Randall RT100h

Synergy/MTS Forum

Help Support Synergy/MTS Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Nov 8, 2011
Messages
24
Reaction score
0
Hi, I'm totally new to the "major league" gear, and I'm looking into Randall heads/cabs.

I play a lot of Metal, and I'm looking for a tube-powered head at a reasonable price ($800-$1200) and provides a lot of gain and good overtones. Is the RT100h pretty good for playing stuff in a style like Pantera, or other stuff with a lot of crunch and overtones to it?

I know there are a lot of videos of the RT100 on YouTube, but I haven't come across any that don't really suck. The only half-decent one was by this guy called Tone King, but he really doesn't "get into" playing a whole lot of Metal in his reviews.

Anyway, I'd just like to hear some opinions or honest reviews on how this head is. I'm not so concerned with the clean channel, but one with a passable tone would be welcome.

Thanks!
 
I am assuming you have seen the "Monsters of High Gain" version of this head?

Aside from that, too many people do not know HOW to do an amp review, they want to stand in front of the amp, block the tone, and show off their soso playing.

If you get one, do a proper review and stay out of the way.
I might like an RT50C, but nobody's review has convinced me to try one.
 
ctgblue said:
I am assuming you have seen the "Monsters of High Gain" version of this head?

Aside from that, too many people do not know HOW to do an amp review, they want to stand in front of the amp, block the tone, and show off their soso playing.

If you get one, do a proper review and stay out of the way.
I might like an RT50C, but nobody's review has convinced me to try one.

I've seen the "Monsters of High Gain" video, and it just sucked. It didn't help that the guitarists weren't really what I would call uh..."talented." There was another guy that did one and it sounded fairly decent.

I dunno if Randall's dealer network just sucks, or there's a shortage in supply of RT100s, but nobody within a 3-state radius of me had one.
 
Daze of October said:
I've seen the "Monsters of High Gain" video, and it just sucked. It didn't help that the guitarists weren't really what I would call uh..."talented." There was another guy that did one and it sounded fairly decent.

I dunno if Randall's dealer network just sucks, or there's a shortage in supply of RT100s, but nobody within a 3-state radius of me had one.

Actually, both of those guys are really good, but on most of the amps they were just "going through the motions", especially if they didn't care for them.
Like Ty was shredding on the Powerball, but nothing else, etc..

Randall's popularity seems to be down, so even guitar center, a 'major randall retailer" has no randalls in stock
 
ctgblue said:
Daze of October said:
I've seen the "Monsters of High Gain" video, and it just sucked. It didn't help that the guitarists weren't really what I would call uh..."talented." There was another guy that did one and it sounded fairly decent.

I dunno if Randall's dealer network just sucks, or there's a shortage in supply of RT100s, but nobody within a 3-state radius of me had one.

Actually, both of those guys are really good, but on most of the amps they were just "going through the motions", especially if they didn't care for them.
Like Ty was shredding on the Powerball, but nothing else, etc..

Randall's popularity seems to be down, so even guitar center, a 'major randall retailer" has no randalls in stock

Any particular reason Randall's popularity seems to be down, or is it a matter of Marshalls and Mesas being the trendy things to go with these days? My biggest fear is winding up with something that's not a real good product, especially since it's gonna cost a lot of money...
 
Daze of October said:
Any particular reason Randall's popularity seems to be down, or is it a matter of Marshalls and Mesas being the trendy things to go with these days? My biggest fear is winding up with something that's not a real good product, especially since it's gonna cost a lot of money...

I don't know, they were hot when Dime was alive, but nobody "big" seems to play them and there are too many "tube only" snobs out there. One of my best amps was my Fender Metalhead 400 watt SS head.

Randall is SO KNOWN as an SS amp company, I don't think the masses know they have a great line of stuff.

I mean their RG-G3 stuff is fantastic if you play heavy stuff and they are trying to branch out with the Diavlo stuff too...
If they had run the G3 stuff with seperate EQ sections, I swear everyone would be playing them.
 
ctgblue said:
Daze of October said:
Any particular reason Randall's popularity seems to be down, or is it a matter of Marshalls and Mesas being the trendy things to go with these days? My biggest fear is winding up with something that's not a real good product, especially since it's gonna cost a lot of money...

I don't know, they were hot when Dime was alive, but nobody "big" seems to play them and there are too many "tube only" snobs out there. One of my best amps was my Fender Metalhead 400 watt SS head.

