Randall Cyclone Head

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OK. Lets set the mutha fucking record rite. If you dont play metal, get the fuck outa this post. This is a AWESOME amp - IF, and only IF you already know how to make it sound good! Dont use shitty guitars on it, it makes it sound thin and crap. I recomend the metal style guitars, and ones with EMG pickups. My friend tried it with his (crappy) setup and I was horrified how shit it sounded. Everything makes a difference so make sure you got good cables, pedals, and guitar going through this or you wont understand why people like them. Also the cab makes a difference: Marshall JCM900 cabs are ok for low volumes, but the Vintage 30 speakers and gonna change your tone alot!
This amp isn't for everyone, but it is for a select few.

Very reliable - it's a top end solid state amp! Randall specialise in SS.

Been playing for 10 years. I've tried alot of amps and enjoy them for what they are. Mesa Boogie has a sound I could see why alot of people like them. But Randall is for a particular audience, and thats the ones that like a HEAVY tone.

2 channels, 9 band eq, all the basics!

well, here it is! ummmmmmmm....... I really dont know what to say, i will compare it to a marshall dsl 100 cos i used to have one! In the last review the guy said this amp has no dynamics, i do agree, but i wouldnt use the word dynamics, id say it has no feel unlike my marshall used to have! Solid state amps are great if all your interested in is the crunchiest tone ever, i love to play heavey metal all the time with heavey distortion, but this amp has no beauty! The distorton is flat, solos have no emphasis, and you cant nail sus chords the same as you would on a tube amp! I dont feel that i have wasted my money on this amp but i think i could have goten more for my money! like maybe the peavey xxx or marshall tsl 100!
Seriously try b4 you buy, it may not be the 1 for you!

well my input jack fell out at practace the other day, we had to take it apart! other wise its pretty good!

Absolutly shit emaild them numerous times never a reply!

tu bes rule, without a shadow of doubt just carry a spare pair!
Use this amp as extra chunk!

2 Channels clean and dirty. As others have already outlined this. Not much to get exited about, with the exception of the very cool 9 band eq.

I have already sold this piece a while back, but after reading all these high reviews of this amp, I felt it was time to bring this p.o.s. back to earth. First off, the thing that really turned me off with the high gain channel was the sterile, un-dynamic distortion. Whether you are on 2 or 10 the gain seems pretty much the same. The amp has very very little response to picking dynmaics. Doesn't matter how hard you hit the strings as the same lifeless tone will result. No warmth here, and I know that people would say that it's Solid state, but I've heard cheap Crates with a ton more dynamics and warmth than this thing. It is a Very loud amp, but when you have a one dimensional, sterile tone it makes no difference. Maybe it works better with a pedal pushing it, but the stock gain really blows in my opinion. I ran my 5150 and Triple XXX in side by side comparisons, and they stomped all over the Cyclone. The tone really really got old fast. Good thing I was able to sell it for what I paid for it. The reason I bought it was due to some sound clips on Randall's website and yes I got sucked into the internet hype via this place. Time to set the record a little more straight with my review here.

The clean is decent although then guy I sold it to complained about SS distortion at higher levels. I never had a problem in this area, but it seems the Cyclone only sounded good with EMG's or lower gain passive pickups. Sounded like garbage when I tried an axe equipped with a Duncan Invader.

Seemed well built, very heavy and Randall has a great reputation for their build quality.

Didn't own it long enough to bother..

Been playing 22 years and currently own a Peavey XXX and a Line 6 HD-147. Basically the HD-147 annihilates this head in almost every way. I use 7 strings/baritones and play heavy stuff. I also like to play the shredding stuff (gilbertish, malmsteen blah blah blah) I was very disappointed with the Cyclone and strongly suggest a play before you pay approach with this one.

