GuitarsCanada
02-24-2008, 09:03 AM
Review Submitted By
KHINGPYNN
Product Name
Randall Lynch Box
Would you recommend this product to others?
yes
Your overall review of the product
great
Did you feel there was good value for the money?
yes
Value in that you get an all tube modular amp system with a variety of tonal options. Randall has several preamps available... standard & signature designs.
What is your website?
http://www.ccjhsquires.pages.web.com/guitarfromthegreengoo/
How would you best describe yourself?
Bedroom Player
please select a choice
I own this gear
-----------------------------------------------------
Your full review
I would like to qualify this review by saying I've owned the Randall Lynch Box full stack for little over a year now. I have owned several amps over the past 25 or so years. Including solid state, all tube, ss & tube hybrids, and digital. I currently own amps by the following manufacturers some of which date back to the 50's... Koch, Vox, Soldano, Randall, and Amperex.
LB100 Head
Shipped with a quartet of JJ EL34L power amp tubes and three JJ 12AX7 preamp tubes this head is designed to have an overal Marshall sound. A modern Plexi sound if you will. With a custom spec overbuilt transformer and cooling fan this head is built to deliver 100 watts of pure tube tone at extreem performance levels. All tubes have retainers and the following controls are available on the head's front panel. Master Volumn, Presence, Density, and Effects ( loop Level ). A local channel selecter, standby and power plus a pilot light rounds out the front panel.
On the rear panel there is, Ohm selector, bias test and set points, external individual power amp tube fuse holders, speaker terminals, series and parallel effects loop options, midi in and thru and the power terminal.
The head is coverend in a forest green alligator tolex with a custom Lynch box Skull and Bones logo.
The head weighs in at approx 72 lbs empty with no preamps.
LB100 photos
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u8/khingpynn/misc%20gear%20photos/NewLynchBox005.jpg
Modular Preamps
There are four George Lynch Signature preamps.
The Brahma... tonal design is based on Lynch's Marshall plexi.
The Grail... tonal design is based loosly on a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier with an overal ENGL voicing.
Mr scary... tonally based on George's workhorse Soldano SLO100.
Super V... tonally based on George's Vox AC 30.
All preamps ship with a pair of JJ or Tung Sol 12AX7 preamp tubes.
All preamps have dials for gain, bass, middle, treble, level and a brite switch.
In my honest opinion Randall must have taken thier time in the development stages of these preamps as the fruits of thier labour can be heard in the end results. Tones from these preamps is dead on the mark.
The Brahma personifies Plexi tone with an increase in preamp gain. As a Lynch fan of many years I instantly hear the tonal signature of Lynch's fav Marshall plexi.
The Grail is a modern high gain monster with what to my ears sounds all ENGL and no Mesa Boogie as this preamp has a defined lower mid crunch and clarity that is simply missing in Mesa Boogie Dual and Triple Recs.
Mr Scary is all about the unmistakable Soldano tone. I own a Soldano and I can say this preamp is SCARY. Even the sweep of the tone stack dials are bang on accurate. This module screams modern high gain with it's sweet top and break neck attack that made Soldano famous.
The Super V has a more muscular preamp than the Vox as implied by it's name. What you do get however is tonal bliss ala Vox with it's chimey string details this is a great preamp for cleans and classic brit dirt.
One thing I must mention is the relationship of the power amp master volumn to the preamp gain and level controls. The master volumn controls the output tube overal signal, the gain controls the preamp gain signal and the level controls the amount of signal from the preamps to the power amp. THEREFORE th user can set individual channel volumn levels as they desire plus and this is a BIG PLUS. The user can set the amount of power amp distortion and volumn level of the preamp which allows for power amp tube breakup at low volumn. Unlike a power attenuater which can cause a change in amp tone this setup is inherent to the amps tone.
