Music Man RD-112 One Hundred

This amp was manufactured in the 70's and early 80's. Features include two channel preamp with the footswitch hard wired to the chassis, also has switchable reverb, front panel effects loop, extension speaker output, low and high power with standby. This amp is a hybrid combo. (Solid state preamp/tube power amp 2 6l6GC tubes)Has plenty of power (100 watts)and is versatile enough for my playing. I don't really care for the way the footswitch is wired but I'm sure that can be modified.

I play a highly modified JB Player Strat copy. It used to look like something out of a Poison video(Black & white Firecrackle ooh aah)but I have matured somewhat. I sanded it down and refinished it, put a new neck and tuners and pickup etc etc. It really looks nice and plays nice. I am involved in music ministry and I like a variety of styles. (Funky, Bluesey, Jazz, Hard Rock, Contemporary Ballad etc.) Now my playing centers around my clean sound and this amp has a very warm tube clean sound and suits my needs perfectly. SWEET MOTHER TONE!! The amp will distort somewhat, probably closer to overdrive so this is not a heavy metal amp unless you add a preamp/pedal.I'm not one of those players who have to play a differnt sound for every song they know. I basicly have a clean sound and a distortion sound. Everthing else is a variation of those two sounds. I play with a Morley Deluxe Flanger for a chorus effect and use a Sansamp GT-2 for my distortion. I also have a Digitech PDS 1002 delay pedal I occassionally use on a lead. This amp is very quiet considering its age and the tube power section.

I just got this amp so I can't objectively say yet.

Music Man was bought out by Ernie Ball around 1985 and the amp line is no longer manufactured. I e:mailed their customer service to request the schematic and manual and they promptly replied and got my information to me in like 3-4 days.
I did have this amp worked on at a local music store and didn't have any problems. It has a pretty basic design and is about the same as getting a Fender serviced. (Mainly because Leo Fender formed Music Man after Fender)

I have been playing for about 10 years and have a small home project studio.(Fostex FD-8, Mackie 1202VLZ, Alesis SR-16, Piano controller and module, synth and various rack effects)I have been dying to review this amp mainly because of how I got it. I noticed this amp in a pawn shop about a year ago. They were asking $289.00 for it and that had been marked down from $349.00. I overlooked it because of the price. I wanted to play it but the fuse had been blown and I didn't have time to get it changed. I went back a year later hoping it was still there and sure enough it was. I tried to trade my Peavey Special 112 and a pair of 1X12 PA speakers but they weren't really wanting to trade. The manager made a couple of calls and then made me the deal of a lifetime. He said $50.00 bucks plus the tax and you can keep your gear and take it home. I said sold! It didn't have a fuse, there were two different tubes and one of them wasn't even plugged in and best of all I didn't even turn it on. I know I know I'm not supposed to buy something without carefully scrutinizing it but hey I bought a tube amp for $50.00 bucks! I put new tubes and a fuse in it, cleaned all the pots, put a Celestion G-12 70 in it(I've had this speaker for several years) and put new grill cloth on it. Then I took it to our local amp tech to check it out and he replaced a couple of transistors and a DC regulator. Now this amp is exactly what I've been looking for. I love this amp because it gives me the tube sound I've been wanting. I looked at many of the small tube models (PV Classic 30 & 50, Fender Blues Deluxe & Deville , Marshall JTM-30,etc. as well as surfing the net looking for a bargain, but I still couldn't afford to pay $250-$600 for another amp. I really didn't want to jump on the Fender and Marshall band wagon either. I don't have anything against those amps or the people who play them I just wanted something that was unique. (Why else do you think I would be playing a JB Player Strat wannabe?)If this amp were stolen I would find the person and make them stick their tongue into a tube socket or the fuse holder,and play shock the monkey until they want to graciously return my amp. I think at the bottomline Music Man Amps are an incredible value. They sound great! I say "they"... Mine is the only one I've played but I have read many of the reviews here on Harmony Central and everyone else says the same. If you should come across a Music Man, give it a fair chance. Don't pass it up because it doesn't say Fender, Marshall, or Mesa Boogie. You will save money going with the Music Man but you won't be sacraficing clean tone! Let's band together fellow Music Man users until everyone else is jealous of our amp and tone for a change!

Two channel w/ bass, treble, and middle. Bass booster (deep switch), and a high frequency booster (bright switch). Solid state pre-amp, 2 6L6GC tube amp (6CA7/EL34 in older models). Two serial line in/out insert jacks. The first line in/out is .1 volts and is situated after tone controls and before reverb or gain, the other is 3 volts is after tone, gain, and reverb. Speaker extension w/ 4 to 8 ohm switch. Standby, Hi on, Low on, and off. Hi and low input. No headphone jack though, which I don't need, because either I'll mike the recording, or I can use the serial line out (it will turn off the speaker if the loop is not complete) and plug it either into the console for DI, or if I am rehearsing late at night (& don't want to wake up the kids), I plug into my monitor amp. A graphic equalizer could of been nice, but the tone spectrum can be accomplished with the frequency boosters and the three tone controls. With this set-up, even a presence knob is not necessary. Oh, almost forgot, it has a spring reverb which I have never tried for the simple reason I bought the amp with a non- operational spring reverb. It never bothered me because I hate spring reverbs, and use my signal processor for effects. I could give a 10, but I'give it a 9.5, because the used rca jacks on their footswitch, instead of 1/4" jacks (go figure).

This amp has very colored and beautiful tones, if you play jazz/blues/C&W/new age. If you like shred/metal/'santanish sustained notes', you will need a signal processor. With just the amp alone(no signal processor), you will find the classic jazz/blues/C&W sounds delightful. From prestine clean to a subtle distortion. Of course combined with a signal processor (I use a Digitech RP-10), the sky is the limit. The volume (100 watts) is great for playing in bands, but if your playing with a telecaster (I own a 82 52 RI), beware of feedback (keep your distance from the amp). My other guitar is a gibson nighthawk, and I do not experience the same feedback issues than with the tele, even in single coil mode. I give this amp a 10, because it is the most beautiful jazz/blues sound I've ever had (been doing this for 25 years). My previous amps were Marshall (my teen years), Fender Twin (early twenties), Mesa Boogie (when I graduated, and was able to afford one), and finally this amp (which I can't understand, I got dirt cheap, obviously a popularity thing).

Well I did buy it with a non-operating reverb. I don't think it's the unit itself. I took it apart and visually inspected the springs. Looked OK. Maybe a burned reverb diode. Anyway I've never been hot on spring reverbs. No longer in the gig scene, so even if does break down, no big problem. I have heard though that they are very reliable. So for right now 'no opinion' is my rating.

Got a hold of Ernie Ball, asked for schematics (in case one day I get sick and decide to fix the reverb). They answered no problem, w/ a smile, and got the schematics two days later. Thanks! A definite 10 since these amps haven't been manufactured since around 1984. You do need to supply them with a chassis number so they can find the appropriate schematics.

Somewhere down the road, if I am to buy another amp, I would probably keep an open mind and try out new amps/technology. BUT I will always keep a Music Man around. I have found the right amp for my usage. A very subjective 10 for this category.