TIL Randall is still in business making amps

[DanTravis62]

Back in the 90's Peavey dominated the solid state market and made pretty decent stuff at a reasonable price. Everyone back then had a Peavey in their lineup. They also had the 6505, JSX and XXX as reasonably priced tube amps that all sounded damn good. Yeah, they still have the 6505 line keeping the afloat, but I'm still scratching my head on why they're not dominating the market with a large line of affordable amps. They would definitely have the brand recognition on their side. Complete incipience by leadership.

Not only that, the classic 20 classic 50 delta etc were all excellent fenders on a budget

 

[napalmdeath]

Pretty much this. I would have been interested in checking out a Thrasher if they didn't jack the price for no good reason.

I had the 50, and its actually a killer amp. I also got it for like $550 used. Bought the big boy for $1599 new, and it was defective and I had to return it.

 

[MadAsAHatter]

Not only that, the classic 20 classic 50 delta etc were all excellent fenders on a budget

Throw in the Vypyr tube 60 & 120 for a digital/tube hybrid that's a great versatile amp and you have a solid lineup.

I have a tube 60 combo that I converted to a head. It sound great through a 412 and is a nice compromise for not going modular or full digital. Peavey really could have developed something competitive and special if they kept development going in that direction.

 

[napalmdeath]

It's so stupid, both tube and solid state they've had a million great circuits

But just like peavey, they can't fucking help but shoot themselves in the foot over and over again

It's infuriating because it seems like these companies are run by complete morons who have no knowledge of the industry their bread is buttered in - Randall, or Peavey for that matter, could hire the average rig-talker as a special advisor; and if they actually listened they would make money hand over foot. It's always so fucking obvious. Like, how long did it take Peavey to rerelease the original 5150? Then when they finally did it was too little too late.

It makes me want to strangle these people who work at these companies. Someone like you or I would tell randall "reissue the tube 100ES, make it in vietnam or china or whatever but make it mod-friendly and use high quality components for under 1500$" and the fucking morons would print money.

Randall's just a name, its not even a company anymore. They have no R&D, no designer, no builder. They just build amps in China from designs they purchased from Fortin and the older stuff regurgitated. They're a joke.

 

[RaceU4her]

i forgot how many dudes randall actually had in their line up at one time. Obviously Dime. i all but forgot about the kirk hammett head. there was the Nuno head no one played. Lynch had one. Scott ian. its not like they didnt have some formidable names

 

[napalmdeath]

Dude the tube RG100ES that’s so rare would sell like hotcakes and be killer mod platforms. So many people love the RG100ES as well. I don’t get how they could be struggling having those in their bank of circuits people would fight over.

They hired Fortin and the prices that followed definitely did them in after being in the solid state game for as long as they have.

The RD45H was only $599 when Fortin was there. It was after he left they shot up to $849, and I think some are selling them at $1439. The big Thrasher was $1599. After Fortin left it shot up several times and at one point was as much as $3499. It later came down. I can't imagine they're selling either Thrasher at their current prices new.

 

[Bloodrock]

i forgot how many dudes randall actually had in their line up at one time. Obviously Dime. i all but forgot about the kirk hammett head. there was the Nuno head no one played. Lynch had one. Scott ian. its not like they didnt have some formidable names

The problem with Randall stuff, aside from the old SS stuff, is that they were all just mediocre sounding. Even the fortin stuff. Plus kinda crappy build quality.

 

[glpg80]

The problem with Randall stuff, aside from the old SS stuff, is that they were all just mediocre sounding. Even the fortin stuff. Plus kinda crappy build quality.

I don’t think anyone would argue that at all - I emphasize mod friendly in rebuttal.

 

[tjnx]

The RD45H was only $599 when Fortin was there. It was after he left they shot up to $849, and I think some are selling them at $1439. The big Thrasher was $1599. After Fortin left it shot up several times and at one point was as much as $3499. It later came down. I can't imagine they're selling either Thrasher at their current prices new.

I got mine new for like 380 because someone posted a link here to a ProAudioStar deal. The price increase is the some of the most blatant bs I've seen

 

[Floyd Eye]

Harley Davidson is even worse though they went woke - like Gillette, etc

Randall and Peavey didn't even sell their soul to marxists, they're just incompetent

Gillette ain’t even Gillette anymore. They’re P&G. They haven’t made a real razor since 1968.

