Matchless

This is the very first of an incredible new line from Phil Jamison of Matchless Amplifiers and is easily ranks right up there with the best of the designs ever to bear the Matchless name.

The non-reverb variant of the Matchless Avalon offers a somewhat simpler circuit for the purest signal path. If you don't have to have reverb or find yourself using it infrequently enough that a good reverb pedal in the fx loop will suffice, then this is the version for you. It saves you money versus the reverb model, sounds amazingly lush without the reverb and, when run overdriven, has so much complexity and dimmension that on-board reverb would be redundant.

This amp features a hybrid of three construction methods that make perfect sense and helps keep the price a bit lower than the usual Matchless offerings without any sacrifice to tone or feel. See "Spotlight" area at the top of this page for an in-depth explanation of this new construction technique.

All parts quality is typical Matchless, but a small bit of labor intensity has been saved via the hybrid construction methodology.

This version of the Avalon 30 is a massaged variant of the first channel of the C30 chassis.

Phil has tweaked the tone stack and gain levels to give a very similar level of sparkle, shimmer and complexity to the clean tones of the C30 amp while adding a new degree of thickness to the overdriven tones which are creamy, smooth and offer extreme harmonic complexity with very high levels of gain offering infinite sustain at a volume level setting of about 1:30.

The rear panel offers the same half power switch and single jack, dual-tip fx loop design of the original C30.

Quite simply this is one of the best amps I have ever heard with a low end thickness and thump that hits you in the chest more like a closed back 212 than an open back 112.

It's a brilliant design offering truly amazing tones, a great range of gorgeous cleans to mild overdrive to full on searing gain all in an incredibly well constructed chassis that will outlive its owner *and* at a price point more easily attained by most.

It's also a good deal lighter than the SC30 at about 60 pounds making it much more easily transported without damaging your back!

Offered here in quad EL84 version for 30 watts at Full power or 15 watts at Half power, but also available as a dual EL34 amp.

A single, Matchless modified Celestion G12H30 is used to flawlessly round out the sonic package.

Paired with any guitar this amp sounds incredible, but paired with my Grosh Electrajet or MotorAve Lemans and McQueen I feel I have achieved some of the best tones I have ever had in my nearly 40 years of playing guitar.

The amp comes standard with a clear Plexi front panel allowing you to see the black powder coated chassis, tubes and transformers in all their glory and internal, chassis side lighting to really show off the amp on stage as well as to allow visibility while tweaking in a dark room.

Effects loop is standard: The effects loop is an RTS, single, 1/4" jack as found on the flagship C30 amplifiers so an RTS to dual 1/4" mono Y cable is required. We'll gladly quote you on a custom, high-end cable from Lava Cable based on the length you need. A variety of high end cable types are available. I use and prefer the Lava Cables Blue Demon cable in this application.

This is the very first of an incredible new line from Phil Jamison of Matchless Amplifiers and is easily ranks right up there with the best of the designs ever to bear the Matchless name.

This amp features a hybrid of three construction methods that make perfect sense and helps keep the price a bit lower than the usual Matchless offerings without any sacrifice to tone or feel. See "Spotlight" area at the top of this page for an in-depth explanation of this new construction technique.

All parts quality is typical Matchless, but a small bit of labor intensity has been saved via the hybrid construction methodology.

This version of the Avalon 30 is a massaged variant of the first channel of the C30 chassis with the added bonus of truly fantastic reverb (more on the reverb later).

Phil has tweaked the tone stack and gain levels to give a very similar level of sparkle, shimmer and complexity to the clean tones of the C30 amp while adding a new degree of thickness to the overdriven tones which are creamy, smooth and offer extreme harmonic complexity with very high levels of gain offering infinite sustain at a volume level setting of about 1:30.

The rear panel offers the same half power switch and single jack, dual-tip fx loop design of the original C30.

The reverb is more plate like and less spring like. Even at very high settings it lays behind the fundamental so that rather than hear obvious reverb, an effect I have never cared for, you are simply aware of a spaciousness that gives the illusion that the amp is being played in a large hall. When you lighten up your attack for cleaner tones the reverb becomes more apparent and of course always offers a nice, lush tail when you stop playing. So the spaciousness and overall ambient quality are vastly improved without having the reverb effect get in the way of the tone.

Now *that* (!) is how all reverbs should behave........unless of course you're playing Dick Dale covers!

Quite simply this is one of the best amps I have ever heard with a low end thickness and thump that hits you in the chest more like a closed back 212 than an open back 112.

It's a brilliant design offering truly amazing tones, a great range of gorgeous cleans to mild overdrive to full on searing gain all in an incredibly well constructed chassis that will outlive its owner *and* at a price point more easily attained by most.

It's also a good deal lighter than the SC30 at about 60 pounds making it much more easily transported without damaging your back!

Offered here in quad EL84 version for 30 watts at Full power or 15 watts at Half power, but also available as a dual EL34 amp.

A single, Matchless modified Celestion G12H30 is used to flawlessly round out the sonic package.

Paired with any guitar this amp sounds incredible, but paired with my Grosh Electrajet or MotorAve Lemans and McQueen I feel I have achieved some of the best tones I have ever had in my nearly 40 years of playing guitar.

The amp comes standard with a clear Plexi front panel allowing you to see the black powder coated chassis, tubes and transformers in all their glory and internal, chassis side lighting to really show off the amp on stage as well as to allow visibility while tweaking in a dark room.

Effects loop is standard: The effects loop is an RTS, single, 1/4" jack as found on the flagship C30 amplifiers so an RTS to dual 1/4" mono Y cable is required. We'll gladly quote you on a custom, high-end cable from Lava Cable based on the length you need. A variety of high end cable types are available. I use and prefer the Lava Cables Blue Demon cable in this application.

Highly Recommended!!™ 

An incredible new line from Phil Jamison of Matchless Amplifiers and is quite possibly their best yet.

This amp features a hybrid of three construction methods that make perfect sense and helps keep the price a bit lower than the usual Matchless offerings without any sacrifice to tone or feel. See "Spotlight" area at the top of this page for an in-depth explanation of this new construction technique.

All parts quality is typical Matchless, but a small bit of labor intensity has been saved via the hybrid construction methodology.

This version of the Avalon 30 is a massaged variant of the first channel of the C30 chassis with the added bonus of truly fantastic reverb (more on the reverb later).

Phil has tweaked the tone stack and gain levels to give a very similar level of sparkle, shimmer and complexity to the clean tones of the C30 amp while adding a new degree of thickness to the overdriven tones which are creamy, smooth and offer extreme harmonic complexity with very high levels of gain offering infinite sustain at a volume level setting of about 1:30.

The rear panel offers the same half power switch and single jack, dual-tip fx loop design of the original C30.

The reverb is more plate like and less spring like. Even at very high settings it lays behind the fundamental so that rather than hear obvious reverb, an effect I have never cared for, you are simply aware of a spaciousness that gives the illusion that the amp is being played in a large hall. When you lighten up your attack for cleaner tones the reverb becomes more apparent and of course always offers a nice, lush tail when you stop playing. So the spaciousness and overall ambient quality are vastly improved without having the reverb effect get in the way of the tone.

Now *that* (!) is how all reverbs should behave........unless of course you're playing Dick Dale covers!

Brilliant!

Quite simply this is one of the best amps I have ever heard with a low end thickness and thump that hits you in the chest more like a closed back 212 than an open back 112.

It's a brilliant design offering truly amazing tones, a great range of gorgeous cleans to mild overdrive to full on searing gain all in an incredibly well constructed chassis that will outlive its owner *and* at a price point more easily attained by most.

It's also a good deal lighter than the SC30 at about 60 pounds making it much more easily transported without damaging your back!

Offered here in quad EL84 version for 30 watts at Full power or 15 watts at Half power, but also available as a dual EL34 amp.

A single, Matchless modified Celestion G12H30 is used to flawlessly round out the sonic package.

Paired with any guitar this amp sounds incredible, but paired with my Grosh Electrajet or MotorAve Lemans and McQueen I feel I have achieved some of the best tones I have ever had in my nearly 40 years of playing guitar.

The amp comes standard with a clear Plexi front panel allowing you to see the black powder coated chassis, tubes and transformers in all their glory and internal, chassis side lighting to really show off the amp on stage as well as to allow visibility while tweaking in a dark room.

Effects loop is standard: The effects loop is an RTS, single, 1/4" jack as found on the flagship C30 amplifiers so an RTS to dual 1/4" mono Y cable is required. We'll gladly quote you on a custom, high-end cable from Lava Cable based on the length you need. A variety of high end cable types are available. I use and prefer the Lava Cables Blue Demon cable in this application.

Highly Recommended!!™ 

Head version of the Avalon 30 with Reverb as described above. 

•Cappuccino and Cream head and 212 cabinet ($150.00 msrp custom tolex upcharge)
•Avalon 30 Head with Reverb - msrp $2249.00
•ESD 212 cab with one Matchless modified Celestion G12H30 and one Matchless modified G12M Greenback- $952.00

The Head and matching 212 cabinet version of the Avalon 30 as described above.

A Beautiful color combination first shown at Winter NAMM 2006 this amp looks as stunning as it sounds. Phil Jamison calls this Cappuccino and Cream! It's one of the best looks I have ever seen on any amp!

The Pro-grade single channel preamp with its interactive tone controls is coupled to a serious dual-EL84 power section with a tube rectifier. All models have active EQ to attain an excellent array of complex tones. User controls: Volume, Interactive Bass & Treble, and Master Volume.

