At the beginning of the boutique amp boom
in the late 1980s and early ’90s, one of the
biggest names being bandied about was
Matchless. Original designers Rick Perotta,
Chris Perotta, and company co-founder Mark
Sampson were huge Beatles fans, and that
jangly AC30 sound drove them to start analyzing
and repairing vintage Voxes imported
from the UK. Eventually, they took the next
logical step and began building handwired,
roadworthy interpretations of the iconic AC30.
Sampson, Rick Perotta, and John Jorgenson
(who would later go on to gain acclaim for
his work with Will Ray and Jerry Donahue in
the Hellecasters) came up with the company’s
most famous designs—the now-legendary
DC30, Chieftain, and Lightning—which became
staples for artists as diverse as Jimmie
Vaughan, Hank Marvin, Alex Lifeson, and Toad
the Wet Sprocket’s Glen Phillips.
But by 1998, the company had serious
financial troubles and had to close shop.
Amp nuts everywhere lamented Matchless’
demise and the original amps skyrocketed in
value overnight. Just prior to Matchless MK I’s
implosion, they hit on an idea that might have
saved the company, given time. The idea: offer
more affordable amps that incorporate the
same quality components as other Matchless
models, but in a circuit with limited PC-board
construction, channel switching, and footswitchable
reverb.
So, they gave it a whirl. The Superliner series
was supposed to include three models, but
only the 40-watt, EL34-powered Starliner
Reverb 2x12 and the 15-watt, EL84-powered
Skyliner Reverb 2x10 ever got off the
ground—and in extremely limited numbers.
According to Phil Jamison—who became
Matchless’ production manager in 1994 and
helped get the company back on its feet in
2000—fewer than 10 Starliner and Skyliner
amps were produced, and several of them
were returned due to faulty operation.
For more than a decade now, Jamison
and current owner Geoff Emery have kept
Matchless going steady and strong by offering
most of the original amp designs and
coming up with innovative new models for
a wider array of players—including those
with high-gain needs. They also recently
began offering more affordable amps, first
the EL84-powered Avalon 30 and now the
EL34-powered Avalon 35, that incorporate
top-shelf components in a design with partial
PC-board construction. It’s a move many
boutique builders have made since the beginning
of the recession.
Forging Excalibur
Consumer products in general often have
names that convey a gross inflation of their
true worth, and guitar gear is no different.
But sometimes those lofty-sounding names
aren’t far from the mark. Look up “Avalon”
and you’ll discover that, in Arthurian legend,
it was the island where King Arthur’s magical
sword, Excalibur, was forged. I don’t know if
that’s what Matchless was going for, but I like
the possible comparisons the name suggests.
For a lot of players, acquiring the Avalon
35—which retails at $2629 (with reverb, $2599
without)—isn’t going to be as easy as lifting the
amp from an enchanted stone, but compared to
the similarly featured SC-30 combo, it’s a relative
steal. Likewise, despite having a feature set that’s
rather primitive by modern standards, the amp
isn’t without its magic. Inside, the Avalon combines
two EL34s, five 12AX7s (three for the preamp,
two for the reverb), a 5AR4 tube rectifier,
and the same quality components used in other
Matchless amps—including robust transformers—
in a class-A, cathode-biased hybrid circuit
that uses both point-to-point, turret-style construction,
and cost-cutting PC-board elements. The front panel features Hi and Lo instrument
inputs, Standby and On/Off rocker switches,
and six “chicken-head” knobs—Volume, Bass,
Treble, Cut, Master Push/Pull, and Reverb. Like
the front panel, the rear panel is simple and
intuitive. It features jacks for an extension cabinet
and the built-in 30-watt Celestion G12H
speaker, a three-position Impedance selector,
jacks for the series effects loop and optional
reverb footswitch, a fuse receptacle, and a
standard IEC power-cord receptacle.
The amp weighs a hefty 62 lbs. and measures
21 ¼" W x 23 ¼" H x 11 ¼" D. My construction
niggles are very minor. First, though the
Avalon’s dimensions are comparable to the
original SC-30 1x12 combo, the unusual height
may be an awkward schlep for shorter players,
who may have difficulty carrying it straigh-tarmed
without bumping or dragging it on the
ground. Second, though there are labels above
the front-panel controls, they’re hard to read
without squatting. Otherwise, there’s almost
nothing to fault in the Avalon’s construction.
The black covering is virtually flawless, the
silver piping is cleanly cut and applied, and the
salt-and-pepper grillcloth looks fantastic. And
let’s not forget the badass rear-lit logo—one of
the most iconic looks in all of ampdom.