Randall RH50T Head

I don't know what year this amp was made, but I bought it in Oct-Nov 2005. It has two channels(clean/dirty) the clean channel has a boost feature and the dirty(gain) channel has two flavors "classic high gain" and "modern high gain". It does come with a foot switch that handles channel switching and turning the reverb on/off.

Here's where things start going downhill, when I bought this amp I had an idea what an EL34 equipped amp would sound like, and this amp did not meet any of my expectations, the sound from both channels was the complete opposite of what we've all come to expect from tube amps. Cold,harsh brittle I tried it with my telecaster, and my Godin Solidac(humbuckers)and the results were the same, at low volumes and with a gaggle of pedals I got decent sounds, but this is a tube amp for heaven's sake you shouldn't have to do that!!! Here's the catch though I slid the chasis out and I noticed several transistors and several IC's(chips)inside the amp, I understand using a solid-state rectifier, but it seems to me with the number of componets I saw that this amp is a wolf in sheep's clothing!!! I don't think you can use that may solid-state componets and still get a tube tone..This is the thing that really pissed me off about this thing, but then again it explains the lack of a quality tube sound!!

I don't know about anyone else but I can't depend on this thing,I haven't been happy with the sound of this thing since the day I got it, but I continued to use it. When I first got it, it generated quite a bit of heat in my living room, which is what I expected..its a tube amp after all, but then I moved to where we play and I began to notice that it started running a lot cooler and the volume and intensity diminished? I ordered some different tubes because I figured I change tubes and have the amp re-biased and then maybe I'd be happier with the sound....That didn't happen!!! I brought the amp home popped in new tubes(hooked it up to my cabinet!!) and turned it on just to see if I could tell the difference even w/o having it re-biased(even though I fully intended on taking it in)and to my surpise ....nothing happened, no sound, the tubes weren't lit up nothing!!!! I checked and double-checked to see if I put the right tubes in...EL34's(a matched set @ that!!), and indeed I had, so I don't understand what happened, I assume I must've somehow blown one of the transformers? Unacceptable!

Terrible,terrible!! when the amp arrived it shipped w/o a manual and I called, emailed even sent a letter and in 4mths still no manual!!! Now this thing up and dies on me!! I called Randall today and they say that the amp could be repaired under warranty, if I (1)Send the amp to Chicago or (2)Hope and pray that the local retailer will do the work and send Randall the bill? I'm hoping for the 2nd option, and as soon as its repaired its getting sold, I don't really care how much I get for it I just don't want it around here anymore, it was/is such a huge waste of money...I ordered a Peavey Classic 30 Head, only had it for 3hrs but right out of the box I call tell its a much better amp,it shipped with the manual, and although its only a 30W amp its at least three times as loud as the Randall 50W? maybe its because it's made in the USA vs the RH50T being made in China? I called Peavey customer support after I un-packed the amp because the spkr out says that it requires a minimum load of 16ohms, this concerned me a bit because when I researched this amp, the folks @ Peavey assured me that it was okay w/an 8 or 16ohm load but when I called the tech that answered asked a few questions and then he went and got an engineer when my questions went beyond his knowledge of the amp, you can't get that level of custome service frm Randall well at least I never did the numerous times I called them.

I've been playing for 15yrs. I bought this amp because I tried using modeling-amps and was never happy with my live sound(they're great going straight to the board or in a recording situation, the only exception being my Vox valvetronix)and I thought this a move up(boy was I wrong!!) If this were stolen I might thank the poor person who took it because at least that way I wouldn't feel obligated to have repaired in order to sell it!! With all the componets I saw in that amp I feel like I was robbed, or atleast lied to and now the amp doesn't even work!

Bought new in 2006. Two channels, clean and high gain, and the high gain channel has two voicings. Has an effects loop and reverb. Fifty watts, tube pre and power amps, yadda yadda. For the price, you get a fair collection of features.

I can't remember what the amp even sounds like because it's been dead in my living room for the last month. Less than a week after I got it, it blew a fuse. No problem, easy enough to fix, except that the fuse holder is apparently made out of popcorn and a paperclip, and broke on me while I was trying to get it back into the amp. So, I get on the phone with Randall Customer Service, and they say they will send a new fuse holder right out to me. Well, a week later I still haven't seen it so I call back. The tell me that is hasn't shipped yet, but that they will make sure it goes out the next day. Another week passes and still no fuse holder, so I call back again and get the same song and dance. Same thing the week after that. Basically, I have a brand new amp sitting in a coma in my living room because the Monkeys at Randall can't mail me a 50 cent part.

