Riffster Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 While traveling last week I read a review on a magazine on this head, while killing time I Googled it and I liked it, check the price and found a blemished head for $210 shipped. Had to have it for that price. It is a fire-breathing little thing, there is not blemishes but it looks like it was a return or floor demo. Sounds great but I bet it'll sound even better after a tube upgrade. I can tell it has low-ish quality tubes. Still, great addition to my sounds for the price of a booty-que pedal. The V is tuned one full step down and sounds great through this thing, Heavy Metal/Thrash Metal tones at my fingertips. Paired with my 1965a 4x10 And next to my other high gain amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Nice little lunch box sized head. What's the tube compliment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 I rather like that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 Nice little lunch box sized head. What's the tube compliment? Thanks, it is (2)12AX7 and (1)6V6. After I inspect the stock tubes I may end up with a couple of Tung Sols on the preamp and a EHX on the power. The features on the back are nice too, effects loop and silent direct XLR out with ground loop switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeman Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Can't go wrong with the tung sol. Love the amp! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon S. Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Very cool- that thing looks mean! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender 4 Life Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 great score! Randalls' have rocked for decades....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi Mac Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Can't go wrong with the tung sol. Love the amp! I wish I knew more about tubes... I hear folks rave about this one and that one and have no idea the difference. I hear people rave about Sovtecs and others hate 'em, I don't know what is a good one vs a terrible one... Some folks like the Groove Tubes in my new Fender Deluxe reissue and other change 'em out immediately... I got zero idea... One thing I hear that I want to try for myself is that if I pick up a Marshall JTM30, and they're relatively inexpensive to find, if you swap out the original 5881's in the power section and replace them with 6L6's it eliminates the over-heating issues they had that cooked transformers and it allows the amp to run cranked much better... I've heard folks marvel at how Marshally EL84 it sounds in this configuration... I keep wishing to try it... All I know is I love British tone and wouldn't know how to choose components to get it beyond playing a Les Paul with OverDrive... No thread hijack intended, looks like a killer find! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Thanks, it is (2)12AX7 and (1)6V6. After I inspect the stock tubes I may end up with a couple of Tung Sols on the preamp and a EHX on the power. The features on the back are nice too, effects loop and silent direct XLR out with ground loop switch. Very nice. Reminds me a lot of the VHT Special 6 Ultra. BTW you may want to check on that 6V6. That socket may be able to take any octal tube in replacement. I swapped the 6V6 for an EL34 in my Special 6 for a little more Brit grit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted March 19, 2014 Author Share Posted March 19, 2014 I may look into that, after playing with the tone knob the sound gets shrill when I get out of the sweet spot and I bet that's the tubes. I am set on the Tung Sol 12AX7 for the preamp but I need to find out what power tube would be the best fit, I do not want to tame this amp or give it more gain just want to make it sound better. The nice thing is that I will be able to try the tubes I want borrowing from my other amps and see how I like them before spending the cash. Jimi Mac, Tubes work differently depending on the amp and then theer is personal taste, a guy playing a bright Telecaster is going to like something bright that may sound srhrill to a guy looking for a smooth overdrive. Groove Tubes do not make tubes, they simply select and catalog them based on characteristics, Mesa and others do the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 I am set on the Tung Sol 12AX7 for the preamp but I need to find out what power tube would be the best fit, Yeah, I'm a big fan of those Tung Sol reissue 12AX7s as well. In fact I tried the Mullard reissues and the Tung-Sols were better. Tung Sol also makes a great EL34B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidRamey Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 I like Tung Sol and JJ 6v6 tubes. My favorite is Tung Sol, but you won't make a mistake with either Tung Sol or JJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted March 20, 2014 Author Share Posted March 20, 2014 I've grown unimpressed with JJs, they are very consistent and have become the go-to tubes for a lot of people but to me they just don't get 100% there. I replaced the power tubes with matched JJs on my Mesa and they seem to be missing something, they sound...safe for lack of a better word. I replaced them with Mullards and liked them better. Every amp is different though. One thing is that if you have JJ EL84s and notice they are in need of replacement, don't wait, they are very temperamental and when they go out they go out hard. Going back to the head, I like it a lot on the sweet spots, I have not even moved to another guitar yet. One weird thing is that i tried the effects loop and the first pedal did not work, I was kind of bummed and thought maybe this is the reason the amp was returned but I plugged my TC Electronic Delay and that one worked perfectly. Need to figure out what is going on with the other pedal that does work with my other amps, just weird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 I hadn't heard of that range of Randalls before. Some very nice bits of kit! Yours is rated at 5w but I'm guessing that's way more than plenty for playing at home? Let us know what the problem was with the FX loop, please! P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted March 20, 2014 Author Share Posted March 20, 2014 The volume is plenty for home use, the 4x10 gives it a nice oomph. Not sure why only the one modulation pedal does not seem to work, it is a cheap Chinese pedal branded Nux which works great with my Mesa amp but not with this amp. As I mentioned the TC delay worked perfectly well. Hopefully I can figure out why the other pedal does not want to play nice. I would like to play with a Phaser sound now and then and maybe a clean Chorused sound. No biggie, the delay is more important to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted March 20, 2014 Author Share Posted March 20, 2014 I will try the XLR output tonight and see how that works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted March 22, 2014 Author Share Posted March 22, 2014 OK, Last rave, I cranked this mother up today and it rocks. I have not checked the tubes but the power tube is a Ruby-selected tube labeled 6V6GTSTR, at least they put in a screened tube (Ruby is not a brand but a tube screen/selection service). Also, I finally updated the software in my Mac and Akai put out a Beta version of the software for my interface they have had so much trouble with and it looks like I will be able to record my horrible playing efforts again. I tested the direct XLR out and what a beauty, straight into the USB interface and that's it, silent recording. I never knew direct recording meant just that, as in lower the gain knob in the interface to "0" at the line level and you are set. I love this thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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