Can I play a Dual Recto in my bedroom??????

[BLAKK_JAKK]

Hey guys. I'm new around here and I'm loving this forum! You are great guys!


I have a great a BIG question. I know that everybody asked thisd a million times! But...

Can I play a Dual Rectifier in my bedroom?

I have an Ibanez, a 15W Ibanez practite amp, and a boss GT-8.

I play mainly neo classical stuff, Pantera, Lamb of God, Anthrax, Cacophony etc...

So I need lots of gain, and a nice tone, not muddy, I need to hear every note like a solo, but be able to play Dimebag riffs with lots of distortion.

So, is the Dual Recto to loud for me? I play in my bedroom, but I hope to start gigs in 2 years or something like that.

So, what do you guys think? I don't want to buy this or that and have to do this improvement and that trick...I just want to know if i can use that amp at low volumes and have a great tone.

BLAKK:JAKK

 

[Humbility]

you should be able to get pretty close to the tone you are looking for at bedroom levels with an atenuator. If you wanna spen the money.

 

[speedy mcfeely]

You should check out an f-30, or possible an f-50. If you can find a subway rocket, those have great tone and can get it very quietly (compared to a half stack).

If the Recto is it for you, the get the head and a 112 thiele cab, you'll have the woof without the air movement of a 412.

 

[Platypus]

Yes and no.

With an attenuator you can get decent cranked tones at reasonable volumes but it sucks a bit of your tone.. just the name of the game. You can fix this with the proper EQ settings.

 

[Elpelotero]

i play in my room all the time, but it sounds best when nobody's home and i crank it really loud. at bedroom levels the tone is very grainy and muddy. the same can be said for most tube amps, unless you get one with a very low wattage rating so you crank the tubes hot and not get too loud.

the dual rec can do the tones you seek. i think a mark4 is better for your soloing and lamb of god style of play though because it's a lot smoother and tighter for these applications. the mark 4 is loud tho.

i suppose the f-series, but never played em.

 

[G.I.G.]

If you don't already own a Dual Rectifier (I'm assuming you're looking to buy one) I would maybe go with a Rect-O-Verb or Singer Rectifier instead (both are 50 watts). Same tone at a more reasonable power rating.

I own a Rectoverb and a Dual Rec and love them both. I bought the Rectoverb so I could play at reasonable volumes in my apartment, but still be able to play decent sized venues. I played a medium sized club with it once and it had plenty of power.

I used my Dual Rec in my apartment before I bought the my ROV. Obviously it sounds better cranked, but I could still get a decent sound out of it for practicing in my apartment. Keep in mind that the majority of your sound/tone comes from the preamp section of the amp, so with some minor eq and gain adjustments, you can get a pretty good sound at low volumes. You can also take out two of the power amp tubes and one of the rectifier tubes to run it at 50 watts.

 

[Pinetree]

I got a full stack in my living room.


Of course, being divorced helps.

 

[FPFL]

Honestly, no. It won't sound good. Accept it. You already realize that this is the truth.

Getting a smaller wattage amp will help but only somewhat. If you can't get the amp past 1 on the master it won't matter what the watts are. The speakers need to push at least a little to get any LOG sounds!

I'd get a Tech21 pedal or a POD until you can afford to open an amp up and let it work for real. Its what I do. POD XT in my office for late night don't wake the wife and Mesa Ace for practice and gigs. Neither one does the job of the other very well but both are great for what they were intended for.

 

[fredster]

Honestly, no. It won't sound good. Accept it. You already realize that this is the truth.

I'm going have to disagree here. While it's true tube amps sound different with power tube breakup, they certainly can sound just fine at lower volumes too. I've had a ROV, a DR and now a Roadster and they all sound good at low volumes. That's what the master volume knob is for! An attenuator definately helps get a little more play in the master volume, and you have to eq them a little differently, but they still sound good. I've just come off a few years of modeling amps and funny looking boxes - yes they can sound good but are definately missing something. Even at low volumes a tube amp is better than a modeler, and life is too short for even a minute of bad tone. :wink:

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

With an attenuator, and a careful proper EQing, you can get a great tone! Very powerful, high gain, and very very articulate!

It takes time though. I finally found my tone about 3.5 months after owning the amp!

