1982 Music Man "Premium" 112RD Fifty 12" EVM12L Electro Voice White

Check the youtube video from Johan Segeborn - HUGE Sounding Vintage Music Man 112 RD Fifty!

The Music Man Hybrid Boogie Amp RD-50 was actually developed two years before its introduction in 1981, but this was during the breakup days between Music Man and Leo’s C.L.F. Research company. The solid-state preamp section, with the “Limiter” stage, was developed by Leo, while the amp as a whole was designed by Tommy Walker at Music Man and by 1981 Leo Fender allowed Music Man the use of Leo's preamp section.

The RD-50 differs greatly in sound compared to the other RD series amps (RD-65 and RD100) because Leo’s limiter circuit was different than the one Tommy developed for the series when they debuted in 1980. The RD-50 has better tone control and a smoother gain. This is most probably due to Leo’s circuit having the tone control after the first gain stage and then another gain stage just before the 12AX7 limiter. So, while both series have the same “R” for reverb, their “D” sections for distortion are quite different.

Another quality of the RD-50 that you will notice is, even when being played clean, this is a LOUD amplifier, which I attribute to its superior preamp section and post tone control. This amp was supposed to be offered in two varieties. One being the black tolex with a standard Music Man speaker (CTS mostly) in combo or piggyback design and the other “premium” model fitted with a Electro Voice speaker in a off white “pinwale” covering that resembles rubberized corduroy. Both variations had one 12″ or one 10″ speaker.

In the Netherlands these amps were imported by Big One Music, Zwolle / Utrecht and there are only 4 "Premium" Pinwale White 112RD Fifty amps with EVM12L Electro-Voice speaker known in The Netherlands. This baby is rare!

The "Premium" edition is one of the most desired Music Man amplifiers with its Pinwale White tolex and Electro-Voice EVM12L 12inch speaker. This particular amp is in excellent condition and still has the original Music Man footswitch. This amp is known for its superb clean sound and it is LOUD! But it also has a built in "Distortion" and "Reverb". In fact, it's probably the smallest tube-amp with a raw power of 50Watt out there. Purchased from the original owner, this amp is all original and unmodified, the tubes are still perfect, the speaker is the original 12" Electro Voice EVM12Land it sounds just massive!

The RD-50 reacts with a dramatic difference in sound according to what type of 6L6 tubes you use. If the amp is biased with “old style” 6L6s, it yields a warm vintage tone, but if you set this bad boy up with a pair of “hot” 6L6s like a Mesa-Boogie uses, it will scream and get mean. This amp can also be easily fitted with EL-34s by a qualified amp tech.