man_at_arms84

[quote name='umph' post='224550' date='Jun 22 2008, 10:41 PM']should just go for the best of the best and judging by what your saying you like LOUD and the matamp definatly does that. you gonna be going through 2 heads? i'm trying to look for one that isn't to expensive atm was thinking about a ampeg v4 might save and get a 400+ though 500 tube watts sounds appealing. Yeah i'm in a band called naisian i know dean from the mirimar disaster and that though whos been trying to get me and my guitarist to buy matamps. Your in the manatees right?[/quote] Yeah I been on the lookout for matamp to make a bass head for ages since Jeff at the factory told em they were going to do one. Alas I dont have the cash right now. Saying that the head I have now, the marshall VBA 400 is bloody brilliant. and It didnt cost me alot. I got it for like under £450 with a flight case. Worth looking out for one. I know theres been a few on sale in the forums here. Only thing is the ridiclous amount of tubes it takes, 8x 6550, 3X ECC83 and 1 x ECC82. So a retube is mega bucks. I'd eventually like to go through, esentially 2 rigs. One for more toppy end and one for more lower end. I better start saving! Yeah I play in manatees. I know dean and the Mirimar Disaster lot a fair bit. Infact it was dean who partly made me cabs at matamp! Aint heard your band before, but I'll check them out. You guessed it I like LOUD music.

[quote name='carlosfandango' post='223383' date='Jun 21 2008, 01:19 AM']I love the sounds of a 70's Marshall head (Super Bass) with a 4x12 or 4x15 cab. Especially my Warwicks...there something magic with active bases and tubes.....yum! I've got a Warwick Tubepath that is a hybrid that does a very convincing all tube sound as well.[/quote] I have a 70's Superbass mrk II. Sounds "OK" to me. Hasnt really got the power I need. It all but dissapears as soon as the guitarist and drummer I play with start. Shame As my mate had one years ago and it sounded amazing. Mine still sounds great for guitar though. [quote name='umph' post='223468' date='Jun 21 2008, 10:59 AM']aye i'm gonna get one of their 2X15 cabs, that head is seriously worth it though, had the matamp factory shaking with it on 2.[/quote] Shuuuut uupppp!!! haha. My Wallets taken a MASSIVE bashing with amps through the years and needs a good rest! I defo recomend Matamp cabs like. I got two 4x10 made up for me in Jan (they actually made me 4, incase I wanted all of them!). They sound and look great. (unfortunatley they had no green vinyl left, only a choice of black orange or pink.) Im thinking in the future of getting two 2X15's too to make a massive super rig. Let me know what yours are like when you get them. You live in sheffield and like matamp? Do you play in band down there per chance?

[quote name='umph' post='222590' date='Jun 20 2008, 12:03 AM']its 1400 and possibly the best bass head ever.[/quote] £1,400? Daaaaammn. If I had the cash I would. I bought a Marshall VBA 400, All tube 400 Watts not too long ago. Sounds mint through my Matamp cabs. mmmmm.

Cheers for the advice so far! I have a mate who plays one of the tube paths and it sounds great. But I know they're quite expensive. Just after a budget peice of kit as a back up and to practuice with. All sounds pretty OK. Im still kind of on the fence.

[quote name='Welshbassist' post='221049' date='Jun 18 2008, 12:33 AM']From what I've heard, they're relatively quiet, considering their power rating. That's all I know though, can comeone else chime in?[/quote] Cheers for the reply buddy. You mean quite like as in noise or as in volume and power? I was looking at either the 3.2 which is 300w SS or 5.1 which is 500w SS. Prior to this I was using a Peavey mark VI at practices which was 250w at 4ohms but was suprisingly loud. No one else got any experience or opinions on these amps?

Yeeeelo. I'm looking for a cheap amp to use as a practice/back up for my Marshall VBA 400. I play in a very loud and heavy band ala melvins, old man gloom, sunn etc blah blah. Someone suggested warwick pro fet amps are cheap. Whats peoples opinions on them? Which one do people reckon would suit me? Answers on post card please. (a post card being this forum.) Chars.

Said it before and I'll say it again. Peavey T-max if you can get one. They're pretty darn cheap and sound amazing. Tube Pre-amp with a SS power amp which can be blended or seperated for as much growl as you want. Just whatever you do dont blow the irreplacable transformer like i did! On the More expensive end, I'm playing a Marshall VBA 400 all tube amp. Pretty simple design and plently of growl. I also used a Sunn 1200s which was a Solid state/tube hybrid which sounded amazing, was loud as sin. Good while it lasted.

