Two Rock vs Matchless Amplifier - Which One Do I Keep?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ย. 2024
- This is the 4th episode in the high-end amp series of videos where I'm trying to find my perfect amp my (amp for life).
In this video, I compare the Matchless Independence 35 to the Two-Rock Classic Reverb Signature. I can't afford to keep both of these expensive amps so I'm asking you guys which one should I keep and which one should I let go?
The Studio Rats are core band members Paul Drew on guitar/production/mixing, drummer James Ivey and Dan Hawkins on bass. They collaborate with singers and musicians to produce radio-ready songs.
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I prefer the Two Rock, sounds like you need a pedal for either one, for different purposes. I own the Bloomfield which is a two channel and solves that issues for you, plus has a bit more gain. The clean on the Matchless sounded nice once you adjusted it, just not as nice as the Two Rock, and I preferred the tone of the boosted gain on the Two Rock over the matchless tone with gain. The Two Rock just has more soul in it to me. Easy decision for me, but seems like both are great amps and as always, it boils down to personal preferences.
I drove 150 miles to try out my souped up es335 thru a Bloomfield. What a waste. I guess I was thinking Elvin Bishop and Alvin Lee instead of Michael Bloomfield. Two Rock engineers probably never heard of anyone from that era because they would have known they all played Gibson hollowbodies -- Chuck Berry, Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, bb king and 80% of guitar players before 1969 when the les paul and solid body craze hit and put hollowbodies in the closet for 50 years and turned gibson into a billion dollar Jimmy Page clone machine. Yes Michael Bloomfield did play one of the few Les Pauls around before 1969. Anyway, the two rock Bloomfield amp was not voiced for a hollow or semihollow bodied guitars imo. Whatever amp Michael Bloomfield was playing back in his day WAS voiced for hollowbodies. As for High gain, it has had its day. And that wimpy clean stuff JM played thru a two rock amp despite at lower gain is not blues even if he makes those goofy faces while trying to bend notes. Bill Krinard of two rock is a super amp genius, but he must have been to stoned in the early sixties to have not noticed most everyone then played a hollowbody. I don't care if that is Krinard's house on Bloomfield drive in Sebastopol and that he may have petitioned the city to name it after Michael Bloomfield. He hasn't built a valve amp for jazz or vintage-vintage blues. But neither has anyone else since Leo Fender.
Those silky cleans on the Two Rock are unbeatable. You can always get the dirty sound you're looking for with one or more of the trillion drive pedals out there if the amp is not giving you your tone, but you cannot improve drastically on your clean sound going straight into the amp.
You took the words right out of my mouth.
@@stanesposito2664 Meat Loaf
I was going to say the opposite. For me the singing sustaining nature, rich tones and string separation of a great handwired cathode bias amp can’t be replicated in a pedal.
MY Thoughts exactly . The Matchless keeps one in the Vox camp. I replaced both my 1996 Matchless C 30's with a Todd Sharp > Which is a better EL84 . Got my sights on the Two Rock CRS100. There are a few drive pedals out there to get that slight Vox break up sounds out of a 6L6 beast,
No amount of pedals into a clean amp will sound as good as a dedicated distortion in an amp. Imaging thinking diodes = tubes, this only comes from those who don't have the house to crank up an amp hence they cope with pedals into low volume clean amps. But since uploader has a studio he can afford to crank up amps like other amp gain purists vs the pedal flipper crowd.
The Bloomfield Drive is what you really want. Best of both worlds.
Two killer amps. I personally like the Two Rock, but for you, the Matchless is the way to go, hands down. And we need to address how awesome that PRS is!
Paul, I would go with the matchless. Less gear to bring, and a simpler rig. You aren’t a blues guy, and that’s who needs that two rock. Plus the edge of breakup on that matchless is killer, really cuts in mix.
For blues-rock,..The Matchless is superior in my opinion.
The few touring session/recording pros (no names but it you are a guitar fan you have heard or seen them)use sc 30’s or Twins. They prefer an sc for sound focus.