This amp has two channels: clean and dirty. It has an effects loop which I wish could be turned on and off. I play thrash, death metal, grind core, and punk. This amp is perfect for all these styles. With the clean channel on I just use my neck pickup and I get a clean tone that I am very satisfied with. I can play the songs from my fingerstyle jazz books and they sound pretty good. I play an ESP Ltd Kelly Hayes model guitar.

Like I said earlier the clean sound is satisfactory. I can get a decent jazz tone using the neck pickup on my guitar. The distortion channel kicks ass though. I heard my friends Mesa Boogie amp. It sounded good, but it was not as heavy as the Cyclone. The Mesa did not have the bottom end heaviness that the Cyclone has. The Cyclone has two sounds: clean and heavy. This amp suits my style perfectly. I like playing heavy, and disonant sounding music. This amp is perfect for me.

This amp has never broken down on me. I have not owned it long enough to see if this amp will start having problems after being used over a long period of time. One that is great about this amp is that it sounds great and there are no tubes to go out on you. No need for tube replacement or rebiasing.

I have not had to deal customer support yet.

I have been playing for about fifteen years now. My first amp was an old Peavy head, my second was a Marshall JCM 800, and my third was a Laney head. When I was looking to buy a new amp I narrowed my search down to the Peavy XXX, and the Cyclone. I chose the Cyclone over the XXX for one main reason; It was way more heavier and brutal sounding than the Peavy. The only thing I wish the Cyclone had was an effects loop that can be shut on and off.

300 watts, 9 band graphic eq on distortion channel, Perfect for any type of metal, power is no problem, loud as fuck. Paid $2500(australian dollars) for the head, best 2500 ive ever spent. I play in a metal band, mostly originals but play a lot of chimaira, killswitch engage, slipknot etc. perfect for any band needing the most brutal distortion possible. Settings in the booklet arent the only sounds u can get out of it. Takes a while to get the right settings but once u find them (u will) u wont regret buying this.

at the moment im using a epiphone sg with gibson humbuckers,i own a boss gt6 effects unit that i dont use that anymore and same with a fender stage 100, so im pretty much just using the guitar plugged straigt into the cyclone. When i first baught this amp i was a bit worried that i couldnt find the sound i wanted but i took a few hours and i found it. this is the most saturated, breathing, brutal, gut wrenching, or whatever else u want to call it distortion ive ever heard. U can get better sounds than the mp3's you download off the randall site. the more u turn this mungrel up the better it sounds ,whether your looking for an "enter sandman" sound or a "cowboys from hell" sound u will get it. i was also suprised how quet it is, a slight hum which is hardly noticable but no unwanted feedback. Takes some guitarists many years and lots of money to find there perfect sound but ive found it in this baby. DONT LISTEN TO ANYONE WHO SAY'S THIS AMP HASNT GOT THE MOST BRUTAL DISTORTION EVER!!!!

Amp is built like a tank, doesnt look like its possible to break, sounds healthy at any volume, takes years of abuse, no tubes to replace, no need for a backup.

5 year warranty, never dealt with them. Dont think ill ever need them

great value for money, money was no object when i baught tyhis, i could have baught a mesa duel rectifier but this amp shitts all over any mesa. The distortion will not let you down like pedals and other amps do. best distortion ever.if it was stolen or lost i would buy a new one right away. RANDALL ARE THE SHIT!!!

I just bought this kick ass Fucking Metal Cyclone on Ebay and I knew i wasnt making the wrong mistake let me tell you. I play Black Death thrash metal and it has A nice clean dirty heavy tone to the distortion its crisp and Clear fucking excellent. I will be using this in the studio this weekend actually it came in time for it my band Shattered Soul www.shatteredsoul.net This amp has so much balls let me tell you 300 watts of extreme power ! Loud! I past the test i put it only up to 3 and my mom told me to get the hell out of the house turn it down ! Hell yeah !

Im using my custom washburn pickups. it suits my style of music great.
Its so quiet i was suprized because i own alot of amps like peavey combo 5150, mesaa single rec and nothing beats this tank . The distortion is so Brutal its like you can take it to any level you want it to go its so great for Heavy music like Death metal, thrash metal or black metal.

