Matchless Chieftan - WTH

[Mick Bailey]

I won't fit anything other than new-production tubes to Matchless amps. They don't last long at all and I got bitten years ago by fitting expensive NOS and having them come back after three months.

The killer with these amps is studios leaving them switched on all day long unplayed and not putting them in standby between sessions, or even takes.

Another problem is those tube socket sleeves with the Nomex (or whatever) lining. They cause the base to overheat. I had an amp with an arced socket and when I replaced them got rid of the sleeve and installed a regular bear-trap retainer. I noticed on the last tube swap the bases hadn't discoloured anywhere near as much.

[J M Fahey]

This player, Ricardo Mollo, always had a good ear for tone, and mixes/matches whateverīs needed to get it, just doesnīt follow "fads", only trusts his ears.

His earlier setup, with which I could not complain, was classic Fenders, "any" Fender as he put it, in fact on every US trip he brought back a couple silverface Bandmaster heads because they were: tube - Fender - simple - available dirt cheap at pawnshops or second hand at standard Music Shops just because they were "the less desirable" ones, since they carried no "fairy dust" , "no Guitar God used them", played full blast so distortion comes from them, each head driving a Marshall 4 x 12" , rewired for 4 ohms to match heads, the whole shebang pushed by an 80īs TC Electronics distortion pedal.

End result was liquid, "clean" distortion courtesy of overdriven Fenders, forward sounding Celestion sound, and looooonnnnnnggggg sustain courtesy of that pedal, a killer combination.

Two local legends apply to his setup:

1) he was going through one of the "big" NY shops (Mannys, Sam Ash or Alexander) and he asked for a Metal Zone pedal, then just out of the oven and all the rage, but store owner after hearing him play told him: "forget it, kid stuff, just try this one" and gave him the TC Electronics instead.

2) much later, when he got into Matchless and found them hard to get, they were out of production and in any case never there were many of them, when he saw through the Net that somebody was selling the 15W one in Florida, a few miles away from Miami.
He grabbed his passport and leather jacket, went to the airport and picked the first Miami bound flight (mind you, some 14 hours away), picked a taxi at Miami airport and went to sellerīs home who couldnīt believe his own eyes.
Tested and payed for it, grabbed the handle and went back to Miami airport, where he had some trouble with DEA or Immigration; they "somewhat suspected" a Rock type guy who travelled 6000 miles, **no luggage** and with cash in his pocket, stayed only for 4 hours and travelled back "with a package".
Of course everything cleared up in a few minutes

[Leo_Gnardo]

back to Miami airport, where he had some trouble with DEA or Immigration; they "somewhat suspected" a Rock type guy who travelled 6000 miles, **no luggage** and with cash in his pocket, stayed only for 4 hours and travelled back "with a package".
Of course everything cleared up in a few minutes

Yeh, the "goods" from South America move in the other direction. "DOH!" That's our gummint, working hard as they can.

[Mick Bailey]

I don't know what it is, but I always get stopped at the airport when carrying packages marked 'Tractor parts for export'.

[Chuck H]

I don't know what it is, but I always get stopped at the airport when carrying packages marked 'Tractor parts for export'.

That's funny. Easily confused people (most of us) in positions of authority can seem even more ignorant than they actually are

I worked a job in Palo Alto, Ca. with a trim carpenter from North Carolina. The general flew him out because he had game. Had some vintage tools and fabricated many custom tools. He told me that when he flew in he had his special tools in a five gallon bucket with the lid duct taped on for extra security. He intended to carry it onto the plane. Security told him "No way. You need to check that." His response was "What!?! It's tools! It's not like it's a bomb or anything!"...

He didn't fly that day

[J M Fahey]

Oh, a friend was stopped at a Brazilian airport, they pulled him from the plane, dragged him to the luggage inspection X Raym,achine and pointing at the screen told him: "explain that loaded pistol in your luggage" ... it was a battery powered drill with a kludged battery pack filled with "1/3 AA" NiMh batteries he got for free at his job.
Ok, ok, they vaguely looked like .45ACP cartridges and were inside the handle.
Oh well, joys of 1984.

Just remembered: for Ricardo Mollo, being 100% Sicilian stock didnīt exactly help him look like a "safe" passenger.

[Chuck H]

Ok. Since we're a little sideways already...

My customer that travels international is sort of known for being a hot head. Big, bald, tattoos and a leather vest. Very much a biker look. After 911 and the new airport security measures they stopped him at the X-ray for his grooming kit. They wouldn't let him carry it on because there was a pair of nail clippers in there!?! He went off on the security officer saying something like 'What am I gonna do with these, nibble someone to death!?! Do you know what I could do to you with a pen!?!' He spent the next two hours in the security directors office and had to take a later flight.

[drewl]

Used to work on a Chieftain for this one wealthy guy like every six to eight months.

thing ate tubes like crazy.

I built one for a friend out of a Traynor Reverb amp.
It didnt run nearly as hot and still has the same EL34's from over ten years ago.
The same 6CA7's it came stock with from the 70's!

Built a Clubman for myself out of stuff a guy gave me.
Changed the preamp to more of a Marshall 18w and am running a pair of old 6K7's I found.
It runs kinda hot, but not as bad as a Chieftain.

[bob p]

Juan, that tone is HUGE. but looking at 2:49 it doesn't look like he's plugged straight into the amp, so I'm not sure that the chieftain abusing a pair of EL34 can take all of the credit for that tone. I don't know what he's got on the floor, I don't recognize most of the pedals. my best guess is that there's a fulldrive down there, and I have no idea what those other pedals may be. who knows what's really in the signal chain, but my ears think there's some transistor edge in that tone.