Very tiny pedal boards when touring! 4-5 pedals max. Guitars-sometimes a mix of-brands often including their available signature Model(s) I have tons of pictures that i have taken over the years/for helpful settings and pedal models. Keep on picking
Love that Two Rock sound, but to me it looks like you enjoy playing the matchless better.. Can’t wait to hear the new amp you get 🤘🏻
I don't think anyone could go wrong with either. Both are fantastic. I kept leaning more Two Rock though. I don't play with a lot of gain so that is never an issue for me. I like super clean with some reverb and a tad delay for much of what I play. So what I like is just a good clean sound that I can dial in for my mood and get whatever volume I want without losing that. I think the Two Rock would probably be my pick. Great video though. Cheers!
I have a Fuchs, ODS (100W), Matchless Phoenix, 4 different Bad Cat amps, 2Rocks Classic Rev and many others (we have 196 amp here, mostly vintage and boutique including an old DC30). 2Rocksand Fuchs to a point are an attempt at some sort of a Dumble tone (although all Dumbles are a little different and are built to suit individual needs). Very little versatility, but what they do is great as long as you are looking for a 1 trick pony). Matchless/BadCat amps are prety versatile and are very popular in the studio. They also work with a variety of speakers very well, which is not quite the case with the "Dumble" type amps ( I also have a Ceriatone version, which is a little different but I like it more). Another issue is thet 2Rocks is ridiculously priced. Matchless/BadCat amps are not cheap but much more affordable and give you more for your money.
Through my sound system and to my ears the Matchless outshined the Two-Rock in every aspect.
They both sound great. The Matchless looks killer sitting in your room. It would be very hard for me personally to have to move something like that out of my house for good.
I unfortunately had to sell my Independence combo ( with red lit letters)😢Hard times. Sold it for more than I bought it. Best amp I've ever heard let alone owned. Recorded 12 songs and she's gone. Sad.
I had the same dilemma. The choice however was easy. I did keep both amps for 6 months but seemed to always be leaning towards the matchless. I did end up selling the Two Rock. The Independence 35 is a killer amp. I got mine with the reverb built in.
The Matchless overdrive tones are awesome for sure--as soon as you clicked over to Channel 2 it was like yeah, now we are talking serious classic rock tones. The cleans of the Two Rock Classic Reverb are sublime. Seems like you should really be comparing the Matchless to a Two Rock TS-1 which has a lot more overdrive than the Classic Reverb. The Matchless seems to be more your style here (from watching other videos). The Two Rock TS-1 has the cleans of the Classic Reverb and some pretty epic overdrive tones as well since it is essentially an Overdrive Special--and it retains note clarity in a way few other amps are capable of.
I thought the Two Rock sounded classier but the real winner for me was the P90 PRS - one of the best sounding guitars of everything you have.
Best Wishes
Jim
Agreed!
I love Two Rocks, but for that guitar, the Matchless is a better match. I've played one of the Classic Reverbs once, with the gain cranked pretty highly, it never gets to the type of rhythm tone I love (which the Indy has, in spades). Ch2 rhythm was amazing. Matchless amps have a very unique overdriven feel, across all models, it seems.
Hi Paul. Love the Matchless!! I have your Tonex capture pack of it and it's absolutely fantastic. Thanks for great the
reviews and stylish playing and most of all the stunning capture of the Independence 35 for my Tonex pedal - my tone quest is finally over! ;-)
It a Pleasure Owen, glad you like it.
Can’t go wrong with either. I have a Matchless HC30 for a while now and I’m still discover tones in it. Great for recording because of the versatility.
Matchless all the way! So much character in those tones. The two rock is beautiful, but I would still prefer a vintage fender for clean sounds.
Paul great video and content I'am fender amp guy so the Two Rock would be my choice but the Matchless is a really versatile and crazy good sounding as well you can't go wrong either way ,good luck on your decision!!!
