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 alphaguitar |
1224GT pics and clips |
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Posts: 1 (08/01/09 22:31:05) |
Just received a 1224GT. Thanks to all at Matamp for a great amp. Thought others may want to see and hear what it can do. Images at: http://www.awardsounds.co.uk/images-matamp-1224gt
Audio at: http://www.awardsounds.co...audio-clips-matamp-1224gt
I'm going to have to play more and find the best way to record those overdriven sounds. Not quite capturing the tone I can hear when I'm in the same room. |
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williams123 |
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Posts: 175 (09/01/09 12:18:59) |
I think these are the first images of the 1224GT to emerge? thanks for posting them..what a fabulous looking amplifier, congratulations!! I enjoyed the
soundclips too..nice one. Oh and welcome to the forum
Paul. |
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amoun |
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Posts: 3675 (09/01/09 14:30:43) |
+1
nice to see a boost, hope its ismilar to the one on the old v14, knocks down buildings when you kick it in |
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alphaguitar |
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Posts: 2 (09/01/09 14:48:11) |
Actually, it's a bit of a misnomer. It's to do with switching between Les Paul and Strat type guitars, i.e. compensating for different input signals. The "knocks down buildings" button is the Solo button which only works when the Overdrive is also on. And to be honest, the last thing it needs is to be is any louder in that mode :-) One good thing about this amp is that it's giving my pedals a new lease of life. They all sound better through this than through anything else. |
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amoun |
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Posts: 3678 (09/01/09 18:53:08) |
thats quite a useful button, the output of gretsch guitars is often significantly lower than gibbies and the like, i have to fiddle with the volume when i
switch between a gretsch and one of my yammy sg's
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alphaguitar |
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Posts: 3 (09/01/09 20:14:27) |
I think my new main guitars have a similar output level to each other, so despite one being a Les Paul and the other being a strat copy, I don't notice
much difference. There's a slight drop, but so far I haven't properly tried with the different amp inputs and boost button. I played with it briefly,
but got the impression I'd done it the wrong way round.
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Orphin |
Re: | ||
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Posts: 331 (10/01/09 19:01:24) |
These clips sounds really effed up on my computer. It's sounds like a walkman with a dying battery plus heavy peaking.
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BrianGT |
Boost function..... | ||
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Posts: 65 (11/01/09 00:01:48) |
Hi Alpha,
Nice to know you are liking your amp! The Boost function......... This is a sore point with me! The Boost actually switches between the Hi and Lo inputs.....so the name is a bit of a misnomer. Mine is labelled input which makes more sense. The reason for this was so that you could plug a Les Paul type guitar in to the Lo input to get a loud clean sound.......then if you switched the inputs (Boost switch!) you got the same tone but with overdrive........if you mainly use a Strat you can still do the same by turning up the gain a little but normally I plug my Strat in and switch to the Hi input. Easiest way to describe it is ...if you were playing jazz on a Les Paul in the Lo input......hitting the bridge pickup and switching to Hi input (Boost) you can go straight to Alright Now, Honky Tonk Women, Can't Get Enough......that kind of thing. Makes the amp SO easy to use! You can still then add overdrive or voice to obtain some really great sounds very easily. |
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Marcus |
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Posts: 300 (11/01/09 15:27:29) |
Thanks alpha, it's great to finally see this fabeled amp!
Great clips too, loved the cleans. As you said, recording the higher gain stuff is tricky to get right, especially when close-miking. To get a sense of what the amp really sounds like on tape, try aiming the mic away from the speaker. Personally I aim it at the speaker rim/baffle board, just outside the speaker cone. This softens up the sound a little and also picks up some room interaction. Another nifty trick is to record the amp at some distance, maybe 1-2 feet, pan the channel full left or right and then put a stereo reverb on it all. This puts the sound in a fake room, which is essentially what you're hearing when playing the amp. 