[quote name='NancyJohnson' post='216181' date='Jun 10 2008, 02:08 PM']I had an Orange Matamp years ago...late 70s. Bought it at this warehouse place in Chalk Farm. I think it was actually a guitar amp. Sounded beautiful and was super loud. Heavy on the valves though. Last act it had was when it caught fire during a rehearsal (we were jamming Japans' Adolesent Sex at the time...smoke was pouring out of it, then flames started licking up the back. We got the plug out of the wall and threw a load of water on it. Eventually sold the burnt out unit for refurb to a place on Denmark Street for £50.00. P[/quote] That very nearly brought a tear to my eye. At least it died doing what it loved.....

[quote name='thomas' post='212783' date='Jun 4 2008, 09:41 PM']Matamp also use PBC's these days. They say there is a new 200W bass head coming out soon which I look forward to, but IIRC they are out of the Green tolex so no "Green" matamps for the moment. I think Electric are stopping the production of their amps, which are hand wired btw, and just continuing with the cabinets instead. Some of there marketing is ridiculous but I'm sure their amps must sound awesome, or as they say Mondo!!!! Finally here's some lovely Matamp porn for you: [/quote] Couldnt resist adding some more matamp/orange porn....

[quote name='drthirkenstein' post='212574' date='Jun 4 2008, 04:07 PM']In terms of the Orange vs Matamp debate the original orange on sale in the 'Orange' music shop was designed and built by Mathiew Mathius or whatever his name is so the first orange was the Orange Matamp. After a while orange and matt split ways. Orange took his design and went slightly more mainstream and Matamp kept it real yo! but they're still very similar amps. I think orange use PCB's (printed circuited boards) where as in a Matamp everything is still hand wired component to component. I personally think hand wired amps sound better and they're definitely more reliable. The 'Green' Matamps are the ones made by Jonathan Green (I think that's right!) who was one of the dudes that worked with Matt at the beginning. The other cool thing about Matamp is cos you can go to the factory and speak to the dude that makes them you can customise/personalise it in any way you want. To conclude... Orange's and Matamp's are both make amazing valve amps that'll blow pretty much any modern equivalent out of the water but Matamps are a little cooler cos you know your amps been made with love just for you. awww. Matamp do make a 200 watt head that can be used for guitar and bass, its well simple and just goes super loud without distortion and they're talking about making 400 watt one also. might get one made one day just havnt got a spare £1400![/quote] I love matamp. They made some cabs for me in january to my spec and were lovely to work with. The green amp was actually not named after the Green fella working there but were named after Peter Green of fleetwood Mac, as they were origionally made for him. I think Matamp went through a dodgy time in the mid late nineties, which fuled quite a few disagreements with the US company, and the band Sleep. Something to do with the quality and contact between the UK and US That resulted in the US forming their own company Electric Amp. Matamp are great now though. The only trouble is mucho money, and mucho waiting time as they are made to order. Really great guys though. I play two matamp cabs with a marshall VBA and it kicks. Havent tried Orange, but from freinds I gather the older Orange is better than the newer. I did see a band using the 200 Watt bass amp and it sounded pretty good.

[quote name='umcoo' post='172225' date='Apr 8 2008, 01:59 PM']i'm not sure if matamp still make bass amps, but i believe the 'vintage' ones go for top dollar. Orange may be your best bet. Produced here so it's quite cheap, and 200 watts should be loud enough for most gigs.[/quote] Matamp have just started making the classic 200w bass amp again. If I had enough money I'd get one, but there guitar heads are over a grand so im guessing it wont be cheap. I have two cabs they made for me which are amazing.

[quote name='Basszilla' post='155367' date='Mar 11 2008, 03:46 PM']Hi Was wondering if anyone out there on the board has any direct experience with using the TBP-1? I always loved my old bassman 135.... Presuming that some of you may of, how well does it/could it fare in a rock/metal setting? cheers Tim[/quote] Hey man. I play in a heavy and really loud band, kind of like Old man gloom, swans, sunn blah blah blah, and when my sunn amp was in repairs I borrowed a TBP-1 along with the MB1200 power block for a few tours off my mate and it was awsome. Not the best amp I've used, but it did the job and certainly is not the worst! the tonal settings were quite sensitive but you could get alot of different options out of it. And it was LOUD too with the power block. My mate plays in Oceansize and I THINK he used that amp in some recordings? but I may be wrong. Anyway, it would fair well in a "rock" or "metal" setting I'd say. Btw, your avatar....Torche are f***ing amazing!

