Stupid Randall RM100 question!

Hi all,

Am kinda new to the world of proper amps! I found a good deal on RM100 head fully loaded BUT...

I don't have a cab at home. Can I play it through my Fender Pro Reverb 50W Valve amp and turn it to a cab?! Some of you might laugh at this I know but it's just a temp measure till I can afford something better.

Another question is that, I dont have space for a 4x12 cab, can I get a Marshall 1936 2x12 150W cab and hook them up?

Cheers

You can't play it through the amp but you could probably use the speaker. However I would assume the speaker is rated around the same as the amp which is only 50 watts, and the RM100 is 100 watts, so I wouldn't just for the sake of not blowing your amp.

I wouldn't however. Any 2x12 or even 1x12 cab that is 100 watts+ should be fine to use with it though.

I'd look into an Avatar Vintage series if I were you.

If you're handy with a multimeter, you could always try pulling the inner or outer two power tubes, re bias the remaining ones, and therefore have it running at 50 watts to match the speaker's wattage. But I'd just recommend you get a 2x12 cab soon.

Avatar is great if you want an idealized Marshall sound but with more of EVERYTHING, for a LOT less than what Marshall will charge you.

Thanks for replies guys. Much appreciated.

I should have mentioned that I have Pre Amp In and Pre Amp Out on my Fender amp but fender manual says it's for hooking up another fender Pro reverb combo and use this (or the other one) as a ext cab. But I guess I better get a cab. I'm afraid I am in UK and by looking on the net I cannot find Avatar amps to buy.

Also the Randall RM comes with SL, Ultra and Modern Modules. are they any good and how can i get a clean sound out of them (which one) or is it just the case of turning the gain to "0". I usually use my Boss GT8 and it's easy with super clean channel of Fender.

Finally do you think RM100 is better than T2! Found a great deal in a T2 head as well that comes with cab.

Those are all high gain modules, none of them will get clean for you really, haha. Maybe look for a deluxe, clean, blackface, or KH-1 for your clean tones.

Personally SL+ and Modern are two of my favorite mods so I think thats a great place to start.

And since you're in the UK a marshall cab probably is the way to go, or maybe a laney.

Marshall cabs will be cheap over in the UK compared to here in the US. The 1936 would be the way to go. Or an Orange 212 cab.

If you don't have the speaker rating in the cab to match your amp, a pair of Celestion G12H-65s (first choice) or Vintage 30s (second choice) should solve the power handling problem.

Maidenhere said:

Thanks for replies guys. Much appreciated.

I should have mentioned that I have Pre Amp In and Pre Amp Out on my Fender amp but fender manual says it's for hooking up another fender Pro reverb combo and use this (or the other one) as a ext cab. But I guess I better get a cab. I'm afraid I am in UK and by looking on the net I cannot find Avatar amps to buy.

Also the Randall RM comes with SL, Ultra and Modern Modules. are they any good and how can i get a clean sound out of them (which one) or is it just the case of turning the gain to "0". I usually use my Boss GT8 and it's easy with super clean channel of Fender.

Finally do you think RM100 is better than T2! Found a great deal in a T2 head as well that comes with cab.

Click to expand...

The RM100 is far more versatile and probably sounds a lot better than the T2, considering the RM100 is all tube, and the T2 has a 300 or 400 watt solid state power section. There is no substitute for tubes

Also, I envy you for being able to get three great high gain modules with yours Still not all the ones I want though xD I have the SL+, and the cleanest you can get with the gain at 1 (turning it to 0 actually cuts the volume out completely) is rolling down your guitar's volume to get a nice crunch sound. You may wanna try out all those high gain modules, find two you like, then trade the other for a Blackface or Super V (depending on if you like American cleans or British cleans better).

****! I was going through the forum and came across this. Was thinking, wow.. this dude got the same system as mine, before realising it was my own post many months ago!

So I thought I give you an update. I am loving my Randall RM100. I sold my Ultra module and got a Blackface also got a KH-3 Module last week. I use my head with Marshall 2x12 1939 and it sound just great for my kinda stuff.

Just some stuff I thought to share with you all. We recently went to studio and I used my RM100 head for the whole album. The engineer guy had an expensive H&K 2x12 cab. it went up on smoke on the second day since head was well crancked up! it sounded too bassy on that cab to the point that we would set the bass to 9 oclock or so. So I got back home and grabbed my own Marshall cab. Sounded way better.

Another interesting thing was that Modern module was cutting it better in studio, whereas SL+ is my main live module.

