The "best" amp I've ever owned!

[Lewguitar]

I'm going to be selling most of my amp collection because I don't see myself playing most of them now that I've got my Matchless SC-30: it's one of the best amp I've ever owned.

I like it better than my real '59 Bassman, better than my '59 and '62 Fender Deluxes, better than my '66 Deluxe Reverbs and Vibrolux Reverb and better than my '70 Marshall small box 50 watt head.

I wish the Matchless had built in spring reverb...but the truth is: it sounds so good and the tone is so full and touch sensitive that I really don't miss the reverb all that much.

The Matchless has the best master volume for my kind of playing that I've ever used. It won't produce a heavy metal kind of overdriven/saturated tone...but for blues and R&B it's the best I've used because it sounds so natural. And the 1/2 power select is totally usable...it never makes it sound to weak or to small, but just like it has 1/2 the wattage. Again: very natural, full and fat...never thin and buzzy.

Now that I'm moved in at my new place, I have all of my amps home with me again and I've been comparing my Matchless to my blackface Deluxe Reverbs, tweed Bassman and Super Reverb.

The Matchless has beat them all! I wish I still had my AC-30 to compare it to, but the Matchless is similar and more versatile and alot lighter and easier to move. That Vox AC-30 was also one of the 2 or 3 "best" amps I've ever owned but it was a back breaker!

 

[Benjy_26]

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

How does it compare as far as clean headroom? I know it probably isn't as clean as a Twin, but is it better than a BF Super?

 

[the guy who invented fire]

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

All this talk about Matchless amps has to stop! If it continues I'll be forced to go shopping!

J/K...Glad you like it Lew...I have to be honest, if you like it better that a Tweed Fender it must be good...I wish I had the kind of money your amps are worth, I would love to have several of your amps but the value of those amps is way to high for me.

Out of curosity...what are you gonna keep?

 

[Lewguitar]

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

Thanks! As as clean tones go, the Matchless is as clean as I ever need. Where my Deluxes and Deluxe Reverb kind of fart out when I play my Les Paul with humbuckers through them, the Matchless has a fatter, fuller low end and it stays clean enough for me...and I'm kind of a fanatic when it comes to clean tone for chords. The thing with the Matchless is that it always very full sounding...the mids and bass are very full and fat without sounding like "to much". In fact, the Matchless makes my other amps sound like they are lacking in the deep bass and full, fat tone department...and it only has a single 12" speaker!

As for what I'll be keeping...I dunno. The truth is, my Matchless out performs every amp I own, including my favorites: the '51 Super/Dual Professional, all of my Deluxes and Deluxe Reverbs, my Bassman and my Marshall. I'll probably keep my '59 Princeton because it's the amp I took lessons on back in the mid-60's...

 

[the guy who invented fire]

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

Thats cool...I knew you'd keep that Princeton!

Let me change the subject a tiny bit...your 51 Super/Dual Pro. Is it a Super or a Dual Pro? I know both amps are pretty much the same but what does yours say? Also, do you know when they made the switch from Dual Pro to Super? Do you know what the differences (if any) are between the 2 amps?

 

[Lewguitar]

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

Thats cool...I knew you'd keep that Princeton!

Let me change the subject a tiny bit...your 51 Super/Dual Pro. Is it a Super or a Dual Pro? I know both amps are pretty much the same but what does yours say? Also, do you know when they made the switch from Dual Pro to Super? Do you know what the differences (if any) are between the 2 amps?

Mine's a "Super"...but it has the old Dual Professional cabinet with the V front and the chrome strip down the middle. I don't think there's any diff between the '51 Super I have and the Dual Professional. Don't know why Fender changed the name. Mine is very much like the '54 wide panel Fender Super I owned for a long time but traded to a buddy for his Les Paul. Two volume controls and a tone control. Two Jensen P10R speakers...although I changed one to a '66 C10N to tighten up the bass and clean up the tone a little. I still have both of the original '51 P10R's though. Lew

 

[the guy who invented fire]

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

Does your Super have 3 imputs or 4?

 

[Scott_F]

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

Lew,

I agree with you totally. My favorite amp used to be the Two Rock that I have. Just didn't think it could get any finer.

And, I had a Bad Cat Trem Cat and it was just too much for me, didn't hit my personal sweet spot.

Then I built and tweaked this little Matchless Lightning clone I call the Franklin. It's only a 2xEL84 15 watter, but it has so blown away every other amp I own, I'm now selling the Two Rock.

I might also be selling the Tweed Pro and the Pro Reverb.

I'm working on a 30 watt version of my Franklin that will be essentially the 12AX7 side of your DC30. Reverb would be nice as you indicate and Jeff Seal is helping me with that.

If it truly is the only amp you plug into, sell the rest of them.