I think the Two Rock does what it does very well, I can't take that away from it. However, but to me, it seems you are more at home with the Matchless, and the Matchless does it all. And by the way, I owned an Independence at one time, it was a nice amp, but I eventually sold it, cause that's what I do. I subscribed to you recently, I like your videos and your playing. Thanks, for sharing!
I’ve always liked Two Rocks, but that Matchless sounds fantastic. I was blown away in the first video you did of it, and it sounds great in this one.
Great comparison Paul. I would be going Matchless everyday of the week. Great Rock Amp stands out on its own. The Two Rock sounds great but its a bit hifi for me if that makes sense. The Matchless also looks the coolest and sounded like it has more bloom. Start a poll. + 1 for the Matchless
I own the Two Rock (CRS and Studio Sig) but now you have me seriously gassing for that Matchless!
Keep which ever one you enjoy playing the most. You’ll always play better on that one irrespective of what your mind tells you what you need.
I know that sounds simplistic, but that’s the point. You already know which one you enjoy playing the most.
It's a tough spot that you're in. To me a Matchless is the holy Grail of gain tones. But it's not really a cost-effective to have for many reasons. I like you have real budget constraints.
So...
My advice is to go with the headroom that the two Rock provides. And find a good analog pedal to give you that Matchless/Vox style gain. That's basically what I do myself.
Still will get a Matchless if I ever no longer have budget limitations in an A/B setup with high quality high headroom Fender style clean amp.
I recently discovered your videos and I love them. They always sound good and your playing is great. You're the one who opened my eyes to the Independence 35, it's dirty tones are great.
Tough decision there. The Matchless sounds great but it seems to compress a little earlier than the Two Rock. The Two Rock articulates a little nicer to my ears. All thing even, though, that reverb sounds amazing. Leaning toward the Two Rock.
I like the overdrive of the Matchless much more than on the Two Rock. The cleans on the Two Rock are impressive, yes, but the Matchless is doing fine there as well. The Matchless also has the 3 channels, will will be great if you plan to use it outside of the studio. I’d return both amps, and get the reverb version of the Matchless.
Only you really can decide. Both are great for different reasons. I would probably choose the matchless as I prefer amp gain rather than pedal gain. And honestly i think it sounds better overall than the two rock. But thats just me
Already have a Two Rock, so I would go with the Matchless as long as I could keep both for a two amp rig. Presently using the TR and an old SR and they are great together...and I very seldom use a saturated tone.
Two awesome amps. Keep the Two Rock. It had the best clean sounds, the Matchless had the best sounding dirt but you can get that with the two rock and a pedal if you need to.
Jeez Louise, that's a cool looking PRS. It's something different without all the super fancy tonewoods and pearl inlays all over the thing.
And that deep violin cut? *drool*
I own a CRS and love it. To my ears at least, the cleans are the best in the business. As you can hear, you can get a nice overdriven tone, but for more, use a pedal. I use a King Of Tone, as well as a Vemuram ODS. It’s sweet at any volume. There’s lots of clever stuff going on in the Rock, I gig mine often and have zero complaints, but lots of compliments. It’s an ultra high quality clean amp that has been expressly designed to take pedals. Not sure I agree with Paul’s comments about not needing pedals with the Matchless - most Matchless owners I know actually do use a pedal board. In the interests of balance, I do love that Matchless too. However, as the Two Rock is going nowhere (other than the next gig…), I’ll just have to get myself a DC30 during 2023. You only live once…..great vid.
matchless for me but as you said it's a preference, the channels and response seem great, would take the Overdrive pedal search ;) to some extent out of the equation
ultimately two very good amps, but which puts a bigger smile on your face when you're playing it and which suits your needs more is what i'd consider before making the choice
would be curious to see you check out Bad Cat amps, which are i guess more in the Matchless vein, don't see many demos of those amps online
Wow=the chime of the Matchless clean is a thing of beauty!
