Matrix GT1000FX Amp failure and Customer Support

Sorry but this thread is quite long... Matrix might be a good Amp but this has not been a good experience.
I bought the Matrix GT1000FX 2U Amp last October 2021. Being very excited that I was going to have a product that had been getting RAVE reviews for being used with the Fractal Product line. And quite a history as well. When I received the unit I unpacked it and immediately installed it in my rack with my Axe FX 3. Excited as hell to hear what all the fuss was about. Powered up the rack and absolutely nothing from the GT1000FX no power no lights... nothing. Sooo... I tried to contact Matrix to no avail. I later found, after quite a bit of research, a contact here in the US ( Andrew Hunt ) whom, I found out, was indeed the designer and owner of Matrix Amplification. I first found his email and sent a message to him about the problem I was having. No response. After some more research I found a telephone number and called it. Low and behold someone answered, it was the man himself Andrew (Andy) Hunt. After speaking with him for a bit and doing some troubleshooting over the phone it turned out to be the voltage selector on the inside of the chassis that was set wrong. Opened up the unit and set the voltage selector to the proper setting for US use and away we go.
About a week later I was working with my system, creating some presets in the AxeFX3 and the amp started acting funny. The "A" channel started cutting in and out and then went out all of the way. Soo... I called Andy again and explained what was happening. After a long lecture, about how 99% of this type issue has been a cable issue, I heeded his advise and purchased all new cables and tried again... NOTHING! I contacted him again and explained it all to him again. And again the lecture about cabling. I assured him that I had tried everything. He agreed to have the amp returned for repair. After about two weeks I contacted him to find out the status of my amp and he told me that the amp was working perfectly and there was no issue that he could find. Again he mentioned how 99% of the issues found are due to bad cabling. Again I reiterated that I had replaced all cables with new ones and there was no change. I requested a new amp for a replacement and after going back and forth he finally agreed. Or so I think he did because there is really no way to tell as none of these amps have a serial number or a manufacture date or anyway to identify that it is different from any other one. So I receive the "NEW" amp back about a week later (3 weeks without the amp) and it seems to be working fine. Woohoo we are back we are back! So I finally get to finish polishing my presets for use with the Matrix and start using it LIVE! Sounds fantastic! I do 2 shows with my band and it is amazing!

Everything is working perfectly for about a month or so. It is now late February 2022 and I am creating a new preset for a brand new song the band has written. I get it completed and shut everything down that night. I get up the next morning and go to turn everything back on to check how the preset sounds after having a little time to let my ears rest and the amp does not power up. No lights nothing. Well Crap, here we go again. So I try all weekend to get a hold of Andy and no response. I finally get him on the phone on Monday and we go through everything and he determines that the power supply has failed. So I send it back again. Another 2 weeks go by, from the time I shipped it, and try contacting him to get a status update no answer. The next day I get a short email stating that the amp has been shipped back to me. No tracking number offered. Another week goes by and I finally get the amp back. Again it is working fine. Three more shows later and about 2 months and guess what... the "A" channel starts cutting in and out again. It happens during a show. I don't realize it because my band uses IEM system. The house sound man comes upon stage in between songs and tells me what is going on. My setup is direct out to FOH (stereo) plus 2 mics on my cab (an amazing sound). I told him to just shut down the mics and send me a feed through the monitor for feedback purposes. Done!

Again I contact Andy at Matrix but this time I just simply tell him that I am at a point of distrust with his product. Again he asks if I have checked my Cables. Really... again with the cables? This time he makes me pay for the shipping to send it back. again after a week of him having the amp I have heard nothing. I contact him to no avail. Then finally I see that a payment has been made to Paypal account but for only $720.00. I paid $849.00 plus shipping and plus return shipping. I try to contact him and he responds that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the amp and that the chassis is all scratched as well as the faceplate and that he charged me to replace the chassis as it was not taken care of. I should have taken pictures of that unit before I shipped it. I sent it back in the original box with no scratches of any kind to that unit. But as I said before there is no way to prove anything because these units have no serial number or any way to identify them.

So in summary I will say this:
Matrix Amps sound amazing!
Matrix has a very poor customer support experience!
The owner can be quite insulting and protective of his product.
And most importantly; the quality of the product DOES NOT LIVE UP TO THE HYPE!!
OKAY RANT OVER SORRY IT WAS SO LONG...
I had a very similar experience when I sent my fairly new GT1000FX-1U to be repaired by Matrix. It had a "scratchy" pot. They sent it back destroyed! And of course, if you can contact them at all, they are very rude. Andrew "the Englishman" was such a jerk. So, I just had to cut my losses & buy a new Crown power amp. Dealing with Matrix was a nightmare!!!
I don't know how they stay in business!!!
 
OP was emailed at exactly the same time as I replied on here. No bounce back. 4 attachments which were the pictures and my boss was cc'd in who also received the email.
Not a holiday weekend here in the UK where I'm based and replied from. Post had been up a few days also so I wouldn't consider that a "fast" response. I'll resend the email of course but it was not just a reply on here guys.
 
