Matrix GT1600FX

sidsin

sidsin

Inspired
Hello people!

Looking to get this for my AXE FX III. Any reviews? And any idea how long has it been out of stock for?

Wondering if GT800 or GT1000 will be good enough? Or should I wait for the 2U units? The only reason I ask is I've heard there are some fan noise issues with the 1U units.
 
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I have the 1600, it sounds good at all volume levels. Hangs with my 90w mesa no problem. And with the axe you can bring it down to whisper quiet. My fan ramps up when you first power it on then settles to a quiet hum. I definitely don't hear it when playing, but I'm not in a ultra quiet or treated room.
 
I have a GT1600FX and it’s the last power amp I’ll ever need. That said, I think you’ll be more than happy with the 800 or 1000. I’m the only guitarist in my band, and in the past we’ve played some very DIY shows in “venues” that are really just fire halls, VFWs, or a similar space rented out for a hardcore show with a PA that I’m lucky to ever get mic’ed up through. So I like being able to run two 4x12 cabs at defeaning volumes to fill the room myself if need be. Most of the time I’m using only one of my two channels (800 watts @ 4 ohms, about half of that on my 8 ohm cab) and I never have to go past noon or 1 o’clock. It’s complete overkill on 90%+ of applications but I love the power and tons of headroom.
 
The fan in the axe 3 mkii I own is louder than the matrix fan ..I've played at whisper volumes and never hear either fan, I am puzzled when I hear people mention the fan noise..If the fan gets very dusty it will probably become louder and need to be cleaned. I've had pc fans do this. Again fan noise is a odd topic in this forum. I am thankful for the fans and glad I hear them, they serve a very worthy purpose. Playing my electric unplugged is louder than either of the fans. Hope this helps. That matrix is awsome I own the 1000 2 u with the quiter fans. Its loud as I'd ever need. All that's left is a tube power amp. Synergy 5050 or ps100 or fryette Lx.. Happy Hunting
 
I have a GT1000FX. It sounds fantastic and does exactly what it's supposed to do, which is simply to take whatever signal you put into it and make it louder without changing anything else about it. I can't imagine ever needing to push it anywhere close to its limit.

The extra good news is that the Axe-FX's Output volume knob is so good and gives you so much fine control at the quietest end of the scale that I just leave the GT1000FX's volume knobs at 3:00 and even at that high setting, it's very easy to just use the Axe-Fx's front volume knobs to keep the total output volume easily controllable at baby-sleeping-in-the-next-room, mouse fart volumes.
 
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sidsin said:
Hello people!

Looking to get this for my AXE FX III. Any reviews? And any idea how long has it been out of stock for?

Wondering if GT800 or GT1000 will be good enough? Or should I wait for the 2U units? The only reason I ask is I've heard there are some fan noise issues with the 1U units.
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I just sold my Matrix 1600 last month to offset the cost for an ENGL e850. IMO, the Matrix was a fine amp, but i come from almost three decades of tube amps, and the AXEFXIII needs a tube poweramp to really do what i want it to do running real cabinets.
 
I did the opposite, I sold my Engl E850 after doing a shootout between the Engl, a Matrix 800 GT and an Art SLA2. Still have the Matrix and will never sell it although I´ve been going the FRFR route for years now (Atomic CLRs).
Soundwise the Matrix is as good as the Engl, but when it comes to weight and maintenance costs (zero for the Matrix) there is no comparison.
I had to renew all tubes in the Engl once, that did cost me more than 300 Euros (14 tubes in there IIRC). No fun.
 
sidsin said:
Hello people!

Looking to get this for my AXE FX III. Any reviews? And any idea how long has it been out of stock for?

Wondering if GT800 or GT1000 will be good enough? Or should I wait for the 2U units? The only reason I ask is I've heard there are some fan noise issues with the 1U units.
Click to expand...

Been using the Matrix XT 800 - which is the "pro P.A" version - as far as I can tell its exactly the same and spec'd exactly the same as the GT 800.

I run it through a Celestion F12-X200 in a custom spec'd Celestion Cab. It is STONKINGLY ABSURDLY RIDUCULOULSY OBSCENLY LOUD ..... I play with a 2nd guitarist and the loudest drummer and bass player in the known universe :) and I NEVER run it past 3.00 on the dial and my FM3 / Helix / GT 1000 are running at no more than %60 of the full 0db limit ..... and there is still a mountain of volume / headroom left :)

You will NEVER need anything louder ..... if you do you WILL start going deaf or developing tinnitus.

Just get the GT 800 ..... its astonishingly good and the Fan noise is a total %1000 non-issue for rehearsal / live use.

Ben
 
Why would this be any better than say a Crown XTi 2002 ? Or any other good quality PA power amp ? I'm looking to replace my Marshall amps that I'm only using the power amp portion of. I'm just trying to understand what, if any, differences there are.
 
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Joel.Brown333 said:
Why would this be any better than say a Crown XTi 2002 ? Or any other good quality PA power amp ? I'm looking to replace my Marshall amps that I'm only using the power amp portion of. I'm just trying to understand what, if any, differences there are.
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If we’re being honest, any quality solid state power amp should do the job. It just boosts the signal as clean and transparent as possible. The Matrix is a favorite among Fractal users because it does exactly that and it’s simply marketed well towards guitarists using amp modelers. They do have the OOMPH you want when pushing a real cab.. maybe it’s from having lots of headroom, maybe it’s Class AB, maybe it’s something else - even my imagination. But when you play through one you know it kicks ass. It’s nice and open, not sterile, and does exactly what you need.
 
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