Clarity

[nomad100]

in comparison to the actual amps being modeled how do you guys feel about the clarity of the RM100?

 

[Jaded Faith]

I have a couple head-to-head comparisons sitting in my studio. Overall, I feel really good about the Randall stuff. In some cases even better than the real deal. I know some RM amps had a funky Density/Presence board (I had one) and that really mucked up the sound. I have owned every amp in the line and the current RM4 and RT2/50 I have are my favorite rig out of 9 different MTS rigs I have owned.

I have had a lot of great opportunities to acquire many killer amps over the past 3 years. I did it slowly and surely as great deals arose. I no longer gig the MTS stuff regularly, but it's strictly due to weight and my gigging situation. We are an original band and typically play 45 minutes. If I were in a cover band playing all night, the MTS rig would be there every night. But moving a 100lb rack on and off stage in 5 minutes flat is a different story!

The more time I spend on my other rigs, the more I appreciate the modular gear every time I plug in. It always sounds and feels better than I remembered. For that reason alone I could never justify walking away from it.

 

[m0jo]

JF: What amps were these with the "funky density and prescence boards" ?
And what are the symptoms?
Not that I think I have one, but I'm interested in this.

Sorry for going off-topic, I haven't actually been able to 1-on-1 compare any amps.
But I can say the clarity of my MTS rig way excels any other amp I've played so far.

Also now that I've played the RM100 vs. the rack rig (RM4+RT2/50) I agree with the comments that have passed here before: the rack rig seems to feel a bit more "tubey" and nice to play. Maybe it's the 100w power section making the RM100 a bit stiffer. Maybe it's the fact that you can match the perfect output tubes for a module (it seems like a detail, but it definitly makes a big difference in the feel to me).

 

[Whoopysnorp]

JF: What amps were these with the "funky density and prescence boards" ?
And what are the symptoms?
Not that I think I have one, but I'm interested in this.

I am curious about this too. The density knob on my RM100 definitely doesn't do much. The presence knob does make some difference. Any relatively simple mods one can do to the presence/density board on afflicted amps?

 

[Mike P]

in comparison to the actual amps being modeled how do you guys feel about the clarity of the RM100?

Personally, I feel that the stock modules are garbage and completely useless in a professional recording environment. The Treadplate, JTM, AC30 and Plexi are so off base that it's ridiculous. Line 6 has modeled those amps (and more) for more than a decade with much greater accuracy and success.

The modders (Salvation, Voodoo, Sacred Groove, Dave Friedman, etc.) take the MTS line to an entirely different level sonically. Many of the mods available can absolutely NAIL the sound of the amp they're emulating, whether it's a Rectifier, Plexi, JMP, AC30, Mesa/Boogie Lonestar, JCM800, etc.

Randall? Not so much. Actually, not even close.

 

[nomad100]

does anyone have a schematic of the modules? Paying someone else to mod my module would take the fun out of it. I don't need someone elses mods just a stock schematic. A company gave me 3 of them, but they were kind of old and were hard to follow. They didn't include the tube board.

 

[JeffHenneman]

Personally, I feel that the stock modules are garbage and completely useless in a professional recording environment. The Treadplate, JTM, AC30 and Plexi are so off base that it's ridiculous. Line 6 has modeled those amps (and more) for more than a decade with much greater accuracy and success.

The modders (Salvation, Voodoo, Sacred Groove, Dave Friedman, etc.) take the MTS line to an entirely different level sonically. Many of the mods available can absolutely NAIL the sound of the amp they're emulating, whether it's a Rectifier, Plexi, JMP, AC30, Mesa/Boogie Lonestar, JCM800, etc.

Randall? Not so much. Actually, not even close.

I somewhat agree with this, but I love the ultra xl and like the xtc for certain tones. Right out the box the randall stuff did not sound so good to me, but it takes a lot of tweaking with the modular stuff, plus the choice of jj tubes was not the best choice in my opinion. I have tried a bunch of different modules and I think it takes a lot of tweaking to het the right tones. Some people may not be used to that. I run a pod xt pro thru a mesa 2:90 and I it is a very good versitile rig, but i am starting to like randall stuff alot more than the pod stuff. The pod is easier to dial in, but The more time i have spent tweaking the modules have given me better tone than the pod.

 

[Jaded Faith]

I have failed to dig up the info on the bad boards yet again, but I recall it had something to do with both values and taper on pots. Basically, the knobs did little to nothing until around 3:00 and it sounded like there was a blanket over the speakers. However, as the presence was turned up higher the tone was thinning out. I know the customer with the issue was sent a new board and he claims it was night and day.

 

[nomad100]

I swapped around my tubes, the ruby tubes had a lot more clarity than the JJ tubes. Over all i think most of my tubes are a little worn out and need replacing. Just not sure what to get

 

[Mike P]

Right out the box the randall stuff did not sound so good to me, but it takes a lot of tweaking with the modular stuff

If it takes me more than 2 minutes to dial in a great tone from any given amp, there's either an issue with the amp or it's poorly designed. I know immediately whether or not amp is "right" or not.

I only got into the MTS series because of the modders. I heard Trace and Anthony's mods, which blew me away. If only stock modules were available, I'd have never bought into the Randall line.

 

[m0jo]

Right out the box the randall stuff did not sound so good to me, but it takes a lot of tweaking with the modular stuff

If it takes me more than 2 minutes to dial in a great tone from any given amp, there's either an issue with the amp or it's poorly designed. I know immediately whether or not amp is "right" or not.

I only got into the MTS series because of the modders. I heard Trace and Anthony's mods, which blew me away. If only stock modules were available, I'd have never bought into the Randall line.

I have to say I kinda agree with you here.
To me an amp needs to produce quality tone immediatly, and then I'll see wether it can hit my tastes But the quality is lacking in a lot of amps.
In some others there is a lot of potential that is completely lost because there's no way to dial it in..
(Orange TH30 for instance, sounded pretty good .. but anything I tweaked made it sound "meh")

Of the stock modules I have to say I like the Clean and the XTC. The others I've tried have been lacking in clarity or other ways.
Then again, my Twinface does blow the Clean straight out of the water with proper tweaking

 

[Rod]

I have a number of modules both stock and modded.....The stock Blackface and plexi sound pretty good, but my Scary & Hot Rodded Marshall Jaded Faith mods are absolutely off the charts...Also the Sacred Groove Blue XTC, Plexi and Vox are equally amazing. Spend the xtra $100 or so on each module when you can to have these guys mod them for you...The difference is quite a lot

 

[speedemon]

Hmm, clarity. When I got the RM100 it was a fizzbox, until I took Julia's advice and got a 5751 tube for the PI, worked like Pine Sol. I use 5751s in my "clean" modules with great results too.

good luck!

 

[Rod]

Hmm, clarity. When I got the RM100 it was a fizzbox, until I took Julia's advice and got a 5751 tube for the PI, worked like Pine Sol. I use 5751s in my "clean" modules with great results too.

good luck!

Hi...I'll have to try that!!!