Re: Want to see my "new" Matchless?
Cool, you bought it! That thing will sound great with one of your OD's and maybe a Holy Grail reverb pedal. The first time I'd heard of Matchless, I was about 22 and was subbing on bass in a band where the singer was my girlfriend and the guitarist was the part owner of the new Matchless company. At the time, I owned a Peavey 5150 and a JMP-1/Mesa 295, and didn't understand his infatuation with his $3000 clean sounding amp. Then, at practice I started plugging my strat into his amp, while the band was taking a break, and realized the clean tone just stomped on my rig.
Of course, at 22, a Matchless was OUTTA the question. During the 90's, when I was going through amps, just buying, using, and selling, I ended up with 3 Matchli LOL
I had 2 identical Chieftain 2-12s in black, and a gray DC-30. I soon regained my sanity and realized I needed to cash out of a couple, so I just kept my 96 mint Chieftain. When I play a strat or tele, that's the ONLY amp I go for. The pre section has 2 GT12AX7M's, and the PI, and reverb tubes are JJ's. The power tubes are JJ E-34L's. I'd cry if I ever saw it leave, due to financial duress.
Lew, it may take you awhile to really sink into the sound of that amp, only because your ears are so tuned to 6L6 amps, but once you tube it right, and dial it in to perfection, you'll realize why they're $3200 amps. The most surprising thing about Matchless is how quiet they are. Every bare wire that comes off a component in that amp has plastic tubing covering it, so there's no exposed wire to pick up transient noise. I've watched the guys at Matchless build those amps, and it's nothing short of amazing.....almost like watching a brain surgeon. They only make about 20-40 amps per month.
:burnout:
