Which amp?

[Dr. Acula]

I'm wanting to get myself my first tube amp - not into gigging but do play with mates (a bassist and a drummer, sometimes another guitar) so need something that can cut above them.

Anyways, what amp would you suggest? I was thinking of an RM50 since the 100 may be too powerful for when I'm not playing with others to sound any good.

Also, where is best to get them in the UK - the second hand market over here is rubbish to be honest, and there seem to be precious few places at a reasonable price new.

 

[Phantom123]

Actually, I play the 100 at home all the time. It's not much louder than an RM50, to be totally honest.

 

[Dr. Acula]

Isn't it easier to get a better tone from a tube though if you're driving it harder?

 

[srrdude]

you can always get a power attenuator and drive it harder.

Ive found with my rm100 i can put the preamp volume to around noon and leave the master volume around 9 to get pretty good tones.

You can drive the rm50 harder at lower levels, but not by much and i like having a 3 channel amp.

 

[guitarcomet]

I'm wanting to get myself my first tube amp - not into gigging but do play with mates (a bassist and a drummer, sometimes another guitar) so need something that can cut above them.

You'll need 100 watts to do that.

Anyways, what amp would you suggest? I was thinking of an RM50 since the 100 may be too powerful for when I'm not playing with others to sound any good.

No, I've found that I can get a good tone without cranking my RM 100.

Also, where is best to get them in the UK - the second hand market over here is rubbish to be honest, and there seem to be precious few places at a reasonable price new.

Please explain. The used market has NOTHING of value?
C'mon! There's HAS to be something out there. Just keep looking.
I don't live in the UK...but I imagine things are just the same there.
Craigslist, Bargain Trader, classifieds, Ebay.uk, etc.

 

[guitarcomet]

I've found with my rm100 i can put the preamp volume to around noon and leave the master volume around 9 to get pretty good tones.

You can drive the rm50 harder at lower levels, but not by much and i like having a 3 channel amp.

+1

 

[Dr. Acula]

Fair enough. Looking around at the few places that actually sell them here in the UK there's only a ?50 difference between the 50W and the 100W head, although a cab would probably be a bit more expensive for the 100W head.

What mods would you recommend for someone who wants a good clean and something nice for early Metallica stuff (KEA/MoP era), possibly a bit of Iron Maiden too?

 

[Dr. Acula]

Please explain. The used market has NOTHING of value?
C'mon! There's HAS to be something out there. Just keep looking.
I don't live in the UK...but I imagine things are just the same there.
Craigslist, Bargain Trader, classifieds, Ebay.uk, etc.

Craigslist has virtually no presence in the UK - searching the biggest cities anywhere vaguely nearby - London and Bristol - my county (Hampshire) and a couple of smaller cities there were no Randall amps available. eBay comes up with 25 hits when searching for anything by Randall - 4 RM20s and a single RM50 - the former all come with a module and are around ?500 (a pretty good deal by comparison to the new prices) and the RM50 combo is ?850 or so (~$1200). The (cheapest) price of a new, unloaded RM50 head is ?699 and the RM100 ??749.

 

[Julia]

Get a head and a Marshall 1936 cab, and I know you can find those used over there.

 

[crankyrayhanky]

some say the rm50 has a better vibe, but I like b the 100s...the rm100 lets you bias each tube individually, meaning you don't need matched tubes (unlike the rm50 which biases in a pair)

you can always pull a couple of fuses on your rm100 and make it a 50 watter (adjust the ohms switch)...or just grab some 6v6s

The extra 3rd slot is great to have...the rm50 has a decent pan reverb and is much lighter. .. and the rm50 is plety loud enough to jam out in a band

either way a great amp with the right mods

 

[tehuk]

I'm wanting to get myself my first tube amp - not into gigging but do play with mates (a bassist and a drummer, sometimes another guitar) so need something that can cut above them.

You'll need 100 watts to do that.

I use an RT2/50 and 50 watts cuts through just fine.

 

[guitarcomet]

I'm wanting to get myself my first tube amp - not into gigging but do play with mates (a bassist and a drummer, sometimes another guitar) so need something that can cut above them.

You'll need 100 watts to do that.

I use an RT2/50 and 50 watts cuts through just fine.

Depends on the volume your band plays. Loud drummers & power-hungry bass players can be tough to beat.

 

[Dr. Acula]

How would I need to change the ohms switch (its been a long time since I did electronics so I've forgotten most of it)? Would pulling the fuses do anything damaging to the amp?

 

[yourguitarhero]

I picked up an RM20 with a Blackface module for ?400 shipped on eBay.
I made the guy an offer. It's really hard to move gear on eBay just now. Make them an offer?

The RM20 hangs with a band no problem. I've got a thread about it on here.

Playing heavy rock in a warehouse with a drummer and a bassist (2x15 and 2x10 bass stack), I had the volume on my RM20 at 1/3rd.

 

[jdr94]

dont believe you need 100watts. a 50 watt tube amp will be loud enough. i used to play a mesa single rec and at practice i had the volume at about 10 oclock. live i had it at about 9 oclock. i didnt read every post in this thread so i may have already been mentioned that 100 watts compared to 50 watts isnt really that noticable. the only difference is the headroom on the clean channel in my opinion.

 

[LordOVchaoS]

I prefer 100 watts but not because of volume. 100 watt amps just have a clearer, bigger bottom end to them. I like palm mutes to punch me in the chest! power tube saturation is overrated IMO. Warmer? Yes. Muddier? Yes IMO.

 

[Dr. Acula]

The RM20 did seem like a good option, but with only a single module it isn't versatile enough. If the RM22 is out if it is powerful enough. I need at least a clean and a crunch channel, not that bothered about the lead channel as I can always just get a pedal to click in for leads.

 

[lolthrash]

I prefer 100 watts but not because of volume. 100 watt amps just have a clearer, bigger bottom end to them. I like palm mutes to punch me in the chest! power tube saturation is overrated IMO. Warmer? Yes. Muddier? Yes IMO.

power tube saturation muddier??
not ever in my experience mate

 

[guitarcomet]

... the only difference is the headroom on the clean channel in my opinion.

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

 

[Julia]

Unity volume on the modules for the +4 db effects loop is around 11:00.

If you're not running your amp at deafening volumes chances are you're not getting power tube distortion.

Power tube distortion sounds really good, but it's not the best for the tubes or for the amp if you have a catastrophic tube failure. You hit it when you get to that point when you're turning up the amp and then it reaches a point (usually around 2:00) where it doesn't get any louder while you continue to turn it up. The "sweet spot" would be around 1:00. It's still **** loud. The louder you go from that point the more you risk your tubes and your amp. It's stupid loud. Like a 5150 is stupid loud, and I dare you to crank it over noon on the Post. It's stupid loud, like in the police come by and tell you you're an idiot loud because the neighbor a half block away called them.

This is why I went to 6550C's -- headroom and durability. I'm probably running the amp at 10W, any more and the windows wouldn't be intact, and pictures would fall off the wall. And my eardrums would burst. So in reality I'm only using preamp distortion + the added harmonics in the power tubes but no power tube distortion. Power tube distortion is not a must have.

The way around this problem is to use speakers that break up early. Like run a 412 with the Heritage Greenbacks (20W/speaker). They will breakup real early, but you've got to be careful about pushing them too hard since you'd only have an 80W rated cab with a 100W rated amp.

Bottom line is it doesn't really matter. If you get a good tone without having to push the power section hard you're ahead of the game.