Matamp GT1

This was custom built for me in 2008. It is more than versatile for what I need - I play in a funk/jazz band. it is 80W Valve. There is 1 channel but 2 modes - Master Volume and non Master Volume. Effects loop, mute switch, full/half power switch on rear. Can power 4, 8 or 16 ohm cabs. I ordered with the matamp straight 2x12 with hot 100 speakers. I use this amp at home, at church and at gigs. The master volume is sensitive enough to get good tones at any volume.

check http://www.matamp.co.uk/gt1.htm for a more detailed spec.

This reacts so well to different guitars. it is predominantly a clean amp but does do overdrive when pushed which is perfect for my playing stlye - I play a patrick eggle berlin pro with single coils and humbucker in the bridge and a Ltd edition epiphone les paul with swineshead humbucker pickups. Humbuckers really drive this amp. It has a unique 5 way voicing switch that dynamically alters the tone left = more bass + gain/volume, right = more treble + clean. There is Volume/Gain, bass, treble, presence and master volume which can be defeated leaving only the volume/gain as your only control for loudness and overdrive. I have tried and it is very hard to find an unusable sound in any setting on this amp even with dials on silly settings - it's almost perfect in that respect!

treat it well it will last a lifetime (I hope!) it's all point to point hand wired. I gig without a backup, I can't afford and don't have the space for two!

Company are brilliant - they will chat with you about what it is you actually need from an amp and make their recommendations or you can tell them exactly what you want and they will make it to spec based of an existing model. They have one of the best customer service experiences going especially for an amp/music company. Just give them a call to find out.

This was very cheap for what it is. I definitely felt I got good value for money - I am very happy, the only think I might consider if I had to order one again is to get a reverb.

2007 Matamp GT1 with vertical Hot100 2x12 cab. 80W clean or 140W distorted output depending on how you see it. This is a classic British single channel amp that relies on power tube distorion to sound good. It has two modes; non-MV (GTO) and MV (GTL). These are activated by the turn of the Master knob. At 0 (6 o'clock), GTO-mode is engaged making the Gain knob the actual Volume knob. Above 0 on the Master knob, it clicks and engages GTL-mode which has an additional preamp-tube for more preamp-gain.

Both modes sound similar. The biggest difference is when you crank the amp. Both modes will have about equal gain, but since the GTO-mode is a tad heavier on the low-end it feels as if it pushes the power stage harder resulting in more sustain. The GTL-mode has its use though - by using more Gain and less Master you can achieve a certain preampy tightness not possible in the GTO-mode.

It has all the features I need and some more (GTL-mode, half/full power). But it's not a 10. It would be a 10 if the Voice was footswitchable. Please keep this in mind if ordering a GT, it's the only custom option I recommend if you seriously want to go from pristine cleans to full power blast by a stomp and a flick of a pickup switch.

The sound is what it is, and probably the reason you're reading this review. Matamp GT's play in a league of their own. Where Marshalls sound great indeed with their aggressive high mids, Matamp GT's put emphasis on the LOWER mids resulting in those woody, honky, papery and growling sounds many of us have come to love.

The cleans are super clean if you want them to, but they will often have some "charismatic almost distorted wooden metallic artifacts" inside them. You know, a kind of jazzy GRAINY thing but still honky and bell-like. Very warm, woolly and organic. Add some dirt (volume) to that and my friend would describe the tone as "a rusty sledgehammer being dragged against the concrete floor of an abandoned barn".

Matamp GT's sound absolutely stunning when enjoyed either clean or cranked. The in-between AC/DC stuff, however, tend to sound a bit muffled. I mean, this *IS* an amp built on the designs of yesteryears where people would use treble boosters to get more bite out of their amps. Why would things differ today? They hardly do. Only minor things have changed since then such as the amount of gain available and the gut design, but the sound stays true to the original.

As for the cranked tones, you know exactly what they sound like - a sonic sausage of undying sustain. Listen to early High On Fire, Sleep's Jerusalem/Dopesmoker and Yob and you know the drill.

I love how it sounds but won't give it a 10 as it doesn't sound ideal for the bright AC/DC stuff. The King Street would probably be ideal for that as it's a brighter and more aggressive amp.

Definite 10 here. This thing won't break (knock on wood!) and I've put strain on it everyday for about 6 months now, cranked it with power attenuators, without attenuators, fed it with cranked distortion and EQ pedals to push it to its limits and perhaps even find some new tones. Still walking tall!

Other amps, especially modern amps based around preamp-gain (cough, Mesa, cough) have always given me bad electric smells when cranked, but rest asure - this amps feels its best when you abuse it. It was designed to be cranked!

Here's my only gripe with the company. First of all, they rarely reply to e-mails, yet have an online enquiry form. They're very helpful by phone, but I had an issue that more or less clouded my experience with this company. They'd charge money from my credit card even though they had said they would contact me about the total cost before charging anything. I got upset about this as I hadn't finalised my order yet, cancelled the deal and got a refund off course. But by then the currency exchange rate had changed resulting in me losing ??50 on it all. They refused to cover this as "I wouldn't have contacted them if I had made a profit out of this misunderstanding, right?".

That's a very ignorant way of looking at it, if you ask me. It's something I just can't understand as they'd have authorities allover them if they tried to pull something like that off in my country.

In other instances when I've ordered extra handles and faceplatets by phone, they've been ace to me. Especially Hayden who will take notes making sure everything will be spot on. However, the faceplates I ordered and received didn't fit as the holes were too close to eachother! The faceplate would crack if I forced it on. I e-mailed them about this but never got a reply.

The rating of 3 is based on my experience as an international (European) customer. For local customers I bet the experience is completely the oppostite!

Excellent well-built amp that will last a lifetime. It's my personal family jewel that will go from generation to generation and always increase in value.

Na, not really. You shouldn't be obsessed with gear like that. It's built to be played and that's what I do and will do. When it's old and faded I will give it new tubes, caps and tolex. If it got stolen I'd probably look into the GT Retro as I've found myself only using the GTO-mode anyway. But let's hope it never gets stolen, because I seriously love this amp!