Randall RG100 ES

My Randall RG100ES was made in 1988. The amp is versatile enough for what I do, which is mainly metal and rock.
There's channel switching on the amp but it's only channel switchable with the footswitch and I don't have one. I'm thinking of buying one off someone for $120, it's kinda pricey but probably worth it. I wish the amp had a regular footswitch jack, this thing has a very odd jack for the footswitch, i've never seen an amp with one like this before.
I'm just using this amp for practicing at home, but I hope to use it with a band sometime. It's got more than enough power, it could probably hang with tube amps of the same power rating.

I'm using this amp with a Yamaha rgx612a with active pickups, a Boss metalzone set as a boost, and an Avatar G212H cab. It's a very cool combination. I can get some good high gain tones with this setup. The amp is noisy when it's running with alot of gain, but that doesn't bother me much, a noise suppresor/noise gate could help this. The Randall's got a very nice marshally hardrock distortion and a very usable clean tone, the reverb is great too. The clean channel's got TONS of headroom, so there would be no problems getting heard over a loud drummer. The distortion can get moderately heavy by itself, but don't expect Pantera without a boost of some type and perhaps an EQ in the loop. You can get some great hardrock tones though, and some old school 70's early 80's metal tones out of it. One thing that kinda irritates me about this amp is the fizzy high end frequencies it has, they can be dialed out with the presence at zero, so it's just a minor complaint.

I could depend on this amp, it's built like a tank. I took a look inside and this thing is put together very well. it's 17 years old and still going strong, i'd easily expect another 20 problem free years out of it.

Never dealt with the company. The rg100es is out of production now so I doubt they'd even know anything about these old Randall's now.

I've been playing guitar about 8 years now. I own what I've already mentioned plus a Kustom practice amp. Before this I've owned a fender 1964 blackface bassman, (good amp, just not for me) several SS practice amps, pedals. I'm not much of a gear nut so this thing should do for a while. If it were stolen I'd probably look for another one of these, they can be found very cheap second hand and they're great sounding amps, especially for the price. I love the distortion, clean tone, and the insane amount of volume I can get out of it. It's Solid State too, so no worries about tubes and biasing. I don't really hate anything about it, kinda wish the high end buzziness was a little tamed down but every amp has it's flaws, so I'll deal with it. Good bang for the buck amp, anyone on a budget looking for a good marshally sounding amp should look around for one of these amps.

You know the deal and specs and if you dont read the reviews below!
Others have given more than enough specs on this amp.
Just want to add my two cents because I dig this amp!

We play loud, very heavy, low hardcore.

The onyl thing I wish this thing had was a 3RD channel for even more
ear buzzing high gain glory. Kinda like the RG100 I was supposed to get.(SEE BELOW)

We play in warehouses and clubs un mic'd this thing is louder than f*ck in both.

80's Les Paul Custom with the stock 498 and 498T's, a Schecter XXX with hot duncan's, 335, and Flat Head Telecaster.

This thing only does clean and mean, thats all. What more do you need? God Loves Ugly!

I also play a Rivera Knuckle and that honestly gets the 10, but for this thing being as cheap as it is and mean as it is it still gets a 9. I mean when people think I have a tube amp and it's SS, well thats quality trickery from the 80's. Now I see why Dime used this thing back then.

A TANK, I gig without a backup often. Out of sheer lazyness and the fact that I know this thing is tuff.

BUZZZZZ!

I have been playing 15 years.

Already looking for another, if that tells you anything.

There is not much to hate.

I was kinda tricked into buying this thing from a seller on ebay. They said it was the RG100 when it was in fact the ES. I was going to raise a stink about it but then played it. The first time playing through it, it sucked and I was angry. Not anymore, this things is PIMP.

For all those who say this thing cant hang, WRONG. Patience, you need to take some time and really play with the knobs. Some amps cant handle the lows from the Les Paul and I thought the same thing with this one, but after playing with it for about a week my amps distortion is tight and mean as hell.

I have owned Mesa's and Marshall's and the only other Amps I have kept around are the Ampeg vl1002 Lee Jackson with EL34's, the Rivera knuckle and this one. Between these 3 amps I can rule the world.

Has channel switching, but you need the special footswitch (I dont have it nor do I need it). 2 channel solid state head. NOT the combo the other guys are listing....I use this amp to play shows with on a regular basis. I actually just got my second one, so I am running two of these heads each with thier own cab. Sounds amazing. The head I just got is a very early model with a slightly different silk-screened face plate than any of the others I have seen.

