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I moved into a new place way, way up in the mountains and my Matchless is the only amp I took with me. So I've really gotten to know it alot better over the last couple of weeks. It is tremendous. Stellar clean tones from channel one and the Pentode channel has some of the best overdrive tones I've ever heard...no need for an overdrive pedal at all. And the Master Volume works! Best Master Volume control I've ever used. Gearjoneser recommended it to me and boy was he right. I've had this amp quite a few months now, but my old tweeds and blackface Fenders kept me distracted from really giving the Matchless the attention it deserves. Now that all my other amps are in storage, the Matchless is all I'm using and I can say that it's right up there with the best amps I've ever owned. Really something special. Lew

Mine is a different animal, but of the same family....they certainly are sweet!!!!

cool man! where can i hear some clips?

I have never head anything but amazing things about Matchless amps...for some dumb reason I have never even tried one!

Matchless has something magical about it......that's why it's called Matchless and the backlit logo makes sure you remember that! Plugging a strat or tele into the EL-34 Chieftain gives single coils the biggest room-engulfing sound! I've been enjoying my Bassman LTD. a lot too, but when I plug back into the Matchless, I say quot;Ah, Mr. Tone, come to daddy!quot; hahahahaI definitely think the they've got their act together.

glad to see ya lew ...

i don't know alot about matchless .. is this one of the 'old, you cant get 'em any morequot; matchless models?

t4d

Matchless reorganized and came back to life a couple of years ago. Some folks love to weigh in on the old versus the new, but I can tell you from what I've played, they sound pretty much the same to me.

Mine's a mint 97, so it has more collectibility since it was a Mark Sampson era, but the 2nd original owner of Matchless, Phil Jamison bought out Mark, and continued into the 2000's. They're identical, and no better or worse than the 90's models. The only ones they ever discontinued were the 100 watt Chiefs and cheaper Starliner series. You can still get all the classic Matchless amps, but now they've added 4 highgain models, the Phoenix, Nighthawk, Avenger, and channel switching Independence. I'd kill to get my hands on an Independence! It's a step up from the Sampson Bad Cat Hotcat 30. High dollars for those things, so I've got to erase it from my mind!

I'm glad to hear you like that amp, Lew, after all the hassles you had with it

BTW, the name Matchless came from the English motorbikes - it was a tip of the hat from Mark Sampson, who worked on racing teams, which is where he learned machining, and how to bend his own chassis.

certainly one of the all time classic amps, and he raised the bar for build quality.

What kind of gain do the Matchless amps have? Is it Marshallesque, Mesaesque or other? High gain, medium gain, low gain? I know the cleans are magnificant, but know nothing about the OD.

An odd sound, full without being all that fat nor thin, it is actually not for all.
Some of them hate every pedal made on earth, others have their own drive going on, kick them with a little compressor or a cleanboost and they take off.
Now that I have tried quite a few of them I can say that it is not my cup of amps they make, not bad by any means, but they miss that rawness and something that I cannot put my finger on to me, I put them in the same category as PRS and Fulltone, very nice and pretty and...well it is an aqquired taste and I don't have it
One of my buddies have a Phoenix head, that is the amp from Matchless I like best, but it is still not the same as an Marshall or Hiwatt, or a few other things that I have tried that costs a great deal less, dunno it just never took off for me I guess.

I have only tried the DC-30, and the SC-30 is its smaller brother, right?
It sure is high up on my list great amps.

glad you're enjoying it Lew and it's good to see ya around!

They're definitely not the amp for everyone. Basically a real tubby clean tone breaking into a real tubey overdrive. They mostly resemble a Vox or Bluesbreaker. If you want a real gainy amp, they're far too clean for you. The new Matchless' are going for a big fat medium high gain sound, but new Matchless are mucho expensive.


Originally Posted by stringmachineI have only tried the DC-30, and the SC-30 is its smaller brother, right?
It sure is high up on my list great amps.

YUP....HC-30=head, SC-30=1x12, DC-30=2x12....same amp, different set-up.I can't speak for all Matchless amps, but I love my Clubman!

Before I bought it I was told it's like a cross between the Vox AC-30 amp; a JTM45...I run it A/B'd with my Blue Angel amp; mainly as my rock/dirtier amp using the higher gain input. An EQ as a mid boost amp; then a Mesa/Boogie Bottle Rocket OD kicks it into Plexiville. Also use a Vox wah amp; have had no problems with these pedals....I don't use any other pedals, so I can't add anything to what Rid said (he works for Carl Martin, for Christ's sake....like I'm gonna dispute him???!!!)...

Anyway, the cleans are stellar amp; second to none....for that overdriven Matchless tone, no one did it better than Brian Blush of The Refreshments. It was quot;THATquot; tone that I wanted. He played an HC-30 thru a Fender cab...I couldn't swing the cost of an HC-30, so I opted for the Clubman amp; left the EL84 duties to my Blue Angel (which is a fine amp too!!!).

Here's a list of guys that use Matchless...Robert Cray amp; Jimmy Vaughan are the only ones I know of that use Clubmans:

from : localhost/this site out for some clips:

from : localhost/


Originally Posted by Jeff_HWhat kind of gain do the Matchless amps have? Is it Marshallesque, Mesaesque or other? High gain, medium gain, low gain? I know the cleans are magnificant, but know nothing about the OD.

mostly low-medium gain from who i've seen using them so far. oasis and the stereophonics use them for clean and breakup sounds, currently. from what i've heard they are similar in 'spirit' to orange amps. single channel, but boutique made and nice brit-pop tones...

and one of the guitarists from thursday (surprised?) uses a DC30 for his clean tones, with an uberchall for hi-gain. the other uses a vox AC30 with an uberschall.. very nice contrasts..


Originally Posted by RidAn odd sound, full without being all that fat nor thin, it is actually not for all.
Some of them hate every pedal made on earth, others have their own drive going on, kick them with a little compressor or a cleanboost and they take off.
Now that I have tried quite a few of them I can say that it is not my cup of amps they make, not bad by any means, but they miss that rawness and something that I cannot put my finger on to me, I put them in the same category as PRS and Fulltone, very nice and pretty and...well it is an aqquired taste and I don't have it
One of my buddies have a Phoenix head, that is the amp from Matchless I like best, but it is still not the same as an Marshall or Hiwatt, or a few other things that I have tried that costs a great deal less, dunno it just never took off for me I guess.

I completely agree. It is a sound that has never inspired me personally. It bny no means sucks but it just just not feel like a rock amp to me. More finesse to my ears.

its essentially a one-trick pony when you compare it to a DSL or a modelling amp, but the one trick is totally awesome if its what you're looking for..

tom

If you've ever heard any of quot;The Hellecastersquot; music you'll hear the great tone of Matchless. I think all three of the members, John Jorgense, Will Ray and Jerry Donahue used Matchless. CoachC