and the song goes "I like big butts!"...



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1336142287.jpg

One of the most beautiful-sounding amps I ever heard in my life was a "Matchless" combo. The guys said it was one of the first 100 made. Around 1990, I think. Absolutely stunning sound. Looked somewhat like this:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1336145343.jpg

There is some debate in the music world regarding tubes versus solid state. I barely understand why this dialogue exists, except that solid state amps can be lightweight and powerful. Sound-wise, there is no way a solid state amp could sound like this Matchless. No way.

I hear the arguments from people with "golden ears" about the difference in chips vs tubes. I would love to see a scientific valid test with equal systems and a blind hearing test. The people listening would have no idea which system they are listening to.

Since that would be very expensive I doubt it will happen. Maybe it has already been done.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1336145995.jpg

I've heard a lot of amps in my day. When I heard this three-piece band, I said to myself "OMG.....the sound of that amp is stunning." Turned out to be the Matchless. There are no bass amps that sound like an Ampeg SVT, other than the SVT. Nothing sounds like a vintage Marshall "Plexi"........except a Plexi. Behind Clapton in the Bill Murray picture.......a Matchless. Testing is over, and it was conclusive.;)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1336147514.jpg


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1336147532.jpg

What is needed here is:

http://shop.antimonkeybutt.com/produ...21144_zoom.png

Sup, I have played with an Ampeg and yes they are stunning...

However I also have a old Fender Bassman 100 tube that is hard to beat for bass or guitar... and then there are the old Sunn tube amps... you owe it ot yourself to check them out.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1336152043.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1336152066.jpg

Front of bottom pic:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1336152188.jpg

Any of those go all the way to 11 ?

Only Eddie's go to 11. He would overdrive the amps after a little home grown rewire job...

Oh and yes I have seen the movie version of '11' too... ;)



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1336154805.jpg

LOL!

True story: I used to work for a major Japanese electronics company many years ago. As part of my job they would send prototype equipment to us in the U.S. for testing. One of the amplifiers they sent had a unique feature that when you turned it all the way up the digital display (new back then) went from incremental numbers to "F.U." and then wouldn't go any higher. I'm guessing F.U. doesn't have the same connotation in Japanese... when asking the engineers about "F.U.", they replied it mean "FULL UP". There were jokes based on that one for a long time. :D

Obligatory pic:
http://www.classicaudio.com/forsale/nak/RX202.jpg

Friend had one of these, if I remember instead of reversing the tape, it reverese the cassette itself. Called the "dragon". I had a baby version of a later model, still have it somewhere.

The Dragon was the top of the line model until the 505 was introduced. The 202 and 303 were a bit more basic. Then the 505 was introduced after the Dragon.



Here is the high-end Nakamichi car deck from "back in the day"....Wish I had a nickle for each piece of Nakamichi we sold back then....

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1336159623.jpg