Covering My Ass? | A Matchless DC-30 Comes Back

Did I miss something the first time? Gotta find out...
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[@MrGibsn1960]

Exactly how I remember mine sounding and I used it live for 6 years. I really miss that amp

[@ianhughes100]

I built an amp for a guy before that sounded awesome and had a very low noise floor for the massive amount of gain it had. After a couple weeks he started messaging me about a hum the amp had developing and it was driving him nuts. I tried to give him things to try and even had him swap out preamp tubes and the hum persisted. He finally realized that when a certain LED light was on in the other room that the amp would produce the hum. If it was off, the hum was gone. Things involving noise in amps will drive you nuts if you let them!

[@artysanmobile]

Very early home LED replacement bulbs’ quality was all over the place, mostly at the bargain end. I returned many bulbs to Amazon in those days and decided to stick with established brands, damn the price. It should be understood that they contain a power supply and that drives up the cost of a proper bulb.

[@6AM_YT]

Nothing sounds as glorious as a Matchless with a Tele.

[@Phoenix_cataclysm_in_2040]

Try Bugera V22 or V55 then.

[@6AM_YT]

@@Phoenix_cataclysm_in_2040 LOL What?

[@Phoenix_cataclysm_in_2040]

@@6AM_YT Try and see. The bulk of money you pay for these Matchless amps is for their badge and overblown hype that geezers in flat caps propagate in countless KZbin videos. If you're after badge - spend your hard earned cash on Matchless, if you're after good sound plus keeping your cash - get yourself a Bugera V22/V55. So affordable and great looking rigs.

[@retroman541]

​@@Phoenix_cataclysm_in_2040 Hmmm. . . I suppose that some of the musicians on the Matchless artists webpage might qualify as "geezers" (I don't know about the "flat caps" part): Springsteen, Dylan, Robbie McIntosh, Neil Young, Joe Walsh, Jeff Lynne, Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, Colin Hay. . . I don't recall ever hearing anything about Bugera or I would have its website bookmarked. I'll check them out to see if I am missing something. But I think that many players will just skip reading the rest of your post after they read the first sentence since few people are credulous enough to believe such nonsense.

[@jamesf2918]

Well damn, this doesn’t make me want a matchless any less. Sounds fantastic

[@velvetsound]

I’ve got a DC30. They naturally have a non-silent noise floor and that amp sounds just like mine.

[@douglascrosby6536]

I work with several touring musicians. Dirty power is always an issue, especially on outdoor gigs where they are on generator power!! In your typical house, anything with an electric motor will introduce noise on the neutral side (sometimes ridiculous amounts). Refrigerators, fans, freezers, etc... as can anything with electronic controlled heating elements. Curling/straightening irons, water heater, etc. For the guys on the road I always recommend one of the APC line conditioners. Just Google "APC AV C Type 2 Outlet Wall Mount Power Filter". They are cheap and work wonders not only for diminishing a LOT of the noise coming through the amp but also diminishing the noise coming through the power supply on their pedal boards!!! I've known guys that would carry an isolation transformer and a full size APC 1500 to try and clean things up. To each, their own. It really all depends on what your rig is and how much you think it's worth protecting.

[@goodun2974]

Not only do some dimmers emit electrical and RF noise, even when used with incandescent bulbs, but some LED's and CFL's emit noise as well, especially when used on a dimmer circuit. First-generation LED's were especially problematic; the very first ones I tried, for the bathroom-ceiling vent-lite fans, turned the entire house electrical wiring into a secondary radiator and caused horrid static (from 40 feet away) through the Proton 300 radio (best sounding table radio ever made) on top of the fridge, even though the antenna was up in the attic and connected with shielded coax (I listen exclusively to low- power college and public radio stations). I've got more-recent Cree's or Feit's in those fixtures now and they work fine. At the repair shop, we test replacement LED bulbs with both battery-powered and AC-powered analog radios, sweeping up and down through both the AM and FM bands to identify noisy new LED brands and types before installing them into the fixtures.

[@jasonstone1046]

I had one of these bad boys a few years ago. Killer amp.

[@jasonholt4132]

I've really grown to love this channel, and if I need work done I'm sending directly to you!

[@jebbyman4367]

Sounds great to me also. I love EF86 channels while simultaneously hating them... persnickety is an understatement. I wish my Physician was as thorough and doc'd as your amp repairs -;)

[@Sams911]

love the DC30, but the Chieftain 40W with the EL34's is my new favorite....

[@HiHello-ku1fl]

I really like that amp. Only thing I don't like about a DC30 is the weight. But if you want the weight of the notes I guess you have to have the overbuilt quality of an amp like that. I've always felt that these had a sort of punchy and weighty quality to the tone. A spanky punchy solid thing if that makes sense. A modern classic in my mind along with a Soldano SLO 100. Two amps I'd love to have in the collection. A lot of amps we forget about but a Matchless DC30/C30 and Soldano SLO 100 are two that became modern classics. Just a little more robust than the amps they were based on I guess. They both get a cool sound.

