What Happened To Randall Amps?
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- čas přidán 25. 08. 2024
- I'm sorry this video is so short, but I suppose you can treat it like a sequel to the Washburn video, which was more detailed.
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Dimebag used Randall amps because he won one in a contest, and he fell in love with it, lol.
wasn't that his Dean ML??
@@lucasfigueroa1602 Both. He actually got banned from most guitar competitions in Texas because he kept winning them.
Neat
@@lucasfigueroa1602if you watch the dime clinic video he talks about how he won his 1st randall
I think people believe their hero’s look in shop windows, when really we all just use what we can get a hold of, mostly lol
Actually George Lynch started working with Randall in the early 80's when they were located across the street from Anaheim Stadium. I was there with him when we would meet with Gary Sunda about designing a signature amp for George, so George was an early adopter at Randall, not a late bloomer like the others you mentioned.
George was instrumental in getting the tone right that would define the RG series and put Randall on the map. Besides my Boogie or Marshall, the amp I played the most gigs with on the Sunset Strip in the 80s was a friend's Randall RG75 combo with a Celestion that absolutely kicked ass. I loved that amp. I hope Randall is not done as a company and I wish they would bring back those old RGs. The later RGs absolutely suck. Also, their tube amps were hit and miss. I remember when Randall put out their first tube line in '89 and Tesla were endorsing. I thought it was very muddy compared to the RG series.
@@angusorvid8840 The Randall tube amps designed by Mike Fortin were really great. The Thrasher, Satan and 667 are all excellent amps.
Kirk Windstein from Crowbar got his heavy as hell tone from good ol Randalls.
Randall is dead. It sucks because the KH103 and 667 were such great amps.
So was the RD series. People like to justify spending more on an ENGL, Mesa, old block letter Peavey etc. then get a quality amp like a Randall and pair it with a great speaker/cab.
My favorite was the Diavlos. Those amps were metal machines.
@@rodbelding9523I enjoyed my rd45 head. I gotta agree they were really nice amps.
Those were ALL garbage. You really want an RG80ES or RG100ES. THAT, is a real Randall.
@@RaymondGinn1978 those are such potatoes, think you should check your ears :)
Happy to talk & share info on Randall. Look up Doug Reynolds who managed the brand from 2001-2009. That would be me 😊
Email me at mail@sixstring.tv please
Following whatever comes from this!
I don't know much of Randall, but I know Dimmu Borgir played them, and I know Ola Englund's Randall Satan amp looks and sounds like a massive beast that I'd love to get my hands on.
Would be cool if he released one under Solar.
Also, those Randall cabinets with the black metal grill look sick as fuck.
I bought my friend's old Randall, as he had given up guitar. It's an excellent amplifier. Everything still works, and it makes those fun metal sounds that I like. Never understood the business practice of buying up perfectly good companies, then letting them die, or killing them. I'm not very good at Boomering.
Much cheaper than having competition.
When the pandemic hit Randall’s prices went up quite a bit. A solid state head I got for $300 before brand new was now $800 new. The used market for Randall seems to not know what to do, cause sometimes you can find really good deals on Randall stuff, and sometimes the price gouging is ridiculous
You should absolutely do a “What happened to Crate Amplifiers?” Video. (Believe it or not there is a rather large community of Crate fanatics out there, and not all the amps are as bad as people try to say they are.) Your research is always highly detailed and it would be great to know with accurate info what happened and who owns the rights today. 🙌🏼 keep up the good work man! 🤘🏼
George Lynch was using the Randall RG100ES model during the Breaking the Chains and Tooth and Nail albums and tours.
Im super glad you made a video bout this, i have one of the newer rg solid state amps and absolutley love it
Lol you may be the first person I've ever heard refer to the Egnater Armageddon as "legendary," but any Egnater love is good Egnater love.
Those things are super sought after if you're in the right metal niche hahah.
I'd definitely love to have one, but they obviously never really made it over here
@@sixstringtv1 Fair enough, I hope you snag one someday. I always had high hopes for that amp but it let me down, would love to hear what someone from a different perspective would get out of it.
