Going from an ART SLA2 to a matrix power amp...

ari

Inspired
Anyone here do this? Weight aside, is the power amp that much better? I liked the sla2 at first but I'm not blown away. Will power Ev sx300 speakers or my guitar cabs (EVL, celestions).....let me know your thoughts!
 
The Art was never intended to be top of the line. A Mercedes and a Fiat both come with four tires and an engine and get you from point A to B, whether one is worth 4x as much to you is a personal decision.
 
i have not compared the two directly, however.

I ran an SLA for 14 months - like you it was OK but not GREAT. Ultimately I gave up on it and went to a valve power amp (VHT 2:50:2) which was streets ahead. Next came a Matrix GT800. This was close - and stayed in the Rack (because of the weight), but I kept the 2:50:2 for home/reference. The fact it made the rack says to me it was considerably better than the Art that got booted for the VHT.

I had to sell one amp to fund the AFX2 - and the VHT went (again mainly weight, but I also got a lot more for it than I would have done the Matrix) and while happy, I still had the odd pang of regret letting the VHT go. then I got the GT1000 - and TBG havent had regrets about the VHT since.

However you read that, my progression points to the Matrix being considerably better than the Art. Not a direct comparison as I said - but possibly relevant.
 
I haven't tried Matix power amp yet, but I also went with the Art SLA2 and felt that something was lacking and went back to my Mesa 50/50.
my rack is for home use right now so weight is a non issue (plus I'm 6 ft 215lbs so wight actually is really not an issue to begin with)
I'd love to try a Matrix the Gt000FX but I'm honestly sick of trying the flavor of the month and being disappointed.(and losing money reselling stuff I did not like)
If Matrix had a 30 day trial (like GC) I'd already have one .
The Axe palace is 15 minutes away form my house, when Nick gets the new Fryettes in I will go over and "try one" in person
If someone local to me had one of these matrix amps I'd love to check it out.
 
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Thank u all! I could swear that mark Day got amazing tone from his sla2 and his axe fx ultra. Find early videos. I want to know if it's my user error live or this matrix will really solve all my problems. I had a Mesa 50/50 which was powerful but not really transparent enough for me....I just want to hear my studio tone live but I have been unsuccessful so far. Even the PA recordings don't sound good to my ears. Just my studio (where I play with USB right into my laptop!)
 
I haven't tried Matix poer amp yet, but I also went with the Art SLA2 and felt that something was lacking and went back to my Mesa 50/50.
my rack is for home use right now so weight is a non issue (plus I'm 6 ft 215lbs so wight actually is eally not an issue to begin with)
I'd love to try a Matrix 1Gt000FX but I'm honestly sick of trying the flavor of the month and being disappointed.(and losing money reselling stuff I did not like)
If Matrix had a 30 day trial (like GC) I'd already have one .
The Axe palace is 15 minutes away form my house, when Nick gets the new Fryettes in I will go over and "try one" in person
If someone local to me had one of these matrix amps I'd love to check it out.

Hi there,
We have a 14 day return policy. Might that be enough to try the Matrix ? Your are also welcome to come and play with them at Axe-Fest.
If you have any questions please feel free to shoot me a mail = matt@matrixamplification.com

My best regards
Matt
 
Hi there,
We have a 14 day return policy. Might that be enough to try the Matrix ? Your are also welcome to come and play with them at Axe-Fest.
If you have any questions please feel free to shoot me a mail = matt@matrixamplification.com

My best regards
Matt

My goal is to buy one when I'm at axe-fest in two weeks, I can't wait to hear it in person. Currently I use a qsc k10 for my church gigs, but I want other options when I play clubs with other bands when I fill in. I have a line 6 2x12 cabinet which I assume is flat response, not entirely sure. I have heard great things about this amp. I'm deciding to buy this, instead of the IPhone 5.:D

I will obviously get a better cabinet in the future, I know that Jeries is selling at least 6 of them.
 
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LOL! if Axe Fest was in Boston I can't just up and leave to go the west coast on a whim.

14 days may be enough I'll have to talk to you about specifics
I'll be in touch soon, I may wait for the Fryettes to come out so I can do a side by side comparison

oh and Ari, that is my only complaint about using the Mesa 50/50 it adds a lot of "mesa flavor" to my patches
not a bad thing in all scenarios but it's really coloring my marshal/cameron/friedman patches too much.
it's also very bass heavy in a specific frequency, so I have to add a high pass filter at the end of all of my "real Cab" patches.
My Mark Patches on the other hand sound dead on :D

Hi there,
We have a 14 day return policy. Might that be enough to try the Matrix ? Your are also welcome to come and play with them at Axe-Fest.
If you have any questions please feel free to shoot me a mail = matt@matrixamplification.com

My best regards
Matt
 
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I went from ART SLA-2 to GT800FX. I was so excited when I got my Matrix, I went right to my rehearsal room to do some testings. I was very disappointed, I thought I just wasted my money. I couldn't hear any difference apart from the thing that Matrix had more highs. I balanced the tone of the two amps by EQ and I felt no difference. That was until a rehearsal with the whole band. That changed the game. I really cannot put in words how different the Matrix sounds in a band. Our singer expressed himself like this "What have you done? I can hear now even if you pick differently the notes!". This is the best description I can come out how the Matrix sounds.
On the other hand I am still waiting for the guys at Matrix to answer me why they used a lower quality OP-Amp. It is a MC4580 made by UTC. I intend to change this MC4580 to an OPA2134 or a TLE2072. I am just waiting for an answer from them, was it an economical or musical choice.
 
You will not regret it!!! I have them both...they are like day and night

Anyone here do this? Weight aside, is the power amp that much better? I liked the sla2 at first but I'm not blown away. Will power Ev sx300 speakers or my guitar cabs (EVL, celestions).....let me know your thoughts!
 
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