Killer Deals on New MTS Amps!!!

[Kapo_Polenton]

Scored another great deal on a RM100 2x12... 500.00 shipped-My second one at that price. I e-mailed FunkyMunky and asked if they could make me a similar deal and they responded in the affirmitive. Saved around 80.00 bucks. If you're still shopping around, shoot these guys an e-mail...
I have purchased 2 combos and a 4x12 stacked with vintage 30s for a total of 1400.00. That's pretty sweet.

That is a killer deal.. Shipping to canada would have been around 120$ from funky for me and then UPS would have charged me another 150$ no doubt..so wasn't so sure i wanted to pay 800$ for an unloaded combo..

As for my Mazda, yeah it is under factory warranty and it is 4 years old but these turbos have a known problem so i have to be on them. So far they have me doing a lame oil consumption test..then i can go back and say "look it is burning" No leaks nothing.. burning internally so yep, prob a crap factory turbo. Anyway back to the thread at hand........

 

[ibenhad]

My mazdaspeed burns oil...

Is it newish? Have you had anything checked on it yet? If it's under warranty, it should be covered, but this also shouldn't happen. Have you checked around the engine for buildup where oil may be leaking from a seal, or under the engine or drips on your driveway to see if it's leaking externally? Otherwise, if it's losing it internally, that's usually worse but also possible to get an idea of why with a few tests/checks.

The very least they could do is make their schematics publicly accessible so people can bring them in to techs.

Totally agree! This would have alleviated 90% of the complaints about reliability, as the common problems could be readily solved in the field and the lower-quality components could be easily replaced with better ones to further ruggedize the design.

I think 90% of the complaints out there about reliability are because of all of ibenhad's posts in this thread.

Although, he does state

I do have one that is (knock on wood) so far 100% reliable (red viper snakeskin) my other 2 have not really been put through their paces again since I went through them and checked pretty much everything.

so it seems he has 3 Randall at home that haven't broken down on him yet.

Bold prediction there too, that this line will be dead and buried within 5 years. Especially given this thread is about the deals being found since Randall are stopping the line :lol: :lol:

wow, this thread has really provided some food for thought. Some folks talking about getting out of MTS gear now that Randall aren't making it anymore. Maybe I should look to sell myself. Don't want to own a piece of gear that isn't being made anymore. Might have to sell my old Jacksons & Charvels too - none of them are models currently made by J/C. Actually, none of my guitars are. Might have to go buy a Schecter or an LTD and hope they don't stop making that model. Or a Strat or LP - they're the only "real" guitars anyway. Don't need these soulless flash in the pan 80s Charvels....

Of course, if any of this stuff breaks, it's all out of warranty anyway so I won't be going back to the OEM. There's always a local tech to take care of that.

Are you seriously that guitarded? Old guitars and amps are not even in the same ballpark. I swear sometimes the mentality of the Internet boggles my mind. What is there to go wrong on a guitar? Frets? Replace! Pickups? Replace! Strings? Replace! Pot's? Replace! see my point. Now lets take the RM100 shall we? Power tube board goes? Replace! NOT IT ISN"T MADE ANYMORE. Midi Board goes? Replace AGAIN NOT.... Your local tech wont be able to repair/replace parts that don't exist. I deal with EOL/EOS everyday in my industry and once a product goes EOL/EOS the manufacture has a few years that they usually have to keep parts and such on the market then it's dead. You guys seriously have my intentions wrong and are not reading what I am saying correctly. I liked my MTS stuff and think it is the coolest idea since sliced bread. My issue is with gigging reliably. If you feel the stuff is gig worthy so be it. I wouldn't want to be in the middle of my set and have a heater fuse go, or some arching inside my amp causing complete power tube failure. Maybe you guys should do the research I am far from the first person to have failure issues with Randall/Egnater stuff. Take the Randall Fanboy love goggles off and smell reality. I did and that's why I'm pissed.

 

[JD]

Why not just sell your MTS for what you have in to it and move on?

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

I sense he is pi$$ed because the idea was a good one, but some design oversights and now the lack of support for the product, will mean that if it goes down, you are essentially on your own. The nice thing about older Marshalls and Fenders is that the circuit is well known and PCB or PTP boards are easier to come by. In the case of MTS. we can't know for sure whether or not these arcing problems and other problems were fixed in revision or later models. So for a gigging musician who is moving his gear around all the time, reliability and fear of failure issues is increased vs. the home player.

 

[ibenhad]

Why not just sell your MTS for what you have in to it and move on?