[Chuck H]

Juan, that tone is HUGE. but looking at 2:49 it doesn't look like he's plugged straight into the amp, so I'm not sure that the chieftain abusing a pair of EL34 can take all of the credit for that tone. I don't know what he's got on the floor, I don't recognize most of the pedals. my best guess is that there's a fulldrive down there, and I have no idea what those other pedals may be. who knows what's really in the signal chain, but my ears think there's some transistor edge in that tone.

My favorite tones from other players always seem to be a slightly overdriven tube amp with some kind of dirt box up front or a tube amp turned up loud with a clean boost up front to push it into overdrive. "My" rig is a straight up overdriving tube amp with no pedals. But since I designed and tailored it for myself that makes sense. Still I think most favorite recorded distorted tones involve a dirt box and a tube amp. Before I started modding building (going back a long time) my rig was a Marshall and an 80's RAT box. I could happily still use that rig today.

[Chuck H]

From the original post. I don't remember noticing it the first time around.

藍

WTH is it there for and where did it come from?

EDIT: Apparently it translates as "blue" or "indigo plant" or could be a surname.

[J M Fahey]

Juan, that tone is HUGE. but looking at 2:49 it doesn't look like he's plugged straight into the amp, so I'm not sure that the chieftain abusing a pair of EL34 can take all of the credit for that tone. I don't know what he's got on the floor, I don't recognize most of the pedals. my best guess is that there's a fulldrive down there, and I have no idea what those other pedals may be. who knows what's really in the signal chain, but my ears think there's some transistor edge in that tone.

I already said that in post #17

the whole shebang pushed by an 80īs TC Electronics distortion pedal.

I have 2 theories to explain some killer sounds out there, which lots of people often try to clone unsuccessfully, even when the truth is plainly visible, just misinterpreted:

1) the **oooolllldddd* door theory: imagine this old door at an old house, along the years said door has been painted: blue - red - green - blue - brown - green.
The million dollar question: what colour is that door? .... green of course, the last paint layer rules.
If door is chipped you will have glimpses of the earlier colours, but the main one is green, the last one.
By the same token, if you use various distorting stages in your signal chain, but the last one is balls to the wall driven power tubes, going unmolested straight into good speakers, your sound will be "tube", no matter how much sand you used earlier.
2 examples:
* Jimi Hendrix distortion pedal was *awful* buzzy nasty Fuzz Face ... yet he had incredible liquid sustain thanks to the overdriven Marshalls.
Funny things happen when noobs try to use a Fuzz Face into a "Marshall" ... a 30W valvestate on 3 (any louder and the cops come) ... so ugly is the sound that Fuzz Face isnīt used any more.
* similar thing happens with revered Tube Screamer.
Killer sound driving Fenders to death (similar to Ricardo Mollo recipe) , not so cool on its own (although way better than FF)
* Krank Distortus Maximus: killer driving an overdriven Krank full tube amp, nasty buzzy on its own.

[lowell]

ha!!! Y'all are crackin' me up.

Long story short. Replaced the Rk's with 470ohms. Put them around 45ma. Still hot IMO, but within spec. Amp SOUNDS FINE. Oh and BTW both speakers are blown, oddly enough.

Chuck, that symbol was a on my phone. It turned into an Eastern/Asian symbol after posting

[bob p]

thanks, Juan. can you clarify what those other pedals are in his signal chain? since you know the guy, maybe you can find out, or maybe there are some pedal users here who will know those things. me? i've been out of the pedal thing for so long that i don't even have a clue. i haven't bought a pedal since the 20th century. my only interest is out of curiosity. i seriously dig that tone.

(I'm showing my age when I say that I dig it, rather than calling it dope.)

[J M Fahey]

Will ask when I see him at some show, or his stage hands bring something into the shop, but he changes pedals *often* in any case.

The main point anyway is to have a standard Tube amp driven to hell so *it* supplies main distortion, and a somewhat neutral didtortion box driving it.
So yes to that old TC Electronics pedal, an MXR Distortion+ , a Blue Screamer, maybe a RAT if you set "filter" flat (it can become a ball of mud if you overdo it) , probably not a Marshall Guvīnor or any of its derivatives and definitely not strong flavoured pedals such as Big Muff or any Fuzz.

And use good to excellent speakers, he uses basically Celestions, either standard 4x12" boxes or whatever Matchless fit there.
Donīt know whatīs inside the little 15W one, but standard muscle in the DC30, which pushed him upwards thanks to a very favourable Guitar Player shootout was a Celestion Greenback and G1230H , which turned out to be a winner combination.

Matchlessī Sampson was trying to recreate original VOX AC30 sound, but he could not get his hands on a pair of Celestion Blue because they had not been reissued yet and originals were unavailable or horribly expensive, same thing, so he tried a ton of combinations to find which came closest.

Best was what I posted above, with the added twist of degooping: he brushed speaker edge with some acetone and wiped away with cotton balls or toilet paper the sticky solution as much as he could.
I *guess* as a side effect he was *aging* those speakers.

Point is, and I remember reading that on the paper magazine way back then , that said shootout was about "2 x 12" combos" and part of the testing was plugging all of them into a standard Marshall 4 x 12" .
*All* combos improved sound (compared to internal open back 2 x 12") which is not surprising, **except** Matchless DC30 which "had same quality on its own as the full 4 x 12" cabinet" which is nothing short of impressive.