DILEMMA! PLEASE HELP!

[dstaudt24]

I have done a whole lot of research and still just can't come to decide on whether to get a two channel Dual Rec (G Revision) or to get a three channel Dual Rec. Both are the same price where I'm looking. The difficult part is that everyone seems to have different opinions about each. The main reason I am worried about the two channel, is that I read that the cleans aren't very good; however I also heard that the leads on it are better than the three channel. Every time I think I find out which one I would prefer, I run into more opinions stating flaws in each. So basically, can anyone please tell me which one they would prefer to buy if money wasn't an option? And please give me some reasons, besides the obvious of having an extra channel.

Thanks in advance guys!

 

[zerofivefour]

I have done a whole lot of research and still just can't come to decide on whether to get a two channel Dual Rec (G Revision) or to get a three channel Dual Rec. Both are the same price where I'm looking. The difficult part is that everyone seems to have different opinions about each. The main reason I am worried about the two channel, is that I read that the cleans aren't very good; however I also heard that the leads on it are better than the three channel. Every time I think I find out which one I would prefer, I run into more opinions stating flaws in each. So basically, can anyone please tell me which one they would prefer to buy if money wasn't an option? And please give me some reasons, besides the obvious of having an extra channel.

Thanks in advance guys!

I currently have 2 Rectifier amps. I've owned and played at least one recto since 1997 starting with an early model chrome chassis triple recto. I currently have a rack mount dual and a recently acquired Chrome Chasis Triple recto head. Both are early dual channel versions, with build dates of 92/93. I have always found the cleans to be extremely pleasant and extremely usable on the rectos I've owned. I always set orange channel gain to 'CLEAN' and the Channel cloning to 'ORANGE TO MODERN' on the back. This gives me a very nice clean usable channel one. I then set the rectifier select toggle to Silicone Diode mode and the Power variac switch to the 'BOLD' setting. This results in a versitle 2 channel recto with channel 2 being a fire breathing monster from hell. Roll off your guitars volume knob while on channel 2 and you have usable gain throughout its range, (of course this is dependent on your pickups and make sure you have a decent volume pot in your guitar). Throw a boost pedal in front of the channel 2 and it will be perfect for lead work. Throw a fuzz, overdrive, or dirt box (of your choice and flavor), in front of channel one, (clean channel), and your 2 channel recto has instantly transformed into a 3 channel version, with a 2nd dirt flavor. Redundant, but so is any 3 channel amp imho.

I prefer the 2 channel Rectos to 3 channel versions for a few reasons. But opinions regarding amps are like opinions on girlfriends.

ie: it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks but You.

I have honed my chops on these dual channel rectos and realize I am biased in this regard. But I have developed my sound around them and feel extremely comfortable around them. They are fabulous amps. Fabulous, with sufficient bells and whistles for any one imho. With that said, I do like the simplicity of the 2 channel over the 3 channel. I often ask myself who really needs a 3rd channel in all honesty? I don't. I didn't when I was touring. I still don't. Some people like to have a third channel and that is fine by me. Need a solo boost? I say get a pedal, it's cheap and there are a gazillion bazillion different options in that department.

I simply don't need a 3rd channel. However it is very easy to make a 3 channel amp out of a 2 channel amp as I mentioned above. Get a pedal (of your choice), put it in front of the clean channel and set it to a drive setting of your choice, voila, third channel. In the rare instances that I wanted my 2 channel Triple recto to have a third channel, for a different flavor of dirt, I used to use a soldano GTO pedal with incredible results. Of course I had it triggered, as I had my whole rig by a GCX switcher for easy switching. With the GCX and a multi fx rack and some pedals/rack mounted preamps you can have a 128 channel amp if you want. Not necessary. I didn't really need the soldano as a 3rd channel in all honesty, but the soldano just sounded so good with the mesa power section.

Couple the ease of adding a third channel with the fact that I prefer, (am more accustomed to), the 'sound' of the 2 channel rectifiers, and it is a no brainier for Me. That is how I see it. It works for me and has worked for me for a long time. YMMV

If you like the sound of the Rectifier I don't think you can go wrong with either a 2 or 3 channel version to be honest. The market is soft right now and you can get amps at relatively insanely low prices now. So your timing is perfect.

May I suggest that you fire both versions up if you have the opportunity and determine which you prefer.

It's late and I hope some of my ramblings are coherent enough to be of some help.

Good luck in your quest for tone. It is a long, fun, expensive and fulfilling experience.


Cheers,

Tom

 

[dstaudt24]

I really appreciate the response Tom! Very thorough and helpful. My gut instinct told me to go with the two channel so I think you confirmed my thoughts. It's a Revision G, do you have any thoughts/experience with this revision? Thanks again for all the help!

 

[zerofivefour]

I really appreciate the response Tom! Very thorough and helpful. My gut instinct told me to go with the two channel so I think you confirmed my thoughts. It's a Revision G, do you have any thoughts/experience with this revision? Thanks again for all the help!

My pleasure. I love talking shop about the rectos. =)

I believe all the rectos that I have used and owned have all been revision F's if the following information is correct in my cut and paste from another 'Gear Page'.*

There is some info on all Revisions as well as the Rev G in there so you may find it of interest. According to the info the G differs from F in that it has a Parallel loop, a boost, and the 'best' clean channel of the 2 channel rectos. I can NOT confirm any of this. I can say that if it is true then the clean channel must be pretty darn nice because I love my Rev F's clean channel when utilized with the CLEAN TO MODERN setting. I am not sure about your preference with fx loops, so YMMV there, and with regard to the boost feature, I simply do not know. Boosting my F's have always been easier than tying my shoe laces. I love using a Sam Ash Fuzz type of circuit dialed in at modest levels, it adds a certian 'gnarly hair quality to the sound' and boost to the recto. Other booster pedals will provide awesome results such as any OD set at modest drive levels.