I wouldn't wipe my butt with it, nor with any of the people at Randall as they are not worthy of being used even as toilet paper. DO NOT BUY ONE OF THESE, THEY ARE TOTAL AND COMPLETE FECAL MATTER.

Basically, they are PATHOLOGICAL LIARS. Four times they told me the part would ship within the next 24 hours, and a month later I am still waiting and still getting the same BS from them every time I call. They were also unable to answer any of the technical questions that I asked about the amp either. Totally useless and a-holes on top of it, if they were within driving distance I would have burned the place to the ground and pissed on the ashes by now.

Basically I hope everyone employed by Randall dies a slow, painful death for yanking me around for the last month. I wouldn't recommend Randall products to anyone unless I hated them with a passion and wanted to make their life miserable. A friend of mine bought a Randall years ago and had nothing but problems with it, of the year he owned the amp it literally spent 10 months in the shop. I rolled the dice that they had gotten their crap together over the years, but apparently that was a pipe dream. Special Education students in a school metal shop could probably build and support products better than these HACKS. Lord have mercey on your soul if you are stupid enough (like me) to buy a Randall product.

50 Watt all Tube Head
Reverb
Serial FX loop with adjustable input level
2-channels, each with 2 different voicings
4 x 12AX7's and 2 x EL-34's for power tubes
Seperate EQ for each Clean and OD channel
Power tube bias points

The only thing I think is missing is independent volume controls for Gain 1 and 2 on the OD channel.

Sounds great, I can't believe this amp costs so little $. I play instrumental hard rock and do some work on the side as a session player in many different styles. I use differnt guitars, most of them are strat-style guitars that have been customized by me. This amp covers my needs realy well. The OD 1 is great for rock tones, somewhere between a Marshall and a Mesa. The OD2 has more gain and sounds a little smoother, great for soloing. The clean channel is really good too, very warm and it has lots of headroom, very surprising for a 50w tube head. The clean boost adds some gain and volume, great for clean solos. The amp is quiet considering the amount of gain the OD channel has. The reverb is ok but nothing really special. But it gets the job done.
All things considered this is a great amp. Definitely the best tube amp under $500 and just as good as many amps costing twice as much or more. It is definitely a pro piece of gear. The price is unbelievable.

I don't know yet, I just had for a few weeks and it is made in China, so let's see. I will post an update after one year or so..

The amp came without a manual. I sent an email to Randall and they did not respond. Sad.

Great amp, especially for the price. Will cover all needs of most rock guitar players. I've been playing for over 25 years and I've had many amps in the past (Mesa, Marshall, Laney etc...). The ones that were better than this cost almost 3 times as much. I didn't want to spend thousands of dollars on gear anymore but I still wanted to have quality tube tone. This amp certainly gets the job done. I am glad I was able to look past the price and the fact it was made in China. I ended up with a really nice amp for an awesome price. I am thinking about buying the combo version for smaller gigs.

I believe this amp was probably made in 2004 or 2005. It's 50 watts RMS, with all-tube power (4 12AX7EH and 2 EL34's, 4 and 8 ohm mono outputs).I play metal (death, black, doom, thrash, industrial, and some '80's). This amp can do all that, plus classic rock, blues, and even jazz I'd imagine.
It has 2 footswitchable channels....Overdrive and clean. The clean channel has a "clean boost" switch (another switch on the 4-button footswitch), which is great for bluesy stuff. Without the boost, the clean channel just plain sounds good! The Overdrive channel has two settings....classic high gain, and the modern high gain. The modern high gain sounds very healthy with the low-tuned stuff I usually play. The classic high gain sounds almost like that. This amp has an effects loop with a level control button, and also reverb. Since I'm a metal-head, and this amp has all the distortion I need, I will tend not to use the reverb, or any other effects. The 4 button footswitch (channel select, gain select, clean boost, and reverb/effects loop on/off) is a beauty that works as good as it looks. To make this amp more "metal", I'd have included a mid-shift/scoop switch. But it really doesn't need it since this thing has gobbs of crunch anyway. For less than $500 (purchased from AMS), the features this head has makes it worth owning for a long-long time.

