From The Desk Of Alice In Chains: Matchless C-30 Amplifier

Few bands survive the reboot Alice In Chains launched in 2008, six years after the death of its troubled powerhouse singer, Layne Staley. Guitarist Jerry Cantrell admits the idea of reemerging from stasis with a new vocalist, William DuVall, felt like a gamble. The result was Black Gives Way To Blue, a work worthy of standing alongside the band’s masterpiece, 1992’s Dirt. Though few would have predicted such a return to form, the album was certified gold, topped scads of best-of lists and launched two full tours. The new The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here stays true to the Alice In Chains sound, a dense shroud of gloom occasionally lifted by soaring harmonies and delicate riffs. For every dirge stomp like “Pretty Done” and the menacing creep of “Lab Monkey,” there are echoes of Jar Of Flies’ haunted acoustic beauty (“Voices,” “Choke”) or the filthy groove of “Stone,” the album’s second single. DuVall will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Alice In Chains feature.

DuVall: The Matchless C-30 is without a doubt one of the greatest guitar amplifiers ever created. Upon its debut in 1992, with its flawless design and impeccable handcrafted construction, the C-30 spearheaded a movement, virtually creating the boutique amp market that’s flourished over the last two decades. It set a new benchmark among dedicated guitar enthusiasts on the quest for The Ultimate Tone in a more reliable, roadworthy package. I’ve used a C-30 on every recording I’ve made over the last 17 years and toured all over the world with them. I consider this amp an indispensable part of my arsenal. It has never let me down. It always sounds unbelievable, and it’s practically bulletproof. What more can one ask?

The C-30 is a two-channel amp but not for purposes of channel switching (though that is technically possible). Channel one is basically a Vox AC-30—the amp made famous by the Beatles, the Stones, the Yardbirds and every other 1960s British Invasion band—but on steroids. It’s one of the best versions of that hallmark sound that you will ever hear. But it’s channel two that takes you into a world inhabited by no other amplifier on the planet. This channel boasts an EF86 tube in its preamp section. At lower volumes, channel two still has plenty of chime but with an even ballsier voice than the first channel. It is perfect for any sort of Neil Young or Tom Petty/Mike Campbell-style rock you can conjure. It’s not a Fender nor a Marshall nor even a Vox tone but something all its own. When channel two’s volume is cranked, it unleashes an incredibly rich, harmonically complex distortion that retains the glassy shimmer that can only be derived from EL84 power tube saturation. We’re talking heavy-blues/hard-rock heaven—Zeppelin, The Who, AC/DC, even early Black Sabbat—but, again, with its own sonic signature. It’s this combination of classicism and innovation that’s made the C-30 the go-to amp for Jimmy Page, Bob Dylan, Billy Duffy, Kings Of Leon and many others.

Matchless co-founder and C-30 designer Mark Sampson left the company a dozen years ago amid a period of financial insolvency that briefly took down the entire enterprise. But after several years of inactivity, Sampson’s co-founding partner, Phil Jamison, has restored Matchless to its former glory, resurrecting the company’s flagship designs like the C-30 and the Clubman 35 while adding new models to the roster as well. However, for me, the C-30 remains the penultimate stroke of genius within the Matchless line. In an ever-expanding universe of amazing hand-wired amps being turned out by the many master builders who followed Matchless’s wake, the C-30 remains, well, unmatched. To hear what I mean, check out the YouTube link to Comes With The Fall’s “Fire Come Down.” The guitar that starts out the song and plays out of your left speaker is pure C-30.

Video after the jump.