New Matamp amplifier - REAL competition for the Orange TT

[Mike]

You're right, I am opinionated. Sometimes I guess I let it go too far.
It never comes from a negative place, it's just stuff I'm passionate about innt.

[jcyphe]

You're right, I am opinionated. Sometimes I guess I let it go too far.
It never comes from a negative place, it's just stuff I'm passionate about innt.

I appreciate you Mike. I really do, so I'm sorry broseph.

I'm opinionated as well. I'm glad you guys love your Orange TT's. Just cause you guys own em don't mean their off limits to my personal opinion. Now I would never criticize anybody for buying it, or say it was shitty. It seems like a a really affordable tube amp that fills a void in the market for some people. You know me, I never been the type to diss people's gear, I don't believe in that. If you're having fun with it, to me that's all that matters.

[Mike]

We're gravy dude, no worries. I do think I need to reign it in a little. It was a heads-up.

I do think all this low wattage amp stuff is a great trend. I played a Valve Jnr and really loved that (it's a modder's dream that thing - websites all over the shop helping people get wet in the tube amp world, which is really cool). The TT I do think is overpriced because of the Orange name, and it's not an Orange sounding amplifier, it sounds like an AC15 with more gain, which is great for what I'm after but not for everyone. The Valve Jnr is more of a throaty barky overdrive when yuo push the volume up, the main advantage the TT has over it is the Seperate Gain and knob and Master Volume knob, you can reign it back for home playing or nighttime noodling. However I've invested too much in it (selling my Jazzmaster) to entertain the idea of opening it up to fuck with it.

[Doog]

Also the whole "I'm a Musician" save that. Everybody is here cause they like guitars and playing them. I seen this from you and Doog lately, dissing people about their Guitars or for buying amps. Nobody here is eating of a Platinum Plate from their music, so you can save the condescending tude.

I can't really remember doing that, so maybe I come off more high and mighty than I really intend to. Like Mike, I'm passionate about guitar and music. No hate intended.

[Mike]

Speaking of Peavey I wanna try one of these, like lots:




100 Watts, single channel head - with a Class A->Class AB blend knob. Supposedly JCM800 ish in it's design and simplicity. And very cheap, £349 in the UK.

[Lanark]

I dunno. Some of it's definitely a personal thing dating to my first guitar and amp, but I've just got a thing against Peavey. A perhaps unwarranted but nonetheless palpable disdain for the brand. (Boss too, but that's another story...)

If you're willing to drop that kind of cash, I'd be more inclined to look into something like a vintage Traynor. Those were based around the Marshall circuit, were hand wired point to point, built like tanks and have a great potential for collector value further down the line. (But I'm also much more of a vintage gear nut than most. I like old crap.) I've got a mid-70's YGL-Mark III 100W combo and really love it. And I picked that up for about $300 maybe five or six years ago.

(I was just looking at the first Weezer disc the other day and realized that in the picture next to the Orange stack that it was a Traynor Y-BA sitting on the Fender Cab.)


And as far as low wattage amps go, the new incarnation of Traynor does make some really nice and versatile combos. There's a 2x10 40W one at our practice space that I've used for practice a few times that I can recomend without reservation. Gets good and loud has a great crunch and super clean tones as well and surprisinly full sounding for its size. It's a great amp. The also make a 20W 1x12 that I can imagine does just as well.
I've also putzed around with a new Kustom small watt at the local guitar shop and thought that good value for the money (plus a blue tuck and roll.)
But then I also don't know what availability is going to be like in the UK.


But mostly I'm just amazed that people actually bring back up amps to gigs. I'm constantly trying to figure out how to drag even less stuff out on a Thursday night .

[Mike]

And as far as low wattage amps go, the new incarnation of Traynor does make some really nice and versatile combos. There's a 2x10 40W one at our practice space that I've used for practice a few times that I can recomend without reservation. Gets good and loud has a great crunch and super clean tones as well and surprisinly full sounding for its size. It's a great amp. The also make a 20W 1x12 that I can imagine does just as well.
I've also putzed around with a new Kustom small watt at the local guitar shop and thought that good value for the money (plus a blue tuck and roll.)
But then I also don't know what availability is going to be like in the UK.