Years ago John Jorgenson told me about them as they started out. I had to teach a lit of summer school to eventually buy an sc 30. At the time years ago because of the dead Canadian dollar it cost $6,400.00. Still own it. Used to be an amateur athlete, quite fit. Because of an unknown birth defect recently at Christmas time had Emergency spinal fusion surgery performed by a team of Doctors. Once cut open of course more internal problems than for-seen.
Was warned of surgery high risks. Non surgery was not a liveable option. No drama just reality. Just released from hospital and rehabilitation hospital. Must now relearn how to walk. Lung partially collapsed after 7 surgical hours. Pulse stayed at low 40’s and oxygen levels were dangerous. A fib is now serious but too soon to fix. Cannot lift much ever again. Will give most-of
my gear to a grand daughter who plays. I am grateful still being alive and having wonderful family. Caring for 2 divorced old parents. Each has advanced dementia with many challenges.
Lucky though i did extra qualifications courses to become a Special Ed/Math. High school teacher. Had pretty much the full variety of challenged students. Volunteered for any student wanting extra help. Many from 3rd world countries m. Everyone had to pass a Literacy test Few if any Exclusions in order to graduate . Personally hated many BS policies unfairly applied to students . Most principals were - a treat 👹
Respect others we have no idea what they are challenged with
Go for headroom - there are so many really nice pedals out there you can colour your sound endlessly. For clean going on to breakup I use the Broadcast Dual.
Two rock for me. You can add stopmboxes to it (there are many good pedals that you can switch in time) The matchless does 't have that incredible clean sound . So you have to deal with an amp that can not do the beatiful cleans of the two rock. So, I would go for an superb clean sound and add pedals to taste . So many nice drive pedals to choose from
I wish I would’ve discovered Two Rock years ago. It would’ve saved me a lot of time, money and a good chunk of my hearing.
I always lean towards the best clean tones, and for me the Magnatone Panoramic is just a step above both Two Rock and Matchless. I think the closest amp I have found to the Magnatone so far is an Amplified Nation Dumble clone. But there is no doubt that the Matchless and Two Rock are fantastic as well.
To my ears, Matchless suits you more. So for a single amp live rig - Matchless. But for recording, assuming you still have Marshalls, then the 2-Rock probably makes more sense to complement those other amps.
If you can't decide, maybe neither is right.
I own a the Two Rock and I am totally in love with it. You could try the new PRS HDRX. That’s the one I will check out in the coming weeks.
A "+1" for the PRS HDRX. Would love to hear a "Rats" take (well, Paul's!) on that amp.
I think if I kept the two rock I’d always think about the matchless, but if I kept the matchless I probably wouldn’t give the two rock a second thought, hope that makes sense. Both fantastic amps though…
Both sound amazing but different. I think the Matchless even when clean sounds like it's breaking up, so not truly clean like the Two Rock. And the Matchless' third channel doesn't really sound that different from the 2nd channel in this video, but I guess it could be set up to be a lead tone which is nice. And there's no reverb on the Matchless. The Two Rock's cleans sound wonderful and if that is what you are after and you like pedals for overdrive, then that is the way to go. Having said that, if I could only have one, I would keep the Matchless. The clean is good enough and the gain channels sounds SO good. They don't sound harsh and out of control. And adding Reverb is easy with a good pedal. Great video!
It’s a no brainer! The Matchless sounds loads better and has a superior OD. It’s more versatile and will be worth a ton more than the Two Rock in ten years! The vid is a year old so not sure what you chose but if the Matchless you’ve probably already made at least an additional $1,000 on it since they are skyrocketing in value! I know Mark Sampson as he’s designed circuits for my brothers pedal company. I own one of his Star Supernova amps which actually blows away both those amps!
Personally for what they cost i would return them both and buy a used clean platform amp at a much lower price point and then go through the long process of changing pedals until you get the"right" ones.Thats what i did i,m very happy.Thanks Paul for another enjoyable video.
