Just scored a RM20 combo in mint condition

[Big Steve]

Went to the Guitar Center Presidents Day sale. Well they had a used, but very mint condition RM20 combo in white with the palamino colored grill and the stock Green Back Celestion speaker. The plastic was still covering the power cord. A stock Plexi module was included with it. Got it for a great price! I just couldn't pass it by. I will be selling the Plexi mod and keeping the amp around.

I have a RM80 and several modules. I have always been interested in the smaller RM20. So I jumped at the chance to own one in my favorite color combination at an great price. Unfortunately it is on a police hold (stores have to keep used stuff for 20 days before they can sell it), so I won't get it until late next week. I am really looking forward to checking this little guy out.

 

[rblyn]

Went to the Guitar Center Presidents Day sale. Well they had a used, but very mint condition RM20 combo in white with the palamino colored grill and the stock Green Back Celestion speaker. The plastic was still covering the power cord. A stock Plexi module was included with it. Got it for $390 out the door! I just couldn't pass it by. I will be selling the Plexi mod and keeping the amp around.

I have a RM80 and several modules. I have always been interested in the smaller RM20. So I jumped at the chance to own one in my favorite color combination at an great price. Unfortunately it is on a police hold (stores have to keep used stuff for 20 days before they can sell it), so I won't get it until late next week. I am really looking forward to checking this little guy out.

This is the exact same amp I have...The white version looks killer-and love the tones. Greenback is perfectly voiced too. I think you'll dig it. I paid $500 a couple of years ago for mine brand new loaded with a white Brahma module. Still play it almost every day- Never an issue either.

 

[Big Steve]

Still play it almost every day- Never an issue either.

Awesome! My RM80 has had some issues. So that even made me more motivated to try the RM20 so I had a backup. This one is so much cleaner than my RM80.

What modules are you running with yours?

 

[rblyn]

Still play it almost every day- Never an issue either.

Awesome! My RM80 has had some issues. So that even made me more motivated to try the RM20 so I had a backup. This one is so much cleaner than my RM80.

What modules are you running with yours?

I've got some other posts out there explaining this (kinda complicated) but the RM20 is def GIG WORTHY!! I've been running a Judge using 4CM method and a Boss GT 10- I have a straight Judge tone preset (slight mid boost), a boosted Judge preset (via tube screamer sim with about a 20db volume boost and some delay) for my lead channel - then I have a third preset on the GT10 that turns off the send/return that bypasses the Judge preamp and gives me clean EL84 goodness coupled with a Fender clean preamp on the Boss..and with a touch of chorus. So essentially its now a three channel rig...Plenty o volume for smaller gigs. Also can run it through one of my 4x12s for some more balls. I've used the Grail, Scary, Salvado Dlx, Masholdano and Snorkeler for gigs too with great results. I dont think I'll ever get rid of it- So easy to throw it in the truck- It also comes to every gig- Even if Im using my full stack (as a backup).

 

[VitaminG]

great setup, rblyn! Makes me want an RM20 now

 

[rblyn]

great setup, rblyn! Makes me want an RM20 now

Thanks! I love it, makes the RM20 a totally different animal. I may be partial to it vs the RM22 because it's truly Bruce's design but also I can get all I want from one module.

 

[Rod]

The RM20 is a great little combo. The recording out sounds really good!! I hook a reverb pedal and delay in the fx loop...sounds great ...same series loop as my RM50 's. Put some JJ. El84 's in it and your good 2 go. Never been loud enough for my classic rock band but that's why I have RM50 's...

 

[Big Steve]

Never been loud enough for my classic rock band but that's why I have RM50 's...

I play in a traditional blues band. We play a lot of restaurant bars. We can't play very loud in those situations. So I am hoping this amp will work for the smaller gigs. If not, the RM50 with its master volume will be used instead. Choices are always good. I am really looking forward to hearing the EL84 power section with my modules.

