Matamp MiniMat

I have one of the first batch of these, all features are listed in previous reviews. I think it has everything you need, the attenuator is a nice touch and means you can get some extra flavours of drive, from open, throaty tones to squashy valve goodness. Built in booster which adds a nice touch of treble when cranked. Tone control which is voiced perfectly with narrow range that pushes the drive when turned up rather than making things sound shrill. Everything else is pretty much self explanatory. Only thing I'm left wanting for is a control for the mids that can be a bit too much if using humbuckers and tubescreamer type overdrive pedals.

The cool thing about this amp is that it sounds as good as you are, a rubbish guitarist will sound awful through it, whilst a more experienced player who can maniupulate his playing dynamics will have loads of fun. It suits single coils just as much as humbuckers, my telecaster sounds fat and rich whilst my les paul can push the amp into heavy overdrive with infinite sustain/feedback easily. This amp takes pedals very well, I would avoid tubescreamers though due to the already middy nature of the Minimat. The amp has a great signal to noise ratio which is handy for recording, it sounds better the louder you turn it up, it can clip in a harsh way when at super low volumes, but I think thats just a general rule of thumb with these types of amps.

I use it all the time at home and for smaller sessions/gigs, it hasn't put a foot wrong so far. The build quality of Matamps puts everything else to shame.

Too helpful if anything, when I rang up to order I was on the phone for over an hour! I do think it depends on who picks up the phone though, I once rang up to enquire about a 1x12 and the person I spoke to was qute short with me so I ended up getting a Laney 1x12 cab instead.

I'm a full time guitar teacher, playing for 17ish years, I have owned lots of kit over the years and this is just one of those items that you will want to keep, its not mass produced and just oozes quality. If it got stolen I'm not sure I would splash out on another as there are loads of small, low watt tube heads on the market now that are significantly cheaper than this one. If you don't want to be like everyone else with their Blackhearts and Epi valve juniors I think the Minimat is the way to go.

Pretty basic controls - but i don't think it needs any more.
It has a built-in boost and attenuator which are both very welcome additions. (although the boost leaves much to be desired)

Sounds NASTY.
It sounds like no other amp, and not in a good way.
It clips in a very harsh, flat, and suprisingly characterless way.
It is possible to get some useable sounds out of it, if you use it clean with a nice overdrive in front. The built in boost is horrible, and makes an already hideously harsh amp even worse.
There isn't enough gain. I'm no metalhead, not by a long shot... but this amp is fender clean, unless you crank it right up to full and engage the boost. I say fender clean, to demonstrate how clean; it sounds nothing like a fender, it is far darker and duller.
I keep hearing good reviews for this amp and i just can't understand why. Listen to clips of it - i guarentee you it is a horrible amp. Try the matamp forum.

I got this for bedroom use. I'm using my jcm800 with a hotplate for that nowadays. Should be getting an Orange tiny terror, or Zvex nano head in the next few months though, when i decide between them.

Seems quite hardy, never not worked before.
The orange vinyl covering it seems quite weak though, and seems to wear through very easily

not spoke to them, but I'm told it's very good.

Waste of money. I'm not impressed.

Features Tone to the Bone! And then some, gobs of it actually. Also, a way great MXR Micro Amp-style footswitcable boost, and an ATTENUATOR folks, do I have to stress the importance of attenuating the power amp output when playing at home?! Because, I kid you not, 2W (1 6L6 output tube) is *plenty* loud, almost drives my poor l*sbian neighbours crazy.

It is as versatile as you are. The rest of the tone (from "7" to "10", or even "SRV") is in your hands.

It sounds like a Fender Champ, 50??s style, driven to the max (perhaps a little lower gain, OK). Dime this little bugger, and roll of the guitar volume (or play softly), and it goes *almost* clean. Dig in, and instant mayhem. And, what was the first thing about Project Mayhem now?

The sound quality...don??t get me started! Check it out.

