Matchless Clubman 35

1994 ,
I play blues some rock it perfect for this!
1 main channel
reverb and tremlo would be nice, but being simple and clean is fine.
Plenty power. Loud classA clean. Club playing and studio.
Cool logo and panel back lighting.

Strat to Gibson.
Clean when you want it, cut up your guitar volume knob get a real growl of a sound.
Not noisy .
the clean is pure and the distortion is real , not a processed sound.
"Mr. Natural"

Tank!
I trust it. maybe extra tubes, like with anything that depends on all parts working.

Have not needed any service yet.
But if I do it will be someone in pro audio that will do the work.

25 years.
Recording Studio - hiddentrackstudios.com (Lots of equipment)Pro audio.
I would be VERY upset if something happen to this amp.
I would replace it with the same amp.
Love the PURE TONE!!! I have had many amps in my lifetime but this is it.
nothing to hate: It does get hot but thats the style of amp.
A reverb and tremlo would be nice.
Gods Amp (If he had to play one) No Bull.
If you can afford it get one. It will always hold its value and more.
If you dont get one thats fine because I like to be different and not have the same old stuff everyone eles has.

I recently just got my Matchless Clubman 35 head the other day. It covered in white tolex, and looks great. I had a black one a while back, and like a DUMB@$$ I sold it. So, I saved up and traded something else in and bought another Clubman, and this one is not going anywhere. The head has only one channel, but its pure tone bliss. I love a tele or strat thru a Matchless. It has an effects loop, but I do not use it. I have a pedalboard. The head has plenty of power for me.

I use a Fender 72 Custom tele, a Fender HWY 1 strat HSS, and 2 Tyler classic strats with a humbucker in the bridges, and singlecoils in the mid and neck positions. I play mostly classic rock stuff, blues (Texas style) jazz and funk/fusion. I havent had much noise from the amp, its mostly quite. I can go from super (famous Matchless) clean, to really low down and dirty. I use a Fulltone overdrive, a compressor, a T.C. Electronics Chorus, a Vox wah, an MXR Phase 90, an MXR Flanger, and a channel switcher all on a pedalboard.

I would most def depend on my Clubman for any gig. I probably would carry another amp as a backup, because you never know. But, the Clubman is builr solid, like a freaking tank.

No, have not dealt with Matchless directly.

I have been playing for 25 years now. I have traded and sold so much crap, I dont want to even think about it. This Clubman is staying with me this time. I really do love the Matchless sound, especially the Clubman35.

mine is a 1995 Clubman. you get what you get - single channel. but it sounds awesome.

As opposed ot th eperson who reviews below, for me this amp cuts through & sounds great in many situations. i use it with a 2x12 matchless cab. previously i have recorded with anothe rone & a 2x10 cab - loved that too.
the say it is their version of an old hiwatt. it kinda is, but the volume needed is way lower...

matchless ar ebuilt like tanks. i take soem spare tubes, but no spare amp.

company went out of biz - there is a new version bu tthey never returned my email. whatever.

i love the clubman. I have owned many amps (currenly i have a 63 Vox Ac-30, matchless chieftain, dr maz jr & a bunch of others) including many marshalls, voxes, blah blah. mathcless line is way above those. this amp kills

Same as below. This is an update to my previous review.

My sighting of Nirvana was a mirage. I tried the amp in a full on band situation and it barely hung in there. Cranking up the Master just led to full on muddy mush. The tone got squashed out. Maybe the retifier tube? Well, that was the end all be all. Sure it sounded good at home (but too damn loud to get the tone) but it didn't cut it in a band situation. Sorry, its going bye bye. My Fuchs has claimed top prize. Doesn't have the same character as the Matchless, but its more usable in all situations.

Features? What features? This is a "purists" amp, and I think I've found my Nirvana. I've caught glimpses with my Egnater TOL / Vendetta heads, and my Fuchs OD 50, but I think this nails it. Go figure, and I've been a bells and whistles kind of guy all my life. 2 inputs, volume / gain, bass, treble, brilliance (like presence), master, standby and power on the front side. Back - 4, 8 16 ohm outs, send / return, fuse, power chord. No frills and basic. Hell, no reverb even!! This amp would sound awesome with reverb.