You'll find some of the richest, woodiest and reediest tones you have ever heard coming out of this combination.

Check out the YouTube link above. This video is of my long-time friend Audley Freed playing through a Matchless Lighting during a Gibson clinic at the link below. This is part 2 of a 6 part video series and, totally unrelated to this amplifier, I highly recommend watching all 6 parts.

The cab used in this video is Audley's old Fender Tone King, closed back 212 with Celestion Vintage 30's which works very well with this amp, but is louder and more directional. For most of my clients the Matchless ESS cabinet as offered here will be the better choice. 

**Due to the huge range of colors and color combinations offered by Matchless each amp is built to order. Typical lead time before shipping can run from as little as one week for an amp with a cabinet that Matchless has in stock to 4 weeks for a cabinet they have to special order. We do stock a variety of Matchless amplifiers, but usually only in Black, Gray, Dark Green or Cappuccino and Cream two-tone as seen in the above example.

One of the founding fathers of the boutique amplifier movement and still one of the best you can buy. The HC30 is simply phenomenal. I have personally owned one since the early 90's and highly recommend this model with matching ESD 212 cab to any fan of pure, shimmery, ultra complex, ultra dynamic British tube tone.

Quad EL84's running at high voltage.
EF86 and 12AX7 preamps
GZ34 rectifier tube as standard.

This piggy back rig is covered in gorgeous cappuccino and cream two-tone tolex.

Head and cab available seperately.....inquire via email or phone for individual prices. 

**Due to the huge range of colors and color combinations offered by Matchless each amp is built to order. Typical lead time before shipping can run from as little as one week for an amp with a cabinet that Matchless has in stock to 4 weeks for a cabinet they have to special order. We do stock a variety of Matchless amplifiers, but usually only in Black, Gray, Dark Green or Cappuccino and Cream two-tone.

This is an amazing new amplifier from Matchless. The 3015 is essentially the preamp from a Matchless Spitfire, but with a larger transformer and a quad of EL84 power tubes versus the pair in the Lighting.

It can be operated at 30 watts or at 15 watts with two of the power tubes de-activated.

The range of this amplifier is unreal.......pristine, shimmery, glassy clean tones all the way through classic Matchless pushed clean and complex crunch tone territory and in to a gorgeous higher-gain range.

Equipped with a single Matchless modified, Celestion G12H30

Everything I love about Matchless is here in build quality, sound, feel and responsiveness and check that price point........very nice!! 

****Due to the huge range of colors and color combinations offered by Matchless each amp is built to order. Typical lead time before shipping can run from as little as one week for an amp with a cabinet that Matchless has in stock to 4 weeks for a cabinet they have to special order. We do stock a variety of Matchless amplifiers, but usually only in Black, Gray, Dark Green or Cappuccino and Cream two-tone.

An all new, design from Phil Jamison of Matchless Amplification.

This is a unique 9 watt, 112 combo designed for home, studio or small (preferrably mic'd) club gigs.

What's unique about it?

Well.....it is all about the gain. The amp's name is appropriate. Fire up this single EL84 Single-Ended Class A beast and what you get is searing, singing, thick as a milk shake tone that has the definitive reedy, saxaphone tone.

All at very low volumes.

Master Volume
Volume
Bass
Treble

On/Off
Standby

12" Celestion G12H30

1 x EL84
1 x GZ34
1 x 12AX7

This is a cool piece!! 

****Due to the huge range of colors and color combinations offered by Matchless each amp is built to order. Typical lead time before shipping can run from as little as one week for an amp with a cabinet that Matchless has in stock to 4 weeks for a cabinet they have to special order. We do stock a variety of Matchless amplifiers, but usually only in Black, Gray, Dark Green or Cappuccino and Cream two-tone.
A breathtaking amplifier in every regard.

How does it sound?

Well.....this amplifier takes the incredible right hand, EF86 pentode channel from the C30 series and pairs it with an excellent reverb and tremolo circuit. Essentially this is an SC30 with the left channel replaced by the effect controls; one knob for reverb and a speed and depth knob for the tremolo.

The Reverb is quiet, lush and there is just enough of it without ever becoming overbearing or ridiculous........in other words it is extremely usable throughout its entire range which give you very fine adjustment ability.

The tremolo is exactly as I remember it from the JJ models which is that it is actually touch sensitive. When you play somewhat lightly the trem is very strong......about equal to the fundamental, but......if you really lay in to the amp with big rhythm the tremolo lays behind the fundamental nicely and only starts to overtake the fundamentals when you let it ring out. For me......that's how a tremolo is supposed to behave!

The tone of this amp is rich, complex, shimmery, bell-like and clear yet when you dig in on the low notes you are rewarded by an exceptionally tight and clear low end.

It's truly one of the all time great amps and one that I give me Highest Recommendation.