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MatrixClaw « Dream Amp »
Published on 03/20/11 at 13:423 completely independent channels with:
- Gain, treble, mid, bass, volume per channel
- (+/-) Gain switch on Channel 2
- Switchable mid cut with adjustable volume
Tubes:
- (6) 12AX7s in the preamp
- (6) Octal power tubes of any configuration, as long as they're in sets (2 EL-34s, 2 6L6s, 2 6550s, etc) @ 180w
Master Section:
- (2) Volume controls
- Presence
- Deep
- FX – return MX
4, 8, & 16 Ohm speaker outs
FX Loops:
- 1 parallel
- 1 insert loops
- 1 switchable insert loop
MIDI in & thru with phantom - power
Bias Test Points (on the model I have)
UTILIZATION
This thing has TONS of options, and can be a bit daunting at first, but honestly, I don't think there's any way you could get a bad tone out of this amp. Simply set all the knobs to 12 o'clock (except the master volumes, unless you want your head to explode), and you have an instantly gratifying tone. Adjusting from there, it only gets better!
The switches on the front are among the nicest I've seen. Everything on this amp screams quality. You will find absolutely no cut corners on this amp.
SOUNDS
From the first time I heard this amp 4 years ago, I knew I had to have it. Sitting in Guitar Center one night before they closed and seeing a guy walk in to pick this amp up, was a monumental day in my music career. What I heard come out of that amp was shear awesomeness. 180w of power coming out of a V30 loaded Mesa 4x12 made me giddy with excitement, until I asked the guy how much he paid for it! I've been building up to it ever since, buying, trading and selling others to see if there's anything out there that can rival its sound, and there's not a single amp I've owned or tried that can even come close.
I mainly play metal, and Channel 1 I use as my clean channel (though it can get some pretty cool lower gain tones with the volume cranked), the amp is surprisingly very versatile. This channel is simply beautiful, it's the clean tone I've been hearing in my head for years, that no high gain amp has been able to achieve. The cleans are bright, chimey and full of body and life. I tend to scoop my mids here, because I don't like warm clean tones, because they always sound sterile and lifeless to me. The cleans on this amp are second to only one amp I've ever played... an original 1965 Fender Super Reverb.
Channel 2 is perhaps my favorite channel of the 3. It's super tight, and has a huge grind to it that's perfect for metal riffing. While it doesn't have as "big" of a sound as the 3rd channel, it's more defined and aggressive for rhythms. The + and - setting on the amp allow for a lot of versatility, the - setting being used for more mid gain settings and the + for all out destruction. Very articulate gain structure and with the mid cut engaged, can get a HUGE sound.
Channel 3 is what I usually stick with for leads, or rhythms that require a little more oomph. It's thick and saturated with a TON of gain. It's great for aggressive leads on the bridge pickups (I can't stand the smoothness of most neck pickups I've had), and with the mid cut engaged, can really get a brutal rhythm tone. I tend to like a more searing tone, so I keep the Presence high on the amp, and the Deep around noon.
The MIDI features of the amp are great, and allow me to control my TC Electronics G-Major, and Diezel at the same time with my Behringer FCB1010, which is great for setting up a ton of awesome patches to switch through.
OVERALL OPINION
Right now, I'm running this through an Emperor 4x12 with Celestion G12K-100s and Vintage 30s in an X pattern and it sounds MASSIVE! Before, i was using a Mesa OS 4x12 with Vintage 30s, and while it sounded great, the GK100s really push this amp over the top with awesome tone.
Honestly, I probably wouldn't own this amp if it hadn't been for a great trade deal I got, which allowed me to sell the amp I had before it, and pick up the Herbert for only slightly more than what I got from selling the previous amp (Soldano SLO). While this amp does sound AMAZING, I'm not sure I would pay the amount of money that I did, had I not gotten the trade deal I got before buying it, while the amp sounds great, I would never pay the new price of $4600 for it.
Don't get me wrong, I would certainly recommend this amp to anyone who has the cash to spend, because in all honesty, it is the best sounding amp I've ever heard, no competition... but in my experiences, after about the $1500 mark new, anything higher priced is really not a huge, drastic, change in sound quality. While this amp certainly sounds better than my 5150, I don't think it sounds $2200 better :P
If I had to base just off of sound quality, I would give this amp a 10 out of 10 without question. Based on sound to price, probably more like a 7 out of 10, just because the price of these amps are so steep.