@@sixstringtv1I actually own the Armageddon and the vengeance heads. And yes they definitely are fantastic sounding heads.
The reason they weren’t successful though unfortunately from what I understand was because they actually used really cheap Chinese transformers and the damn things kept blowing out so egnater had a lot Warranty stuff with them and were losing money so they stopped production on them.
But yes if you can find one at a good price and don’t mind having to eventually replace the transformer they are definitely great sounding heads :).
I always thought egnater and bogner where the same company,
@@SlyHikari03 Not that i'm aware of? But i remember a rumor that bogner did help with the design of the armageddon amp head.
I have never seen a Randall last more than two or three years. Best tube behavior emulation on an amp; seeing how the solid state circuits broke down as frequently as tubes failed lol
I thought Ola broke one in a video also the guitarist of atheist grew up near me he had a warhead said it broke
@@michaelgrahamwongacutemadness sounds consistent with all of my encounters with Randall lol
@@michaelgrahamwongacutemadnessmy Warhead mk1 was 20 years old this year when I sold it finally and it all still worked. Same with my Warhead X2 until now and hopefully it stays that way.
Lee Anderson should buy Randall.
He alreadybhas an in house amp brand
@@alecmullaney7957wouldn’t exactly call victory an in house brand. Minority ownership in something doesn’t make it ‘yours’. Makes it ‘minority yours’.
I've been rocking a Randall for almost 10 years now!
I had a Randall RG80 amp in the mid 1980s. I’m not a metal player at all-the closest I get to that is late ‘60s-early ‘70s hard rock, and I was in a country band when I had the Randall. It was a 1-12” 80-watt combo, lighweight, had a great Fender-like clean sound, and the dirty channel sounded like a Marshall JTM. Nice little amp, one of the better solid-state amps around at that time. It fell off a drum riser once-the reverb made a god-awful crash, but the amp kept working. Takes a knockin’ and keeps on rockin’!
I used an RG80 as a backup to a Marshall JMP100wt. It was loud and powerful as long as you don’t pull the Treble out for extra gain.
Randal and Washburn being close reminds me of how often in the skateboarding industry ppl will use the deck and wheels from one distribution company to have most of their things come from the same place
Holy crap YES! I used to ride Flip boards and tried to stay in-house where I could (didn't use Fury, though, which was the same distribution IIRC)
@@desvega5849 it reminds me a lot of like Baker/Deathwish, Shakejunt and spitfire
hey man, love your videos, just checked those you did on your musima lead star and that got me into guitar restoration/diy, i'm getting a beat up eterna de luxe 25 soon to restore and modify to my liking, thanks dude for the inspiration
I had a Randall XXL 4x12. So sick. Micheal Amoth from Arch Enemy and DL from acacia strain used them. I would be so stoked to snag another one
DL had the best 7 string tone. Wormwood is so well produced. It’s amazing to me how DL got that sound.
My first real guitar head was a Randall Kirk Hammet, the version with modules and I loved it, above all for the possibility of having the sound of different amplifiers in a single head (years before the birth of Kemper) and I was passionate about it. very much to the brand also for the amplifiers made in collaboration with Fortin which I thought was the best brand for metal amplifiers also from a price point of view (if I'm not mistaken, cheaper compared to the Mesa Boogie). I'm sorry it all went like this
I've had 2 Randall amps. The first was a 4x10 (like a Super Reverb) I got in 1973. The second I still have, the Commander I with one 15" speaker purchased around 1979. I will agree with them being loud! Best 120 watt amp I've ever owned.
Man, I still really want a V2.
They are quite cheap in Europe. You can find it for 300-500€ on local marketplaces but they are absolutely horrible in regards to reliability. There is always something on those amps that’s fucking broken.
I hope Randall's not over. Some of my best music memories are tied to Randall amps. I used a friend's RG75 combo with a Celestion at many gigs in L.A. in the 80s, when I wasn't using my Boogie or Marshall. That Randall just kicked butt, sounded amazing. I hope Randall can make a comeback and bring back the classic RG series.
