Matchless Independance

ash96

I've recorded with one of these at a studio a few times and I always feel theyre phenomenal amps. Best guitar tone I've ever had has been recording with these (their outboard gear helps too). 

I was thinking of buying one, however, the guys in the studio said that theirs is relatively unreliable and doesnt 'travel well' which isnt ideal for gigging (predominantly when I'll be using it). 

Anyone have any opinions on matchless amps (independence in particular) and how reliable they are? Everything I've read online say theyre built like tanks as its all point to point hand wired etc.

slacker

I cannot comment on the Independence but Matchless amps were designed to be reliable. I have a Lightning and a early Bad Cat with Matchless components. I'm not going to tempt fate by stating that they were built in the early noughties and never gone wrong. 

Moe_Zambeek

My DC30s were solid. no reliability issues. This is the first time i've heard about reliability issues with regard to Matchless. If you drop one, the floor breaks, not the amp.

ICBM

They're extremely well-made, but hard on valves because they run them so hot. If they get banged about - especially when still warm, straight after a gig - that could increase the rate of failure. I've never seen a single dead one for any other reason and don't really expect to...

IvisonGuitars

Moe_Zambeek said:

My DC30s were solid. no reliability issues. This is the first time i've heard about reliability issues with regard to Matchless. If you drop one, the floor breaks, not the amp.

This. I’ve had 5 Matchless amps and 3 BadCats and never had a problem with any. Part of the appeal to me is the bomb prof construction.

Cue a **Anyone had a BadCat blow up??** post in a fortnight....

andy1839

I've got an Independence, had it for a few years now.

Great, great amp.
I had it for sale for a bit but couldn't part with it.

Fantastic clean channel and the drive channels really cut through live.
It takes pedals very well indeed.
It was a head but I bought a matchless 112 combo shell with speaker and swapped it into that.
The only thing that failed has been the power valves, to be fair I was running it through an attenuator a lot, and the reverb tank.

It certainly benefits from nice valves, you can tell the difference more in that amp than any other I have.

Here's the insides 
http://i63.tinypic.com/2s15aba.jpg

SidNewton

I've owned 3, HC30, DC30 and King Cobra head. Didn't have a single issue with any of them. Superb amps, though the DC30 should come with a free forklift.

StuartMac290

Yeah, that's a fairly bizarre statement to be honest - Matchless amps are renowned for their reliability!

Chester

Had an Indy for 7 years, without issue. As ICBM says, Matchless run hot, and valve life can be shortened as a result. But otherwise the Indy is absolutely bombproof. Get one if you can

pmg

I own a matchless Lightning, Badcat black cat and Badcat classic deluxe.  I have gigged all and used in the studio, no issue whatsoever other than standard tube replacement.  They’re well known for being built like tanks

IvisonGuitars

pmg said:

I own a matchless Lightning, Badcat black cat and Badcat classic deluxe.  I have gigged all and used in the studio, no issue whatsoever other than standard tube replacement.  They’re well known for being built like tanks

A 1x12 Matchless Lightning, DC30 or BadCat Black Cat (early 2000's) is next on my list as soon as I can move my Lazy J20.

pmg

@miserneil I may be able to help there.  Then again, maybe not!

IvisonGuitars

pmg said:

@miserneil I may be able to help there.  Then again, maybe not!

Oooh, criptic!

StuartMac290

miserneil said:

pmg said:

I own a matchless Lightning, Badcat black cat and Badcat classic deluxe.  I have gigged all and used in the studio, no issue whatsoever other than standard tube replacement.  They’re well known for being built like tanks

A 1x12 Matchless Lightning, DC30 or BadCat Black Cat (early 2000's) is next on my list as soon as I can move my Lazy J20.

I know I've said this ad nauseum, but early Black Cat 30s are the greatest bargain in the used market, IMHO. I have an early head and it's the best amp I've ever owned. I got the matching 2x12 cab in great nick with original speakers for £120 off Gumtree.

ash96

Sorry for the randomness of the question, basically i've only ever seen one in person, and that was as a studio i've recorded in a few times and they basically said it 'doesnt travel well' etc. so it sounds like what you've all been saying about the valves running hot etc. I suppose my best bet is to have a couple of spare valves incase anything happens. I've always got a spare amp at most gigs anyways.

Second question. Boy this thing is loud! I'm not really sure how Impedances etc work, would I get the same volume using a 16ohm cab as a 4 ohm cab as long as the impedances are matched? I know I heard something about using a different can work in you getting less output (I can remember if it was going into a lower ohm or higher ohm cab) but I know if you do it the wrong way it kind of breaks everything.

