Bea is great on Demos, because he has no poker face. I've seen him play brilliantly on demos where he's clearly not impressed with what he's showing.. When he started playing "Sanitarium" he seemed genuinely impressed with the tone. He makes a great face at 2:17. I think he liked it..
Well I guess to go against the grain a bit I am impressed with how warm it sounds. Doesn't appear to be sold here in the states though. I think for a lower wattage one would be fine & still have gigability!
Hey here's an idea. Since you're obviously obsessed with how loud this thing is....why don't you do a comparison with say, a Marshall jcm2000 with a full stack. Use a couple of decent SPL dB meters on a couple of different weighted scales and let us see it! The weight the jcm stack and amp and weigh the matrix with it's corresponding speaker. Then compare reail costs. Seems a no brainer to me mate. Don't you think this would be more effective in the presentation? Greg
It is much louder than a JCM 2000, however the headroom is pretty much the same, maybe the JCM would have a slight edge. I guess that's because tube/valve amps have more "natural", kinda warm sound to them.
Even though the amp modelling sounded right, I could hear the difference in tone between his guitar setup and SRV's when he played that clip. Also \m/ to Bea for playing Metallica and Pink Floyd.
400 watt solid state amp is infinatly quieter than a tube powerstage 400 W amp. If you have ever had a cheap started kit combo, like the little 15 watt ones? and compare that to an arange tiny terror at 15 watts.... point is SS amps are quieter per amp than tube
Mk Jackary, i'm aware of the illusion of tube amps being louder than solid state amps of the same wattage. Though they may seem "louder", it's just that certain harmonics generated by a tube amp when clipping (overdriving) trick the ear into thinking it's louder, up to 12db louder in fact (which is perceived as about 4 times louder than a SS amp at the same volume level). But regardless, 400 watts Solid State should be plenty to keep up with a band...My guess is that Matrix is rating this amp at Peak output power, as opposed to RMS (the standard power measurement system for guitar amps). If they're in fact using peak output power to rate the amp, then it's probably about 100-watts RMS, Solid state, which would probably sound about as loud as a 25-watt tube amp...no wonder it can't do big gigs with that small cab.
Late reply I know, it only has 400 watts at 4 ohms. That cab is 16 ohms, where it puts out 150 watts. And tube amps aren't louder at the same wattage, that's a myth. Crappier solid state amps typically have crappier speakers that achieve lower spl. Or it's because of things like this amp marketing wattage at the lowest ohm rating, which people likely won't use.
yeah me too. even for recording and small gigs the cleans sound so good. id say a good dist pedal and a 7 graphic EQ a delay and reverb pedal paired withe a 2x12 would make a dream rig
Hey Mr. Captain:) First: Love your vids!! Second: I got an "Dynacord Reference 500". Its an all tube 50w Combo and it sounds so amazing, but its like a ghost in www. Nothing to find about that machine. I played vox and marshall and a 1 channel 100watt orange from the 60´ and all those amps sounded brilliant - but the dynacord is just... you know? Pure Eargasm;) If you could make a vid + your opinion...that would be awsome!!!! Btw i know theres not much sense in introducing a 30 year old amp(for your Music store), but maybe a comparison to other new amps??? Thanx and Kisses;)
Could you make a video of it? I want to hear, if it sounds different from mine. I've got the Reference 1000, it gets the Power Tubes changed, because it still had the old sound. I hope that I will get a better sound. In the last months the sound got weaker and weaker, hope that it will be better.
Lee refers to the companies pro end products which they have produced for years the VB 800 incorporates the same design philosophy and build construction.
I want a gut shot. also, here is a working link for this amp since the one in the description doesn't work www.andertons.co.uk/guitar-dept/electric-guitar-amps/solid-state-digital-amps/solid-state-digital-heads/matrix-amplification-vb800-420w-guitar-amp-head
Clean, it's not bad and of course,there is a lot of gigging power for the weight. But over driven, I'm sorry. There is no getting around the fact that it sounds like an solid state amp. Which is to say that the upper mid range is not very organic. Rather somewhat scratchy, digital sounding, or just not that satisfying. No one in a bar would complain, but not very studio worthy IMO. Thank you for the review.