Pedals I have used to boost my recto: Mojo Hand Zephyr Fuzz,(this is the sam ash fuzz style circuit and it rips when placed in front of the recto dirt channel), Keeley modded Boss DS-1(seeing eye mode/at very modest drive setting, Fulltone Catalyst, Subdecay Blackstar, etc...


Any way here is the post with the info on the Dual recto 2 channel revisions...


It was posted on another site by 'Somedude', hope this helps.

Cheers,

Tom

post with info on all revisions belowdisclaimer...I have no way of knowing if any or all of the info is correct or not)





*
Posted by Somedude on another 'gear page'...


Here's the gist....

Rev A and B - Preproduction, never released

Rev C - First production version. Went to around 280 units. Brighter, tighter and more aggressive than later versions. Clean mode sucked.

Rev D - A bit darker, although tonally not much different than a C. The assumption is that Boogie wanted to improve the rhythm tone. Went from around 280 to 513 or so and ceased production in Aug 92.

Rev E - Not much is known about it as there were only somewhere around 110 to 150 released. Presumably it sits somewhere between D and F in terms of tone. This was a transition version with a lot of mods done to an earlier PCB, so there may have been changes made from amp to amp at some points. Presumably Rev F superceeded it as soon as the new PCBs arrived.

Ref F - A bit darker, but still bright by Rev G standards. Also voiced looser than previous revisions. Much better clean channel. Went from around 650 to 2820 and ceased production in late 1993. These are the last of the Rectifiers using the Mark III transformer.

Ref G - Darker yet. Rev G is the final 2 channel revision and is built around a different transformer than the previous revisions. It went from around serial number 2822 in late 1993 until it ceased production somewhere around 16,000 units in 2000. It is darker, looser, and has more bottom end than previous versions. Also has the best clean channel, a parallel effects loop and is the first to have the solo volume boost feature. The head covering switched from leather to tolex on this version. Although many will argue pre-500 this and rev whatever that sound better, THIS revision is the classic 90s Dual Rectifier tone.

I believe the Tremoverb is based off the Rev G.

I don't think it's any secret that the Recto was based off the SLO-100. The earlier revisions (C through F) are brighter and more agressive. Some would say "More Marshall like". Later revisions (D through G) progressed towards sounding bigger and heavier, culmonating in the Revision G, which was the final revision of the original 2 channel Dual.

Arguably, the earlier revisions are better for lead players while the later versions are better for rhythm. I've read that a boosted Rev F gets into Rev C territory on aggression and tightness. I don't know if this holds true for Rev Gs as they're based around a different transformer, but I do know that using an OD does still tighten them up and add more cut.

Although originally designed as a hair metal lead amp, some people will argue that the 2 channel's voicing was darkened to make it more suitable for grunge. My personal opinion is that this argument doesn't hold a lot of water as the revision G was already out prior to Soundgarden releasing Superunknown and it was that album (plus Korn's self titled released later that year) that kick started the sales of that amp. I believe the gradual darkening of the amp was simply Boogie's attempt to make the amp more versitile (ie, better cleans, better high gain rhythm).

The above is a mix of my own opinion and stuff I've read off the internet over the years. I own an F, have played Gs (never back to back with the F however) and used to own a Recto Pre/2:100 rack setup. I've never played a 3 channel, so don't ask my opinion on it. I will state that when the 3-channel was relatively new there were plenty of people who liked it better than the 2-channel due to it's extra brightness/cut (and the third channel). Now conventional internet wisdom teaches people to hate it due to it being too bright/fizzy... so as always, your mileage may vary. The Roadster is very highly rated. I've talked to a few people online who've replaced their early 2 channels with the Roadster. Some claim it sounds just as good or better, and others claim that although it isn't quite as good as their 2 channel, the increased functionality of having 4 channels outweighs the small decrease in tonal performance when it comes to live applications.

I believe that Boogie's original intent was for the amp to be used as a crunch/lead amp with the guitarist using the guitar's volume knob for cleans, hence clean mode being a bit of an afterthought that originally worked like ****. It actually does work pretty good this way.

I will say however that using it as a clean/crunch amp does tend to work better if you don't want to fiddle with your knobs. Problem is that now you need an OD pedal for leads. I think this is why Boogie added the 'solo boost' feature on the Rev G.... increased compression through hitting the power tubes harder, plus a nice step out in volume to assist in cut/presence. However, the solo boost does have it's limits since you have a shared EQ between rhythm and lead tones, so if you want a slightly scooped feeling rhythm tone your leads are going to have trouble cutting, or conversely if you want a compressed and mid heavy lead tone your rhythm tone will be messy as ****... which is probably why they eventually added dedicated clean channel to free up the original two channels so they can be dialled in for optimum rhythm/lead use.

And to add to that... sometimes you want cleaner cleans, and sometimes you want overdriven cleans. Enter the 4th channel.

In short... consider the tone of the amp, but also consider your application. I love my Rev F, however I'd love a pure volume solo boost since I hate adding gain as it kills the touch, and there's times where those extra 2 channels would definetly come in handy. The only thing holding me back from getting a Roadster is that i already own a Dual Recto, won't sell the one I have and can't justfy owning two. Plus I want a Mark V more than I want a second Recto.

 

[dstaudt24]

Thanks a lot for the help brother! I now feel confident buying my G-Series Dual Rec. And hell, I believe that in the future if I want to sell and get a Roadster or something, then I could easily do that! Boogies always will have a decent resell value. Again thanks for the help!