Wow, both amps are great.
Two rock sounds more fender like.
Matchless more vox like.
My vote Matchless
Impressive tone on the Matchless.
That matchless has a presence that the two rock doesn’t. I’ve always leaned towards fender amps but I’d take that matchless.
I’m heavily biased to Two-Rock as a TR owner myself, that’s the amp I will never EVER sell. I had a TR Studio Pro 35 Plus and somehow I sold it thinking to “try” something else, and not even a week after I sold it, I was already regretting this decision. So, I bought a Studio Signature, because I’m not into big 50-100W amps since I only play at home. Also, I don’t know too much Matchless, and never heard in real the Independence… I mainly know Matchless for their AC30-style amp such the HC30, so this is the Matchless I would buy, but only if I can keep the Two-Rock for my nice cleans :)
They are both beautiful. The 2 rock is killer if you mainly play clean. My fave is the Matchless for its ability to do both clean and adding some hair for the rock tone. Grab and go with no pedals (maybe a reverb and a compressor to add something to the clean channel). Or just bring a deluxe reverb. Great, thought provoking video. I love my Matchless Lightning for its gritty tone , but use my Hall of Fame as it doesn't have reverb either. It also can't pull off that clean, beautiful fender tone, but it sure cuts thru in a rock or blues mix. 15 class A watts.
Just subscribed to your channel. Love how you go through these amps and show so many options. I think your channel needs to blow up! Oh, and I agree, I think that has to be one of the best sounding guitars out there.
Cheers Skataka, that’s nice to hear you positive comments.
Honestly, I would give the non reverb HC30 a shot before deciding. With the separate channel inputs, an aby pedal, the tone boost on 12ax7 channel, the punch and detail of the ef86 channel, you have two distinct channels and a blend between them that sounds completely insane.
Plus independent effects loops for each channel.
Both of the channels can get lead rock gain levels especially when the power section is driven, without any pedal to boost, and the whole amp sounds quite different to the independence.
Here is my experience with these amps:
Two Rock is crystal clear, 3d, immediate and everything pops out with incredible girth. Great for lead bluesy stuff that punch you in the face. Plus a great reverb. Sounds great on any volume.
The HC30 is swirly, complex, lush, fluent, great for laying rythm and filling the tracks with non intrusive saturation even on low gain and almost clean sounds. And a more splashy vintage sounding drive, think 90's country leads. But on super clean settings will probab;y feel a bit brittle. Sounds like ass on low volume though and is a bit hard on power tubes.
The Independence is a compromised design, has some of the complexity of the HC30 but more gain and more definition, probably higher headroom, less saturation and a bit more punch. You were bang on about getting some of the Marshall growl.
I get it, they are a lot of money, and if you are about to spend a good amount on an amp please check the non-reverb version of the HC30. The reverb version has single input and you can't blend the channels which is probably a favorite tone of those amps. If you are not into the growly overdrive of the Independence I feel like the HC30 is just a lusher version of it in everything else. I suppose that if I would go the Matchless way it would be an HC30.
If you end up not liking it at least you will know that it was not an option that you missed out on.
Long story short, and I hope I'm not coming out like an ass for suggesting an option you did not include in your question, I prefer the CRS to the Independence but I prefer the HC30 to either of them.
Thanks for the tip
I think the Two Rock suits your playing style more here in this demo.
Matchless by a hair. I rarely use the amp reverb, so that wouldn't be a deal breaker for me. Both sound great . A very tough decision though.
Ahh mate both are amazing amps, so hard to decide. I proberly keep the two rock. And it would be a sad loss for the matchless.
Two awesome amps, really. Personally I would go for the Matchless and get a Marshall Governor (and a reverb pedal) with it: dream come true
Amps to try:
Magnatone
Vox AC-15HWx
Since you are asking…I would take the Matchless head and shoulders over the Dumble. Better still, plug a Fender or a Les Paul into it and watch it blossom. PRS play well but have such a vanilla sound I can’t stand them.