 

[Kelsey]

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

I have a Bad Cat Cub II Reverb, which is a 2 x EL84 15 watter like the 12AX7 side of a Black Cat or Matchless C30 model. I think it's my favorite amp overall, but I also love the tone of my '54 wide panel tweed Deluxe. It would be hard for me to give up those two amps. It's also nice to have a Champ and my cheap but toneful Music Master Bass amp available, and the Tremolux would be missed for louder BF clean tones. I could see selling the rest of my collection. However, a careful selection of nice amps is very useful for recording purposes.

 

[Artie]

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

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

Thanks;
Artie

 

[seafoamer]

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

'59 and '62 Fender Deluxes,

love me two times, baaaaaaaby!

 

[Gearjoneser]

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

Mark Sampson and Matchless Amplifier company came out around 91/92, and he had some partners, including current owner Phil Jamison. My girlfriend at the time was singing in a band with one of the marketing partners on guitar, and I played bass in the band, as a side project. He kept raving about this new company he was working for, telling me that Matchless was the greatest amp ever built. I'd play on his green DC-30 anytime he was out of the room, and gained a real appreciation for "clean amps." The thing was just HUGE sounding, but $2600 for me was not an option.

Years later, as Matchless became popular, I'd figured out how to buy them low and sell them high, since they hadn't reached other states yet. At one point, I had 2 Chieftains, a DC-30, a 100W Chief head, and an empty cab.
I sold all of them, except my 97 2-12 Chieftain in perfect cond. It was a tough call between the DC-30 and Chieftain, but the EL-34's and reverb made me choose the Chieftain. I love that amp, and it'd break my heart if I ever got into a financial situation where I'd have to sell stuff. It'd be one of the last things to go, I know that! Lew, you should sell a few of those Fenders, and buy a Chieftain 1-12, and have both. You'll be in tone heaven!

More recently, now that Jamison owns all of Matchless, and the original owner, Mark Sampson owns Bad Cat and Star Amps, some of the new Matchless amps like the Phoenix and Independence are just incredible.
I was just reading an article about the guitarist on INXS Rock Star, about his personal amps, and he uses Matchless HC-30 and Phoenix heads.
IMO, and his apparently, the Matchless is the king of clean, and the Bogner is the king of gain. Amp making at it's finest, and it'll never get better, because the 90's was the pinnacle of amps, I'm pretty sure.

 

[Gearjoneser]

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

Here's some Matchless pics I took when Curly and I went to the LA Amp Show.
Here's Phil Jamison, the current owner, demoing his stunning new amps, the Phoenix, Avenger, and Independence multi-channel amp. Man, I want one of those!

 

[Gearjoneser]

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

Check out the detail in the handwiring, which is why they don't give these away!
Every bit of bare wire on components is covered by tubing, and all the wiring bundles have string tied to them, every inch! Also, the lighting circuit (the sockets across the middle), which illuminates the chassis lettering above all the knobs!

 

[Guitar Toad]

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

Matchless Amps = no pedals required for fuzzy blues and classic rock with Les Pauls and strats?

 

[the guy who invented fire]

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

Matchless Amps = no pedals required for fuzzy blues and classic rock with Les Pauls and strats?

not fuzzy...overdriven, a very natural overdrive!

 

[Guitar Toad]

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

not fuzzy...overdriven, a very natural overdrive!

I meant to say "nice natural overdrive" instead of fuzzy. No need for an OD pedal at lower/practice volumes. Is the Matchless "Better" than the Bogners?

 

[Scott_F]

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

they are awesome amps, no doubt. I always thought the reverb on the Chieftain was a bit on the weak side. I had a chance to buy a used one (1x12) in Houston 2 years ago for an epic price, but ended up passing on it. Great amps.

I'm using the same transformers in my Franklin as are used in the Matchless. Not just the same specs, but the same manufacturer. In this world, it's all about the trannies.


The other thing I like about these chassis is that they are 9.5" inches deep. That gives you waaaay more room to work.

It appears that the only "board" per se is the one that all the elctrolytic caps are stacked onto. Lots and lots of big caps there! When you do that and use the "true" point to point wiring, you often end up with a bit of a rat's nest. They do use terminal strips to keep things in order, but if I was to try to build it in that manner, I'd put some insulation on all the exposed leads as well. Too much can come into contact in there.

Tone to the bone. Ask Stratman and Jeff Seal. They heard the "matchless" tone in my Franklin the other afternoon.

 

[Scott_F]

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

Look closely at the trannies...

 

[the guy who invented fire]

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

Todd...it's not really about better...Matchless amps have a very VOX vibe to them while Bogners are like the best of the best Marshalls you can get.

Scott...That is a beautiful lookin amp!

Very nice work indeed!!!