I normally play a home assembled guitar (Wayne Charvel Star alder body, WD strat maple/maple neck, Kent Armstrong designed Wilburn Custom Shop METALBUCKER pickup in the bridge position, and a vintage-style strat trem), and an early '80's vintage HONDO deluxe series Star (Charvel Knock-off), with a one-piece maple neck (to die for), a Gibson Iommi Signature p'up, and vintage-type trem. The cab I run now is a 200 watt RMS rated 2x12 from "parts unknown". It's all I need, and it pisses-off the 4x12 guy's, and the guy's that can barely make their full-stack run right!!! This amp suits my style of music a lot better than my previous solid-state amp. I don't need no steenkin' distortion pedal anymore! This amp is quiet at rest. I expected noise with the overdrive channel on either of it's two "flavors". There is a little noise. Much less than I expected though, and hardly noticeable. The clean channel, like I said, sounds really good. Hit the boost, and you get a bit of grit and bite. My pickups would overdrive any clean channel on any amp. I do get distortion at high volume on the RH50T's clean channel. No problem. I figure a guitar equipped with regular PAF's would have less of a problem with that. This is my first tube amp, so I cannot compare it's high volume clean sound with other amp's clean channels' fairly. The OD channels two high-gain "flavors" cover classic rock to old and new metal just fine. A mid-scoop/shift would've been nice, but I can live with turning down the mids, or invest(ing) in a good 7-10 band EQ pedal. The distortion I got out of this amp on the "modern" setting made EVERYTHING I play sound even better and heavier. I can only fairly compare it to my previous solid-state rig with the Digitech MM distortion pedal....It stomps all over that and gives me more. The RH50T gives the monstrous crunch, with tube concussion you can feel, bass response I've never had before, and a full sound with no muddy on the bottom (I tune down to both B-flat, and drop-B-flat on my guitars). 9 rating, which would be 10 if a scoop-switch was added.

I've had this amp for too short a time to tell. Randall's reputation dictates that this amp will last me a good long time before any minor/major maintanance or repairs are needed.
Randall is usually known for their solid-state amps, which are good, and quite popular here. I have no reason to doubt their abilities with tube amps.

We'll see. The amp was packed with everything BUT an owner's manual. That's right. NO OWNER'S MANUAL! I've e-mailed Randall about this. So far, no response. I'll call tomorrow and see if I can either get them to send me a manual, or at least talk to a tech-guy or tech-gal about things I may have questions about.....
It's a 5 year limited warranty. I suspect that the tube's aren't covered past 60-90 days.....

I love this amp. Even though they didn't include a "manual". It's straight-forward design is simple and easy to use. I had very little money to spend. This is the best deal I could find in a tube guitar head under 100 watts. Period. I'll never buy another solid-state guitar amp. I might get one for bass, but that's it. I'm now a tube-junkie...thanks to Randall.

THIS IS AN UPDATE OF MY PREVIOUS REVIEW

I've just sorted out the hum problem in the fx loop. In fact I was feeding the pedals in my fx loop AND my overdrive pedal (outside the fx loop) with the same power supply, creating a wonderful ground loop. My OD now has its own AC adapter, allowing me to use the fx loop without too much background noise, even on the lead channel. This amp now deserves a "9"

2 channel 50watt tube head with reverb. Channels are footswitchable, and so are the channels' options (boost on clean channel and choice between 2 gain types on lead channel). Two inputs (Low & High) match the output power of single coils and humbuckers. I play rock/heavy rock and this amp has enough features these styles. FX loop, 2 speaker outputs (8&4 Ohms). Enough power for rehearsals and gigs in small clubs.

My guitars are a mexican made Strat (retrofitted with Tex Mex PU's) and a Cort M600 loaded with Mighty Mite humbuckers.
Clean channel quite ok .Engage the boost or increase the input gain and you'll be rewarded with a delightful crunch sound ideal for blues, indie rock. If you want clean sounds at high volumes, consider another amp like a Hot Rod Deluxe. Lead channel a bit noisy but who will notice any hiss behind your favourite guitar riffs/power chords? Great mid-rich overdriven sound. Definitely not an amp for thrash metal freaks in search of mid-scooped sounds. When running my pedals (all powered by Boss PSM + daisy chain) through the fx loop but , a humming noise appeared that made it unusable, particularly on the lead channel. I'll check my cables, patches and PSU's and keep you posted. Up to now, I won't give more than 8.

Bought it 2 weeks ago. It would be a pity if it broke down so soon. Build quality seems ok. I won't waste to much time before getting myself a pair of matched EL34EH and a set of ECC83 preamp tubes, just in case.I have a valvestate VS100R for back up, which I will only use if I have no other choice.

The shop I bought it from had lost the user's manual. I e-mailed Randall and requested them to send me one. After a week without response, I can't rate them with more than 1. Too bad for a company who succeeded in producing a quality amp at a competitive price...

Stolen or lost? Well , my bandmates and I always keep an eye on our gear. Don't say we didn't warn you...
Great sounds can easily be dialled and it's adequately loud for rehearsals ans small venues. Quite unbelievable to find an amp with those features at such a competitive price. Too bad for that manual and absent customer support...