Have you considered looking at a Mesa/Boogie? I would think a Mark V would be a worthy contender.
Great ‘touch & feel’ to your playing btw! Listening to your ‘classic rock’ playing style I think the Matchless is better suited… however the Two Rock is more of a ‘platform’ style amp & may in the long run be more versatile using pedals… I highly recommend you try the Bloomfield too as it has those awesome cleans/reverb plus more gain…
I'd love to hear your review of a Carr amp. Fwiw, I'd go with the Two Rock.
To say the Two Rock has great cleans is almost a misnomer because Two Rock amps and clean style hollow body guitars with humbuckers are arch enemy's. But black face fender reverbs and hollowbodied guitars are love birds.
I've owned the Matxhless Independence 35 w/reverb for over 10 years. Amazing amp for gigging and recording. Hope you kept that. Two Rock just sounds like a Fender. The Independence is a unique sounding amp and versatile!
Undercover P90 style p/u commercial. Great tones 👏 Its like deciding between 35 day dry aged NY strip vs Ribeye. Both are different kinds of awesome.
Honestly, you make them both sound wonderful. My decision might be based more on how easily I can switch it all live - or interface it with switching systems.
The matchless seems each level is quality, and that’s what you need playing live 3 levels of your sound. Mixed with modulation.
100% Matchless!! Go for it!! I have had both and the Matchless just does it better for your style...
The Matchless just makes me smile... the two Rock don't have the same effect on me... just me. Matchless all the way! True Magic : -)
That Matchless is the Dumble Alex wish he woulda built that things a MONSTER! :)
I've recently discovered this channel and your playing is so punchy and articulate that it is mesmerizing, and it's very inspiring because your style seems so tantalizingly achievable. I hope you take that as the compliment that it is meant to be.
I think your choice will come down to whether your use case involves pedals. I've been playing over 40 years and I'm addicted to ThatPedalShow. I have a dozen amps in my house, more than half of which are tube amps, and a small pedal board with 5 TC Electronic time-based effects that can be run in the loop or in front of the amp, a large board with fuzz, wah, vibe, overdrive, distorion, volume pedal, analog delay, octave with expression pedal, and multiples of some of those. Then I have a very large board with a Decibel 11 loop switcher with midi loop expander where I can parallel mix a lot of effects and I often run 3 amps off of a Radial Engineering Switchbone V2, which is an incredible Swiss army knife for dealing with phase, ground, and buffering issues. It's not uncommon for me to run all three boards when doing a Zeppelin or Rush or Trower song, where I want this wah and that vibe and a phaser and a certain fuzz, whatever..
But the funny thing is, lately I've been going through a straight into the amp phase. I have a couple dozen guitars and basses and their characters, as well as the characters of the amps, can be heard so much more clearly, and especially so for the ones with P90s. And perhaps more importantly, the guitar's volume and tone controls are so much more lively when the impedances interact directly!!! Most of my practice time is on electric guitars that aren't plugged in, and more than 80% of my playing time recently has been straight into the amp. But more than 75% of my recording time involves pedals.
It's a lot to consider, honestly.
Cool demo as usually. Both are great amps and still I would keep the Two Rock. For you, it would be easier to find a good old Plexi in UK to replace the Matchless. Good luck.
I've had the CRS for nearly a year. I love it. And I'm not really a clean player, mostly some dirt and classic rock overdrive. I find a Gladio gives me everything I need as far as overdrive. I've got a Mesa tc100, vox ac30 and a Friedman Twin Sister. I always gravitate to the CRS. 2 EQ settings, multiple boost and gain structures, so versatile. Keep the CRS, or maybe, try the two rock Bloomfield drive...