I never had a problem yet with it I just got it so i will see what it can do for me

I never contacted them yet and I hope I never will

Ive been playing for 11 yrs now and its the best amp i bought yet, I own a mesa cab and 2 washburn guitars and a peavey 5150 combo
Go get this AMP you will not be let down if your into METAL !

2 channels. Clean with 3 band EQ and presence. Digital reverb on both channels. Distorted channel 3 band EQ with parametric mid control and 9 band EQ. series EFX loop, Line out with Level control, 4,8 or 12 ohms. Solid State 300 watts

I used my Gibson Les Paul custom with an EMG 81 in the bridge and EMG 60 in the neck. Mesa 4x12 Recto standard cab.


Clean:

Its really not to bad for an amp thats made for purely Hard Core metal. Its basically just clean and thats it. Nothing really special about it. Reverb sounds decent, sounds a little digital sounding but not to bad.


Distorted:

Very brutal........like rip yo mamma's head of and crap down her neck kind of brutal. Super tight and aggressive. It can get to fuzzy and harsh if not careful but can be dialed out to sound smoother.......and I use smoother very loosely. It cops a pretty good Metallica tone right out of the box. Add in the EQ and you have Disturbed, Godsmack, Muddvayne type tone. Pretty cool sound at times. I like the parametric mid control. Theres amps that I wish had this feature sometimes. The 9 band EQ is very sensitive and quite useful. Overall, for the money and what its designed to do I think it does very well.

Haven't had it long it enough. I haven't heard very many positives about some of there current line for what its worth.

I've emailed the guys/gals at Randall and they seem to be professional and respond in a timely manner

Cons:

Its somewhat versatile but in a Heavy Metal versatile kind of way. What I mean by that is your not going to get any kind of blues, classic rock or old school rock out of this amp and its not supposed to. Its aimed at Heavy Metal only and theres many types of Metal it can do. Nu, emo, rap, old metal. It can get rough on the ears pretty quick if you careless with the settings. Clean is clean no real character or sparkle......just clean. Reverb is ok not great. It almost has a delay/reverb thing going on with it.


Overall:

The distorted channel is where this amp shines I think. I played a Warhead a year or so ago that felt extremely cheap and had a "made in china" type of feel. I was expecting somewhat of the same thing. To my surprise its made quite a bit better than the Warehead. Huge, heavy tranneys making the amp weigh around 50lbs or so, tolex installed pretty decent, chassis seemed solid and overall felt better than the previous. It also sounded great for a Solid State. Technology has come along way.
This was a spontanious purchase. The guy quoted me a price and I took the bait, thinking I can always sell it. This is basically my cheap alternative to my desire of wanting a Bogner Uberschall. For the price I paid, the Recto and now this Cyclone fills the Hard Core void in me that I have at times........for now. If your low on funds and looking for just a brutal massive distorted tone with passable clean, I think this is an amp you should look into.

300 Watts, 2 channels, 4 band clean channel, 3 bands on distortion channel but with a parametric mid and a 9 band graphic eq that goes down to 63hz . Level control for line out on rear panel plus an FX loop and the requisite 2 speaker outputs.

This amp is the best amp i have ever heard. I have owned it for 5 months and i gig with this thing everytime and people come up and tell me how the hell i get such a incredible sound , and all i say is my EMG 707's and my fucking Randall Cyclone. The distortion is fucking BRUTAL it sounds awsome with some high output pickups. The clean is great to , it stays super clean at mega high volumes and sounds unreal with a flanger or chorus effect . I would honestly give it a 11 , but it wont let me select anything past 10.

I have gigged with it for 5 months and looks like its built like a fucking tank.

