I have to say I really dig this amp.Always wanted one but could never find one and ended up going with a mark v instead.Had it for 2 years but was never truly happy with it.Got a new Royal for half price.Ive only tried it through my mesa 1x12 so far as my 4x12 is in the studio at the min.The gain channels are superb.Both HI an LO.Nice and thick and a lot softer and spongier to play than the mark v.I found this a bit weird at first as Ive become so used to the marks stiff,lightning fast attack.Took a few days getting used to that.The tone is perfect though.The cleans i was a little underwhelmed with at first but they are starting to grow on me.Very fat sounding(makes me realise how thin the mark V was) but could do with a little more sparkle.It does take pedals very well though.The multi soak really makes the amp.Its hard to turn it off tbh.Reverb is a bit noisey though which is a shame as its quite nice.Very deep sounding.Id love if the fx loop was footswitchable like on the mark v but thats about the only complaint really.So nice just plugging in and playing as with the mark i was always tweaking.Became tiresome after a while.If anyone is considering picking up one of these i say do it.Its one of the best boogies imo.
Finally got a Royal Atlantic.Very happy I did
- Thread starter diddlydan
- Start date
Help Support The Boogie Board:
Dreamtheaterrules
Well-known member
Congrats on the amp. I've always wanted to try one but have never had the chance.
diddlydan said:
I hear you there! The V can be fickle like that. I'm a lot happier with my JP2C. A lot less tweaking. 8)
I almost bought an RA, but the JP was announced right before I found one. I've always wondered how the power soak sounds. Does it suck some tone? I'd think it would have to, even if it didn't sound like a lot. I'm wondering if you would get the most sparkle on the cleans using no power soak at all. Let me know what you think. Congrats on the new amp!
I actually prefer the tone with the multi soak on.It definitely adds some compression to the clean channel which smooths out any loud peaks.The gain channel seems more focused with it on as well.Im gonna try and use it less to preserve the tubes but its hard not to use it.Im very surprised this wasnt more popular.Its so easy to dial in as well.I guess its not the typical boogie sound ,so boogie fans probably werent too into it, and the british tone fans went for a marshall or marshall clone.Usually with an amp theres always one or 2 things that bug me but with this i cant find anything thats annoying.Tone wise at least.The cleans are solid enough but i was only picking this up for gain mainly(have a fender for cleans) so maybe that would have bugged me if it was my only amp.Id recommend it if anyone is considering one.
elvis
Well-known member
Great amp!
I like TONS of headroom on my clean channel, but like to limit the power on drive channels, so I always ran 0dB on clean and -4dB on vintage. Worked amazingly well. It really is a fantastic feature.
I also liked the tone best with the RA2x12 V30 cab.
I like TONS of headroom on my clean channel, but like to limit the power on drive channels, so I always ran 0dB on clean and -4dB on vintage. Worked amazingly well. It really is a fantastic feature.
I also liked the tone best with the RA2x12 V30 cab.
Enjoy the RA100. Have fun exploring the sonic range of this amp as it is one of my favorites. Actually I though you already had one. 
I bought both of my RA100's used. One is mint and the other is excellent. Actually they both look like new. One is a head, and the other is a combo. I love both of them. Very flexible character clean to Hi/lo. If you want heavy you got it, mild and bell chime, it is there, Classic rock OH YEAH 8) Vintage tweed like tones :x (clean channel with gain boosted, drop the bass and raise the treble). You will find the Mid control is the most reactive n the Hi/Lo and the treble almost acts like a presence control since the amp does not have that. Once you get used to the 100W power, switch over to 50W power. For me, the Honeymoon is not over with this amp. Combo sounds a bit different due to the partially open back cabinet.
Having the FX Loop always active is no big deal. But if you want some effects present for certain channels, there are loop switchers. The cable for the Channel selection is open circuit for clean. Tip/ring for hi/lo (not exactly sure which is which). I am not really big on using effects but I do sometimes. Not much for the pedal dance.
Many have claimed the Reverb is noisy, I do not seem to have much noise with either of mine. Combo is quiet since the tank sits on the bottom much farther away from the chassis than the Head. Check for ground on the reverb tank to the chassis. Dark gray or black wire should have ground as it is a coax cable.
I bought both of my RA100's used. One is mint and the other is excellent. Actually they both look like new. One is a head, and the other is a combo. I love both of them. Very flexible character clean to Hi/lo. If you want heavy you got it, mild and bell chime, it is there, Classic rock OH YEAH 8) Vintage tweed like tones :x (clean channel with gain boosted, drop the bass and raise the treble). You will find the Mid control is the most reactive n the Hi/Lo and the treble almost acts like a presence control since the amp does not have that. Once you get used to the 100W power, switch over to 50W power. For me, the Honeymoon is not over with this amp. Combo sounds a bit different due to the partially open back cabinet.
