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The brushed dark chrome finish is a good look.

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• Review
• Manufacturer's Description

The Randall name is synonymous with solid-state amps delivering bone-crunching metal mayhem for bands like Anthrax and Disturbed, not to mention the late Dimebag Darrell with his signature Warhead X2.

Randall previously dabbled with all-valve designs back in the eighties, but in 2002 it decided to jump back head-first into the valve market with the introduction of the flagship MTS modular preamp range, designed by amp guru Bruce Egnater.

Following on from that success, the RG50TC is Randall's first all-valve amp to be made in China - a country that's become the first choice for many volume production amp manufacturers.

Overview

The RG50TC is a proper two-channel combo powered by a pair of Electro-Harmonix EL34s driving a single 12-inch Celestion loudspeaker. The plywood cabinet is stout and neatly finished.

We like the way the black steel grille on the rear is rebated into the lower baffle, damped with felt to stop it rattling. The front control panel looks the part too, with a cool brushed dark chrome finish and black lettering.

The combo's steel chassis contains three main circuit boards and a number of smaller ones. The board holding the valve bases sits in a central sub-chassis and is through-plated to improve reliability, while the other PCBs are single-sided and support front and rear controls.

Considering this amp's price tag, the build quality and parts standard is very good indeed: all the internal wiring is neatly bundled together and tied back and the general impression is that it's built to last. Those with doubts regarding China's manufacturing expertise in this area will be forced to rethink their opinion.

Channels

Both of the Randall's two channels have independent three-band EQ controls. The clean channel incorporates a gain level control with a switchable boost feature, while the lead channel has two alternate gain stages offering different overdrive levels, each with its own gain knob.

There are separate high and low sensitivity input jacks, an overall master volume and a reverb level control. All the channel and boost functions are switchable from the front panel, with different coloured LEDs to show you the amp's status at a glance.

On the rear panel, you'll find the six-pin DIN socket for the RG50TC's footswitch, which has a generous length of cable. It duplicates all the front panel switches and also toggles the reverb on or off.

There's a series effects loop with switchable levels to suit stompboxes and semi-pro rack mount devices, as well as extension speaker jacks that override the amp's internal driver. A small two-spring reverb tank sits in the bottom of the cabinet, underneath the Celestion Seventy 80 loudspeaker.

The RG50's overall finish exudes a tough, no-nonsense attitude and the attention to detail inspires confidence: this is an amp that's meant to be played.

Sounds

Despite American design and Chinese manufacture, the RG50TC sounds very close to home - imagine a slightly (but only slightly) more civilised JCM800 vibe and you'll get the general picture. One input jack is for low output single-coil pickups, the other for higher output humbuckers.