Randall RD100 Diavlo, stay away

[Zachalou]

So I bought a blemished one of these from ZZsounds, plug it in and immediately the power tubes emit a bunch of electricity and very loud pops come through the speakers. No idea wtf happened, but not off to a good start so I returned it and they sent me a new one at a discount.

This time no errors right away, however no matter how this thing is EQ'd it just sounds cheap. Played it for about 7 hours within 2 days and on the new model I have experienced 2 power failures where the sound goes away then fades in and out for a few seconds before going back to normal. I checked all the tubes, cables, and my guitar after the first one, then a few hours later it happened again.

So in short, stay away from these

 

[MetalHeadMike]

Maybe that super comp should stay put huh

 

[mchn13]

So I bought a blemished one of these from ZZsounds, plug it in and immediately the power tubes emit a bunch of electricity and very loud pops come through the speakers. No idea wtf happened, but not off to a good start so I returned it and they sent me a new one at a discount.

This time no errors right away, however no matter how this thing is EQ'd it just sounds cheap. Played it for about 7 hours within 2 days and on the new model I have experienced 2 power failures where the sound goes away then fades in and out for a few seconds before going back to normal. I checked all the tubes, cables, and my guitar after the first one, then a few hours later it happened again.

So in short, stay away from these

Tbh, I didn’t get along with mine either. I had the rd45, and with a boost, it was pretty good, but the blue channel on my Evh was miles better. I got one of the newer solid state rg300’s and it has the same really thick mids and lows, and only sounds tight with a boost. I heard the new rg’s were close to the old rg’s which I love! But the voicings not there. It’s useable, but not killer.
I’m using my old 90’s rack stuff for metal til I pick up another Evh.

 

[mchn13]

Maybe that super comp should stay put huh

Yeah dude, if I had the cash I’d have already hit you up for that fucker.

 

[Zachalou]

Maybe that super comp should stay put huh

Maybe so I like it, but wish I had a full on Nitro to have a clean channel to. I have the new DSL100HR coming and I think that's more along the lines of what I'm looking for just for versatility and price, plus I've been really wanting one of the 80's Charvel models!

 

[Zachalou]

So I bought a blemished one of these from ZZsounds, plug it in and immediately the power tubes emit a bunch of electricity and very loud pops come through the speakers. No idea wtf happened, but not off to a good start so I returned it and they sent me a new one at a discount.

This time no errors right away, however no matter how this thing is EQ'd it just sounds cheap. Played it for about 7 hours within 2 days and on the new model I have experienced 2 power failures where the sound goes away then fades in and out for a few seconds before going back to normal. I checked all the tubes, cables, and my guitar after the first one, then a few hours later it happened again.

So in short, stay away from these

Tbh, I didn’t get along with mine either. I had the rd45, and with a boost, it was pretty good, but the blue channel on my Evh was miles better. I got one of the newer solid state rg300’s and it has the same really thick mids and lows, and only sounds tight with a boost. I heard the new rg’s were close to the old rg’s which I love! But the voicings not there. It’s useable, but not killer.
I’m using my old 90’s rack stuff for metal til I pick up another Evh.

I had the 100 watt solid state randall for a few months and it was cool, but not a keeper for me. I might try the 5150iii again one day if I see it locally at a reasonable price though, I did enjoy the blue channel, for some reason I was trying to make the red channel work more than I tried boosting the blue channel to get it where I want it
I couldn't get the maxon 808 to sound good with the RD100, I thought I liked it until I got to turn it up properly and try and get it to sound good and it really just fell apart, just glad the first one didn't burn my house down

 

[Racerxrated]

So I bought a blemished one of these from ZZsounds, plug it in and immediately the power tubes emit a bunch of electricity and very loud pops come through the speakers. No idea wtf happened, but not off to a good start so I returned it and they sent me a new one at a discount.

This time no errors right away, however no matter how this thing is EQ'd it just sounds cheap. Played it for about 7 hours within 2 days and on the new model I have experienced 2 power failures where the sound goes away then fades in and out for a few seconds before going back to normal. I checked all the tubes, cables, and my guitar after the first one, then a few hours later it happened again.

So in short, stay away from these

I had one way back, 6 yrs maybe...didn't like it either. Only way I liked it was after I put an EQ in the loop, then I could get a decent tone.
But any amp I HAVE to run an EQ in the loop to like, gets flipped fast.

 

[Zachalou]

So I bought a blemished one of these from ZZsounds, plug it in and immediately the power tubes emit a bunch of electricity and very loud pops come through the speakers. No idea wtf happened, but not off to a good start so I returned it and they sent me a new one at a discount.

This time no errors right away, however no matter how this thing is EQ'd it just sounds cheap. Played it for about 7 hours within 2 days and on the new model I have experienced 2 power failures where the sound goes away then fades in and out for a few seconds before going back to normal. I checked all the tubes, cables, and my guitar after the first one, then a few hours later it happened again.

So in short, stay away from these

I had one way back, 6 yrs maybe...didn't like it either. Only way I liked it was after I put an EQ in the loop, then I could get a decent tone.
But any amp I HAVE to run an EQ in the loop to like, gets flipped fast.

That's pretty much exactly how I feel about it, that coupled with the bad luck on the two I just went through is enough for me not to want it, I might try the satan if I ever see it locally but I just question the build of that whole line of randalls

 

[mchn13]

Maybe that super comp should stay put huh

Maybe so I like it, but wish I had a full on Nitro to have a clean channel to. I have the new DSL100HR coming and I think that's more along the lines of what I'm looking for just for versatility and price, plus I've been really wanting one of the 80's Charvel models!

I just spent a little time on a dsl the other day, after ignoring them for years, as I had a jcm800, and still have a plexi reissue. I was shocked how close the ultra (green I think) got to my old 800, but with more gain and an effects loop.
Now, I don’t know how they hold up at volume, but if it’s even close, I really slept on those amps.

 

[Zachalou]

Somehow I’ve managed to never play a DSL but I like the tones I’m hearing from all the people who use them, and everyone says the new ones are a big improvement so this is as good a time as any

 

[Zachalou]

Got the DSL in today and have been playing on it the last 3 hours

Gotta say this thing rocks! Having never played a DSL, I'm finding I like it a lot more than I did the Splawn. To me, this DSL sounds much better than the Splawn did at band volumes. Using a Fortin Zuul and Maxon OD-808 only at the moment (with a boss tuner to split the signal to use the key input) It sounds pretty chunky, as tight as the splawn was but much more aggressive mids. I found it super easy to dial in, and while I might add an EQ later, I don't think it really needs it.

Even though I've never used a DSL before, for some reason I always thought of them as the crappy marshall tube amps? I have no idea why, but that's changed now

Plus, it feels kind of cool to actually have the amp head match the brand on the cab (for once)

 

[Mailman1971]

Got the egnater Armageddon in.
It sounds great!! But check out a EVH 5153 EL34.
Will not disappoint!!

 

[ChurchHill]

Love that old Charvel!! I used one almost exactly like it as my backup stage guitar for years. I had a Kahler installed, but other than that, same color, same everything. That neck was amazing!!

 

[Zachalou]

Love that old Charvel!! I used one almost exactly like it as my backup stage guitar for years. I had a Kahler installed, but other than that, same color, same everything. That neck was amazing!!

I just got it from a good friend of mine who is a charvel collector, I absolutely love this thing and yeah the neck is amazing! I was going to get a model 6 that he had, but I just couldn't resist the feel of this one!