Having the FX Loop always active is no big deal. But if you want some effects present for certain channels, there are loop switchers. The cable for the Channel selection is open circuit for clean. Tip/ring for hi/lo (not exactly sure which is which). I am not really big on using effects but I do sometimes. Not much for the pedal dance.
Many have claimed the Reverb is noisy, I do not seem to have much noise with either of mine. Combo is quiet since the tank sits on the bottom much farther away from the chassis than the Head. Check for ground on the reverb tank to the chassis. Dark gray or black wire should have ground as it is a coax cable.
Ya very happy with it now i must say.I do much prefer it through my 1x12 with the C90 than the OS recto with the v30's.The recto tends to make it a tad more metal sounding than i would like.I guess thats v30's though.Never a massive fan of those speakers but they do have their qualities.Im actually curious how it would sound through greenbacks seeing as its british voiced.Has anyone ever tried it?About the reverb,i stuck in a spax7 boogie tube and it seems to make it a tiny bit quieter.So you reckon its the tank being too close to the transformer that is causing the noise?I might remove the reverb tank just to see.Its a very nice verb i must say.Very deep but too noisey to use a lot of it.Shame really
I had thought about moving the tank, even took it out to inspect for ground issues. I could not find a problem by visual inspection and with a meter.
One thing to look for with amps that have tubes facing upward that use the metal twist in shields would be for metallic dust on the circuit board around the tube sockets. I have used a weak acetone on a q-tip to pick up the metal debris. Also followed by compressed air to blow off the remaining particles I could not get. The metallic dust can contribute to some issues. I had lost the mid and bass controls a little while ago, cleaned up areas around all of the preamp sockets and used compressed air into the hole at various angles and fixed the issues. I do not have any noise with either of my RA100 other than typical tube amp noises. Also use a non-flammable lubricant on the O-ring for ease on installation.
I get the metallic flakes with the Roadster and the RA100 head since both of those have tubes facing upward vs down. Most of the time, the light dust does not pose much of an issue but can if it accumulates enough. Note: you would have to remove the chassis from the shell to get better access to clean with compressed air. I will also blow off the inside from the other side too.
One thing to look for with amps that have tubes facing upward that use the metal twist in shields would be for metallic dust on the circuit board around the tube sockets. I have used a weak acetone on a q-tip to pick up the metal debris. Also followed by compressed air to blow off the remaining particles I could not get. The metallic dust can contribute to some issues. I had lost the mid and bass controls a little while ago, cleaned up areas around all of the preamp sockets and used compressed air into the hole at various angles and fixed the issues. I do not have any noise with either of my RA100 other than typical tube amp noises. Also use a non-flammable lubricant on the O-ring for ease on installation.
I get the metallic flakes with the Roadster and the RA100 head since both of those have tubes facing upward vs down. Most of the time, the light dust does not pose much of an issue but can if it accumulates enough. Note: you would have to remove the chassis from the shell to get better access to clean with compressed air. I will also blow off the inside from the other side too.
BlakemoreMusic
Member
I recently replaced my Mark V with a Royal Atlantic as my main gigging amp much like you and am noticing the exact same differences between both amplifiers. I have learned that in a live mix, the Royal really just sits in there perfectly. I feel the same about the clean channel. I got really used to the chime of the Mark V (tweed mode) cleans, however, I have found that running a rat (with low drive) gives me back the chime. The Royals clean channel really does take pedals very well to let you shape those cleans any way you want.
I really have nothing else to add, except :mrgreen: rock on!
I really have nothing else to add, except :mrgreen: rock on!
I tried the Flux Drive into the RA100, made it sound more like a Mark amp. I have the 5ban eq pedal I can use with it and see how it works. Thinking about getting the Grid slammer as I beleive the range of gain on the Flux Drive is a bit more than expected. Works great with the Mark V and JP.
Hard to replace or displace either of my RA100's, however the JP-2C is taking over my time since I got it.
Hard to replace or displace either of my RA100's, however the JP-2C is taking over my time since I got it.
Reverb buzz, I have not noticed that yet on either my RA100 Combo or Head. That may be a preamp tube issue either with V6 or with the loop V3. I thought I had some goofy noises but sounded like tube rattle in the clean channel. Try a different style of 12ax7 in V6. That flat metal tab heat sink getter in the Mesa tube can make noise. JJ ECC803s (long plate version with slightly lower gain than the small plate Mesa (JJ ECC83s). As for the loop tube, V3 the Chinese 12AT7 is not all that bad. I have used some NOS 12AT7 there without any issues. Though that the RFT sounded really good. I also see there are more of this variety available now than 2 years ago.
Hey, Don't forget to run in 50W mode. That can have some interesting gain characteristics to it.
