Matamp Green, Orange etc

[4 Strings]

Could anyone explain the 'Green' thing? I found this;
http://greenamps.com/
Is this the US side of things?

I also found this;
http://www.planetoftheamps.com/orange-amp-parts-makegreenmatamp.html
is this a conspiracy theory?

[Mr. Foxen]

Basically, yes. Matamp made amps that were green in colour in the 70s (I have one). In the late 90s Dave Green joined Matamp (who had not been functioning as a company for a while) as chief engineer and they started using up old stock including the remaining 70s green basketweave and made Green amps, what with it being his name and all. Some of these were exported to a guy in America who thought it would be cool to put 6550 valve into the EL34 slots to make the 'bass amps' (which Matamp didn't make at the time), he sold these to stoners who thought the distorted sound of an amp going wrong was cool, however this meant that they blew up a lot. He then tried to blame Matamp for unreliable amps and Jeff told him what to do with himself. Then he cried all over the internet about Green amps coming in black basketweave and had to pay someone else to make amps for him to sell and badmouthed Matamp a lot with terrible spelling and grammar. You'll start recognising the bad grammar thing if you look at a bunch of those sites, its a pretty unique style. He also doesn't know basic electronics like the difference between solid state and digital, which becomes clear if you read Planetoftheamps.

[Mr. Foxen]

The Orange thing you linked is wrong too. Gibson bought the Orange name and had Matamp start making Oranges again (like they did originally) but Clifford Cooper later reacquired the rights and restarted Orange as we know it today. Basically more using up NOS parts, also the made the first line of Ashdown Peacemaker amps (which I've had two of) so there are bunches of common components there also.

Edit: Also funny is the American guy makes a 'White Power' amp: http://www.whiteamp.com/guitar-and-bass-tube-amps-speaker-cabs.html

I wouldn't be surprised if it is on purpose, he's gone for racism in his rants before.

Edited November 9, 2011 by Mr. Foxen

[4 Strings]

So the variations in colours etc are all from the US chappy using the Matamp design, and only a Matamp can be bought from Matamp (as it were) and in black?

[Mr. Foxen]

Design is tweaked from Matamp, but the style is all copied, the American ones are dirty, lots of distortion from crude construction. New Matamp come from Matamp and are well engineered amps so are much cleaner and influenced by what you put in. Matamp do colours if they have the stock, but their supplier wants bigger orders and they are a small run kinda company. You can order whatever you want from them, as long as they can get the stuff to cover it (or you supply it, cloth backed for their glue).

[thodrik]

I have heard a few of the American/Electric amps, though only the guitar amps. I like them, capable of a lot of dirt as said before.. I wouldn't say no but its not the top of my shopping list. I have tried to read stuff on plantoftheamps before, but the mix of bad layout/bad grammar/my lack of technical knowledge generally left me more confused than I was before. Also I find the Electric/Green/White/Black website thing to be bloody confusing.

[Mr. Foxen]

All those sites are by the same guy, and the technical stuff is way out on there, he's been asking another guy and then misquoting it on the site.

[Billy Apple]

I had heard (apocryphal, maybe) that the Green thing started as a nod to Peter Green using a Series 2000 on Albatross, But at some stage Jeff was calling Matamp 'Green' as there is a broken sign to that outside the factory! The American guy (Joel Wheeler) was at some stage in business with Jeff, but by all accounts took a bump to the head and lost the plot. All this resulted in Jeff having to spend an awful lot of time and money wrestling the Matamp name back from Wheeler, which apparently he has succeeded in doing. He had his fingers burnt with Gibson, and is therefore reticent to expand the business beyond the current cottage industry in Yorkshire. Although he does (I believe) have German, Canadian, and new US distribution.

To the OP, if you want original 100% British built valve tone with an unsurpassed pedigree, then look no further than Matamp in Huddersfield. All the Electric Amp/Green Amp/White Amp/Whatever Amp are bunk, although their webpages are somewhat amusing.

[u][b]THE REAL McCOY[/b][/u]

Edited November 10, 2011 by billyapple

[4 Strings]

I would dearly love one.

[Billy Apple]

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1320972508' post='1434050']
I would dearly love one.
[/quote]

Try this fella...
[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/157746-matamp-feeler/page__p__1432814__hl__matamp__fromsearch__1#entry1432814"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/157746-matamp-feeler/page__p__1432814__hl__matamp__fromsearch__1#entry1432814[/url]

[4 Strings]

Yep, would love to ....

Hope yours is still making you happy too - followed that little story with interest!