 

[wesarvin]

It all depends on your drummer OR your PA. I've gotten along mighty dandy with my rm20 head/ Eggie 112 stack. Of course, it always has a 57 on a Zbar smashed in its grill, running about 3/4 up on the master. It keeps up with most drummers. If you have a basher though, it'll fart out before the dude can break a stick. But remember, that's without a PA. Stick a mic on her and she's fine.

A friend of mine runs an rm20 combo with a stock XTC module at shows. He's playing alongside a guitarist with a Plexi half stack. Lets just say as long as its miced, the rm20 sounds HUGE.

Congrats on the new rig!

 

[Big Steve]

Picked up the amp today and I have been playing it for the last couple of hours. This amp sounds really good. I am really surprised how much the EL84's add to the tone of my modules. They all sound very different, but also very good. The EL84's drag the modules into a different territory that I really like. You get the classic sounds of the mod but with the aggressive tone of the EL84's on top. Power tube distortion definitely comes into play, in a very nice way. Probably not the amp to choose if you want pristine clean at louder volumes. I think this is gonna work really well for the traditional blues tones that I am after. The extra bite with be put to use.

I still need to figure out how to set the module volume and gain, and the boost gain and level knobs. It is gonna be fun.

 

[rblyn]

Picked up the amp today and I have been playing it for the last couple of hours. This amp sounds really good. I am really surprised how much the EL84's add to the tone of my modules. They all sound very different, but also very good. The EL84's drag the modules into a different territory that I really like. You get the classic sounds of the mod but with the aggressive tone of the EL84's on top. Power tube distortion definitely comes into play, in a very nice way. Probably not the amp to choose if you want pristine clean at louder volumes. I think this is gonna work really well for the traditional blues tones that I am after. The extra bite with be put to use.

I still need to figure out how to set the module volume and gain, and the boost gain and level knobs. It is gonna be fun.

Cool- Glad you're digging the RM20.....You're right- The modules are going to change when you push the volume but it is in a good way.

 

[Big Steve]

I have several sets of EL84 tubes, so I did some tube swapping this morning. The amp came with stock Ruby Tubes, EL84's. I have some vintage Admiral, GE and Mullards , along with current EH and JJ's. The vintage tubes just added too much EL84 tube sound to the amp. My modules all had similar tones with them and cleans were almost all gone. If you are a rock player only looking for overdriven tones, you might like vintage tubes but they were way too much for me. Although, my SG Vox module got a really cool Brian May sound with the Mullards in it. If I ever do a Queen tribute, that is the setup for sure!

After swapping around, I think the JJ's sounded the best all around in the amp. They add a little more bass and fuller tone when compared to the Ruby Tubes. They also maintain more of the tones of the modules.

 

[Rod]

I use the JJ's as well...really good tubes for the RM20

 

[Big Steve]

I use the JJ's as well...really good tubes for the RM20

What are you using for the other preamp tube slots? I am looking to tame this thing a little.

 

[jimw427]

I was lucking enough to pick one up used at guitar center this week, the standard black model with the stock plexi, in pretty good shape. Got it at, what I thought was a gret price. Just arrived yesterday, have not had a chance to run it through its paces yet. Seems like a very cool little combo. Jim

 

[Big Steve]

I posted this on another thread but I also think it is appropriate to be posted here as well.

Had a gig tonight and ran the RM20 with the JF Vybe Deluxe module. I switched the input tube to a 12at7 and the phase inverter to a 5751. The tube change made the module sound so much better, much more true to the nature of the module. The extra gain of the stock 12ax7's along with the EL84 were just providing too much grind for me. But with the lower gain tubes, cleans were able to be achieved at higher gig volumes. The EL84's still added their characteristic tone to the mix, but they didn't overwhelm it. Much closer to the tones coming from my RM50 now.

