Matamp Green GT-120

I dont know when it was mse, but it sounds like it ws around when the dinosaurs died. Hella loud! I play straight ahead Death metal, and i needed a head that could keep up with a Mesa triple rectifier. This thing does the trick. It doesnt generate much crunch, i still need a preamp for that...but once i got the sound i like i shoot it in to the amp and try not to blow every thing up! Its so basic that it takes a while to get used to (especially compared to the newer stuff). There are a couple of dials, not knobs, DIALS. There aint no room to mess around, its like no bass, some bass, or hella bass. Same thing fo all the other features. Either none, or overload!

I use a Fender with two humbuckers, usually just the bridge pickup for the grinding stuff, and both for the "stonerrock" stuff. Its like the antithesis of a deathmetal sound, all fuzzy and stuff. But i like it, it hits real hard and with a ckick of a dial it can start howling for lead stuff. When I play it clean, it sounds real sweet, good for like improve grooves, and blues...even quitely. It getts real noisy on thse two settings, which i asume are the solo settings...the make the whole rig shake, makes a real crackle. But if you get the volume up there, then use that it pushes all the solo stuff right in to the audiences brain!

It weight 8 billion tones and is bullet proof

havent had to use it yet, but from what i hear, they are really on it

Ive been playin about 11yrs, ive used peavy gear (cause im poor) and its been ok. But it never got load enough, especially when i started playing with other guitarist who were using Mesa gear. If it were stolen, id have to get another one..i dont even know where? I like the power, it sounds good. I dont like that you cant manipulate the tone or the distortion within the amp...i wish it had a foot switch so i could jump to and from solos easier.

The rig was built in 1999 (or late 98). I use four 4x12 cabnets, a GT-120 Head and a Slave 120. It is by far the best and loudest setup I have ever owned/heard. I have heard people say that the newer Matamps do not compare to the original but I have experienced both and I give mad props to both. It is a single channel but the sounds that I can achieve with that single channel are far beyond what I could do with my ex-30th anniversary Marshall 3 channel. I can create anything from a smooth, creamy jazz sound to a sound reminicent of a Lear Jet screaming toward your head! Some people might like a reverb feature on this particular amp; I don't use reverb-I don't care. 120 Watts (per head) of tube power is more than powerful enough! I am a stickler for overkill so that is why I personally own 2 stacks. The cabinets are great as well. Loaded with Celestions. Pretty damn heavy (heavier than a Marshall)

I play a 66 Gibson Firebird (3 mini humbuckers)and a 72 Telecaster Custom re-issue (the one with a neck position humbucker) and their true abilities are shown when played through a Matamp. I play in a high volume Avant-Rock band (think Zappa meets Beefheart meets John McLaughlin) and I can basically nail any tone from to the VanHalen "brown sound" throaty, beefy sound of early 70's Zappa to the clean bite of Wes Montgomery. Keep this in mind; the clean tone can shatter glass and the brutal distortion can blow a barndoor out the back of your head! At high volumes it hisses a little but it doesn't hum at all. Hum bothers me but I can live with hissing.

I give it a 9 for the simple fact that this is a High Power amp that will go through tubes eventually. But I firmly belive that it is worth it. That statement is soley based on other tube amps I have owned. I haven't had the amps too terribly long but I do believe that they will last forever. I have heard that the Original Matamps were very rugged. I'm guessing these are too. The cabinets are very durable.

I have only dealt with the company when I purchased the setup but they were very helpful and provided me with plenty of knowledge and options. I'm sure if I had any problem at all they would be more than willing to help. As far as service centers-there aren't many dealers in the US (as far as I know) but any reputable tube tech could service one.

I have been playing for about 10 years. I'm 19. Where did I get $5800 at age 19 you ask? I have worked my ass off since I was 13 and invested in Microsoft and Oracle. If It were lost or stolen (how can you lose 2 giant green stacks?) I would not hesitate to purchase the exact same rig. I compared this to my ex-Marshall and an Orange with a Hiwatt cab that I had and this was by far the best. If you can attain a Matamp setup, do it! I could have spent the same amount of $$$ on a comparable Marshall or Soldano setup but it would not have the same sound or the look. Viva Matamp!