As the Independence has 4, 8 and 16 ohms on the back I was wondering if say using a 16 ohm cab would get me less overall output than a 4 ohm for example?!

Apologies if this is a stupid question, I have literally no idea about these kinds of things, just going of of something I'm probably remembering wrong from reading somewhere!

ICBM

ash96 said:

Boy this thing is loud!

Yes, they're incredibly loud for their rated power. I remember testing a Matchless Phoenix 35W 2x12" next to a 250W (admittedly solid-state, but still... that's a lot of power) Carlsbro head and 4x12", and the Matchless wasn't just louder, it was in a different league.

Later I compared a Matchless Lightning 15W combo to a Marshall TSL60, which is actually a valve amp (although the weakest '60W' one I've ever heard) and again the Matchless was louder, although not by as much. But that's still a four-fold power difference...

ash96 said:

would I get the same volume using a 16ohm cab as a 4 ohm cab as long as the impedances are matched?

Yes.

ash96 said:

I know I heard something about using a different can work in you getting less output (I can remember if it was going into a lower ohm or higher ohm cab) but I know if you do it the wrong way it kind of breaks everything.

As the Independence has 4, 8 and 16 ohms on the back I was wondering if say using a 16 ohm cab would get me less overall output than a 4 ohm for example?!

No, this is not a good idea. Firstly if you mismatch too far - more than up or down by one 'step' really - there's a risk of damaging the amp (or with a Matchless, more likely just the valves), and secondly it won't even affect the volume that much.

With a solid-state amp, it can be done - it's safe as long as the cab impedance is higher than the amp, and reasonably effective.

Chester

ash96 said:

Sorry for the randomness of the question, basically i've only ever seen one in person, and that was as a studio i've recorded in a few times and they basically said it 'doesnt travel well' etc. so it sounds like what you've all been saying about the valves running hot etc. I suppose my best bet is to have a couple of spare valves incase anything happens. I've always got a spare amp at most gigs anyways.

Second question. Boy this thing is loud! I'm not really sure how Impedances etc work, would I get the same volume using a 16ohm cab as a 4 ohm cab as long as the impedances are matched? I know I heard something about using a different can work in you getting less output (I can remember if it was going into a lower ohm or higher ohm cab) but I know if you do it the wrong way it kind of breaks everything.

As the Independence has 4, 8 and 16 ohms on the back I was wondering if say using a 16 ohm cab would get me less overall output than a 4 ohm for example?!

Apologies if this is a stupid question, I have literally no idea about these kinds of things, just going of of something I'm probably remembering wrong from reading somewhere!

I don't think you need to mess with this stuff, as the Indy is very versatile. By that I mean it has a great master pot that can be left wide open, or run to tame output if you set the channel volumes / gains higher. I used mine in the studio extensively, and got excellent results at sensible volumes. It is also brilliant responding to changes in guitar volume, which I ride a LOT for different textures .. it really is very usable both loud and quiet(er)

Whilst matchless don't recommend attenuators, I sometimes used mine with a Hotplate without issue. And I found following their JJ valve recommendation to be the best option for me through my rigs, so didn't feel the need to invest in overpriced NOS valves

Seriously, a great amp 

pmg

@ash96  just use the master volume.  They’re better wide open but still fine with the master volume in play.  Be prepared to hear any mistake you make too 

ash96

pmg said:

@ash96  just use the master volume.  They’re better wide open but still fine with the master volume in play.  Be prepared to hear any mistake you make too 

Tell me about it! haha.

yeah no worries, i dont really get 'electrical' stuff, so wasnt sure if i'd get a higher output from a particular ohmage or what. Tbh, I'll probably give it a go through my small victory 1x12 to see if that is a more manageable haha.

Awesome sounding amp though! So glad I ended up with it.

57Deluxe

actually, matchless impedance = BOOM!

ICBM

57Deluxe said:

actually, matchless impedance = BOOM!

lol

I see what you did there .

Clever, but no...

It's usually much less critical than popular wisdom will have you believe. There are a few exceptions, but generally any valve amp will take a half to double impedance mismatch with no trouble at all, and often 4:1 is OK. It's also always OK if the amp isn't cranked.

But it's still not a good idea to use a severe mismatch (eg amp at 4 ohms, 16-ohm cab) to try to reduce the volume of an overdriven amp, that *can* cause damage.

Sorry to be dull, too good an opportunity to miss .