Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: rahnooo on September 06, 2006, 03:29:18 PM
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So back in June I took a trip to the Matamp factory in Huddersfield looking for a new amp to replace my ailing Ashdown Peacemaker 60 combo. My brief for Jeff and the boys at Matamp was somewhat unusual as I needed something that would work for my Mule loaded Epi Les Paul in a home studio environment, but with sufficient wack to play lap steel in small pub and coffee houses when performing in my acoustic two piece band. I originally thought that a First Lady and hotplate or possibly a 6V6 Minimat would be just the ticket, but ended up with an El84 Minimat in british racing green rexine, white faceplate and green silk speaker cloth. I know there has been a great deal of interest in the Minimat on the BKP forum, and while a few people have the 6V6 version (Philking and Froglord certainly do) I’m not aware of anyone with the EL84 head, so I figured a short review was in order, all the more so as I tested both Minimat heads against each other.
(http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y85/rahnooo/Matamp.jpg)
Spec
To recap for those who haven’t heard of the Minimat before, both models are non-master amps, and come with High and Lo inputs, with a built in solid-state boost on the High input, a dummy speaker load so the amp can be fed by D.I into a mixing desk, and speaker outputs for 8 and 16 ohm cabs. The only front panel controls are a volume control which increases the input to the valve and so increases gain, a tone control which increases the treble as it is turned clockwise, and dial controlling the amount of boost applied. The High input booster is activated from the footswitch provided.
The El84 Minimat is essentially the same amp as the 6V6 version, with only minor circuit changes to accommodate the El84 valve (as I understand from speaking to Hayden), and rated with a nominal (clean) output of 4W compared to the 6V6 clean output of 2W. The Matamp custom of rating amps at their nominal output can lead to a few surprises when compared to other company’s ratings, as the nominal figure does not take into account output when the amp is pushed to overdrive. Without the attenuator even my 4W (nominal) Minimat is loud enough to upset the neighbours.
Sounds
Originally I was interested in the 6V6 Minimat, which has been compared to a Fender Bassman. Both amps play really well, with a very fast response and incredible touch sensitivity, which really made my Mules come alive. The 6V6 has a brighter sound than the El84 to my ears, with a more chiming top end, while the El84 has a darker more pronounced midrange that is essentially more British in nature. That is not to say that the El84 is a dull sounding amp, it has enough top end, but as Hayden remarked to me, it is just a different top end. I’ve found that with the tone control at 3 o’clock I’ve got a well-balanced sound that matches my Mules perfectly, with the option of more treble on tap if I need it. Even at the most extreme setting the Minimat’s tone never turns into an ice pick, and with the tone control at it’s minimal setting the sound if warm and clear but never dull.
Neither amp’s have modern levels of gain - they have a vintage character that excels in on the edge breakup sounds reminiscent of John Frusciante’s tone in “I Could Have Lied”, and classic rock riffs tumble naturally out of the El84 head so there is plenty of gain on tap unless you want to shred. The 6V6 is lighter on gain than the El84, but still has enough for SVR tones. The booster works well to push the amp that bit harder for those Neil Young moments. Both amps have very lovely clean sounds too, particularly the 6V6 which sparkles, although clean headroom is limited in both models.
Overall the Minimat has a rootsy feel that despite being unrefined is never harsh or unmanageable, and instead adds a little extra to raw blues, classic rock, and even the currently fashionable garage rock feel of bands such as The Raconteurs where a smoother amp might struggle. That’s not to say the Minimat is a one trick pony, it cleans up well and playing with the volume controls on my Epi reveal a range that encompasses smooth jazz tones through R.E.M and Radiohead, to raw Neil Young and Crazy Horse searing leads, while the tones of Led Zeppelin are never far away.
Having previously played amps with a lot of reverb on tap I was a little worried that the lack of ‘verb would prove to be a limitation to the Minimat. I shouldn’t have worried, as the notes have an extra special 3D quality and a shimmer that I’ve not encountered on any other amp before, meaning that depth and feel is conveyed without the need for reverb.
Playing the lap steel through the Minimat revealed a smooth and responsive tone that reacted well to changes in picking dynamic, and plenty of clean headroom for accompanying an acoustic guitar and vocalist. While the 6V6 sounded very convincing, I found myself preferring the El84 head, where the more pronounced midrange and slightly darker voicing gave a beautifully full-bodied velvety tone. Even when pushing the amp into overdrive the lap steel sings and soars instead of resorting to that terrible “wasp in a jam jar” sound that slide guitars played through inferior amps can suffer from.
The effect of different speakers was very pronounced and was crucial to getting the best tone from both models. I found myself preferring an Alnico Blue speaker for the El84 (which is what I’ve paired mine up with), while the 6V6 worked particularly well with a Cannabis Rex Hemp Cone, although Hot 100’s also worked well with both.
Conclusion
In the El84 Minimat I’ve found the perfect amp for my home playing and studio needs as well as a portable unit that will project the lap steel live without drowning out acoustic guitar and vocals. When such a superb range of tones are available from an incredibly simple unit I do find myself asking why all amps don’t just have a volume and tone control. The paring of Minimat and Bare Knuckle Pickups in particular is a winning combination, both the amps and the pickups are so responsive that they allow each other to react subtly to the playing, and as I understand it Matamps have been voiced specifically for BKP’s for the past five years.
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Good read, very thorough.
No sound clips??
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Thus far I've only had time to record clips with the lap steel, which I didn't think were appropriate to post here as it isn't equipt with BKPs. As soon as I have a chance I'll be posting clips of my Mules and Minimat for your appreciation ;)
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That is one of the most eloquent and informative reviews I have read for a VERY long time (you need to find work on a guitar mag. , as many reviews SUCK).
Well done and look forward to clips.
Only bad thing I would say is, you have most def. given alot of us GAS again aggggh!
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haha!
i was gonna say like Nick did, was very nicely phrased e.t.c... or to just copy Nick which is always easier, very eloquent.
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bug off and get ya own punchlines young Sam :P
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That was a great review and very interesting.
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Nice review, will be interesting to see what they sound like as I also have Mules.. and have a job interview on Saturday so I could be looking to cure some GAS issues if I get it :P
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ooops double post...
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Thanks for the kind words guys, glad you all found it useful.
I would wholeheartedly advise a trip to the Matamp factory, they're fantastic guys who are only too happy to help, and there's no pressure to spend cash on something you don't want. In fact the only stipulation I was given was that I was banned from playing D.I.V.O.R.C.E on the lap steel...
I do have lap steel clips and if anyone is interested I'll send links to them via PM. I don't think it's appropriate to post non BKP clips on the forum proper. Otherwise once I've got settled after the recent house move I'll get my skates on with laying down some Mule clips - maybe some Neil Young or Lez Zeppelin...
Cheers
*Rahnooo*
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that was an excellent review- i saw it earlier, but didn't have a chance to read it, as I was too hungry and wanted to get some dinner ( :lol: ). but that was a really good review, very thorough, and very interesting throughout!
I didn't know you could get the minimat in el84 (though I should have guessed you could what with matamp being a little like the BKP of amp manufacturers...)
here's a thought- if you have a dmusic or similar site, you could host your slide clips on there, and put a link to them in here- that way you wouldn't be taking up BKP bandwidth...
just a thought.
I'm looking forward to the epi clips though, with mules... :D
just out of interest- is there any way to get to try a matamp without actually going to the factory (other than fluking finding one on sale second hand, which is a lottery)? being in northern ireland, the only time I ever manage to get to England, I tend to be either in a holiday destination, or a big city- Huddersfield (no offence to anyone from there) is a bit out of the way. Do they have any dealers at all? I think I checked their site, and couldn't see any info about that... :(
:drink:
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Dave, call em, talk to Hayden and get him to play over phone :) I KNOW he would/will :)
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^ i'd rather try them, man...
but hayden (aka HJM) actually works for matamp? or is that a different hayden?
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nope, same guy, spoke on phone to him while back about EXACT same amp being talked about here.
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cool!
cheers, nick.
:drink:
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Great review!
Have you played other EL84 amps that you might compare the sound to--favourably or unfavourably? Something by Vox or Orange, etc.
I've decided I really like EL84 amps for clean to breakup tones and have been thinking of getting one when I can afford it.
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Great little amps- almost bought one but decided on a nano instead. If I were going for one now it'd be the 6v6 version ( my harly is el84 powered anyway) which has the sweetest cleans/breaking up tones. Some clips from the Matamp forum:
http://p203.ezboard.com/fofficialmatampownersclubfrm7.showMessage?topicID=1245.topic&index=28
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Excellent review.
