Matchless Lightning 15 Combo

One channel, no effects loop. No reverb. Full tube. Used mainly in the studio. Mine has 2 12inch speakers. I've got a lot of rigs, Fender, Marshall, Mesa. All very loud, that's why I purchased the Lightning 15, it has useable volume that you can crank without overpowering everthing in the room. Only 4 knobs, preamp, treble, bass & master volume.

I use single coils & humbuckers, Fender strats & Gibsons. Music style I play is mainly Blues to hard rock. The amp is back to basics, keep it simple stupid mentality. Wonderful clean sounds, the better the guitar, the better the sound. It's an amp that shows off your axe. I played a 59 Gibson reissue on Friday in the studio & oh my god what a sound, it just doesn't get better than that. Until I plugged in my Fender Strat USA, with SCN pickups & then I sounded like Jimi Hendrix himself. With such a relatively small unit. I run everything at 2 o'clock. The rest is up to the guitar & ofcourse the player. Nice gain on the pre amp, ideal for hard rock. I run a couple of pedals to give me an extra push over the cliff when I break out into a solo. I found a treble boost & a hot cake work the best, & sometimes together. What a sound, like a bunch of Marshall stacks.

I would have preferred a standby switch. Power cut out during an evening session, technician said one of the preamp valves had disconnected. All he had to do was press it back in, so I won't take off points.

I think it's 2 years. & 6 months on the valves & speakers.

I've been playing for over 20 years, mainly hard rock cover bands zeppelin to Hendrix. I would definitely buy another Matchless 15 Lightning 2 12 inch speakers. Useable small unit, with lots of big quality sound. Compliments my high quality guitars. Pretty expensive, however, the joy it gives is worth every cent. Not to mention the fact it will save my hearing.
I traded a Gibson 57 reissue gold top, historic collection, that should tell you how impressed I was when I played it. I think it's a great unit for the studio, home or small venue. However I'll be keeping my Marshall stack for the big venues.

Masterfully built. It has all the features I wanted. A master vol, 3 band eq & reverb. Portable combo that doesn't weigh a ton. 40w is plenty loud for gigs.

I guess some people just don't know that speakers need to be broken in. Some of the negative reviews I read sound like those dudes never gave the speaker a chance to break in, and that speaker takes a while to break in. If it's not broken in it will sound harsh and overly bright.

It's an absolutely fantastic sounding amp. The reverb is outstanding. It's a bright sounding amp but bright like Fender amps. It has the chime and bloom you would expect from a high dollar amp. It has enough gain to accomodate a wide variety of music. The cleanish sounds are unbelievable. It can go into moderate gain territory but keep in mind that the vol all the way up for distortion and the master to control vol it can get flubby.

It's amazing with pedals. A Maxon OD9 or OD820 yields sounds you have only dreamed of. It's a very impressive amp. I'm in love with the sound.

Built like a tank. Not a single issue in years. The best of the best.

Top notch support. Matchless is a fantastic company.

Buy the amp, break it in, use an OD pedal in front of it and expect a bright chimey tone. Do this an you will reach the zen of tone man. It's definitely worth the cost and holds its value extremely well.

Features on this amp is Volume(gain), Bass , Treble , Master, but in fact the real feature is the fact it is only 15 watts and is intended for that reason(if you know what I mean)2-EL84'S and three 12ax7's.Fine craftmanship that will at last my life. Tone ! No reverb.

This amp sounds as good as any and as long as it's not pushed so hard as to be a 100 watt amp and is expected to do what it was built for. Mine has a Jensen P12N ALNICO 12'' speaker and the rectifier has been upgraded to a USA made RCA GZ34 and a Telefunken 12ax7 in the first pre-amp stage. The amp would fart out like an old Fender tweed in the low end with the stock recto tube and speaker.I find that sitting 6-8 feet back from this amp and playing it let's me know how it would sound from a stage to audience situation. It sounds fabulous! I use a PRS soapbar for this amp. It play's clean until I dig in and then just the right amount of overdrive. Just what it was intended to do, nothing more. I plan on trying some 12au7's in the first stage also and have NOS Rca power tubes ordered , can't wait!

