Randall RG170ES Head

Mid 1990's, solid state, 150 watts, 2 channels, high/low inputs, reverb, effects loop, "gain voicing" knob, foot switchable. I have it patched into a Randall 2x12 with Scorpions.

I play classic rock (old school VH, Priest, ZZ Top) all the way to the heaviest of metal (Crowbar, Pantera, Overkill, COC, Shadows Fall, ETC). This amp hasn't held me back from any of these tones.

I'm currently playing an Epiphone LP Standard and an old 80's Kramer Pacer in an HSS figuration. I've been playing for approximately 8 years, and my setup is pretty meat and potatoes. Dunlop Wah, Boss MT-2, and a Boss GE-7 equalizer straight into the high gain input. The clean channel isn't quite as powerful as the overdrive, but it's still been plenty loud to hear over a set of drums. It's not gonna win any awards for clean tone, since it's a typical solid state amp. With some decent pickups, chorus, and some reverb, a decent clean sound can be achieved, however. It has the tendancy to break up after half volume, but by this point it's loud as a bastard anyway.

The distortion on the amp is OK for classic rock stuff, it's no high gain monster. I usually just use the amp distortion for '70's tunes and such, where I don't need to blow anyone's hair back. When it comes time to kick some ass, however, this amp really excells when paired with a good distortion box. I run my Metal Zone throught the overdrive channel with the gain knob at 2/3, and it's as heavy as just about anything. An important note, TURN THE GAIN VOICING knob ALL THE WAY UP, otherwise, it will sound like a fart in a tin can. When I first bought it, the pot was bad on this control, and I hated how it sounded. I soldered in another 500k pot in its place, and it made a huge difference.

The amp is slightly noisy at high volumes when you aren't playing, but what amp isn't. Turn down your volume control.

I have had this amp for about 1.5 years, and I haven't had a problem with it yet. I cleaned the pots right after I bought it, but that's just maintenance. It's solid state, which means you have the right to kick the crap out of it and it will always turn on.

Randall has a reputation for not knowing anything about their own products if they were made before the Washburn buyout. I wouldn't even bother contacting them.

Been playing for 8 years, lead guitar for the past 3. If this amp were stolen, I would probably upgrade, but not because this amp sucks. It's just not a common amp. At $200 on ebay with a matching 2x12 cabinet, it wasn't a deal, it was a steal.

I love the distortion,

2 channel solid state amp with built in spring reverb, gain voicing and effects loop.
The amp is rated at 150 watts, but I think that it was putting out some where in the neighborhood of about 70

I am using an Ibanez RG 560L with Evolution pick ups, and I am playing Jazz, Classic rock, Hard rock, Heavy metal, Death metal, Industrial, and Country and western . And for the most part there are a wide variety serviceable tones. There is how ever a rather loud hiss that is always present, and the distortion, while having a tone like quality dose tend to sound a little too compressed. Also once past 7 it starts to regardless of what kind of cab its plugged in to, clip and break up giving a farty, flappy sound that is unusable
The clean channel is not overdriven at all, and only starts to distort with the volume set at around 8
The sound of the on board reverb is nothing short of beautiful, and was for me the biggest selling point of the head

This head has been dropped down a flight of stairs, kicked, thrown off stage, covered in beer, coffee, and other stuff and it has always worked the same day in and day out. It right around 10 years old now and I have never had a problem with it. I would buy another one today if I could find one.

I have never been able to get a hold of their customer service, it would have been nice to have back up handles, rubber feet for the cab and the head, new dials, replacement cloth and name plates for the cab and the head from the factory, but no one EVER got back to me.

I find my self using it less and less for live performance, getting it to and from a gig is a bit of work and after the addition of a drummer, rhythm player, bass player and their gear space becomes an issue. I would like the output to be a little closer to the rated power, and for the over all clarity to remain constant at higher volumes.