# Opinions about the Randall Diavlo series



## filipe (Nov 9, 2014)

Hi guys I'm looking to buy a new amp "designed for metal" because my valveking is just not doing his job with my 7 string, I saw the new randall diavlo line as a cheap and good bang for the buck amp but I need to know more about these amps if they dont get the tone muddy as hell like the valveking and about it's reability issues because I dont want to have many problems with it.


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## JustinG60 (Nov 9, 2014)

I haven't had the opportunity to play one yet but I expect really good results, it is one of the new Mike Fortin designed amps after all. if you don't know Mike Fortin, he is amazing. I have some decent gear and I can't afford his amps haha


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Nov 9, 2014)

From what I've heard, the RD100 can handle low tunings low problem. It has a 3rd channel which is tuned to have a heavier, tighter sound compared to the 2nd/single channel heads.


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## bubbastain (Nov 9, 2014)

I had the Diavlo 5 watt head for about a year and it handled low tunings(A#) no problem. Did not get muddy even with the gain all the way up. I usually played with the gain a little past noon.


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## Ancient (Nov 10, 2014)

I'm picking up a Diavlo RD100H this weekend, I'll definitely report back on my findings.


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## RustInPeace (Nov 10, 2014)

First of all, they dont have as much gain as I thought they would. I found the gain channel to be almost unusable without the boost on. I also found the tone sweep of the controls to be lifeless, like the presense knob doing NOTHING until it got to the upper upper range.

Second, the clean channel is ....ing awesome. Maybe best clean channel ive owned/played through since owning a mark V.

Third, have you tried the new Valveking 20 microheads? They are better than the randalls IMO.


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## filipe (Nov 10, 2014)

Thanks for all feedback, I havent tried the new vakveking because I am really looking for a metal only amp in which my old vk fails even with a tube screamer I m not happy with the tone but I dont know how the vk2 is compared to the vk1 in that matter.


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## guitarfan85 (Nov 10, 2014)

I got a valveking 100 and coupled with my bad monkey OD it sounds brutal. I don't know, are you looking for a specific type of metal tone/?


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## JeffKill (Nov 10, 2014)

I picked up a RD5C off ebay really cheap, and get some really good tones out of it. Mainly play in drop Ab/G, not muddy at all.


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## lemeker (Nov 10, 2014)

I own a rd5 h and it does just fine with my 7's, and down tuned 6's. The smaller wattage ones don't have a cleans really, but it does have enough gain. It sounds killer through my Mesa cab. I like mine a lot, but now with the Mark V.........


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## redlol (Nov 10, 2014)

ive also been looking at these a bit got way too much gas right now for either a mesa boogie a diavlo5c and a c7 hellraiser.

anyone used the emulated speaker output? how does it sound? also, how do the diavlos compare to the comparable blackstar ht metal series?


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## cwhitey2 (Nov 10, 2014)

redlol said:


> ive also been looking at these a bit got way too much gas right now for either a mesa boogie a diavlo5c and a c7 hellraiser.
> 
> anyone used the emulated speaker output? how does it sound? also, how do the diavlos compare to the comparable blackstar ht metal series?



I picked up a diavlo 5 watt the other day. Deff with every penny!

The speaker out isn't that bad imo. 

Idk how it stacks up against the blackstar though


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## Promit (Nov 11, 2014)

In the five watt category, I would probably pick the Diavlo. In larger amps, I probably wouldn't. I thought RustInPeace's comments were right on the money.


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## Sean Richardson (Nov 11, 2014)

yeah... RIP is on the money re the gain (although I only had the RD1). I couldn't get enough grit out of it. it was heavy and articulate and would be good for 7 or 8 strings but for a Drop C# 6 (that I play), I could not get enough distortion out of it (note this is NOT gain, its the distortion or clipping of the signal not the amplification of it). I had to run a OD with the drive at at least 12 o'clock and then the amp took on more of the OD character than the actual amp gain structure.

I would like to try the 100W as it has 3 channels and I hear that the 3rd channel is the monster


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## MAJ Meadows SF (Nov 11, 2014)

I thoroughly enjoyed running a RD45H with a KM OD, and a Maxon 808. It was totally necessary, though, as the above comments are on the ball. They are worth the money, but just need external boosting/EQ'ing. I love the voicing in them. 

The new Valveking sounds really good overall, but to me it came away missing something, just like the H&K heads especially the Tubemeister and Grandmeister. For me, they are really really versatile and can do metal. I prefer it the other way: metal amps that can do some versatility. 

Depending on what you are trying to or not to spend, a used 5150iii 50w will end this discussion.