I have emailed them with questions and they replyed back in a few days

I have been playing for 10 years ( since i was 7 years old im 17 now ) and i can play anything from pantera to most steve vai because i practice all day. I own lots and lots of other amps including a peavey 5150 head and i love this amp way more than the 5150. If this thing was stolen i would kill the person who took it and buy a new one because this amp kills all others imo . Theres nothing bad about this amp at all , when i bought it i didnt think it was going to be no where near this fucking awsome . I will admit you will have to adjust the fucking awsome 9 band EQ to get the perfect sound but trust me , you will get the sound you want and then some.

300 Watts, 2 channels, 4 band clean channel, 3 bands on distortion channel but with a parametric mid (Ie: Mid level and Mid Freq., much like the layout of a Metal Zone pedal) and a 9 band graphic eq that goes down to 63hz (SICK!!!). Level control for line out on rear panel plus an FX loop and the requisite 2 speaker outputs.

I use this beast mostly with a custom BC Rich Virgin loaded w/ a Duncan Invader in the bridge, and sometimes a Mako Bich knockoff guiter w/ a DiMarzio X2N (it may be a copy, but it sounds awesome, feels awesome, and is built like a f**king tank!). The higher output pick ups really sound great especially on this amp...this thing puts out the thickest, most brutal distortion I've ever heard (and I've tried everey amp and pedal you can think of!), and with all the extra eq you can get your crunch in any flavor you can imagine. This thing puts out a tight, solid, and thick low end, and with the mids scooped just right, you can cut like hell, and make every testicle in the room (or tri-state area, this thing is LOUD) shake like Richard Prior in a Gravitron. I play progressive Death/ Thrash metal in the vain of Death (R.I.P. Chuck), early Metallica, Slayer, Dissection, Testament, Overkill, Hypocrisy, and Pantera...and this bad ass is perfect! I used to use a Marshall Valvestate, and though its clean channel is only slightly better than the Randalls, who cares...90% of the time I'm set to kill, and this thing makes the Marshall cower in the corner! It sounds good hooked up to both my Marshall cabs, and even better hooked into one Marshall 4x12 and my Genz Benz 2x12 sub woofer...it articulates this vicious amps extended low end. Goddamn it crunches on riffs and sings on solos (especially w/ the reverb...it actually has a usuable built in verb...trust me). I use a Boss GT-3 multi effects through the loop, and with a noise gate, this amp is SUPER quiet...at least when your not playing. I set the master on like 3, and I couldnt hear my drummer...who's got a massive Tama kit...i owned it for less than 2 hours and a cop was knocking on the door at rehearsal asking us to turn down...and thats in a sound proofed room at 3 in the afternoon! POWER...SUCH POWER!!!

Built like a goddamn brick shithouse...I dont think its gonna break anytime soon

Dunno...havent had to deal with'em...just laid out my dead presidents and walked outta the store with this beast 2 weeks ago

Love its sound, love its look, love its power, love its reasonable price tag...when it comes to heavy...this thing is the new king (Well, King Diamond might have a say about that...he rules though!). Just buy one and see for yourself...THE METAL GOD COMMANDS YOU DO SO!!!

The amp is a 300 watt solid-state ass kicker. It's got an effects loop, line out, 9 band graphic EQ on the distortion (along with mid-sweep, like a Metal Zone but this actually sounds good...),and Digital Reverb.
The Randall Cyclone was released recently, so it can't be more than a year or so. This amp, to me, is very versatile. I play heavy metal music that needs to have a ripping tone and I get it easily with this. But Randall gives you a couple of starter EQ settings and it got a bad assed hard rock sound out of it, and who couldn't use a little hard rock? The Cyclone has two channels, and I bet you know what they are...it also has an effects loop (more on that in a sec..) It has a level adjusting line out which is useful for anything like D.I. recording, jammin on headphones and running to separate amps.
It would be nice if you could control the effects loop, but that's all I can complain about. The digital reverb on the amp sounds great, but I personally don't use reverb, cool to jam by yourself with though. I use this amp for practicing and live situations. This sucker is three hundred watts and now I can drown out the drummer no problem!