It's a Matchless,Superb craftsmanship!

Not yet.

Ive got over 25 years of playing in. I really like that this amp is new and has a old flavor and simplicity to it without the troubles of the wore out vintage amps. I've owned most every Vintage Fender type known to man and just get tired of the the amp tech bills and the time it takes to come and go to get them worked on, with this amp that's all been eliminated but I still have a vintage tone. I think if you buy this amp with the intentions that it's just an amp and not the do all of all amps and you go into it with some thought of what it was designed to do you will be very happy but if you think that it's going to be a Marshall 100 watter or a Mesa Boogie your going to be dissatisfied.It's a Blues amp.I love mine and will never give it up.

'94 Lightning 1x12 combo. Single channel, 2-EL84,Tube rectifier, 3-12ax7's. Sounds great.

Very aggressive small box amp. I turn the master all the way up and dial the volume to taste.....not above 12 o'clock. In the 9 to 12 o'clock range you will find very pleasing dynamic tones that are beautiful, rich, nasty and amazingly loud. Everything comes into play.... pre-amp, power, rectifier tubes and that little cabinet really sounds great. Put some good tubes in this amp and be prepared to be blown away.

I am the original owner since 1994 and there have been no probelms.

Since I bought the Lightning I have owned 3 other high end amps, all of which were very good in their own way. The Lightning is my favorite and the one I keep while the others rotate in and out. It is pretty loud and will work for most rock, blues, pop based bands. It continues to amaze me.

'97 single channel, 2x10 no reverb. Volume, treble, bass, Master. Hi & lo inputs. Light on features but not a bad thing; PART of the reason this amp has such fantastic tone is that it doesn't clutter it's signal chain up with anything that detracts from the pieces of the chain that enhance the tone.

I have played this amp with various PRSs; currently using a singlecut. Also currently own a Hofner Verythin classic (nice...) but the PRS is main guitar. I play mainly alt/indie style rock/pop (think wilco/nada surf/buckley mix). This is my first review ever done because it's the first piece of equipment that I've been absolutely floored by every time I play it. I'm also putting this review in to make up for the doofball mr_t. If you can't pull good sounds out of this amp it's because you are an inadequate player - - make no mistake this amp will accentuate your inabilities because it is so sensitive to everythin in the chain: settings, effects, the guitar and yes THE PLAYER. My guess is in his case he was the short-coming... I digress: the amp is simply amazing: as mentioned very sensitive which eventually will make you a better player. Tonal characteristics include the classic Class-A tube warmth but in my opinion this is better than any Vox I've heard (although I admit I haven't played much with the Voxes). The volume control seems to control the pre-amp signal to adjust the gain. The amp breaks up beautifully here but I do not personally turn past 2 o'clock. It is not a hi-gainer, obviously. It is also the most harmonically rich amp I've played; chords produce notes on the 2nd & 3rd order (how do I know? I read it somewhere...) but the harmonics are "deeper" (i.e., you can hear more "implicit" notes when you play a dissonant chord or suspended line). You simply have to hear the amp as I realize my description is completely lacking. One thing you realize with this amp: the talk of boutique, point-to-point hand-wired, military-grade components means little until you plug in and play. The difference CAN be heard.

no problems.

no issues.

Played 12+ yrs. Have owned Boogie nomad, Bogners, Koch Multitone, even went through a modelling phase. This amp buries them all and the only one that could get close in tonal characteristics is the Bogner but was $700 more for a lot of features I rarely used. Incredible amp.

i wont go into this since others have explained what this amp has.

This amp sounds TERRIBLE with most of my guitars. Incredibly the strat with blue lace sensors is the one that sound best. My gibson es 135, vintage tele and vintage reissue strat sound harsh. I could not beleive that such a pricey amp could sound so trebelish and just plain bad! especialy when trying to get some natural distortion. Even my Fender deluxe reverb sounded a lot better , clean or distorted. So i went to work and checked what kind of tubes the guys at matchless had put inside my baby...and of course, as i feared, they had cheapos in there (groove tubes) ...How could they!??
Replaced them with some better ones and ...AHHHHH!!! now we are talking! Now there is that warmess that comes with handwired amps!