Randall is SO KNOWN as an SS amp company, I don't think the masses know they have a great line of stuff.

I mean their RG-G3 stuff is fantastic if you play heavy stuff and they are trying to branch out with the Diavlo stuff too...
If they had run the G3 stuff with seperate EQ sections, I swear everyone would be playing them.

Yeah, from what I hear, Randall's SS amps were the best in the biz. Given that tube amps seem to be the trendy thing right now, that may be why they aren't as popular. I'm hoping their tube amps are just as good, because that's what the RT100h is.
 
Daze of October said:
Yeah, from what I hear, Randall's SS amps were the best in the biz. Given that tube amps seem to be the trendy thing right now, that may be why they aren't as popular. I'm hoping their tube amps are just as good, because that's what the RT100h is.

Trust me, I was after an RT503H for a while
 
ctgblue said:
Daze of October said:
Yeah, from what I hear, Randall's SS amps were the best in the biz. Given that tube amps seem to be the trendy thing right now, that may be why they aren't as popular. I'm hoping their tube amps are just as good, because that's what the RT100h is.

Trust me, I was after an RT503H for a while

The 503 sounded pretty good. I'm assuming that's the 50w version of the RT100h, correct?
 
ctgblue said:
yes, the ebay pricing occassionaly hits $599 on one, which is my price range, and I don't NEED 100 watts.

I don't think anyone "needs" 100w, per se, but it'd be nice to have if it ever came around to gigging.

Right now I have a dying Crate G.212 combo amp, which is probably no younger than about 25 years old, and it's 60w. I guess I figure that if I'm going to spend a significant amount of money, I may as well get something with more power. I just can't justify buying something with less for what it would cost for a half-stack.
 
Daze of October said:
ctgblue said:
yes, the ebay pricing occassionaly hits $599 on one, which is my price range, and I don't NEED 100 watts.

I don't think anyone "needs" 100w, per se, but it'd be nice to have if it ever came around to gigging.

Right now I have a dying Crate G.212 combo amp, which is probably no younger than about 25 years old, and it's 60w. I guess I figure that if I'm going to spend a significant amount of money, I may as well get something with more power. I just can't justify buying something with less for what it would cost for a half-stack.

The Crate solid state has about the output of a 15 watt tube combo
The 50 watt tube head will outperform most SS heads up to about 150watts

I gigged with a 60 watt peavey ultra tube 4x10 combo and did "stage volume" shows in open fields and never got to 5 on the master

I am sure I may wind up with the attenuator on the RM100C to be able to get the tubes to perform at low volumes

I had a 30 watt Gibson Goldtone combo, I cranked it one time to get power tube breakup and my neighbors, on the side the amp was facing away from and on the opposite end of the house, came out in their yard to find out what was going on. All windows were closed and they had the TV and surround sound on...

It's your choice, but 50 watts of tube power is FREAKIN LOUD...
If the RM50 had 3 channels, I'd have never bought the RM100
 
ctgblue said:
Daze of October said:
ctgblue said:
yes, the ebay pricing occassionaly hits $599 on one, which is my price range, and I don't NEED 100 watts.

I don't think anyone "needs" 100w, per se, but it'd be nice to have if it ever came around to gigging.

Right now I have a dying Crate G.212 combo amp, which is probably no younger than about 25 years old, and it's 60w. I guess I figure that if I'm going to spend a significant amount of money, I may as well get something with more power. I just can't justify buying something with less for what it would cost for a half-stack.

The Crate solid state has about the output of a 15 watt tube combo
The 50 watt tube head will outperform most SS heads up to about 150watts

I gigged with a 60 watt peavey ultra tube 4x10 combo and did "stage volume" shows in open fields and never got to 5 on the master

I am sure I may wind up with the attenuator on the RM100C to be able to get the tubes to perform at low volumes

I had a 30 watt Gibson Goldtone combo, I cranked it one time to get power tube breakup and my neighbors, on the side the amp was facing away from and on the opposite end of the house, came out in their yard to find out what was going on. All windows were closed and they had the TV and surround sound on...

