Adios Randall MTS

[drcraigmjones]

I was ready to sell my Triaxis, Boogie 20/20, and Rocktron Intellifex setup after buying a Randall MTS RM100 and a few modules...what a joke! There is NO COMPARISON between the Boogie and Randall gear...I had such high hopes for the Randall gear...especially with the idea of modules that are supposed to replicate the sounds of other gear...like Marshall or Boogie. Anyway...after this fiasco...I have decided to keep my rack setup and forget about other products...at least for now! I am interested in a new MK 5 head...from all my reading and YouTube watching...it sounds like the next evolutionary step in the sound development research...any comments on the new MK 5 vs. the Triaxis? Thanks...

 

[Rob227]

I considered the Randall modules but never actually went any further than Youtube video's.

You could always add a RM4 and throw four modules into your rack and run it through your Mesa power amp but I suppose what's the point when you could just get another Mesa preamp of some kind. My search is over, the Mesa sound is so good if I ever get another pre amp it'll be another quad or a rectifier pre.

What modules did you have? Can you describe the sound differences between the Randall and Mesa gear?

 

[bjoneill74]

I've posted on this in another thread before.
I have a Mark V and a TriAxis/2:Ninety.
The Mark V is cool. It has some nifty sounds in it.
It will not replace my TriAxis/2:Ninety though.
Not even close!

 

[Whoopysnorp]

I use both Mesa stuff and MTS stuff. The stock MTS modules run the gamut between lame and pretty good. Modded modules, though, are where it's at. There are a few guys who have little cottage industries modding MTS modules, and the sounds they achieve on those are phenomenal. If you've still got your RM100 and modules, you might want to take a look at http://mtsforum.grailtone.com and learn about the scene. You can send your modules to be modded. Right now, sitting next to me, I have:

• A Voxless, by Jaded Faith (Vox AC30 and Matchless DC30 tones, changeable via a toggle switch, with a five-position midrange switch active in the DC30 position)
• A Mandarine Graphic, by Salvation Mods (Orange OR120 module, with authentic Baxandall EQ and six-position F.A.C. switch)
• A Randall XTC with Jaded Faith's standard warmth/clarity mod
• A MK22, by SacredGroove (Marshall JMP 2203/2204 mod, with switch to change between modes--this one kills!)
• A Diablo, by SacredGroove (a module based on the early pre-500 Dual Rectifiers, and dead-on accurate, I'm told)
  [*}A Dragon, by Kyle Needham (an original design in the 5150 ballpark)

[/list]

There are a few different Mark series modules out there as well, but I've never bothered with those because I have a Mark III and a Studio Preamp. Anyway, just a thought.

 

[bjoneill74]

I've posted on this in another thread before.
I have a Mark V and a TriAxis/2:Ninety.
The Mark V is cool. It has some nifty sounds in it.
It will not replace my TriAxis/2:Ninety though.
Not even close!

I may need to retract my statement.
I was having problems with the original Mark V that I got, but have since exchanged it for another one as the first was starting to fizzle out.
The replacement sounds much better than the first one I had. It could simply have been a tube, but I wasn't taking a chance with it being that new.

The sound of the new one is night and day different and for the better.
There's either a QC problem with the manufacture of the amp or with the tubes.

Brian