Preamp photos
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u8/khingpynn/misc%20gear%20photos/Jasperphotofromfirstsongsessions005.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u8/khingpynn/misc%20gear%20photos/PhotographsAug1007133.jpg
LB 100 Speaker Cabs 8 ohms
Covered in matching tolex with matching logo these speaker cabs suit the Lynch Box head viually and thankfully but most importantly it's tonal match is on par.
Oversized and bottom ported these cabs sound as they look... HUGE.
There is a pronounced tight bass responce with focused mids and highs.
Truely a "round"sounding cab without the usual loss of bass as from other standard designs. The secret weapon of these cabs is the Eminence Super V speakers. Voiced for tight focused bottom and lower mids, agressive mids and upper mids with a smooth singing top that is both razour sharp and not harsh these 150 watt speakers interact well with clean, slight dirt, crunch, and high gain tones. The point of breakup for these speakers is immaculate in that with such a high power rating ( yes that was 150 watts per individual speaker ) these speakers break up early "like" a greenback. The overal tone of the break is smooth chime at clean to moderate distortion to sweet sizzle at high gain.
The speaker cabs have a lock mechanism a to prevent nusanace cable dissconnect.
More photos
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u8/khingpynn/misc%20gear%20photos/LynchBoxFullStackpics003.jpg
The DIRT
This would not be an accurate review without some negative feedback.
Randall in thier quest to build it's first signature MTS amp did allow the customer to come up short. i can only speak of my experience and will do so candidly.
The Lynch Box was grosly past due on it's promissed availability time. I myself waited several months for the amp only to recieve it with one preamp module... the Grail. The other three preamp modules trickled in over what ended up being over a year in wait time for the entire package. Believe me when I say this was very frustrating in that randall made many promises of, next week, in two weeks, end of the month, end of nect month and so on.
To add to this the tolex on a few of the first units shipped had suffered from bad catalyst. This resulted in a week bond. I recieved my first head shell and cab with tolex falling off at seems and corners and large bubbles in certain areas. To add to that there was the frustration of dealing with Randall. To say the least the customer support was terrible.
Randall in thier price point mandate decided to cut corners and purchase cheap overseas fuses. This created a litany of perfornmance issues and demanded the question... what else did they cheap out on?
With a "it's better to beg forgivness after the fact" attitude Randall went ahead and shipped out a less than acceptable product. The price tag and promo on the Lynch Box tells a different story... a story of customized, high end, flagship that not only represents the pinaccle of Randall's team of guru's but ties in with Bruce Egnater and George Lynch aas well for a triple threat blow to the guts, head, and wallet.
It took months filled with many emails, forum posts and phone calls to the rep before I was directed to the "right" Randall employee. The employee that was given the daunting task of cleaning up this ungodly task.
It would be unfair to blame any one ( or even a few for that nmatter ) Randall employee for the mess that occured. However one can only be blinded by the fact that if it were the new custom chrome wheels on the Randall executive's new BMW that arrived late, had finish issues, and performance issues comparable to the amp issues there would be... and you can bet your hard earned $$$ on it that there would be hell to pay for that wheel shop.
The one saving grace to the whole thing was RD/Rich. He got me a new head shell... not just any new head shell but one of only ten signed by George Lynch. He sent me a swag package. Told me about the fuses... I bought my own fuses as I did not want to wait. Rich also sent me out a new Speaker cab... eventually I bought the tolex problemed cab at a reduced price as to have the full stack I own today. He aslo agreed to send me out some creme colored nobs for the Lynch Box head as i was not liking the black stock nobs. Plus Rich did the most important thing he whole heartedly apologized for the mess surrounding my purchase of the Lynch Box. The local rep Steve Baldwin ( the man in the trenches ) also did his part and sent me a Super V preamp module at no cost... atleast no $$$cost.
Am I happy with the Randall Lynch Box? Hell Yeah! It looks cool and sounds amazing and since tone floats my proverbial boat I'm overjoyed!
------------------------------------------------------
Gear used for this review
I use Monster Cables Studio Pro 1000 cables throughout th entire signal path including head to cabs.