Great idea but as seanh303 has pointed out so graciously with Randall dumping the line my pile of **** is worth ****.... As for me being the only one posting issues with these a simple search finds a few I will post :

shred-o-holic ( harmony central)

It appears my last RM 100 (I had two) is now sold so I shall bid the MTS crowd adeu (spelling?). I have to say they MTS amps are incredible sounding but wow did I have ALOT of technical mishaps.....which is the reason I ultimately sold them both. In the year I owned the two RM 100's I played four gigs ( one show I had to borrow another amp as they were both down at the same time). Three of those gigs I had problems. One gig the blackface module started popping and had to be sent for repair. Another gig the amp started howling....again sent off for repair. The third time the presence and master volume to my Egnater module literally came loose and fell off and also the module momentarily popped out of it's seating causing me to freak out as I had no sound for a brief peroid. Not to mention the two fuses that blew, the standby switch that broke (thanks to RD man for hooking me up with a new one)....add to this that two experienced local techs had trouble diagnosing and repairing the amps at all. Ultimately everything went to Bruce Egnater himself for repair (I must say the man is simply the coolest person to deal with). Alas that's just waay too many issues in less than a years time for me to justify keeping an amp(s). Hope you guys have better luck but unfortunately I jumped ship and went to Mesa. Incredible sounding amps but just too quirky in the end....

I should also clue you guys in on something Bruce told me. He said to make sure that your modules are well-seated and those thumbscrews are very tight. Alot of the microphonic nature that can plague these amps is due to looseness. One of my RM's had a little bit more going on with that issue. I guess the chasis wasn't completely square and the power supply had loose connections which caused alot of the squealing issue.

It just got really old going into gigs with a "what is going to happen now" in the back of my mind. I forgot to mention that one of my SL++ modules also needed reparing as well. I know what you may be thinking...."he's rough on his gear". Not the case at all.....I pretty much baby my gear. All these issues occurred with very little jostling of these heads. Oh yeah and the guy I just sold my Metal Grill RM 100 on ebay emailed me saying he was having output issues with the Ultra Lead module. Crazy....I am not making this up.

Besides the issues I had I got into discussion regarding the layout, design of these amps with the two techs and a couple of fellow musicians that had used the Duncan Convertible amps. Not saying the Randalls are the same thing as those amps but alot of the same problems occurred with these guys too with Duncans. I guess those amps had alot of problems with the Molex connectors wearing out. These amps also use Molex connecters as well. All these things contributed to me bailing out. I hope I am an isolated "cursed" case and that you guys have many solid years of success with your MTS amps......


Kc2eeb ( Mtsforum grailtone)
http://mtsforum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?t=12785&highlight=lots+pictures+rm50+repair

Bewitagos1 ( Mtsforum grailtone)
http://mtsforum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?t=8323

Ricey ( Mtsforum grailtone)
http://mtsforum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?t=12120

Boned ( Mtsforum grailtone)
http://mtsforum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?t=9784

reilly ( Mtsforum grailtone)
http://mtsforum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?t=9474

Sid ( Mtsforum grailtone)
http://mtsforum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?t=8973

KillTone ( Mtsforum grailtone)
http://mtsforum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?t=8327


But I guess I am the only one having issues with this stuff. Now that I did more in depth research I found several posts about RM4 issues too so maybe the whole wonderful modular deal is a bad dream. Top of the day to everyone.

 

[JD]

I love my Randall MTS and have been trouble free for 2 years except for one blown fuse from a bad tube. I read this forum before I bought my first RM100 and was aware of any issues. I'm glad I took the chance because it has given me more tone choices than any other amp I have ever owned or played....and I spend a lot of time in music stores kicking tires. Sure I hope somebody picks up the pieces and continues the MTS concept but if they don't there are enough used amps out there for me to keep going for a long time. Being able to bias my own amp has already saved me money from having to take it to a repair shop for any kind of work. I figure by the time I'm done (if ever) with these amps they will have paid for themselves many times over.

 

[ak37]

Jeeze, can I get a side of cheeze with this whine? Has anyone owned a DSL or a TSL? Please guys take it down a notch. If you have been had you have probably came to the wrong place to complain and not get people firing back. Refer to the forum title. :roll: Its all good... Peace Love & Loud guitars!

\m/

 

[SteelDragon]

I for one, am happy I have a nice budding MTS collection. I will still buy some boutique amps in the future, but will maintain my MTS stuff too.

 

[eyeball987]

I am happy. I have had 2 RM50 combo's and 2 RM100 heads. No issues with any of them.

I did have two issues modules though. Bought a used module that someone tried to self mod and they burned a trace on the board. Gigmods fixed it and all was well. I also had a Scorch that didn't want to seat correctly for some reason. Worked in everyone elses amp that had it though.

 

[m0jo]

Are you seriously that guitarded? Old guitars and amps are not even in the same ballpark. I swear sometimes the mentality of the Internet boggles my mind. What is there to go wrong on a guitar? Frets? Replace! Pickups? Replace! Strings? Replace! Pot's? Replace! see my point. Now lets take the RM100 shall we? Power tube board goes? Replace! NOT IT ISN"T MADE ANYMORE. Midi Board goes? Replace AGAIN NOT.... Your local tech wont be able to repair/replace parts that don't exist.

