Matchless HC30 (DC30)?

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cardinal

cardinal

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Anyone have experience with the Matchless HC30 or DC30? I've briefly played a few AC30-ish amps and thought they sounded pretty cool; that chime to the clean tone and with a master volume a pretty healthy crunch.

My fav set up for years has been a Marshall 2204 and an SD-1 for rock, metal, whatever. Would an HC30 take a boost and give similar results, or is it just not as gainy as a 2204 or voiced right for it?
 
I’ve tried Matchless’s a bunch of times (including the HC30 and DC30) back when Ultrasound studios was in business and honestly was never crazy about them. I remember them having this hard, unpleasant glassy quality to them and didn’t feel good to play. They also had this filtered (to me inorganic sound) quality that most recent made amps tend to have

I’ve didn’t tried lots of el84 and vox type amps boosted, but not the matchless itself. They do to take boosts very well, but would be a different flavor than your boosted Marshall and not really be the best choice for metal or hard rock imo

I’ve basically tried and/or owned them all when it comes to EL84 Vox type amps (Top Hat, Savage, Tex, Sommatone, Bad Cats, Star, Divided by 13 RSA31, Morgan, Bruno UG, others I’m blanking out on). I liked the Tex best of those and maybe Savage Schatten was my 2nd favorite, but I’d still say save up for a good vintage vox and it’ll be better than all of those if you’re going for that kind of tone

I had the same experience with all the countless Marshall and Fender inspired amps I’ve tried. They all sounded worse than the real things except for maybe the Wizard’s, which kind of have their own sound anyway

The Komet amps may also be worth considering. They’re trainwreck copies that sound great and kinda how I’d imagine a hot rodded vox sounding with some Marshally qualities in their as well
 
If you're not into the VOX sound, Matchless HC/DC may not be the amp for you. Marshall and VOX (or Matchless) w/pedal boost are my favorite amplifiers, and they blend perfectly. If you're a HG chugga-chugga player, don't bother with Matchless. They aren't built for that sort of thing.
 
Thanks guys. I'm a bit nervous to jump down the the vintage Vox rabbit hole. Maybe I should get one of the '90s Korg AC30s. That's a good point regarding Marshall-type amps. I also end up just with an actual Marshall. So maybe I should just get an actual AC30.
 
cardinal":2whn660n said:
Thanks guys. I'm a bit nervous to jump down the the vintage Vox rabbit hole. Maybe I should get one of the '90s Korg AC30s. That's a good point regarding Marshall-type amps. I also end up just with an actual Marshall. So maybe I should just get an actual AC30.
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Look for a AC30 or AC15 Heritage model. These amps come with both '63 era EF86 + 12AX7 Top Boost preamp circuits. Hybrid PCB/turret board design, and they sound fabulous! Brad Whitford has one, and he says it's his favorite amp. If you can, get the head version.
 
If you’re not dead set on EL84s, take a look at the Clubman as well. Still has lots of chime, but is more of a mix between Vox, plexi and Hiwatt.
 
I don't find the Matchless to be all that Marshall like. I've owned a Matchless for the better part of 25 years (god, I'm old) so I'm quite familiar. I don't find it terribly pedal friendly, either, as far as overdrives go but a tube screamer isn't bad. I'd suggest youtubing some Scott Henderson and Hellecasters which is a pretty good example of a matchless with a low gain overdrive to see if that's what you're looking for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2Ka43wF6S4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39aK7clGZkQ
 
Not sure exactly what you are trying to do, but if I wanted a Matchless that leaned towards Marshall I would probably start with a Chieftan, there are others as well but that's an easy place to start.
 
If you get a Matchless, stick with the stock speakers.
 
cardinal":3q1ny4ic said:
Anyone have experience with the Matchless HC30 or DC30? I've briefly played a few AC30-ish amps and thought they sounded pretty cool; that chime to the clean tone and with a master volume a pretty healthy crunch.

My fav set up for years has been a Marshall 2204 and an SD-1 for rock, metal, whatever. Would an HC30 take a boost and give similar results, or is it just not as gainy as a 2204 or voiced right for it?
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In a word, no. The voicing and tightness is very different, and boosting doesn't change that. Very nice amps though.
 
I owned a DC-30 for many years. I wish I had it back.

The Matchless does have a Vox type heritage to it, but it is not the same by any means. My advice is if you do want to jump into an AC-30 type amp, make sure you go with a blue alnico speaker and stay away from greenbacks if you are looking for the chime.

Ed
 
braintheory":2jxe02x2 said:
I had the same experience with all the countless Marshall and Fender inspired amps I’ve tried. They all sounded worse than the real things ......
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I generally agree with this. Between 2001 and 2008, I bet I bought and sold 50 amps at least. Never was happy. My favorite Fender-ish amps are the Swart Atomic Space Tone and the Victoria Double Deluxe. For a good Marshall substitute I like the Bogner Shiva EL34.

Ed
 
Picked up a Morgan Dual 40 2x12 which popped up at a local GC. Similar concept to the DC30. A top boost channel and a "normal" channel with an EF86.

Sounds great clean and breaking up. I think it might have more gain than a DC30? This is plugged straight in to the Top Boost side. No pedals.

 
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