Matchless Spitfire 15W Combo 112

A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN FOR THOSE AFTER A CLEAN SOUND THAT'S SIMPLE TO USE AND CAN GO FROM BEDROOM TO BAND. BY CRAIG CARROLL

OUR ANALYSIS FIND YOUR PERFECT MATCH

Founded in 1989 in Los Angeles, Matchless are renowned for their point-to-point hand-wired, premium quality amplifiers - with them, they've become one of the best sounding and most durable amps on the market. Their first design, the 30-watt DC-30 still remains their most sought after, used by such rockers as Bruce Springsteen, Brian May, Joe Perry, Billy Duffy and Neil Young.

The lower 15-watt range shines its target on bedroom players who also need a solid stage setup with enough volume to overcome a loud drummer. There are three models in the 15-watt range - Spitfire, Lightning and Nighthawk - each with their own characteristics. The Spitfire’s focus is on clean sounds for jazz, blues, chord melody, country picking, and rock; the Lightning produces a classic scooped mid-range “British sound” and the Nighthawk is perfect for higher-gain hot and raw blues and rock. So, if the Spitfire doesn’t sound like your style but you're after a bespoke handmade amp, it's worth taking a look at the other models.

FRESH AND SO CLEAN

To look at, the quality is evident from the amp's leather handle, premium tolex finish and customisable features. You can order the straightup all black model - like the one tested here - or be adventurous and mix or match the cabinet and faceplate colours. There are twelve colours to choose from online, which range from white, red and turquoise to... Shower curtain? Grill colour options are silver or gold. After turning it on, the amp's logo and controls are illuminated by internal globes - it's a nice touch, but the lack of a standby switch is a concern for tube longevity.

Plugging in your axe is easy via a high or low input. The low is great if you want to tame hotter pickups - for example, a P90 in your Les Paul - to achieve a mellower jazzy sound using the neck pickup. Simplicity is the key here, evident with three chicken head dials controlling volume, tone and master. The semi-open back features a line out jack to connect to a PA, as well as Ohm and 8 Ohm speaker impedance ports. There is no effects loop, headphone jack or amp input.

MAX HEADROOM

The Spitfire has only a single gain stage (dual triode 12AX7), giving the volume dial heaps of

headroom that only slightly breaks up at the 9-10 mark with a Les Paul, and remains virtually clean with a single coil Fender Jaguar. If you really want a lot of breakup, this might be a bit frustrating (the Lightning would perhaps be a better choice), but if you don't like high gain, go with the Spitfire.

The amp responds sensitively to your pick attack on a single coil, so you’ll need to adjust your tone or use palm muting to control it. With a pair of EL84 tubes, it sounds more like 25-watts, as Matchless use higher plate voltages on the power tubes. A little goes a long way, so you’ll need to turn the mater volume down for bedroom playing.

With both volume and master dials at 12 o’clock, it's effortlessly loud enough for a gig. Cranking it all way will get you over the noisiest of drummers with a bright voicing that cuts through the band mix.

The tone dial has quite a bit of EQ range, making this a very versatile amp. With the tone down low, it sounds mellow and creamy- perfect for jazz tunes where definition and attack are needed for fast passages. Cranking the tone gives the amp more pop and sparkle, perfect for jangly rock, country twang, surf rock or staccato funk. As a comparison, it sounds very similar to a Vox AC15, but a little more tight and spanky. Turning it up too high, however, can result in a steely sound - as such, you’ll need to play with the limits.

Although set up for clean sounds, it also responds really well to overdrive, fuzz and distortion pedals. It becomes heavy in the base and has clarity in the mids without becoming too muddy, perfect for Drop D-tuned grunge or heavy ‘70s rock. A Matchless Hotbox III preamp pedal complimented it to a T, bringing out the sweetness of the notes. A Tube Screamer would also suffice for blues soloing. The tone knob also heavily influenced the gain level, ranging from thick fuzz to gritty buzzing distortion. However, you wouldn’t play metal or djent through this thing - if that's more your speed you might want to consider the Nighthawk model.

WHY YOU’RE PROBABLY GOING TO WANT IT

Heaps of headroom for clean players, and plenty of volume ranging from bedroom bash to heavy gigging over a loud drummer. The Spitfire is easy, to use and has great build quality with a wide tonal variation ranging from creamy jazz to jangly single-coil rock/blues, finger picking country/ folk or chord melody playing styles.

WHAT YOU SHOULD CONSIDER FIRST

The Spitfire may not have enough features for some. For example, there's only one channel, and no effects loop, headphone jack or power amp in.