Matchless Dirt Box

Easy to use - just plug it in the front end and enjoy. Changing the tone settings makes dramatic changes.

My live rig is a Marshall JCM25/50 Model 2554 driving a Mesa/Boogie 4X12 cabinet loaded with Celestions. I use an American Standard Strat with Gold Lace Sensors and an American Standard Tele that's stock. The Tele is extremely hot and bassy - twice the output of the Strat.

As with all- tube designs, it can get noisy at extreme settings and makes your amp more susceptible to hum, especially with my single coils. I'm a tube nut though, and I can live with that.

The sound out of this thing is great. I play with a ton of low end and tried a ton of pedals to beef up my sound. After loading my Marshall with Groove Tubes E34Ls S2's, my Guild Foxy Lady and Danelectro Fab Tone actually cut output whenever I would switch them on. The Dirt Box really adds tone, every time you plug it in.

I can get most of the sounds in my head, but my cabinet fuzzes out with the Bass dialed in above 7 o' clock. I'm going to try it with a Showman 2X15 cabinet and see how it fares. I love that creamy Vox-like tone that Jeff Martin from the Tea Party gets - especially on The Edges of Twilight. This thing really gives that Matchless tone; full, defined and sustains forever.

It's relaible, but as with tube amps, you almost never get the same tones out of it twice. It changes and requires tweaking all the time, just like an old tube amp.

Inside, the craftmanship is gorgeous. It weighs a ton and is built very sturdily. It's hard to kick it around on the floor. When you do, it keeps pounding away.

I hear that Matchless is no more. I know a couple of Electrical 'geers who can help me out. The insides are pretty straight forward.

I'm told that my guitar sound is somewhere between Soundgarden and Down (or recent C.O.C.). I like a vintage-y sound with tons of low end. I've been looking for this pedal for two years because I'd heard so many great things about it. It makes my Marshall distortion sound more defined without completely changing the character of it. It sounds very Vox like. I really like the tones I can get out of this pedal.

I was a little disappointed in the low - end coloration. I expected more of a low end crunch. Maybe that was after two years of hype. My version of "earthmover" differs from other people I suppose. The nice part is how it defines up your chord voicings. Nice and crisp.

I use this pedal primarily with my Strat - my Tele tends to mush out and squeal with it if I use it for rhythm. I team up my Strat with an original TS-9 Tube Screamer for leads. This thing turns heads; whenever I use it live, old guys grin and come and ask me about the rig. It works nicely with my vintage effects, especially my Thomas Organ Crybaby. It gets really squawky a la Clapton Cream era. It's extremely versatile though, I can dial in that really bassy fuzz sound like on Norman Greenbaum's <i>Spirit in the Sky</I> when I'm inclined. Just roll down the treble on the box and on your guitar, and it sounds like the speakers have had the razor blade treatment.

The one thing I really dislike about this pedal is the position of the AC cord. I put it on my board after my wah-wah and ahead of my Ernie Ball Volume pedal. The cord makes it impossible to snug it up nicely on the floor. If they had it come out the back, it would be *much* more convenient. The reach between my pedals live is pretty ridiculous now.

As comparing it to other products, there aren't really any out there that compete. It's more preamp than stompbox. The Mesa TriAxis is cool, but not in the same league. This pedal is not a fuzz like a Fuzz Face or Big Muff - it doesn't have that transistor rattle.

I'd definitely buy this again, as I can get that "Matchless" tone for a fraction of the price of a SuperChief. I can't wait to try it with other amps, especially ones with more headroom such as a Twin or a HiWatt. It works well with what I have; the Tube Screamer with it is just crazy for overdrive! Fat, loud and sustains forever.