RA100 case

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atomheart411

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I really like the feature set of this amp, though I don't actually own one yet. But the one feature I am having a hard time with the size of the case. 26 3/4"? Wow. Is there a smaller case this would fit into? I have a half open/thiele 2x12 cab I want to pair it with , 24" wide. Or does anybody know if there's room in the existing case so that I might get a custom case made? Thanks.
 
The RA100 Chassis measures 22 inches long by 9 6/5 inches wide. You would need to figure out how to mount the reverb tank. It measures 17 inches long by 4 inches wide (includes the flange surfaces for mounting) by 1 1/2 inches deep (measured with the bushings from head shell surface to end top of reverb tank. It is suspended form the top of the amp and offset towards the power transformer.

To keep your sanity, I would not try to convert a combo chassis to a head as the controls appear to be weird (however the manual was written for the combo). Combo chassis is the same size as the head chassis in case you were wondering. However, the face plate is inverted since the chassis hangs from the top of the combo and tubes are pointing downward. I think the wiring to the pots are also reversed. Since I have both head and combo it gets on my nerves to adjust both amps as I run them in stereo.
 
Thanks ! I have a line on a head. Sounds like at the very least a custum case could work to get it down to 24". You know I was tempted by the Badlander but the Ra 100 has more functionality from the foot pedal. Do you find that you can get three usable voices ?
 
Thanks ! I have a line on a head. Sounds like at the very least a custum case could work to get it down to 24". You know I was tempted by the Badlander but the Ra 100 has more functionality from the foot pedal. Do you find that you can get three usable voices ?
Yes. The RA has three great voices. The clean can double as a crunch if you push the gain all the way. That Clean circuit is the same as that used on the Electra Dyne. That is about it as similarity is concerned. Hi gain channel can seem a bit muddy with the stock Mesa 12AX7 tubes. Since the Hi/Lo gain channel is somewhat tunable you can improve its low end characteristic. I am currently using an RFT 12AX7A in V1 and Ei CV492 in V2 which is the entire hi/lo gain preamp. The Clean channel preamp runs V4 and V5. Instead of the the stock tube in V1 is fine, a Mullard long plate reissue 12AX7 would work in V2, you can also use one of those in the phase inverter.

The closest amp to the RA is the Triple Crown. Preamp tone is about the same but the gain characteristics are totally different. I can run the gain on the RA at any position and the hi or lo channel master where I like it. It can be as aggressive as a Recto (more convincing if you use a 10 or 11 band GEQ that runs down to 30Hz). I also have a Marshall Silver Jubliee, almost the same thing but not as refined and polished. I would rather play though the RA.

As for the BAD, Yep. that is like the RA blended with a Mark amp. Just as dynamic and usable. The tone stack sounds similar to a Mark amp in its responsiveness. The RA on the Hi/Lo the tendency to push the bass and midrange and back off on the treble seems to be the ideal. Converse for the clean channel, back off on the bass, and push the treble. Despite the Hi/Lo gain channel shares the same gain and tone controls, I have no problem with it. I found when I use the TC amps, I have the bass, midrange, treble and gain settings the same. It seemed pointless to separate the two.

For some time I have been running my two Royal Atlantic in stereo and used the Badlander as a filler. Now it is the other way around. 2 BAD one Royal. Still have the other RA. Funny, I started out with the RA in the middle and its matching cab. Changed over to the MWDR for a while. and now back to the RA. Did not feel like getting the other 412 cab out.

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Holy crap. Do you gig with that set up? Impressive to say the least. Is that sort of a wet/dry wet rig then? That's what I use but I just use a couple of powered Yamaha PA speakers for the wet. But that set up is committment. Capital C. I would love to go with a Badlander honestly but with a single button to switch channels it seems limiting. At least with just one amp. Not so much with your rig. I figure with the Badlander I'd end up trying to fill in the crunch with a pedal into the clean channel. Not a terrible scenario. I'm just used to having a three channel, or three voice, amp. Can't remember the last time I had any dirt pedal on my board. It sounds like your number one is the Badlander, number two the RA-100, and number three is the Triple Crown?
I had a TC 100 for a minute and I just couldn't bond with it. It just seemed soooo bright. But that was before I got my vertical 2x12 with JBL E120 hemp cones. The regular JBL's with the TC would cut through granite. But the hemp cones really mellow those speakers out. I had the thought to try that amp again. It has the multi soak too, besides three channels.
And this is how I dither. Arghhh!!!
 
My bad, there is a reason why I am not a carpenter. I cannot read a measuring tape. I stated with depth or width of the chassis was 9 6/8 inches. Not. it is more like 9 3/8 inches. I was counting 1/16 inch lines and thought they were 1/8s.

If I were to gig, I probably would not be playing guitar. I play drums too. If guitar, yes I would use that rig but would really hate to haul it around. I would condense it down to just the two Badlanders for a gig. The main sound are the 2 Badlanders. I am using a Strymon BigSky in a hall effect (a modified patch of the Carney hall) to create the feel of being at a huge venue with the 2BAD. What ends up in the middle is the filler to blend with the stereo effect. I can turn off the center by using the clean channel dialed out completely on the RA or if I opt to run a MWDR for instance, I can use its mute function. Working on getting another Mesa Switch Track but they are on backorder and not sure if they will start building them any time soon.

