VB800 Guitar Amp from Matrix

PermanentWaves

Anyone got one of these?

Loud enough for gigging?

I'm planning to upscale from my Blackstar HT5 combo and wanted something giggable but also light weight. I'm getting on and even the Blackstar is getting heavy to keep lugging in and out of the car.

Cheers
Mike

Jalapeno

400+W I should bloody think so !!!!!

thomasross20

I was going to get one instead of the Blackstar TVI ID260 I got but there weren't enough reviews. I'm still tempted..!

paulmapp8306

Same power amp as is in the Matrix rack power amps - I gig my AFX using the Matrix amp and its blinkin loud.  I have it next to my 50W Fender Machete, which (if the Matrix is pushed - not necessarily good for the speakers) sounds positively quiet by comparrison.

digitalscream

Yes, they're definitely loud enough - and they sound great with the Matrix lightweight 2x12" cabs.

These things strike me as a brilliant pedal platform. I considered one as a backup rig with a Bogner Red, but that seemed to be an awfully expensive solution to something that I would hope I'd never have to use.

simonbeckwith

@photek has one

PermanentWaves

Thanks everyone. I assumed it would be loud enough but I listened to the review on Andertons and one of the guys there had been using it as a gig amp. He made a throw away comment about having to mic it up and that made me question whether these have the required volume.

Here's the comment from the video:

PermanentWaves

Just looking more at this amp, I notice it only has one channel.

I tend to switch between clean and dirty channels on my Blackstar during songs. For example, on some songs I have a very clean songs with a touch of delay and then for the solo I will kick i the dirty channel.

I'm guessing with this Matrix amp that my solution would be to set the amp up with a good clean sound and then use a high gain pedal to get that driven sound as though I'd switched channels. Effectively use the pedal as though I've reached over and turned the gain up on the amp.

Does that make sense or am I missing something?

paulmapp8306

Or set the amp for a gain sound,, and back off the guitar volume for cleans.

EricTheWeary

having played through the equivalent power amp there would be no shortage of volume for an un mic'd pub gig.
Apparently if you keep the gain low they will work as a fairly blank canvas.
I wonder how tough that little amp is - some sort of case as standard shirley? And when is a different flavour coming out ? A more Fender voiced one please, we don't all want to sound like bloody Slash.

Jalapeno

Are the other quotes from Lee
"loud beyond all meaning"
"capable of phenomenal sound pressure levels" 
"2 or 3 times in here not really realised how loud, it's insanely loud"
not equally relevant ?

The only caveat I picked up from Lee was that a 1x12 cab would constrain it a bit, which would be true for any amp via any 1x12. And  Alan's comment about mic'ing up seemed aimed at 1x12 monitoring next to a drummer, when he played further away from the drummer he said it wasn't an issue - he also said it was a "gigging weapon".

Only thing I'd like to know would be if you could stick and A/B switch in front of the Hi-Gain/Lo-Gain inputs ?

thomasross20

Man, I'd love to try one with the 2x12 cab (even that's lightweight!). Just very expensive compared to my Blackstar - but super light. And if loud enough and sounds ok...............

Jalapeno

Through a 2x12 (or even better two 2x12s) would be a monster sound.

p90fool

Jalapeno said:

Are the other quotes from Lee
"loud beyond all meaning"
"capable of phenomenal sound pressure levels" 
"2 or 3 times in here not really realised how loud, it's insanely loud"
not equally relevant ?

No, frankly.

It's funny how the salesman was implying that it was like holding World War II in a phone box, but the gigging guitarist says er, well no actually, he pretty well ran out of headroom.

I've no doubt whatsoever that the amp is capable of delivering plenty of volume with a couple of decent sized cabs, but the promise of a super-lightweight 1x12 rig with more than adequate power still seems as out of reach as it ever was.

EricTheWeary

When I tried an Axe FX into a Matrix amp into a Matrix cab I simply didn't realise how loud I was. In part it's that you don't get the usual indicators of loud - things starting to rattle, sound becoming harsh. It just did the same thing but louder.

p90fool

I never got that far, I bought two Matrix power amps in 2006 and they both died within a month.

I had no idea they were just a few miles away from me, shame, I could've thrown them straight in their skip.

photek

I returned mine in the end. I really wanted it to work as at home it sounded fantastic. In the mix, not so much. PM me if you want details chap.

thomasross20

Please tell us more here @photek! I was seriously looking to get one instead of my Blackstar TVP not long back but decided against the Matrix as it was too new too soon.

paulmapp8306

p90fool;524572" said:

I never got that far, I bought two Matrix power amps in 2006 and they both died within a month.



I had no idea they were just a few miles away from me, shame, I could've thrown them straight in their skip.

Matrix circa 2006 is not the same beast. I got involved in early 2011, and they had not long restarted as a company, and releasd the first range of pa gear since.

p90fool

Ah, fair enough. I've often wondered why they have such a good reputation amongst guitar players - I only bought them because they were cheap, and they turned out to be cheap rubbish.

Glad someone has turned the company around since.

thomasross20

So in conclusion.... the VB800 isn't much cop? (Why?)