Has anyone put a guitar head through a Matrix GT800FX yet?

[samincolour]

After the whole Matamp deal fell through I sacked off the Engl and got myself a MK1 block letter 5150 for dirt cheap. It's such a savage amp, but my mind keeps wandering back to the idea of having a Matrix GT800FX in my rig, and my brand new question for you guys is...

What would happen if I took the preamp from the 5150's FX send into a Matrix power amp? Has anyone done this or done something similar? What are your thoughts?

I've heard nothing but good things about how clear and articulate the Matrix units are and how smooth everything is... And I'm just curious as to what would happen.

Thoughts?

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Well for one, you'd need a load box or two cabs, since the Peavey needs a load, and you need to amplify the Matrix, obviously.

And second, you're going to notice a lack of power tube coloration. The GT power amps are known for being very transparent.

 

[samincolour]

Well for one, you'd need a load box or two cabs, since the Peavey needs a load, and you need to amplify the Matrix, obviously.

And second, you're going to notice a lack of power tube coloration. The GT power amps are known for being very transparent.

It would be going through my Orange 4x12 so That wouldn't be the problem!

So really all I'd be hearing would be the Peavey's preamp right?

 

[Speculum Speculorum]

Methinks you're money could be better spent, dude. They're almost a grand for a new unit, and unless something has changed I'm pretty sure your block 5150's power sections is pretty freaking great sounding.

For the most part, you hear about guys using this with the Axe-fx units into a FRFR setup because they're using cab IRs for their live gigs. They also use them for shooting really clear impulse responses if they want the sound of the speaker they're recording, because it adds next to nothing to the signal.

I can't imagine a situation where I would want an amp to lose the color of it's power section though, which is what you'll be doing by sticking an extremely colorless power amp in between your 5150 preamp and guitar cab.

 

[samincolour]

Methinks you're money could be better spent, dude. They're almost a grand for a new unit, and unless something has changed I'm pretty sure your block 5150's power sections is pretty freaking great sounding.

For the most part, you hear about guys using this with the Axe-fx units into a FRFR setup because they're using cab IRs for their live gigs. They also use them for shooting really clear impulse responses if they want the sound of the speaker they're recording, because it adds next to nothing to the signal.

I can't imagine a situation where I would want an amp to lose the color of it's power section though, which is what you'll be doing by sticking an extremely colorless power amp in between your 5150 preamp and guitar cab.

That's all I needed to know, cheers mate!

I'm one of those people who just likes to constantly fiddle with perfectly fine stuff and try new/different combinations, I'm forever mixing various preamps with vastly different power amps to see what happens tonally. I'm always looking for something extra, I don't know what it is or how to get it but I know what it sounds like in my head!

 

[redstone]

It'll sound like your preamp alone, but louder. Bad move imo.

 

[GizmoGardens]

That's all I needed to know, cheers mate!

I'm one of those people who just likes to constantly fiddle with perfectly fine stuff and try new/different combinations, I'm forever mixing various preamps with vastly different power amps to see what happens tonally. I'm always looking for something extra, I don't know what it is or how to get it but I know what it sounds like in my head!

Why don't you grab a cheap power amp and try it out first? You could pick up a Samson or Mackie for dirt cheap (<$100) on craigslist/ebay/whatever and see what you think. They're really great for how cheap they go for, the only downside is that they usually take up 2U and are super heavy (which isn't really an issue since you'll probably be upgrading to a Matrix if you dig it). I run my AMT SS-20 preamp into a Mackie M800 (along with some other rackmount equipment) and I love the sound. Plus there's the little/no maintenance factor, can't beat that.

 

[redskyharbor]

You still need a load on the power section of the Peavey, or you will come to find your valves/output transformer will be very short-lived.

 

[GizmoGardens]

You still need a load on the power section of the Peavey, or you will come to find your valves/output transformer will be very short-lived.

Will that be the case even if the post gain is set to 0 and there's no signal present? If he's running straight out of the effects loop, then the output section is looking at an open circuit and no signal is going through it. I always thought the reason that having no load damaged your output section was because of reflected power.

 

[redskyharbor]

The output valves still put out power, but instead of being dispersed through the speakers as a load, it builds up in the output transformer until one, the other or both blow up. Having a load is absolutely imperative unless you like the idea of forking out a fair bit of cash for a new transformer/output valves. Dummy load boxes aren't too expensive and are a necessity for the kind of set up you want.

 

[GizmoGardens]

The output valves still put out power, but instead of being dispersed through the speakers as a load, it builds up in the output transformer until one, the other or both blow up. Having a load is absolutely imperative unless you like the idea of forking out a fair bit of cash for a new transformer/output valves. Dummy load boxes aren't too expensive and are a necessity for the kind of set up you want.

That's the thing though, the only current flowing through them at that point would be a small amount of DC bias current (~50mA?). I'm not 100% on the way a tube acts compared to a transistor, but if there's no signal flowing into a transistor it's essentially "off", aka not conducting. There's nothing at the output because there's nothing coming in to cause the tube to begin conducting, so I don't think the load is necessary.

 

[redskyharbor]

If you're willing to gamble the cost of a set of output valves and a new transformer on it, by all means go for it man, ain't nobody gonna stop you.

 

[samincolour]

Yeah that's a bit dangerous haha. I've never mixed an amp head with a power amp before so I was just wondering!

But yeah, fair enough gents, cheers for your help much appreciated!

 

[GizmoGardens]

If you're willing to gamble the cost of a set of output valves and a new transformer on it, by all means go for it man, ain't nobody gonna stop you.

I don't use a tube power section in my rig, so there's no gamble. I just want to understand why it is dangerous (this stuff genuinely interests me), but as of right now I see no danger in having the amp operate with no input and no load. "Just don't do it" isn't an acceptable answer, or at least it shouldn't be.

I did little "google research" and most of what I could find was the same "just don't do it" advice. A few stated there's almost no danger (because of what I said earlier) and a few who claimed some tube amps arent stable without a load, oscillations can occur and cause damage. I could believe the latter, but I really couldn't find anything concrete to back it up.


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