Randall RM50HB Review
Randall RM50HB Features
- 2 module
- 50 watts 6L6 tube
- Black cloth front
- Ruby power tubes
- Master volume
- Master density & presence
- Accutronics spring reverb
- Tube buffered parallel effects loops with front panel mix control
- Series effects loop
- Slave output
- Rear panel bias test points
- Master volume input (for volume pedals)
- Footswitch included
- World voltage AC input selector (100/120/220/240)
You can swap the power amps tubes to EL34, the easy access bias feature makes this process very
simple.
Randall RM50HB Sounds
Where to begin, there is virtually no limit to the sounds or tones you can achieve with this amp.
Mine came loaded with the Top Boost (Vox AC30TB) and Plexi (Marshall Plexi) modules which cover a
large tonal range. The Plexi modules ranges from clean to AC/DC levels of distortion while the
Top Boost is like a AC30 on steroids.
The Top Boost had to much gain for my tastes as I was looking for the traditional Vox AC30
sounds. Luckily there is a documented mod for this module which quickly changed the sound from
high gain AC30 to traditional AC30 which now produces that AC30 chime I was hoping to achieve.
See related article on mods.
Another trick to getting great tone with the Randall MTS series is to keep the channel levels
down, between 9-11 o'clock, and use the master volume to set your needed overall volume. This
keeps the preamp from punishing the output section and at gig/rehearsal volumes gets those power
amp tubes humming.
By loading the modules of your choice you can tailor this amp to meet whatever tones or sounds
you need at that time. Need a Fender Twin sound for a recording or cover song just grab the
Black Face module, dial in the tone and away your go. Changing modules is very easy, just
loosen the 2 thumb screws and pull the module out. There are guides that make it virtually
impossible to insert the module incorrectly.
The amp also comes with Accutronics spring reverb which is plugged into the parallel effects
loop. The reverb can easily be unplugged and swapped for your favorite time based effects unit
(Rocktron Xpression, Lexicon reverb, delay, chorus, etc) while the serial effects loop is perfect
for EQs and noise gates or leave the reverb plugged into the parallel and plug your multi-fx into
the serial loop.
Conclusion
The only negative is the amp is not balanced very well which makes carrying it by the top handle a
pain. Would also have liked to see midi switching like the 100 watt head but some times features
are left off for cost reasons.
Overall I recommend this amp or any MTS units by Randall. The flexibility is incredible and a
perfect fit for a home studio or any guitar player that needs a wide tonal range on stage.
Please leave feedback on this article here.
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Randall RM50HB 50-Watt Modular Tube Amp Head
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