New Product for 2005

50 Watt all Tube Head version of Randall's RG50TC Combo.

This is a 2-channel Amp, and has the same features as the RG50TC combo.

I chose the Randall RH50T for the following key features:

A) Great review in Guitarist magazine
B) Great report on Quality of construction (which turns out to appear to be right on)
C) Excellent Feature Set:
Reverb
Serial FX loop with adjustable input level so you can use either Rack style or pedal FXs
2-channels, each with 2 different voicings (4-flavors total)
solidily built 4 button footswitch
4 x 12AX7's in pre-amp and 2 x EL-34's for power tubes
Seperate EQ for each Clean and OD channel
Power tube bias points and adjustments located behind metal grille back-plate.
Hi-gain style amp
Very friendly to OD / distortion pedals, which I have come to discover.

Moreover, this amp represents tremendous BANG FOR THE BUCK. I payed $480 for this amp through Musician's Friend.

This amp has plenty of power, at 50W, more than I will ever need. Also, it has a great OD, high gain sound at low volume levels.

I have had the RH50T for three weeks now (as I write this review)...it is even better than the Randall RG50TC combo, which I recently demo'd, because I am playing my RH50T Head through a Peavey 4 x 12 Cabinet. The sound is simply HUGE.

The clean channel is chimey, with a Fender-ish flavor, and can get nice and bluesy with the Boost kicked in, along with a smidge of my Bad Monkey on the front-end. Sounds very Fender Bassman like, a la SRV.

What is absolutely the dogs bullocks is the OD channel with the two voicings----> OD1 and OD2. OD1 has a bit more upper mid-range and treble, and sounds more vintage Marshall Plexi style, whereas the OD2 is a bit more deeper, and darker, with a more Modern pallete. In all honesty, the difference between the voicing on OD1 and OD2 is rather subtle,,,,but it is there, nonetheless.

This amp just LOVES the Digitech Bad Monkey OD pedal...which is my pedal "du jour" lately. When I crank the gain and level on the Bad Monkey, the RH50T reacts singing sustain and liquid gain. I could hold a note forever on my YJM Strat (which has relatively low output Dimarzio pickups). The on-board long pan accutronics reverb sounds just right (not too much, and not too little). I have the reverb at about 12:00.

I have the OD1 and OD2 gain knobs at about 1:00.

Now...here is where things get interesting...and at first, scared the PISS out of me.

I originally had my Guyatone MD-3 microdelay pedal after my Bad Monkey....and in-line prior to the input of the amp. I hated the sound of the MD-3 pedal in this configuration. Way to sterile and digital sounding. So I was expecting that it would sound much more natural and better by placing it in the RH50T's serial FX loop.

When I did this...UHHH OHHH !!!! MAJOR HUMMING and BUZZ. I thought maybe something in the FX loop was busted. Something was definitely wrong. As soon as I unplugged the pedal from the FX loop, the Humm went away, and the amp went back to sounding normal.

So, in a bit of a panic (but also with an engineer's intuition that I might know what the problem could be)...I logged onto my computer, and GOOGLED (searched) for "Guitar Amp + FX Loop humm".

Sure enough, I came across a site which identified the problem.

I was using a Godlyke PA-9 Powerall Switchmode power supply, which will supply regulated 9V power to multiple stompbox pedals with a daisy chain connector. Combined with the instrument cables going in and out of the delay pedal as well as the input power supply...I was getting a classic GROUND LOOP.

I unplugged the power supply from the delay pedal, and installed a 9V battery...which isolated the power supply and eliminated the ground loop. The Humm/buzz in the FX loop immediately went away...and now the MD-3 delay pedal sounds TERRIFIC where it should be, in the amps FX loop rather than in my prior to the pre-amp input.

I have a Rocktron Xpression rack mount FX processor on order...so I probably will be returning the Guyatone MD-3 pedal, in any event. I am just so happy that it didn't turn out to be a problem with my new amps FX loop.

One last bugger (bitch) of an issue, which is no fault of Randall's, really. The RH50T is supplied with outputs for 4 Ohm and 8 ohm speaker cabinets (no 16 ohm setting). This is unfortunate, as it turns out my friggin' Peavey 412MS stereo cabinet is 16 ohm when in mono.

I noticed this right away, but had recollected reading somewhere that it is "okay" to use a TUBE amp with a load which is of higher impedance. In other words...8 ohm amp speaker output to 16 ohm cabinet (mono).

