Dual Rectifier change to Triaxis.. good idea?

[StaggerLee]

I was not sure where to post this but I post this here.

atm I use Dual Rectifier and some pedals. I'm quite happy with everything.
Mostly I play rock but sometimes harder heavy stuff too.
And with dual rectifier I like vintage mode more than modern.

Now someone is asking me if I would like to make change with him.. I would give him my DR and he would give me triaxis and Mesa Boogie 2:50 power amp? Triaxis he offers is Version 2 w/ TX5 "Phat Mod"

Would it be good or bad deal?
Can I use pedals in front of triaxis just as I use them in front of DR? (later I thing I would go g-major 2 or so cause with midi it would be easy to handle all)
What do I lose if I do this swap? (expect the "rectifier sound")
Is that 2:50 Mesa good with triaxis?
Anything else I should be thinking?
Some people wrote that triaxis has lots of humming/buzzing?

Been reading a lot about this but cant make my mind.. some people write that rack systems have "not so powerfull" or "not so real amp sound" and some people write that its a lot better. Personally I have never tried the triaxis.

Thanks for any advises!

 

[Authorized Boogie]

If its got the TX5 board there is no Phat Mod...which was done on the TX4 boards. Thanks!

 

[StaggerLee]

If its got the TX5 board there is no Phat Mod...which was done on the TX4 boards. Thanks!

Its serial is T-86xx
And I got info here, perhaps I understood wrong: http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?t=2093
"Units with serial #'s T8280 and up are Version 2 w/ TX5 "Phat Mod" Lead 1 red circuit and Midi/recording out circuit upgrade"

And I forgot to say that biggest reason why Im thinking about the change is that I would like to have 2 different kinds of clean sounds with different settings (some our songs really need it) and I would be a lot easier with triaxis than with dual...
And surely would love to try all those different modes of triaxis.. shame there is no units anywhere near me that I could just try out.

 

[Authorized Boogie]

That thread is not correct.

The TX4 board was added at #T1631.

The Phat Mod was done on the TX4 board and was standard from serial numbers T5200 - T8279, at which time the TX5 board was introduced.

Thanks!

 

[StaggerLee]

That thread is not correct.

The TX4 board was added at #T1631.

The Phat Mod was done on the TX4 board and was standard from serial numbers T5200 - T8279, at which time the TX5 board was introduced.

Thanks!

ah, ok.. Thanks for the real info!

 

[7enderbender]

Regarding your original question: You state you are happy with what you have. So that's a good thing. But then again you're interested in changing things up. Happens all the time.

I started out back in the 80s with the typical Marshall plus pedals setup. It sounded great (still does by the way) but I was always drawn to a) more variety and b) ease of use on stage

So it progressed from there with having channels and master volumes added, hooking things up to midi switchers, rack effects, etc
The last iteration of that which I've still used (and lugged around) until about 2 years ago had the Marshall stack, V-Twin preamp, rack, switchers, loops with analog pedals on a board - all controlled via midi. It's big heavy and requires quite a bit of wiring but sounds good, is versatile - and everything is available and changeable with one button.

From there I went to a Fender CyberTwin for practice and small weekend gigs. Fine amp by the way. But right now I'm in the process of putting together a (more or less) compact rack with a Triaxis, 2:50, G-Force and 2x12. Bigger and heavier than the CT, but much easier than the big rig. It think it's a great amp setup and I personally never understood why racks just died off and younger folks went back to the single channel "vintage" amps and huge pedal boards. Even if you just use a handful of sounds I find it so much more secure and professional to be able to go from one sound to another with one foot switch. Even the folks with the Axe Fx type gear often use their midi switchers like an analog pedal board. I don't get that.

 

[SonVolt]

Easy answer - Kurt Cobain killed rack. Though ironic since he himself used a Mesa rack peamp and Crown power amp.

 

[7enderbender]

Easy answer - Kurt Cobain killed rack. Though ironic since he himself used a Mesa rack peamp and Crown power amp.

Yeah, supposedly he killed a lot of things - and then himself. But isn't that going on 20 years or so now also? I'm still advocating to bring rack back. Just imagine where we could be now if rack gear, midi, switcher, etc hadn't been mostly stagnant since. I mean, really, just look at the Axe Fx - great idea (and a rack device...) but people actually hunt down old tube power amps and gizmos to actually get a good and reliable live sound out of it (unless you feel comfortable with the local sound guy to use your DI output and feed you monitors, or go full range for that matter).

 

[SonVolt]

Easy answer - Kurt Cobain killed rack. Though ironic since he himself used a Mesa rack peamp and Crown power amp.

Yeah, supposedly he killed a lot of things - and then himself. But isn't that going on 20 years or so now also? I'm still advocating to bring rack back. Just imagine where we could be now if rack gear, midi, switcher, etc hadn't been mostly stagnant since. I mean, really, just look at the Axe Fx - great idea (and a rack device...) but people actually hunt down old tube power amps and gizmos to actually get a good and reliable live sound out of it (unless you feel comfortable with the local sound guy to use your DI output and feed you monitors, or go full range for that matter).

It's like anything else, the learning curve is too steep for even seasoned veterans. Pedals have real knobs and you just stick it somewhere in your signal path. MIDI Rack Systems/Switchers are not intuitive or easy to setup. Something like the G-System that combines the controller and switcher into one unit helps people visualize how it works - then they can move up into the GCX/GCP when they want more versatility.

 

[guskott]

The 2 50 is a great power amp, but you need the 290 for the Triaxis.
The 3 voices (Deep extend, Half drive and Modern) of the 290 make dramatic changes to the basic Triaxis sounds.
It's really the "wow" factor.

 

[ryjan]

I would consider a Triaxis paired with a Boogie power amp to be an improvement over a Dual Recto.

 

[Old BF Shred]

That thread is not correct.

The TX4 board was added at #T1631.

The Phat Mod was done on the TX4 board and was standard from serial numbers T5200 - T8279, at which time the TX5 board was introduced.

Thanks!

I know this is a "late entry" for the post, but do you mean TX5 was added?
I have a Triaxis, sn T15xx and it has a TX4 board. At least, I have serviced the preamp and it has "TX4" stamped on that board.
Could it have been retrofitted at the factory?

 

[Triaxstasy]

That thread is not correct.

The TX4 board was added at #T1631.

The Phat Mod was done on the TX4 board and was standard from serial numbers T5200 - T8279, at which time the TX5 board was introduced.

Thanks!

I know this is a "late entry" for the post, but do you mean TX5 was added?
I have a Triaxis, sn T15xx and it has a TX4 board. At least, I have serviced the preamp and it has "TX4" stamped on that board.
Could it have been retrofitted at the factory?

At least mine was.... mine is T12xx, first and only owner since the 90s. When the TX4 were introduced I had it retrofitted with a TX4C and V2 software at the authorized repairshop in Germany.