Marshall EL34 100/100 vs. Randall RT2/50

[Eptesicus79]

Question for all you gear-heads out there..

I have been playing through a Marshall EL34 100/100 power amp for a couple years now. It is my first tube power amp, but Im finding that it might be much more than I need, which is mainly home recording. I was wondering if anyone has had any comparable experience with the RT2/50?

Pros about the Marshall is it sounds great, & looks real pretty too. But Ive been told that to get the full tone from the tubes, you need to crank them up. Well at 100w per bloc, I cant even bring it past 1pm or the windows will probably shatter! The fact that its 3U rack spaces & weighs in at about 50lbs doesnt help much, but its built real solid.

As for the RT2/50, I really like the bias option & having two different sets of tubes. Plus, 50w per channel might be a little more reasonable to deal with at home. So, I guess my real concern is how different the tone would be from the Marshall.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Mattfig]

Never actually heard that particular Marshall amp - it actually sounds quite awesome from the description...As an RT2/50 owner, I can tell you it sounds good...Really really good...So good, I doubt you'd miss the Marshall and for your particular situation 50 watts is more manageable but still VERY loud...Good luck...

 

[muudrock]

I owned both, still have the RT2/50.
As you said, the Marshall needs a lot of volume to sound good. Any tube power amp needs volume to reach its potential. The RT does a good job at lower volumes, but it still wants to be pushed a little.
Being able to try different tubes in the RT is what I really like. The RT also has a bit "softer" attack with EL34's than the Marshall--

 

[Eptesicus79]

Thanks guys...

muudrock - What do you mean by softer attack? Would that considered to be a bad thing?

 

[Julia]

With the amps turned up full blast there is only 3 db difference between 50 and 100W. That is negligible. If you want power tube breakup at non-deafening volume you need to get an EL84 power amp. Or ditch the tubes altogether and go for the Rocktron Velocity 300 (it's an adjustable reactive SS amp that simulates power tube breakup).

 

[khingpynn]

Julia is right a 10 watt amp is half as loud as a 100 watt amp and yes a 1 watt amp is half as loud as a 10 watt amp

 

[Eptesicus79]

Before the EL34, I used to own a Marshall Valvestate 120/120 paired with a JMP-1 pre. Before that it was the Tubeworks Mosvalve MV-962. Both sounded pretty good, but the notes didnt 'sing' like the EL34 does. They also had somewhat of a nasal tone.

I definitely want to stick with an all-tube rig, but the Marshall is total overkill for what I need. Also has just about double the amount of tubes as the Randall, & manual biasing = more $$$. I just wish it didnt look so nice lol.