NAD: Randall Diavlo 100 RD100! (tones included)

[Guitarjon]

Hey guys!

I finally got my hands on a Randall Diavlo 100 RD100 amp! A guy near me traded it for one of my amps that I had two of. I had a RD45 years ago for a week or so and while I thought it was a great amp, I did return it because at that time I wanted something a little bit more versatile. Now I have the 100 watt version which is great because the gain 2 channel is KILLER!

I go in-depth in the video but I will say a few things:

- It's not really a high-gain amp by default without the built-in boost. It's almost like a modded JCM 800 or something but with a tighter sound. When you switch on the boost it has plenty of gain though!

- The cleans are good! A little dark and bassy but good!

- The crunch tones are good too, which was surprising!

- It's great for low tunings and extended range guitars, my 9-string loves it!

So yeah, I'm digging this amp and I think it sounds really good, hopefully it shows in the video. Of course if you have any questions about the amp I'd be more than happy to answer them!

 

[odibrom]

Cool video! Thanks

 

[CanserDYI]

I have an RD cab, and honestly I'd LOVE a good IR shot from it, because its a monster. One of my favorites. Can't wait to check this one out after work!

 

[BMFan30]

Thanks for posting again GuitarJon, this is exactly the type of content I wanted to see and learn about when I joined SevenString. Keep making these vids, they're perfect!

I don't know as much about every amp, especially not the Randall so it's great to hear some demos of these amps so I know what to expect when I'm ready to buy my first stacked amp.

 

[drb]

That sounds awesome across all applications. At this point I do wonder if a video about amps you can't get amazing sounds out of would be interesting, or at least struggled to dial in to something you like.

Also I swear the riff midway through the rock crunch tones, just before you put the boost on, is one of the best pop/skate punk style riffs I've heard in years. I'm not sure if you were going for that but I've replayed that section so many times now to hear it.

 

[Edika]

Nice video Jon as usual! I had this amp for a while and I do agree it's quite dark sounding. I liked the clean channel a lot, it seemed quite round and full sounding which was a nice surprise from the usual bright sounding cleans in most amps I played. It definetly works better with brighter sounding cabs, especially for more low tuned stuf but the chugs where huge! I do agree you need the boost for the gain 2 channel, mostly for the clarity as cranking up the dirt made it muddy. I could not decide if I liked the on board boost or a tubescreamer running with that!

The main thing I noticed though that the noise floor increased with each gain stage and it got really noise by the time you had gain2 with the boost on. More so than other amps I had. Not sure if it was the same for the unit you have. Plus the clean channel seemed quite a bit quiter than the gain channel and in general the amp didn't "feel" as loud as other amps I had. Not sure if it was the channel vs the main volume. I was in a downsizing phase at some point and I had decided to keep two out of the four heads I had at at the time. I kind of reget selling this one and wouldn't mind getting one again at some point.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

They really fucked up by making Gain 2 exclusive to the RD100. Makes the other RD heads sound weak.

 

[CanserDYI]

That sounds awesome across all applications. At this point I do wonder if a video about amps you can't get amazing sounds out of would be interesting, or at least struggled to dial in to something you like.

Also I swear the riff midway through the rock crunch tones, just before you put the boost on, is one of the best pop/skate punk style riffs I've heard in years. I'm not sure if you were going for that but I've replayed that section so many times now to hear it.

@Guitarjon @drb super agreed! Jon's riffs are always tasty as heck, but this riff stands out. Super duper skatecore/punk pop sound.

Put out an album, Jon! You'll get a purchase from me.

 

[Guitarjon]

That sounds awesome across all applications. At this point I do wonder if a video about amps you can't get amazing sounds out of would be interesting, or at least struggled to dial in to something you like.

Also I swear the riff midway through the rock crunch tones, just before you put the boost on, is one of the best pop/skate punk style riffs I've heard in years. I'm not sure if you were going for that but I've replayed that section so many times now to hear it.