It's your choice, but 50 watts of tube power is FREAKIN LOUD...
If the RM50 had 3 channels, I'd have never bought the RM100

Well, just pulled the trigger on an RT100h. It was about $100 more than the 50w. I figured I'd just go overkill, because any other time I decide I want to save some cash, I wind up getting something, and then realize I bought the wrong tool for the job. Knowing my luck, I would have purchased the 50w, and then a year from now I'd find myself playing out and wishing I'd gotten the 100w instead.

Now, it's just a matter of getting a cab. I have my heart set on a cab from Avatar, and I think I'm gonna get the one with the Celestion Greenbacks in it...
 
fwiw: tube amps sound different from SS amps..its not just fashion.
And both have their place. I find that if you like a meaty tone..big..then tubes are the way to go. You can get a fairly big ss sound...but you have to jump thru some hoops.
Its allgood.
GtrGeorge

Enjoy your tube randall..I really love mine.
 
you'll like it, for $100 difference, that's a no brainer, everytime I see them it's $250-$300
if you find yourself fighting low volume sound problems, look at these

https://taweber.powweb.com/weber/masslite.htm

I have one and it beats the others with the ability to tone down the volume, but still adjust frequencies, so it doesn't "suck tone"
 
ctgblue said:
you'll like it, for $100 difference, that's a no brainer, everytime I see them it's $250-$300
if you find yourself fighting low volume sound problems, look at these

https://taweber.powweb.com/weber/masslite.htm

I have one and it beats the others with the ability to tone down the volume, but still adjust frequencies, so it doesn't "suck tone"

Thanks for the info, but after reading the article I'm getting the impression these things put a real heavy strain on parts...
 
Daze of October said:
ctgblue said:
you'll like it, for $100 difference, that's a no brainer, everytime I see them it's $250-$300
if you find yourself fighting low volume sound problems, look at these

https://taweber.powweb.com/weber/masslite.htm

I have one and it beats the others with the ability to tone down the volume, but still adjust frequencies, so it doesn't "suck tone"

Thanks for the info, but after reading the article I'm getting the impression these things put a real heavy strain on parts...

Attenuators only do that if people are idiots and try to "dime the amp" and then turn it down. I never needed to go above 3 on the master to get the tubes saturated, but even that is WAY TOO LOUD for a 100 watt amp indoors.
You can run the amp at 3-4 all day long and not strain the tubes or components. these have a 'moving - "speaker motor" ' inside which gives more realistic resistance to the load. All the other attenuators I've used all use a heat sink and "suck tone". This one can be adjusted for very little difference in tone.
I ran amps for years with these things with no problems. You don't use them for a gig.

With the RT100, you may not even need one.
My Peavey 3120 doesn't need it because the front end is 'SO GAINY' that it still sounds satisfying at low volumes. The Carvin was close but had a touchy Master that was 'too low then way too loud' with a little trist, so this was perfect.
But EVERY Marshall I used needed it.
 
ctgblue said:
Daze of October said:
ctgblue said:
you'll like it, for $100 difference, that's a no brainer, everytime I see them it's $250-$300
if you find yourself fighting low volume sound problems, look at these

https://taweber.powweb.com/weber/masslite.htm

I have one and it beats the others with the ability to tone down the volume, but still adjust frequencies, so it doesn't "suck tone"

Thanks for the info, but after reading the article I'm getting the impression these things put a real heavy strain on parts...

Attenuators only do that if people are idiots and try to "dime the amp" and then turn it down. I never needed to go above 3 on the master to get the tubes saturated, but even that is WAY TOO LOUD for a 100 watt amp indoors.
You can run the amp at 3-4 all day long and not strain the tubes or components. these have a 'moving - "speaker motor" ' inside which gives more realistic resistance to the load. All the other attenuators I've used all use a heat sink and "suck tone". This one can be adjusted for very little difference in tone.
I ran amps for years with these things with no problems. You don't use them for a gig.

With the RT100, you may not even need one.
My Peavey 3120 doesn't need it because the front end is 'SO GAINY' that it still sounds satisfying at low volumes. The Carvin was close but had a touchy Master that was 'too low then way too loud' with a little trist, so this was perfect.
But EVERY Marshall I used needed it.

Yeah, the 100w heads can get pretty loud! I was in Guitar Center playing a Peavey 6505+ at about "1.5-2.0" and the entire place was "alive." :shock:

This is my first "real" amp, so I'm still real unfamiliar with the jargon. I have no clue what adjusting a bias is or how to do it, "saturation," "sucking tone," "diming the amp," etc.

