ToneAddictJon said:
I haven't played a Voodoo modded DR or TR yet, but I know I love my DR with JJ EL34L's in it. I wouldn't jump right on a Mark IV, I love mine, but I don't know if I'd choose it or my DR if I could have only one. The DR is much better for certain things and so is the Mark IV. If you want grind and insain amounts of gain, go for the DR (if given the choice over a stock and voodoo for the same price I'd go with the voodoo because resale on them is better than a stock one) or if you want the insainly smooth lead tone and a nice crunchy rhythm go for the Mark IV. And of all the people saying the Mark IV tracks better than the Recto, I would say they are just voiced differently, because I get a super tight sound out of my DR. Clean channels in both are really good, so that shouldn't be a concern.
You're certainly entitled to your view on the topic and this is in no way meant to say you're wrong because tone is VERY subjective, but in my experience (
the below is my opinion, not fact) (I ran a 3CH DR w/ JJEL34L's for quite some time), the DR is much more limited than the Mark IV. It can certainly get lots of diverse tones but in the end, it only really
excels at 'the rectifier sound.' Furthermore, the Mark series has way more gain on top, no question about that. I truly believe it tracks much better than the Dual Rectifier can, even after putting tons of different tubes into it. The clean channel is just junk on the DR compared to the Mark IV.. no bones about that, you're comparing Fender blackfaceish tones to the flat uninspiring clean of the DR.
There is very little in the way of picking dynamics with the DR compared to other amps in Mesa's outfit like the Stiletto/Mark/Lonestar series. You can really dig into those amps and hear the difference in your force. With the DR it's very static as far as that is concerned in my experience.
The 3CH DR/TR series is also primarily a rhythm amplifier. Dialing a usable lead requires some sort of boost to sound even half as good as the Mark IV's lead abilities. I've heard people pull it off before but it doesn't quite capture that boogie liquid lead sound that put them on the map.
As far as the mod, I'll say this. If I was going to purchase an amp second hand, I wouldn't touch something that was modded to suit someone else's specific needs no matter how reputable the company is. I'm all for modifying amp designs and making them better.. hell we wouldn't even be talking about any of these amps without Randall and others having modified Leo Fender's designs, but I think you're spending a lot of money reinventing the wheel here.. it is what it is.
Both the DR and the Mark IV are great at what they do, I just happen to think the Mark IV is a much better amplifier for my specific needs and for tone in general. Like I said before, this post might rub some folks the wrong way but in the end it's just some random crap some random guy said on the internet about an amp, use your own ears to decide.. I don't think I'd mod an amp without hearing and playing what the mod does first hand but that's me.