Clubman question

[MGuts]

Hi everyone. I'm new here, and I really find all the information here useful. I like this place a lot better than the forum I was on before.

The question I have pertains to the Matchless Clubman. I am on the amp hunt and have been looking at a few different models on the internet, but I can't play any right now because I'm away at college. What I was wondering is what kind of general tone the Clubman gets. I like an amp with not a lot of mids, I guess somewhat Fenderish. I play mostly clean with an OCD when I want a little hair on it. I know Two Rocks get this tone is spades, but I do not have the funds to pay for one of those. So do you think a Clubman would excel in this area or should I look elsewhere?
Any other suggestions for something I should check out?

Thanks--

Matt

 

[hbentley]

the clubman is a great amp, i owned one for a while. if you're after fenderish tones, i think there are better amps out there for that sound though. a few names that come up all the time are bruno cowtippers and tone king meteors. there are definitely many others though. again the clubman is a darn cool amp, but may not be what you're after. they can be a bit finicky with drive pedals if you're planning on running it clean and using pedals for dirt.

 

[MGuts]

I've looked into the Bruno Underground, but I've read that they were more AC-30ish, but I will look into the Cowtipper for sure. Since you have owned a Clubman before, if you wouldn't mind, how would you describe the overall vibe of the amp?

 

[hbentley]

man, the clubman kind of has it's own thing going on. feels like a collage of some of the great vintage amps (hiwatt, marshall, vox at times). it's loud and a bit tricky to dial in at first. it's not one of those amps that sounds good anywhere on the dials (in my opinion). there are definitely some killer tones in there though... both clean and dirty. it sounds best with the matching 2x12 open back matchless esd cab. the bass can get a little muddy at times and the highs can get a little overbearing at times. overall it's a very nice amp, but it's a bit fussier than most amps i've owned. another one to consider is the divided by 13 FTR37. the cleans are somewhat fenderish and it takes pedals really well. i love mine.

 

[MGuts]

Alright man, thanks. The fact that it takes a little to dial it in is definitely something to keep in mind when I check it out. When you compared it to the other amps, I noticed they are more from the British side of things which I'm glad you said because that kind of puts it in perspective tonewise. Im coming from a Peavey 5150 though, so I'd imagine that anything will sound better than the clean channel on that.

 

[sickboy79]

The Clubman would be a good choice but, as stated above - but, it's more in the British Marshall/Vox camp than the Fender camp. That said - check one out when you can - it just may be the ticket you're looking for. Amazing clean and driven tones. One of my absolute favorite amps.

 

[Guinness Lad]

I've only had mine for a few weeks right now and this what I notice. It can be bright but this only seems to be at low level playing. Once you turn it up to band level the brightness tames considerably. The bass can get blurred a bit but from what I understand it can be corrected by using a NOS rectifier.

The touch sensativity is excellent and if you can play the strings and have good technique it is a rewarding experience. I have a link to the blues band I'm in, this thread is in the Soundclip section. All the tunes were played with my Clubman and the speaker I used is a Eminence Wizard which is one of the brightest speakers out there. Listen to the clip, I think you will find the tones are far from harsh.

The only thing I might do is increase the bias resistor so the tubes run a little cooler. These amps are known to be tube killers and I would rather have the amp run a little cooler so I can have a little more headroom.

 

[MGuts]

I've heard of how they kill the tubes. If I get one I'll definitely check out the bias adjustment. I've also heard about the bass problem...in your opinion is it bad enough to the point where you are going to fix it? Although it isn't exactly Fenderish, I still play with some overdrive sometimes, so I guess this amp may be the best of both worlds for me because I've heard it still gets great cleans, but can be overdriven with the volume set correctly, as well.