Randall RG100ES - A Nostalgic Demo

[@johnnyromero3336]

I actually Have this same amp, Well It's a RG80ES Mini Stack with matching 2x12 & 4x10 Cabinet in excellent condition. This was my first real Amp back in the Early 80's I bought new . It's retired now. I need to play it again!

[@Jarrett-Hopper]

Heck yeah! That rig sounds awesome!

[@jww732]

Always heard the trick is to max the presence out.

[@Jarrett-Hopper]

I’ll have to try that. It’s pretty difficult to get great tones on its own

[@jww732]

@Jarrett-Hopper agreed. I have an Ampeg SS-150 that is similar in that aspect but can get a great tone on its one, however boosted is best.

[@nucavani]

What’s a good dime tone amp? Given you boost it eq it etc? I want to get one but thought to pick. Want the tight tone that works with jaguar speakers from what I see. Cheers

[@Terribleguitarist89]

They definitely have a unique tone that takes a bit of massaging to get it to where you want it, but there are some cool sounds to be had. Even George Lynch used one for a bit.

[@Jarrett-Hopper]

For sure! I really like the gain channel once you get it there. Cleans…not so much!

[@Terribleguitarist89]

@@Jarrett-Hopper Most definitely haha Early solid state amps can be rather hit or miss... the Valvestates (technically a hybrid), Stereo Chorus and Lab Series seem to be the rare ones that get positive reviews. I have a Peavey VT Classic 410 hybrid from the 70-80's that I pretty well relegated as a pedal platform because the solid state preamp was a fizzy mess. I used to run a Mesa Studio Preamp through the 6L6 power amp and that made it usable. Apparently now they're sought after for doom and sludge tones. Next time I visit my parent's house I'll have to knock the dust off of it and give it a try in that context lol

[@Jarrett-Hopper]

Totally agree! There have been some very hit or miss solid state amps over the years with a few that really shined through IMO. One from the 80’s/90’s that gets a ton of love is the Peavey VTM120 which may be the ugliest amp head I’ve seen. People love it though! I think the major negative to solid state amps are that they just for some reason or another don’t have the presence that tube amps have to stand out above a mix. Fever with the newer modeler focused solid state amps like the PowerStage series. A great tube power amp just seems to rise above.

[@Terribleguitarist89]

@@Jarrett-Hopper Plus lets be realistic, a lot of us had those amps before we really learned how to properly dial in a tone haha It's funny how I've seen amps that folks hated when they were new being sight after now. I remember the Marshall Mode 4 being absolutely hated, now they have a cult following after Alex Skolnick started using them.

[@Jarrett-Hopper]

Right?!?!? I did that myself on more times than I can count! I’ve even rebought gear that I got rid of knowing that I didn’t maximize its full potential. It’s actually one of the reasons I respect Billy Corgan so much not only as an artist, but as a producer. That guy knows how to take gear to amazing levels! For example, the main tones on “The Everlasting Gaze” were made with a Crate Solid State GX-10 Practice Amp! An amp most of us would have had as starting guitarists in the 90’s or would have shunned!

[@TL-angzarr]

You made tgis amp sound better than i remember. A friend of mine got one of these in 91, and it was a huge down grade from his peavey bandit. He wound up just using it as a power amp for a gsp21 legend. As terrible as the tones were in that thing they were better than the amps.

[@Jarrett-Hopper]

Thanks TL for watching and your feedback! This amp definitely needs a lot of help. I typically do “versatile” demos to show how you can get the most out of your amps playing different styles, but this one would not be one I recommend for that. It’s mainly a nostalgia piece and I think the only folks anymore that really look for one are Dimebag Darrell fans. With that said it does sound great captured in the Quad Cortex as you can just capture the dialed in tones

[@TL-angzarr]

@@Jarrett-Hopper Yeah definitely, I can say with no shame that at that time neither of us had a clue about how to dial in a tone let alone Dimes tone or really how to use pedals. It was nice to see someone get some good sounds out of it.