Power Amp and Cab for Egnater recording rig?

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Butch P

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A few quick questions(with a long intro?. I?ll keep ?em short from now on)?..here's a little background

I?m upgrading from my ?scratch pad? project studio .(Korg D-16, Roland VG-8, Alesis SR-16 ..blah, blah, wolf, wolf..) for some commercial library work.

Here?s what I KNOW I will be getting
Mac(new tower or iMac)
Pro Logic
Fireface 400
Blue Sky Pro Desk or Adams A7
?.???

I?m primarily a guitarist so I?d like to have something that will get me into the pro level sonically(The VG-8 is not cutting it!!).I was advised by a fellow guitarist Logic user that Guitar Pro Amp just wasn?t going to cut it either.

I even considered ? GTR Rig, Pod,.Tonelab,etc..?.and even though I?m sure I can make them sound good I don?t think they will inspire me to do my best for long or will offer me what a real amp/cab can.

Of course I?d prefer a warehouse of Marshall,.Orange,Hiwatt,Vox,Fender tweed and blacfaces but at my house and budget ..it ain?t going to happen soon..

Recently I heard of Randall?s preamp modules that piqued my interest. In a Gearslutz search Michael Waganer gave them a huge thumbs up. Then I saw on another board 2 thumbs up about Egnaters modules!.It didn?t take long until I found out Bruce Egnater was the designer of Randall?s also?.(boy howdy!)The link on his page to some vid?s of Egnater demonstrations sold me ?so far!!

It looks like I?ll be going Egnater M4 -Marshall SL,Delux,Vox AC-30
Recto over Randall RM4(but considering a few of the high gains)

There are lots of options on the power amp but?.I?m looking at the Randall RT2 50/50 or possibly the VHT 2502 50/50. For a cab either a Egnater 1X12 or 2x12 or the Randall Iso 12 cab(V-30??).

Ideally I?d like the Randall amp and cab. I like the Randall?s 6L6- El34 option on the amp and the iso cab is my best solution for recording at home. I could open up the amp with a real cab but? only at short time intervals.The name of the game for me is versatility as opposed to mondo metal mania.

2nd question:
Anyone have any comments on recording with an iso cab?tTimbre,.bass tightness.?Air?
3rd Question ?.Mic ?
57,Senn 421,AT4050,Royer ribbon????
I?ve been eyeing The Chandler Germanium for my Pre and possibly a Distressor for my compressor.Thanks for your help and suggestions.

Butch Price
 
Butch, you say you want this and you want that... Sorry, but I'm not fully clear about if you actually have tried this gear or if you imagine it will have to be that gear in a predestined sense. Then obviously the budget in question comes into the picture of all this.

No doubt you got great gear in the M and RM series of amps and pre-amps. I suppose you have read a dozen or so threads about what poweramp to have, but don't let yourself be all biased by the oppinion of others. There's a humongus gap in price between the Randall 2/50 and anything with the VHT label on it, even when used. Intermediate options come from brands like Marshall, Mesa/ Boogie... Price is almost always relative to quality but it's no guarantee it's the right choice for you.

It's really your personal style and likes that eventually will decide what you will go with, of which not much has come into light. Please try and specify what you want to achieve and not much so with what to achieve that, and it would help us a great deal to try and help you. :wink: Hope you get the idea.

Cheers,
Jonas
 
joey_truelove said:
There's a humongus gap in price between the Randall 2/50 and anything with the VHT label on it, even when used.

That may be the perception out there, but it's actually not true.

I bought my VHT 2/50/2 from Guitar Asylum last winter for $899 plus $40 shipping. That's in the ballpark or even cheaper than what most retailers want for the Randall RT 2/50.

This was a brand new unit, not used or a factory second, and was not even in stock when I ordered it (so it's not like it had been in the store for ages and they were dying to get it out the door).

Guitar Asylum does not advertise this price on their site, but it is the price they gave me when I e-mailed them. The only bad part about the transaction was I had to wait 2-3 months for the unit to arrive.
 
