Pimp my RM50

[wengnutt]

Okee dokee, so I'm using my RM50 combo as a rehearsal/small gig amp, and the other day I noticed a preamp tube going microphonic. I figure now would be a better time than ever to replace ALL the tubes, and maybe even the speaker. What preamp/power tubes do you guys recommend? Any speaker suggestions? I'm thinking of a WGS Green Beret, or Eminence Texas Heat.

Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?

 

[jayd41]

What music do you play?
What modules do you use most?

Knowing these will help the suggestions be more relevant.

 

[wengnutt]

I literally play everything from Jazz to Metal. The mods I'm using now are the Deluxe for cleans, and either the Ultra XL, XTC, or Recto for overdrive. What I would like to do is give the amp a smoother vibe which is why I was thinking the Green Beret, and maybe KT88 power tubes, with Tung Sol 12ax7's in the preamp. I've used the Tung Sol's in a Bogner Shiva I used to own, and was pretty pleased with the results.

 

[Mattfig]

Hiya,

I've experimented a lot with my RM50 and have found the best combo for me to be a JJECC803 Gold Pin in amp V1, a balanced and matched EH12AX7 Gold Pin in PI, and whatever in the loop buffer...

Power tubes are a different story...I have found that without modding my RM50 I really can't use EL34/6CA7s as they don't bias well and bounce around a lot...I am currently using 6L6s - the brand I like is TAD but use whatever works for you...If you really dig the Brit sound of 34s - you can use them too...Just check your bias regularly...

Hope that helps..

 

[wengnutt]

Awesome! Thanks for the tips Matt! 8)

 

[Jaded Faith]

I too intend to use an RM50 Combo for most live gigs going forward and just finished a round of fine tuning. Here is what I ended up with:

- Replaced the T75 with a WGS Invader (a 50 watt Greenback clone and a safer bet than the Green Beret at only 25 watts). Just a fantastic all around rock tone and great for a wide range of tones. Very similar to my AC30 with Greenbacks in it.

- I settled nicely on tubes with a Ruby HG 12AX7 (same ones as stock in the modules) in both V1 and V2 and a JAN 5751 in the PI (this is critical to me in all my MTS amps for the feel and control I want as a player). The power tubes are Tung Sol 5881's (one of my 3 fave power tubes along with TS EL34B's and EH KT88's) biased at 32.

- I use the matching extension Randall 1x12 with a WGS BL80 in there and stack the combo on top when needed. Sounds huge, cuts through with ease and sits so well in the mix. Pairs very well with the Invader.

- Try the 6" patch cable in the parallel loop (assuming you do not use the Randall reverb, which I removed from the amp all together) and crank the FX knob on the front of your combo.....thank me later!

I tried a bunch of different things over the past month and just finalized things as above this morning. Total Kool Aid smile and looking forward to practice tonight in a big way.

Hope that helps!

 

[wengnutt]

Dude, thanks for the info, Jaded! I didn't even notice the Invader on the WGS website the other day. I'm going to have to scope it out. You rock brotha 8)

 

[scottro123]

Weird, I was literally about to post the exact same question - title and everything!

I'm not really into super high-gain, I'm more of a roots/blues/rock player and prefer using fuzz when I want to get things out of control. I have an OD Special on the way - hoping this fits the bill.

I've also got a JF modded tweed, but I want to try some lower-gain tubes to increase the clean headroom.

Rob, since I'm sure you have your choice of modules, which do you find work best in the RM50?

 

[drewiv]

Glad you like the BL80. I loved it as an extension on the RM50. Perfect mini stack for gigs. I think it blends so well with so many speakers. Also worked well when I was lazy and needed a cab for a 50 watt head.

Rob knows what he speaketh.

I too intend to use an RM50 Combo for most live gigs going forward and just finished a round of fine tuning. Here is what I ended up with:

- Replaced the T75 with a WGS Invader (a 50 watt Greenback clone and a safer bet than the Green Beret at only 25 watts). Just a fantastic all around rock tone and great for a wide range of tones. Very similar to my AC30 with Greenbacks in it.

- I settled nicely on tubes with a Ruby HG 12AX7 (same ones as stock in the modules) in both V1 and V2 and a JAN 5751 in the PI (this is critical to me in all my MTS amps for the feel and control I want as a player). The power tubes are Tung Sol 5881's (one of my 3 fave power tubes along with TS EL34B's and EH KT88's) biased at 32.

- I use the matching extension Randall 1x12 with a WGS BL80 in there and stack the combo on top when needed. Sounds huge, cuts through with ease and sits so well in the mix. Pairs very well with the Invader.

- Try the 6" patch cable in the parallel loop (assuming you do not use the Randall reverb, which I removed from the amp all together) and crank the FX knob on the front of your combo.....thank me later!

I tried a bunch of different things over the past month and just finalized things as above this morning. Total Kool Aid smile and looking forward to practice tonight in a big way.

Hope that helps!

 

[Jaded Faith]

Always glad to help and share my findings. I do this all day every day and see so much gear through the shop, so I see a lot of cool stuff I might not be exposed to otherwise.

Drew: Thank you for the cab! That was easily one of my favorite gear acquisitions of the year.

After spending 11 years playing harder heavy rock, the new band is more mainstream rock. It's a very refreshing change of direction for me and my guitar work is now much more textural and in the vein of U2 and Incubus. The RM50C is perfect for that.

I was rolling with a Super Clean and a 1959RR Platinum the past month, but I finally tried an OD Special and XTC in there today and it was stunning. I had actually never tried the ODS with overdrives and other effects before today and the results were very inspiring. I think that pairing might be the winning ticket for me, although I need to build myself a Voxless when time allows. However if my mood should change (and it will), there are plenty of other mods on hand to spark the creativity.

Another interesting observation is how I started opening up the amp more (master around half) and how little gain I use now (the XTC is in Red mode with the Structure off and gain at noon for my gain channel). It sounds huge with zero noise, but has touch sensitivity like you wouldn't believe. I have so much more control over things from the guitar just using the pickup selector and picking dynamics that I am changing channels far less often.

 

[audiomidijace]

How do you feel about the clean headroom in the RM50 vs the RM100 for clean modules?

 

[Jaded Faith]

I have no issues with it. I am a big believer in pairing the right speakers/cabs with the right amps. Not only for the tonal benefits of various speakers, but to pair the right sensitivity and quantity of speakers to the amp. You can do a lot to get more/less output from any amp by using various speaker configurations. I could gig 100 watts through a 1x12 or 25 through a 4x12 and be just as happy as long as I could get the amp to where it starts to open up. I also really appreciate my THD Hotplate to help in this area as well.

I don't think I have ever felt the 50 watt amps didn't provide enough headroom for the situation. I actually prefer them over 100 watt heads.

 

[Mike361]

Clips would be great. I have really been looking for a new sound from my rm50. Trying to finalize speaker choice and interested in opinions. I think I will try the invaders. Also to Fig, I have been using el34 for years and have ocasionally checked the bias and they have not moved at all in 2 years.

 

[Jaded Faith]

I'll see what I can come up with, but it might be a week from now. I have a little catching up to do after the long Easter weekend and an unusually high amount of amp repairs in the shop right now. They can be time suckers in the worst way sometimes.

 

[yourguitarhero]

Good thread, especially as I just picked up an RM50 combo.

What's the consensus on EL34 vs 6L6?
My combo is at the shop so their tech can use while he fixes my bust modules but when I get it back I was planning on doing some pimping myself.

First off would be to bias the amp. It was a floor model and about 5 years old I reckon, so it probably needs checked. It has 6L6s in it, but I'm not sure which ones?
I've got a set of =C= EL34s in my tube box that I could try out in there. Had them in my Mesa but never really liked them as much. Think they might work better with this amp though? Depends on the mods I guess - gonna be using a mix of Blackface, Top Boost, Plexi, SL+ and Grail in there, so pretty hard to stick on one type of power tube....

Good call on the pre-amp valves from Jaded Faith - those Jan Phillips 5751s ain't cheap though! Lucky you only need one.

Next I'm wondering about speakers - normally go for V30s, but I guess I could have a look at Eminences too. Can't get WGS over in the UK.

Another Q - how is the Randall cover for these amps? Is it similar to a Mesa cover, or does it have any padding?
Randall cover is ?15 here, but I see some good quality RoqSolid padded covers for ~?35

 

[funkywrench]

I've got EH 6CA7 power tubes (like a big bottle EL-34) in my RM50 combo and I love them.

They are like a mix between a 6L6 and EL-34. They do lean more towards the EL-34 side of things, but they have a bigger bottom end and slightly less mids.

They sound rounder than EL-34's on cleans and sound bigger on the dirty side, while still retaining most of the mids of an EL-34.

 

[yourguitarhero]

Hmm, worth a try - especially since I have some of them in my valve box!

Speaker wise I'm thinking of picking up an Eminence Tonespotter - supposedly similar to a G12-65... thoughts?

 

[yourguitarhero]

Well, had a look at them and they are EI 6CA7s, which some reading suggests suck dick.

I remember not liking them in my Matamp, but that was a very different sounding amp.

I'll try them out along with the =C= EL34s I grabbed from my big box o' valves.

Got some bids in on some Fane speakers on eBay - think they could be good for an amp that does lots of different sounds.

May have to buy a Salvation HiWatt module though

 

[felineguitars]

Yeah - I bought up 4 of those bags at one point
I sold one on but the other 3 are now full of modules so need to keep them.

 

[Mike361]

Thought I would update this thread. I recently got a great deal on a 2x12 old sunn cab that has a WGS bl80, and a WGS veteran 30 in it. 100 bucks on cl. So being that I forgot to get speaker cables, I took the vet 30 out and replaced the 12t in the combo. It did exactly what I had been wanting in a speaker. Took out the highs that were bugging the crap out of me and added the mids where they should be. very pleased with this speaker. Now I've got the BL80 still in the cab and I guess eventually I'll try it, but I'de be suprised if it was better.