NAD - RA 100

I finally pulled the trigger after months of serious GAS. This is a great amp.

Oh man, I just talked myself out of purchasing one now you get one. Give us a review, I really want to pull the trigger but just haven't because nobody has one locally I can play. Have a Marshall JVM which I like but man that built in attenuator is really calling my name.

I will give a review after I have a few more hours in. I also had trouble finding one to demo before I purchased. I actually went to my local Guitar Center and I was told that amp had not been released yet, but I could special order and I would get one of the first ones that comes out. I left there scratching my head because I knew the amp had been out since 2011. I finally found a combo at a store about an hour from me. They only had the combo and I would have to wait 6 to 8 weeks if I special ordered the head. After spending about an hour in the store playing the combo, I knew it was the amp for me, so I bought the combo.

There's nothing like a wicked case of GAS. I saw it in the eyes of my friend Mike(lesterpaul) the "lefty" at my house today. Tom Andersons, Jackson USA's and a ratty old Gibson goldtop made the RA-100 speak with conviction. :shock:

BAD *** AMP!...its everything I wish the MK V was
simple,easy to dial in, easy to balance the three channels!the crunch tones we conjured up were maybe the best I have encountered personally(JB has the right glass in the right places for this monster)..lead tones are smokin'....attenuation setting for each channel...I thought it was just overall volume...cool!welcome addition,no doubt-
...plug in and play-hell, I am still reading the MK V manual... :lol:
GAS? ...like 3 bowls of my Texas special chili, all rinsed down with a 12 pack of PBR..serious,life threatening GAS!

I finally had a chance to open this amp up, thanks to my wife taking the kids out for a few hours. I tried it with a Les Paul, Strat and Telecaster and basically worked my way through the sample settings in the manual. This amp has an amazing range of tones. It goes from 100 watts crystal clean to pushed attenuated cleans, to Marshall crunch to liquid lead. It covers all bases at useable (attenuated) volumes.

My favorite sound was the pushed cleans. You basically dime the gain and master on the clean channel and attenuate down to the appropriate volume. This is where I found great rythm tones similar to Pete Townsend and Keith Richards when using the Les Paul. With the tele I was able to cop a great vintage Rock & Roll sound like Chuck Berry and Brian Setzer. With the neck pick up on the strat I could hear great blues lead lines along the lines of Stevie Ray on Texas Flood. This setting was extremely touch sensitive, dynamic and cleaned up perfectly with the volume knob. The reverb sounded good on the clean channel, although I did not go overboard with it. I basically set it to 9:00 and did not experiment with it on the gain channels.

The lo gain channel was good for copping a heavier crunch rythym sound along the lines of Jimmy Page and Angus Young. It was also a great channel for more of a 1980s hard rock crunch tone. I heard tones similar to early Judas Priest and the Scorpions with the Les Paul. The tele also managed some great crunch and lead tones on this channel. I found that this channel and the Hi channel sounded best when attenuated back about 8 decibels. This channel was also very touch sentisitive and responded well to the volume knob, cleaning up nicely with the volume rolled back. The character of the guitars came through on this channel.

The hi gain channel had a liquid lead tone that reminded me of David Gilmour with the neck pick up of the strat. There was a surprising wide range of gain on this channel, but I found that I needed to keep the gain high to make the channel distinguishable from the lo gain channel. Overall, it was a good lead tone, and I suppose it would be useful for heavier rythms, but I am not the best judge since I don't really play metal.

Those are my are my initial impressions. I have not had a chance to play it with my band, but I will update my review after the honeymoon is over.

Thanks for the update. Man I almost pulled the trigger on this amp the other day but didn't. I just hate buying things without hearing them first. Currently using a JVM410h and like three of the four channels but it sounds like I would love the RA from your description. I might have to order one sight unseen. I guess I can always return the amp.

