Matchless Black Cat...

[pikingrin]

Holy shit this a m p sounded sweeeeeeeeet!!! I payed the lite ash strat I bought through it today at the local GC (cringe), and it was luscious. Through a 1 x 12" cab it sounded better than pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving day. (Anybody willing to spot me $3300.00 to pick it up?) I ended up getting a Fe nder Blues Junior which will work for now.

I guess the reason I started this thread, after you have read the above statement, is this... Is an a m p like that REALLY worth the money you would sp end on it??? I mean, hell yeah, it sounded effing awesome, but it seems that you could make something that would sound as good, if not better, for less. Hmm...

 

[Outlaws]

Holy shit this a m p sounded sweeeeeeeeet!!! I payed the lite ash strat I bought through it today at the local GC (cringe), and it was luscious. Through a 1 x 12" cab it sounded better than pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving day. (Anybody willing to spot me $3300.00 to pick it up?) I ended up getting a Fe nder Blues Junior which will work for now.

I guess the reason I started this thread, after you have read the above statement, is this... Is an a m p like that REALLY worth the money you would sp end on it??? I mean, hell yeah, it sounded effing awesome, but it seems that you could make something that would sound as good, if not better, for less. Hmm...

Gibson Goldtone is close. If you want better you have to pay.

 

[pikingrin]

Gibson Goldtone is close. If you want better you have to pay.

Okay, yeah, I can totally agree with that statement... BUT, it seems as though once you get into that price range, you can buy the parts to make the same thing cheaper than you could buy it. I mean, if I could afford to buy a matchless or a gibson amp I would, but unfortunately I can't unless I saved up for a few years. On the other hand, buying the parts that comprise these amps would only take me about half the time to round up for half the price... (Or so it seems.)

 

[pikingrin]

Okay, I am wrong about the manufacturer of the amp. OOPS! It was ran through a matchless 1x12 cabinet but it was not a matchless amp. It is apparently, after a quick google (to find the "MSRP"), made by Bad Cat. My mistake. Regardless, this thing sounded sweet...

 

[mikemorgan]

The problem with high end boutique amps is that you really don't think they're worth the money until some guy shows up to one of your jam sessions with a Top Hat, Matchless, Carr, Dumble whatever and make you want to kick your own speakers in because they never sounded so crappy before.

If you can build one for yourself, make two and give one to Joe Perry. Then call me, we're gonna need more money.

 

[pohaku]

Bad Cat is made by one of the original owners of Matchless. Not surprisingly, they sound pretty similar.

 

[Outlaws]

Okay, yeah, I can totally agree with that statement... BUT, it seems as though once you get into that price range, you can buy the parts to make the same thing cheaper than you could buy it. I mean, if I could afford to buy a matchless or a gibson amp I would, but unfortunately I can't unless I saved up for a few years. On the other hand, buying the parts that comprise these amps would only take me about half the time to round up for half the price... (Or so it seems.)

Good luck with that. It sounds easier than it is. You can screw it up even if you follow all the instructions to a T. Then when you try to trouble shoot why its not working, and everything is soldered just like it should be, you have no clue why it won't work and you probably never will. There is a lot more to making an amp than buying parts and assembling.

Look at it this way, everything in life costs more when it isn't mass produced. Furniture, automobiles, clothing, alcohol, etc. You gotta pay to play.

 

[pohaku]

Actually, the amps that I'm currently intrigued by are the Epiphone Valve Junior Head (with Mods) ($99 plus mods) and the new Orange Tiny Terror ($500). Still need a cab (or cabs) with them, but they look like you can get serious tone out of them for relatively little $$$. Now I just have to convince my wife that "that amp" has actually been sitting there in the corner for a year or two and she just hasn't noticed it before. Both of these use EL-84 valves so they will generally have that "Vox" type sound that you might have gotten from the Bad Cat or Matchless (depending on the model). If you are doing small venues, recording or micing the amp to the PA anyway, these could be a great deal with the right cab.

 

[pikingrin]

Look at it this way, everything in life costs more when it isn't mass produced. Furniture, automobiles, clothing, alcohol, etc. You gotta pay to play.

Yeah, I know. I'm just venting because I'm broke...