I would love to try this in a smaller club/pub setting. Mind you, I have a potent little guitar (Starfield Stratzilla, p*ssy pink, NO less!) and a VoodooLab Sparle Drive, just to push it over the edge where reason stops applying. Also, the Marshall 1936 2x12 cab helps.

Don??t know, but it??s pretty heavy. Also, it??s purportedly built by monomaniac wood elves, and I??d trust them. Wouldn??t you?

See above...WOOD elves.

Are you kidding? I??ve played tube amps for many years, but this little thing takes it to another level. Only amp I??ve tried that is in the same league...Marshall 1986 Bass head from ??74. And that one, I can NEVER play, lest I??d be arrested!

Made in 2005. Does exactly what I want. ie Provides a warm, sustained tone just before break up and at a low volume.Perfect power level for home and recording use.

Sounds best with my Heritage jazz guitar, my 335, and P90 equipped special. Nice sounds from Fenders but I like my Fenders brighter.
Volume control changes tone a lot. I set it on almost max volume, and control from the guitar. Without using the boost there is only a little distortion which suits me fine.If that is your kick tell the guys at Matamp and I bet they can sort it for you.

One of the controls and an input socket are a bit crackly.

They are the best. Period.

Playing over 40 years. Own Orange, Laney, Vox and Marshall amps, Fender and Gibson Guitars. This amp is an important part of my tone options.I will probably buy other Matamp's soon.

The Minimat is an 2w tube head introduced late 2005. It has a low input, and a high input which features a switchable boost. The front panel has the 2 inputs, and controls for the boost level, volume and tone. There's also a handy power switch ;)
Around the back there is a DI socket, a socket for the (included)boost footswitch and 2 speaker outputs. There is one 8/16ohm connection, and one 8/16ohm connection which runs through the inbuilt attenuator. The last feature is a control to determine how much attenuation is applied to the signal when using that output.
So, it's a 2w head using a single 12ax7 preamp tube and a single 6v6 output tube. There's a clean boost for one input. There is one unattenuated output, one attenuated output, and a DI socket for recording.

I don't reall yconsider it useful to give a ratign out of 10 in this category, as I bought the amp because it had exactly the features I wanted, but some people will want more, others will want less. It's a good match for me however.

I bought this amp to use for clean to overdriven sounds. It can get distorted, especially using the boost, but in a natual sounding way. If you want distortion at neighbour friendly volumes you can use the attenuated output and whack the volume all the way up. If you need more, just use the boost or a pedal.
The clean to slightly overdriven sounds are very clear, kind of chimey (is that a word?) depending on the guitar used. I've mainly been using a SG so far, but the cleans with my tele are even more beautiful. The only criticism I can make here is that the dynamic sound can really show up poor technique- and mine is along way from great. :(
The more heavily overdriven sounds are very powerful, with a lot of depth and push. It's a great raw rock sound, but also works really well for PJ Harvey style guitar.
More distorted sounds seem more suited towards stoner rock, Kyuss type stuff. This amp respons really well to fuzz pedals (I've been using a fulltone 70s and a frantone peach fuzz) and gets a really heavy powerful sound.

My Minimat is just over a month old, so it's a bit early ot say how reliable it will be. Having said that, the work inside is very neat, it's well laid out, and if it should ever need repair the point to point board should make that very easy.

I've spoken with Matamp a few times, and found them to be incredibly helpful. They talked me through the full features of the minimat and the options I had before I ordered, kept me updated on order progress, and talked me through using the amp after I had it. I rang with an enquiry concerning the earthing, and they were very patient and informative.

Matamp is one of the few companies I'd like to buy from again, as the service was so good I feel even more confidant about the product.

I bought this amp to fulfill a specific need- to provide a good tone at a low volume for practise and recording. It does that great. It's small, has the sound and features that I need, and was at a great price. For that, I couldn't be happier.

