Randall RM4

[MOSHWITZ]

sup?
anyone own one of these? or have any comments on them? i think the idea is cool and would like to get some feed back on them. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
thanks
MOSH ON
DAVE

[spencer4hire]

Re: Randall RM4

I do not own a RM4 but I have the RM100 that uses the same MTS modules. I really like the flexibility they offer. When I want a new amp sound for the price of an effects pedal I have a new amp. Bruce Egnater designed the RM4 for Randall. He also has his own. Check out out Egnater Amplification. I posted a MP3 in the MP3 section of my Randall RM100 using the Ultra module.

[spencer4hire]

Re: Randall RM4

Dave you might want to check out the Randall MTS thread over at Harmony Central amp forum. Lots of good info and sound clips.

[IrfaanSE801]

Re: Randall RM4

I play with the MTS combo's and heads 6 days a week. They are great amps and the modules are awsome. They actually sound like they're suppose to and there are so many mods and tube combinations you can use that it's gonna be something you can screw round with till it sounds exactly they way you want. They are really going all out on making more modules too, from what I understand there's signature models coming out from the dude from Disturbed and Lynch is doing a few I think. Here's the HC thread (beware, it's freakin huge, but a very worthwhile read)

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/foru...threadid=866469

[MOSHWITZ]

Re: Randall RM4

88 pages [img]/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/what.gif[/img] holy shit!!!! i'm on page 14....damn i better get some no doze [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
good read though, shows some good potential.
MOSH ON
DAVE

[IrfaanSE801]

Randall MTS review

I wrote a long e-mail to Dave describing the tone, and it was a very in depth e-mail, so decided to share it here for anyone else who was interested.

I A/B's the Ultra and XTC with a 6L6 and EL34 loaded amps. The recto module I recall from a month ago as being a really nice high gain module, it was evenly voiced, not too dark, but bright enough to be a nice rhythm tone, and it cleaned up pretty ok, but I can't completely remember all that well. I think I liked it a bit more than the XTC on the EL34's, but I can't recall too well, it's been a month or two. Alrighty, grab a beer, here we go:

Ultra Module - EL34 loaded amp
- Highest gain preamp
- Covers old school thrash to anything newer (swedish, death, grind, etc)
- This module is exactly what the old Randall RG100's sounded like in a sense (if you know, I'm not sure) The newer Randall high gain amps kinda rounded off the tone, so although you get that thick tone, it's not as chainsaw/crunchy as the older model amps. This module HAS that chainsaw type gain, but it's really thick at the same time. It gets crunchier, not muddy as you turn the gain up, and you definatly don't have to max the gain to get a huge tone. I used a custom shop Brian Moore loaded with Duncan 59's (played using cleaner setting on this mod) and the JB in the bridge. We all know the JB is by no means a very high output pickup, but it SCREAMED even with this pickup. Harmonics galore, and I didn't have to fight to get em either. Pinched, natural or artificial, it all came out easily, so if your using an EMG 81, I have no doubts you'll get a great tone.
- I detuned the guitar to C (strings were too light for B, damned things were just too flubby) and it still handled it nicely. Very crunchy, and heavy as hell (didn't get muddy, except when the gain was maxed, then things became inaudible. With the strings being so loose and the bass was up to like 4 o clock (I dialed out a lot treble to experiment for the hell of it), things kinda mushed together, but I think that's more the strings floppiness than the amp. It also depends on your power amp, more presence from the Randall power section brought it to life, but too much just made it shrill and unusable. It all depends how you set it. The voicing can either go from dark and heavy to bright and crunchy, and everything in between.
- The controls are very responsive, you can either get an extreme mid scoop or get a thick mid boost, depending on what you want. This is my personal favorite module and the first one I'm getting.
- Killing some of the gain did not clean it up enough. It's definatly not one you can roll back the volume and use nicely, the other modules can do that properly though.

XTC Module - EL34 loaded amp
- Very heavy mid-section, can't be dialed out completely by killing the mids, but it's still very heavy sounding
- It is voiced darker than the Ultra, even with the bright switch on, great for rhythms, but not overly dark to sound like crap
- Rolling off the gain gets a nice clean tone, not just barely usable. For live use you might wanna grab a 2nd XTC Module and set it at a lower gain setting for clean. The generic CLEAN module gets a little dirty, but not as much as the XTC. You'll get a nice warm blues OD using the XTC than the clean, but there are other modules (Plexi) that would do that for you if you want too.
- The dirty channel is really great for rhythms, but you can get a nice round lead tone from it. The ULTRA LEAD module has a bit less gain the the Ultra module, but it has that round tone to it that would also suit you well.