Almost identical to the later Orange brand Overdrive 120 watt tube head. See my blathering on that one for a slightly different perspective on what you can expect from this type of amp.
This is not a "Green/Matamp", but the original Matamp 120 watt all tube Overdrive head ? the "prototype" master volume head later famous as the flagship Orange amp. The old Matamp is pretty rare in the US, but you might run across one somewhere. If you're thinking about a new Green/Matamp, their current designs are based on the old Matamp schematics, like the new Oranges, but things have doubtless changed a bit since the 70s, and some models have new features.
This particular unit has a mysterious history. The model number appears as "GT-100" (handwritten on the chassis like all old Matamp model and serial numbers, I'm told), though there is apparently no such thing as a GT-100. Current theory - as supplied by the extra cool, standup guys handling new Matamps in the US - this little gem is a 1972 GT-120 special-ordered by someone in the US, where they weren't distributed, and the model number was "fudged" to indicate a 100 watt rating, making it easier to import for some reason (UL codes?).
The faceplate and rear panel have the same features as the Orange: Bass Boost (ostensibly the same as "F.A.C."), Drive (gain), Bass, Treble, Presence, Volume, effect send/return, and power; on the rear, two speaker outs, one slave out, the fuses, and output ohmage and input voltage selectors. The only differences from the Orange are: the Bass Boost selector dials IN low end gain from left to right (the Orange has the control wired in reverse, making it look like it rolls bass gain OFF left to right); and, more significantly, on the Matamp the gain is a four position selector, whereas the Orange has a floating gain control.
There's no midrange control, which is fine, that would defeat the purpose. Downers: only one...no standby switch. Hey, Matt Mathias came up with the whole Master Volume idea...that's enough for one lifetime, eh? Like the Orange, it's way loud. If you consider 120 watts excessive, you might give this amp another demerit. Personally, I've never heard anything truly comparable to a good old high wattage tube amp cranked up at least a touch too loud. Close...but no banana. You gotta pump through some power to drive an amp and speakers. "Smell" is integral to the experience of "taste", and you gotta "feel" the sound at least a little to "hear" really kick ass tone. MHO.

I generally play heavy solid-body humbucker guitars...Les Pauls and the like. Gotta run the Matamp through a 4x12. Nothing else will do it justice. I'm using a Marshall cab with 75watt Celestions. It's decent enough, but I'm dying to try it (and my Orange) through a cab with better speakers. Generally, Celestions are great, but they make better speakers than the 75s. But that's what I've got right now...
It came retubed with (GASP!) Sovteks. When these tubes get cashed, I'll probably try something different for comparison (I generally like Svetlanas).
The sound is similar to the Orange...meaning it's pretty much uber-badass, but the Matamp has it's own flavor.
Gargantuan and loud as doomsday. Huge bottom end.
As for differences between the two, the Matamp has a touch more bottom, a good bit less onboard gain, and a lot more of the buttery midrange honk. The Orange has a little rounder more even sound, and is a little louder (which is like saying that sticking your head in the engine of a 747 is a little louder than sticking your head in the engine of a DC-10).
The defining characteristic of the Orange/Matamp sound has been described in print as a "fogginess" to the tone. The old Matamp is noticeably "foggier" than the later Oranges. If that actually means anything to you, then great...I can't really describe it any better than that...it's one of those difficult-to-nail-down "mojo" qualities, and I'll have to rely on the word "fog", as supplied to me by others. It fits.
I'm mostly a rhythm and weird-noise player, and when I need chug, this thing delivers and then some...you can pound out big full-chord grooves that leave dents in peoples' foreheads, and chord fragments and single note lines that grind and sing and cut right through without any of it getting lost or having the dynamics overly squashed in gain-overkill. It makes a fantastic complement to my bandmate's JCM 800. They both sound amazing, but completely different, so we each have a voice and don't step all over each other's sound. The Bass Boost circuit is a stroke of sheer genius. The low end on this thing is unREAL. If you really need murky mud, you can get it, but the bass drive wants to be big and dense without being opaque and burying the rest of the sound. Nicely full and wide, not tight and chunky like the JCM. It's a 6 position selector, each increasing the fatness. I usually leave it in position 5...super thick & round! At 6 it gets pretty hazy, though I use it sometimes.
And you can't completely get rid of the tasty mids, no matter how hard you try (the lack of a mid control should be a hint). If you're looking for onboard mid-scooped crunch, this ain't your scene. Far from "low-fi", but it *is* rude. Like the Orange, it "barks" but it's a little rattier and more vintage sounding. Full, and rough around the edges, always a touch hazy, always a little raw, nothing else sounds quite like it.
The first time I turned her on, I wondered if there might be a power fault since there was so little hum. Like most old amps though, the hum shows up when you crank it, or start adding pre-amps. One tentative muted 'thunk' on the low E and my kitchen cabinet doors rattled. When I dropped to D and nailed that first chord, about 17 metric tons of raw meat came flying out of the cab. My skin tingled. I could feel the sound *inside*, behind my sternum, jangling my gizzards (it almost hurt). We've been together ever since.
It responds VERY well to outboard tube pre-amps/overdrives for full-on head injury. Pedal-free, it gives a great shouting overdrive without sounding stupidly gained-out.
The Gain selector has some unusual properties that I haven't figured out yet. Each position increases the bark and snarl a touch, but it also dramatically alters the tone...actually, it seems a lot more like what the Orange's F.A.C. is supposed to do, but it's definitely a gain control. It could be just some peculiarities of this particular unit, or the tubes in it, but it's VERY different f