This thing sounds amazing if you just play with it. I have NEVER had the midrange on any other amp up past 2 or 3, but this amp really comes alive when its at 5 or above, without sounding too mid-rangy. The clean DOES sound pretty good, but I think its primary purpose is to kick out high gain sounds associated with heavier types of music. Sounds JUST LIKE a marshall (very very close). I have at least 2 people ask me what amp I am using at every show.

This thing takes an ass kicking and askes for more. Seriously.

never dealt with them. Heard they are of no assistance.

I have been playing for about 10 years and play and record with an emo/punk/hardcore band. It has the sound I want and my tone sounds like no one elses. To clean up the sound, I just pull back on the volume pedal. Simple as that. I am very blessed to have 2 of these things and would buy any other that I could find......They just sound that good....

Vintage 80's head. Has channel switching, but you need the damn footswitch, which I dont have. Extremely loud amp that sounds best cracked up half-way. Very warm. I use this amp at practice, many many shows, and anywhere else I go....

I use a Strat with a Super Distortion in the bridge, and play harder punk rock kind of music....Suits my musical style perfectly. It is noisy if you have the gain (channel 2) cranked up, but it really doesnt get picked up at shows.......The amp isnt THAT versitle but if you want some sizzle all the way to high-gain sounds, this amp is it. Distortion sounds just like a Marshall. I have guys come up to me and ask what amp it is at least twice every night I play....

This thing takes an ass-kicking and asks for more!!!! It has been out in the rain, smoey bars, huge halls, you name it.....It just keeps going!!!! It has never broken down on me ever.

Never dealt with them......I hear they are no help at all though....

I have been playing for nearly 10 years and have played through alot of different amps and just happen to stumble upon this amp a few months ago in a Guitar Center. I went from having a Metal Zone and Line-6 Distortion Modeler to just a Volume pedal!!! I use it to turn down the gain for a little "sizzle".....I wish this amp had a regular footswitch jack, but other than that it works great for what I need it for.......!!

i dont know what year it was made in.... but it is the (rg100es)150 watts of mean ass power, and to top it off, i got the original foot switch along with it !... only thing missing on this amp would be my wish to have a bilt in analog delay on it, thats because i dont really like alot of pedals on the floor.. but if anyone wants to give me a very generous offer... i might be willing to let this mean machine go !

i use yamaha and esp guitars.. i play goerge lynch, eddie, joe, and my own stlye mixed together, and this mean machine complements all them stlyes and then some ! as far as sounds, it makes.. my guitars let the amp cry and scream with passion, like love and death coming together for an incredible show... marshall who ?..lol.

its reliable, and plays its best to an audience, it knows just what its there to do, and always seems to outdo my expectations.

never delt with them...no need to !

i have been playing and playing and playing...lol... and will always be playing...whats it matter.. i had the 5150 and the 5150(2).. this amp is much better.. .. if anyone is truely interested, like i said give me a call...402-714-4446 nebraska

This is the same amp described by Greg, it's a combo with the amp set in vertically, attached to 4 10' speakers. Bought it new in 1990 (with the footswitch), loved it as soon as I heard it, and couldn't find anything better new for the price. Two channels, pull-out treble (which I always used). In a two guitar band, the other guitar player hates you because of the volume and strong mids from this thing. Though I'm playing a Trace Elliot now, this was great for an all-out rock sound, especially with a Boss DS-1. The whole amp just shakes.

Used it with one of those 29 fret Washburns (sans the weird lightning graphic). For what I'm playing now, using extended chords, sevenths, ninths, no good. Needed something more subtle. Subtle this thing is not, which is why it was so great when I was playing rock and metal.

This is the problem. If I play at loud volumes, it sounds great at first (or not), then the sound changes in mid song. Then I give it a kick, and it changes again. Couldn't depend on it. Couldn't find anyone who could fix it. Wouldn't use it on a gig without backup.

It's for sale if anyone's interested...

Update review.

Update. My opinion has changed about this amp being useable for gigging. The louder this thing gets the less sustain it has. Pedals aren't improving its ability to hold on to some semblence of musicality either. The clean sucks and dies out faster than the distortion channel. When combined together the clean makes the distortion dead even with a pedal pushing it harder. I have never had such a finicky amp regarding pedals. I have used a GT2 Tech 21, Zoom Hyper Lead, Marshall Blues breaker, RP 50, and Zoom Power Drive. The over drives came close to helping but the higher gain pedals were too much. I still love the reverb on this thing and it has a ok sound at low volumes...under 3 on the knob. I have spent hours trying to EQ this head to get it to work for me live. I give up. I ain't spending any more money to get this to work.

Its 20 yrs old. For that it gets some respect from me that it plays at all.