Hey, another question. I have read that the clean is not as good as the Electra Dyne. Have you heard the ED and can you compare the amps clean channel? Thanks

OK, you guys killed me, I just ordered the darn thing.

i think you would have to a/b the amps in terms of the cleans to find the difference-i gave it a good workout with my Tom Anderson Hollow T-I put the tele chicken picken licks to her and I was happy-I did have JB's E dyne for a week, and in terms of real clean tele style licks are concerned, I am equally at home with the dyne,royal,or MK V
i did help a friend with a tube issue with his JVM 410 h...had it for a week-liked it, but it had a lot goin' on under the hood-i like the simplicity factor with the RA...dig the cleans better and I would take the crunch on the RA any day(keep in mind, I would need more quality time with the 410,but in terms of a week with the marsh and an afternoon with the RA....RA for me,no second thoughts)
-good to see another lefty on board,btw!...
just saw your latest post btw ...congrats!!

Assumer congrats! You won't regret it. Below is a link to a side by side comparison between the Electradyne and the Royal Atlantic. I haven't played the Electradyne myself to make a comparison, but based on the video, the Electradyne seems to have a little more bass.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYRvBnFIWnc&feature=related

Thanks. I am sure I will be a happy man. Thanks for the link.

Assumer said:

Hey, another question. I have read that the clean is not as good as the Electra Dyne. Have you heard the ED and can you compare the amps clean channel? Thanks

Click to expand...

I have an Electra dyne and have done a fair amount of testing of the RA at the shop. From this, I don't think you can really say which has the best clean. They both have stunning clean modes and reverb. Really, it is a matter of personal preference. The RA is slightly higher voiced and has a bit more sparkle. the ED soulds a little cleaner, deeper and possibly has a little more sting to it. Reverb is interesting, the ED reverb is deeper, but the RA has more attack and would probably work better for live work in a room. The ED does have more bass, which sometimes is nice, but I find myself turning the bass down more often than not.

I'm just trying to decide what I really want, the RA 100 or perhaps just a 4x10 cab for the ED

J.J said:

Assumer said:

Hey, another question. I have read that the clean is not as good as the Electra Dyne. Have you heard the ED and can you compare the amps clean channel? Thanks

Click to expand...

I have an Electra dyne and have done a fair amount of testing of the RA at the shop. From this, I don't think you can really say which has the best clean. They both have stunning clean modes and reverb. Really, it is a matter of personal preference. The RA is slightly higher voiced and has a bit more sparkle. the ED soulds a little cleaner, deeper and possibly has a little more sting to it. Reverb is interesting, the ED reverb is deeper, but the RA has more attack and would probably work better for live work in a room. The ED does have more bass, which sometimes is nice, but I find myself turning the bass down more often than not.

I'm just trying to decide what I really want, the RA 100 or perhaps just a 4x10 cab for the ED

Click to expand...

Get the RA head, keep the Dyne, and later add a 4x12. Problem solved.

lesterpaul said:

i think you would have to a/b the amps in terms of the cleans to find the difference-i gave it a good workout with my Tom Anderson Hollow T-I put the tele chicken picken licks to her and I was happy-I did have JB's E dyne for a week, and in terms of real clean tele style licks are concerned, I am equally at home with the dyne,royal,or MK V
i did help a friend with a tube issue with his JVM 410 h...had it for a week-liked it, but it had a lot goin' on under the hood-i like the simplicity factor with the RA...dig the cleans better and I would take the crunch on the RA any day(keep in mind, I would need more quality time with the 410,but in terms of a week with the marsh and an afternoon with the RA....RA for me,no second thoughts)
-good to see another lefty on board,btw!...
just saw your latest post btw ...congrats!!

Click to expand...

You must be the guy with the green lefty. Great looking guitar.

Thanks for the update. Man I almost pulled the trigger on this amp the other day but didn't. I just hate buying things without hearing them first. Currently using a JVM410h and like three of the four channels but it sounds like I would love the RA from your description. I might have to order one sight unseen. I guess I can always return the amp.

Click to expand...

There is no contest between the JVM410H and the RA-100, the RA is infinitely better IMO, no contest. The JVM is great on it's own, but seems really harsh and cheap in comparison. The RA is way more thick and musical/toneful. I doubt you'll be disappointed.

I am just waiting for sweetwater to get another head in stock. Have one reserved.