I realize the RT100h is super-overkill for what I'll be doing with it 99.999% of the time, which is pretty much just rocking out in my own home or in a garage with a few buddies on a Sunday afternoon.

I'd have to say that the #1 reason I chose the RT100h was because of the overtones that can be gotten out of them; something I couldn't find in a Peavey 6505+, but DID find in abundance in a Peavey 6505. I came real close to pulling the trigger on a 6505, but I was just real turned off by the fact that it only had one EQ for both channels, and just seemed to be more of a one-trick-pony than anything else. The RT100h just seemed so much more versatile.

I can't wait to get this thing! I ordered it last night and it should be here within about a week, I'm guessing.
 
Daze of October said:
Yeah, the 100w heads can get pretty loud! I was in Guitar Center playing a Peavey 6505+ at about "1.5-2.0" and the entire place was "alive." :shock:

This is my first "real" amp, so I'm still real unfamiliar with the jargon. I have no clue what adjusting a bias is or how to do it, "saturation," "sucking tone," "diming the amp," etc.

I realize the RT100h is super-overkill for what I'll be doing with it 99.999% of the time, which is pretty much just rocking out in my own home or in a garage with a few buddies on a Sunday afternoon.

I'd have to say that the #1 reason I chose the RT100h was because of the overtones that can be gotten out of them; something I couldn't find in a Peavey 6505+, but DID find in abundance in a Peavey 6505. I came real close to pulling the trigger on a 6505, but I was just real turned off by the fact that it only had one EQ for both channels, and just seemed to be more of a one-trick-pony than anything else. The RT100h just seemed so much more versatile.

I can't wait to get this thing! I ordered it last night and it should be here within about a week, I'm guessing.

the 6505 IS a one trick pony, which is why I have a 3120.
3 channels, 2 of them with the same amount of gain, 3 sep EQ sections, and cost less

Dime = 10, cranking the amp master volume all the way then lowering volume with an attenuator. Kills power tubes and can wear out the entire system

Saturation, the sound you are after, high gain but smooth and runs together, not "grainy" sounding

Sucks tone, attenuators can drain the highs and mids from the preamp tones when lowering volume, leaving a 'muffled sound'
Better ones have adjustments to add the tones back in

my 3120 has so much gain I can run the master under "1" and it still sounds sick and nasty (good terms)
 
ctgblue said:
Daze of October said:
Yeah, the 100w heads can get pretty loud! I was in Guitar Center playing a Peavey 6505+ at about "1.5-2.0" and the entire place was "alive." :shock:

This is my first "real" amp, so I'm still real unfamiliar with the jargon. I have no clue what adjusting a bias is or how to do it, "saturation," "sucking tone," "diming the amp," etc.

I realize the RT100h is super-overkill for what I'll be doing with it 99.999% of the time, which is pretty much just rocking out in my own home or in a garage with a few buddies on a Sunday afternoon.

I'd have to say that the #1 reason I chose the RT100h was because of the overtones that can be gotten out of them; something I couldn't find in a Peavey 6505+, but DID find in abundance in a Peavey 6505. I came real close to pulling the trigger on a 6505, but I was just real turned off by the fact that it only had one EQ for both channels, and just seemed to be more of a one-trick-pony than anything else. The RT100h just seemed so much more versatile.

I can't wait to get this thing! I ordered it last night and it should be here within about a week, I'm guessing.

the 6505 IS a one trick pony, which is why I have a 3120.
3 channels, 2 of them with the same amount of gain, 3 sep EQ sections, and cost less

Dime = 10, cranking the amp master volume all the way then lowering volume with an attenuator. Kills power tubes and can wear out the entire system

Saturation, the sound you are after, high gain but smooth and runs together, not "grainy" sounding

Sucks tone, attenuators can drain the highs and mids from the preamp tones when lowering volume, leaving a 'muffled sound'
Better ones have adjustments to add the tones back in

my 3120 has so much gain I can run the master under "1" and it still sounds sick and nasty (good terms)

Thanks for clearing that up for me!

I can't wait to get this thing. I'm just crossing my fingers that I really like it a lot!

I kinda had to go by reviews and what other people were saying about it, because for some reason NOBODY seems to have an RT100h within 3 states of me. The nearest music store to me is about 60 miles away, at the very least, which is a Guitar Center.

I'm just hoping I love this thing as much as I'm hoping to!
 
Top