I think this will allow me to use the amp as I had intended. It took a little work to get it to sound the way I wanted, but I think I am there now. I will stick with the amp. I am also thinking about putting a less aggressive speaker in the amp. That will be my next experiment. I have several speaker here to chose from. I have an EV and a JBL that might be good, I also have some older Jensens and an couple of Webers. I will report back if I find something that works particularly well.

Again, I am searching for low gain blues tones. I am trying to tame the amp down. I suspect if I was after high gain tones, the amp would be great in its stock form.

 

[wesarvin]

That sounds about right. Glad you're keeping her!

In my opinion, the rm20 actually doesn't lend itself to high gain very well. The el84s don't have enough headroom and fart out too quickly in a band setting without micing the cab. The same is true for pristine clean tones. Not enough headroom.

Personally, I prefer to have a little squish and breakup, because I don't like pristine cleans or heavy chugs. The bark and breakup of the smaller head actually work quite well with low to mid gain modules. My Eggie single channel Twin module has an amazing amount of low end pillow, and with a low gain crunch in front, gives a great blues tone. With the master at 2 o clock, it pushes the power section right on the verge of breakup.

I once had some drinks with one of SRV's guitar techs (my friend's first cousin, he now techs for Jimmy Buffett), and talked about music, rigs, and life. He said the rig didn't matter so much, but a Twin or two cranked and angled up were the core of Stevie's rig.

 

[Big Steve]

Well I got into some speaker swapping today. Again, looking for low gain blues tones. I tried a 60' small magnet Jensen, a Weber Ceramic Blue Dog, Canadian RCA Alnico from the 70's, an EV and Weber 12F50 (bigger magnet Jensen clone.) It was fun and most of them sounded very good in the amp.

The small magnet Jensen sounded great a low volume but crapped out when cranked. But for home use, it would be perfect.

The Alnico just gave up the goods too early and the cleans weren't great and it has an aluminum dust cap so it had added brightness that the amp doesn't need.

The EV12L sounded really good. It really cleaned things up. If it wasn't so heavy, it would still be in the amp.

The Weber Blue Dog had very good bright clean and great British over driven tones. This amp sounds much better than the stock Celestion Greenback and is a similar speaker. For rock, this would be my choice.

The Weber 12F150 had really good clean and great blues breakup tone. It has extra low end and it really matches up nicely with the brighter RM20. The bigger magnet in this holds the tones together much better than the little Jensen.

For now, I am keeping the Weber 12F150 in the amp. I will see how it goes when I get it on stage. I have a couple gigs in the next 5 days so I will know shortly how it cuts with the band. I will report back when I learn more.

 

[Deisel401]

I've spent several months just changing and swapping tubes and here's what works for me to achieve low, mid, and high gain tones. But, remember, my tones include my pedals, so . . . . Anyway, Module is ; V1 - G.T. 12AT7 V2 - Mullard 12AX7. The amp is; JJ EL84's (of course,lol) P.I. - JJ ECC81(12AT7). Input Gain - JJ ECC81(12AT7) and the center Preamp tube is a Mullard 12AX7. I use a few pedals for effect and boost. Nova Repeater in loop. MXR Z.W. Chorus > BBE Sonic Stomp > Xotic EP Boost in that order. I get everything I want out of this amp. And I have a "Blackface Module for cleans when needed. I have an old 1x12 closed speaker cab that's loaded with a Celestion V30, Stock Gibson Les Paul with 500T and 496R pups, LTD Deluxe with S.D. JB and SH1n pups. I'm finally really close to being happy with my tone. Just thought I'd share . . . . Have a great day all.

 

[Rod]

Thanks for the preamp tube info....ill have 2 try the 5751 12at7 combo....Rob (jaded faith) mentioned in another thread that the preamp tube voltages were much lower in the RM20 compared to the RM50'S. My rm20 is really squishy and really pretty dirty sounding......much more so than my VHT el84 combo..
changing the speaker to A WGS British Lead helped a lot..its also more efficient than the Greenback hence making it now a louder amp as well...
Can't wait to try the cleaner preamp tubes!