One very important thing I want to add is, even though that was an awful & expensive experience, the guys at Sweetwater were so nice & quickly
got me a good power amp. I am very impressed with them! GOD is good!!!
 
Though my experience with Fractal and Matrix purchases has been good, I'm always cautious of purchasing more niche products direct, particularly as an intetnational customer. I'd much rather use more widely distributed products and deal with my local music store, or big online seller with their own return / warrenty policies but sometimes that's not an option.
 
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Oddest thing in this entire debate is the lack of evidence! If you say he has sent an amp back with scratches on it, please validate that it is indeed the amp you sent him. Oh that's right you can't because you have no identifier( serial #). Which as anyone with 2 ounces of brains knows this protects both the distributor/manufactor and protects the consumer. I find this very unreasonable from any kind of professional attempt to sell people products, he could have sent an amp in with 2 rats inside it and no original guts and all you have to go on is your word against his. No serial number? What year is this again? Perplexed to put it nicely. And I am not saying either party did anything dishonest , all I am saying without a serial number it is a pissing contest.Which is exactly what we have here. Is that why you don't use them? Only sense I could make of it. Any other amp builders not use serial numbers?
 
Sorry but this thread is quite long... Matrix might be a good Amp but this has not been a good experience.
I bought the Matrix GT1000FX 2U Amp last October 2021. Being very excited that I was going to have a product that had been getting RAVE reviews for being used with the Fractal Product line. And quite a history as well. When I received the unit I unpacked it and immediately installed it in my rack with my Axe FX 3. Excited as hell to hear what all the fuss was about. Powered up the rack and absolutely nothing from the GT1000FX no power no lights... nothing. Sooo... I tried to contact Matrix to no avail. I later found, after quite a bit of research, a contact here in the US ( Andrew Hunt ) whom, I found out, was indeed the designer and owner of Matrix Amplification. I first found his email and sent a message to him about the problem I was having. No response. After some more research I found a telephone number and called it. Low and behold someone answered, it was the man himself Andrew (Andy) Hunt. After speaking with him for a bit and doing some troubleshooting over the phone it turned out to be the voltage selector on the inside of the chassis that was set wrong. Opened up the unit and set the voltage selector to the proper setting for US use and away we go.
About a week later I was working with my system, creating some presets in the AxeFX3 and the amp started acting funny. The "A" channel started cutting in and out and then went out all of the way. Soo... I called Andy again and explained what was happening. After a long lecture, about how 99% of this type issue has been a cable issue, I heeded his advise and purchased all new cables and tried again... NOTHING! I contacted him again and explained it all to him again. And again the lecture about cabling. I assured him that I had tried everything. He agreed to have the amp returned for repair. After about two weeks I contacted him to find out the status of my amp and he told me that the amp was working perfectly and there was no issue that he could find. Again he mentioned how 99% of the issues found are due to bad cabling. Again I reiterated that I had replaced all cables with new ones and there was no change. I requested a new amp for a replacement and after going back and forth he finally agreed. Or so I think he did because there is really no way to tell as none of these amps have a serial number or a manufacture date or anyway to identify that it is different from any other one. So I receive the "NEW" amp back about a week later (3 weeks without the amp) and it seems to be working fine. Woohoo we are back we are back! So I finally get to finish polishing my presets for use with the Matrix and start using it LIVE! Sounds fantastic! I do 2 shows with my band and it is amazing!

Everything is working perfectly for about a month or so. It is now late February 2022 and I am creating a new preset for a brand new song the band has written. I get it completed and shut everything down that night. I get up the next morning and go to turn everything back on to check how the preset sounds after having a little time to let my ears rest and the amp does not power up. No lights nothing. Well Crap, here we go again. So I try all weekend to get a hold of Andy and no response. I finally get him on the phone on Monday and we go through everything and he determines that the power supply has failed. So I send it back again. Another 2 weeks go by, from the time I shipped it, and try contacting him to get a status update no answer. The next day I get a short email stating that the amp has been shipped back to me. No tracking number offered. Another week goes by and I finally get the amp back. Again it is working fine. Three more shows later and about 2 months and guess what... the "A" channel starts cutting in and out again. It happens during a show. I don't realize it because my band uses IEM system. The house sound man comes upon stage in between songs and tells me what is going on. My setup is direct out to FOH (stereo) plus 2 mics on my cab (an amazing sound). I told him to just shut down the mics and send me a feed through the monitor for feedback purposes. Done!

Again I contact Andy at Matrix but this time I just simply tell him that I am at a point of distrust with his product. Again he asks if I have checked my Cables. Really... again with the cables? This time he makes me pay for the shipping to send it back. again after a week of him having the amp I have heard nothing. I contact him to no avail. Then finally I see that a payment has been made to Paypal account but for only $720.00. I paid $849.00 plus shipping and plus return shipping. I try to contact him and he responds that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the amp and that the chassis is all scratched as well as the faceplate and that he charged me to replace the chassis as it was not taken care of. I should have taken pictures of that unit before I shipped it. I sent it back in the original box with no scratches of any kind to that unit. But as I said before there is no way to prove anything because these units have no serial number or any way to identify them.

