender reverb slightly...but there's something to these British voiced amps like Marshall, Vox and Matchless where you don't really miss the reverb all that much.

When I'm playing my Fenders I use a little reverb...maybe setting it to "2" or a tiny bit more. Just to add some ambience and make the tone a little richer.

But that ambience and richness of tone is there in a differant way with the Matchless...it's not "faked" with reverb, it's just THERE in the inherant tone of the amp.

I really do think my Matchless SC-30 is the best amp I've evr owned...followed by my Vox AC-30 which I found so unmoveably heavy and loud that I sold it for those reasons. The totally usable and toneful master volume and smaller size of the Matchless makes all the diff in the world.

I had a lot of trouble with the seller of this amp...some of you may remember. He fibbed about the condition and what not. But now that that's all settled I would not part with this amp.

IMO, the Matchless SC-30 is right up there with the most valuable and collectable amps and best sounding amps of all time: '59 Fender Bassman, '67 Marshall Plexi, '64 Vox AC-30 Top Boost, etc.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: The "best" amp I've ever owned!

Scott, are you planning on making the Franklin as a 30 watter in a head version?

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: The "best" amp I've ever owned!

Lew; Is the Matchless a vintage amp, or a modern design? Just curious.

Thanks;
Artie

It's not really an exact clone of any vintage amp...although it's kind of like a totally updated mid 60's Vox AC-30 Top Boost: the Beatles amp. I guess the AC-30 would be the closest thing to it in a vintage amp...but the Matchless goes beyond the AC-30 in that it has that pentode channel, a half power switch, the best master volume control I've ever used, speaker phase switch, and a few other features not found in the original Vox design.

The channel I use most is channel two: the PENTODE channel that "utilizes a "pentode" vacuum tube as the first preamplifier stage and is followed by a six position rotary switch to control the tone envelope". That's from the Matchless Instruction manual.

Artie: you should go tothe Matchless website and download and print off the SC-30/DC-30 instruction manual. It's 16 pages of really informative instruction on how to use the amp and is very detailed and useful.

 

[Guitar Toad]

Re: The "best" amp I've ever owned!

Lew, do you still use your DS-1's with the Matchless?

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: The "best" amp I've ever owned!

Lew, do you still use your DS-1's with the Matchless?

I rarely use the DS-1 or any booster. But when I DO, I use the DS-1 or sometimes the Duncan Pickup booster.

It really depends on the music.

My wife and I separated earlier this year, I sold my home, and I put all of my amps and pedals in storage except for this one Matchless amp. So the only amp I played all summer was the Matchless...it's the only one I took with me while I was renting a cabin up at around 8800' in the mountains near Rollinsville, Colorado and deciding what to do next.

I just a bought and moved into another home up in the mountains in Nederland, Colorado and now have all of my amps, guitars and stuff at home with me again.

I'll give the DS-1 a try with the Matchless...but truthfully, the Matchless is so versatile I haven't felt the need to use a booster pedal.

My buddy AJ uses the DS-1 for everything! He keeps the distortion turned very low...almost off. He plays in a SALSA band if you can believe that, and gets a great clean tone for rythym by turning his Strat's volume control down to 1/2 and then he turns it up to 10 when he wants to solo and get a Santana or even Hendrix lead tone.

 

[Guitar Toad]

Re: The "best" amp I've ever owned!

I rarely use the DS-1 or any booster. But when I DO, I use the DS-1 or sometimes the Duncan Pickup booster.

It really depends on the music.

My wife and I separated earlier this year, I sold my home, and I put all of my amps and pedals in storage except for this one Matchless amp. So the only amp I played all summer was the Matchless...it's the only one I took with me while I was renting a cabin up at around 8800' in the mountains near Rollinsville, Colorado and deciding what to do next.

I just a bought and moved into another home up in the mountains in Nederland, Colorado and now have all of my amps, guitars and stuff at home with me again.

I'll give the DS-1 a try with the Matchless...but truthfully, the Matchless is so versatile I haven't felt the need to use a booster pedal.

