Matchless Vibrobox

Soo easy! just plug it in and Play - don't even need to open the manual. Easy to adjust on the fly.

Saweet! I love th rich tone the tubes add. It's got a grounded plug so sometimes you can get a ground loop problem. All you need is a 2 prong addapter = problem solved.

All analog, no freezes or tech glitches to be had. Nothing but sweet tone!

Never needed it

I bought it used from ebay, and there was no documentation with it. It's pretty easy to work with, just plug it in and dink with the controls. I do need to say that I have only had it for about 3 weeks.

I'm using it with a Fender Stratocaster '57 Reissue (about ten years old), a VHT Valvulator, 2 Marshall JTM-45 heads (one, ten years old, one, 3 years old) and 2 Marshall 1936 2 x 12 cabinets, with a Matchless passive A/B/Y box to switch between amps. It's an okay tremolo effect and sounds all right, but I expected much more from a hand-wired all-tube Matchless. It adds a substantial amount of hum, and when a chord decays, it sounds very splattery/grainy. Also, I wanted to use it for some clean Buddy Guy rhythm stuff where the tempo is slow but the vibrato is fast and shimmering. No go here. The range of vibrato doesn't allow it to get fast enough. In addition, the tremolo effect is very noticeable even when I use the A/B box to take the second amp (with tremolo) out of the loop. I have to use the switch on the Vibro Box to stop the damn thing from making a tremolo noise even with no signal going to the box. Very noisy. I need to admit here that I have a limited amount of experience with vibratos, but the solid-state Kustom amp head I had in high-school had a beter tremolo (when it worked). Maybe I should try using it with a cleaner amp, or at a lower level, or even open it up and see if someone has been messing with the guts. Maybe it needs a new tube(s). One thing I have noticed is that Matchless products seem to get along much better with Fender amps (I have a Blues Deville) than Marshall amps (I also have a Matchless Hot Box, which is now in the basement in its box!). I could also try it with my Les Paul Custom. I do have a Split Box, which is useful for using multiple amps. Oh, one more thing, no damn true bypass on any of my Matchless pedals! They must have been thinking that everyone loves their products so much that you'd never want to bypass them.

So far, absolutely dependable. Built like a Mack Truck. Cool light-up logo too. Typical Matchless construction.

I dealt with them through their local dealer, they were cool. They supposedly had to custom make me a Split Box because they were out of production at the time (according to the dealer). But now that Matchless is tits-up, it's a moot point.

I play blues/blues rock/rock & roll, and I'm a Marshall freak/tube freak. I dig Strats, Les Paul Customs, and SGs. This pedal is okay, but I'd probably get something else next time. I wanted a true bypass, too. I wish I'd had the opportunity to test-drive it before I bought it, but like I said, I expected more from a Matchless product. Unfortunately, the local dealers in Denver don't carry Jack Shit, to you usually have to order stuff and pay up front. Maybe I'll get an amp with tremolo next time (maybe a Matchless with tremolo).

OK,Ok. I normally don't give referals, but I just got this, and well... This is Very easy to use. I bought it used, so I didn't get a manual. But it is very simple to figure out

I used this in the following set up: Vibro-box to Fender reissue Reverb to Repro Fender Tweed Bandmaster (IMHO, the best amp made). The sound was spectacular. no hum or noise (I once owned a Matchless Chieftain and I sold it for this reason). This effect has a preamp, and it makes everything clearer and just adds sparkle to it. the Vibrato is Fender quality and the whole package is a joy to play.

I don't know. But I sent my Chieftain back twice to have it repaired. I didn't notice any change

See above.

I love it. I play blues and rock, and it is super. It brightens up my Les paul and PRS, and projects my Tele and Strat. I would like to try the Hot Box.

The Vibrobox is a tube-driven trem unit, with its own power supply. It is a very large and heavy stompbox with the typical input and output. Like most tremelo boxes there is a speed and depth control. The Matchless also has an output volume and a single tone control. In addition there is a master speed toggle switch which doubles (or halves) the speed you have dialed in. The tone control is very sensitive and tends to be on the bright side. A manual was supposed to be with the Vibrobox but in shipping from the dealer it was lost. One is now in transit. There is no LED to tell you what mode the box is in, but it is pretty easy to remember if you were using tremelo or not.

As stated earlier the tone tends to be bright. Since there is no bypass, this box acts as a preamp. Your tone and volume affect the signal to the amp whether you have the trem on or off. To get the tone of your amp as if the Vibrobox wasn't attached is easy, but this setting is not too far from the bass side of the tone control. The rest is all brightness. However, the bass side of the tone control is very bassy. The trem is very mellow and warm, since this is a tube-driven unit. The depth control is very similar sounding from mid depth to full depth, but you can really dial in a super mild trem on the other side of the dial. Probably my only complaint on the sound quality is the speed never gets too fast nor too slow. What is left is a spectrum most players would use 95% of the time.

This thing is built like a tank. It looks like a clone of the Matchless Hotbox.

I own several Matchless pieces, and the staff is always courteous and helpful no matter what the question. I have never had anything break.

I would like to try the Demeter trem box for a comparison. I believe it has true bypass, which would be nice. The sound of the Vibrobox is incredibly smooth and warm. When engaged, the volume doesn't dip like other units I have played, so there is no need to compensate. Having a very active tone control adds more to the guitarist's tone pallette. The tone seems much warmer and yet subtler than a Fender Trem. I owned a Peavey Valverb, which had great tremelo, but when engaged the volume would dip slightly. The Valverb was more Fender-like and had greater extremes of depth and speed. But the Valverb didn't have as good of tone control. The price of the Vibrobox is very steep--about $145 more than other stand-alone trem boxes. I probably would buy the unit again, because of the great tone control, smooth, warm sound and the quality workmanship.