[@goodun2974]

Back in the 80's I lived in a 1920's apartment building that'd had some modernization done to the electrical wiring. The stereo system (Stax preamp, rebuilt Dynaco ST-70) would occasionally emit crackles that *seemed* more or less synced with the flickering streetlight outside the window. Finally the power to the outlet went out altogether, and didn't come back on when I reset the circuit breaker. I took a look inside the electrical panel and discovered that the neutral wire for that circuit was just sitting inside one of the wrong holes in the swiss-cheese-style neutral-wire bus-bar that did not actually have a set-screw to tighten down on it!

[@WyattScott]

huh , speak english lol you are too smart for me Bro!

[@Tonetwisters]

Love the video, love the Matchless. How about, "Covering my mule"? For a headline?

[@goodun2974]

I have seen a few cases where noisy electrical appliances or devices in the house caused or exacerbated *mechanical* noise from amplifier transformers, such as a water-bed heater causing the transformer of a stereo hifi amplifier to hum audibly in a quiet room. If you run into this sort of problem, tighten the transformer bolts to bind the laminations together more tightly, and if the problem persists, try shutting off or better yet unplugging everything else around you, or running an extension chord to another circuit in the house as Lyle mentioned here.

[@MichaelWilliams-yt2ez]

I’m not sure if you will get this message from a review a year ago but I really enjoyed your videos. I’ve had a lot of electrical problems at our house. It got struck by lightning 2 different times. I have what I would call a desert island amp. A 100 watt Glaswerks SOD II. Would like your opinion on my type of amp if you ever came across one. Apparently Gary at Glaswerks and Dumble went to high school together. I don’t play my amp right now. I’m a bit nervous to plug it in as my other amp a Mesa boogie mark5 35watter didn’t work after the lightning strike. We still have electric issues pot up. I need to get a voltage regulator or it before I be fore I trust plugging it in. Anyway I hope everything worked out for the guy with the Matchless. What a wonderful amp. Keep the video coming. I really appreciate the thorough test you do. Take care, Michael

[@williambock1821]

“Master volume DOES work”…picky picky picky,Lyle! That’s why I watch!! :-)

[@giulioluzzardi7632]

Really good sound, I must admit my eyes were on the Fender guitar...a beaut! Amp is great too, a bit like an Orange AD 15 combo tone.

[@vincentl.9469]

harsh

[@gabrielcolvin1531]

Sounds absolutely fantastic!!! I was always curious about these amps, but they're priced pretty high. Any recommendations to similar style amps with good quality build/design? And easier on the wallet? lol

[@jldkrank]

Bad Cat Cub 15 or 40 are close. Mark Sampson designed both circuits. The USA Player Series are still made in USA but use high end PCB's like marshall or mesa. Same tone, lower cost. I think a Cub 40r head is like $1450 USD new or something and not much more for a combo.

[@bobpedone6168]

Ditto, Bad cat Cub 15R Doesnt hum and buzz either cant be beat for the price sounds better than my Avalon 30

[@timmytVA]

Did I hear some Jayhawks in there?

[@Satchmoeddie]

He probably has a dimmer switch or something with a noisy SMPS in it that is putting noise into the mains wiring of his house. Plasma TVs were notoriously great for doing that. Bird poop on an insulator on the 7200 volt primary on the pole outside can also make noises on an audio amp and in ham radios. One really good rain storm and all that noise magically washes away with the bird poop, unless there is a funky bad transformer on the pole. Then you get to argue with your utility service. That's always zero fun, unless you live in dairy country. 73s KI7AQJ

[@tomk1tl39]

Could it be the shielding in his guitar.......amp/guitar/electrical cable(s) ?......also you mentioned other electronics/lights in the area ! Amp sounds great !!! BTW, nice Tele ;-))

[@russellhltn1396]

Back in the days of analog TV, a buzz might indicate a RFI problem with the video carrier.

[@blueeyephil]

What is the toggle switch between the volume and tone pots on your guitar for? Did you add that or is it on some tele's? Looking forward to your Amps under $1000 video.

[@PsionicAudio]

Well after another three hours of running at stage volume without issue, it's going back to the owner untouched. He does have dimmer light circuits in his house... Anyway, no charge on this. We got a fun video out of it and I got some exercise carrying the beast.

[@tlister67]

Jayhawks on the top boost channel? I built a couple spitfire clones years ago with solid pine cabinets. I would get odd resonances one certain notes on the d and g strings when cranked. Matchless amps are really mid heavy in small spaces in my experience, they need room to breathe.

