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Hey guys.

I'm seriously considering buying a low wattage valve amp, mainly for recording purposes.

The 2 I'm considering are either a Matamp Minimat 2w head, or a Cornell Romany 2.5w-10w switchable valve combo.

The Matamp Minimat is a handwired 2w valve amp that also has a switchable boost function and a built in attenuater. It has speaker outputs for connecting to either an 8ohm or a 16ohm speaker cab. It is also the cheaper of the 2

The Cornell Romany is also an all valve, handwired amp that has a 2 band EQ, EQ cut switch which removes the EQ circuit from the signal path, and is switchable from 10w down to around 2.5w. It comes stock with either a 10quot; or 12quot; Jensen speaker.

Both have pros and cons, but I'm just working it through in my head and was wondering what you guys thought

Craig

If the Cornell sounds good at 2.5w, I'd lean towards it ONLY because it gives the option of jumping up to 10watts.

I've never played either, but that's where I'd go................

Of the 2 I would also go with the Cornell...if you go with the Matamp you have 2 watts max and you're gonna play hell trying to get it much louder, the Cornell is either 2.5 OR 10 which IMO is killer. I would get the Cornell with a single 10 if those were my only 2 choices.

Thanx for the posts guys.

The 1 thing that the Matamp has over the Cornell is that it's only ?259, whereas the Cornell is ?480 with 1x10 speaker. There is a 1x12 with Reverb model of the Cornell Romany, but it's alot more money and I don't think I'd use the reverb anyway

If the Romany has the option of unplugging the internal speaker and using it with my 4x12 (for example) then i'd also be able to set it at 10w and sue it for gigs too

Craig

That is a pretty stiff jump in price but I satill think that in the long run you'd be far happier with the Cornell...to be honest I'd go for the Cornell with reverb but that might just be me! I never noticed how much I actually used just a tiny bit of verb until I bought an amp that didn't have it! Either way I'd go for the Cornell, you're right on...if you run it into a 4x12 you should be able to do some smaller gigs with it and IMO that alone would be worth the extra money!

I'll 2nd what TGWIF said.

If it turns out you LOVE the sound at 2.5 watts, you're gonna wanna crank that little mofo.

Those are hand-made, no?

Maybe you can have him build in a speaker out if it doesn't have one amp; crank it thru the 4x12.

Thanx for the new posts guys

I recently tried the 1x10 Cornell at a recent music show and it sounded awesome

I tried it on the 2.5w setting 1st, and got it all the way upto 10 on the volume and it was only just audible above the constant racket of the rest of the show

So I tried it on the 10w setting and with the volume at about 4, it started to break up very nicely and was a very smooth sounding amp.

My main amp is an Orange AD30, so I'm used to an amp with no reverb

I've emailled Denis Cornell to ask if it'd be possible to get a Romany with a 12quot; speaker and a speaker ouput jack

Craig


Originally Posted by PUCKBOY99I'll 2nd what TGWIF said.

If it turns out you LOVE the sound at 2.5 watts, you're gonna wanna crank that little mofo.

Those are hand-made, no?

Maybe you can have him build in a speaker out if it doesn't have one amp; crank it thru the 4x12.

Yeah they're handmade.

From the time of rodering, they take about 10 weeks to build and get shipped out.

I think I probably would go for the Cornell over the Matamp, as I could gig with the Cornell with a 4x12 and also not have to worry about dragging a cab to the Studio with me whenever I want to record (like I'd have to if I got the Matamp head).

Craig

Sounds like a winner Bro....keep us posted!On another note, I see in your quot;Gear Listquot;: quot;Fender USA Standard Strat:BK Crawler/Irish Tour/Irish Tourquot;...........what pick ups are those?

I assume quot;Irish Tourquot; might be Rory Gallagher related????


Originally Posted by PUCKBOY99Sounds like a winner Bro....keep us posted!On another note, I see in your quot;Gear Listquot;: quot;Fender USA Standard Strat:BK Crawler/Irish Tour/Irish Tourquot;...........what pick ups are those?

I assume quot;Irish Tourquot; might be Rory Gallagher related????

They are Barenkuckles single coils...Ben has one I believe as well

IT

Thanks Jeffy.....your mom let you back into the clubhouse yet??


Originally Posted by PUCKBOY99Sounds like a winner Bro....keep us posted!

On another note, I see in your quot;Gear Listquot;: quot;Fender USA Standard Strat:BK Crawler/Irish Tour/Irish Tourquot;...........what pick ups are those?

I assume quot;Irish Tourquot; might be Rory Gallagher related????

Jeff is exactly right

The Irish Tours are 'Hot Vintage' single coil pickups, fashioned after the type of tone Rory Gallagher used to have

The Crawler is a pickup which was designed with Geoff Whitehorn, and is a 15K PAF style pickup. It cleans up very well, and is extremely well

The bridge humbucker is also coil-tapped, and the 15K full output allows a fairly fat split tone in the bridge

All in all, it's my most versatile guitar

Craig


Originally Posted by PUCKBOY99Thanks Jeffy.....your mom let you back into the clubhouse yet??

Too cold now..she won't let me go outside..afraid I'll get frostbite or suttin


Originally Posted by JeffBToo cold now..she won't let me go outside..afraid I'll get frostbite or suttin Originally Posted by BrowJeff is exactly right

The Irish Tours are 'Hot Vintage' single coil pickups, fashioned after the type of tone Rory Gallagher used to have

The Crawler is a pickup which was designed with Geoff Whitehorn, and is a 15K PAF style pickup. It cleans up very well, and is extremely well

The bridge humbucker is also coil-tapped, and the 15K full output allows a fairly fat split tone in the bridge

All in all, it's my most versatile guitar

I just checked out their website....they seem like great line of pickups.

Do they sell them stateside, anyone know?


Originally Posted by PUCKBOY99
I just checked out their website....they seem like great line of pickups.

Do they sell them stateside, anyone know?

You can order directly from them. I came REAL close to dropping the $ on them...to be honest, they are the pickups I really really want the most. Tim was EXCELLENT. He answered all my questions promptly and helped steer me towards the sounds I wanted (and knew the tones/sounds I was talking about too..I wasn't asking for quot;basicquot; things like PAF, or Clapton sounds...I was quite detailed with the obscure guitar tones)

Unfortunately, they cost about $400 for a set of buckers

Actually a good thing I din follow through, cos the guitar I was gonna buy them for is gone now. I hope to get a set in my Hamer someday.

they got a couple of dealers stateside

OUCH.....I guess I'll stick with my old Surfers

Yeah, the Bareknuckle are expensive. But compared to what Duncans sell for here (?70 for a humbucker), they're not that much more expensive

There are a number of dealers for BKs in the States, but I don't know what they sell for.

Craig

I'm teetering on the brink of buying some Bare Knuckles. A set of Mules probably, but the Emeralds are calling my name too. Maybe after Christmas.

Hey Brow, why not just get an attenuator like a THD Hotplate? I'm sure that would be cheaper than a new amp!