 

[rsm]

i forgot how many dudes randall actually had in their line up at one time. Obviously Dime. i all but forgot about the kirk hammett head. there was the Nuno head no one played. Lynch had one. Scott ian. its not like they didnt have some formidable names

Paul Stanley had a Randall sig amp too

Randall Colossus:

 

[RaceU4her]

The problem with Randall stuff, aside from the old SS stuff, is that they were all just mediocre sounding. Even the fortin stuff. Plus kinda crappy build quality.

I did kind of want one of those cyclones for a whil, I don’t the the V/T2’s were terrible. I just never had a store near me to try much, and I had my rg100es and century for a long time

 

[RaceU4her]

like this sounds pretty fucking devastating and unique, id grab one if i seen it around

 

[RaceU4her]

and who was bigger than Def Leppard in 87?? i remember as a little kid them having three songs in the top 10 every week

 

[Bloodrock]

 

[jabps]

It's so stupid, both tube and solid state they've had a million great circuits

But just like peavey, they can't fucking help but shoot themselves in the foot over and over again

It's infuriating because it seems like these companies are run by complete morons who have no knowledge of the industry their bread is buttered in - Randall, or Peavey for that matter, could hire the average rig-talker as a special advisor; and if they actually listened they would make money hand over foot. It's always so fucking obvious. Like, how long did it take Peavey to rerelease the original 5150? Then when they finally did it was too little too late.

It makes me want to strangle these people who work at these companies. Someone like you or I would tell randall "reissue the tube 100ES, make it in vietnam or china or whatever but make it mod-friendly and use high quality components for under 1500$" and the fucking morons would print money.

Couldn't agree more. Peavey, so many good amps that look like complete dogshit. Finally get themselves associated with arguably the most influential guy around and apparently screwed that up. Imagine Hartley arguing with Ed on the faceplate of the 5150? Then they literally cut themselves off at the knee's with the Trucker Girl panel and the name of the XXX amp. Yep let's just market to one tiny segment of player. Go back further to the VTM series, really good amps that could compete with most Marshalls and instead of making it aesthetically pleasing, they put it in one of the most vile looking, heavy ass headshells known to man, with Tolex that would give shark skin a run for it's money.

They the finally reissued the 5150, kudo's. However why not fix the master volume especially considering a good master is a key component on the high gain bedroom amp wars.

 

[DanTravis62]

Couldn't agree more. Peavey, so many good amps that look like complete dogshit. Finally get themselves associated with arguably the most influential guy around and apparently screwed that up. Imagine Hartley arguing with Ed on the faceplate of the 5150? Then they literally cut themselves off at the knee's with the Trucker Girl panel and the name of the XXX amp. Yep let's just market to one tiny segment of player. Go back further to the VTM series, really good amps that could compete with most Marshalls and instead of making it aesthetically pleasing, they put it in one of the most vile looking, heavy ass headshells known to man, with Tolex that would give shark skin a run for it's money.

They the finally reissued the 5150, kudo's. However why not fix the master volume especially considering a good master is a key component on the high gain bedroom amp wars.

It's unbelievable, right?

It's not just peavey either, Randall has made almost all the same mistakes just not quite as bad with aesthetics. There's a million other brands who have done it, too.

I swear these amp companies don't even have employees who play guitar and use their products, it's literal insanity because they do it over and over and over again.

 

[mnemonic]

It would be nice if they made the thrasher 50, i always wanted to try one but I’m not sure if they ever even sold them in the uk. I remember when they were announced, it was ‘coming soon’ at a few retailers for months, then one day I checked and they were listed discontinued

 

[heath]

I used an early 2000's RG100sc combo for a number of years(2002-2007) as my primary rig. The sound was really quite good considering it was solid state, however, the quality was garbage. It broke three times in those five years and the last time I just gave up and turned it into an open back cabinet to leave in the rehearsal space so I didn't have to pack cabinets around. The PCB's were barely 1mm thick, if that, and not nearly enough standoffs for the size of board it was. The whole thing flexed like crazy and broken solder joints resulted. It ate IC chips like they were Lays. Regardless of how much I liked the tone, or how cheap it was, it was unreliable. Randall customer service were not helpful. Refused to give schematics out unless someone was an authorized retailer associated tech.

At the same time I have a peavey bandit solo 65 from 1984 that is still roaring. It never sounded as good as the randall, but it is practically bulletproof. A good speaker went a long way in improving its tone. My teenager uses it as his practice amp in his room still and its 42 years old. The PCBs are thick, through hole construction and the poor thing has fallen out of the back of a truck at highway speeds and still works. A poorly covered sneeze was enough to take down my randall.