So , beware and be advised to check the tubes that they ship the thing with! they totally kill the tone, especialy while trying to distort the gt signal...8 points for the way it comes from the factory and a 9.5 after retubing ...

It looks like a tank...i dont think there will be trouble...

i did try to contact them by e mail and never got an answer...so they
get a 6 ...

Its an OK amp but i would not spend more than what a lighting cost as it is basicly the same sound your are going to get on all the other models...so , in a way, getting the lighting 15 is a nice way to have that matchless sound, which is unique really, ... but i still prefer the Fender sound, and i recommend checking old fenders (or reissues), changing the tubes and the speaker(s), and thats it! It can not get better than that for Blues, Jazz, prog rock or vintage type rock !!

The basics Volume, bass, treble, Master. You need nothing else for this little tone machine. 15 LOUD! watts comming through the single 12" Matchless custom celestion gives you an amp that you can crank up at home and not have the cops at you house or crank it a little more and go play a bar or small club. Its single channel with two inputs the second being a bit mellower. Reverb would have been nice, but you dont see many 1x12 combos with Verb most are 2x10. Which in my opinion is a completly diffrent amp. (NOT AS GOOD)

I use many diffrent guitars on this amp, tele, strat , Les Paul, 335, Travis Bean and James Trussart guitars. It seems to really like my 56 re-issue Les paul with P-90s and my Custom shop 335 With classic 59s, Although my Custom shop Nocaster and strat sound great also. It seems to have a bit of an issue with my Trussart and my les paul standard Both have full size humbuckers and the low end seems to over extent its self at high volume. My fix for this was a Klon Centaur overdrive sweetner. This way I can hit the pre-amp tubes harder and keep the volume on the amp lower. This took care of the low end problem. Overall the amp is very versitle you can be nice and clean or down right dirty with very little adjustment. Or if your good with your volume knob you dont even have to touch the amp.

Had it for a few years no problems. Seems to be built very solid. Just keep fresh tubes on hand.

Yea right!!!

I have owned a DC-30, a Cheiftian and some Boogie stuff. I sold them all and kept the Lightning. I found myself spinning knobs all the time and messing with tone switches insted of playing. With the lightning its plug in and play. I am still going to try a Clubman 35 with 2x12 cab, but Im not going to get my hopes up. The Lightning just plain smokes. I also just bought a HARRY JOYCE CUSTOM 50 HEAD these things are tone monsters, but it is a more gig friendly amp than home friendly.

This amp was made in 97 and is the best amp i've ever played. it kicks ass, with the powerful but warm tone. you just control the gain rate with the strokes. i wish it had two channels, reverb and standby.
I play country music, it's perfect for that thing. but i guess it suits rock as well as bues tones.

I use a fender telecaster telecaster with a b-bender. the bender demands that the thinner strings must be heard, and not just a roar.
it sounds best on single coils. i used am std.fender pickups om mine.It works well on strats aswell. it has the same preampthing as the dc-30. it can bring out som real twangy stuff with gain. ever heard of the Hellecasters?

this amp will never fail, only the tubes need to be replaced now and then. with the el 84's it's fabulous. i have som problems with it sounding to gainy live, or on high volume. try with a compressor.

i've never had to contact matchless.Too bad matchless is out of business. i hope that they will once again be a respected company.i wonder why they went out...?
if it wasn't for that the warranty was lifetime. only victoria maps can do the same.

i'm 18, and have been playing for three years now. the lightning suits me perfectly.
the amp is very heavy, but it's so small. i also own a marshall vs230 r.this one beats the hell out of it.
Fell free to contact me.

Qusto amplificatore non e molto versatile.Io faccio musica Blues-Rock ed e perfetto per questo genere ma non per es per l'heavy matal.Ha 2 canali con gain diversi 1 ha un guadagno alto il 2 un guadagno minore,volume bassi,alti,master,line out 2 ext speaker(4ohm,8ohm)

Ha un suono fantastico dolce e 15 watt calsse A.E' caratteristico il suono perche ha due sovtek el84m le migliori in commercio e ha una valvola raddirizzatrice diverso dagli altri che hanno i diodi e il cablaggio e manuale,ha una cassa speciale celestion 30w.

