Boutique Pedal Review: Matchless Hot Box -- Not for the financially challenged

[reckless boy]

Thanks titser.  .

Mr. Reckless boy,

Diba your band is named after Art. 365 of the RPC? How are my batchmates, Carlo and Karl?

As far as defending what Mr. Gomez statements, he has to pay me boutique money.

OT muna konti --

Atty. Letour,

Yep hahaha matagal ko na gustong papalitan yan.  Masyadong ipinaglalandakan ang pagiging abugado e yun mga kabatch mo puro kriminal naman ang kliyente. Hahahahaha.  Dito rin si Carlo sa forums, kung ano-ano pinagbibibili at pinagbabalakan bilhin.  Marami ata siya post sa Bass Place, nag EB pa daw sila ng mga philmusic Bass Place residents nung isang gabi.  Di ma-figure out ni Carlo kung sino ka, kaw na lang bumati sa kanya.  Username niya ata dito car_law.  Si Karl abala pa rin sa mga kaso niya at sa bago niyang beybi.  Di pa rin kami makapag record ng maayos, sayang ang material.

OnT:

pasensya na sir psychic_sushi.  mejo OA nga ata ako in construing sir BAMF's suggestion as one being a challenge to a duel.  education ang habol natin ditong lahat, malaman kung sulit nga o hindi umiskor ng mamahaling gear. i didn't mean to make it come across as me speaking for sir BAMF, as i have no right to do so. so for that matter, sorry din po, sir BAMF.

point remains, though - sana nga magkaroon ng pagkakataon na magkaalaman.  peace!

[skunkyfunk]

Seems everyone just fell for that thread title.   

oasgomez, do you still intend to have some sort of high gain tone party? 

[greasykid]

Money money money. 

Yung tunay na mayayaman, hindi nagpapasikat ng pera.  That's why old money frown upon the nouveau riche.   

--Greasykid Soriano Madrigal Zobel de Ayala

[blue buddha]

Money money money. 

Yung tunay na mayayaman, hindi nagpapasikat ng pera.  That's why old money frown upon the nouveau riche.   

--Greasykid Soriano Madrigal Zobel de Ayala

That's the funniest damned  reply.... 

[Machine_Head]

Nate,
If the first time you played it was months ago, baka nga wala pa yung pre-boost nun. I can't remember if you played through it last time you were here, but if that was the case, OK na sya nun.

The first time i played thru it was months ago, di pa ata nagwwork ng maayos yung boost. Too bad i wasnt able to try it last time i was there.

[oasgomez-is-banned]

Skunky,

They are just missing the point that matchless had created a tube driven overdrive/pedal format that is really sensitive to tubes and so flexible.  But fortunately or unfortunately, you really gotto spend on NOS tubes and for me thats why I like it because its is not just like sticking a tube to some solid state circuit and claiming its tube sounding.  I believe thats the nature of a well designed tube driven overdrive/preamp unit.  Kaya nga tube dahil and tube ang napapatunog.

With so much heat, I think any tone party will generate into a guitar amp head throwing contest like your video clip on that bogner...

[Machine_Head]

With so much heat, I think any tone party will generate into a guitar amp head throwing contest like your video clip on that bogner...

No i dont think so, i dont see why that should happen. 

[xelalien]

With so much heat, I think any tone party will generate into a guitar amp head throwing contest like your video clip on that bogner...

hala tinakot nyo kasi! joke~~ 
pero sana matuloy sa 18 para masaya! (yay!)
we'd be fortunate enough to hear how those pricey cant-affordables sound...

more popcorn!
pusta pusta na oooo~ lol jk   
para sa yo~ ang pedal na too~

[oasgomez-is-banned]

Sorry mga boss, I will not make it on the 18th.  I am trying to organize one with Exile in their warehouse which is really long overdue so that we can set up more than 10 boutique or high end setups from other people too.  Dont know if it will be private.  Hinihintay lang mga iba pang boutique at high end amps from others.  Idea is for participants to play on their own guitars into each set up and decide what sounds better for themselves.  Or play into one set-up cycling thru a lot guitars to determine which guitars sound best. 

[chito_eoi]

pls invite me OAS?
i would love to hear those gears, though dito ko lang tlga sila nabasa and narinig sa forum

[plugzzzz]

hmmm thats nice OAS pro sana open for all kahit may entrance fee... para makarinig naman kami ng highend stuff na hirap hagilapin dito satin...tapos mag papasok si BAMF ng kanyang mga gawa nyan magic box and amp ahihihihi...

[deltaslim]

I'll stay away from the circus side-show since other people have eloquently argued the point (n times)...

I've tried a Marshall Hot Box, in the late 90s I think... In fact, I'm 99% sure it's the same exact Hot Box that Oas acquired, handed down from one owner to another (notice Oas didn't brag about how hard to get it this time?).

My review: I hated it.  Clean channel tone wasn't as tubey and meaty as a BF Fender or Vox, and it was noisy. The OD channel was buzzy, fuzzy, and again noisy.  Sounded like very bad preamp clipping (as opposed to power amp). Not amp-like at all. I may be wrong but it didn't sound to me like a simple tube swap would have solved all its tonal shortcomings.

As for Oas review...  I've seen and heard him play through his own bowteek stuff. All I can say is that what sounds good to him and what sounds good to me are VERY DIFFERENT. So I always take his reviews with one salop of salt.  YMMV - baka pareho kayo ng tastes eh.

Btw, if that's the same Hotbox, I think it was selling for about 15k when it was bnew.  Since kids buy Boss mfx twice that price these days, I wouldn't brand it as for the 'financially challenged' only.  (So part of the reason the thread title is insulting is because it makes erroneous assumptions about other people's spending capacity )  But since the Hotbox itself sucks, I would indeed call it expensive cuz "hindi sulit".