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## VBCheeseGrater (Nov 11, 2014)

I had the RD20 for awhile. It always sounded great just messing around at home with it and the one time i used it with the band the guys were really impressed, as was I. It's a metal amp, but the distortion was still nice and rich sounding. Also the cleans were surprisingly good - much much better than say a 6505 or something .

I would love to hear from someone who has gigged alot with one, as I didn't, but i was impressed with mine the short time I had it.

I still use the Diavlo V30 cabs for gigging - 2 1x12's. I love 'em

Edit: Unlike MAJ, by the way, i didn't feel it needed a boost at all for your typical metal sound - it was tight with the built in boost, but different guys want different tones. I'm sure one could be used to nice effect.


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## filipe (Nov 11, 2014)

I'm actually thinking about this or a EVH 5150 50 Watt with the matching 2x12 cab, I'm looking for a tight and defined tone for drop B or A because with my valveking it doesn't sound right to me, it's like it's missing something.


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## Ancient (Nov 17, 2014)

So I picked this up over the weekend:







First thoughts: Good golly miss molly this thing sounds as tight as virgin..... well you get the drift. I'm gonna break down the different sections of the amp then go into an overall though.

Channel Clean: Wow, I am seriously impressed by how natural and musical this clean channel is. I'm very very picky about clean channels and they nailed it. Its warm full and just the right amount of chime. Oh and it takes pedals like a champ!

Channel 1: This is the base gain channel. With the Boost off it gets into classic rock and more low gain but crunchy tones. With the boost on it quickly gets into punk / thrash / etc tight fast but saturated tones, but with a fairly even EQ response. It sounds best with an outside boost so you can add any EQ you might feel like is missing (more on that later)

Channel 2: Holy cutting mids batman!!! This channel is very modern in tone, while channel 1 is more 80's/90's based this one is very different. The mids frequency seems to shift a lil higher and become alot more prominent and the low end is tighter and seemingly slightly reduced. If you play Djent, or anything with a more staccato feel and less chords you will love this channel.

Boost: While being useful for coaxing higher gain tones out of the built in channels it seems limited in that it definitely pushes mids and tightens up the low end but thats the only tone it does and I like to be able to control the sound and feel of my boosts.

EQ: This is the interesting part, for a FMV style tone stack these knobs interact very interestingly together. Not sure how to word it but it seems theres only so much headroom in the EQ circuit and if you boost one it can take away from the others. The bass control with no outside help is very limited in usefulness to me. Even cranked it had not even half the amount of low end my other amp puts out, but its also way way tighter than my other amp. If you crank this control up it doesn't get billowy but you can hear the mids and high end getting squished. The mid's, ohhhhh the mids on this thing, I LOVE EM! I'm hard to please when it comes to mids in a FMV style tone stack, but these are right on the money. With Ch1 its right in the sweet spot for sitting in the mix but being audible, on Ch2 they cut through like nothing else, you will be heard! Treble, this has the ability to get fizzy and harsh when cranked up but its also very dependent on how you have your presence set and what kind of cab your using. But if you keep them tamed and under control it can add the right kind of sizzle to make palm mutes sound good and crunchy.

Presence / Master Volume: The Presence knob in my opinion is very very interactive with the EQ stage, and unlike one of the previous posters it definitely made a very audible difference through out the entire range of the knob. I found leaving the presence up high but the treble down low got me in the ball park of what I like. Sizzle but no fizz. The master volume is pretty much identical to every other one I've used, at the very bottom its a very small window of quiet and then its boom! As loud as you'd need it to be. I didn't really get to crank it but I got it up to about 11:00 and there was no tone squish just linear volume gain.

FX Loop / XLR speaker sim out: I have not gotten a chance to try these out yet but will report back when I do. The FX loop will most definitely be getting used often.

Overall: This amp toes the line of classic high gain and modern high gain and I really appreciate it for that. The two gain channels are different enough from each other to make them both worthwhile and neither redundant, and while the stock gain might not be enough for some it will be enough for most (especially if you do alot of recording). The EQ is very different from other FMV style's I've used but I do wish it had more low end without outside intervention (such as a boost that can add low end). And overall volume i would say its definitely loud enough for gigging with just a half stack no doubt there. I think the biggest thing with this amp is it's gonna need a tube swap from these Ruby's, as it could help perceive a gain increase and low end increase.

For $700 all in for the head and cab (Randall RS125CX 2x12 + 1x15) I am certainly freakin pleased.


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## filipe (Nov 18, 2014)

Thank you for the awesome review of the diavlo! but how is it compared to the 5150 or the thrasher? I wouldn't like to use a tubescreamer I wanted an amp with enough tightness without using pedals, about the bass you said it wasn't too much now I'm thinking if it's not enough to cover a bit of the treble and mids and what kind of cab would suit better the amp...