As for channel surfing, I barely ever do it. The Dynamics of the RA and Badlander are just great, you can literally dial in an aggressive tone and roll back on the guitar volume to clean it up. Also you can play and get some bite and grind and change pick attack for a softer cleaner sound.

The Hi gain channel has similar amount of compression as the Badlander Crush voice. Similar character to a Mark in some respects. Lo gain and crunch are similar but different too. I found my heaven but maybe thinking of pulling in the JP2C if I end up getting a Mark VII.
 
Considering the BAD100, only 2 channels. I do not mind that, I normally do not shift channels much anyways, especially if the amp has good dynamics so I can just roll back the guitar volume to clean things up. The RA100 is the best amp for that. Hint: I changed V1 with an RFT12AX7 and V2 with an Ei CV492 and have the same in the phase inverter position. Power tube choice Mesa STR442 SED =C= EL34. I have a quad of the Mesa STR450 to use next. At the moment, my RA100's are in storage so I have room for this rig. 4 amps are hard to run. I keep the bads on all the time and they take up one channel on the Mesa Switch track. the other channel feeds the Mark VII and JP2C through a splitter. What I need is another Mesa Switch track to control all 4 heads as I want. I could do it with just one switch track using the tuner out for the Bads, that tends to get a little noisy as it is not isolated like I thought it would be. I do have an Earthquaker Swiss things, perhaps I can feed the tuner out to that.

Too much stuff but it sounds really good.

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I shrunk it down to just the 2BADs and the Mark VII for now. I can run the various modes of the Mark VII to be in phase with the BAD crunch (IIB and Crunch) and the rest with crush or clean as they are in phase with the clean, fat, VII, IIC+ and IV). The JP2C cannot match up with the crunch on the BAD unless I hit the phase switch. Ok with clean and crush. Much easier to manage 3 amps than 4.
 
Honestly, I'm not sure you would really want it in any smaller of a case, especially if you plan on using the built in power loads, which generate a lot of heat, both from the power tubes and from the load elements. the chassis is 22 inches long, which means it's about 2 3/8" wider on each side, which includes the width of the head shell and a little extra room.

I'm also curious how a half open / thiele cabinet could be only 24 inches wide. Is it horizontal or vertical?
 
Good point about the RA power soak, heat, and the reason for the extended chassis. The size and weight was always a bit of a logistic issue if one was gigging with that amp especially in smaller venues.
 
Good point about the RA power soak, heat, and the reason for the extended chassis. The size and weight was always a bit of a logistic issue if one was gigging with that amp especially in smaller venues.
Yeah, though I mean it's still smaller than the vintage Marshall size heads, which are freaking enormous at 29.13 inches wide. I think the Rectifiers are 25 1/2" wide, which is still a bit better than 26 3/4, but definitely still pretty big.

Of course, I like 100 Watt Combos.. so I always lose.
 
Keep in mind that the RA100 has all of the tubes pointing up. The power soak does not add much heat to the mix. It is also closer to the outer edge like the power tubes. Sure it will have some heat when used. The RA100 does make use of a reactive power soak, the Resistor is only part of it. Amp still gets hot at full power and no use of the Multi-soak. At least it has a fan unlike the Roadster head which does not. I think the MWDR has a fan but could be wrong on that. Been a while since I powered it up. I have both RA100 head and combo. Never noticed much of a thermal problem with either of them running the multi-soak or not. Just remember this, when using the multi-soak function, you are placing more of a load on the tubes. They will dissipate more heat since the tube current will increase a bit more than without the multi-soak. The TC100 probably similar but does not give you that power tube saturation like the RA.

I was thinking the RA100 combo was not as wide as the RA100 head. Never mind, they appear to be the same width.

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That is the standard sized horizontal 212 cab under the RA100 combo. It has the same dimensions as the standard 412 base area. I can stack the standard 412 on top of the horizontal 212 cab and they are the same size.

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This was a not as fun. Standard 412 on top of the horizontal 212, then the 212 combo on top of the standard 412. There was no benefit in doing this. It would have been much better if I ran two 412 cabs instead. Just not stacked though as I do not like using a ladder to adjust the amp. Perhaps a traditional 412 cab stack would be a little shorter.

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So much love for the RA100, need to bring them out again. Been pushing air with the Mark VII and BAD. Still have the room setup for 2BAD, Mark VII and JP2C so no room for the RA100s.
 
True that, but if you do manage to stuff it in there, bring a screw driver to remove the back panel to get it out. Is there a footswitch bag inside the combo? Mine came with the bag but was not attached inside the amp.
 
True that, but if you do manage to stuff it in there, bring a screw driver to remove the back panel to get it out. Is there a footswitch bag inside the combo? Mine came with the bag but was not attached inside the amp.
Mine has one, and I'm pretty sure it's attached to the side of the combo. I need to pull the back to see if I can get it out, as it really doesn't do anything where it is now. There's no way to get the footswitch into it due to the shape of the back panel.
 
Why on earth would they place the footswitch bag inside the amp? I know the Mark V90 combo shell had that arrangement. Once I changed the speaker I had to remove the bag as there was no way I was going to get that big footswitch inside the amp. Also had to add a vibration brace on the back panel to prevent it from vibrating so much after I removed the bag. Never thought that was going to happen.
 

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