V interested to read this as your rig is a bit like mine - CRS 100w, Mesa TC-100 and a Fender Bassman 59 Ltd Reissue. I thought the Mesa was amazing until I bought the TR, but now I just use the TR with a massive pedalboard to give me every option under the sun. I’d like to try a wet-dry option using both and my Gigrig 3, but by the time I add in Kingsley preamp pedals and the TR effects loop, it all gets just too complex and never seems to work for me. Anyway. One issue I have (and I’m staggered to see this video have the CRS on about 1pm master volume) is the ungodly volume of the Two Rock - I can’t have it beyond 8pm on a clock face (same with the Bassman). I’ve just bought an attenuator which will hopefully help. How do you find the CRS volume? The Mesa has in-built attenuation (or equivalent) so it’s not an issue there.
For me the Matchless is the one. Spongey. It has all of the goods. That amp is amazing.
I live pretty close to Nashville, and I follow the used gear sites/pages pretty closely. I always see Matchless for sale, very very seldom ever see a TR come available.
Great demo video. At present, I have both TS1 and independence 35 reverb. I used CRS before, and then used TS1 instead of CRS, so I personally think independence 35 is more suitable for my preferences than CRS, and TS1 is more direct than CRS. Your independence 35 has no reverberation. If there is reverberation, I feel that the spring reverberation of matchless is better than that of two rock. The EQ of independence is not the traditional Eq. its range is not so linear, but it is easy to use. It changes with the change of volume and gain. The EQ of two rock is a traditional EQ, from dim to bright.
The lighting of matchless is very comforting (although it has nothing to do with sound)^^ Forgive me for my bad English:)
Cheers, your English was perfect.
Both amps sound fantastic with your style of playing on here. You've a great touch and a very dynamic, nuanced and articulate way of playing, and so I think the one that feels most dynamic to you is the one to go for. In other words the one you feel you can most easily coax the widest rage of good sounds from. It's a question as much of how it FEELS to you - and we can't decide (and shouldn't really). To me the TR sounds best, but only just.
For reference, I have a Deluxe Reverb II and an SMF 15-watter (EL 84) co-designed by Mark Sampson. I don't use the drive channel on the SMF, but the cleans are heavenly (to me) and that amp has displaced the DR II, which has stellar Fender cleans itself. But I personally prefer the cleans on your TR. I don't use a lot of OD so would not personally go for the Matchless simply for cleans. I reckon your TR with a Klon KTR would sound even more incredible. But that's just me.
Matchless-style gain plus incredible Vox cleans --> Bruno Underground. Worth checking out. I've got one but don't play out so much.... even though it's great at low volumes with warm rich cleans. (I take the SMF and mike it)
The Two Rock sounds more alive, more like it is really letting you hear the strings au natural. More dynamic range, super precise low end, great tone in general. By comparison, the Matchless sounded a little thin to me. I don't think you need the extra gain channels for the way you tend to play, Paul. The Two Rock seemed to have the perfect clean, but also has several possibilities for OD that all sounded great. Were those P90's on the McCarty?
I prefer an amp have built in reverb...but...I personally dislike having to drive an amp with a pedal, the added potential for noise is not a good trade off.....that said I would pick the Matchless and add a reverb pedal over the Two Rock and having to push the gain with a pedal
Criteria I use.
Feel
Type of mix
Then the rest
Dumbleish has looser feel
Ac30ish matchless has tighter attack
The PRS with P90s is the real treat here. I o.w. am not a fan of PRS's or solidbodies in general. The $86k question is whether or not P90s could reconcile the 55 year long fued between tube amp designers and Gibson hollowbodies. For what reason I don't know, since Leo Fender sold his company, amp designers have refused to voice amps for Gibson hollowbodies. I need to check out a hollowbody with p90s thru a two rock, however, to see if they work together as good as the PRS with the two rock. Maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel for decent vintage hollowbody guitar music after all.