------------------------------------------------------
KHINGPYNN
Product Name
Randall Lynch Box
Would you recommend this product to others?
yes
Your overall review of the product
great
Did you feel there was good value for the money?
yes
Value in that you get an all tube modular amp system with a variety of tonal options. Randall has several preamps available... standard & signature designs.
What is your website?
http://www.ccjhsquires.pages.web.com/guitarfromthegreengoo/
How would you best describe yourself?
Bedroom Player
please select a choice
I own this gear
-----------------------------------------------------
Your full review
I would like to qualify this review by saying I've owned the Randall Lynch Box full stack for little over a year now. I have owned several amps over the past 25 or so years. Including solid state, all tube, ss & tube hybrids, and digital. I currently own amps by the following manufacturers some of which date back to the 50's... Koch, Vox, Soldano, Randall, and Amperex.
LB100 Head
Shipped with a quartet of JJ EL34L power amp tubes and three JJ 12AX7 preamp tubes this head is designed to have an overal Marshall sound. A modern Plexi sound if you will. With a custom spec overbuilt transformer and cooling fan this head is built to deliver 100 watts of pure tube tone at extreem performance levels. All tubes have retainers and the following controls are available on the head's front panel. Master Volumn, Presence, Density, and Effects ( loop Level ). A local channel selecter, standby and power plus a pilot light rounds out the front panel.
On the rear panel there is, Ohm selector, bias test and set points, external individual power amp tube fuse holders, speaker terminals, series and parallel effects loop options, midi in and thru and the power terminal.
The head is coverend in a forest green alligator tolex with a custom Lynch box Skull and Bones logo.
The head weighs in at approx 72 lbs empty with no preamps.
LB100 photos
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u8/khingpynn/misc%20gear%20photos/NewLynchBox005.jpg
Modular Preamps
There are four George Lynch Signature preamps.
The Brahma... tonal design is based on Lynch's Marshall plexi.
The Grail... tonal design is based loosly on a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier with an overal ENGL voicing.
Mr scary... tonally based on George's workhorse Soldano SLO100.
Super V... tonally based on George's Vox AC 30.
All preamps ship with a pair of JJ or Tung Sol 12AX7 preamp tubes.
All preamps have dials for gain, bass, middle, treble, level and a brite switch.
In my honest opinion Randall must have taken thier time in the development stages of these preamps as the fruits of thier labour can be heard in the end results. Tones from these preamps is dead on the mark.
The Brahma personifies Plexi tone with an increase in preamp gain. As a Lynch fan of many years I instantly hear the tonal signature of Lynch's fav Marshall plexi.
The Grail is a modern high gain monster with what to my ears sounds all ENGL and no Mesa Boogie as this preamp has a defined lower mid crunch and clarity that is simply missing in Mesa Boogie Dual and Triple Recs.
Mr Scary is all about the unmistakable Soldano tone. I own a Soldano and I can say this preamp is SCARY. Even the sweep of the tone stack dials are bang on accurate. This module screams modern high gain with it's sweet top and break neck attack that made Soldano famous.
The Super V has a more muscular preamp than the Vox as implied by it's name. What you do get however is tonal bliss ala Vox with it's chimey string details this is a great preamp for cleans and classic brit dirt.
One thing I must mention is the relationship of the power amp master volumn to the preamp gain and level controls. The master volumn controls the output tube overal signal, the gain controls the preamp gain signal and the level controls the amount of signal from the preamps to the power amp. THEREFORE th user can set individual channel volumn levels as they desire plus and this is a BIG PLUS. The user can set the amount of power amp distortion and volumn level of the preamp which allows for power amp tube breakup at low volumn. Unlike a power attenuater which can cause a change in amp tone this setup is inherent to the amps tone.