Appears indestructible. It's pushing 30, all original ('cept tubes and caps), and runs like a top. All controls are smooth and quiet. Anyone who knows Matamp/Orange/Green knows that Matt Mathias' designs have earned the highest respect. Even the chassis is enameled - made of heavy duty folded sheet with all the meticulously soldered wiring and circuitry tucked safely away underneath, and the tubes, caps and transformers arrayed across the top, tidy as mom's spice rack.
I expect this monster will cash the EL34s comparatively often, especially without a standby, but I don't run it absolutely WIDE open all that much and if that's the price, so be it. We'll see...
The casing is thick high-grade plywood, in the traditional black tolex. The faceplate is huge, enameled in white, with the 3D Matamp banner logo, and the signature gargantu-knobs (except for the Bass and Treble controls, which are freakish tiny "daisies"). The face is finished out with two chrome handles for maneuvering the heavy chassis. Looks are not a real issue, but let's face it, you usually notice them. This amp is beyond "retro" - very dorky and uncool, and is thus, exceptionally kickass. I love it when someone points and sneers, thinking it's a cheapo off-brand pawn shop relic, and then I get to turn it up and burst their spleen. It looks like a piece of salvaged Soviet navy radio equipment. Oversized, primitive, rude and ungainly, sturdy as hell. It's beautiful.

Inspiring. This thing is almost 30 years old, I bought it from a vintage amp dealer, and the "Matamp" of today is not even the same corporate entity as the company that built it, and STILL these guys have bent over backwards to answer my questions and help me out. They are proud of their products, old and new, and with good reason. joel@matamp.com, you're a gentleman and a scholar.

What it does, it does very well and very loudly. If this is your sound, then you may be like me and actually DIG a little hum (it's not any worse than other vintage gear...adds a touch of "atmosphere" and hips the listener that they're about to be severely injured in the most wonderful way). The neighbors will hate you. Other guitarists will salivate over your wailin' rusty meatgrinder tone. And the feeling of owning the only one in sight can't be bad.
Lost or stolen? I would probably want to find another one, but that wouldn't be very likely. To someone who knows what a Matamp is, it's prime thief bait. But don't bother. I'm watching it like a hawk, and having my goodstuff stolen once before has made me REAL mean...

Green 120 Overdrive amp, from the makers of Orange. Full Valve with a Gain and Master Volume Bright and Normal Inputs, Bass, Treble, Presence controls. Also, a Echo Loop. It is the loudest amp I have ever heard or owned. I am tuned down to "C". It literally sounds like a JET Aircraft passing by.

I play through various Les Paul Customs with original pickups. Most of the time I am tuned down to "C". It is the only AMP and Speaker cabinent that has ever been able to handle the volume level and low tones I force. The distortion is very full and smooth, especially when using the neck position pickups. The clean sound is also very full. The word that comes to mind when I describe this amp and cab would be "STENTORIAN" !

The amp is very reliable in the Studio and Live. A band named SLEEP from Santa Clara use these amps. [Both Guitar and Bass versions] They have used them at EXTREMELY HARD and HIGH levels of Volume on the road and have had only regular service and up keep. The amps have been on the road since 1994.

I have only dealt with the Company [MATAMP] directly. Jeff Lewis has answered the phone in Huddersfield England for the last 4 years and has been VERY friendly and helpful. I ordered my head and cabs direct. They were shipped via air into my city and I pick them up at customs. I am not aware of the warranty terms.

I have been playing guitar for 18 years. I own various Marshall amps and Cabs and one 1994 Peavey 5150 120watt head with channel switching. If my Green head was stolen I would be devastated! They are in very limited supply from what I understand. I love sound and the ability to play it at such HIGH volume. The looks of this amp are very cool too. Basically the same design as ORANGE except they are covered in BRIGHT GREEN with Black grill and Black amp face. The logo says very simply. "Green". Apparantly this amp is dedicated to Peter Green. The company's web site is at http://www.matamp.com/