So real maple top for the rasta player vs the other chapman guitars? All these single channel amps are fine but why, oh why someone doesn't have the notion to split buffer the input as a second choice and offer a second route to the power amp selectable as an extra-blank channel? Place the preamp of your choice there and have a pure analog path with the amp on one side and whatever multi channel digital or not preamp for other clean or lead or effected sounds that you won't your main tone to compromise in order to achieve them. Diezel does it in the hagen. Stupid manufacturers can't get their heads out of their asses and read forums way too much. That said this amps sounds pretty damn good!
Hey guys I was wondering is this has any trouble with with lower registers, say C# tuning since it sounded like it was flubbering with the chunky bass when Rab was playing. Solid states don't handle lows well - can this if run through a 2x12? Thanks!
nic broughton That would make it the ultimate amp for gigs and busking if it had the capacity to run on batteries! But with that amount of power you would need some heavy duty sort of batteries... which would in turn make it heavier and less "portable". Carvin made the StageMate S400D which was one of the most powerful battery powered sound systems I've come across, but I think they may have recently stopped producing them. Too bad because they were a great product.
DamageIncM Didn't say they couldn't. I said I wouldn't want the extra weight of heavy duty batteries around. If you want to carry car batteries around you're free to do so, no one is stopping you. I'm not a busker anyway. When I perform outdoors it's with my regular gear. I use a 250 watt Fender Jazzmaster Ultralight head that weighs 7.5lbs. The matching cabinet has a 12" Jensen and weighs 17lbs. Extremely portable, versatile, and powerful. :0)
working link www.andertons.co.uk/guitar-dept/electric-guitar-amps/solid-state-digital-amps/solid-state-digital-heads/matrix-amplification-vb800-420w-guitar-amp-head
1/400 amps as a failure rate is insanely high....are you kidding???? imagine if 1/400 iPhones failed??? if 1/400 cars failed to start each morning??? that is an absurd statement. i'm sure that the guy in this video is mistaken. if they had a failure rate that high they would be our of business by now
Sorry.. Sounds cold and raspy and I'm listening through a nice 5:1 system. Even with half your store plugged into the mics at the 12, it still sounds like crap. Crate tried something like this with their Power Block 100 watt. Same problem. I bought one years back and haven't played through it more than 3 times. No soul. Some will know what I mean. Tinny.. hollow. Just my opinion. Some might like it. We'll see. Right? I love your videos watch so many I should be ashamed to admit it. But, drum roll please... When you say "some of my friends love this thing." And then your employees come in and say, "We really love this thing." It just doesn't come off as genuine since they WORK FOR YOU. What can they say? This thing sucks! I've said plenty but I had to vent that last blurb.
It sounded like a waist of time with the line6 and honestly small, obnoxious and with a blanket over the sound. Perhaps it had speaker sims on with a guitar range speaker? My old ax2 212 can sound miles better than this...
Paul from Line 6 is probably the best "demo" player I've ever heard - he has serious taste in tone and feel. Impressive!
Thank God, A Guitarist thats plays clean as well.
Really dig Pauls playing at the end, sounded sweet. Nice amp, nice price. Need 120v version :)
It has an internal switch.
Bea is great on Demos, because he has no poker face. I've seen him play brilliantly on demos where he's clearly not impressed with what he's showing.. When he started playing "Sanitarium" he seemed genuinely impressed with the tone. He makes a great face at 2:17. I think he liked it..
yes he rolled on welcome home.
and he knows it.
Seeing paul pop up instantly made me excited. He's such a tastful player ;)
1st SS, that actually sounded full clean and had a tight overdrive section!
The guy from 13.26 smashes it! Awesome playing.
Brilliant amp & cab. Hope they are available in North America (Canada).
The Variax sounded great through this thing!
Definitely follow this wee thing! wait til it drops in price or second hand, sounds great!
Well I guess to go against the grain a bit I am impressed with how warm it sounds. Doesn't appear to be sold here in the states though. I think for a lower wattage one would be fine & still have gigability!
excellent ...overdrive is just like jcm 800 ...amazing ...
This video is a Frankenstein of talent. Also Alan looks a lot like Josh Homme from certain angles. The only thing missing was the captain playing!
Allan is a great player!
Hey here's an idea. Since you're obviously obsessed with how loud this thing is....why don't you do a comparison with say, a Marshall jcm2000 with a full stack. Use a couple of decent SPL dB meters on a couple of different weighted scales and let us see it! The weight the jcm stack and amp and weigh the matrix with it's corresponding speaker.
Then compare reail costs. Seems a no brainer to me mate.
Don't you think this would be more effective in the presentation?