- Gain, treble, mid, bass, volume per channel
- (+/-) Gain switch on Channel 2
- Switchable mid cut with adjustable volume
Tubes:
- (6) 12AX7s in the preamp
- (6) Octal power tubes of any configuration, as long as they're in sets (2 EL-34s, 2 6L6s, 2 6550s, etc) @ 180w
Master Section:
- (2) Volume controls
- Presence
- Deep
- FX – return MX
4, 8, & 16 Ohm speaker outs
FX Loops:
- 1 parallel
- 1 insert loops
- 1 switchable insert loop
MIDI in & thru with phantom - power
Bias Test Points (on the model I have)
UTILIZATION
This thing has TONS of options, and can be a bit daunting at first, but honestly, I don't think there's any way you could get a bad tone out of this amp. Simply set all the knobs to 12 o'clock (except the master volumes, unless you want your head to explode), and you have an instantly gratifying tone. Adjusting from there, it only gets better!
The switches on the front are among the nicest I've seen. Everything on this amp screams quality. You will find absolutely no cut corners on this amp.
SOUNDS
From the first time I heard this amp 4 years ago, I knew I had to have it. Sitting in Guitar Center one night before they closed and seeing a guy walk in to pick this amp up, was a monumental day in my music career. What I heard come out of that amp was shear awesomeness. 180w of power coming out of a V30 loaded Mesa 4x12 made me giddy with excitement, until I asked the guy how much he paid for it! I've been building up to it ever since, buying, trading and selling others to see if there's anything out there that can rival its sound, and there's not a single amp I've owned or tried that can even come close.
I mainly play metal, and Channel 1 I use as my clean channel (though it can get some pretty cool lower gain tones with the volume cranked), the amp is surprisingly very versatile. This channel is simply beautiful, it's the clean tone I've been hearing in my head for years, that no high gain amp has been able to achieve. The cleans are bright, chimey and full of body and life. I tend to scoop my mids here, because I don't like warm clean tones, because they always sound sterile and lifeless to me. The cleans on this amp are second to only one amp I've ever played... an original 1965 Fender Super Reverb.
Channel 2 is perhaps my favorite channel of the 3. It's super tight, and has a huge grind to it that's perfect for metal riffing. While it doesn't have as "big" of a sound as the 3rd channel, it's more defined and aggressive for rhythms. The + and - setting on the amp allow for a lot of versatility, the - setting being used for more mid gain settings and the + for all out destruction. Very articulate gain structure and with the mid cut engaged, can get a HUGE sound.
Channel 3 is what I usually stick with for leads, or rhythms that require a little more oomph. It's thick and saturated with a TON of gain. It's great for aggressive leads on the bridge pickups (I can't stand the smoothness of most neck pickups I've had), and with the mid cut engaged, can really get a brutal rhythm tone. I tend to like a more searing tone, so I keep the Presence high on the amp, and the Deep around noon.
The MIDI features of the amp are great, and allow me to control my TC Electronics G-Major, and Diezel at the same time with my Behringer FCB1010, which is great for setting up a ton of awesome patches to switch through.
OVERALL OPINION
Right now, I'm running this through an Emperor 4x12 with Celestion G12K-100s and Vintage 30s in an X pattern and it sounds MASSIVE! Before, i was using a Mesa OS 4x12 with Vintage 30s, and while it sounded great, the GK100s really push this amp over the top with awesome tone.
Honestly, I probably wouldn't own this amp if it hadn't been for a great trade deal I got, which allowed me to sell the amp I had before it, and pick up the Herbert for only slightly more than what I got from selling the previous amp (Soldano SLO). While this amp does sound AMAZING, I'm not sure I would pay the amount of money that I did, had I not gotten the trade deal I got before buying it, while the amp sounds great, I would never pay the new price of $4600 for it.
Don't get me wrong, I would certainly recommend this amp to anyone who has the cash to spend, because in all honesty, it is the best sounding amp I've ever heard, no competition... but in my experiences, after about the $1500 mark new, anything higher priced is really not a huge, drastic, change in sound quality. While this amp certainly sounds better than my 5150, I don't think it sounds $2200 better :P
If I had to base just off of sound quality, I would give this amp a 10 out of 10 without question. Based on sound to price, probably more like a 7 out of 10, just because the price of these amps are so steep.
