Just In to the Shop: Randall Nuno Bettencourt Half Stack

[King Guitar]

Hey Guys,

This just arrived at the shop with my first Randall order. I love Nuno and know he is touring with this amp and I also went and saw Slash in Boston a few months back and his 2nd guitar player had one and sounded great. The cab is loaded with Greenbacks which is cool. I will try it out later today and let you know what it sounds like. Lots of bang for the buck with this signature amp as they are not super expensive.

 

[mentoneman]

love the look of those things and the VU meter tied to the output is so cool i wish all amps had it,

but the one irk is the randall logo..never liked that one, or the pointy peavey logo.

 

[rupe]

One of the coolest looking amps on the market. I've yet to actually hear one though.

 

[gbsmusic]

I love the look too!! Love to hear what you think of the tone Brad.

 

[racerevlon]

Same as everyone else--love the retro "tube radio" look--can't wait to hear your review and da clipz if possible.

 

[Enjolras56]

Sorry to dig up an old thread. Great to see you're carrying this amp Brad! Hard to find much about these on the web. Any updates on your thoughts?

I own one and gig with it and frequently get comments about its unique looks.
I primarily use the clean channel cranked getting a nice Marshall-y crunch.

 

[The Hoff]

Whoa, nice! Must be the best shop on the easy coast. Congrats Brad-hope your success continues!

 

[rupe]

So, let's hear a bit more about how this one sounds/performs

 

[King Guitar]

Hey Guys,

Its a cool amp for sure but very basic. I think it looks badass and very unique, it might not be for everyone with the styling but I like it.

Its a straight ahead rock amp, the clean channel in a warm and very clean and can be pushed into plexi crunch tones with the gain cranked, the Dirty side sounds to me like a really good Marshall JCM 800 but with more gain and saturation if you want it.

You can really tell Nuno's signature is all over the tone as it sounds just like Nuno always sounds, very percussive and crunchy but not over the top. These are priced pretty damn low for a signature half stack and they sound great for straight ahead rock and roll, if you want modern detuned Metal, this isn't your amp (Diezel, ENGL etc...).

When I saw Slash on his last tour his 2nd guitarist was touring with this Nuno half stack and it sounded great in that rock and roll setting.

Here is a pretty good clip of it I found on you tube of a guy playing some Sabbath with a Suhr on it.

And Nuno with his in 2010

 

[angelspade]

Brad...Question: I know that you mentioned that it really cannot do the "modern, brutal, de-tuned uber-metal" thing, but how "heavy" and aggressive does it get on the boost channel? A friend once told me that it he could come close to nailing thrash tones and nearly duplicated the "Ride the Lightening" tone with the boost channel with an EMG loaded Les Paul? ...Any thoughts on this. THANKS!!!

BTW...I really kinda dig the unique look as well.

 

[King Guitar]

Brad...Question: I know that you mentioned that it really cannot do the "modern, brutal, de-tuned uber-metal" thing, but how "heavy" and aggressive does it get on the boost channel? A friend once told me that it he could come close to nailing thrash tones and nearly duplicated the "Ride the Lightening" tone with the boost channel with an EMG loaded Les Paul? ...Any thoughts on this. THANKS!!!

BTW...I really kinda dig the unique look as well.

Yeah it will do that, pretty hairy on the Gain channel, just not voiced for the dropped tuning crowd like say an ENGL is. No problem doing Metallica...

 

[angelspade]

Brad...Question: I know that you mentioned that it really cannot do the "modern, brutal, de-tuned uber-metal" thing, but how "heavy" and aggressive does it get on the boost channel? A friend once told me that it he could come close to nailing thrash tones and nearly duplicated the "Ride the Lightening" tone with the boost channel with an EMG loaded Les Paul? ...Any thoughts on this. THANKS!!!

BTW...I really kinda dig the unique look as well.

Yeah it will do that, pretty hairy on the Gain channel, just not voiced for the dropped tuning crown like say an ENGL is. No problem doing Metallica...

...Thank Brad.