Greg
It is much louder than a JCM 2000, however the headroom is pretty much the same, maybe the JCM would have a slight edge. I guess that's because tube/valve amps have more "natural", kinda warm sound to them.
A/B comparison with JCM800 or Mesa is the only way to prove it's worth almost £1000, maybe?. I have a Matrix power amp, and it's amazing. Great Vid.
Even though the amp modelling sounded right, I could hear the difference in tone between his guitar setup and SRV's when he played that clip. Also \m/ to Bea for playing Metallica and Pink Floyd.
I'm assuming this thing can go straight a recording unit/DI? Would love to hear a demo of that!
I really like the sound of it :) when will it be available in Europe? And what will the price be more or less?
Volume is one thing, tone is another. The only solid state amp that has really cut it for me has been the Retro Channel amp.
Did I hear him say this 400-watt head has trouble keeping up with a drummer when clean...? Or does 400-watts mean something different to them...
he was referring to the small 1x12 cab & not the amp
400 watt solid state amp is infinatly quieter than a tube powerstage 400 W amp. If you have ever had a cheap started kit combo, like the little 15 watt ones? and compare that to an arange tiny terror at 15 watts.... point is SS amps are quieter per amp than tube
Mk Jackary, i'm aware of the illusion of tube amps being louder than solid state amps of the same wattage. Though they may seem "louder", it's just that certain harmonics generated by a tube amp when clipping (overdriving) trick the ear into thinking it's louder, up to 12db louder in fact (which is perceived as about 4 times louder than a SS amp at the same volume level).
But regardless, 400 watts Solid State should be plenty to keep up with a band...My guess is that Matrix is rating this amp at Peak output power, as opposed to RMS (the standard power measurement system for guitar amps).
If they're in fact using peak output power to rate the amp, then it's probably about 100-watts RMS, Solid state, which would probably sound about as loud as a 25-watt tube amp...no wonder it can't do big gigs with that small cab.
***** Yeah that is what i heard too, i mean come on, a 1x12 would be a stretch if you are playing with a heavy hitter.
Late reply I know, it only has 400 watts at 4 ohms. That cab is 16 ohms, where it puts out 150 watts. And tube amps aren't louder at the same wattage, that's a myth. Crappier solid state amps typically have crappier speakers that achieve lower spl. Or it's because of things like this amp marketing wattage at the lowest ohm rating, which people likely won't use.
What strings were on that strat? Lovely clean tone...
God Damn that man can play Little Wing
Please, is IT ok for home practice also ?
the dirty sounds with that white guitar were aweful
id just keep it clean and slap a dist pedal in front. thinks made for cleans not gain
cody thompson I wish they played us a good dirty sound (using a pedal) - this amp might be the thing for me.
yeah me too. even for recording and small gigs the cleans sound so good. id say a good dist pedal and a 7 graphic EQ a delay and reverb pedal paired withe a 2x12 would make a dream rig
***** yeah - definitely a fuzz. is it me or does it sound quite aweful?
Anyone know the riff that Bea plays from 4:35 ? Amp sounds great!
Hey Mr. Captain:) First: Love your vids!! Second: I got an "Dynacord Reference 500". Its an all tube 50w Combo and it sounds so amazing, but its like a ghost in www. Nothing to find about that machine. I played vox and marshall and a 1 channel 100watt orange from the 60´ and all those amps sounded brilliant - but the dynacord is just... you know? Pure Eargasm;) If you could make a vid + your opinion...that would be awsome!!!! Btw i know theres not much sense in introducing a 30 year old amp(for your Music store), but maybe a comparison to other new amps??? Thanx and Kisses;)
Could you make a video of it? I want to hear, if it sounds different from mine.
I've got the Reference 1000, it gets the Power Tubes changed, because it still had the old sound.
I hope that I will get a better sound.
In the last months the sound got weaker and weaker, hope that it will be better.
What is the reliability statement based on? I thought it was a new piece of kit.
Lee refers to the companies pro end products which they have produced for years the VB 800 incorporates the same design philosophy and build construction.
I want a gut shot. also, here is a working link for this amp since the one in the description doesn't work www.andertons.co.uk/guitar-dept/electric-guitar-amps/solid-state-digital-amps/solid-state-digital-heads/matrix-amplification-vb800-420w-guitar-amp-head
Can any one tell what the riff Bea is playing at 10:06?
