Matrix amp request

Tremonti

Tremonti

Fractal Fanatic
Love my GT1600FX power amp. 3 things I wish it had.

1) Please replace the small little twist knobs with something a tad more robust and cool looking
2) Please allow access to fuse from outside via twist off(Has only blown when I've plugged wrong into my cabinet twice, at a dark venue). When this happened I had to remove entire rack unit from rack, take off 20 screws and pop top lid off to access. Come on!
3) Replace push button on with switch. Never had a single problem with years of use....but at some point that spring will break and the unit will not be able to turn on...a switch eliminates this risk at a gig.

Love my unit, love the service.....just things I would like to see to improve. Outstanding product though! Replaced my Mesa 2:90 power amp...which was almost impossible after trying every main stream solid state power amp out there!!!
 
The guys from Matrix read the forum with regularity I doubt it will go un noticed. I mentioned the little Mackie looking knobs when the 800 first came out. I actually like how the volume knobs on the ART series amps can be pushed in once you're done adjusting them.
 
I'm sure Robin will jump in as well at some point as well but I remember asking about the volume knobs very early on. From their experience with PA amps the volume knobs were done the way they were because they did have issues with amps either dropped or impacted on the front where the volumes were located. Now with a fixed volume pot usually they'd shatter and need replacing as a whole. With the small "internal" ones, they actually just push in the casing and can usually just be pushed back out. I've only seen one amp actually damaged and dropped on its front (actually one used by John Petrucci's wife) by an airline and the volumes did as designed and it was usable the next night. Probably guitarists take a bit more care of their gear than PA guys but there's always an airline ready to abuse the flight cases.

Not sure on the reason for the fuse location. Possibly so incorrect values aren't easily used and further damage incurred so maybe Robin may jump in that. The switch I'll wager is probably more reliable than the "standard" one us guitarists are used to. I know older Matrix amps (way before the GT series) had something like this ( think there's one on an old Vector 350 I have) so there WILL be a reason Andy changed that.

We always take suggestions seriously so thanks for the comments and I'll feed it to both Robin and Andy.
 
Hi Guys,

Well just briefly:

1) Please replace the small little twist knobs with something a tad more robust and cool looking
Click to expand...

More robust? Number of knobs failed in service to date: zero. I appreciate that the look and feel is a styling thing, but the "recessed" minimal knob was a design choice not only on looks and style, but on function. What we didn't want was knobs that where too big and accidentally nudged and shifted so that you accidentally messed up your settings, and blew a speaker or something when you stood flat out on your volume pedal. There's a whole other bunch of reasons related to product reliability why they are mounted the way they are, which is a major part of why we build them like we do.

2) Please allow access to fuse from outside via twist off(Has only blown when I've plugged wrong into my cabinet twice, at a dark venue). When this happened I had to remove entire rack unit from rack, take off 20 screws and pop top lid off to access. Come on!
Click to expand...

Well, finger operated twist-off fuse holder have been illegal in most countries for mains power on new products for quite a few years now, they have to require a tool to access, so the screwdriver slot ones are OK. We have very very few fuse failures ... it is something we may look at but it is a fairly major design change, so I can't promise anything.

I would think 95% of our amps go through their lives without ever needing a fuse changed, it should be a very, very rare event, but we hear you about the lid screws. On the other hand, do remember that the fuse is the last line of defense, putting the two channels together on an amp can kill it, even with the fuse to protect it. If this happens to you from wiring the amp and cab up wrong, take it as a warning that you were close to killing it ... do be careful not to wire the channels to each other, really careful.

3) Replace push button on with switch. Never had a single problem with years of use....but at some point that spring will break and the unit will not be able to turn on...a switch eliminates this risk at a gig.
Click to expand...

Number of springs failed to date: zero. In fact, number of switches failed to date: zero. There's a whole host of reasons we didn't use a rocker switch on this product, and why we used the switch we did, and reliability is a huge part of that. We've been building amps since '93 ... just trust us, a rocker switch in this particular application would have been less reliable, although I appreciate it may not be obvious why :)

Thanks for the input though, we do appreciate comments, but at least the first and last items are deliberate design choices with a whole bunch of reasons behind them that contribute to product reliability.
 
