Note: This article has been updated with lastest available information on January 13th, 2022 at 05:13 pm
Positive Grid MATCH DC Amp is available under the Clean amp group and is inspired by the Matchless DC30..
According to Matchless Amplifiers
This is what changed the amp world. The DC-30 was the company’s first design and still leads the lineup.
Thirty very conservatively rated watts from a quartet of EL-84’s, through two channels, each with unique voicing and tone control layouts, produce a world of tone choices. True “Class A” configuration gives rich, complex harmonics whether played clean, mildly overdriven, or with all out power tube saturation. This means you should sound great in any situation, in any music style.
The initial idea of Mark Sampson and Rick Perrotta was to create an amp based on the sonic principles of an AC-30, but more reliable and roadworthy.
Read more information on Matchless history and Mark Sampson history in this fantastic vintage Guitar article.
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Amplification |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Founders | Mark Sampson, Rick Perrotta |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Steve Goodale, Chris Perrotta, Phil Jamison |
| Products | Amplifiers |
| Website | matchlessamplifiers |
Matchless Amplifiers is a Los Angeles-based company which designs and makes electric guitar amplifiers, specializing in class-A tube circuitry.
History
Matchless Amplifiers was founded in 1989 by Mark Sampson and Rick Perotta. The company started in Perotta's home in Hollywood, California. Steve Goodale and Chris Perrotta were also key initial partners. The company saw great success in the early 1990s, meeting the demand for sonically consistent and structurally reliable tube amplifiers. Their flagship amp is the DC-30, an EL-84 amplifier based on the Vox AC30.
Due to the growing demand, the founders elected to become partners with the U.S. Music Corporation in January 1994. This merger was done to acquire much needed growth and capital. This merger lasted until October 1995 when Mark Sampson acquired Matchless without the other founding partners. Sampson stayed on with the company as president and C.E.O. until late 1999.[1]
By the late 1990s, Matchless began to decline financially due to over-expansion and market declines. In 1999, Matchless filed for bankruptcy. Phil Jamison, a Matchless employee from 1992 to 1997, acquired the company in 2000 and has been the chief operating officer (COO) ever since.[2]
Early "Sampson-Era" amplifiers fetch high prices on the after-market; however, Jamison states that current-production Matchless amplifiers are of higher quality than the early amplifiers and have more efficient circuit layouts.[2] There are currently[when?] sixteen production amplifiers offered by Matchless.[citation needed]
Notes
- ^ Handmade Guitars, Amps Strike a Chord -Reuters/Billboard, Apr 30, 2004
- ^ a b Hunter, Dave. ""They are totally meant to be turned up!": Amp-maker Phil Jamison on Matchless amplifiers". guitar.com. Guitar Magazine. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
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