With all due respect, 40W and 20W ain't low wattages, their still gonna blow your face off and/or get you evicted from your apartment if you take the mickey

But mostly I'm just amazed that people actually bring back up amps to gigs. I'm constantly trying to figure out how to drag even less stuff out on a Thursday night .

The TT has a carry bag and just goes over my shoulder when I'm carrying in my pedalboard and guitar in it's case. I need three trips anyway (Cab, Head and Guitar/Board/Backup) so it's not making my life any more difficult and I sure do feel a whole lot better knowing I don't have to play through some dodgy Line6 amp if I blow a tube or fuse.

[dots]

that's one of the best points made about them. the TT (though heavy) is a very portable and capable amp head backup. no, it isn't perfect, but the only perfect replacement for my amp would be another one just like it; sorry, i don't another 2g's to drop on a head.

as for the whole style vs. substance debate, looks are definitely important. else, why would we want somebody to "poast pics" when they get a new piece of gear. that does, however, take a backseat to the sounds. i've got a pedal that sounds great but looks like a cheap piece of shit, and the fact that the white on my duncan pickup doesn't match the aged white of the other pup on my jag kinda bugs me. . . not enough to dunk a duncan in shoe polish or coffee, though.

so, yeah. sound is primary, but looks are still important.

/threadjack

as for this matamp, i know very little about the company, but god damn. . . i thought the TT was expensive!

[euan]

Matamp was a company founded buy some Greek dude call Mat Mathis in the 50s. The guy designed his own amps and then was asked by Cliff Cooper if he'd make some for his London studio Orange branded as Orange amps.

[Lanark]

With all due respect, 40W and 20W ain't low wattages, their still gonna blow your face off and/or get you evicted from your apartment if you take the mickey ...


The TT has a carry bag and just goes over my shoulder when I'm carrying in my pedalboard and guitar in it's case. I need three trips anyway (Cab, Head and Guitar/Board/Backup) so it's not making my life any more difficult and I sure do feel a whole lot better knowing I don't have to play through some dodgy Line6 amp if I blow a tube or fuse.

I think bands round these parts must just play louder than where you are...

I mentioned the 40W Traynor mostly because it's one I've actually used but you don't have to crank it all the way to get a decent sound out of it. It certainly seems to be a fair versatile middle ground between apartment life and a live situation. At least as far as I'd be able to get away with. (But our drummer is a bit of a pounder.) I'd still have to find a sweet spot directly in front of the speakers to hear what I was doing.
The 20W one wouldn't be all that much louder than the TT's 15W and wouldn't require the cab. Capable of annoying the neighbors, but entirely usable at a level you might watch a movie at.

I can see your point about having the TT along. It's like insurance and doesn't take much. I'm just lazy and trust that everything will be all right. (I use combos anyway.) But as far back as I can remember I've only had two amp failures in regular gigging in the last eight or nine years. Most nights I don't even bring a second guitar.

Then we've also just had a few bad experiences with bands with way too much equipment. One night the middle band of three (ODin Phoenix who now calls themselves Ugly Beauty on Myspace. Have a listen they're awful) took an hour and ten minutes to set up about 50 Grand worth of equipment on stage to play to a dozen people. on a Wednesday night.
The guy had a rack set up the size of a refrigerator and was running two Mesa Dual Rectifiers and on and on. We almost didn't get to play that night.

[Chico Malo]

The TT has a carry bag and just goes over my shoulder when I'm carrying in my pedalboard and guitar in it's case. I need three trips anyway (Cab, Head and Guitar/Board/Backup) so it's not making my life any more difficult and I sure do feel a whole lot better knowing I don't have to play through some dodgy Line6 amp if I blow a tube or fuse.

This is the same concept I use when playing out, although it being bass. I use a rack mounted Ampeg SVT 4PRO head which weighs a ton. But I always bring my Markbass head as a back up, which pumps out 500 watts rms @ 4 ohms and only weighs a tad over 6 lbs.

http://www.markbass.it/products.php?lin ... =1&vedi=69

[ekwatts]

Speaking of Peavey I wanna try one of these, like lots:



100 Watts, single channel head - with a Class A->Class AB blend knob. Supposedly JCM800 ish in it's design and simplicity. And very cheap, £349 in the UK.

Beauty. It's like an upgraded, English-flavoured Classic. It's shockingly cheap for that description, though. I played on one in Dawsons and then one in Sound Control. Both disappeared within several days of coming in, so somebody obviously liked the sound of them. They really do sound pretty classy, only thing to watch is build quality, I expect, although the ones I tried were pretty immaculate which was surprising for SC.

[Mike]

I think bands round these parts must just play louder than where you are...

See in my opinion loud /= good necessarily. We've played out with lots of bands that are horrendously loud, cranking their stacks after soundcheck etc. They're so loud it's painful without plugs. In my opinion that's lame - noone inthe audience is going to enjoy that.

And 20W tube watts full tilt (like the 15W TT) is not quiet. It will cause hearing damage if sustained for a length of time. Tinitus? No thanks!

You're right to recommend Traynors though, while I haven't played one I hear norhing but good - they're hard to find here though.

Then we've also just had a few bad experiences with bands with way too much equipment. One night the middle band of three (ODin Phoenix who now calls themselves Ugly Beauty on Myspace. Have a listen they're awful) took an hour and ten minutes to set up about 50 Grand worth of equipment on stage to play to a dozen people. on a Wednesday night.
The guy had a rack set up the size of a refrigerator and was running two Mesa Dual Rectifiers and on and on. We almost didn't get to play that night.

Aren't they called the Young Guns? They supported us once. Same guys - douches the lot of them, on daddy's coin no doubt.

[Mike]

Beauty. It's like an upgraded, English-flavoured Classic. It's shockingly cheap for that description, though. I played on one in Dawsons and then one in Sound Control. Both disappeared within several days of coming in, so somebody obviously liked the sound of them. They really do sound pretty classy, only thing to watch is build quality, I expect, although the ones I tried were pretty immaculate which was surprising for SC.

Nice. I hate soundcontrol, their customer service is wack beyond belief. I think we've finally found our equivalent to Guitar Centre. Thousands of drone employees who don't have a clue what they're on about.

I want to play one, one of my friends is looking for a cheap single channel amplifier.

[euan]

Nice. I hate soundcontrol, their customer service is wack beyond belief. I think we've finally found our equivalent to Guitar Centre. Thousands of drone employees who don't have a clue what they're on about.

Aye in most places it is. Except the guitar shop they took over near me. They kept the same staff so there is still some pretty good service, and the tech they have is one of the best in Glasgow. There is at least one musician in there that is in a band I like, so I'm happy to support them through commission as well.

But aye, Soundcontrol is pish. So are most guitar shops I've come across though where my only choice of gear to play is usually Stagg.

[Lanark]

See in my opinion loud /= good necessarily. We've played out with lots of bands that are horrendously loud, cranking their stacks after soundcheck etc. They're so loud it's painful without plugs. In my opinion that's lame - noone inthe audience is going to enjoy that.

It just seems to me that perhaps the accustomed comfort threshold for volume may be a bit higher overall in the Twin Cities. We can play loud, but it's still rather moderate by local standards. Nobody's ever complained and my 100W seldom gets up past 4 1/2 or so but is plenty loud and I still get feedback to play with.
I just use earplugs as a matter of course. I've already got a bit of tinnitus from all kinds of loud punk rock shows in my youth when I didn't wear them. (I think I can pinpoint the beginnings to a Misfits show in like '82) So I do what I can to keep it from getting worse. But people coming to see us don't seem to have a problem.
I suppose volume is kind of like obscenity with local community standards as to what constitutes too much...

[Mike]

I use earplugs when watching bands but never onstage. I sing harmonies and need to hear wtf is going on.

[Doog]

I use earplugs when watching bands but never onstage. I sing harmonies and need to hear wtf is going on.

Dittoz, although Friday's gig left me with some whistlin'- that tiny room venue is a killer.. plugs next time I'm there, for sure..

[Mike]

Whistlin' is bad. That's how John started out and now he's an earplugs 100% rehearsal and gigs (watching and playing) dude. The slightest loud noises without plugs sets him off.

He has specials ones that supposedly just attenuate and don't muffle but I've tried them and I can't sing with them in.

[Lanark]

I've gotten where I can keep track even with the plugs on stage. Cheryl takes the harmony part and she's classically trained. Her parts are just there even if sometimes I'm not. And I can usually get enough of her out of the monitors and then with the earplugs hear myself in my head. You adapt and this works for us.
(And seriously standing next to her sometimes when she's singing with the full brunt of her opera training, I'm glad I've got earplugs in. Holy crap, but she can push air.)