RobinMatrix said:
Hi Guys,

Well just briefly:



More robust? Number of knobs failed in service to date: zero. I appreciate that the look and feel is a styling thing, but the "recessed" minimal knob was a design choice not only on looks and style, but on function. What we didn't want was knobs that where too big and accidentally nudged and shifted so that you accidentally messed up your settings, and blew a speaker or something when you stood flat out on your volume pedal. There's a whole other bunch of reasons related to product reliability why they are mounted the way they are, which is a major part of why we build them like we do.



Well, finger operated twist-off fuse holder have been illegal in most countries for mains power on new products for quite a few years now, they have to require a tool to access, so the screwdriver slot ones are OK. We have very very few fuse failures ... it is something we may look at but it is a fairly major design change, so I can't promise anything.

I would think 95% of our amps go through their lives without ever needing a fuse changed, it should be a very, very rare event, but we hear you about the lid screws. On the other hand, do remember that the fuse is the last line of defense, putting the two channels together on an amp can kill it, even with the fuse to protect it. If this happens to you from wiring the amp and cab up wrong, take it as a warning that you were close to killing it ... do be careful not to wire the channels to each other, really careful.



Number of springs failed to date: zero. In fact, number of switches failed to date: zero. There's a whole host of reasons we didn't use a rocker switch on this product, and why we used the switch we did, and reliability is a huge part of that. We've been building amps since '93 ... just trust us, a rocker switch in this particular application would have been less reliable, although I appreciate it may not be obvious why :)

Thanks for the input though, we do appreciate comments, but at least the first and last items are deliberate design choices with a whole bunch of reasons behind them that contribute to product reliability.
Click to expand...


Regarding #1....looking good and not breaking and being robust can both be accomplished. Obviously you all put LED's inside to make it look like tubes glowing...so this shouldn't be a foreign request or duality that can't be accomplished.

#2....I understand....but obviously a pain.....but again...only happened twice in 4 years and both times it was MY FAULT.

#3...fair enough....probably just my ignorant understanding and again I've never had issues

Thanks for responding! May try out your speakers soon.
 
That may be, but my understanding is that the life of most electronics depends on how many times you turn them off and on, so it would make sense that there would be a standby switch that does not put the unit under the stress of turning on and off, especially if you just want to step off for a few minutes.

In addition, it takes a few seconds for the unit to turn off and on, so it would be preferable to have a flip switch to quickly put the unit in standby mode while you grab a cold one. Just my 2 cents. I think for the small cost of a flip switch, having a standby may make many people happy - and that, in my opinion, makes most sense of all, even if not technically required...
 
Gebella said:
That may be, but my understanding is that the life of most electronics depends on how many times you turn them off and on, so it would make sense that there would be a standby switch that does not put the unit under the stress of turning on and off, especially if you just want to step off for a few minutes. In addition, it takes a few seconds for the unit to turn off and on, so it would be preferable to have a flip switch to quickly put the unit in standby mode while you grab a cold one. Just my 2 cents. I think for the small cost of a flip switch, having a standby may make many people happy - and that, in my opinion, makes most sense of all, even if not technically required...
Click to expand...
In all fairness I've never seen a stand by switch on a solid state amp. Walk away... Just turn off
 
Gebella said:
...In addition, it takes a few seconds for the unit to turn off and on, so it would be preferable to have a flip switch to quickly put the unit in standby mode while you grab a cold one. Just my 2 cents. I think for the small cost of a flip switch, having a standby may make many people happy - and that, in my opinion, makes most sense of all, even if not technically required...
Click to expand...

And a cup holder. It needs a cup holder. :roll

Seriously, what exactly would you put on standby? What parts of the circuitry would you want turned off and what parts would you expect to be left on (to save stress on them)? If you want to save stress on the components, just leave the amp on and turn your guitar volume down when you step away for that cold one.
 
That's just the switch cover that's been removed. There's still a shaft inside that works fine so the switch itself looks intact.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom