Randall RM100 MTS Problem regarding tone.

[jak3y]

Hey guys I'm pretty new to this forum so I thought I'd say Hi

I'm here to ask you guys a question.

I have owned my RM100 with XL cab for a few months now and I play in a Thrash metal band I have a Deluxe for Cleans XTC for Rhythm and a Rectfier Lead channel. I am having a horrible time trying to gain enough Gain for the stuff we do.. Some of my mates have said that my tone lacks Gain and clarity. I am running the amp @ 16 Ohms into 16 Ohms for the cab.

I checked my bias recently and it was interesting I run JJ EL34's They were biased at around 20mV's each which I thought was pretty lacking.

So tonight I am gonna rebias to about 38mV's which is the reccomended.

I also have a joint question about impedance when I run the amp on 16 Ohms I seem to have to crank the master higher.. where as when I'm on 4 Ohms it doesn't have to be so loud.

I would love some help on this as I have been so tempted to sell it and move on. But I'm not gonna give up that easy!!

 

[JKD]

The right bias will make all the difference in the world in my opinion.

Also, how old are those tubes? Power tubes or pre-amp tubes with significant wear can make an amp sound dull, lifeless amd have very poor clarity/tone.

Another trick for gain/clarity is to run a boost out front...e.g. some form of Tubescreamer/Overdrive with a high level boost, tone to taste but usually very little drive...a lot of the older thrash bands did this with the Marshalls for their tone...works wonders IMO

 

[jak3y]

The right bias will make all the difference in the world in my opinion.

Also, how old are those tubes? Power tubes or pre-amp tubes with significant wear can make an amp sound dull, lifeless amd have very poor clarity/tone.

I would honestly not have a clue but I know it hasn't been too long because it wasn't in the shop for too long as I snapped it up I know all my modules pre amp tubes are running ok casue they are still glowing when I go to take them out. Power tubes are running fine apart from the bias.

BUT when I max the gain on the preamps there still isn't enough gain.. it's quite interesting it could be the other preamp tube that works with the modules that has died??

 

[Chad]

Just because a tube is glowing doesn't mean it's in top form. I'd look into tubes and bias and go from there.

Regarding gain/clarity.....those can be contradictory. Too much gain can create mush that doesn't stand out well in a live mix. Also, keep your mids at a decent level. Running bass lower can help with clarity as well.

Let us know what you find out.

 

[TheAbomb12]

Personally, I would use the XTC for lead Only, as it doesn't really have a lot of gain for good rhythm (at least for my own taste/style of music). Also, ditch the Recto Mod (it is generally considered one of the least impressive modules in the MTS lineup) and get yourself either an UltraXL or a 1086- those both are Perfect for Thrash.

The Re-adjusted Bias will DEFINITELY help.

can you hook up your cab to 4 ohms? I suggest running everything at 4 ohms rather than 16ohms (or at least the lowest impedance setting you are capable of running); Its much louder- but also IMO, its clearer and less muddy at 4 ohms (that was the impression I got when I was running my RM setup I used to have with a Genz Benz 212).

 

[Scooter]

Thrash Metal? You might want to swap the power tubes for 6L6's.

 

[jak3y]

I thought 6l6's produced a much darker scooped tone than the EL34's?? I'm rerally looking for a tone that slices. Like Kreator and stuff like that. I'm not too sure ont he recto either it seems to be the messiest one.. Is there any mods you can do to a rectified to make it kick some ***??

 

[TheAbomb12]

I thought 6l6's produced a much darker scooped tone than the EL34's?? I'm rerally looking for a tone that slices.

6L6 is certainly more naturally scooped; but the tone produced is more aggressive sounding. You will definitely lose the Massive feeling of El34s (in favor of aggressive tone), but you can always add more mids in your EQ.

Another alternative is 5881, which is a recent favorite by people with MOD50s. I have no personal experience with these tubes, but apparently they have the Characteristics of 6L6s, but also have some good mids (making them good to use with marshall mods).

Someone else can come in and give you a clearer description, since I've never used it.

I'm not too sure ont he recto either it seems to be the messiest one.. Is there any mods you can do to a rectified to make it kick some ***??

Yes. Sell it. Buy something else.

In all seriousness, you can do the capacitor mod- but in all honesty, it does improves the tone- but not enough for me to even consider using it as a main module. I highly recommend getting either the UltraXL or 1086.


If you HAVE to have a Rectifier tone I suggest the Grail mod.

