ED head - Recto 2x12 cab?

[mikeller]

Any thoughts on how an ED would sound with a vertical 2x12 (V30's) recto series cabinet?

 

[J.J]

I have played that combination and it sounded great. Has a good element of closed back 4x12 to it with that meaty and tight low end. Personally I prefer the clarity open cabs.

 

[mikeller]

I am not that familiar with closed vs open backs - most of my amps over the years have been combos. The ED combo has a 3/4 or so back.

Are you saying that open back cabinets have more clarity than closed back?

 

[YellowJacket]

Closeback = tight, thumpy, and percussive. Better for distortion tones.

Open back = more warm, clear, and 3D. Better for cleans.

 

[J.J]

It also depends which combo. The short Combo is very open, probably 3/4 open.

I agree with what Yellowjacket says, but will add that even though closed back is more tight and thumpy there is less overall clarity to the low end. For heavy distortion most people will pick a closed back cab, but for lower gain overderdriven tones I think open works better. The type of speaker also seems to make a difference. I like V30s in a closed back better than C90s as the C90 can get very boomy. The V30 has less bass to start with. The 2x12 ED combo with V30 speakers is probably mostly closed for that reason.

I am looking to buy an ED soon, so have been testing all I can. So far I like the short combo best followed by head and 4x12 stiletto cab, head and 2x12 vertical recto and last the 2x12 combo. I play blues and 70's/80's rock.

Clear as mud ?

 

[mikeller]

Yeah, I do alot of 80's classic rock stuff. Personally I think the ED 1-12 combo works well, its just hard for me to haul. There is a 2x12 vertical recto cabinet I can pickup locally. Been thinking it might be easier to move around than the combo, I could pick it up and buy a head cab for the ED and go that route.

Thanks all

 

[satch4u3]

I am currently using an ElectraDyne with a closed back 212 recto cab. I initially bought the 212 a few months ago for the same reason. Easier to transport than a 412... which I did for years. The ElectraDyne with the 212 recto sounds great. It can be a tad thumpy if your eqing in a lot of bass. And we all know the ElectraDyne has loads of it.

I haven't had a chance to gig with the EletraDyne since I bought it two weeks ago. My first gig with this setup will be this Saturday night. I will report back with my experience.

 

[mikeller]

Yeah, please let me know on that. I did wind up getting the recto cabinet, now need to do something with the head or get a head cabinet and pull the chassis from my combo

 

[satch4u3]

The gig went ok. The ED sounded nice through the recto cab. I think you will be pleased.

On another note, this was my test gig for this amp as I have 30 days to test. The amp really does low gain sounds nicely. However, I couldn't seem find a happy medium across all channels. That's probably just due to lack of experince dialing it in for a gig. IMO, this amp for my type of application.... Rock, Hard Rock, Metal, and Classic Rock... absolutly requires the use of an external volume/gain boost.

With that said I think I am going to bring it back and have a go at the Mark V. I think the options and versitility of the V is more up my alley. Seems like an amp that can grow with me as I go from sytle to sytle. I know a few of you around here came from the Mark V to the ED. What are your expereinces with this amp? Besides it being a little tough to dial in?

 

[mikeller]

Hey John

I have found the ED to be very easy to dial in. I play main 80's classic rock material and find the two gains very good. Keep in mind I am using the 27" 1-12 combo. I now own the Recto vertical cabinet and hope to soon by the medium ED head.

Sometimes I will juice up the gain channels with a Xotic BB Preamp set for a low gain. I also have a Surh Riot, but really rarely use it because the ED gives me all I need.

I appreciate your time to right back. The recto cab is nice. I played thru it a bit today with my backup amp - a Blackstar HT Studio 20 head

 

[YellowJacket]

IMO, this amp for my type of application.... Rock, Hard Rock, Metal, and Classic Rock... absolutly requires the use of an external volume/gain boost.

Stupid question, did you set the gain trim switch to clean? If you do that, you'll have much more gain on tap for the Vintage High setting on the amp!

Seriously give the Roadster a go! You have clean, a 'brit' channel for classic rock stuff, and two channels with all the gain on tap for shredding crap. OH, if you want a 2 x 12 look into a Mills Acoustic Mach212B. A little story about that, I copied their design doing a DIY project. Loaded the 2 x 12 with a c90 and a v30. The results were stellar, to say the least. Clear, phat, and articulate tone right from bedroom to full out concert levels!

With that said I think I am going to bring it back and have a go at the Mark V. I think the options and versitility of the V is more up my alley. Seems like an amp that can grow with me as I go from sytle to sytle. I know a few of you around here came from the Mark V to the ED. What are your expereinces with this amp? Besides it being a little tough to dial in?

Mark V is great, but I *personally* think the tone is a little dated. If you want Metallica / Megadeth metal it is great. Fantastic amp. I personally dig the recto tone more for TeH Br00talz although I prefer less gain and more tone for my rhythm sound.
The Electra Dyne is really not a 'do everything' amp in my opinion. Like you said, it does clean, low gain, and classic crunch incredibly well.
I basically have two rhythm tones I really like. One is the modern chainsaw tone inspired by the Soldano SLO. The Dual gets in that territory like a champ but it can't really pull off tone number two quite so well. The brit inspired crunch is where the Dyne shines and that would be my go to amp for where I need those tones. Not to mention the clean is fantastic. My ultimate long range plan is to run an Electra Dyne live and pair it with my 2 Channel Dual via an ABY switch.
Scenario 1) Dual with 4 yellow jackets / EL-84s for vintage class A style cleans. Electra Dyne dialed in specifically for classic gain tones. Vintage Lo for crunch and Vintage Hi for lead.

