First post newbie questions!

[TornadoTed]

Hello, I've been lurking for a little while and thought it was time I posted. I'd like to thank you all in advance for answering any of my potentially stupid questions!

I've done a search for a lot of questions I had but struggled to find answers to these questions.

I run a recording studio with a strange mix of clients. I mainly get fairly serious bands with fairly good gear coming in for 1-3 weeks at a time. However because I am out in the Countryside with no studios around for miles I get a dozen or so local bands wanting a weekend demo. Some of the equipment they bring in is truly awful! I take pride in getting the best sound I can for them and the source is everything. I have a decent drum kit, an Ampeg bass amp and was seriously tempted by a Randall modular rig.

I have done a bit of research and one thing that worries me is fans. I record guitar with the head in the control room with speaker tie lines going to the cabs in the live room and isolation booths. It doesn't mention anything about fans on Randall's site. I have been put off the RM100 which I understand does have a fan. Do the RM50 and RM20 have fans too?

As I am the only studio around for miles I get all musical styles walking through the door. I was thinking about getting 4 modules to start with Blackface, Top Boost, Plexi and XTC. Would those cover most bases from clean to metal? I am no stranger to a soldering iron and also have a top tech near me, would those modules be good for modding?

How long does it realistically take to swap over modules during use? Do you have to let them cool down before removing them? What about letting a newly inserted module warm up? This would be especially important if I went for the RM20. The demos I do are at 100 miles an hour as they usually want 4 tracks tracked, mixed and mastered in a couple of days so there isn't much time to waste.

 

[Rellik]

As I am the only studio around for miles I get all musical styles walking through the door. I was thinking about getting 4 modules to start with Blackface, Top Boost, Plexi and XTC. Would those cover most bases from clean to metal? I am no stranger to a soldering iron and also have a top tech near me, would those modules be good for modding?

How long does it realistically take to swap over modules during use? Do you have to let them cool down before removing them? What about letting a newly inserted module warm up? This would be especially important if I went for the RM20. The demos I do are at 100 miles an hour as they usually want 4 tracks tracked, mixed and mastered in a couple of days so there isn't much time to waste.

The Blackface is superb for cleans - I haven't tried the other three.
If you're looking for the heavy metal chug then I would suggest an Ultra XL. It has more gain than you would ever need.

It takes all of 30 seconds to swap a module. There is no cooldown, and as far as I know, there's no need for it to warm up. I always end up using the majority of my volume from the power tubes anyways.

 

[crankyrayhanky]

I was thinking about getting 4 modules to start with Blackface, Top Boost, Plexi and XTC. Would those cover most bases from clean to metal?

I don't think I see a metal vibe in there...maybe a Grail, or get a Rectified/Recto/Treadplate cheap and have a Grail mod done on it

Never played a Ultra but that may have that extreme gain that you need.

 

[TornadoTed]

Thanks for the replies guys. So a Grail would be far better for metal than the XTC, cool.

That's excellent that they don't need a lot of time to cool/warm up.

Anyone know about which head models have fans and if there are any without? I have painstakingly build the control room to be as quiet as possible and a fan in an amp is a major turn off for me.

 

[bj4rd]

i'm sure you or your amp tech could easily disable the fan without hurting the amp

 

[droptrd]

Thanks for the replies guys. So a Grail would be far better for metal than the XTC, cool.

That's excellent that they don't need a lot of time to cool/warm up.

Anyone know about which head models have fans and if there are any without? I have painstakingly build the control room to be as quiet as possible and a fan in an amp is a major turn off for me.

The XTC is kinda funny for me. Its kinda mushy in the low mids. The bogner ecstacy is basicaly a SUPER Marshall, and the XTC is not. Cool for leads.

 

[JKD]

I'm not understanding...if the cabs are in ISO booths or other rooms..there's no acoustic noise issue right?

Or are you thinking electrical noise from the fan?

All the RM series have fans...they are regular brushless DC types I believe. If you have a PC or DAW in the control room, it'll probably have the same type of FAN..if not multiple fans...


I've noticed FAN pickup with my gear on louder volumes but then my Head, Rack and everything is right on top of the cab.

I wouldn't disable the fan personally..maybe it would be OK for short periods...an RM4 is going to have 8 pre-amp tubes enclosed when fully loaded...i

 

[TornadoTed]

You are right the cabs are in iso booths so no fan noise is picked up by the mics.

I find fans annoying and tiring. I used to have a quiet Carillon PC but even that used to bother me at the end of a 14 hour day in the studio. I went to a fair bit of expense and effort to build an isolated area for my computer and monitor amps. Maybe I'm just being a little bit too fussy!

I guess if all the amps have fans then I will just have to accept it if I want the benefits of what looks like a great and flexible system.