XTC Module - 6L6 loaded amp
- Cleaner sounding, not as middy, and very smooth
- The clean wasen't a noticable difference, pretty much you can go either way with tubes if this is a deciding factor. It's still better than the Ultra either way though. It was distorted even with the Duncan 59', but usable depending on what your going for.
- When I drove the preamp tubes, it got a little muddy and honestly didn't like it as much. When I lowered the volume on the module and drove the power amp tubes, it sounded much better. It was a bigger, cleaner, and very distinctive. Chords did not lose focus in all the gain (gain maxed) and it made a huge difference.
- The gain was a bit smoother, but harmonics still jumped out nicely (will shine even more in this area with an EMG 81). I actually prefered the XTC like this, 6L6 and power amp driven. The tone isn't as harsh as the Ultra or even as dark as it was on the EL34, but it was heavy and hell and evenly balanced

Ultra 6L6 loaded amp
- Gain was a bit smoother. It was crunchy, but less than like the EL34. It was heavy, but didn't have as much of a chainsaw tone as the 34 loaded amp. Still a kickass module though!
- Again, I'm not sure what it is, but I liked it a LOT better when the power tubes were driving the amp instead of the preamp tubes. Everything is cleaner sounding, almost like putting a BBE sonic maximizer in the loop of a high gain amp, you hear every note in chords better even with the high gain and all. Driving the preamp tubes clouded the real sound of the module and it didn't sound as nice. The good thing too is you don't have to max the gain to get a good tone, especially when your driving the power amp tubes, keeping what your playing very clean sounding instead of just a wall of distortion.
- Great lead or very heavy rhythm tone

Bottom line, I would go with 6L6's with these modules. The EL34 Ultra module did sound a bit crunchier, but that's hardly sacrifice when you hear it and the rest of the modules with the 6L6's. When I say it does metal, I don't just mean Metallica, you can go as heavy as Arch Enemy, In Flames and At The Gates if you wanted to. There is a tiny bit of flubbiness to it, especially when I tuned lower, but again, that could be the strings and the setup of the guitar. If it turns out that is not the case, there is a mod you can do to the circuit board to tighten up the bottom end, but I haven't heard it, so I can't tell you what that sounds like. From what I hear, it does exactly that, but it also loses a bit of something that no one can really put thier finger on, maybe gain(?). There's info in that insanly huge thread on HC (still reading it?)

For the clean, I'm not sure what your going for as far as tone, but the XTC and Recto will clean up, just not as much as having the CLEAN or BLACKFACE modules. The TOP BOOST or PLEXI module will do a Marshall clean, and you can up the gain to get a rock and roll tone, just under a Van Halen tone maybe.

As for tubes, I always recommend JJ tubes to everyone. I don't know first hand how much an effect would take place in changing the preamp tubes, but every tube amp I have seen changed to JJ tubes have been a success tonewise. With the kind of tubes that are in there, I don't see a lot of options in terms of substitutions, but e-mail Bob from Eurotubes and see what he says. The KT88/EL34 power section is something that came from him first, and it made it's way to the Harmony Central boards, including that thread. From what I can see (and I'm no expert, just going by what looks right) a replacement for the 12AX7's are these (straight from Eurotubes.com):

ECC803 S - 12AX7
Factory description: Classic long plate European design with special grid plated by gold to reduce microphone interaction and noise.

My observations: This is the latest 12AX7 offering from JJ and once again it's a beautiful sounding tube. It's the longest plate 12AX7 type tube ever made. It has the same deep, tight low end that the ECC83S has but the mids in the ECC803S are even thicker and more harmonically complex than the ECC83S. The ECC803S is also a little hotter in the high end than the ECC83S.

This is a great tube for V1 positions or for use in all positions in vintage amps. I do not recommend them for use in the gain stages of high gain amps if you like to run your gain maxed out. All preamp tubes are microphonic it's just a matter of where the threshold is and longer plate tubes will squeal before a short plate tube will, so for real high gain amps I would stay with the ECC83S or better yet the graded high gain ECC83S's that I hand pick for high gain amps.


ECC83 S - 12AX7
Factory description: Special grid plated by gold to reduce microphone interaction and noise.

My observations: The ECC83S is great tube with a tight low end, a very natural and harmonically complex mid with VERY good definition and a sweet high end that is not brittle. These tubes have very low microphonics and are great in the gain stages of high gain amps like Marshalls, Meas's and Peaveys to name a few.

The best part is that you can buy a new tube that sounds this good for one tenth the price of an NOS Telefunken.

I'd recommend having some sorta EQ unit, cause as good as that Ultra module is, it's noisy. Not as noisy as the XTC, but either way some sorta EQ might do you well.

I spent about an hour doing my little demo and I loved this amp even more than I did before. I was going to pick one up next week, but I decided to buy xmas presents for a few other people, so I'll wait a bit longer. But there ya go, hopefully you guys will go out and try it, they really are great amps for the money.

[IrfaanSE801]

Re: Randall MTS review

Oh yah, plus you can use the Bruce Egnator modules in this amp too. His modules are very cool and I think they have 2 different voicings for each module. Another cool +, something I've gotta try out