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A slight review after 2 days:

..........Friggin' badass little amp, my Bruthas!!!!

I got it Tuesday amp; have been playing it the past 2 days....NICE!!!

First, a small rant: I understand that companies like to keep the costs down amp; most guys change tubes anyway, but using POS tubes in a $2000.00 amp is a little ridiculous, if you ask me. JJs don't cost that much!!! It came with a JJ 12AX7 in the V-1, unlabled EL34s, and the EF86, 5AR4 amp; P/I 12AX7 were all labled ARS....WTF is ARS???? (I know, Atlanta Rhythm Section....been humming quot;So Into Youquot; for the past few days; remember that one??? ).

Anyway, I swapped out the stock tubes for a NOS JAN/Phillips 5AR4, NOS Dario Miniwatt EF86, 2 RFT ECC83s, amp; 2 Sovtek EL34WXTs...completely different amp after that. It was nice stock, but it just came to life amp; did a little jig on top of the cabinet after the tube swap!!!

On Ch1, it has a nice touch sensitive break-up...hooked up a Vox Wah, Mesa-Boogie Bottle Rocket O/D, amp; a Boss EQ-20.

Running just thru the amp, it's got a semi clean fat tone...kick on the EQ amp; it acts kind of like a mid boost for a little more aggressive bite...kick on the Bottle Rocket amp; it just friggin' soars into Plexi-ville!!!

This is all with the preamp volume set to 1 o'clock amp; the master set at 9 o'clock....the master is VERY usable: dime the whole deal amp; it screams!

Still have more playing around to do, but Ch1 is very nice with humbuckers amp; Ch2 is very nice with single coils...the P-90s sounded great on either channel!

Both channels are very touch sensitive/responsive amp; the Master volume is extremely usable on both channels....only downside is you can't A/B the 2 channels, but Ch1 cleans up really nicely if you use the volume knob on the guitar, so I've been living there the past 2 days.

I built myself a 2x12 that looks that looks just like a Marshall Bluesbreaker. I have to say, it looks friggin' sweet!!! Got a Marshall logo from Mojo amp; threw it on the front...came out pretty nice!!!

I was a little concerned with the speakers that I had (Greenback amp; G12H30), but they sound super sweet with this amp, in this closed back cab....

I also have a Marshall 1966A 2x12 w/a V30/G12H30 in it...made some quot;open-backquot; panels for it for a bit of a different tone.

With just the closed back cab, it's a really nice fat blues rock tone...I then sent the signal to both cabs via a quot;Yquot; cable (making sure this would be cool via e-mail to Matchless....I was pleasantly surprised when Phil Jamison himself responded back!)....REALLY big sound with both cabs. I'm gonna try putting the closed back panel on the 1966A to see what that sounds like amp; also considering building another Bluesbreaker cab only making it a 4x10...whatever..........

Anyway, so far so good....It's been a while since I used the Bottle Rocket; I normally don't use any pedals, but it sounds really good. I forgot how nice this pedal is even though some of the reviewers on HC didn't think so. Again, change the stock tubes amp; don't dime all the dials amp; it does its' thing well!

Still got some playing to do, but so far I'm a very happy camper. Much more my style than the Splawn, so that was a nice trade-off amp; it mixes nicely with the Blue Angel...transitions nicely!

AND....I FINALLY put those Anniversary Seth's in the Hamer....HOLY FRIGGIN' CRAPOLA...this guitar amp; this amp sound like they came from the same womb. First time trying Seth's amp; I'm not sure if they're wound the same as the stock ones, but GOD D@MN, they are sweet!!! Completely different guitar than when it had '59s in it!

All in all, it was a very very nice few days off!!!!......Really cool when things work out better than you expected, huh???!!

BTW I'll have to post some pics....it looks pretty sweet lit up!!!

Cool report

I'm glad that worked out for ya ... I agree about the master - it has quite a range on that amp.

BTW, ARS is a tube supplier in L.A. They often relabel NOS tubes, although I'm sure they sell newer tubes as well.

******....just when I thought I was over my matchless gas, you have to go and post this...I want a Matchless Lightning so bad that it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up on end when I read the word matchless....sheesh, oh what i wouldn't give for an extra $1500 ..

Thanks Curly....like my Blue Angel, I'll keep the stock tubes as back-ups!

Thanks again for you assistance on this Curly!!!

