Randall Commander I?

westtexasred · Post by **westtexasred** » Tue Oct 28, 2014 2:18 pm

I saw a Randall Commander I at a local store. It looks like the Commander IV in the video below but it has one 15" speaker and a the cabinet has a closed back. It is a solid state amp but it sounded great.I love the tremelo on this amp. They want $200 for it. I would have bought it but it is really big and heavy as fuck. Know anything about these amps? when they were made?

[youtube][/youtube]

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Wed Oct 29, 2014 12:47 am

there was one of those floating around on CL a couple years back that i always wanted to try/buy was a piggyback one too. so cool looking.

Noirie. · Post by **Noirie.** » Wed Oct 29, 2014 12:54 am

Teh Kurtz.

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Wed Oct 29, 2014 3:04 am

They started in '75 or '76 and continued into the '80s.

My guitar teacher in the '90s had a Commander II combo. I thought it was cool but then it was also the biggest amp I'd ever seen, with the most knobs, and I knew fuck all else at the time. Plus they're Bronco/Blender knobs with R's on them instead of F's, c'mon dudes.

Teh Kurdtz had a Commander head which he ran through a BFI Bullfrog 2x12 cabinet in the SubPop days before he got into Twin Reverbs, and probably recorded some of the Incesticide tracks with it. He had it in his and Grohl's apartment in the early DGC days as depicted in home movie footage from the Live Tonight Sold Out video, and Courtney Love took it into the studio in '98 for Celebrity Skin where it was used by her and/or Eric Erlandson. In Guitar World around the time she was quoted "Kurt did love his Randall Commander."

Whether it's actually a good amp or just a trusty bit of kit you see around frequently is subjective. It's like how everyone and their imaginary friend Dr. Blinkendorf D.O. had one of those Peavy Transtubes at some point.

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Wed Oct 29, 2014 10:57 pm

my little brother has my peavey transtube. fuck that amp. dryest sounding amp ever. horrible overdrive. still love that thing though.

westtexasred · Post by **westtexasred** » Thu Oct 30, 2014 12:29 am

I bought the amp for $199. It's a Randall RG-120-115 made in the 1970's. It's solid state 120 watts with one 15 inch speaker. It has 2 channels,Master Volume knob is push/pull for 15 db gain boost Treble contol has push pull for treble boost. It has a big spring reverb tank and tremolo control has a very wide range slow to fast. The cabin has a closed back. The amp sounds a lot like a Fender.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Thu Oct 30, 2014 2:12 am

I think it's cool. Price is about right, not the steal of the century but it's hard to argue with any decent gear under $200. Definitely more interesting and probably way louder than any new SS amp you'd get for that these days.

westtexasred · Post by **westtexasred** » Thu Oct 30, 2014 4:49 am

Thanks! I love this amp. This is Kurt's Randall head below.It's the same amp as mine.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Thu Oct 30, 2014 11:26 am

Awesome! Guess you didn't pay that Kurdtz tax then

westtexasred · Post by **westtexasred** » Thu Oct 30, 2014 11:44 pm

Haha,no,it seems like these amps are still pretty much ignored by by der Kurdtz Krowd.

Check this video. This guy put a splitter on his Les Paul and ran in through his Marshall JCM 900 and his Randall Commander II . Sounds pretty cool.

[YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE]

westtexasred · Post by **westtexasred** » Fri Oct 31, 2014 4:05 am

I think this is one of the songs Kurt recorded with the Randall head(1/23/88 session).

[youtube][/youtube]

Fakir Mustache · Post by **Fakir Mustache** » Fri Oct 31, 2014 9:19 am

westtexasred wrote:Check this video. This guy put a splitter on his Les Paul and ran in through his Marshall JCM 900 and his Randall Commander II . Sounds pretty cool.

[YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE]

I tried something like that once. It's pretty cool, but it takes away from the punch of the distorted sound.

westtexasred · Post by **westtexasred** » Fri Oct 31, 2014 2:44 pm

I think Kurt was using his Randall amp head at this show

[youtube][/youtube]

singlepup · Post by **singlepup** » Sat Nov 08, 2014 3:27 pm

Looks sweet. I have been using a newer Randall amp at a practice studio in Taipei cause it's all they have. Not a bad clean sound and takes pedals well. Yours seems much cooler though!

redzebra6 · Post by **redzebra6** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 6:58 am

Holy crap! All these years I thought that maybe I was hallucinating! I have a Randall Commander I (RG-90A-115) that for the longest time I thought was part of some forgotten, parallel universe artifact. This thing was given to me years ago (yeah...given!) when I was just a young pup playing guitar in a wannabe punk/thrash band. Early Nineties, to be exact. I was listening to way too much Megadeth and Prong. I have held on to this thing for twenty some odd years trying to find info about it, almost giving up hope until I saw a Commander II in a pawn shop in Paris, TX last year. As much as I wish I had the clams then for a downpayment, I know the Wife would've not been happy. But I would have!

Apparently these are like a solid state version of the Fender Twin, supposingly good for pedal steel (???), remain clean at high volumes, and have some pretty tasty reverb. Some years back, when I was out on deployment, I let my brother-in-law borrow it. He sent it into a shop to have it fixed (in one of my many moves I busted a capacitor) and not only did the tech get it fixed, but also tried to buy it. Wouldn't leave him alone.

It's been here recently that said BIL and I have renewed our interest in finding out more about these cool, hefty gems.

HNB · Post by **HNB** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 1:29 am

Old thread, but I just picked up a 210 on eBay that is coming with its cover and footswitch. Excited to give it a try. I think the two ten's should be cool. Like a little brother for my Twin and my Renown. westtexasred, any chance you could scan the schematics page of your manual for me to archive in case mine ever needs servicing so the tech could use it for values and such?

ekwatts · Post by **ekwatts** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 8:59 am

Nice one. I love stuff like this.

Post by **dots** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 1:56 pm

Looks awesome, and super clean, too!

gusman2x · Post by **gusman2x** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 2:37 pm

My mate picked up a Session Sessionette recently, which I think is in a similar vain. Awesome sounding amp, and pretty cheap. Takes pedals like a boss, and is louder than bombs. Fancy picking one up at some point too, as I'm not mad keen on lugging a tube amp about. But then again, what's the point in having a nice sounding amp if you don't play it out.