Wow. Now I know why Matchless amps get there reputation for tone. This sucker has it. ONE WORD OF ADVICE, USE GOOD NOS TUBES IN THE 12AX7 AND EF86 SPOTS, IT MAKES A DRASTIC DIFFERENCE IN THE RESPONSE OF THE PREAMP GAIN. IT TIGHTENS UP DRAMATICALLY. STOCK WAS FLAB CITY PAST 2 O'CLOCK ON THE VOLUME. I have a Mullard ECC83 and a Amperex Holland EF86. I was suprised at the change in response. I can run the gain / volume full on and with only a hint of flab on the low end.

Sound? Well, the only negative is that you have to run the master at 9 O'clock and above to really hear what this amp is all about. Under that, the sound is thin and anemic / buzzy. You have to let this power amp breath. Very punchy, dynamic, smooth, with a hint of compression and "sponge". Don't be fooled, this amp has PLENTY of gain, but its not Bogner, Rectumfier, TSL type of gain. Its super rich vintage Marshall Plexi type of gain with a little VOX chime thrown in. I'm using mid to low output PAFs in my PRS Custom so I'm not really pushing the input (#1) all that much. For you rockers, it will do rock n roll with ease, bordering into Heavy Rock / Metal, but not scooped metal. More like Loudness first album, early Judas Preist, AC / DC, Aerosmith, into late 80's category. If you need more, just run a booster up front. Here's the best part....roll off the volume and it CLEANS up beautifully with an incredible tone that is to die for...especially if you have a treble capacitor on your volume pot (.001 uf across the in and out of the pot).

This is a great rock and blues amp. The only negative is that the volume at the best tone is not bedroom level, but more like home alone type of volume. Its bearable, but just a bit loud. I'm getting a Weber MASS so I can bring down the volume a bit and crank the output some more.

Seems to be built well. Haven't had it for long.

Don't know, haven't used them.

This is a great amp. I think this could easily be my "signature" tone. Its so organic and full of life. The dynamics and attack are awesome. My only gripe is the master volume pot. It needs a better taper. It goes from whisper to punch too quickly. Maybe its the class A design? Not sure. You owe it to try it out. If there is one close by, keep in mind that the stock preamp tubes WILL mush out with the gain too high. It will sound like a torn speaker or something. The right tubes will fix that in a jiff. Try one, its a new experience. You'll see how most amps are very sterile sounding in comparison. Even my FUCHS OD Supreme sounds sterile next to this amp. Don't get me wrong, its going to be hard to decide which one to get rid of. Both are great amps, the FUCHS has lots of flexibility, gain, punch, and the bells/whistles. The Matchless has ease of use, and TONE, which can't be matched...hmmm, I guess that's how they got their name huh? I'm dying to hear a BAD CAT.

1995 Clubman 35, one of the best amps I've ever owned. Only drawback is no reverb. This is the loudest 35 watt amp on the planet, great tone and somewhat versatile.

I use this for rock and blues. Very clean with tons of head-room to a that SRV tone to the bone vibe. For what I do this thing sound great.

This thing is built like a tank! I could chain this to my bumper and drag it to the gig!

Customer support was the worst! Really too bad considering how great this amp company used to be. The guy I spoke to was not very helpful nor friendly. I felt like I was intruding on his time... Oh well, I really love my ten year old amp but would probably not buy a new one.

I've been playing for twenty years, own other Fender amps. If my Matchless were stolen or blew up, I'd look around for a company with better customer service. (Bad Cat Amps and Top Hat Amps both make great amps and have better customer service.)

1 channel of tonal bliss!! Volume, Treble, Bass, Brilliance & Master. High and low inputs. Can be very versatile with the right pedals.