@Guitarjon @drb super agreed! Jon's riffs are always tasty as heck, but this riff stands out. Super duper skatecore/punk pop sound.

Put out an album, Jon! You'll get a purchase from me.

Thanks guys!

They really fucked up by making Gain 2 exclusive to the RD100. Makes the other RD heads sound weak.

Yeah it's kinda weird... you can get a pretty good high gain tone out of Gain 1 but there's barely enough gain with the boost on. I guess they wanted to sell more of the 100 watt versions...

 

[AkiraSpectrum]

Thanks guys!



Yeah it's kinda weird... you can get a pretty good high gain tone out of Gain 1 but there's barely enough gain with the boost on. I guess they wanted to sell more of the 100 watt versions...

Great video!

Looking to get the 20H version in the next week or two. This is exactly what I’ve been after, a “hot rodded Marshall” that can do rock and tight metal tones that keeps the Marshall tonality (the Jubilee more specifically).

After a lot of videos and reviews, my impression is that the Randall Fortin designed RD series looks to be an affordable and great sounding amp. Very excited.

 

[MatrixClaw]

Very interesting - I have a "Fortin-Modded" RD50H and it definitely sounds different than the RD45s I've heard and played. Maybe not quite as much gain as your RD100, but close. Almost like a mix between Gain 1 and Gain 2. I'm wondering if his mods to the 50 were the basis for the 100? I know the RD45 isn't supposed to have anything other than 6L6s, but pretty sure the RD100 can take anything, just like the RD50 can. Guessing the power sections are similar?

Great video!

Looking to get the 20H version in the next week or two. This is exactly what I’ve been after, a “hot rodded Marshall” that can do rock and tight metal tones that keeps the Marshall tonality (the Jubilee more specifically).

After a lot of videos and reviews, my impression is that the Randall Fortin designed RD series looks to be an affordable and great sounding amp. Very excited.

I just listed my RD50H here in the classifieds. Happy to ship it to Canada. I'm sure it'll be cheaper than the 20 and sound way better with the full power section vs 6V6

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Tbh @MatrixClaw is right I always thought the Fortin Modded 1st gen RD50s sounded slightly different than the 2nd gen RDs. I would have assumed they were similar but I guess they do have some differences?

 

[Sleazy_D]

Your shirt should read AMP MAN sounds nice. I had a 20 years ago, and didn’t get on with it.

 

[primitiverebelworld]

Nois my RD1 has been performing impeccably faultless for 7 years now even with the stock tubes in it. external boost recomended on stage one gainstack though. Diavlo rules.

 

[AkiraSpectrum]

Very interesting - I have a "Fortin-Modded" RD50H and it definitely sounds different than the RD45s I've heard and played. Maybe not quite as much gain as your RD100, but close. Almost like a mix between Gain 1 and Gain 2. I'm wondering if his mods to the 50 were the basis for the 100? I know the RD45 isn't supposed to have anything other than 6L6s, but pretty sure the RD100 can take anything, just like the RD50 can. Guessing the power sections are similar?


I just listed my RD50H here in the classifieds. Happy to ship it to Canada. I'm sure it'll be cheaper than the 20 and sound way better with the full power section vs 6V6

Tbh @MatrixClaw is right I always thought the Fortin Modded 1st gen RD50s sounded slightly different than the 2nd gen RDs. I would have assumed they were similar but I guess they do have some differences?

I could be wrong but I think the 1st gen RD’s were released without any input from Mike Fortin. Then when he was brought on board and modded the last batch of 1st gen’s, then they released the 2nd gen RDs that were fully done with Mike Fortin which have the “metal grills”.
Randall just recently removed the devil skull graphic in their newer production batches, but otherwise still the same amp.

But yes, I’m also curious to know if there is a tonal difference between the 1st gen last batch Fortin modded amps and the 2nd gen RDs

I’m getting a great deal on a new RD20H and 1x12 RD cab (v30 speaker) that I can’t pass up. Super stoked. Haven’t played a tube amp in like 15 years lol.