 

[BLAKK_JAKK]

I've just come off a few years of modeling amps and funny looking boxes - yes they can sound good but are definately missing something. Even at low volumes a tube amp is better than a modeler, and life is too short for even a minute of bad tone. :wink:

+1

 

[FPFL]

Don't get it twisted - I'll stand by that at "bedroom" volumes no tube amp sounds even half as good as it will on even the modest 1-2 range on the volume knob. A DR on .5 is not great tone, its not even good. Get that puppy up to two and its divine but again, thats when its working as designed to!

Put a different way its like asking will that BMW be fun to drive at 9 mph?

A mini-kart may suck compared to a BMW (as my POD does compared to my Mesa no argument there) but at 9 mph its a lot more fun to drive a mini-kart becuase thats what its built for.

You can eq all day and throw all kinds of volume chokes on big beastly tube amps, but a DR is a beast! It wants to rage, I say don't ask it to whisper in a little cage. I've watched friends waste time and money on this dream.

Save your money for when you can appreciate a DR and use the difference on a better guitar.

If its tubes or nothing at least get a tube amp that was made to be small like a zvex nano or a thd univalve. I pity the DR that never gets above .5.

But BJ, based on your response (that +1) I have to ask if you were really looking for honest responses or someone to help you justify buying a DR?

-P

 

[jbird]

I play my Dual and 4/12 in my Condo (bedroom) with no problem! Typical level around 9:00, sometimes louder! It's fine! It's why they have pre-amps! The power tube break-up these guys are always raving about was something desired/needed on the amps of yesteryear, NMV amps, before pre-amp gain stages were developed! There are sweet-spots on these Rectos, that do happen at certain volumes, and differ between the 50, 100, and 150 watters though! But in general, making a large purchase like this, something that could last a lifetime, should'nt be decided on whether or not you can play this amp in your bedroom! Unless thats where you plan to stay! :wink:

 

[FPFL]

jbird,

you make a good point especially about rectos, they are pre-amp emphasized in their tone stack - they are not vintage marshalls.

that said, you still need enough volume to get the speakers breathing and thats very hard to do with a "bedroom" recto.

i wish you all luck in your quest.


-P

 

[jbird]

jbird,

you make a good point especially about rectos, they are pre-amp emphasized in their tone stack - they are not vintage marshalls.

that said, you still need enough volume to get the speakers breathing and thats very hard to do with a "bedroom" recto.

i wish you all luck in your quest.


-P

I sit at speaker level, about three feet away from my 4/12! It's not too hard to attain a volume for which to feel in my gut

 

[FPFL]

of course it isn't - but how loud is that?

see this is it in a nutshell you can't tell me you feel it in your gut but its not loud. those are mutually exclusive things unless you've got a very sensitive gut.

put another way, your definition of "moving air" has to be different than mine. in the end, you are happy and thats cool.

I just think that BJ, from the sounds of it, would be way better off getting something designed for someone at his level and in his place, like maybe one of the new Zooms with the built in drum machine. I got a G2 for super short money and as a one piece play / record / jam tool its pretty impressive. 32 bit chip in there!

Playing against those beats will actually make you a better player / songwriter if you are certain to be bedroom bound and not have a real band to jam with. I have a real band and still kick it to drum machines to make the most of my time at home.

-P

 

[J.R.B.]

If you have future plans for a bigger amp than pull the trigger. Even if you only get to crank it once a week it's worth it. Besides, I've never had a problem with my DR's tone at bedroom volumes. Although the bass does travel with the DR and if your worried about neighbors, parents or whatever it might be a problem. I wake my wife up on a regular basis even when I think I'm playing at a reasonable volume. This is her :evil: at 2:00am :shock:

 

[jbird]

Thats funny, I just returned a Zoom G2.1u! And before that, I sold off my POD 2.0! They're just not the same! They still do not emulate the tone and feel of a real amp IMHO, even if it is in a bedroom!

 

[jbird]

If you have future plans for a bigger amp than pull the trigger.

+1

 

[FPFL]

Thats funny, I just returned a Zoom G2.1u! And before that, I sold off my POD 2.0! They're just not the same! They still do not emulate the tone and feel of a real amp IMHO, even if it is in a bedroom!

This getting redundant vis-a-vi earlier discussion.

I'm curious to here what BJ decides.