So in summary I will say this:
Matrix Amps sound amazing!
Matrix has a very poor customer support experience!
The owner can be quite insulting and protective of his product.
And most importantly; the quality of the product DOES NOT LIVE UP TO THE HYPE!!
OKAY RANT OVER SORRY IT WAS SO LONG...

One very important thing I want to add is, even though that was an awful & expensive experience, the guys at Sweetwater were so nice & quickly
got me a good power amp. I am very impressed with them! GOD is good!!!
They are my go to Store!
 
Finally received a reply to the inquiry about the status of my amp. it hasn’t even been looked at after they’ve had it for 3 weeks. They’ll see if they have time today to get around to it. I now totally regret buying their product.
Yep ...I'd be pissed too. I'm glad I didn't buy one now. Way too many quality power amp manufacturers out there to deal with these issues.
 
Update on my Matrix amp situation:

There Is no update. They’ve had my amp for almost 6 weeks now and will not respond to me. They’ve now had it for almost as long as I was able to use it before it blew up. As far as I know they’ve never even looked at it. So they have my money AND my amp. I’m now going through Paypal trying to get my money back. Stay away from these crooked clowns.
 
Update on my Matrix amp situation:

There Is no update. They’ve had my amp for almost 6 weeks now and will not respond to me. They’ve now had it for almost as long as I was able to use it before it blew up. As far as I know they’ve never even looked at it. So they have my money AND my amp. I’m now going through Paypal trying to get my money back. Stay away from these crooked clowns.
Wow, that is a real shame. I've got a Matrix GT-1000 2U. I certainly won't be buying another one in the future. 6 Months is Insane.
 
I think the OP is correct. This is basically one of the biggest issues with digital modelers. How to power them/what to use. Lot of companies hit the scene to capitalize on the tech but many have not really done a great job of keep up with things. I did have a MatrixGT1000 but I sell it because I felt it was not the best solution. You can always use a SD Powerstage. They are very solid and SD is a great company. Lot of other "powered" speaker companies many times don't have product or they can't get it and things are worse given the state of supply. Best to go with a reliable source. I had custom things built back a while ago but even those are gone for reliability issues. I can not stress enough go with a company that will stand by its product.
 
I like the SD Powerstage, but the whole odd size doesn't work for me. I need something in a 2U form factor. What do people recommend outside of the Duncan? I do use Crown amps as part of my Home Theater and they are great. I'm just not sure if they are considered good for modeling or not?
 
I like the SD Powerstage, but the whole odd size doesn't work for me. I need something in a 2U form factor. What do people recommend outside of the Duncan? I do use Crown amps as part of my Home Theater and they are great. I'm just not sure if they are considered good for modeling or not?
Crowns are a quality amp with good fidelity. It's not going to ADD mojo sauce like a tooob amp, it's going to reproduce the sauce dialed in on your Axe, nothing more, nothing less.

And they're built like tanks in my experience, old school industrial electronics, probably with a dash of modern in there by now.
 
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They're a quality amp with good fidelity. It's not going to ADD mojo sauce like a tooob amp, it's going to reproduce the sauce dialed in on your Axe, nothing more, nothing less.

And they're built like tanks in my experience, old school industrial electronics, probably with a dash of modern in there by now.
Talking about the SD or the Crowns?
 
Sorry I'll clarify, I meant the Crowns. I'll fix my post, glad you asked.
Thanks for the clarification! I actually have (2) Crown CDI 1000 sitting unused in a closet that I should try one out for fun. I originally was using them in my home theater to power my LRC, but I changed it out to a 7 channel ATI amp and then added a Crown 4 channel amp to run my 4 ATMOS speakers. Those CDI are great amps w/ DPS. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
I’m going to go with a Duncan Powerstage if/when I ever get my money back from Matrix. I should have trusted my gut when I went for the Matrix instead of the Duncan from the get go. They’ve been around for decades as opposed to a one man shop that goes dark once they got your money and a broken product.
 
Just for a little balance.......I've had an 800 for over 5 years...zero problems.....ran it as a bass amp as well.

Had a 1000 for over 3 years zero problems.

Sorry to hear of your problems, I hope you get it resolved to your satisfaction.
 
Just for a little balance.......I've had an 800 for over 5 years...zero problems.....ran it as a bass amp as well.

Had a 1000 for over 3 years zero problems.

Sorry to hear of your problems, I hope you get it resolved to your satisfaction.
Seems the older units were more reliable. I have no problem with something breaking down as long as they take care of it. What’s happened to me feels more like fraud. I just want my money back at this point.
 
Update:

Matrix finally refunded my money after going through PayPal. I don’t know why they wouldn’t deal with me directly and chose to ignore me for almost two months. Purchase anything from them with caution.
 
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