Video Review of my Matamp GT200

Amo · #1 12-18-2011, 07:47 AM

Hey guys !

Here's a quick video review of my GT200 head from Matamp that we just put up on Youtube.
As there are no or very few good quality videos on Matamps, I thought that you could enjoy it.

Turn the volume up and be sure to watch it in HD.

I apologize in advance for my accent, I'm from Belgium

Click here

Mr Antt · #2 12-18-2011, 10:31 AM

Both of those sound really great.

Personally, I wouldn't use as much gain as you did at the end but I guess I shoes how far the amp can be pushed. But the clean settings really are clean, and I must admit, I do quite like that.

Anthony.

Amo · #3 12-18-2011, 11:29 AM

Thanks Anthony

Because I play in a hard-rock/stoner band, I like to have an overdriven tone but the third sample was mainly there to, as you said, show how far the amp can be pushed. I wanted to do that because very few videos out there do.

Thanks for the comment !

chillerthanmost · #4 12-18-2011, 12:09 PM

great video and awesome quality.

Amo · #5 12-18-2011, 12:11 PM

Thanks man !

bassboysam · #6 12-18-2011, 02:49 PM

Wow, your GT200 sounds nothing like mine. With the depth knob all the way right mine has virtually no low end to the point where I found it completely useless. I actually changed the capacitor values to something more useful.

How did you record the samples, DI from the amp or mic?

It also seems you preamp gets a lot dirtier than mine. Could be that they changed the design a bit, but when you pushed the gain I hear a lot of preamp distortion, with my amp I barely get any preamp distortion and it all comes from the power section when I turn up the volume.

Excellent review, good to see some people taking them time to get good quality clips.

Amo · #7 12-18-2011, 03:11 PM

Thanks for the kind words.

Actually, regarding the depth knob I tend to keep it always all the way left when I use my GT200 for rehearsals or gigs for the same reason as you. But when in studio with the master pushed all the way up I surprinsingly had too much bass on the first too positions when I played fingerstyle. Maybe you gain some bass frequencies when really pushing the volume ?

We recorded with both the DI from the amp and a mic in front of the cabinet. But during the mix we decided to keep only the track recorded with the mic because it was much more faithful the the real sound of the amp.

Regarding the distortion, when I ordered my amp I asked for a real pot for the drive and not a 6 positions rotary switch, maybe that's the thing or maybe they did change the design a bit. However, to have this type of sound I really need to push the power section. The preamp section distorts but not so much.

I know that they had been working on a new design for the GT200 with :

- Larger chassis
- Larger transformers
- Full EQ (bass, mid, treble) with Lo, Mid, Hi boost switches
- Gain control with boost for low or high gain
- Negative Feedback control defeat switch (for smooth or aggressive output stage)
- Mute and dedicated tuner out
- Slave/Effects in & out

But mine is still based on the old design.

groooooove · #8 12-18-2011, 03:13 PM

i love the video quality here.

Amo · #9 12-18-2011, 03:14 PM

Thanks !

bassboysam · #10 12-18-2011, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amo

Thanks for the kind words.

Actually, regarding the depth knob I tend to keep it always all the way left when I use my GT200 for rehearsals or gigs for the same reason as you. But when in studio with the master pushed all the way up I surprinsingly had too much bass on the first too positions when I played fingerstyle. Maybe you gain some bass frequencies when really pushing the volume ?

We recorded with both the DI from the amp and a mic in front of the cabinet. But during the mix we decided to keep only the track recorded with the mic because it was much more faithful the the real sound of the amp.

Regarding the distortion, when I ordered my amp I asked for a real pot for the drive and not a 6 positions rotary switch, maybe that's the thing or maybe they did change the design a bit. However, to have this type of sound I really need to push the power section. The preamp section distorts but not so much.

That's interesting that you noticed an increase in the lows with the volume up, I never really tried or noticed that before. I'll have to check next time we rehearse.

I have thought about changing the 4 position gain knob to a more traditional continuous dial. I wonder if in the stock format they intentionally kept the gain fairly tame? even on the highest or most gain setting my preamp tubes are barely distorting, which I love but it would be interesting to hear the different tones I could get with a "regular" gain knob.

so was your master volume on full for those clips?

Amo · #11 12-18-2011, 04:17 PM

Maybe it's the case yeah, most bass players still want a really clean sound so it wouldn't surprise me much.

Yup, on full for the three settings. Thank god the cab was alone in the take room

bassboysam · #12 12-18-2011, 07:53 PM

Ha! no kidding, I keep the master at just below 12'oclock and it's pretty friggin loud.

No where near as good a clip as yours but here is my GT200 in action..It's a small venue so the majority of the bass was straight from my rig, there was a bit in the PA but even that was a DI of off the speaker output of the amp.

Monobrow - Buried in the Backyard - YouTube

Amo · #13 12-19-2011, 03:01 AM

Nice ! I like what you do and your bass sound seems great.
You plug your GT200 in an Ampeg 810 right ?

Are you a fan of Cliff Burton ? I ask because of the bass

One Drop · #14 12-19-2011, 05:08 AM

Great quality clip, thanks.

I laughed when you said you were going to push the gain a BIT, and then...

bassboysam · #15 12-19-2011, 06:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amo

Nice ! I like what you do and your bass sound seems great.
You plug your GT200 in an Ampeg 810 right ?

Are you a fan of Cliff Burton ? I ask because of the bass

Yes, its a 70's ampeg 810 but updated with new Legend B810 speakers from Emminence.

Nothing against Cliff, but he was never a big influence on me...

Mr. Foxen · #16 12-19-2011, 06:25 AM

Fan of Om?

bassboysam · #17 12-19-2011, 06:55 AM

Let's just say Al is more my style of bass player.

sickest beast · #18 12-19-2011, 10:35 AM

cool amp. i bet it would sound killer through 2 15s with a P-Bass.

Amo · #19 12-20-2011, 04:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by One Drop

Great quality clip, thanks.

I laughed when you said you were going to push the gain a BIT, and then...

Haha yeah, I got a lot of feedback on this

Quote:

Originally Posted by sickest beast

cool amp. i bet it would sound killer through 2 15s with a P-Bass.

Trust me, it does.

bassboysam · #20 12-31-2011, 02:57 PM

Amo, I did what you suggested and turned the master volume to max. you are right, it does produce more low end this way, not in a bad muddy way but it did add some nice depth and weight. I set the gain to min and it sounded really good even with the depth knob set all the way right (least amount of bass).