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

[Letour]

PhilMusic members..... Are you ready? 

You betcha!

[blues2death]

PhilMusic members..... Are you ready? 

You betcha!

for what? kung ano man yan....cge im in 

[Poundcake]

AHAHAHA! i can sense a chapter 3! samahan mo na rin ng QBERT chapter 1

[supacow]

im ready!?!!?!?!?!?!?! 

[oloc]

PhilMusic members..... Are you ready? 

yey! its about time sir AL, im ready!!!

 

[blues2death]

is this what i think it is AL? go for it! suportahan taka

[nathanmanansala]

if it were up to me, i'd ban all of your asses (mine included) for taking up so much effin airtime...

but its not up to me... so i'll just say

catholic school girls rule!!!

[deltaslim]

if it were up to me, i'd ban all of your asses (mine included) for taking up so much effin airtime...

but its not up to me... so i'll just say

catholic school girls rule!!!

how about Polish catholic school girls? 

[deltaslim]

PhilMusic members..... Are you ready? 

Ika nga ng xray technician... "Tigil po ang paghinga"   

Wassup?

[nathanmanansala]

if it were up to me, i'd ban all of your asses (mine included) for taking up so much effin airtime...

but its not up to me... so i'll just say

catholic school girls rule!!!

how about Polish catholic school girls? 

daming hotties.

pero you can sort of feel people's laser vision boring a hole through the back of your skull when you walk past. there's this unshakable feeling someone is watching your every move. maybe they are. makes you think about how you act around foreigners in manila. so yun. in return i watch the hotties sa tram, subway, streets, hotel, malls, museums...

[lykenhowl]

PhilMusic members..... Are you ready? 

Walang bitinan!!!!!!!!

[psychic_sushi]

if it were up to me, i'd ban all of your asses (mine included) for taking up so much effin airtime...

but its not up to me... so i'll just say

catholic school girls rule!!!

how about Polish catholic school girls? 

catholic school gils are ok...

but nothing tickles your willy harder than...

JAPANESE SCHOOL GIRLS!!!


daming hotties.

pero you can sort of feel people's laser vision boring a hole through the back of your skull when you walk past. there's this unshakable feeling someone is watching your every move. maybe they are. makes you think about how you act around foreigners in manila. so yun. in return i watch the hotties sa tram, subway, streets, hotel, malls, museums...

[lykenhowl]

if it were up to me, i'd ban all of your asses (mine included) for taking up so much effin airtime...

but its not up to me... so i'll just say

catholic school girls rule!!!

how about Polish catholic school girls? 

catholic school gils are ok...

but nothing tickles your willy harder than...

JAPANESE SCHOOL GIRLS!!!


daming hotties.

pero you can sort of feel people's laser vision boring a hole through the back of your skull when you walk past. there's this unshakable feeling someone is watching your every move. maybe they are. makes you think about how you act around foreigners in manila. so yun. in return i watch the hotties sa tram, subway, streets, hotel, malls, museums...

Count me in...Im a Perv when it comes to Jap chicks.

[aya_yuson]

Yeah, that may have been me. Kung circa '97, sa Streetlife, must've been with the showband, Legacy.

Dehin strat yon. Yamaha Pacifica. Black nga. Super strat-type guitar.

=)

Hey Aya, just curious. Did you play in a cover band before? I think I remember seeing someone who looked like you at Street Life in 1997...black Strat, with a female vocalist.
[/quote]

[alkohol]

asa ka pang makumbinse mo si alex. yan ang D'Original APAP, eh.

Asa Pa, Ayaw Patalo.

 

sapul!

[turiguiliano]

if it were up to me, i'd ban all of your asses (mine included) for taking up so much effin airtime...

but its not up to me... so i'll just say

catholic school girls rule!!!

same here...final fantasy: japanese school girl twins...18 and above only. iwas kulong. hehe


 

how about Polish catholic school girls? 

catholic school gils are ok...

but nothing tickles your willy harder than...

JAPANESE SCHOOL GIRLS!!!


daming hotties.

pero you can sort of feel people's laser vision boring a hole through the back of your skull when you walk past. there's this unshakable feeling someone is watching your every move. maybe they are. makes you think about how you act around foreigners in manila. so yun. in return i watch the hotties sa tram, subway, streets, hotel, malls, museums...

Count me in...Im a Perv when it comes to Jap chicks.

[greatwolf]

Yeah, that may have been me. Kung circa '97, sa Streetlife, must've been with the showband, Legacy.

Dehin strat yon. Yamaha Pacifica. Black nga. Super strat-type guitar.

=)

Hey Aya, just curious. Did you play in a cover band before? I think I remember seeing someone who looked like you at Street Life in 1997...black Strat, with a female vocalist.

[/quote]

Cool! I have a video of one of your gigs...lol. Damn, your vocalist was pretty and was very good,  she sure can hit them notes. She was belting out Diana King's "Shy Guy"... 

Oh, and I already knew how good you were back then....

[aya_yuson]

Yeah, that may have been me. Kung circa '97, sa Streetlife, must've been with the showband, Legacy.

Dehin strat yon. Yamaha Pacifica. Black nga. Super strat-type guitar.

=)

Hey Aya, just curious. Did you play in a cover band before? I think I remember seeing someone who looked like you at Street Life in 1997...black Strat, with a female vocalist.

Cool! I have a video of one of your gigs...lol. Damn, your vocalist was pretty and was very good,  she sure can hit them notes. She was belting out Diana King's "Shy Guy"... 

Oh, and I already knew how good you were back then....
[/quote]

Oh, I wasn't really all that good back then. Overplaying musician todo. Walang restraint. Kulang sa phrasing. Kulang na kulang sa pacing, sa hinga.

