Building the Mesa Rack: Recto, Triaxis, etc.

[Silverwulf]

Well, my rack is finally nearing completion and I've mapped out the wiring schematic for it. In the rack, I'll have:

Furman PL-Plus Power Conditioner
X2 XDR95 Wireless Rackmount
Dunlop DCR-1SR Rack Wah
Rocktron Xpression (possibly swapping for G-Major)
GCX Audio Switcher
Rack Shelf w/(2) Maxon OD808, BOSS NS-2, Dunlop Power Brick
Mesa Triaxis Preamp (Version 2 - No Phat Mod)
Mesa Dual Rectifier Rackmount ("Racktifier")

All enclosed in a 12 space shockmount rack case. My pedalboard will have my midi switcher, wah controller, an expression pedal, and a BOSS TU-2. Everything is completely bypassed unless it's in use.

It will be nice to go from Channel 2 "Modern Red" rhythms on the Recto, to a sparkling clean on the Triaxis, to a "Vintge Orange" lead on the Recto, to IIC+ style crunch on the Triaxis all with the push of a single button.

Pics coming soon... 8)

 

[Dead Moon Rising]

is there an emoticon for drooling?

 

[Silverwulf]

Still working on adjusting everything at the moment to find the right balance of outputs and mixtures on the Recto, Triaxis, and Rocktron. Day 2 went a lot better with tweaking and it's getting there now.

Lead 1 Red is starting to sound a lot better now, too. I'm actually digging it with a boost in front (Maxon OD808). I figured...I use the boost on a real Recto all the time, why not the Recto mode?

 

[jaquetapus]

Sounds almost identical to my setup. [My rack recto came yesterday, but you're a little farther along than me though] Are you just planning on using the TriAxis in the Recto's effect return? Care to share your wiring diagrams?

 

[Silverwulf]

Sounds almost identical to my setup. [My rack recto came yesterday, but you're a little farther along than me though] Are you just planning on using the TriAxis in the Recto's effect return? Care to share your wiring diagrams?

Yes, and yes... 8) Here's the wiring digram I mapped out:

http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/2249/gcx1de6.jpg


I still haven't got things wired up yet because the band is recording right now and we're constantly slaving everything into something else and trying everything, so we're constantly changing wires around at the moment. But, I did draw up that schematic and then ran it by some guys at GCX to make sure I wasn't crazy and they confirmed it should work fine.

Basically, with that schematic you can use your Recto channels like normal (changing the channel with the GCX), and whenever you want to use the Triaxis, you just set up the patch to engage it's loop on the GCX and it will patch you directly into the Rectos power section (bypassing the preamp). And with either, you can still use any of the effects you have routed in front, or use use any patch on the Xpression or whatever FX unit you have.

At first I wondered how it would sound since I'd never used a Triaxis without a 2:90 and it's switching options. But so far, I don't miss it at all. It sounds great as is, and I don't use the Dynamic Voice in the Triaxis either. The Xpression has a 4 band parametric EQ and I've had great results with using it instead of the DV. The EQ works pretty well too, which is why I'm leaning towards keeping it over replacing it with a G-Major, not to mention it's exceptinally quick and easy to program and change patches on the fly. I'm impressed by the unit so far.

I was also going to mod the Recto to a serial loop, but I've not had many problems with the parallel loop so far, sounds good. Just peg the Mix at 100% on the loop and adjust input volumes on the Rocktron.

I still have some patch tweaking to do, but I'm actually already getting close to the sound of my Recto by using Lead 1 Red on the Triaxis with my OD808 in front (like I do my "real" Recto). Lead 2 Yellow is working out really well too. Anyone who says that the Triaxis doesn't like a boost in front is full of it. You use it on the real Recto, why wouldn't you use it on Lead 1 Red? I'm also discovering it easier to dial in tones on the Triaxis by using it into Channel 1 Orange instead of Channel 2 Red (there's a power amp difference depending on which channel is selected), though I'm gonna start trying to dial in my Lead 1 Red patches on the Red soon.

Anyway, so far so good. I have a long way of tweaking to go, but with what limited time I've spent on it, I'm happy with the progress I've made. I actually have a Strategy 400 coming this week. I'm curious to see how much difference the Triaxis reacts with it versus the Recto.

 

[Silverwulf]

Updated:

Running strong and digging the sounds I'm getting thus far. Getting Lead 1 Red and Lead 2 Red both dialed in pretty close to the Recto itself which is great. Cleans and leads are both sounding amazing at the moment.

Strategy 400 has arrived. Hands down one of the most impressive power amps I've used. It has balls and "thump" at any volume and best of all? It actually works great at low volumes. Despite being 200W per side, the volume taper is top notch and scales so gradually that you have to run it up to aorund 3-4 to get the the same as the Recto on 1...but then it starts scaling faster afterwards. What does that mean? It means it's easier to use the Strategy 400 at lower volumes than the Rectos and Marks I've had because you can dial it in at smaller increments, and it still retains the thump. It's been a very pleasant surprise.

I haven't had time to EQ the Triaxis with it yet, but initial results were good.