Then, I did a search here on HCAF to see if there was any products would switch and match equipment with different output / input impedence ratings. I found the Weberspeaker "Z-Matcher", which is not cheap, but will solve my little problem quite nicely.

I would highly recommend that anyone looking for an excellent 50W head, for a GREAT value ($480)...check out Randall's RH50T.
In this price category, I don't think it can be beat.

There is a nice variety of sounds on tap...from chimey clean, to a clean with a little dirt thrown in (Clean channel with Boost enabled), all the way to British Plexi sounds (OD1 with Gain at 9:00 to noon) to more brutal, modern Hi Gain metal sounds (OD1 and OD2 on with Gain from 1:00 and higher). The OD1 high gain has more of an 80's heavy metal sound, whereas the OD2 has more of a "modern" metal sound. The OD2 is a bit deeper, with less pronounced mid-range.

The OD1 has a more "classic", Marshall plexi type vibe (with plenty of gain), whereas the OD2 subtlely changes the tone to a deeper, smoother gain...which I guess is more "modern". However, the OD2 does not sound Recto-ish. It is not buzzy or fizzy, but totally creamy with nice over-tones and harmonics.

The RH50T also enjoys having either a Bad Monkey or a DS-1 connected. The DS-1 provides a nice crunch rhythm when used on the Clean channel with the amps clean boost engaged.

I haven't quite decided what I like better for lead / soloing. Both the Bad Monkey and the DS-1 sends either Overdrive voicing into a gorgeous, singing liquid sustain which is absolutely perfect for lead work. The DS-1 adds a bit more color (as well as noise), but it is still an excellent tone.

I wouldn't recommend this amp for nu-metal or detuned pyrotechnics...it definitely has a strong mid-range character, which I like, because it seems especially suited for lead work (from blues thru hard / classic rock and '80s type metal). I think everyones idea of "heavy metal" is a bit different. In my opinion, this amp will work better for a soloist rather than for a modern metal rhythm style.


This amp is currently replacing my Vox Valvetronix AD120VTH (which I still love). It is great getting back into a 100% tube amp.
This amp has a lot of character, and I expect it will do quite well in the marketplace, if Randall does a better job of Marketing this product.

My main guitar is a Fender Yngwie Malmsteen Signature Strat, which has low output Dimarzio YJM pups in the neck and middle, and a Dimarzio HS-3 in the bridge. With the Bad Monkey OD pedal, I can easily get that wonderful Yngwie violin-esque sustain, which is just perfect for lead/solo guitar work. The RH50T suits my playing style to a tee, due to the excellent mid-range presence, which complements single note lead / solo lines.

So far, so good...no problems.

The RH50T seems solidly built and well constructed. I understand that their are external bias points and bias pots, which are located behind the back panels metal grille. The grille has to be removed to get at the bias adjustments. I haven't needed to do this, yet, but it is nice to know that this feature is there.

The Owner's manual SUCKS...it is a joke. It is only 4-pages...with only one page with any serious info. And that page simple shows a picture of the front panel and back panel, pointing out what each knob, button, or input/output connection is for. It actually is a disgrace to release such a nice product, from a large company (Randall is no Mom & Pop custom amp builder) with such a pathetic User's manual.

Also, Randall Technical support does not seem to have much information on this amp. I have emailed with Technical questions on a few occasions, and while they have been prompt in responding (which is a good sign...at least they are trying)...they really have no clue as to where to get the answers. On one occasion, I requested specific information on the RH50T's recommended bias level on the EL-34's, as well as what the plate voltage is running to the tubes. I received a reply with a "stock" chart showing what the typical bias levels are for various power tubes (e.g. EL-34s, 6L6s, 5881s, etc). This was not specific to the RH50T amp, and could have been nicked from any website that has general info. on popular vacuum tubes.

I have to give them a "5" in this category

I have been playing for 20 years. I have owned all tube amps in the past (Marshall, Mesa-Boogie, Peavey), but for the last 6-7 years have been playing through the newest digital modelers...starting with the Line 6 AX2. The amp that I was playing prior to buying the Randall RH50T was a Vox Valvetronix AD120VTH (120 Watt Head)...which I still love. However, it is nice to get back to an all tube amp.

I also just purchased a Rocktron Xpression rack mount FX unit, which I am using within the Series FX loop of the RH50T. It sounds fantastic and complements the RH50T wonderfully.

Before purchasing the RH50T, I was considering either a Marshall DSL50 Head, or a Genz-Benz El Diablo 60. I decided to give the Randall RH50T a try, due to the level of features, as well as the price level compared, which represented a fantastic value.

I made the right Choice !!!