Guys, Curly was very cool amp; went to check out a used Clubman for me that was in his hometown. I didn't get that one as the guy wasn't sure about selling or not....so I spent a little extra on a new one w/a warranty!

Here's to Curly....


Originally Posted by CapoFirstFret******....just when I thought I was over my matchless gas, you have to go and post this...I want a Matchless Lightning so bad that it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up on end when I read the word matchless....sheesh, oh what i wouldn't give for an extra $1500 ..

Oh, then you'll just LOVE the pics of it all lit up!!!

i'm glad you finally got it man!!! i hope it's everything you've dreamed of and more!!! LOL!!!

the guy who had the low end tubes in it probably wondered why he couldn't get it to sound just right

that Hamer with those seths through that amp....WOW!!! you're getting quite the setup man!!! that's too coool!!!

Thanks Mike.....some day soon it will be your turn!!!!

A very nice amp, one of my buddies got a Phoenix head, in white
He uses the same Celestion setup as you.


Originally Posted by PUCKBOY99Thanks Mike.....some day soon it will be your turn!!!! i agree one day it will be your turn mike. sounds like that day will be soon.puckboy i had the same expirience with my route 66 when it came except the gtkt66hp's aren't bad. but i did replace the ef86 and the 12ax7 with some nos tubes, an amperex and a mullard. great sound now. looking for a nice set of gec kt66's next. you should check out the amperex ef86 some time. it added a nice sparkle to the cleans that the winged C ef86 didn't add.

Glad to see it is all working out for you too.

Gosh, I hate these boring reviews where the reviewer isn't excited. HEY...........NEW STUFF ROCKS !!!!Congrats, man! Sounds like a nice set up. Great review as well!


Originally Posted by PUCKBOY99HEY...........NEW STUFF ROCKS !!!!woooooOOOOTTT!!!



I'll try to take some better shots.....these were quickies!

Click the link in my signature for the bigger version.

PUCK,

I agree with your observations about switching out the tubes. I had the feeling when I looked at the Clubman that it could just sound better.

I play my little Blues Junior so much that I can tell the difference immediately when I switch out just the V1 pre. I tried the GT Mullard, and went right back to an NOS GE tube. I think the more you compare, the better you get at hearing the differences.
another thing is that the EF86 has so much gain, and is such a critical tube, that it can make quite a difference. The problem is, the NOS are better, but they aren't cheap
if you want The Tone, though ... well, you know ...

curly as always is right. when i finally found a vintage sounding, new amp the only way to make it better was to put NOS tubes in there. i got lucky and found a good deal on ebay but those ef86 tubes are extremely expensive. next are the power tubes for me.

puckboy what is the tube setup in there? i assume the ef86 is in the first position and then you have 12ax7's but how many are there?

The tubes are:

2 EL-34 power tubes
1 5AR4 rectifier
1 EF-86 in what I guess is equivalent to the V-1 slot
1 12AX7 in the P/I
1 12AX7

I swapped the stock tubes out for:

2 Sovtek EL-34WXTs (all I had other than some GT 6CA7s, which are cleaner)
NOS JAN/Phillips 5AR4
NOS Dario Miniwatt EF-86
2 RFT ECC83s

I'm no tone or tube afficianado, but even I could tell the difference when the tubes were swapped. Much fatter smoother amp; warmer tone....just an overall fullness to the sound.

Matchless is the best built guitar amp there is. The attention to detail is just ridiculous! Besides the fact the amp is wired by hand from component to component, they even put plastic tubing over every bit of exposed wire on the components. It seems silly, but it actually shields the parts from picking up any electrical noise. When I plug in my Chieftain, turn up the volume on the amp and guitar, there's almost NO hum at all.....totally silent. The amps are basically clean amps that break into natural tube overdrive in a way that's superior to all other amps. You can't charge $3500 for an amp unless it blows away the competition. That's why Matchless amps are still in business.
Stare at this chassis for a few minutes, and understand that a few guys soldered this for a few days! It's an electronic work of art. The wiring bundles are tied every inch, the bare wire is covered, and all the components are military spec.Still look very American on the inside to me
You guys are messy.
I'll still say that an old Hiwatt is the sh!t on the inside.


Originally Posted by RidStill look very American on the inside to me
You guys are messy.
I'll still say that an old Hiwatt is the sh!t on the inside.an old Hiwatt or a new Harry Joyce...both are built by the same man...check this out!!!

If you can tell me it gets any neater than this...I demand proof!