The studio guy was very impressed with amp and he's been doing this for years. I took my Fender Pro Reverb for recording cleans on that but we ended up using Blackface. sounded way better for recording. I now sold my Fender amp!

My modules are:

Blackface, SL+, Modern, KH-3. I replaced all the dials with chickenhead knobs. I use Line6 M13 using 4CM for my live set.

Keep an eye on my band, album would be out soon.

www.koruband.com

Thanks for all the replies.

What amp would you compare the Modern module to? Its one of the few modules I've never tried.

They are discontinued as you know but they must have changed the name and done few mods to it. Hard to say but sounds a bit like a Mesa rect' on hangover! It wasn't my fave when it came with the head but really grew on me. The ULTRA had to go. Modern is not as loud as SL+. for eg if SL master is set to 12, Modern should be around 2 oclock to catch up (both silver face). But live and even in studio cuts through really nicely.

Check this vid and decide how it sounds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcmL1wkEWAI

Tell you what though.. Am not sure about my KH-3 sounds weird specially when I switch from SL to KH3 for solos. I yet have to test it live. So much feedback and I have noisegate! Any settings or tricks you guys know for KH3?

Excessive feedback like that on a KH3 is not normal at all...assuming there are no other microphonic culprits (Pickups? cables? pedals?) in the signal chain and it's the only module you have this problem with...then change the tubes.

The KH3 has a very different voicing....it's pretty cool in that regard.

I got a Gibson SG that has a microphonic pickup. Yeah, it's the cover. Can't remove it because the pickup was wax potted after they put the covers on. So I just deal and get good at palm muting and my volume pedal.

I'm not big on the Mesa DR sound. Too much ice pick for me. I prefer the Marshall tones. The KH3 is more scooped in the mids and has the mids dial set to control around 500 Hz like the Mesas. The SL+ is set like Marshalls to control 650 Hz. That's why the KH3 sounds weird.

You're in the UK. You're used to Marshall type sounds. I think Orange, Laney, and Vox also use the same EQ control ranges. It's kind of the British sound.

Check the preamp tubes in the KH3. If they're Chinese, you might want to try JJs or Harmas from Watford.

Great stuff Julia. My main live guitars are ESPs with active pickups. I actually never had a tube Marshall although played them and also had a shitty valvestate years ago. I just go by ears and don't care how fancy most things are. I might get some hatemail for saying this but I think Mesa, ENGL and Dizel kinda amps are so overrated and well overpriced.

Anyway will check the tubes on my KH3 module and will decide what to do next.

Julia
Re: Wax potted pickup.
If you know for sure the pick up is wax potted, not epoxy potted,
when you heat the solder to either remove to cap or squeeze the cap down tighter, the wax will melt before the solder softens, so you should be good to go.
You can even re-pot it. Just melt some wax in a small pot on a hot plate
let the pick-up soak in it.

Maidenhere said:

ENGL

Click to expand...

The Balls and the Invader are, but I love me some ENGL Savage tones

kc2eeb said:

Julia
Re: Wax potted pickup.
If you know for sure the pick up is wax potted, not epoxy potted,
when you heat the solder to either remove to cap or squeeze the cap down tighter, the wax will melt before the solder softens, so you should be good to go.
You can even re-pot it. Just melt some wax in a small pot on a hot plate
let the pick-up soak in it.

Click to expand...

Yep. Positive. It's a Gibson 498T.

O.K. If you want to try it, It's easiest to do with the strings off the guitar.
You need a 35-40 watt iron. Remove the pick-up from the guitar ( I usually mask off the the guitar with LOW-stick masking tape and thin cardboard) Remove the mounting ring, you don't want to melt it.
Put it cover side down on a cotton cloth. Push on the back of the pickup
with a wooden dowel, melt the solder with the iron, one side at a time, and hold the pressure on the back until the solder solidifies. Repeat for the other side. Add solder if needed.
PM me if any questions.
Pat

A tech did that exact procedure with it. It not workie on this one. I have screaming pickup when I use high gain.

Solution: replace . not sure w/ what. i like the tone of teh 498t

Not happening yet. $$

Try this.
Procure a chopstick. Plug the guitar in and make it squeal. Then touch
various parts of the pickup(s), hardware on the guitar, etc. and try to isolate the exact spot that's resonating. You could also try some foam rubber in the pickup cavity. It may dampen the squeal.

P.S. You could also pop the cover, put a thin piece of foam, or, melt some wax, between the coils and cover and resolder.