marT,here is the review from the guitarist,which compares the Green Matamp Reverb Unit with the Peavey Valveverb:
Green Matamp Reverb Unit
This visually-striking ans substantial unit is based on the original Matamp reverb,released in 1964,revised in 1966 abs said to be favoured by Peter Green among others.A bit of background is helpful here:the early 'Matamp' brand became 'Orange Matamp',when founder Matt Matthias joined forces with Cliff Cooper,and the new brand( built in Huddersfield) went on to become part of guitar-amp history,with the bright orange cabinets,white front panels and chunky controls being instantly recognisable.In later years,the Orange and Matamp halves seperated again,and both brands changed hands.The present situation is that the new owner of Matamp Jeff Lewis,is marketing a reissue Matamp stack together with this reverb-but can't call them Orange Matamp,or make them Orange,because the 'orange' bit is now owned by Gibson.So the Matamp reissues are bright green,and the name has been amended accordingly.
So to the product itself,built in the original Matamp factory.The chipboard cab is the size of an amp-top,and features green basket-weave vinyl covering,white piping,black plastic corners and a sturdy handle,with wooden 'skids' underneath so the unit will sit over the handle of a combo or head.All controls are on the front.The fascia(black,to match the production version of the amp) is in a plastic material,backed by a metal plate which carries the bulk of the electronics,including the mauns transformers and single PCB.The valves an EF86 and two ECC82's-are board mounted,and the circuitry is deliberately close to the 1964 circuit.While the EF86 is hardly common these days,Jeff Lewis says there should be no trouble getting replacements;customers can order this or or the ECC82s direct from Mtamp,at modest prices.
The PCB is supported purely by the pots and sockets,though the pots are the type with support brackets and the board itself is sturdy;the cab interior is unscreened.
The full-width spring unit(mounted to the cab via rubber grommets)ia an Accutronics of the type used in early Matamps.One oddity is that the front-panel bows inwards slightly,the originals did it too,but Matamp are cosidering cabonet brace to cure this.
Two slots at the rear of the cab allow for ventilation.
Operation is simple,with settings easy to see.The units has two inputs of different sensitivities(at least,they were on the late prototype I auditioned),one output,a footswitch socket(no footswitch provided)plis a chunky mains switch and power indicator-green,of course!The three big rotaries are for volume,tone,and reverb level,and the 'reverb-and-clean-feed/reverb-only switch(originally added in 1966 is present here.Overall the Matamp oozes personality and history.
SOUNDS
Both units were tested with a variety of gear including an early'70's Marshall JMP50 valve head,a Seymour Duncan electro-acoustic combo,and various guitar amps with FX loops.Guitars included solid,semi-solid and hollowbody models.The first thing I noticed about the Matamp-apart from the availability of pleasingly deep,warm-toned reverb-was the amount of amplification on offer.Via the unit's volume control,you can magnify the signal greatly;this means you can overdrive the front-end of your amp if you wish-or keep the volume control really low for something nearer to unity gain.
If yhe input signal is dynamic and snappy,then the Matamp preserves this quality well.This is important,because there's no point robbing of your old valve amp of its livliness just to add reverb.Similary,I found the Matamp complemented the tone of good valve amps;its preamp (judged by the 100% dry setting)wasn't as neutral as the Peavey's,but the slight upper-mid lift and loss of bass warmth that I sometimes noticed did bring out that crisp,valve-y 'twang' very well.
As with the Peavey,there are three main ways to use this product;between guitar and amp;in an amp's effects loop;and in the Aux loop of a mixer/Portastudio with the unit set to 'reverb-only'.And as with the Peavey,you may run into problems with earth loops,causing annoying buzz/hum,depending how your other gear is designed.Whenever indepemdently-earthed items of mains gear are joined by signal leads,this problem can rear its head-and for safety reasons you can't simply remove one of the earths.The best advice is to try any prospective purchase with your own gear before you buy,and take professional advice if there is a problem.The Matamp I tested always gave some degree pf unwanted buzz when used between guitar and amp;in FX loops,it was sometimes silent and sometimes buzzy depending on the individual case.
Jeff Lewis assured me that in production models the earthing arrangements have been revised and that none of the units tested at the factory have given any problem in this direction.
Both units gave a reverb sound which was warmer,and easier on the ear,than modestly-priced digital reverbs;the way the reverb decays is important here.And although the Matamp's front panel was quite microphonic.I had no trouble with the reverb feeding back at higher sound-levels unless the unit was placed on top of a big amp and cabinet played at full tilt.The depth of reverb was more than adequate,so the maximum setting-which was less than smooth sounding-probably wouldn't be needed.
I will list the Peavey Valverb review later.
I have seen many pictures of Peter Green and FM with the Matamp(Orange) reverb units live,I believe with some tweaking and changing the mains transformer to accept 115volts,this with the gain descibed would give a great warm sound!
yngwie308