Help With Amp Purchase!

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Seething Black

New Metal Member
Mar 8, 2003
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I have like $700-$800 to spend on an amp, prefferably something I can gig with, like a 1/2 stack.Ive heard very good things about the Randall RH200, and $750 for a head AND a cab is quite a steal.I want something with balls, you know, heavy ass distortion,tons of gain and versatility...Any help/suggestions/recommendations will be much appreciated :headbang:
 
If I were you I'd get a tube amp.. for 700-800 you can get a 5150 half stack.. they're pretty damn good for metal, especially for that price. You can find some VHT 50cl combo's on ebay for arounnd 800.. those are even better :)
 
I'm not a big fan of the Randall tone, but if you like that real transitor-y sound, go for it.

If you want something with balls, definitely go tube.
 
They're right. Tube amps will give you a warmth that you'll never get from solidstate. You will have some maintenance to deal with....like replacing bad tubes, and they are a little more fragile when transporting though.

But for what you want to pay for a complete 1/2 stack, you're not going to get the "killer" tube amp half stack. 5150's are loved and hated. You'll find as many people who hate them as love them. That's your call.

That being said, I use a Randall RH200 head (and Avatar 4 x 12) and it rocks. The clean channel is great, although you may not be interested in that. The gain 1 channel is pretty iffy. It might be ok for soloing, but I never use it. Gain 2, which has the "contour" knob (a midrange cut) rocks! I use this amp in my band and I use absolutely no effects. Just Les Paul, cord, and amp. Plenty heavy and plenty loud....for my tastes anyway. And unbelievable low end if you desire. If you're moving up from a combo amp, it will blow your mind!

I'd still love to have a tube head....but have you priced a Hiwatt or a Soldano lately! :zombie: I got my Randall with footswitch, nearly brand new, off of ebay for under $300 shipped (about 6-7 months ago). For now, it's doin' just fine. (subject to change without notice).
 
uhg.,.,.,I have a Randall halfstack,.,.its ok,..,.but I will eventually get rid of the fucker,.,,.but for now,.,.its decent (sp?)
 
Our other guitar player has an RH200.
I don't like it for a number of reasons.
A) The head is as heavy as the cabinet
B) the distortion is OK.. but it feeds like all hell (any suggestions on how to fix that, btw?)
C) The cab kind of farts all the low end out, sounds like poop (If you've ever used a Boss Metal Zone with this amp, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about).

So yeah.. I've cried and cried over his purchase. Oh, and he lost the footswitch and is too stingy to buy a new one, lol.

Back to my feedback deal though.. what would be a good way to fix that, without a rack mount noise gate? Becuase if you get feedback when you stop playing.. you know damn well you're feeding back while you're playing, thus enhancing the shittiness of your tone.
 
It's funny....the other night I was jammin with the band before the other guitarist got there and didn't have any feedback problems at all - but as soon as he arrived and hooked his gear up, I started feeding back! I never touched an amp setting. I was told by an engineer at work that a power conditioner may help (like a Furman), but I don't know. Boss makes the NS-2 suppressor pedal and Rocktron makes a Hush pedal, but I've never used one so I don't know how well they work, if at all either. I just roll my guitar's volume knob down a tad and that usually takes care of feedback. It also helps when I'm not standing 6 inches from my amp!
And for the record, considering the price, I still dig my Randall - and I still use absolutely no pedals or fx. I don't have any cabinet farts either, but I use an 320 watt Avatar 4x12 with Eminence Legends. You might suggest to your other guitarist to turn his bass down and let the bass player worry about the low end if that's giving him problems.
I admit I'd rather have a kick ass tube head, but I just don't have the cash for it and I don't plan on doing much other than maybe recording, so I'm fine with what I have. In the live mix with the other guitar and bass it adds a lot. The last thing we want is two guitars that are putting out the exact same tone, and my RH200 does have killer low end that makes us sound HEAVY!
 
noise suppressor? anyone? ....anyone?
eek7.gif
I think the NS-2 should do the trick..... Its by boss....err.,,.around 100$..,.,.,.but dont take my word for it.....because.....im really high....:Spin:...
 
Alright, thanks for the input guys.
The NS-2 Noise Suppressor only eliminates the "hum" you get from a bad signal, or so I've heard (the again, I don't know whether to trust musicians friend on not), and we can't get a gate.. because we haven't gotten involved in the whole "rack" system yet.
Anyone know where you can but a Randall footswitch? He lost his...

btw, any comments on Crate?
 
Seething Black said:
I have like $700-$800 to spend on an amp, prefferably something I can gig with, like a 1/2 stack.Ive heard very good things about the Randall RH200, and $750 for a head AND a cab is quite a steal.I want something with balls, you know, heavy ass distortion,tons of gain and versatility...Any help/suggestions/recommendations will be much appreciated !:headbang:
Click to expand...

I would go with a carvin If I were you Thats what I play bass on and its of superior quality Great sound and you get alot of Bang for your buck Plus the things are very Durible And the costomer Service Cant be beat!
WWW.Carvin.com
 
Soultorn said:
and we can't get a gate.. because we haven't gotten involved in the whole "rack" system yet.
Anyone know where you can but a Randall footswitch? He lost his...

I doubt you need a "Randall" footswitch. What does the old plug look like from the old switch ? Is it a single switch with just a "clean" a "dirty" or does it have the channel switching and reverb..... or does it have more than those ?

I have never owned a rack system in my life. The multi-effect pedal boards have more bells and whistles than I will ever use on them and they are reasonably cheap. Most of them have a gate as one of the effects they come with.



btw, any comments on Crate?
Click to expand...

I am only familiar with the older model Crates. Mean dirty sound on the ones I have played, but piss poor clean sound.


Bryant
 
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