 

[MetalMajik]

If you can't decide between 6l6's and EL34,s why not load your amp with a pair of each? I've got a a KT88/EL34 set coming from Eurotubes.com Its gonna sound HUGE :twisted:

 

[jak3y]

If you can't decide between 6l6's and EL34,s why not load your amp with a pair of each? I've got a a KT88/EL34 set coming from Eurotubes.com Its gonna sound HUGE :twisted:

Holy **** you could do that?? how would that work exactly?? Two EL34's on the outside and two 6l6's in the middle??

I have managed to pull some mega clarity out of my stack with the XTC module. After a re-Bias. But I will try running it at 4Ohms and see if that makes even more difference the recto Module is mean for fucking leads!!

I think the XTC has alot of Clarity when the Gain isn't so high, and it is a tight tone. but then I would probably get more Gain form the recto.

I'm so keen to swap my recto for a 1086 you guys rave about it

 

[JKD]

I honetsly think KT77s would be great for a Thrash sound..balls and bottom like a 6L6 with nice highs and agressive mids like an EL34...not as tight as the JJ 6L6 but you probably don't want that too much for your sound anyway.

You could make the Recto work with the cap (c3) mod and a good boost out front....but like people say, it's not the best mod out there for thrashy sounds...your XTC is probably better as you've found.

I'm keen to try a 1086 but I'm a $135 scam and module sale short now...looks like my Recto module won't be selling given peoples opinion of it either :-/

 

[T-BONE]

Hey man I never really chime in a lot but I just gotta say that I love my rm100 but not one of these mods will ever have enough gain for good hardcore metal/thrash, which is what I play myself. You have to add an overdrive to the front end. The 1086 is sackless. My xtc is being used in place of my broken wheel on my cab. My treadplate (which is basically a recto)is the only mod that crushes it for me. I use jj's E34 l's biased at 45v. Randall needs to make a heavy distortion Cyclone mod!!
I just had to add my 2 cents. Happy ripp'n!!

 

[jak3y]

Hey man I never really chime in a lot but I just gotta say that I love my rm100 but not one of these mods will ever have enough gain for good hardcore metal/thrash, which is what I play myself. You have to add an overdrive to the front end. The 1086 is sackless. My xtc is being used in place of my broken wheel on my cab. My treadplate (which is basically a recto)is the only mod that crushes it for me. I use jj's E34 l's biased at 45v. Randall needs to make a heavy distortion Cyclone mod!!
I just had to add my 2 cents. Happy ripp'n!!

Hey man thanks for ya experiences!! I will have to try a Maxon- 808 in the front of the amp to push some more gain and clarity.. remember i don't want too MUCH gain. I'm a big fan of tight clear rhythm tones liek Megadeth and Nevermore I'm pretty sure they used OD pedals in front and backed the gain off on the amp.. I'm biased to 40mV's eh and it's sounding great now

Does anyone know how to get another MIDI footswitch Cable? Cause I have misplaced mine I bet they aint too expensive huh?

 

[Scooter]

I tried a mixed pair of EL34's and 6L6's and it sounded like crap. YMMV

 

[tung]

Jak3y,
My RM100 pushes a lot of gain and tons of bottom end, and yet I still have alot of nice cutting mids. The XTC is good at the midrange, screaming harmonics solos, but it's not the best for what you're doing, which is heavy down tuned metal, right?
Jimosity on here had a lot of good metal sounds from the 1086.
One mod that no one here seem to talk about is the Brown. I had surprisingly good luck with it. It gives me a great gain sound, nice tight bottom and a lot of sweet harmonics and sustain for leads. What's important is the Brown produces great gain tones. I think it's one of the more underrated modules. I actually prefer the Brown over the XTC for tone. Check it out, you might like it.
Let us know how you make out. Don't sell it, man. It 's a great amp, you'll figure out the TONE.
T.
[/i]

 

[MetalMajik]

If you can't decide between 6l6's and EL34,s why not load your amp with a pair of each? I've got a a KT88/EL34 set coming from Eurotubes.com Its gonna sound HUGE :twisted:

Holy s*&t you could do that?? how would that work exactly?? Two EL34's on the outside and two 6l6's in the middle??

Thats right, one pair on the outside and one on the inside. You just have to make sure that you have all the tubes with the same natural plate current. Eurotubes.com sells them as "Intergrated Quads". Just stick them in your amp and bias each tube according to the normal range for each type of tube.

 

[jak3y]

Wicked ok.. I changed guitars and set my Warrior up for C tuning which my band Dissolution is in. www.myspace.com/dissolutionnz check it out!!! it's only a jam recording. But as Soon as I changed to the warrior cause it has EMG 81/85 and the tone has cleared up nicely!! My other guitar had EMG-hz's and they just don't have the same balls !!!