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## Ancient (Nov 18, 2014)

filipe said:


> Thank you for the awesome review of the diavlo! but how is it compared to the 5150 or the thrasher? I wouldn't like to use a tubescreamer I wanted an amp with enough tightness without using pedals, about the bass you said it wasn't too much now I'm thinking if it's not enough to cover a bit of the treble and mids and what kind of cab would suit better the amp...



No problem!!!

I haven't played a thrasher but I do have experience with a 5150. There's quite a few differences but first of all, a 5150 technically is a non-master volume head it will react very differently to volume than the Diavlo will. The diavlo you can set your gain and tone and then control the volume while a 5150 the tone greatly varies depending on your volume. Second the Channel 1 of the Diavlo (the first dirt channel) would be the closest in sound to the 5150 but to me the 5150 is looser and fuzzier while the Diavlo is much tighter with a better voiced mid range for cutting through in modern music. The last thing would be the EQ, the only real difference other then the frequencies the EQ's adjust is that the 5150 has a resonance control to help keep the low end in check in the power amp. With the Diavlo you don't need it, the low end is all ready tight and dialed in great. Other then that the 5150 has a bit more low end available on tap (but its looser IMO), the mid range is much more prominent and musical on the Diavlo but the range or cut / boost is similar, and the high ends are matched very very close. 

If your looking for the tight tubescreamer into high gain head sound without actually using a pedal then your looking at the right head as that's to me exactly what this amp nails tone wise. As far as not enough low end I have to admit I'm kind of jaded as my other amp is a 4xKT88 200w monster with a crazy baxandall tone stack, it puts out way more low end than probably anybody else on this board would ever use haha. So realistically its around the same amount as you can get with a 5150, i just perceive it as less because its much tighter sounding. Depending on your tuning I'd say a regular 4x12 if you gig would be fine, I'd just getting something that's loaded with darker speakers to help tame the high end. If your playing an 8 string or tuned below say A I'd look out for a cab like I got which is a Randall 2x12 + 1x15.


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## GizmoGardens (Nov 18, 2014)

I love my RD50. I'll echo what others have said about the gain. I typically use pretty high output pickups, so with the internal boost engaged it has just enough gain. Sounds great for all tunings, but particularly good with my BRJ 7 string in drop Ab. I don't think you'll be disappointed.


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## NickS (Nov 18, 2014)

I don't know how Randall stuff is as far as resale value, but if you can get the head and the cab that Ancient got for $700, I'd say go for it! It sounds like it's got what you're looking for.


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## filipe (Nov 18, 2014)

Ancient said:


> No problem!!!
> 
> I haven't played a thrasher but I do have experience with a 5150. There's quite a few differences but first of all, a 5150 technically is a non-master volume head it will react very differently to volume than the Diavlo will. The diavlo you can set your gain and tone and then control the volume while a 5150 the tone greatly varies depending on your volume. Second the Channel 1 of the Diavlo (the first dirt channel) would be the closest in sound to the 5150 but to me the 5150 is looser and fuzzier while the Diavlo is much tighter with a better voiced mid range for cutting through in modern music. The last thing would be the EQ, the only real difference other then the frequencies the EQ's adjust is that the 5150 has a resonance control to help keep the low end in check in the power amp. With the Diavlo you don't need it, the low end is all ready tight and dialed in great. Other then that the 5150 has a bit more low end available on tap (but its looser IMO), the mid range is much more prominent and musical on the Diavlo but the range or cut / boost is similar, and the high ends are matched very very close.
> 
> If your looking for the tight tubescreamer into high gain head sound without actually using a pedal then your looking at the right head as that's to me exactly what this amp nails tone wise. As far as not enough low end I have to admit I'm kind of jaded as my other amp is a 4xKT88 200w monster with a crazy baxandall tone stack, it puts out way more low end than probably anybody else on this board would ever use haha. So realistically its around the same amount as you can get with a 5150, i just perceive it as less because its much tighter sounding. Depending on your tuning I'd say a regular 4x12 if you gig would be fine, I'd just getting something that's loaded with darker speakers to help tame the high end. If your playing an 8 string or tuned below say A I'd look out for a cab like I got which is a Randall 2x12 + 1x15.


I might get the diavlo then I thought about running it with a mesa 2x12 but I don't know if it sounds good with v30's, also about the gain do you find it a bit nasally? I'm not sure how to explain it because as I heard with the thrasher it has a high frequency gain which makes it sound a bit "nasally" and I like that, you think the diavlo can get close to that type of tone?


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