You frequently hear how great these are with the modelers but what about a tube preamp? Well, 6 months later I finally gave up guessing and had to try it for myself. I ordered the GT1000FX to pair with my Egnater M4 and Randall RM4 preamps to see if it could take the place of my trusty RT2/50 tube power amp. I must say, I am very pleasantly surprised a Solid State power amp can perform this well with a tube preamp.
Sure, it was necessary to change the settings on all of my modules but I could quickly dial in a great sound without needing to dial out anything really odd or funky. I found there ended up being much more variance in the eq settings on each module than previous probably do to the color imparted by the EL34s and 6L6 tubes and how they contributed to the overall sound. My past experience with SS amps was that the high end was always harsh and very difficult to dial in a sweet tone; I'd have to cut the treble to the point where it would sound like a blanket over the amp. With the Matrix, I actually needed to boost the highs/mids to replicate the sound of the RT2/50 with EL34s but once that was dialed in, the sound a feel is ridiculously close. As far as low end, I had to slightly cut the bass in most modules but the depth and tightness really shined.
I don't mean to wax poetic but in terms of recording a tube preamp, there are times when different types of power tubes are ideal but I have no doubt that while I'd likely pick EL34s for most of my needs, there now is a new option I'd consider with the Matrix. For gigging purposes, this is a no brainer; I've gone from a 10 space 120 lb rack to a 6 space 65Lb rack, don't have to worry about tubes failing and have nearly the same sound and feel.
Now I am still in the honeymoon phase and I'll need more gigging time in familiar rooms to be sure but so far this is very promising!
~Marco Riva