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JSB |
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Posts: 34 (13/01/09 06:26:37) |
the audio clips sound like a broken walkman or so....
the amp design is really nice. the pedal looks good and the options it provides are just great. also an interesting amp for myself. what have you payed ? |
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bab |
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Posts: 6 (13/01/09 10:01:37) |
Nice amp and clips! Really strong matamp character!
About the audio clips problem, just right click and download them and you would be able to listen them properly. I had the same issue with the built in player. |
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amoun |
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Posts: 3685 (13/01/09 12:43:38) |
i think i have just twigged something, thats the footswitch on top of the amp isn't it?
originally i thought that was part of the amp! |
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alphaguitar |
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Posts: 4 (13/01/09 13:20:40) |
Sorry, been away from computer for a day or so. Had a day without switching it on on Sunday (very refreshing). Does mean I've got some catching up to do though :-) I'm more than happy to admit the overdriven tones in the recordings sound bad. That's nothing to do with the amp. I've had to change my recording set-up in the last couple of weeks and I think the recordings are suffering from that. If I can't get it right today, I'll put the drivers back in my 4x12 and record that. It's a safer option. Yes, you can download the the clips and play them in your own player. However, you're still getting a bad recording at 128k mp3. What I'll do is get some better recordings and post them for download as well as via the player. I'll raise the bitrate to 192 for the mp3s and I'll put wav or aiff downloads at 44.1khz/16bit. That should remove the player from the issues. That still leaves the recording to do. I'll go back to that after lunch. Marcus: Thanks for the suggestions. I'd already done similar to those approaches. I tend not to close mic cabs anyway, I much prefer a condenser at 1-2 feet away than a 57 up against the grille. I'll try the pointing away. The clean sounds were mainly from a 57 pointing almost parallel to the grill (that's just what worked best) mixed with a condenser about 2 feet away. Amoun - yes that's the footswitch. There should be some images of the amp without the footswitch on top as well. If not, I'll put some up. |
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alphaguitar |
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Posts: 5 (13/01/09 13:29:17) |
BrianGT: Surprised it's not just called "Hi/Lo" :-) I can see why yours is called input and I can also see why it's called boost, although boost implies more. If it's boost, then it should add a boost like a volume boost pedal regardless of input It's one part of the amp that I haven't really played with yet. I'm still getting my head around the interdependencies of the volume, overdrive and overdrive level knobs. |
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BrianGT |
input/Boost | ||
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Posts: 66 (13/01/09 16:57:16) |
Hi Alpha,
the 1224GT is based on my amp.......I did a few mods that made it really versatile for a single channel amp.They were done with the help of the factory.....I just wanted to make it versatile but very easy to use. Mine has Hi and Lo inputs that were not switchable between when the amp was built. I use a Les Paul mainly and I struggled to get enough clean headroom so I used the Lo input. I attenuated it by 600k (originally it was 220k) .I found then if i plugged in to the HI input using the same settings I got a great crunch!! So making them switchable seemed obvious. On the 1224GT they have labelled it "Boost".......what Boost does is switch between the two inputs INTERNALLY.......it gives a fixed amount of gain.........not much with a Tele but quite a bit with a Les Paul. The reason why I wanted it called "Input" rather than boost was because : If you select your favourite voice setting and set the EQ .........then if you plug a Les Paul in to Lo (in your case, Boost off).....then swap to a Tele or a Strat....you simply switch to Hi input (in your case Boost on) and the EQ then remains perfect for the guitar you are using. My arguement against calling it "Boost" was that some guy will switch Boost on and immediately say "I need more boost!!" If you add more boost by attenuating the Lo input even more then you spoil the whole flow of the amp controls. I haven't adjusted my EQ for 5 years.....I do switch between guitars though...a lot! I can go from really nice Jazz on a neck humbucker then flip to the bridge and hit Input and go straight in to Alright Now etc. Selecting the footswitchable voice switch then gives me the solo for that song....louder and fatter. Change to a Tele...keep in the Hi input and it's instant Inxs, Eagles etc. without altering volumes or Eq.........makes sense to me! With your amp, set the gain for the clean volume you want once you have chosen your voice setting..........then select Overdrive on and adjust the overdrive amount.............balance it against your clean sound by using the overdrive Level knob. You will get used to it....the main thing is that it isn't hard to get a good sound easily......then with a few tweaks you can get a great sound! I hope you enjoy it! Mine is over 5 years old and hasn't missed a beat! Brian |
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jholmen |
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Posts: 5 (14/01/09 14:44:05) |
Very nice amp. I'm looking for a 1224 myself within the next few months (when finances stabilize), but I'm seriously considering the 1224GT for its
versatility. Is it a lot more expensive than the regular 1224?
