The Matchless HC-30 Amp is a boutique amp that was originally designed in 1989. During this time, Matchless Amplifiers decided they needed to design and built an amp that would, simply put, be the absolute best guitar amp available anywhere. To get the best input on how to design this amp, the designers went straight to the best source available: professional musicians. These musicians made it clear that the best amp would have to be highly durable while at the same time providing versatility. It would need to be light and small enough to travel with while providing the standards one would expect from a studio amp. Class A design was a given, and it would have to be completely hand wired to exact specifications. Only the best materials were to be used, and none of the standard shortcuts were to be used.
The resulting amp was the Matchless HC-30 amp, a true beauty. The Preamp contains two 12AX7s for channel 1 that actually create a parallel-triode circuit for treble and bass, and a single EF86 for channel two. Channel 2 is made up of one high-gain pentode that is paired with a six-position tone switch. This provides several benefits, including the ability to quickly dial in new tones and quickly return to your preferred settings. You’ll also find a master volume control that gives you flexible control over the power amp, a rectifier circuit that extends this flexibility, an effects loop, a half power switch, and more.
To get the best input on how to design this amp, the designers went straight to the best source available: professional musicians. These musicians made it clear that the best amp would have to be highly durable while at the same time providing versatility. It would need to be light and small enough to travel with while providing the standards one would expect from a studio amp. Class A design was a given, and it would have to be completely hand wired to exact specifications. Only the best materials were to be used, and none of the standard shortcuts were to be used.
