The new MATRIX GT800FX. THE amp for THE Axe-Fx

DADA said:
Lightningboy,

Did you installed v11 already? Had the same experience but, dum me, also did the v11 so I do not know which improvement is from what. :eek:ops
Click to expand...

Yeah using v11 but even still, I can't hear that niggly compression thing living at 350hz ish. With the 12GA50's it was very apparent but using the new amp (not even as loud) the feedback blooms nicely on the lower registers instead of just holding and rumbling. Happy bunny!
 
Just got my Matrix 800FX. Prior to this I was using a Marshall EL84 20/20 1U power amp.

First impressions of the Matrix are excellent, seriously. Tonally, with the Axe Ultra amp sims on, it sounds like a valve amp which was my biggest concern. It does not sound harsh, sterile, brittle and digital but warm, valve-like but transparent and as Dada said, there's a lot more sonic detail to the Ultra presets. Furthermore, the different amp sims on the Ultra themselves sound radically different from one to the next whereas previously, through the Marshall, the sonic nuances were hardly noticeable. Suddenly, the Ultra parameters of warmth, thump, air etc, actually work and make a difference; before with the EL84 20/20, I simply couldn’t tell the difference whatsoever.

So, to Hell with the Marshall, the valves screwing up every few months, the circuit board burning out on 3 occasions and the overheating generating such ridiculous temperatures that it had to be isolated either side in the rack by a 2U and 1U gap to avoid frying the Ultra, resulting in 3U’s of gear having to be housed in a 6U rack! Marshall EL84 20/20, goodbye and good riddance!

Only 2 initial matters on the downside. The fan is too noisy and I don’t like the click/ thump when switching the Matrix on. I do hope Matrix will address these concerns because those apart, the 800FX is excellent and I’d recommend it to anyone.
 
I dont get that thump if i turn the amp on before the Axe. if the Axe is on first I get it. Same turning off. If I turn the Axe off first it thumps, If its the amp first it doesnt. I get the same with my VHT Power Map though.
 
So my first test of the 800GT, was with a 1960A Cab, Stereo. Power sims on Cabs OFF.

I have a Mesa VERT cab with 2 EVM12L's, 8 ohm stereo. Do you think it would sound okay with Power sims and Cabs on ? Are any of you starting from a new with ver. 11.00 ?

thanks
 
Yesterday after I opened up the unit my channel A stereo mode started working ... got a second call from Andrew (the designer himself) , they will send me a new unit so they can investigate the cause of the failure I had ...

Fans are still noisy but I guess not as raving as they did while channel A was out. I'll borrow a db meter from work tomorrow to measure its level.

I have the speaker plop too , switching on and off ...

Today tested at higher volume levels and I really like what I hear ;-)

Raf
 
My first impressions, with some SLA2 vs GT800FX:
- the amp bumps turning it on and off, the bumps get louder if you turn up (CW) the A and B attenuators, the SLA2 never does this. The bump is not a big deal, there are a lot of power amp (valve and SS) doing a little bump;
- the fans are a little louders than the SLA one;
- the GT800FX output is louder;
- the GT800FX is smaller, lighter and with good connections available.

I hooked up the SLA and the GT to the same Marshall 1960AV, two speaker per amp, and I made a preset with a mixer to choose a power amp or the other from my pedalboard.
Using the output2 unbalanced jacks I didn't notice great differences in sound at loud and low volumes.

I'll do a better comparison during the next days, today I am really really tired so I want just to play :)
 
With any s.s power amp it's best if you have the volumes at minimum when powering on. The XT800 bumped a little as well, no biggie and won't hurt your speakers.
 
Lightningboy said:
With any s.s power amp it's best if you have the volumes at minimum when powering on. The XT800 bumped a little as well, no biggie and won't hurt your speakers.
Click to expand...

I'd say "With a lot", for example the SLA2 doesn't bump even all cranked up.

I hope I'll do extensive text tomorrow on the most important thing: how does it sound?
 
Lightningboy said:
Yeah using v11 but even still, I can't hear that niggly compression thing living at 350hz ish. With the 12GA50's it was very apparent but using the new amp (not even as loud) the feedback blooms nicely on the lower registers instead of just holding and rumbling. Happy bunny!
Click to expand...

Nice playing BTW
 
Great video :)
Couldn't wait and drove to the rehearsal room though I really had not much time.
Sounds great with my 4x12 cab, IMO more direct than the ART SLA-2, louder and with a noticeable tighter bass! Love it!
No bumps when I turn the amp on and off before the AXE-FX.
Did some tweaking on my high gain rhythm sound to optimize everthing and then connected output 1 of the AXE-FX with our PA for a test drive :)
Chose my favourite Ownhammer IR and........the sound was MUCH better than the patches I tweaked for the ART.
The brittle and sizzle is history and I needed no PEQ or GEQ.
ME = HAPPY!!!

Looking forward to our rehearsal on Thursday when I have more time.
Pretty sure that the other guys don't recognize that something has changed...but I'm used to that :D
 
bufon63 said:
Just got my Matrix 800FX. Prior to this I was using a Marshall EL84 20/20 1U power amp.

First impressions of the Matrix are excellent, seriously. Tonally, with the Axe Ultra amp sims on, it sounds like a valve amp which was my biggest concern. It does not sound harsh, sterile, brittle and digital but warm, valve-like but transparent and as Dada said, there's a lot more sonic detail to the Ultra presets. Furthermore, the different amp sims on the Ultra themselves sound radically different from one to the next whereas previously, through the Marshall, the sonic nuances were hardly noticeable. Suddenly, the Ultra parameters of warmth, thump, air etc, actually work and make a difference; before with the EL84 20/20, I simply couldn’t tell the difference whatsoever.

So, to Hell with the Marshall, the valves screwing up every few months, the circuit board burning out on 3 occasions and the overheating generating such ridiculous temperatures that it had to be isolated either side in the rack by a 2U and 1U gap to avoid frying the Ultra, resulting in 3U’s of gear having to be housed in a 6U rack! Marshall EL84 20/20, goodbye and good riddance!

Only 2 initial matters on the downside. The fan is too noisy and I don’t like the click/ thump when switching the Matrix on. I do hope Matrix will address these concerns because those apart, the 800FX is excellent and I’d recommend it to anyone.
Click to expand...

Very glad to hear. The Marshall 20/20 is what I am moving from. Never was able to get a consistent sound with it probably due to overheating issues. Still waiting for my Matrix in Sydney. Last I checked it was passing through Frankfurt??
 
Maxwell said:
Very glad to hear. The Marshall 20/20 is what I am moving from. Never was able to get a consistent sound with it probably due to overheating issues. Still waiting for my Matrix in Sydney. Last I checked it was passing through Frankfurt??
Click to expand...

Glad to hear. Do let me know how you get on with it when it arrives, PM me if you want. As a fellow (former in my case now), Marshall 20/20 user, would love to know your opinion/ comparison with your new Matrix.
 
I'll try to measure the db rating from the fans today. In my opinion they're quit loud , offcourse no issue while playing ...

I must admit , the amp does sound great ...

Does anybody else noticed that amp starts to get very loud after turning over 12 o clock ? Feels to me it's not a lineair curve , I probably need to higher the output from the axe

btw can i just play and measure the output voltage on the jacks ? so they're not connected to the matrix ?

R
 
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