Randall NB15

This is the practice amp from the good people over at Randall amplification. This is the signature series Nuno Bettencourt amp for practice and little jamming. It comes in at 15 watts and has two channels, one for the clean and one for the distortion. You also get a boost on top of the distortion channel to give it a little more girth. This is not a tube amp but rather a solid state amp. It is surprisingly good at what it does.

UTILIZATION

NB 15 Combo Amplifier

Nuno Bettencourt signature practice combo. 15 watts/2-channel,w/O.D. and boost function. 3-band EQ, phone jack, CD/tape input


PREAMP CHANNELS

2 Channels
CH. 1: Clean Mode
CH. 2: Overdrive Mode w/boost
MASTER CONTROLS

Volume
EQ CONTROLS

Bass • Middle • Treble
POWER OUTPUT

15 Watts
SPEAKER

1 x 6.5" Randall Jaguar
FEATURES

Headphone jack
CD/Tape RCA inputs

SOUNDS

The clean tone on most solid state amps are decent and this one is pretty good as well. It has a nice glassy clean tone that is very solid stat sounding but that in my opinion is a good thing. I hate solid state amps but I like the sound of a solid state clean an especially form the Roland Jazz Chorus family. So this clean is not a Roland JC 120 or anything but it does a nice job. Next is the distortion channel and it is pretty good for a little solid state 15 watt amp. It has a good tone and is in some was better sounding than the 100 watt head version of Nuno signature amp. Then you get a boost button for kicking in some more gain and overdrive.

You also get a CD/aux input for playing you mp3's or cd player through the speaker to jam along with. Top it all off with a headphone jack for silent playing and now you are set.

OVERALL OPINION

At new these amps come in right at around $119, which isn't bad for a nice litte practice amp. This is a great amp for playing silently at home or in the office. You can pick it up and take it anywhere and be able to play along. I would recommend this amp to anyone who needs a good little practice amp and doesn't want to spend a lot of money. This would be also for someone who likes Nuno and doesn't want to spend a lot of money on a signature amp.