[nathanmanansala]

still, its a cool thread. i think i'll start one of my own. "Off The Shelf Pedal Review: DS1 -- Not for the musically inept"

 

[oloc]

As for Oas review...  I've seen and heard him play through his own bowteek stuff. All I can say is that what sounds good to him and what sounds good to me are VERY DIFFERENT. So I always take his reviews with one salop of salt.

tsk tsk tsk.... to think how oas always brags about his impeccable taste for that blissful tone he describes as "magical"...

he even has the balls to say na may epekto lang ang mga zillion dollars worth of gear kung lahat ng point ng signal chain eh zillion dollars worth din. nag upgrade ng zillion dollars block, zillion dollars cables, zillions dollars pedal and zillion dollars amp, pati na nga mastodon nuts na zillion dollars din... pero hindi parin nag upgrade ng skill level...

one thing na hindi maintindihan ni oas, may silbi lang ang mga zillion dollars gear kung hindi na maka sabay ang mga normal gear sa level of skills at musical quality na lumalabas sa kamay nung guitarist. eh bano ka pa nga tumugtog, wala ka nang ginawa kung hindi mag angas that your stuff are not for financially challenged.

this particular review not only shows how self-conceited you are when it comes to your financial status, this also proves how ignorant you are when it comes to technical details of your zillion dollar gear.  nakakita ka lang ng kakaibang capacitor, nataranta ka na? how many times you mentioned na specially made yung mga caps na ginamit sa hotbox? do you even know kung bakit ginamit yun dun???

punasan mo ng pera mo yang laway mo... tumutulo...

[nathanmanansala]

easy lang, dude

[oloc]

ooopss... sorry sir nathan.. medyo tensionado sa work eh.. hehehe... just finished the prototypes of 3 tube based pedals... tube overdrive, tube distortion, tube tremolo... im working on tube wah... hybrid na yung tube wah for sure.

medyo nakakairita lang yung mga taong nagyayabang about something which he doesnt even understand why it's there in the first place...

[deltaslim]

easy lang, dude

+1  

oloc - note that all i said is magkaiba kami ng idea ng "good tone" ha. some people might have similar tastes in tone as oas.  doesn't imply one is better than the other.  i added a YMMV disclaimer in my post.  

but, having said that, i happen to think that the most important component in the tone chain is the player himself -- how he tweaks the sound of his gtr and amp to get the desired tone in his head, and how his technique (fingers) draw it out of the gear.  that's how you can account for gtr players sounding like themselve through other setups...

[stratman1]

Langya... nobela nanaman ang thread na ito .

Pag si Oas ang nag umpisa... alang paltos na entertaining ang kalalabasan .

[R0B1EP061]

ooopss... sorry sir nathan.. medyo tensionado sa work eh.. hehehe... just finished the prototypes of 3 tube based pedals... tube overdrive, tube distortion, tube tremolo... im working on tube wah... hybrid na yung tube wah for sure.

medyo nakakairita lang yung mga taong nagyayabang about something which he doesnt even understand why it's there in the first place...

dude musta na? i havent heard from you in a while?!?!?! ano bibilin ko na yung tube pedal na dinedesigen mo para sakin! tuloy pa ba tayo sa tube amp/midi switching capability project natin?

[alroyT]

OASS
JUst browsing when i saw another condescending thread.You gotta give it to this guy,his inferiority complex is all over the place.Crab mentality permeates every spore of his body.You think your Art Thompson who gives expert reviews on gear and instruments?Who gave you such merit to review?Guitar mag,Guitar World?Dont put down your fellow pinoys im sure they KNOW better than you.
     But if you love the idea of people bashing at you (it's sick) then have a ball!

[kawayan_strat]

You think your Art Thompson who gives expert reviews on gear and instruments?Who gave you such merit to review?Guitar mag,Guitar World?
     

he gives reviews based on his own gear and purchases.i think he is entitled and capable of doing that.kahit na di xa makapag post ng clips.(given na yun!)i think he's credible naman when it comes to owning(owning lang ha) some of the high end botique gears here in philmusic. try to search the old threads:wink:

[alroyT]

Of course everyone is entitled to post anything here.Question is does it hold water?U gotta back it up man,it's like my mom will review my dual recti and of course my mutha will post clips so that readers can actually hear what's she talkin about right,then opinions will be appreciated.How can I give my 2 cent if there's no credible reference.

not single frigin photo ergo its all [gooey brown stuff].

[Phil]

well I do a bit of review and post my own original clips so that the readers can at least hear what I'm talking about...right guys?

[oasgomez-is-banned]

Deltaslim,

Yup.  Its the same unit.  You are right it sounded like yuck on the stock sovtek tube.  I did not like it.  I even thought this must be one of those over hyped Matchless Boutique crap, But one tube did it right...

Why don't you ask our common friend? He was witness when we switched the tube.   We were both shocked.  And our common friend also hated the sound with the stock sovtek tube.

If you only stopped being biased against me for a moment and recognize the fact that you and the previous owner did not try switching tubes, so hindi niyo na-test ng mabuti.

[oasgomez-is-banned]

chito and plugzzz,

No problem.  Let me just get some time to organize.  Busy kasi iyung kilala ko sa Exile kaya I have to wait and get his permission.

We plan to have drums and bass and whatever with a real pro-band to play backup.  Mayroon na nga nag-volunteer.

If ever may fee, its just to cover the food because tests like these really will take the whole day from early morning to night time.  I plan to get Arie's wife to cater.

BAMF is welcome to bring his stuff.