Really???

I've recently fixed a broken midi board by replacing a $0.70 chip .. standard part, easy to order. As is EVERYTHING in these amps. The boards .. ok, but they aren't going to suddenly explode, the parts on them will (just like your guitars body won't suddenly break .. the small parts will). All of the parts in these amps are replaceable off the shelf except PCBs and transformers (which MM can probably replace custom).

If you are at least a little bit technical you can fix most of this yourself, and otherwise have it done by a pro who is.

Plenty, and I mean plenty of Marshalls go wrong. When the shop I worked in at the time started selling JVM's they came back broken ... every single one ..

Oh and by the way, perhaps your Bogners etc. bring in customers to your studio, that's fine but doesn't say anything about Randalls except for their image. And if you have any kind of life experience you should know that image should be taken with a LOT of salt.
I don't know if you run modded modules, but my RM4+RT2/50 with Salvations blows anything out of the water that has gone up to it.. easily.

This isn't an attack on your person btw, just a counterpoint in the discussion.

 

[KillTone]

Since my old post on the problem with my RM 100 was cited, I feel the need to clear the air on the problem I had.

After months of fighting with it, I found out that the speaker I was using was in the process of blowing a voice coil. It caused an intermittant total loss of sound. For some reason it would not work with my RM100 at all but it would work for short periods with other amps (just long enough to make the think it was "fine" when I tested to make sure the speaker was not the problem). IT was not until it totally failed that I realized the speaker was the problem.

Since then, I have gigged with my RM100 exclusively (about 100 shows). No problems at all and the tones are phenomenal. Still using it and plan to keep using it for a good long time.

 

[iekobrid]

Are you contemplating getting [an RM 100KH] still?

I am. The purple power lamp, it calls to me.

Okay, that's sorted. For such a short month, February is turning out to be pretty expensive.

 

[seanh303]

Ended up with a new Kirk Hammet? They've been moving like crazy it seems! Although, there was one in an auction that started at $800 and ended with 0 bids. It was relisted and ending today I think? If not already. Yeah, one of the shortest and spendiest months of the year I'm thinking!

 

[iekobrid]

Ended up with a new Kirk Hammet? They've been moving like crazy it seems!

Yep! When fully loaded 100KH's are going for less than an empty 100M, it's a no brainer.

Although, there was one in an auction that started at $800 and ended with 0 bids. It was relisted and ending today I think? If not already. Yeah, one of the shortest and spendiest months of the year I'm thinking!

I've seen one with an opening of $800 and a BIN pirce of $1200 come and go a few times. Marked as new but doesn't appear to be a 'real' store, just a listing posted from a mobile phone with a stock photo, so I went elsewhere.

 

[ncsouthpaw]

I got my KH head like 2 months ago for $850 shipped. I think it's a solid price. If I had a bit more cash to spend I'd probably grab a 2nd one for donor modules and to have a backup. Or even better get one of the Scott Ian heads.

EDIT: I should mention my head didn't have the footswitch. I picked one up for ~$75.

 

[Jaymzrock]

Holly effin GAS February!!! Soooooooo add a RM50 Palamino to my signature. I haven't even received my RM100 yet (14th) and I decided to get the 50 as a backup. These prices are so ridiculous! My wife is kinda pissed off at me right now but you NEVER gig without a backup, right?! I have read a lot about the reliability issues and the dying breed stuff but I still believe I found the right amp! I mean seriously, I couldn't talk myself out of it being a good idea to get one while I still could. I even thought "Spend that money on modded preamps. Well, you know the age-old tale about the guit-fiddler who went to a show without a backup amp...just do it. Doooooo iiiiiiiiiit." Did it.

 

[JeffHenneman]

I tried to resist, but you cant go wrong with a rm100kh for $950.00. I know some of you got them a little cheaper but I still think this s a great price.
Now, what should I get these modded to?

 

[JayDA]

I tried to resist, but you cant go wrong with a rm100kh for $950.00. I know some of you got them a little cheaper but I still think this s a great price.
Now, what should I get these modded to?

Jaded Faith XMG or Mark X .....especially if you're a Metallica fan.

 

[JeffHenneman]

I tried to resist, but you cant go wrong with a rm100kh for $950.00. I know some of you got them a little cheaper but I still think this s a great price.
Now, what should I get these modded to?

Jaded Faith XMG or Mark X .....especially if you're a Metallica fan.

Those were the 2 I was thinking about. Like some metallica but was thinkin more along the lines of lamb of god for the mark X

 

[m0jo]

Jeez, could you guys relax? I'd like a piece of the action but do't have $950 kicking around in my back pocket
I hope there's still something to get by next month ...