Preamp photos
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u8/khingpynn/misc%20gear%20photos/Jasperphotofromfirstsongsessions005.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u8/khingpynn/misc%20gear%20photos/PhotographsAug1007133.jpg
LB 100 Speaker Cabs 8 ohms
Covered in matching tolex with matching logo these speaker cabs suit the Lynch Box head viually and thankfully but most importantly it's tonal match is on par.
Oversized and bottom ported these cabs sound as they look... HUGE.
There is a pronounced tight bass responce with focused mids and highs.
Truely a "round"sounding cab without the usual loss of bass as from other standard designs. The secret weapon of these cabs is the Eminence Super V speakers. Voiced for tight focused bottom and lower mids, agressive mids and upper mids with a smooth singing top that is both razour sharp and not harsh these 150 watt speakers interact well with clean, slight dirt, crunch, and high gain tones. The point of breakup for these speakers is immaculate in that with such a high power rating ( yes that was 150 watts per individual speaker ) these speakers break up early "like" a greenback. The overal tone of the break is smooth chime at clean to moderate distortion to sweet sizzle at high gain.
The speaker cabs have a lock mechanism a to prevent nusanace cable dissconnect.
More photos
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u8/khingpynn/misc%20gear%20photos/LynchBoxFullStackpics003.jpg
The DIRT
This would not be an accurate review without some negative feedback.
Randall in thier quest to build it's first signature MTS amp did allow the customer to come up short. i can only speak of my experience and will do so candidly.
The Lynch Box was grosly past due on it's promissed availability time. I myself waited several months for the amp only to recieve it with one preamp module... the Grail. The other three preamp modules trickled in over what ended up being over a year in wait time for the entire package. Believe me when I say this was very frustrating in that randall made many promises of, next week, in two weeks, end of the month, end of nect month and so on.
To add to this the tolex on a few of the first units shipped had suffered from bad catalyst. This resulted in a week bond. I recieved my first head shell and cab with tolex falling off at seems and corners and large bubbles in certain areas. To add to that there was the frustration of dealing with Randall. To say the least the customer support was terrible.
Randall in thier price point mandate decided to cut corners and purchase cheap overseas fuses. This created a litany of perfornmance issues and demanded the question... what else did they cheap out on?
With a "it's better to beg forgivness after the fact" attitude Randall went ahead and shipped out a less than acceptable product. The price tag and promo on the Lynch Box tells a different story... a story of customized, high end, flagship that not only represents the pinaccle of Randall's team of guru's but ties in with Bruce Egnater and George Lynch aas well for a triple threat blow to the guts, head, and wallet.
It took months filled with many emails, forum posts and phone calls to the rep before I was directed to the "right" Randall employee. The employee that was given the daunting task of cleaning up this ungodly task.
It would be unfair to blame any one ( or even a few for that nmatter ) Randall employee for the mess that occured. However one can only be blinded by the fact that if it were the new custom chrome wheels on the Randall executive's new BMW that arrived late, had finish issues, and performance issues comparable to the amp issues there would be... and you can bet your hard earned $$$ on it that there would be hell to pay for that wheel shop.
The one saving grace to the whole thing was RD/Rich. He got me a new head shell... not just any new head shell but one of only ten signed by George Lynch. He sent me a swag package. Told me about the fuses... I bought my own fuses as I did not want to wait. Rich also sent me out a new Speaker cab... eventually I bought the tolex problemed cab at a reduced price as to have the full stack I own today. He aslo agreed to send me out some creme colored nobs for the Lynch Box head as i was not liking the black stock nobs. Plus Rich did the most important thing he whole heartedly apologized for the mess surrounding my purchase of the Lynch Box. The local rep Steve Baldwin ( the man in the trenches ) also did his part and sent me a Super V preamp module at no cost... atleast no $$$cost.
Am I happy with the Randall Lynch Box? Hell Yeah! It looks cool and sounds amazing and since tone floats my proverbial boat I'm overjoyed!
------------------------------------------------------
Gear used for this review
I use Monster Cables Studio Pro 1000 cables throughout th entire signal path including head to cabs.
------------------------------------------------------