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alphaguitar |
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Posts: 6 (14/01/09 15:50:36) |
Not sure I see much point in me stating the price I paid as mine was ordered a number of months ago. It could be a different price now.
Best thing to do is ring the factory and find out. It also doesn't help that I don't know how much the standard 1224 is now anyway. |
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alphaguitar |
Input Boost | ||
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Posts: 7 (14/01/09 16:35:43) |
Brian: Thanks for the tips on the boost. I'm similar to you, I hadn't touched the eq on my previous amp for five years, apart from the one time when we
couldn't mic it up so had to play louder than normal. I actually put my amp on the opposite side of the room, means I can't play with it then.
As for tone, yes, it's easy to get a great tone. That boost option combined with a mild amount of overdrive really does add a lot of character. Impressive. The challenge for me will be to get all the great tones I want for playing live without touching the amp. That balancing act is always a challenge if you play a variety of styles and the switching on the 1224GT is what appealed to me. For anyone else: I've just gone and played with the boost button for 5 minutes. Ended up with a big smile on my face. With the pedal board "boost" button off, it sounds like the hi and lo inputs are the same. If you're plugged into hi and you press the "boost" on the board, then you get that crunch. Pressing "boost" while plugged into lo doesn't change the sound. |
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BrianGT |
Inputs... | ||
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Posts: 67 (14/01/09 22:13:18) |
Alpha......Firstly....does your amp have Hi and Lo inputs on the front panel?
If it does.....then this is what is happening......if you plug your guitar in to LO....then it will not switch .......it stays in Lo even if you select Boost. To be able to switch inputs you have to be in the Hi input.........with Boost off you are ACTUALLY in the Lo input INTERNALLY......even though you are plugged in to the Hi input. When you do select Boost you switch to the Hi input internally. I plug my Les Paul in to the Hi input.....with the Boost off, which means I'm actually in the Lo input internally........I set my clean sound volume on the gain. Then when I hit Boost the gain hike from the Hi input really gives you a great crunch. Then you can ad the overdrive in for a solo. Keep the drive gain fairly low and the drive level fairly high........then you get a great solo sound. If you can switch your voice too, I can, then you have even more choices! It sounds really complicated writing it all down but when it's in front of you it's a 2 min learning curve. They were talking about having only one input to plug in to, which would actually be Lo......when Boosted it becomes Hi......I don't know whether yours is like that..... Enjoy getting to know it. Brian |
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williams123 |
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Posts: 178 (14/01/09 22:37:04) |
I must admit that it does all sound very complicated written down...but from personal experience it took Brian 2 minutes to have Me up and running on his amp,
and switching as though I'd been born to it, it really did feel incredibly logical and dare I say it ..easy!! I still consider BrianGTs' 1224 to be one
of those amp reference moments upon which everything played after is judged, I am so pleased that all the hard work that's gone into this amp is finally
coming to fruition. If Brian still adamantly refuses to leave Me his amp in his Will, I suppose I'll have to order one of the buggers!!!!!
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jholmen |
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Posts: 7 (15/01/09 10:40:20) |
alphaguitar wrote:Agree! I wasn't really looking for an exact quote, more in the alley of "about XX% upcharge", but judging from what I've heard about the 1224GT, it seems like the price difference is of less importance to me after all. I want one! Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts on the amp, and to Brian for the extra info! |
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