Manufactured in late 2005, this is a 2 watt valve head. It has an ECC83 pre-amp valve and a 6V6 in the power stage. Two inputs, Lo and Hi. Three knobs - boost (which is footswitchable), volume and tone. On the back, there's a DI output, a footswitch input and two speaker outputs wich will accept 8 or 18 ohms. There is also a master volume knob on the back which applies only to the Speaker 2 output. They supply the footswitch (nice touch). In today's world of 4-channel heads and multi-effects processors with 98 simultaneous effects, I guess you have to mark it down in terms of the features it offers, but that in no way reflects on the stellar quality of this literally astonishing little head.

I have several guitars but my assessment of the sounds is based on how it worked with a Fender Strat and a Tokai Love Rock, plugged into a Koch 2 X 12" and a Marshall 4 X 10". My 'style' is pretty much classic rock and the sounds that I gravitate towards are: Fender/Vox-ish cleans, SRV mild overdrive, through to AC/DC, Lizzy, Led Zeppelin.
The bottom line is this amp is absolutely sensational. If you wind the volume up and kick the boost in, you're in classic 70s heaven. The wide ranging tone control will take you from Carlos, through Angus and Jimmy to Albert Collins ice-pick in the ear. Both guitars (i.e. single coils and humbuckers) sounded equally impressive with the tonal quality of the instruments clearly expressed even with a lot of overdrive. As you would expect, it cleans up well if you turn your guitar volume, and it was apparent to me that there is a vast pallette of tonal nuance to be had from the interaction of the guitar level with the amp settings.
Because it's only 2 watts, it is quite feasible to turn everything up to 10 without breaking your windows and then you're experiencing the magic of power stage saturation, something most of us only dream about when we're using our 100 watt heads. I'm sure everyone knows this already - but I'll say it again anyway - power stage saturation is what makes a good guitar sound great. 'Why don't I sound like ... [whoever], I've got ALL the same gear?'. PSS is a wonderful thing and with this head, you can have it every time you feel like jamming after the kids have gone to bed.
I also fake my way through jazz chord-melody stuff and the clean sounds are equally impressive. Of course, you won't get enormous volume while retaining that beautiful chimey shimmer but you wouldn't want or need it either.
One of the most intense and satisying musical experiences of my life.

As this is brand new, I really shouldn't comment on reliability. However, the build quality is not only as high as anything I've ever seen but as high as I could ever imagine. The manufacturer's warranty is, in layman's terms - if it EVER breaks, we'll fix it. I am pretty certain it will be reliable. As for gigging without a backup, this wouldn't be a gigging amp, but I usually gig without a back up (I like life on the edge!)

These guys work out of a dark satanic mill in deepest Yorkshire and they are doing this because it's in their blood. They know their products inside out, they're always there no matter when you phone, and they couldn't be more helpful. As to the warranty, we're not talking about some faceless corporation here. The guys at Matamp are craftsmen, arguably artists, and they stand over their work. I love their products and I can't wait to get some more.
My mate Sam also got one and he's more into modern, heavier stuff so he asked to have his voiced accordingly, which they did (for the same price). This is the kind of service you're not going to get from a mainstream manufacturer, with no disrespect intended.

I have been playing for about 25 years. I have about a dozen electrics now and over the years I'm sure I've owned 30 and played hundreds. Amp-wise, I've had everything from Carlsboro trannies to an 80s rack monstrosity. Now, I mainly use a Fender Twin and a Doctor Z Maz 38 Senior. This is a splendid addition to my stable. If lost or stolen, I would definitely buy another.
I love everything about it!
A final point: this head has two useful purposes. First, as a serious amplifier for playing at home; and second, as a recording amp. As such, the first comparison I made was with the Cornford Harlequin, which I used to have myself. I never liked the Harlequin much - a nice enough amp but I didn't think it was particularly toneful and it just never inspired me. It's certainly not a great choice for a Strat guy which is what I am. Now, the Harlequin is currently retailing at #599. This baby - which completely kicks it arse sonically in my opinion - is #250. You see where I'm going with this????.....