The thing that you have to understand with solid state, that I've noticed, besides the fact that you're not going to get the warmth of a tube amp, is that it's going to sound exactly what went in to your pick ups. The way I look at it is that it cleans up your playing alot. You'll just have to hear it for yourself, but playing through a tube amp seems easy after playing through this, cause you really have to make a sense of warmth come through with your playing. Take my word for it. Or try one out.
I'm using my Gibson Flying V with Duncan Distortions, and I've finally found an amp that suits my music, which is Heavy Metal. I could honestly say that if you didn't play some kind of metal, your probably a lot more worried about tone, and you probably shouldn't buy this amp, but if your in to just sonically kickin ass, I recommend this amp. It's not noisy at all, besides the quiet hiss that comes from a distortion channel, fully cranked. Because it's solid state, it's very quiet.
The clean stays clean all the way up and sounds beautiful with a chorus or light flange. But, I didn't buy this thing for clean, I got it for the brutal distortions that come hurling out of this head. Because of the 9-band graphic Eq and Mid frequency and scoop, you can get your distortion fine tuned after tweaking with your own preference on frequencies. I also, use a Furman Parametric Eq which is honestly the best way to fine to a frequency to the best detail, so it's in the effects loop, because it has to go after the distortion to do any good.

This amp looks, sounds, and feels very dependable. I'd use it at a gig without a back up. That's part of the reason I bought a solid state amp. Call me lazy, but I don't want to replace tubes and have my amp rebiased every 6 months to a year, and if a tube amp fall, you might need to replace a tube. Hard to do at ten at night on a weekend when nothing's open. Solid state amps can take a fall and keep on killin.
I haven't had this amp long at all, about a month and a half, but it seems sturdy.
My only problem with this amp is that, I can't run all my rack effects through it. The only things that go through without a buzz are my Fuman EQ and the Korg Tuner, my Aphex Aural Exciter and Roctron hush wont go through the loop without a nasty pop and hum, especially the Exciter, but I can't put a noise gate behind the distortion now, which kind of sucks. Maybe there's a problem with the loop, which I hope there isn't, because I don't want to deal with the C.S. which brings me to the next catagory.

I've dealt with this company before when I first ordered the Randall Warhead, and, while the problems weren't entirely their fault, they didn't do jack to help me out. They were very friendly, but not helpful at all. Randall (on the floor) dealers are impossible to find, and they don't deal factory direct, so, as far as I know, you either order it through Musician's Friend (where you can return it if you don't like it), or you order through a Randall "dealer" where you basically dump your dough into a special order and hope you like it because you can't return it. The warranty is five years and I forgot to send mine in because it says to send it in ten days after you purchase it, but I didn't technically purcase mine until I decided to keep it, so I've got to send it in still. If your want a more detailed customer service complaint, see my review on the Randall Warhead.
The thing that got me was that after two long complaint letters directly to Randall, and no response, I got a helpful, kind letter from Randall after reviewing the Warhead, so I'm glad I got some kind of response, even though I had to announce my disappointment to the public first.

I've been playing for almost seven years. My first amp was a Crate GX210 combo amp on top of a GX series 4 by 12 cab. Played a Boss Metal zone through it, which as an beginner/intermediate guitarist, sound good a few years back, but after using it for so long, I learned to hate the digital harshness you get from that and most other little boss boxes. That's why I decide to get the Cyclone as my main use of distortion, and as a new rig. I love everything about the amp, it's just plain awesome. I'd buy another one if it was lost or stolen. I compared it to a lot of Marshall and Mesa Heads. The main thing was that at the Guitar Center I visit often, they all constantly push the Line 6, and POD gear, but I don't need 50 tones and not use 49! I want my one sound and I'm getting it!
I wish it had some kind of lighting in the head, there's enough room in there so, I'm throwin a black light inside to light up, cause it looks pretty cool.