Got my RT2/50 today! Let the 'modness' begin......

[George Jetson]

I finally got my refurb RT2/50 from FunkyMunky today (Thanks Jon!) and just got home. It's gonna take me a few days to figure out the midi routing and best preamp / power amp channel / speaker cab combos as well as source an engine hoist to lift my rack case.

I've got the following modules plugged into the RM4 right now:
Orangutan
LoneClean
MatchVox
DF modded Brahma

My first thoughts are to route the Orangutan, MatchVox and Brahma to the EL84 side and the LoneClean to the 6L6 side. I have 2 identical Avatar "Bluesbreaker" cabs loaded with Hellatone 60s that I want to run through. I need to bone up on the manual so I don't do something stupid in my excitement like accidentally run it in 100w bridged mode.

I'll start off running the power amp side a little hot and backing off on the preamp gain to evaluate the sag factor and find the sweet spot for creamy distortion and crunch. Then do the opposite by running the preamp gain hot and backing off on the power tubes. Hopefully I'll find that compromise between glory and permanent hearing loss.

To quote the immortal Dieter from Sprockets "Now I am as happy as a little girl." I'll leave that visual to your imagination. Looks to be a much more fun weekend now than I'd hoped for yesterday.

 

[rhequiem]

Those are some nice modules, dude! I have a Peavey Classic 50/50 for my power amp, and would love to trade up for a RT2/50. What were you running before, and how does the RT2 compare with it? Have fun jamming this weekend!

 

[George Jetson]

Those are some nice modules, dude! I have a Peavey Classic 50/50 for my power amp, and would love to trade up for a RT2/50. What were you running before, and how does the RT2 compare with it? Have fun jamming this weekend!

I just got an RM4 a few weeks ago from a forumite and I hadn't hooked it up to anything. Prior to that I have just had my trusty RM20 combo. When I got the Salvation mods, I knew I needed a more versatile rig to take full advantage of the preamps. The RM20 is now setup as my basic Vox clone with the SuperV and I will be retubing it if I can find the time to peel away from my new rig.

 

[El-Kabong]

I just got an RM4 a few weeks ago from a forumite and I hadn't hooked it up to anything.

Holy crap, dude, that preamp arrived a month ago... that must have been a maddening month of searching for a power amp!

Hope all is working well now, and that's one nice batch o' modules!

Oh, and it is a balancing act with the gain staging, between the module gains, the module outs, the preamp out, and the poweramp volume, it can take a while to find the happy place. With the RM4 and Boogie 50/50, I used to run the power amp at about 6 or 7, keep the module outputs at halfway or less, and use the RM4 volume for overall adjustments, but as you are probably experiencing right now, it is fun to play around with.

 

[GtrGeorge!]

"Dieter from Sprockets "Now I am as happy as a little girl." "

I thought I was the only person to invoke that hilarious skit from SNL!!!!


...yeah, matching volume ss with an RM4 is a challenge...but in the end..very well worth it.
GtrGeorge

 

[dboy5150]

Here's an easy way to set and forget volume with an RM4 RT2/50 rig, but it requires running a rack effects unit in series, like an xpression or gmajor, and midi switching the whole rig:
* set the rm4 master and input level on effects unit at noon
* set level on each module until it just pegs the effects input
* set the output level for each patch on the effects unit so they're balanced to your taste (e.g. clean at 70, crunch at 80, lead at 90)
* set the channel masters on your RT2/50 to 10:00, or more if you're playing larger venues. (but as you now know, that bad boy is a LOUD 50 watts with plenty o' headroom)

Now once all the above is set, you never have to mess with it. Simply use the output level on the effects unit as your master for the whole rig.