Ben Jamin Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 (edited) Hey guys - so it's my 18th next week and I've been saving like crazy to buy a new amp. It's long overdue as the combo I've had since I started playing bass just can't keep up anymore and I'm constantly having to borrow gear from friends. So I'm looking for a smallish head/cab set-up (2x10 or 1x12 kind of thing) - the main issue being the head because the main venue I play at has a set of cabs and a 'bring your own head' kind of policy. Now my brother happens to be good friends with Haydn from Matamp, and they've offered to build me a custom hybrid amp with a valve pre-amp/digital power-amp. I'll hopefully be heading down to the factory next week to have a look and talk through specs etc. I know Matamp make some amazing guitar amps (my brother has one), so I'm sure it'd be ace. But I was chatting with a friend today and he pointed out that for the same amount of money I'm spending on the Matamp I could buy a small Aguilar or EBS rig, looking at some of the stuff on sale here. I've played through both the amps for sale here (EDIT: the same models, not exact same ones ) and I know they're well-built and sound ace. So the question is - do I risk spending out on getting a custom amp built or wimp out and buy something I know works great but might not be that [i][b]super-awesome custom amp/best decision of my life[/b][/i]? Thing is I've never heard a Matamp bass amp - although I'm told it'll sound amazing I'd like to know what 'amazing' sounds like before I dish out the largest amount of money I've ever accumulated! Anyways, any thoughts would be much appreciated! Cheers Edited November 15, 2011 by Ben Jamin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyl Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 Well firstly Happy Birthday for next week I can;t really offer advice on the sound, having played though neither, but my suggestion is to have a play through the Matamp, you may love it, hate it or somewhere in between. Theres always something about having something custom made, but you're alternative choices are not to be snuffed at. Play through them and what feels more like you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 Aguilar, EBS & so on all make great amps, but if you get something custom made then that's gonna make your sound unique. I'd go with the custom jobby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 Well I`m yet to read anything bad about Matamp, which is always encouraging. With a large amount of money, let your ears make the decision. Whichever sounds the best, buy it. Brand reputation doesn`t mean anything if you don`t like the sound it makes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merton Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 If I had the choice I'd go custom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 [size=4]You should go around the block a few times trying out different gear and finding out what you really want in your sound. That's not wimping out.[/size] [size=4]Get a Matamp if you really have to but I'd look for good used gear first. [/size] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertbass Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 Matamp valve amp would be ace, not sure about a hybrid though. Try it out and see if it's what you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShergoldSnickers Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 You only want to do this once. It's a pain, but get to hear first hand any gear you are thinking of buying, and try to keeps things manageable by having as many things constant as possible. Use the same bass when testing. If testing amps, use the same cab each time. When testing cabs, use the same amp each time. It's not perfect, because some amps and cab combinations just don't hit it off for some reason, and some sound much better than you'd expect, but it will cut down on variables. Don't rush it, take your time, and you'll end up with a better decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fonzoooroo Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 I'd say it's all about the sound you want. If you're after a specific sound, you'll have to hunt down the specific gear that sounds like that. If you're happy to venture into the unknown, and are after simply a good bass sound of some description, I'd go for the custom option... Use it to define your sound, rather than searching for "greener grass"... Sounds a daft comment, but if you can afford it now, it's probably a good time of life to go for the shiny new custom amp - 2nd hand run of the mill stuff's for sale all the time (for less money than you're looking at spending, presumably) I've still got kit that I bought while I was a student, and haven't been able to afford to replace since! (not that I'd necessarily want to, just making the point that the option's not available) If you find there're applications in the future where the amp's not suitable, it's quite likely that something [relatively] cheap may suffice, whilst holding on to your custom beastie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Jamin Posted November 16, 2011 Author Share Posted November 16, 2011 Cheers for all the advice guys! I think the main reason I'm a bit concerned is because (as far as I'm aware) Matamp have never made a hybrid amp, so I'm not sure exactly what it would sound like. However, I totally trust those guys to make something awesome, and it seems like the right thing to go for to get the warm/punchy/tube sound I'm after. Nevertheless I'll still be looking out for other stuff, but I think I'm after reading through this I'm now pretty convinced on the Matamp! Build diary to come soon I guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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