View other reviews for this product:
Audiofanzine FR
Published on 03/16/09 at 16:05
(Originally written by davidsouslinux/translated from Audiofanzine FR)
All-tube amp.
50 very loud watts.
FX loop, two speaker outputs (4 and 8 ohms).
Independent EQ per channel.
Reverb...
Two channels: clean plus dual lead (two very different sounds). Great if you like a big sound!
I bought it in 2006...
UTILIZATION
You'll easily get a great sound! I never had such a good sound.
No user's manual.
Review from 2006... I've found better. But I like it anyway.
SOUNDS
Good amp for death and thrash metal, rock and grunge. The clean sound allows you to play jazz and blues... You can play everything with this amp from crystal-clear to extremely distorted and crunch and mellow overdrive.
In short: perfect!
I love every sound.
The reverb doesn't have the same quality but it's enough to have fun.
Update from 28 September 2007: This amp doesn't sound good with every effect pedal... I own a HM-2 and it sounds good only in the FX loop... Which is normal, the clean channel is not amazing... A bit dirty and the more I play it, the more I think about buying an amp with a better clean sound. But considering the price, this amp was an excellent choice, especially for a metal freak.
Update, 2009: Don't expect a miracle... It's a good amp but it has a very typical Pantera sound and I would prefer a small JCM800...
Oh and I heard it has a reverb somewhere...?! I'll keep looking... It's almost impossible to play jazz with this amp. But if you're not old and embittered like me, this amp is good to have fun playing Pantera^^
OVERALL OPINION
I bought it June 2006.
I've been owning it for few days and it's a true delight.
I like everything about this product!
(I would prefer a metal grid to protect the speaker better).
I tried out a Marshall Valvestate, two Vox (AD50VT and AD15VT) and a Marshall MS-2. This morning I played an RG Prestige with a Marshall AVT 100W stack. And I received this amp this evening. I plugged my ibanez with SH8 pickups into it... and surprise: The sound was much better! (and my Ibanez looks more beautiful). A delight! Compared to Vox models, this amp sounds twice as better. Compared with the Marshall models it's ten times better! I'm very happy.
Excellent value for money: you get tubes for the price of a solid-state amp. I love the warm and dynamic sound of this combo!
I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again... If I had more money, I would buy a Randall stack... Scott Ian's stack for example...
28 September 2007: The amp broke and I'm not sure about it's reliability. It's pisses me off because I'm a fan of this amp (see my highly praising review) but I can't recommend it if it's not 100% reliable... Perhaps I'm unlucky. I will decrease the mark because of this.
Update: I finally replaced the high-voltage fuse of the reverb tube and the amp worked again. I was worried without reason. So this amp seems to be a good deal... Good distortion. It's a bit like a 5150: fat distortion, crunch and average clean sound. The distortion sounds a bit British. I usually tune in B and this amp matches it perfectly.
Update:
This small Randall is only ok! I'm thinking about buying something else (quite normal after 5-6 years).
It's ok if you want to have fun and play two gigs per year.
If you want to record albums and play lots of gigs and if you have many fans, you'd better look into something else... A Marshall Plexi, a JCM800 , a Rectifier, a Peavey XXX, etc. Avoid losing your time with a small combo...
All-tube amp.
50 very loud watts.
FX loop, two speaker outputs (4 and 8 ohms).
Independent EQ per channel.
Reverb...
Two channels: clean plus dual lead (two very different sounds). Great if you like a big sound!
I bought it in 2006...
UTILIZATION
You'll easily get a great sound! I never had such a good sound.
No user's manual.
Review from 2006... I've found better. But I like it anyway.
SOUNDS
Good amp for death and thrash metal, rock and grunge. The clean sound allows you to play jazz and blues... You can play everything with this amp from crystal-clear to extremely distorted and crunch and mellow overdrive.
In short: perfect!
I love every sound.
The reverb doesn't have the same quality but it's enough to have fun.
Update from 28 September 2007: This amp doesn't sound good with every effect pedal... I own a HM-2 and it sounds good only in the FX loop... Which is normal, the clean channel is not amazing... A bit dirty and the more I play it, the more I think about buying an amp with a better clean sound. But considering the price, this amp was an excellent choice, especially for a metal freak.
Update, 2009: Don't expect a miracle... It's a good amp but it has a very typical Pantera sound and I would prefer a small JCM800...
Oh and I heard it has a reverb somewhere...?! I'll keep looking... It's almost impossible to play jazz with this amp. But if you're not old and embittered like me, this amp is good to have fun playing Pantera^^
OVERALL OPINION
I bought it June 2006.
I've been owning it for few days and it's a true delight.
I like everything about this product!
(I would prefer a metal grid to protect the speaker better).
I tried out a Marshall Valvestate, two Vox (AD50VT and AD15VT) and a Marshall MS-2. This morning I played an RG Prestige with a Marshall AVT 100W stack. And I received this amp this evening. I plugged my ibanez with SH8 pickups into it... and surprise: The sound was much better! (and my Ibanez looks more beautiful). A delight! Compared to Vox models, this amp sounds twice as better. Compared with the Marshall models it's ten times better! I'm very happy.
Excellent value for money: you get tubes for the price of a solid-state amp. I love the warm and dynamic sound of this combo!
I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again... If I had more money, I would buy a Randall stack... Scott Ian's stack for example...
28 September 2007: The amp broke and I'm not sure about it's reliability. It's pisses me off because I'm a fan of this amp (see my highly praising review) but I can't recommend it if it's not 100% reliable... Perhaps I'm unlucky. I will decrease the mark because of this.
Update: I finally replaced the high-voltage fuse of the reverb tube and the amp worked again. I was worried without reason. So this amp seems to be a good deal... Good distortion. It's a bit like a 5150: fat distortion, crunch and average clean sound. The distortion sounds a bit British. I usually tune in B and this amp matches it perfectly.
Update:
This small Randall is only ok! I'm thinking about buying something else (quite normal after 5-6 years).
It's ok if you want to have fun and play two gigs per year.
If you want to record albums and play lots of gigs and if you have many fans, you'd better look into something else... A Marshall Plexi, a JCM800 , a Rectifier, a Peavey XXX, etc. Avoid losing your time with a small combo...