Randall Diavlo RD 45

[Lux84]

Have anyone got that amp ? how do they sound in the mix ? which speakers do you use ? which tubes are the best ?

I have that head. i haven't try it yet in a band situation. but it sounds awesome at low volumes and it has a good low end.. that's my first impressions. mine is completly stock, no retubing was done yet. i can say it can get me into thrash zone and beyond. it's tight and dark. i have use it with V30 and G12T75 speakers and with both it sounds pretty good. it has enough of gain for my needs, at the end of tweaking i always get some brutal tones. it sounds great boosted with my modded Boss SD-1, it really brings the hair, so the sound became more cutting with the pedal. i am into a lot of early metallica stuff, first 3 albums.

How do they cut through mix in the band situation, if you have one ? my impression is that they're pretty dark voiced compared to my JCM 800.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: Randall Diavlo RD 45

I haven't owned one, but I've played one at the store and a buddy gigs his all the time.

First, my overall impression when I first plugged-into the RD45 was "why in the #$%@ did I spend $2K on an Engl Powerball 2 for the last hard rock outfit I was in, when I could've spent under $500 on the Randall and had a killer hard-rock/metal tone?" Don't get me wrong, the Engl was an awesome amp for that application and certainly "better" than the Randall. But the RD45 sounded great and I contemplated getting one. But I really don't spend much time in those genres anymore, so I haven't picked one up. Still... I still have my Schecter C7 Damien Elite seven string kicking around in the man cave and this amp would be a perfect match for it.

Second, my buddy plays in a Top 40 dance band and it sounds good to me when I go to their gigs. Whether he plays clean or OD tones, it seems to sit in the mix well. Though with its dark, scooped nature I wouldn't say that it CUTS through the mix -- but he's a pretty simple/solid player, playing in a band where being a "guitar hero" isn't the schtick. So it seems to work great for what he's doing and I have no doubt that it'd cut it just fine if they were heavier and more guitar-centric. Certainly one of the best amps you're gonna get for the money! He loves it. He had the Egnater Vengeance before the Randall, but the Egnater blew up on him before he'd even had it a year.

 

[Lux84]

Re: Randall Diavlo RD 45

Hell yes, it is a good amp. i cannot post any of clips, because i haven't got equipement for micing yet. but it can get me into searching for my own sound easily. good, i was hoping someone will say that it cuts through mix well. it sounds cool through my Orange 1x12 too, but through 1960 4x12 cab it really opens up. i will not retube it up until it will be necessary. when it will die, i will retube it with some JJ's or Tung Sol's. it's a killer amp for metal, it can definately get me in that hi gain zones easily, no need to crank it all up to get there like with my other amp JCM 800 ! the full gain is already there at low volumes. i guess i should try to nail some more classic rock crunchy stuff now, and report how the sound is.. it seems to be very versatile amp !

 

[Lux84]

Re: Randall Diavlo RD 45

Yeah, it's sounds awesome for other styles too. i've played 1 hour straight more classic rock riffs with strat and record some my own ideas. it's a good sounding amp for other styles yes, too. it sounds awesome through 4x12 cab !

 

[Chazzy]

Re: Randall Diavlo RD 45

My rhythm guitarist has wanted to buy this amp for a while? is it loud enough through a 412 to compete with my peavey 6534+ through my 412?? hes looking for a super brutal dark tone for big chunk and pure power? this the right amp?

 

[P.A.Foholic]

Re: Randall Diavlo RD 45

Have anyone got that amp ? how do they sound in the mix ? which speakers do you use ? which tubes are the best ?

I have that head. i haven't try it yet in a band situation. but it sounds awesome at low volumes and it has a good low end.. that's my first impressions. mine is completly stock, no retubing was done yet. i can say it can get me into thrash zone and beyond. it's tight and dark. i have use it with V30 and G12T75 speakers and with both it sounds pretty good. it has enough of gain for my needs, at the end of tweaking i always get some brutal tones. it sounds great boosted with my modded Boss SD-1, it really brings the hair, so the sound became more cutting with the pedal. i am into a lot of early metallica stuff, first 3 albums.

How do they cut through mix in the band situation, if you have one ? my impression is that they're pretty dark voiced compared to my JCM 800.

I had one. Really good metal/hard rock amp. Used it with the Engl 212EV Pro (Vintage 30s). Upgraded the preamp with Tung Sols. The Tung Sols brought the gain channel to a whole new league, Sounded badass. It cut well in a band situation with super hard hitting drummer, two guitars, bass & vox. It was a little dark voiced but scooping the mids a tad and boosting the presence/treble it sat well in the mix. Guitar used was Mayones Regius 6 (mahogany body) with BKP Painkillers.

What I noticed with the amp was that if you kept the gain as low as possible it had awesome tone in the band context. Upping the gain too much made it screechy and undefined. Lead channel somewhere about 11 o'clock + boost was a really good sound.

My rhythm guitarist has wanted to buy this amp for a while? is it loud enough through a 412 to compete with my peavey 6534+ through my 412?? hes looking for a super brutal dark tone for big chunk and pure power? this the right amp?

I'd say yes. To both of the questions.

 

[JRSOLDJA]

Re: Randall Diavlo RD 45

I played a RD45 at GC up in Vegas about a week ago. It's a killer little amp. The only thing I personally didn't like was that EQ is shared on all channels/no reverb or anything. That and If you crank the gain it seems to lack definition. But it still had a killer sound, don't get me wrong. For the price though...could find better (that's just based on my preference though)

 

[Lux84]

Re: Randall Diavlo RD 45

I am keeping the treble and presence somewhere at 3 o clock to full most of the time. middle at about 11 to 1 o clock. gain somewhere between 12 and 3 o clock. amd bass somewhere between 11 and 3 o clock. i noticed more low end if i crank the gain all the way up. for more classic, rock stuff the amp has almost too much of low end. so i ussualy backing the bass for that kind of stuff. i tried it with emgs loaded esp guitar and it sounded the best for metal. then i tried it with seymour duncans and the sound was good for vintage rock. the pearly gates of the neck of my LP was so vintage sounding through RD45. i really enyoyed the sounds of it. i am running it ussualy through 4x12 V30/G12T-75 mix cab. i am planning to put some Tung Sols in the RD 45 in the future to brighten up the amp up a bit.