Kangkarot.

I wasn't all that good back then.

And i still ain't sh_t.
 

[hoihose]

ang tindi ni pareng Joric.. bluesman nga sya pero kung makipag-away, METAL! hupaw huhupaw!

 

UP ULIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[charles55]

When it comes to Boutique Pedals, nothing beats the Matchless Hot Box.  Its a Preamp/Overdrive pedal.  Everything about it spells boutique.  The chassis is some kind of hard stainless gauge steel.  All the components are point to point.  Resistors ( not a single carbon film resistor in use) and Caps are top notch, some caps are even customized for Matchless.  There two 12ax7 tubes mounted in phenolic sockets with a built in 220 volts power supply.  Controls are lit internally like all matchless stuff.  It costs around US$400 if you can find one.  It beats that so-called modded TC Electronic SCF on the other thread.  By the way, I like my SCF just as is without any tubes and stiff middle finger.  That finger has serious confidence/ego issues. 

But does it sound US$400?  It depends and it did not WOW me.  I tried and forced myself to like it but it was such a disappointment -- it was only after I changed one of the tubes to a NOS GE 12at7 that the Hot Box really come into being.  I replaced some SOVTEK 12ax7 and boy what an improvement a genuine GE or Brimar made in the overdrive sound.  It now sounds close to my Vox AC30 though not exact.  Suddenly the fuzzy gain of the pedal turned into a smooth and sweet overdrive thru a strat.  It just made my strat fat without any loss of definition.  Upon further research I can still mix and match other tubes and actually dictate the level of drive on the Hot Box.  Furthermore, the circuit is so sensitive to type and construction of the tube that you can change tonalities by changing tubes.  NOS seems to be the best choice for this critter.  This was not so with my Mesa Vtwin which was not at all sensitive to the type of tube, it just sounded fuzzy.  What I like about the Hot Box is that it has now become flexible in terms of sound.  No need for mods or switching ICs, all you have to do is switch tubes and it takes a different property.

However there are cons to it --  it cannot be powered by a 9 volt, the pedal has a large footprint, it ain't true bypass.  But even without true bypass, the clean signal sounds great and rich.

For me, this is the top of the heap when it comes to boutique -- even beating the Klon Centaur.  It however is really dependent on how much extra you are willing to shell out for NOS preamp tubes and thus mileage varies.  So, I have to say it is an acquired taste and  you have to be very specific with regards to its application.  After all, not everyone likes the sound of a vox.  But one thing is for sure, when it comes to construction, workmanship and what it does in totality, no stompbox in anybody's arsenal can match. 

SO WHAT?!?   

[aya_yuson]

Those who can't really play often hide behind their toys.

Wala yan sa pana, nasa Indian.

[vhunter]

Those who can't really play often hide behind their toys.

Wala yan sa pana, nasa Indian.

And is this the same reason most professionals (insert: we all) have compressors AND USE THEM LIVE?  a good indan can use both a bad and good bow and hit his target... but the less talented one can use some help from the bow... but as long as we hit the target who cares.

[vegetablejoe]

Those who can't really play often hide behind their toys.

Wala yan sa pana, nasa Indian.

... tsuG  Ouch!!!

can't really playmy guitar well, kaya I play with my toys... kasam na dito yung mga glow in the dark 

[sonnyrayvaughn]

tagal tagal din akong nawala..musta na lahat?
I see controversial pa rin talaga si OAS hehe.

sayang, di tayo nakapag tone party sir OAS nung nasa pinas ... your boutique OD's against my Digitech Bad Monkey. 40 bucks lang ang katapat nyang 400 dollar toy mo 

[oasgomez-is-banned]

Deltaslim,

"at kung pagtugtog nga Statesboro Blues lang din, kay Joey Puyat na ko... Squier Strat lang yun at Rat pero maiihi ka naman sa sarap!"

Before you shoot your mouth off can you please ask Mr. Joey Puyat why he uses his Squier Strat instead of his US Strats?  I will tell you because his Squier Strat MIJ stock is better sounding than his US Strats.  Kung talagang kanya kanya iyan at lahat sa kamay, ask him in detail why he loves his Squier so much.  Tanunging mo na sa kanya kung ilan Squier ang sinubukan niya bago niya nahanap itong Squier na ito.

Now, you also said that if the Squier is good enough for him then the squier is good enough for us and we deserve it.  So, TO ALL FORUM MEMBERS WHO OWN BAD SOUNDING SQUIERS, ACCORDING TO DELTASLIM, YOU DESERVE YOUR BAD SOUNDING SQUIERS. I will just qualify this, everyone here deserves a good sounding squier and a good sounding squier can beat a bad sounding USA Custom Shop Fender and I have played and heard bad sounding but beautiful looking Fender Custom Shops.  Now, the challenge is actually looking for a good sounding squier but to be able to find a good sounding squier, the first step is to acknowledge then even if guitars are all different --- ang daming na kasing squier sa mundo --- you first have to drop the concept na kanya kanya lang iyan and really define what is a good sounding guitar for you.  Because if you make a purchase decision based on looks, style and color kasi kanya kanya lang iyan, you will never even realize if you have bad sounding or good sounding guitar.  Now, the 2nd big problem, I will give my personal experience on Squiers, only 1 out of 20 sound good.  But thats just me...

By the way, bakit ka hindi bumili ng Squier sa Singapore if you deserve it so much? ... Ooops.  Wala pa lang Squier sa Singapore pero mayroon pala sa Pilipinas.  Mali pala logic ko.