This is a practice amp due to the volume level I wouldn't play it at. I like Randall amps. I have a RH 100 that can be used for gigging as a back up and really excells at keeping note definition when loud. Leads are a little thin but my pedals do improve this where the RG 100 ES sounds bad when loud and pedals do not help. There are much better solid state amps...Peavey XXL, Rh 100/200, I had a Tech 21 Trademark 300 which arrived with problems. I sent it back. Don't know what a good one sounds like. Power engine 60 is great. Your choice of preamp, sound is neutral and it responds to preamps and pedals. I like solid state amps. I don't care if tubes sound better cause I like what I get from the transistor. I do like tubes too though.

love it. just need the footswitch.

I love the clean tone, and the distorted tone. but the only problem is, i don't have the footswitch, so if i'm playing a show where i need clean and distorted, i have to use a stompbox.

never had a problem

told me tough luck finding a switch.

Does anyone know where i can get a switch for this amp. i desperately need one for a show coming up fairly soon, and want to use my amp distortion. if someone's willing to sell one, i'd offer a very fair price. so let me know at megakv@hotmail.com. thanks again

this is an update to my reveiw below

now having this amp for a few weeks, and playing it at a couple of shows, i have alot more insight on this amp. 1)i'm no longer using the dist. on the amp, i'm using my old metalzone on it. the amp dist. with the overdrive sounded great, but when you turned it past 12 o'clock on the level, it started clipping; in a bad way! so, i was getting killed by the drummer. i went to record with my band, and the engineer/producer wanted me to use my amps, but i needed to compete with a 100 watt marshall he had in the studio. he set my amp up with the metal zone i had lying around, and it just came to life!! holy shit, couldn't beleive the difference! i dont have the footswitch, so this helped my dist./clean switching problem. plus, you can use both channels to acheive more volume; set up the clean channel with the tone you like, and start bringing up the volumes on the other(dist.) channel, to get more volume. works like a charm! 2)i didn't realise at first that i needed more volume, until my drummer started seriously gettin' it on! come to find, i was pushing a 16 ohm 4x12 cab, and the amp was running at 8! my brother wired it for 8ohms, and all is well! this amp just crushes!!! if anyone is trying to get rid of their old randall, give me an email. i've just sold all my amps, and the randall is king!!

this is aan early 80's randall head,120 watts,effects loop channel switching if you have the damn footswitch! i don't, but the sound is so good ,don't really care. i just bought the amp used' but i will be using it for band practice and live. i could't beleive it when i fired it up, it is holy shit loud! seriously as loud as any of my previous tube heads, maybe louder! solid state! wow! would give it a 10 in this category but for the stupid footswitch.

i use it with a les paul studio, emg 81's,tuned to dropped-b, also an old usa charvel with a single emg 81 in the bridge. i play mostly emo/hardcore/grindcore, and the way i run it it covers these styles perfectly! the secret with this amp is the same as the old marshalls i used to have(jcm800/jcm900); you have to have an overdrive for the gain channel to really get it into high gain territory. i use an old boss super overdrive in front of the distortion channel, and it just kills!! this thing is seriously mean! it sounds better than the old marshalls,mesa,and high gain ampeg tube heads i've had! the eq section is very important also as there is a lot of room for different types of heavy tone. right now i have it dialed in with a lot of mids and bass and very little treble and it has this killer machine head chunky tone to it. or you can scoop the mids and get that dimebag sound, but if youre used to a tube amp like i am, the mids are crucial! the clean sound is reall clear depending on where you set the pre volume on that channel, again it's great if you can find that elusive f-in'footswitch! right now i cut off the overdrive and back my guitar volume down and i can get it perfectly clean.

i just got the amp used ,looks like it went through a war some time in the 80's, and doesn't even have a scratchy pot, or loose jack! i originally bought this as a backup, but i'm really considering using it as my main amp, this thing kills!!

never had to deal with them, but i do know their new amps blow in comparison to this, and my brother is an amp tech, so i won't be calling them!

i've been playing guitar for about 14-15yrs now, and i wish i had bough one of these back in the 80's! i could o bought 10 of these for the money i've paid to repair my tube amps over the years!i've had marshalls,a mesa, a lee jackson high gain head,and misc rack crap over the years, and this with my overdrive just kills them all!!my freind plays in a couple of signed heavy bands from neworleans, and told me to get one of these years ago, and i wish ihad done it before now. its unfortunate, cause they are getting harder to find, keep looking on ebay, and don't even think of buying a new one to get this sound,they won't even come close!! if it was stolen or lost i would definately be looking for another of the same model, the only other amp that i have that comes close is the ampeg vh140, which has more distortion built into it, but doesn't seem to be as crushing, but is just as damn hard to find as it's no longer made either. i f any one knows where i can get a footswitch, please let me know; thanx