Clean, it's not bad and of course,there is a lot of gigging power for the weight. But over driven, I'm sorry. There is no getting around the fact that it sounds like an solid state amp. Which is to say that the upper mid range is not very organic. Rather somewhat scratchy, digital sounding, or just not that satisfying. No one in a bar would complain, but not very studio worthy IMO. Thank you for the review.
So real maple top for the rasta player vs the other chapman guitars?
All these single channel amps are fine but why, oh why someone doesn't have the notion to split buffer the input as a second choice and offer a second route to the power amp selectable as an extra-blank channel? Place the preamp of your choice there and have a pure analog path with the amp on one side and whatever multi channel digital or not preamp for other clean or lead or effected sounds that you won't your main tone to compromise in order to achieve them. Diezel does it in the hagen.
Stupid manufacturers can't get their heads out of their asses and read forums way too much.
That said this amps sounds pretty damn good!
Hey guys I was wondering is this has any trouble with with lower registers, say C# tuning since it sounded like it was flubbering with the chunky bass when Rab was playing. Solid states don't handle lows well - can this if run through a 2x12? Thanks!
I was thinking same thing. I get the impression it does not have a tight powerful lower end.
Can I buy Paul's fingers?
+1 for Captain CamelToe!!!
It might be very very lightweight - and did you say it was loud, but it sounds sterile and lackinging in warmth.
What was the song played at the beginning?
Daniel Harper its the police
Unleash the Bea Afro!!!
Love the song at the start of the vid. Does anybody know what it is?
the police de do do do, de da da da
James Freeman
Thanks mate, I have to check tthat song out, love the chorus used, must be a Boss CE-2 original, sounds so lush.
JerodimusPrime an electro harmonic flanger on a chorus style setting apparently, God knows how I remember that.
It really sounds more like a Mesa than a Marshall.
For a tube amp, it just doesn't sound warm enough. Very sterile sounding.
Is it battery powered??
No!
sorry... :(
nic broughton That would make it the ultimate amp for gigs and busking if it had the capacity to run on batteries! But with that amount of power you would need some heavy duty sort of batteries... which would in turn make it heavier and less "portable". Carvin made the StageMate S400D which was one of the most powerful battery powered sound systems I've come across, but I think they may have recently stopped producing them. Too bad because they were a great product.
DamageIncM Didn't say they couldn't. I said I wouldn't want the extra weight of heavy duty batteries around. If you want to carry car batteries around you're free to do so, no one is stopping you. I'm not a busker anyway. When I perform outdoors it's with my regular gear. I use a 250 watt Fender Jazzmaster Ultralight head that weighs 7.5lbs. The matching cabinet has a 12" Jensen and weighs 17lbs. Extremely portable, versatile, and powerful. :0)
Okay, The strat guy. He need´s to do the playing in all future reviews . damn hes the shit.. An looks allot nicer than the big BABY.(not rabea)
10:07 Wow.....that's rightous hair.
LINK DOESN'T WORK
working link www.andertons.co.uk/guitar-dept/electric-guitar-amps/solid-state-digital-amps/solid-state-digital-heads/matrix-amplification-vb800-420w-guitar-amp-head
Cut out the delay chorus b.s
one in every 400 amps failing is an insanely high failure rate
they'll go out of business soon if that is true
1/400 amps as a failure rate is insanely high....are you kidding???? imagine if 1/400 iPhones failed??? if 1/400 cars failed to start each morning??? that is an absurd statement. i'm sure that the guy in this video is mistaken. if they had a failure rate that high they would be our of business by now
whoa whoa whoa chill dude.....u b upsetting da empire inta net wit cho shit n stuff
How much did you have to pay Metallica for that clip? LOL!
Sorry.. Sounds cold and raspy and I'm listening through a nice 5:1 system. Even with half your store plugged into the mics at the 12, it still sounds like crap. Crate tried something like this with their Power Block 100 watt. Same problem. I bought one years back and haven't played through it more than 3 times. No soul. Some will know what I mean. Tinny.. hollow. Just my opinion. Some might like it. We'll see. Right? I love your videos watch so many I should be ashamed to admit it. But, drum roll please... When you say "some of my friends love this thing." And then your employees come in and say, "We really love this thing." It just doesn't come off as genuine since they WORK FOR YOU. What can they say? This thing sucks! I've said plenty but I had to vent that last blurb.
It sounded like a waist of time with the line6 and honestly small, obnoxious and with a blanket over the sound. Perhaps it had speaker sims on with a guitar range speaker?
My old ax2 212 can sound miles better than this...
Waste of time damn it. Not waist...ha ha.