Still have a Randall MTS RM20 combo. It is quite nice and was so innovative at the time.. And it also works with Synergy module (but only on a single channel, most module let you select which one with an internal switch).
I still want to pickup a Randall Satan 50 watt if i ever get the chance.
I'm a Randall guy through and through! I'll play Randall until I die!!!
Hell yeah brother.
You can email Randall customer service via their on-site contact option and no one will answer. You have to contact the parent company in Canada. Not good.
Couldn't have anything to do with the fact they're still selling the same models from 20 years ago, but the price keeps going up and up and up...
* Diavlo RD-5H was sold new as low as $350 when I first looked, $550 about 2 years ago, then as high as $750 yesterday.
Randall for me was Wayne Static and Kirk Windstein. Loved the tone they had.
Randall has had some interesting designs over the years. I own a 300 watt solid state Randall Cyclone, which was just under the first Dimebag signature amp in the late 90s/early 00s. I also own a Warhead 2x15" cab. If you play chunky, mid scooped and extremely saturated metal, the amp is great, but that is all it does. That said, the inclusion of both a parametric mid control which allows you to set the frequency of the scoop as well as a graphic EQ give you a lot of control even if adjusting the other knobs doesn't do much. The gear is rugged but heavy and can take a lot of abuse. The amp is noisy with hiss because of all the gain and requires a noise gate.
On the used market for metal players just needing one sound with some basic effects in the loop the older Randalls should be perfect. The old Randall RG100ES line from the 80s that Dime used at first still sound great if you can get past the shag covering.
Randall has also had some interesting designs over the years like the modular preamps. With their newer designs, they have also had some seriously complex front ends that rival a Mesa Boogie Road King.
But in Kirk Hammett's case, the endorsement means nothing. When you look at Metallica's backline, they are using Fractal Axe FX IIIs and Matrix power amps. The amps are either used in studio or just pushed for marketing via a custom head made to an artist's specifications.
In terms of marketing visibility, Randall and Washburn both disappeared as soon as Dime re-signed with Dean and went over to Krank amps, which seems to be seeing a resurgence on the used market after being a short-lived but trendy company.
The problem with all of these music gear companies seems to be the same thing--they are popular for a short while, then once their popularity drops they are bought up as part of a larger conglomerate that then discontinues the brand or allows it to go largely dormant. Fender's experience with Hamer comes to mind. At the same time, a brand can be revived, such as when Fender bought Jackson from Akai and kept the brand alive.
I don't have a lot of experience with Randall's tube designs, but I liked their sound when I first started because it reminded me of a scooped, thick Mesa tone but was much easier to dial in and more rugged because the Randalls were solid state.
As I grew older and began to embrace a more mid range emphasized, boosted Marshall type sound, Randall kind of lost their luster. They kind of fell into the same ranks as perhaps the Peavey XXX/Ultra to me--a mid tier brand that was good for the price on the used market, but there wasn't much point in buying Randall if you could buy a real Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier. Increased reliability for touring might be the only reason I'd go with Randall over a Dual Rec, 5150, or a boosted Marshall JCM800/900.
I would use and play a lot of Randall stuff old and new if someone gave me the gear. But, now that the gear industry has moved on to embrace amp modeling, there isn't a compelling reason to buy heads unless one really likes a small number of sounds, is comfortable with the head, can dial it in quickly, and it is roadworthy with easy to find parts.
Some of my favorites ever, my name is also Randall.
From what I've read after Dimebag passed Randall had no clue as to what path they should take, they then started pricing Solkd state amps the sake as boutique tube amps.
The Randall's I've had were some of my very favorites, but alas it was not meant to be.
my first half stack was a late 80's solid state Randal. it was alright. i traded it for one of the first line six half stacks and i liked the suite of FX it came with, and i know line six gets a bad rap but they sounded fine to my ears
I used to play a cheap 100 watt Randall head in my first band. I think it was an rh100 or something like that. Great amp
so sad, when Randall brought on Mike Fortin they released a LOT of amazing amps! They must still be making them, but I think the company that now owns them isn't putting any money into the brand. Randall actually just a year or two ago released an update to the RD line. Same amp, but they removed the devil/demon head on the front.
