Ya, that is weird. 

Ya know, I think this rg100es sounds so good. Even at band volumes it's tight and very warm sounding for solid state especially with a boost in front. Recently I got one of the newer rg3003h heads and thought because it's a new version of the old 80's Randall's that it would at least be good for a backup??... nope not really..., it's just not as toneful as the old version. It's got a more modern feel and more gain, but there's some serious mojo in the 80's Randall's that they have not captured with the new RG series.

The rg80es, rg100es, rg100ht are almost like solid state versions of a jcm800, but with a certain unique quality to the mid range. It's been the heart of my tone for 10 years now. I guess that's why I'm thinking of putting in new filter caps?? cause I don't want it to fail on me.

I have a mid 80's Randall head, and this amp is getting quite old, but it has never failed me yet and sounds as good as it always has. Thing is I'm worried about the caps going, and killing the amp. It doesn't have any real symptoms of dying filter capacitors, but i'm wondering if replacing them is necessary and the smart decision or not?? I know it is common for tube amps to need a re-cap after about 20 years or so and I have had caps in a couple Mesa's fail on me, but tube amps run much hotter voltages. Is this repair just as common in old SS amps?

Do I recap or just leave as is, since it has no obvious symptoms? I do notice idle hum, but that has been the case with every RG i've used... and it's just a quiet background hum. Also... If I do replace them, is it going to change the amps tone in any way? Positive or negative, and how so??

I've kinda wondered about this as well. Someone else told me that these old SS amps generally don't need to have their caps replaced as often as tube amps because the caps have much lower voltages, so they dont dry out as soon as the caps in a tube amp would. My mid 80's Randall is still ticking and sounding great 30 years later. I've got another rackmount model that has had it's caps replaced (and looks like it may have been modded) at some time but it doesn't really sound much different.

I was thinking about buying one to replace my aging 80's RG heads. I've heard they are based upon the old Irvine made models?? but I am wondering if they live up to that tone wise?? Anyone try one? Interested in the RG3003H head in particular.

I know this is an old post, but as long as you turn all of the controls for the clean channel to 0 this bleed shouldn't be a problem, at least it's not for the Randall's i've owned. It's a problem with the earlier RG heads too, and almost everyone that uses these amps just use these amps as if they were single channel amplifiers and just use the lead (red) channel, so you keep the clean channels (green) gain and master at 0, as well as the EQ section if it's a Century model because of the independent EQ's.

I notice that the clean channel on one of my RG 100 ES heads has a bit of bleed from the lead channel, so i hear a bit of distortion in the signal... at least i think the distortion is from the lead channel, but the thing is... if I bypass the pre-amp by plugging direct to the loops return jack i still get that bit of distortion??...weird.  Anyways, I guess this bleed issue is why these amps were discontinued?? It too bad cause these Irvine era Randall's are some of the best, if not the best solid state amplifiers ever made for distorted tones. Throw a boost in front of the lead channel and they sound like some kinda tweaked modded Marshall, but much tighter in the lows. Freakin loud as hell when running at 4 ohms too. I can run mine against any 50 - 100 watt tube amp and cut through the mix no prob. It's got that tube like drive to it that works really well in a live situation.

Using a boost with these amps is the best way to get a great sound out of them. Any overdrive set with the level cranked and drive low in front of the amp will give you a much tighter, punchier sound than that treble pull feature does...which overly compresses the signal and muddies things up IMO.

I've owned 8 Randall RG heads over the years and all of them have a little bit of idle hum to them, i even have a rg100ht with new filter caps and it still hums a tad with all the controls at zero. So this is just a effect of the circuit and can't be remedied, but if it is excessive then i'd recommend getting it looked at and maybe getting it re-capped? It should not be a loud noise, just a quiet idle hum... and when using the effects loop it can get pretty noisey, which is why i never use any effects in the loop of my current amp. I just using pedals up front... like my Maxon OD for a boost. Which is all it really needs. Great amps anyways.

I've kinda wondered, are SS amps just as dangerous as tube amps for doing repairs? like replacing caps and such?? they have less voltage running through them, right, so it shouldn't be as lethal when getting shocked... speaking of that, i was trying to fix a little ss combo about 10 years ago, and was just tinkering around with it and i got a good jolt from it... it didn't feel good, but i'm still alive, lol.

A Peavey Rage 158 was my first amp ever when i was 14, it actually did sound good for what it was.

I'm wondering, are mosvalve power amps decent? I really love the immediate response of SS, so i'm wondering if a Mosvalve would pair up well with a Mesa studio pre-amp??

I'm straying a bit here but.... I think perceived volume has a lot to do with the amplifiers natural EQ curve, cause if an amplifier has a good mid range response, and is of good quality it is going to be LOUD. I've owned many different amplifers, tube and solid state, and the higher quality solid state amps like the Randall RG's and Ampeg SS and VH series heads through a good cab are just as loud as equally rated tube amps, and they cut no problem too (when dialed in right). No one can say an Ampeg SS-150 or Randall rg100es can not cut through a mix, they cut through like butter.