I've been interested in the Minimat since it was first produced last year but was a little hesitant in buying one after looking at some of the early reviews on the Matamp forum. Whilst they all liked the Minimat to some extent, a large proportion did not exhibit the 'honeymoon period' we all seem to get when we get new gear. (e.g. big smile when you try your first set of BKP pickups ).
However, the attraction of having a hand built 2watt amp proved too great and I bought a used 6V6 model on ebay about 2 months ago. I've tried it with these BKP equiped guitars:-
Tele (Boss), Strat (Apache), SG (Riff Raff), Les Paul (Crawler), Ibanez EDR470 (Crawler)
With the single coil Tele & Strat it produced a great full chimey sound at mid to higher settings and a reasonable sound at max/boost settings although I found the boost to be a little 'raw/grainy?'.
However, with the 3 humbucker equiped guitars I found the voicing to be a little lacking. I tried several pedals in front of it which improved it. After reading rahnooo's review I think I would have been happier with the EL84 model. I have a Fender Champ 12 (with a 6L6) and it sounds similar in may ways (despite custom mods) in that it likes (not surprisingly) Fender guitars but is not so convincing at higher gain settings with humbuckers. The Cornford Hurricane (two EL84s) I have sounds excellent with both sc and humbuckers.
If you are thinking of getting a Minimat I would suggest:-
1/. - Go to the factory if possible and try both the 6V6 and the EL84 - if you are not happy they can tweek it (within limits) to what you want.
2/. - Realise that the Minimat is not a high gain monster - you will definitely need some good pedals if you're into heavy rock/shredding.
3/. - Try it with different speakers if possible - I think it does not suit my Celestion V30 loaded Cornford cab.
4/. - Realise that guitar tone is a very personal thing - some guitarists might think the humbucker sounds from the Minimat are great and the Fender sounds are cr@p.
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Excellent review.
3/. - Try it with different speakers if possible - I think it does not suit my Celestion V30 loaded Cornford cab.
Agreed. I tried some 11 different speaker cabs before I settled on the Alnico Blue. I found the Celestion V30 to be quite muddy compared to the Alnico Blue. The latter is a very clear, low wattage (15W) speaker which compresses slightly as the amp overdrives. I find it complements both models of Minimat nicely, although if I was going for a 6V6 model (which I have to admit I am gassing over) I would probably plumb for a Cannabis Rex Hemp Cone speaker.
*Rahnooo*
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Great review. When I got mine I was returning to the States and needed it within a couple of hours (and covered in red!), so the only one available was a 6V6. It is small enough to go as hand baggage too (I guess not at the moment though!). I have a lot of 6V6/EL84 amps anyway and I was really wanting an EL34 ot KT66 version however this is not available (I hadn't realised they were going the EL84 route originally). Now I think I will wait and probably get a 1224mkII (I know it is a big difference).
I agree that the speaker makes a big difference. I am currenly using it into a Mojotone 10" Alnico, but will change to a Celestion G12M vintage when I have chance (the G12H also sounded good, but the M gave me the older rock sound that I like).
The advantage of going to Matamp (other than hours of entertainment and tea), is that they have lots of different speakers set up for you to try. They also have an amp with all different power valves so you can get something that suits your ears.
I also know that going into a 4X12 makes a big difference too. If you have chance try your minimat that way. It really opens up the sound for power chord work.
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I finally got round to encoding some Mini Mat and lap steel recordings I'd done to Mp3. Both are taken from the same track, which comprises of vocals, acoustic guitar, lap steel, and bakcing vocals, although I've only included the lap steel solo's and acoustic guitar backing here.
Both clips were recorded with a Rode Nt1a large diaphram condensor mic about 12" away from the speaker cab, direct into Cubase. Gentle compression and a dash of reverb were added in the box. The first clip was volume at 9o'clock, in the second clip volume was at 11o'clock. In both clips the tone was at 3o'clock.
The first clip shows the smooth clean sounds I get from the amp, and the second demonstrates how touch responsive the amp is in getting breaking up to gentle cleans depending on picking action.
http://213.129.73.14/members/my_tracks/audio/DT_ACF396F5420927.mp3
http://213.129.73.14/members/my_tracks/audio/DT_ACF39708071618.mp3
Just right click on the link and save as. Enjoy!
*Rahnooo*