Fortin and his “famous” reliability, paired with atrocious quality control was the downfall of Randall. They didn’t have any idea what to do to keep the brand alive with Fortin as lead designer.
Truth.. The internet ruined Randall, think about it..
It’s too bad that Randall isn’t doing well - and that nobody wanted to talk to you. Hasn’t Phil McKnight featured Randall amps on his channel in recent times, or was that longer ago than I’m recalling? I’m trying to recall if those were new models or older amps he already owned.
i personally own the rg1503. its better than any marshall or any other amp i've played (stock, no pedals)
Paul Stanley on psycho circus tour
You forgot to mention Micheal Angelo Batio
Right! Dammit
Had no idea about the MTS, but I thought in the 2010’s they were trying to push boundaries. The RG13 is what a lot of amp manufacturers are doing now.
I wish Ampeg still made guitar amps
Id love if you could try to find any info about De Armound basses, i recently got one and all the info i can find is that Fender bought them out in the early 2000s and immediately dissolved them
I want an old Randall head so bad. Mostly because of Kirk and Dime.
Gus g use to play randall amps
There is a new looking Randell 300 watt amp on Facebook Market place!!! It is only like 250 bucks!!! I was like Waaaaaht? I don't really like it but the price was cheap... Its probably still there!
Randall Warhead X2 heads are Dime in a box. Rare and prone to failure. I have three of them and one is broken AF. Hated the loop on the MTS amp...but the modded modules from Jaded Faith were awesome. And they coulda made a killing re-releasing the Century 200.
I also have X2 and so far it works without any issues and hopefully it stays that way.
They were still around?😂
can you do a review of lava guitars? ive been seeing it on guitar channel sponsorships everywhere, and its seems like a cool concept but i just cant trust sponsors nowadays. would love to hear your honest take on it.
They are genuinely not bad instruments, but closer to Apple products than guitars lmao
oh man! Yeah, sad...
is this also why Parker is dead? im sure Parker was bought by US Music or KMC or whatever
1:55, wait, is there a story behind that?
Rudy Schlacher (the former CEO of Washburn) is to blame for all of it. Under him, Washburn/Randall went from a company that made instruments for musicians to widgets to be sold to the masses. It was also allegedly under Schlacher that Washburn was busted selling foreign-made guitars as American-made (with victims paying the inflated prices for said instruments) until the FTC got involved.
He also pooled both companies under U.S. Music, which went as well as one can imagine (didn’t go well at all- the whole thing was meant more as a means to grift funds until Schlacher retired in 2016).
I had hope that Mike Fortin when he was involved in Randall would have resurrected the brand but that wasn't to happen
Ee want randalls back
So there is a god.
Thank god i am subscribed to both channels👁️🫦👁️
2:03 😂
From what Ive seen they are just dying. But super happy to be able to own the satan, though the tubes are rare and expensive currently
I want an rh200, t2, v2, vmax, etc. Randall should re-release these amazing solid state and hybrid amps.
I LOVE my rh200, so don't stop searching. They're absolutely worth it.
@@imliterallytom i actually ordered one used from GC. A g1 but it showed up in box showing it was abused. I can only get sound out of it on clean with master maxed and even then it's not right. Gonna have to bring it back to them. Sucks they destroyed this old amp.
@@imliterallytom arrived a couple days ago, UPS driver was carrying the box and it looked like a taco folded up with the heavy amp in the middle. Almost no protection. Surprised the head shell was still in tact.
@@they_arent_human I'm sorry to hear that :(( I'm putting out good energy for you right now! You'll get a Randall you love one day!!!!!
@@imliterallytom thanks I appreciate it 🙏
Also SUNN is back sooooo
Sunn commited a marketing suicide before they even released their first comeback amp on the market.
Wait, solid state amps were louder than tube amps back then?
Tube amps also just didn't have the gain he was looking for
@@sixstringtv1 gain might have been an issue, but early solid states were not 100w valve tube loud
In my experience no they were not.