[quote name='SiOfBass' post='156658' date='Mar 13 2008, 12:43 PM'][url="http://www.marshallamps.com/product.asp?productCode=1992LEM&pageType=OVERVIEW"]http://www.marshallamps.com/product.asp?pr...geType=OVERVIEW[/url] ive not heard how these sound but if its half as good as the original one i want it, all retro-ie and different anyone know any more on these like reviews or prices or somewhere i can play with one? si[/quote] That looks alot like my 70's Super Bass MkII. My Super Bass MkII has great tone and Valve growl but seriously lacks the power at only 100watts. Dunno if it's just mine though as a fredin had one and it was Alot "louder". Intrested to hear what this amps like.

[quote name='wazz' post='156518' date='Mar 13 2008, 09:51 AM']Matamp[/quote] Indeed. They dont make much bass stuff, but I got these two cabs Custom made to my spec for me by them earlier this year. And they're fab.

[quote name='vegas_hooker' post='155825' date='Mar 12 2008, 10:30 AM']Last time I caught them they had an organist instead of a bassist. He was going through 2 SVT's and 2 8x10's. The guitarists were each going through 4 4x12's so I can only imagine what a bass player would need to compete with. I would actually say they go more for volume than frequency range in the rigs they use. It was the sort of volume that made me feel like I was about to have a nose bleed.[/quote] Sounds mint. I really want to see Sunn O))). Just to feel my head cave in. I love their records I can only imagine the FEEL of it live....

Sounds pretty cool. And for those who like origional orange, I heard from matamp (the people that made the first orange amps) that they are working on their own reissue of matamp bass 200, 200watt all tube bass head. Again not quite orange, but still one to look out for.

Anybody know anything about them? All I know is they were unique to the T-max amp. Peavey no longer have them. Mine blew and thus my T-max was rendered useless. Twice. I have two T max units sat in my practice room. Is there anyway to get my T-max working again? Are there people out there who can replicate the transfomer? I would really like to get this amp working again. it was bloody brilliant while it lasted!

[quote name='joegarcia' post='138986' date='Feb 12 2008, 05:59 PM']Phwoar. Those Matamp cabs look pretty impressive. What sorta spec are they?[/quote] Yeah theyre nice! picked them up the other week. Seemingly its the first bass stuff they made for few years. The top cab is loaded with 4x 150w speakers and the bottom cab is loaded with 4x 200w speakers for a bit more lower end. They are LOUD. got them built for me at that spec so they could handle my sunn. Too bad my sunn's decided to f*** its self. I just did a real short tour with them and had to use my spare peavey Mrk IV. That amp even sounded bad ass through these! My girlfreinds getting nothing for valentines day now while my wallet heals. (I still got a good deal though but she dont understand...)

I have two grabbers. My first is a 1975. Was origionally a wine colour but is now a scracthy reddy brown. Beat up but I love the way it plays. Use it live. that was £500. I bought that about 4 years ago? Took me a long time to find. My second is a 1975 blonde/natural. tip top condition. Beautifully set up. Lovely action and only two minor cosmetic blemishes. used for recording and a spare on tour. I got that with the origional fitted case (their weird shape doesnt fit into standard cases) for £700 of a lovley chap who imports grabbers and rippers and sells them on. So i'd say between depending on condtion £500 to £800. OR you could import one from the states. Pretty sure they're more common and cheaper there. I've played fenders in the past but I will use these two for the rest of my days. I just love the way they sound and play. And theyre suprisingly very lightweight which is a god send for playing live.

This is my current rig. Sunn 1200s with two matamp 4x10 cabs custom made for me. My sunn up close. Currently going for repairs And my previous rigs. Marshall 1970's Super bass MrkII with a Marshall DBS 4X12 and a Peavey Tmax head (R.I.P) With a Peavey TX410 and Black Widow 15. And I play two 1970's Gibson Grabber basses with various pedals trhough these.

[quote name='joegarcia' post='137513' date='Feb 10 2008, 11:25 AM']Mines been sweet the whole time I've had it. Never had any problems at all. Any good amp tech (maybe not the guy you took it to before ) should be able to fix it I'd have thought, it's not a particularly unusual amp inside I don't think.[/quote] Yeah mine was fine, (apart from blowing two cabs!) until I got a speaker lead stuck inside it in november. Had to crack open the casing to the speaker input to get the lead out. Then it started making weird noises. The tech said it was running short circuit and replaced the input. But it's still making crazy noises. Horrible. hum and farting on lower notes and some pops every now and then. I've had to use a peavey mark IV for my last tour, which just doesnt have the power I need. Thinking I might just get ANOTHER loan out and buy myself a 300 pro. cant really though as the G/F will kill me. Someone give me a list of the loudest Tube amps I should be looking out for and what price they go for. I'm thinking nash will know.