Hey Paul, if I had to choose between the 2 amps I would keep the TR CRS. The overall tones are better and more versatile. I don't think you'll be missing the drive channels from the Matchless as pedals manufacturer are offering outstanding drive pedals. The TR CRS will make them shine. Cheers
Well I know what overdrive will be going on my pedalboard that I will be building, dedicated for my Tim Jauernig built Peavey Masterpiece 50 Prototype (A Dumble Style Amp). The BB Preamp sounded great with the Two Rock, and I have one in my pedal stash. There will be a Zen Drive on the board too.
I actually really like the Two Rock, but it seemed like you actually enjoyed the Matchless more. So while I would go for the TR, if I were you, I’d keep the Matchless.
In terms of other things to try, the Two Rock Bloomfield might be the Goldilocks between these two that you’re looking for.
Great vid and thanks for showing these amps off :)
Would love to see you demo a Dr Z amp…or a Morgan maybe . They’re kind of your style of sound I guess . Brilliant demo as always
This is like trying to decide between a blonde and a brunette that are both tens. Both have excellent cleans. I give a slight edge to the Two Rock on cleans. However, the Matchless cleans are just behind. What puts the Matchless over the top is how good the dirt channels are. Truly excellent and will pedals will get you close but not quite the same. Just like the blonde and the brunette hotties, I wouldn't kick either of these amps out of bed for eating crackers.
I prefer the Two Rock hands down! The sound and tone are just amazing and sounded like the perfect pedal platform which we all know you’re gonna use anyway. I also loved the edge of breakup more than the matchless.
Great video brother! I really enjoyed this comparison. My ears tell me the Two Rock wins. The Matchless is very nice but I think a pedal will give you the same sound of the Matchless into the Two Rock. That said, I have a Two Rock Bloomfield and dont need an OD Pedal because of its cascading gain. Check out the Bloomfield Drive from Two Rock. Awesome PRS by the way, it sounds fantastic!
Seriously them P90s in that PRS just absolutely sings. Oh does it sing.
I can relate to your quest Paul. Are you still looking?
I wanna downscalable 30+W head with reverb, and sounds on a scale from SRV to Jerry Cantrell - I know, such an easy task 😃
The search never ends
The 2 rock all day ! sounds amazing You can always make a clean amp dirty especially with all those cool OD's you have, I would flip the Matchless and wait till you can get a better one with Reverb.
I’ve been listening to this many times since it was posted. For what he is looking for as far as gain sounds, he selected the wrong two rock. The Bloomfield has all of the great cleans of the classic reverb with more character, and also great gain sounds. The two rock just sounds better to me in every way. Of course that can be different for each person, I just think the wrong two rock model was selected as a comparison.
This is the reason I’m going with a Fractal Audio AxeFX III. I could get very close to either of those plus many others.
Cmon, fess up to your many fans- the Two Rock is sooo you! And love that BB pedal!
As much as I am impressed by certain Matchless amps, I don't think any of them could pair as well as the Two Rock with those p90s, a match sent from heaven.
I love P90 pickups and they work great with Matchless/BadCat amps. "Dumble" prefer a low gain SC pickups and some low gain humbuckers
Keep both!!! .. and try a Suhr Hedgehog. Takes a while to tweak it and understand its tonal character, but once that’s done, it’s pure magic. Unbelievable dynamic amp.
I would keep the matchless and run an eq and or compressor into it. Check out a ceriatone. I love love to see you do a video on one of them
I'm sure you've already made this decision, but, the matchless to me is more of a unique circuit, worth holding on to, whereas the two rock sounds like kind of a random boutique fender/dumble thing, which to be honest can be attained much easier at a later date if needed.
I would like to recommend the Red Plate BlackLine combo amp to you.
Two Rock if you want to shape the wanted sound with pedals, Matchless if you want the Amp have more characteristics and flavours on its own. My self it would be Two Rock. Cheers from Finland!
I believe on his recent videos you can still see that white head and amp - matchless stayed put
Two Rock every time.
The Amp that does the best cleans is always the better amp...especially for a player with your skill level and that guitar's tonal capacities. Soooo many other ways around crunch time with effective phrasing, clean sustain and song writing.