[@daveandrew7014]

Is this a Phil Jamison era? He mentioned he tweaked the layout and other things to make it less noisy. In an interview a couple of years ago - Tone Talk interview with Dave Friedman.

[@mptachenko]

Early 90's Sampson era. You can tell by the handle.

[@TheAxe4Ever]

Sounds good to me!

[@ThadBrown]

walkin' on down the road, lookin for a friendly handout, someone ease my soul. I played a DC-30 in a studio once, I'm pretty sure it was made of Care Bear guts, sir. Just sayin'

[@TheStimpy60]

Please keep us informed on what you find

[@BlindTom61]

I played a '54 tele for 27 years that looks like yours only thrashed. What model is that? It's a beauty!

[@PsionicAudio]

Thanks! I rolled my own “blackguard” with Musicraft’s broadcaster neck and their Nacho-spec body.

[@BlindTom61]

@@PsionicAudio What is tres cool about the body is the small off-set ledge on the pocket's treble side that the neck doesn't quite cover the same as the early Teles. You almost never see that in replacement bodies. Just a great guitar.

[@PsionicAudio]

You’re the first commenter to notice. This guitar is apart for now, gonna have the body refinished. This nitro has little bits of spatter in the color coat. Bugs me. Want it just right.

[@tremelo68]

Jayhawks!

[@billedwards2657]

Most of my matchless topologies have problems with single coils and RF entering.. this doesn’t sound like that. Folks need power conditioning.

[@middle_pickup]

Interesting! Matchless uses a cross line master? On all their amps with master volumes? Is that a type of post phase inverter master? I've wondered what it would be like to add a master to my AC30TB/6. I have an attenuator now, but I'm still curious. What's your preferred master type for an AC30?

[@atech9020]

Most are using the most basic of master vol. circuits. These masters tend towards bright when at lower volume levels, but are very safe in terms of function if they fail. I prefer in-line master volumes where the volume pot is a dual concentric and it works more like a standard gain pot.

[@trevorarthurson6815]

How are your ears after testing it.

[@lookingatcrap]

You're wrong. They are made outta Care Bear turds and unicorns breast milk

[@DreidMusicalX]

What speaker are in that amplifier? I have been trying to find out what they used in t hem and I cannot seem to find any online with the specs of those amps?

[@PsionicAudio]

I think they were greenbacks with Matchless stickers.

[@jammininthejammies4982]

What kind of master volume do you recommend on this amp? How hard would it be to update the master volume to something more useful? I’ve always loved these amps but hated the master engaged!

[@PsionicAudio]

Lar-Mar. In the next day or two you'll see me install them in a Bassman and in an AC30 (pretty much the same output as the Matchless).

[@Moka8]

What are your thoughts on using the Ebtech Hum-X to deal with issues caused by ground loops?

[@PsionicAudio]

Expensive band-aid

[@guitarguru4492]

Do you think Matchless amps are worth the price?

[@PsionicAudio]

To me, no, but they are well made amps. They run too hot and service is much more expensive than it should have been. But they do sound good when they aren't catching on fire.

[@barneyrubble8255]

​@@PsionicAudio Are you saying matchless have electrical problems more than other amps? or replacing tubes is expensive?

[@SuperShaunM]

I wonder if he's complaining about the total lack of a clean sound? There is always an annoying (to me) ripping paper or small ball bearings swishing around in a glass jar sound trailing the note...

[@PsionicAudio]

Matchless gives the top boost channel more gain and a different tone stack than the AC30. I prefer the Vox for this and other reasons, but the Matchless sound is its own thing at this point.

[@goodun2974]

Shaun, I gave you thumps up on your comment, not for the noisy amp with trailing note artifacts,, but for your descriptive abilities with the written word!

[@rocknrollchicago345]

That’s way too much hum. The owner should sell me the amp for $2k cause obviously it’s no good. Seriously though back in my gigging days I always used a furman voltage regulator as clean power is a must.

[@Ralphydub]

Matchless' are bulletproof. I'm almost positive its not the amp.

[@PsionicAudio]

Matchlesses are anything but bulletproof. But I had already cured this one previously.

[@Ralphydub]

@@PsionicAudio Wrong. You yourself said that this was a 30 year old amp and couldn’t find anything wrong. They are built better these days. Do yourself a favor and visit the facility in LA. You’d be impressed. Your customer was probably a victim of Mickey Mouse wiring in his house.

[@vincentl.9469]

much of it a harsh sound

[@russlora]

All the matchless sound like that . Hince why I don't own one anymore . I have had 3 different models of the Matchless amp . They are just a noisey amp !!! .................................Get a Carvin Legacy or a Laney or Acoustic brand

[@mikehill3426]

Jayhawks. Am D Dm

[@PsionicAudio]

Gary plays something slightly different which I have clearly forgotten.

[@PsionicAudio]

Relistened. Am D Dm Dm/G.