First let me say that this has got to be the loudest 35 watt amp I've ever heard. While it doesn't do high gain sounds, the clean and crunch tones are very organic and responsive. I tried the amp through a Mesa 412 with Vintage 30's. (not the best cab for this amp) The best application for this amp is volume at no more than 6 and master at about 8. Above that, the amp gets mushy. This amp craves a good OD pedal. Also, I don't recommend Vintage 30's with this amp. They sound a bit harsh to my ears. I would have loved to check it out with some greenbacks, G12H or Webers. All in all, a great amp. I only use humbucker type guitars and this review is based on that.

Matchless is known for their reliability. I don't think it would need much more than new tubes and biasing.

Guitar Center in Virginia was asking $2000 for this used amp. I've seen them for much less, so I passed on it. Those guys really don't know what they're doing anymore. Also, there was no one over 30 running the store when I was there.

Anyway, I may try and fine one or check out the Bad Cat Hot Cat head. At this point I'm still in love with my Rivera Knuclehead 100 and VHT Pittbull 45 112. While these amps currently cover my EL84 and 6L6 needs, the search is still on for a great EL34 amp.

this is a '96 Clubman....your not going to get Metallica or Megadeth with this thing, but if your after a great vintage tone, this is the amp. It doesn't really sound like any other amp (maybe Vox Ac30 ish) but it sound great...Doesn't do alot, but what it does do, it does very well!

Great clean....throw a good overdrive in front (fuzz face, tube screamer, or what I like, an old Boss od-1) and you have gobs of tone. I play stuff from Led Zeppelin to The Black Crowes with a Les Paul, A Hamer Special FM, and A '62 Reissue Tele and they all sound great with this amp.

Built like a TANK!!!! too bad they didn't build cars!! Never a problem.

Don't know, never needed it!

If you care about TONE, and don't need a bunch of useless crap in an amplifier, buy this amp!

Basic features: 1 channel, volume, master, bass, mid, treble, brilliance. 2xEL34.

Clean sounds are what this amp excels at.
Sounds great with the volume @10 oclock and the master @ 1 oclock.
Beautiful, rich, class A harmonics that ring for days.
Any more gain (volume) than this and the tone starts to mush up, esp. in the lower registers, kinda flabs out on power chords. I've played many many Matchless amps and they all exhibit this, some people don't mind it though it annoys me. When I want more gain I just use a Matchless Dirtbox or a Zvex Fuzz Factory; the amp is always set to sound clean for maximum articulation.

Legendary.

I guess Matchless has reopened, but anyone could service this amp, its very basic.

Sounds amazing clean or with your stompbox of choice, the preamp gain that is in the amp is very liquid and spongy, not very tight or percussive, blues/rock/country/jazz players will love it but modern rockers its not for.

This is a 1998 model Clubman 35. 35 watts 2xEL34 5ar4 2x12AX7 EF86.
Effects loop, hi and lo input vol, bass, treble, brilliance, Master vol.

I might add a headphone jack.......(kidding)

I am using this amp with a strat, a grosh bent top custom and a PRS CU22. Each guitar sounds different through the amp, but all sound HUGE. I am a big fan of both the marshall and the Vox school of tones and this amp combines both into one easy to carry package. The class A matchless just sings with chimey vox clean and when you hit the front with a decent OD (Maxon 820 and a Habenaro) it becomes what ever you need it to be. I sound like a professional through this amp. This amp works at all volume levels and is just fun to play. I can get any tone I need to from this little box, it is truly a joy. Warning however. If you are thinking about purchasing a vetta or a zentera DO NOT PLAY THIS AMP! You will be ruined forever. This is the kind of amp that turns you into a tube snob.

I have read the stories of the matchless amps lost at sea only to wash up and still function. This is a class A head and I do expect to feed it power tubes, but I would rather drive a suburban that gets 8 miles to the gallon than try to pack all of my crap in a geo metro. Tubes = tone fuel.

I am still waiting for them to call me back, I am trying to get a free t-shirt or a key chain.

This thing kicks major ass over my crate GFX212 (see my review) and my Line6 2x10 spyder and my fender Ultimate Stereo Princeton Chorus.

Really?

Find an amp you like to play and then play. I have had my butt whooped by a shoeless insurance salesman playing a squire strat into a Marshall battery operated mini stack with a coiled cable.