Dual Rec running on 50 watts/how to hook up to cab

[bsideexperiment]

Hey!, i just got a 2 channel Dual Rec and am loving it. However, having not owned one before, i've run into some questions. Hope someone can help me!!

1. i've pulled two 6l6 tubes (two inner ones) and a rec tube to run it on 50 watts. But am totally confused as to how to run it into my 4x12 cab (they have two 8 ohm jacks. on the back of my amp i have two 8-16 ohm jacks and two 4 ohm jacks. i've been running it from one of my 8-16 ohm jacks to one of the 8 ohm jacks in the cab. Whats the correct way to do it? I don't want to damage my amp!

2. i've heard that people describing tones using output knobs and channel knobs. My rec is older and it doesn't have an output knob in the front!? Do i have one? and does that affect my tone because i dont have one (as opposed to the newer recs with an output knob?

3. For some reason, i've noticed that my amp seems to be losing gain when turned up. i don't know if this is normal, but it sounds so much smoother at lower volumes. This might be subjective, but i'm just wondering whether its because of my cab setup (see question 1).

4. I've heard that the sound of the dual rec sounds different depending on cabs, i have a marshall 1960A and think that it sounds waaaay too much like a marshall. I talked to some people and they say the difference you'll get (as far as tone) is night and day when switched to a rectifier cab. Input?

Haha sorry i went overboard with the questions, but thought some of you dual rec vets could lend a rookie a hand..haha Thanks!!!!

 

[diamondschwin]

when halving power your output ohms double, so if you have an 8 ohm cab, plug into the 4 ohm output, this could explain the gain issue with volume, because the mismatch is worse the more wattage you push out, and you could be killing your output transformer and thats why it loses its gain, also its best to eq the amp at high volume as well, in case its just a bad eq setup thats making it seem lacking at high volume

 

[NoGlassNoClass]

Welcome to the board!

First the cab...if it's a 900 or newer 1960, there should be a switch on the jackplate for stereo/mono. In the stereo position you have one pair of speakers connected to each input jack, for 2 seperate 8-ohm loads. Set it to mono, and all 4 speakers are connected as a 16-ohm load at one jack or a 4-ohm load at the other. It should be marked on the jackplate which is which.

The Mesa cab sounds better (my opinion) and is built better (fact) than the 1960, but you should be able to get decent tones from the Marshall once everything is hooked up properly.

Now for the amp...I'm sure many will disagree with me here, but I say put the tubes back in and run your amp at the full 100W. You're not making it much quieter (3dB) by pulling tubes, and IMO the load mismatch is not worth the risk. If you must have cranked-amp tone at low volumes, use an attenuator of some sort (HotPlate, Weber Mass, Airbrake, etc)

Output knob... well the older 2-channels are a bit different, but you can achieve the same kind of thing by setting your FX loop to "on" or "footswitch" and use the Loop Active Master knob on the front as a master vol (Output). Make sure to turn the loop send knob on the back up to about 12:00-2:00 even if nothing is connected to the loop. You may find you like the tone better with the loop bypassed...use your ears and experiment!

You can download a copy of the original owners manual from www.mesaboogie.com

 

[NoGlassNoClass]

3. For some reason, i've noticed that my amp seems to be losing gain when turned up. i don't know if this is normal, but it sounds so much smoother at lower volumes. This might be subjective, but i'm just wondering whether its because of my cab setup...

Put the rest of the tubes back in and try that...you may just be running out of headroom.

MORE LIKELY...It's a used, older amp. Change the tubes. All of them.