The way it was explained to me, aAm 100 W solid state power amplifier is limited by its peak amplitude (√2 × the RMS rating), whereas a 100 W RMS valve power stage is rated for a clean signal, so it can easily make 150 W RMS but distorted.
By the time it reaches the speakers and your ears at that volume, all bets are off for clean signals anyway, so valve amps are louder for the and nominal rating.
Check the power consumption label on the back of two nominally equal amps, one valve, one tranny. Those Watts gonna be dispersed, and it's not all through heat.
Why do I think I know more than Diamond Darrell? I don't. He just wanted a high power output clean amp for his chainsaw tone. Most other people dgaf about signal purity. (He changed his stage name later.)
They Just drop the Natas-Pedal it's expensive, hard to get and fucking awesome.
Close. That's Fortin. Affiliated with Randall, bht different company
Talk about Marshall next
Do Crate next.
Loads of music gear companies that made great stuff back in the day are sadly dead...westone, kaman gtx's, vesters(got sued to death by fender), rocktron...just to name a few..
Randall guitars are so damn expensive now it's not worth it just buy a boss katana
They could have been the Mopar of amps. But they blew it
The old 80s RGs are so good, basically solid state JCM800s according to Gary Sunda. I absolutely love mine and will never get rid of it.
Yes Randall's dead. They died the day the named every amp they own some version of the word The Devil. Sad too, like Randall's
Randall own Boss. They haven't gone anywhere they are just using one of the sub name brands they own.
You're thinking of Roland. Roland own Boss 😂
@WholeLottaBulldog OH shit. You're right. I did a funny. 🤣
If your ‘Randall’ wasn’t made in California, it’s not a Randall.
What are your euro predictions
I predict I won't be watching or paying attention to any of it
Damn thats tought
Plz make a video on jackson guitats
@@sixstringtv1 So what you're saying is you don't know ball
❤❤❤
Im pretty sure Randall has been dead for quite a while now
Kirk Hammet little amp is SHIT, i have one i even cannot sell. Another Randall i had was total SHIT too..... I found a STUPID buy it ☝️
Yet a Century 200 that barely works goes for like 2 grand. How has someone not made a company around 90's solid state amps? They all go for stupid money these days.
Well, the good ones I mean, like the Ampegs.
@@lastscatteringsurface9950The ampegs and randalls and marshall valvestates are associated with legacy bands from the 90s...someone with an unfamiliar name would have a hard time making a name for themself in this lousy economy with all the overseas competition and a profound lack of new rock acts getting mainstream attention
I would love to try a Satan.
It’s pretty brutal.
Get a Crab Satan Pre-Amp. It’s a tube driven clone of the Satan pre-amp section with all the tone-shaping options.
@@ordohereticus3427 Crab? Is that a brand??
Wasn't Mike Fortin supposed to make them relevant again?
He designed 1-2 amp for them. Randall just never become popular, too niche.
@@davidszep3488 he designed more than that. The RD series, 667, KH103, Satan for Ola, Thrasher series, RM100 for George Lynch.
@@SilentNightBodomNight Thats way more than i thought, to bad they did not got popular, I have the Trasher/Satan schematics, there are interesting solutions in the preamp that i will try sooner or later. Probably the signature amps was too expensive, and the Trasher was fly under the radar for most of the guitarists. The Satan is probably very close to the Fortin Natas.
I would argue that his involvement even propped up the downfall of to company. Every single amp he made was a reliability nightmare paired with chinese “quality control”.
@@SilentNightBodomNight Bruce Egnater designed all of the RM100/MTS and later sold it to Synergy. Fortin "tweaked" the previous line of RD/RH tube series and then they rebadged/relaunched as the Diavlo series. The Natas/Satan/Thrasher are basically the same amp design and he stole most of that circuit from Larry Amplification (Dino 939 model)
Larry Amplification has accused Fortin of ripping off a few of his circuits with proof over on TGP (thegearpage)
Ola also had the Randall Satan
NVM you mentioned it 😂
The Randall Thrasher is so absolutely under rated.. it's a killer amp for death tech and extreme metal.. 🤘
Plus the Randall Satan . HELLO !!!!