Butch P said:
?. I?ll keep ?em short from now on)?..

oh well.... :lol:

Thanks Jonas

I didn?t want to bore you with the details of my needs but.. here goes .I?m writing commercial libraries and music for TV and Film .I?m not playing live gigs(at the moment).
I need a versatile rig to get authentic amp sounds(or as close as possible) to inspire me without spending as much on a bunch of botique or vintage amps as the rest of my recording rig

I?ve listened to some clips read a lot of reviews and I think the Egnater M4 has go the tone ticket. I also like that I can communicate directly with Bruce(or Frank) instead of a hired tech.

As far as an amp. Ideally I?d sooner get strong tone from the power section. As I said I like the 6L6 /EL 34 versatility of Randall and the midi control to quickly audition them. If the VHT has that (from what I remember it?s only EL34) I?d be leaning toward it. The main reason I narrowed it down to these two is Bruce sells both and I?d sooner get the whole package from one place. If the quality and options weren?t good I?d consider the other power amps out there the price (a few hundred bucks) doesn?t make much difference .

As far as the iso cab I only have limited time to open it WAY up(nieghbors!!)).I?ve been reading a lot more on the iso cab and talked to a friend who had one and the chances now look slim to none. Again I?ll probably go for the Egnater cab(IX12) because of convenience of purchase and either a Motherload or Palmer cab sim/amp attenuator.

I hear what you are saying about being biased by other opinions but I find them valuable when downed with grams of salt. I get a read across the board of folks who have the gear and their expierience.I?m experienced enough to know what I want when I hear it .Half the battle is doing research to whittle it down to what I don?t want. As I said this isn?t my first choice. I?ll take the originals any day if I find the right ones?.. when I can afford to buy them ALL (I feel a G.A.S. attack comin on!!!)
Thanks for your comments

Goldtop.

I wasn't too sure either about the price because it was Bruce's 1st recomendation ( I still may get it!!) until I did some checking it's a good deal IMO.I wish they had the 6L6 option it'd be a done deal.(unless some one has an option....Thanks again guys


BP
 
Jonas,

Just noticed you're in Sweden...so maybe there is a big price difference between VHT and Randall power amps where you are.

Butch,

I don't have my VHT manual with me (don't even know where it is, to tell the truth), but I'm 95% sure the 2/50/2 can be set up/biased to accomodate 6l6's. You won't be able to switch back and forth by hitting a pedal like the Randall RT 2/50 will let you do, of course. But I would send VHT an e-mail asking if the 2/50/2 can do specifically what you have in mind (all 6L6s? 6L6 on one side, EL34 on the other? etc).

I sent VHT some questions before I bought the amp and the owner himself answered very quickly and also sent me a copy of the manual.
 
I understand the neighbor thing, for me its twin 4 year olds :shock:

I have to say, I use my Palmer ADIG, that's the stereo line level one, without the load, and the sound is awesome. It's headphone city for me and in the studio I use RM4 -> Lex MPXG2 -> Palmer, very nice. For the band situation I use either an RM50 combo or the RM4 -> Mesa 20/20 (breaks up very nice) -> Carvin 2x12 Legacy. In this situation, I also use the Palmer "Junction" on the preamp out tap - not quite as versatile as the full rack box, but for $100 you should really try it out. This would allow you to hold off on the power amp. You'll love your choices on the M4 module side (Deluxe, TopBoost, Plexi are my favs).

For the recording part:
If you mic it: SM57, MD421, AT4047, U47, Royer, e906, Beyer M260/M160 ribbon

Pre's: yeah... Chandler Germanium, go ahead and add API 2xx/5xx, Neve 10xx, 12xx, ISA110, anything transformer coupled will sound pretty nice. Don't buy a tube micpre unless its over $600, most below this are not real tube boxes...

For guitars I don't think I would bother with a compressor, if I add one, it's always in the mix stage, especially with distortion, you might not even need one. Unless you plan to use the Distressor for vocals/bass also, I don't think it will find much use.

You could also add some good outboard converters.
 
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