Matchless Amplifiers is a Los Angeles based company which designs and makes electric guitar amplifiers, specializing in class A tube circuitry.


History
Named after a British motorcycle manufacturer, the company was founded in 1989 by Mark Sampson and Rick Perrotta, with the idea of making the greatest sounding and most reliable (or least prone to malfunction) guitar amplifier possible. Borrowing heavily from and perfecting designs of early Vox (a famous British amplifier company) amplifiers, the first Matchless amplifier model - the acclaimed DC-30 (the name bearing tribute to the legendary Vox model AC30), was the first model that saw regular production. Since its first appearance, the DC-30 has won much praise amongst guitar players and has earned several great reviews in guitar magazines like Guitar Player and Guitar World.

Matchless Amplifiers are generally thought of as being the company that kick-started the boutique amplifier craze in the mid- to late nineties, paving way for a slew of smaller manufacturers like Dr. Z Amplification, Bad Cat and Victoria Amp Company, all specializing in making handmade, high end tube amplifiers.

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Current state
Due to financial problems, Matchless Amplifiers closed down in 1998 but reopened in 2000 under new administration and are currently manufacturing several lines of amplifiers and speaker cabinet enclosures.

Models

• C-30 series

• HC-30
• SC-30
• DC-30

• Chieftain series

• CH-40
• CH-112
• CH-212
• CH-210

• Phoenix series

• PH-35
• PH-212
• PH-112

• Lightning series

• LG-112
• LG-212
• LG-15
• LG-210

• Nighthawk series

• NH-212
• NH-112
• NH-15
• NH-210

• Independence series

• Independence 212
• Independence 112
• Independence 35

• Avenger series

• Avenger 212
• Avenger 112
• Avenger 30
• Avenger 210+112

• Spitfire series

• SP-112
• SP-212
• Clubman 35

External links

• Matchless Amplifiers official site
• An in-depth interview with Matchless co-founder Mark Sampson

Originally published on Wikipedia