My buddy AJ uses the DS-1 for everything! He keeps the distortion turned very low...almost off. He plays in a SALSA band if you can believe that, and gets a great clean tone for rythym by turning his Strat's volume control down to 1/2 and then he turns it up to 10 when he wants to solo and get a Santana or even Hendrix lead tone.

I know that you rave about the Matchless' natural overdrive. I was curious about more compressed Santana-like tones. You put better words to what I was after. Thanks Lew.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: The "best" amp I've ever owned!

I know that you rave about the Matchless' natural overdrive. I was curious about more compressed Santana-like tones. You put better words to what I was after. Thanks Lew.

Right...for THAT, a booster pedal might be just the ticket. The Matchless is similar to a Vox AC-30 and when I had my AC-30 I used to plug my TS-9 Tubescreamer into it and I swear: it sounded like Eric Johnson's violin tone! It was the best overdriven tone I've ever had. But I haven't tried that yet with this amp.

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: The "best" amp I've ever owned!

hey Lew, if you want EL84 with reverb, I checked out the new AC30s a few weeks ago, and they were outstanding. Dual channel with trem and reverb. Plus they make head and a 1x12 combo now (thought the 1x12 has a cheaper speaker). The latest Guitar player with Paul mcCartney on the cover has a review.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: The "best" amp I've ever owned!

hey Lew, if you want EL84 with reverb, I checked out the new AC30s a few weeks ago, and they were outstanding. Dual channel with trem and reverb. Plus they make head and a 1x12 combo now (thought the 1x12 has a cheaper speaker). The latest Guitar player with Paul mcCartney on the cover has a review.

Thanks! I have that issue but only read the interview with Paul. Interesting that he's playing that old Epi Casino again and that it's the same guitar on Paperback Writer and other classics. Cool interview!

Haven't read the reviews in that issue yet...

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: The "best" amp I've ever owned!

hey Lew, if you want EL84 with reverb, I checked out the new AC30s a few weeks ago, and they were outstanding. Dual channel with trem and reverb. Plus they make head and a 1x12 combo now (thought the 1x12 has a cheaper speaker). The latest Guitar player with Paul mcCartney on the cover has a review.

Since my Bassman LTD is for sale, I've been thinking of 1 of 2 things.....either use the money for rent, or a new VOX AC-30!!!:dance: A part of me wants that Fargen VOS, but there's just no way I can swing that price. Plus, I've wanted an AC-30 for a long time, and now it finally has reverb and more features. :cool3:

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: The "best" amp I've ever owned!

Since my Bassman LTD is for sale, I've been thinking of 1 of 2 things.....either use the money for rent, or a new VOX AC-30!!!:dance: A part of me wants that Fargen VOS, but there's just no way I can swing that price. Plus, I've wanted an AC-30 for a long time, and now it finally has reverb and more features. :cool3:

I'll tell you buddy: the AC-30 with blueframe alnico G12 Celestions is the only amp I've owned that compared to this Matchless. But it weighed a ton and without a master volume it was just to loud for the way I play these days, even when I play out. I didn't have the Weber Mass yet...so I sold it. But it was to big and heavy anyway.

Anyways, one more time with feeling: "Thanks Gearjoneser for the recommendation on the Matchless. I wouldn't have purchased it if you hadn't recommended it so highly!"

:beerchug:

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: The "best" amp I've ever owned!

Sounds like the AC30CC 1x12 with a replacement blueframe would be just the ticket. I actually didn't mind the Cheaper wharfedales in the cheaper 2x12 I tried, though.

But when you already own a Matchless...

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: The "best" amp I've ever owned!

You know what I really want? A Vox AC-15! Vox fans will never forgive Vox for discontinuing the AC-15, but at least that amp wasn't as loud, broke up better, and had reverb! How could they do that!? If they put those back into Chinese production, for less money than the AC-30, that would be the amp I'd get. The 90's ones are getting harder to find, and gaining value. I wish I could find one of those for less than $800!

 

[Curly]

Re: The "best" amp I've ever owned!

You know what I really want? A Vox AC-15!

the best tone I ever had was through an original AC 15 Twin Twelve

as far as the new ones ... if an AC 30 is now $1K, what would an AC 15 sell for? and how much profit would there be?