We’ve got this Facepunch pedal, which hits the front end with a 20dB clean boost, and you can select a little bit of a frequency, like a Tube Screamer has… like a 720Hz kind of honk. We’re also going back to do some pedals kind of our first venture into it on this new relaunch. It’s very versatile, but compact – just wide enough that even a guy with a big ol’ boot will be able to change channels….
And you can assign those buttons in any configuration for either continuous control or program change.
So, very simple, 8-button MIDI-footswitch that powers off of the amp itself, so it’ll feed the power through the cable. When we came out with the 6-channel amp we had to come up with a to offer, as well. It’s a weird kind of approach I guess everybody has. It’s usually a good indication that I feel like I’m onto something, if I keep going back to it and keep playing it and playing it. Once you get that feeling going, just keep playing. So it’s kind of like just having everything flow through and not thinking about your instrument or whatever. The guitar is your instrument, but so is this. MF: Immediacy, not fighting you, and just letting your creativity flow. IC: What are some words that come to mind once you get that voicing right? You get that tone and you’re like… ‘this is what I’m looking for!’ How would you describe that in a couple of words? MF: I’m a guitar player, too, so it’s mainly voicings for things that I like to hear, and I hope that other people will dig it, too. IC: It’s broad, but I was reading that you have certain ways of voicing the gain for different tunings and stuff like that… MF: Oh, well… that’s always subjective, right? IC: What are some of the main features that make them stand out from other high-gain amps on the market? Not many voicing changes, just the third channel has a slightly different voicing than the Meathead version 667. It’s not official on the pricing yet or anything, but it’s similar to, just minus 3 of the channels. Then we have Kirk Hammett’s signature amp. It has 6 channels, 6 functions, 7 MIDI-programmable functions. We’ve got Scott Ian’s signature amp here, and we’ve got a 6-channel amp, which is a variation off of the Meathead design.
MF: This year we’re officially launching Ola signature amp, Satan, which has a different tube complement than some of the other stuff that’s out on the market. What are some of the main introductions here at NAMM 2014? IC: Let’s actually talk about some of those. And from there, a lot of this stuff has been the template for the models that are here at NAMM 2014 now. We sold them the Meathead design and the Natas. Joe came up and played some of the amps and talked about buying a couple of designs. They gave me a call and the first thing we worked on was something for Kirk. They needed an engineer to help them with some design work and, luckily, I got referred to them. They were looking to reinvest into Randall a relaunch of the company, so to speak. MF: Well, I got contacted by Joe Delaney about three years ago. IC: How did you get connected with Randall at the time they were doing the big redesign for the company and introducing many new products? How did you get on board with that move and become one of their engineers? Mike’s work has had a major impact on Randall’s new releases, many of which we discussed in detail in our conversation: By the time Mike joined the Randall team two years ago as exclusive design engineer, he was already established in the high gain amplifier world for his cutting edge designs with Fortin Amplification, his own company which he founded in 2008. Reviews > Gear > NAMM 2014: Randall AmplifiersĪt this year’s NAMM convention in Anaheim, CA, I had a chance to meet with Mike Fortin of Randall Amplifiers.