LIFETIME WARRANTY!!!!!!

LIFETIME WARRANTY!!!!!!

IO suono da oltre 5 anni e vi garantisco che questo amplificatore e solo per intenditori

This amp combines the Top Boost-type preamp from the DC30-series amps with an AC15-style output stage consisting of 2 EL84's in a Class-A, cathode-biased configuration with no negative feedback. There are volume, bass, treble, and master controls. One high gain input, one low gain input, 4 and 8 ohm outputs and a line out. Power switch and backlit front panel. No standby switch. It uses a Matchless-modified Celestion Vintage 30 speaker. This is one of the earlier models with the smaller cabinet but it still weighs a hefty 45lbs.
The amp definately suits my blues-rock style of playing. It is not a metal machine but it has plenty of smooth overdrive for what I do. I wish Matchless would have included a midrange control - the bass and treble controls have a very wide range, but a mid knob would have rounded out the tonal spectrum nicely. I also wish it had a standby switch. This is not a big deal since the tube rectifier provides a slow warmup. The amp is a bit on the bright side due to the capacitor across the volume control. It would be nice if there were a bright switch similiar to a blackface Fender's to allow the user to defeat this feature.
Overall, this is a very solid, reliable, and great-sounding amp.

I play a blues-rock style with a Strat. The combination of guitar and amp is almost perfect. You can hear every nuance and subtlety in your playing - something that gets lost when playing through ultra-high gain amps. Don't get me wrong, this little amp can get quite aggressive and loud - no problem gigging with it unless the drummer is a real heavy hitter. The distortion is easily controlled by the guitar's volume knob - from almost totally clean to a medium grit. However, this is not the type of amp that can develop those sounds at bedroom volume levels. You have to crank it. The master volume has limited usefulness - it does allow you to somewhat reduce the overall volume level without killing the tone, but not much. I leave it on ten and set the preamp volume to about six. That way there's a nice balance between clean and dirty. Turning up the preamp some more increases the overdrive but the sound gets a little mushy.
The tone controls are very interactive and provide a wide range of sounds. The interactive nature of these controls was a little frustrating at first until I found there are definate sweet spots. A midrange control would have been nice, but I can live without it.
I tried both the 1x12 and 2x10 configurations of this amp and there was no comparison. The 2x10 was way too bright and lacked low-end girth. The single twelve is just as loud and provides a more balanced tone. The amp is also very quiet - almost no hiss or hum (unless I'm near the computer with my Strat). For comparison, I A/B'd this amp against my Marshall JCM800 50W master volume running through a 2x12 Celestion Vintage 30 - loaded cabinet. Believe it or not, the little Matchless could hold it's own. The Marshall has a more aggressive midrange and low-end but the Lightning was almost as loud and had a sweeter overall tone. Plus, it's a lot easier to haul around.
My only real complaint is that the amp is a little too bright. I have to set the treble on about 9 O'clock or else my Strat on the bridge pickup is pretty shrill. Since I bought the amp used and I don't have to worry about voiding the warranty, I may just remove the offending bright cap across the volume control. Other than that, I love it. You can't beat the ringing, musical tone produced by this amp.

The amp is built like a tank. There is a lot of attention to wiring and layout and over-rated components are used throughout. Other than bringing a spare set of tubes and fuses, I would gig without backup. Even after a couple of hours of heavy jamming, the transformers barely get hot. This amp is built to last a long, long time.

I've never personally dealt with Matchless although I've heard nothing but positive comments.

I've been playing over twenty years and I've had lots of average tube amp equipment - Marshalls, Fenders, Ampegs. They didn't sound bad but this amp really excels at the clean to medium distortion portion of the spectrum. It sounds so good that the weaknesses in other areas of my equipment (like pedals) are showing up. Half the time I plug the guitar straight into the amp. Plus, the thing really does look cool with the backlit front panel.
Get rid of the bright cap, add a midrange control and it would be about perfect. It's almost there anyway. I hate to think I may have just found my last amp 'cause it's fun to go shopping.