Matrix GT1000fx versus Peavey 50/50 power amp low end factor

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harddriver

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I kinda want to try the Matrix GT1000 power amp rather than the traditional Peavey Classic 50/50 power just for maintenance issues but I know the tube power amp with give plenty of low end thump at lower volumes than the S/S amp.

I have a Tubeworks Mosvalve mv-962 while it works fine it just doesn't have the lowend thump when I run W/D/W with my dry center cab that I'm running attenuated has the low end the two other cab are weak on the low end factor.

I know the Peavey with the resonance controls will thump just fine, soooooo...

Does the Matrix live up to being called a modern H & H equivalent and does it thump with the good ole tube power amps?
 
What are you gonna be running into it?

I had a GT800FX for my AxeFX Ultra back when. It had plenty of headroom and got the most out of the power amp simulation on the Axe, which sounded great. Those matrix amps are pretty decent.
 
I'll be driving 3 16ohm marshall cabs Wet/Dry/Wet. I know there's a lot of kudos about the Matrix amps but I have seen guys selling them saying they didn't provide enough low end response ie: smack to the chest effect. Seemed this came from mainly guys that had been running tube power amps prior the Matrix so that's why I on fence about them.

I know my Mosvalve 962 doesn't provide a lot of punch as a tube counterpart but I was hoping the Matrix addressed that. A lot of people say you need excessive wattage rating like 600 to 800 watts of S/S to equal 50 to 100 watts of tube dynamic punch which is seems guys use the big Crowns and H&H power amps.

I guess I would almost have to hear one in person to see how it does, I was kind of hoping to get some feedback from people running the amp for that purpose.

Have you run the Matrix in comparison to a tube power amp? How did it compare?
 
the goal with a W/D/W setup is to get your main sound from your amp and then take that sound and merely reproduce it thru your effects cabs. that being said, if you get the sound you want from the amp and have a good line out, a matrix, mosvalve, H/H should do the job. if you are looking to gain more low end from your effected cabs then something isn't right with your setup, or the signal is going thru components that are taking away some tone. all those amps reproduce the sound they are given almost perfectly. especially the matrix and H/H's. sounds like you need the extra eq of a tube amp for your setup.
 
I had a Rocktron Velocity 300 that I used with an ADA MP-1 and it had no low end at all. Then I found an H&H V 200 and it's fine...so the amp does make a difference. I also tried a VHT vs an ENGL tube poweramp and the Engl had way more lows than the VHT...I was shocked.
 
Oh I get plenty of low end thump from my dry cabinet which is attenuated down. My lineout comes from a suhr iso-lineout into my mosvalve then out channels A and B. When you play a 100 watt tube amp the low end projects and smacks you even at lower volumes. It would be nice to get the same low end dynamics out of my Wet cabs.

So far it seems the only S/S power amp to replicate this type of punch has been the H&H by various accounts of users. But those design are aged and parts hard to find it you own one. It would be nice to get something compact like the Matrix but the more I listen the various video clips the low end does not translate say when the low end string is chugged. You hear/feel the speaker cone excursion with tube amp video clips.

I did see Pete Thorn using a 10 band EQ when he slaved to his Matrix with a classic V Eq taking the mids out boosting the bass response.

Maybe the EQ might be worth experimenting with.

My mosvalve isn't a bad amp it just lacks in the punch area as Paulyc seems to have experienced as well. I guess I might pickup a used Peavey and see how it compares a EQ to see if I can enhance the low end frequencies into the Mosvalve.
 
Don't expect low end thump from EL84's. I didn't like my Peavey 50/50 with my Ultra. I bought a Mesa Simul 90. Heavy as f**k but delivered as needed.
 
I've always wanted to have an amp builder make me a stereo 100 watt per side power amp in a Marshall headshell on a Marshall style chassis...It would look like a "regular" amp, have 6 knobs on the front (a stereo pair of volume, presence, and resonance), 2 front panel inputs (left and right "ins") , speaker out jacks (left and right) and whatever else is needed...I'm told it could be done.
 
On a side note, what generation of Mosvalve do you have ? The earlier the better I've heard (the black with yellow logos...the later black with white are supposedly not as good). Jerry Cantrell used a Mosvalve with his Fish preamp for a long time, and I wouldn't say it lacked low end...and Doug Aldrich uses one also...
 
I have the older Mosvalve 962 one of the better ones, years ago I had an 1176 and that blew up under warranty, the 962 keeps on going!!!

Looks like I may try the 10 band EQ thing to see if I can coax a little more low end thump out of it but it looks like I have a Peavey 60/60 in my future.

Thanks for all the informative comments here gents I appreciate the input which helped me confirm kind of what my ears were telling me! :thumbsup:
 
I'm very happy with my matrix amp, I got the 3 channel use two of them for the wet cabs and the third channel for the slaved plexi into the dry cabinet.. Works great
 
bmf5150":3ojcf23u said:
I'm very happy with my matrix amp, I got the 3 channel use two of them for the wet cabs and the third channel for the slaved plexi into the dry cabinet.. Works great
Click to expand...

Same here with Maxtrix GT1000. My wet cabs are OS, so I get plenty of low end if necessary, though I prefer to keep the wet cabs lower in the mix. I also run a 15 band EQ for some minor room tweaks.
 
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