Scenario 2) Dual with EL-34s. Red Channel crunch and Orange Channel lead. Electra Dyne set for epic awesome cleans. Because of the design, you can set the gain trim switch to get a 'fender inspired' and a 'british inspired' clean using the clean and vintage low modes.

 

[satch4u3]

mikeller

I have found the ED to be very easy to dial in.

Yes the ED is absolutely easy to dial in. I should have been more clear as I meant that the Mark V is known to be harder to dial in.

Sometimes I will juice up the gain channels with a Xotic BB Preamp set for a low gain. I also have a Surh Riot, but really rarely use it because the ED gives me all I need.

I was going between an OCD and a Full Drive 2 Mosfet all night for my boosts. I had these set similar with the Volume maxed, just a little bit of drive and tone know around 11:30. I had some nice results with this tone-wise. I really missed a solo type volume boost though..

I appreciate your time to right back. The recto cab is nice. I played through it a bit today with my backup amp - a Blackstar HT Studio 20 head

Anytime! I know how critical it is to get other musicians experiences with gear. It's tough tho because it is so subjective! I am in a particular situation with trying to decide what head to buy. I need to get it right this time as my girlfriend will probably leave me if I tell her I need another amp in the next 5 years after this one. haha So I need something that covers alot of ground as I play just about everything musically. The 212 recto cab is very nice. Especially once the V30 get broken in. Beauty!


YesllowJacket

Stupid question, did you set the gain trim switch to clean? If you do that, you'll have much more gain on tap for the Vintage High setting on the amp!

Not a stupid question my friend. I did actually have the gain trim switch enabled on the clean channel. I spent a week before my gig studying the ins and outs of the ED. I should also mention that I came from a Marshall JVM410h. That probably explains my need for more a little more thump. Although I mainly lived in the Clean Green and Crunch red the whole time. I don't think I ever used OD 1 or OD 2 in a live situation.

Seriously give the Roadster a go! You have clean, a 'brit' channel for classic rock stuff, and two channels with all the gain on tap for shredding crap. OH, if you want a 2 x 12 look into a Mills Acoustic Mach212B. A little story about that, I copied their design doing a DIY project. Loaded the 2 x 12 with a c90 and a v30. The results were stellar, to say the least. Clear, phat, and articulate tone right from bedroom to full out concert levels!

I have tried the Roadster and actually owned it a couple of years ago. Great cleans and some really nice gain sounds. At the time I wasn't gigging and I ended up bringing it back to fund a motorcycle purchase. That is a whole different thread right there. Anyhow, I recently tried the Roadster at a local Long and McQuade and I didn't dig it anymore. I found the tone to be naturally dark and scooped. Again it may have been the fact that I didn't spend a whole bunch of time with it. I did read here somewhere that someone felt the same way. Again, could just be me. As far as the cabinet goes, I actually own the 212 recto cab. I love it. it is staying with me.

Mark V is great, but I *personally* think the tone is a little dated. If you want Metallica / Megadeth metal it is great. Fantastic amp. I personally dig the recto tone more for TeH Br00talz although I prefer less gain and more tone for my rhythm sound.
The Electra Dyne is really not a 'do everything' amp in my opinion. Like you said, it does clean, low gain, and classic crunch incredibly well.
I basically have two rhythm tones I really like. One is the modern chainsaw tone inspired by the Soldano SLO. The Dual gets in that territory like a champ but it can't really pull off tone number two quite so well. The brit inspired crunch is where the Dyne shines and that would be my go to amp for where I need those tones. Not to mention the clean is fantastic. My ultimate long range plan is to run an Electra Dyne live and pair it with my 2 Channel Dual via an ABY switch.
Scenario 1) Dual with 4 yellow jackets / EL-84s for vintage class A style cleans. Electra Dyne dialed in specifically for classic gain tones. Vintage Lo for crunch and Vintage Hi for lead.

Scenario 2) Dual with EL-34s. Red Channel crunch and Orange Channel lead. Electra Dyne set for epic awesome cleans. Because of the design, you can set the gain trim switch to get a 'fender inspired' and a 'british inspired' clean using the clean and vintage low modes.

I am not necessarily looking for Metallica/Megadeth type tones from the Mark V, but I definitely like the idea of them being there if I need to get them. And from what I have heard it does low gain and medium crunch sounds really well too. I was also looking at the new Dual reborns. The pushed mode on the first channel rocked my socks! The Raw/Vintage/Modern channels were really nice too but they had that sizzle that I always try and eq out of my sound. I am still considering the Dual reborn tho. From what I have heard it can do it all as well. It will definitely be a part of my 30 day trial runs. Whatever I amp I decide, I will be trying EL34s in them.

Thanks for all your opinions and input YellowJacket. Really appreciate it.

 

[screamingdaisy]

Mark V is great, but I *personally* think the tone is a little dated. If you want Metallica / Megadeth metal it is great. Fantastic amp. I personally dig the recto tone more for TeH Br00talz although I prefer less gain and more tone for my rhythm sound.

I am not necessarily looking for Metallica/Megadeth type tones from the Mark V, but I definitely like the idea of them being there if I need to get them. And from what I have heard it does low gain and medium crunch sounds really well too.

The Mark V doesn't inherently sound dated, although it is very easy to dial in dated sounding tones. One trip to a Metallica fansite will give you those.

The Mark V is capable of a lot more however. The bright/normal switch on channel 3 for instance will take you from vintage Mark IV sizzle (bright) to more modern, darker and mid heavy high gain tones (normal).

Channel 2 is crunch is basically a scooped version of Mark IV on normal. It's also modern sounding if you set it up to sound modern.

Long story short (instead of detailing the entire amp), it's really easy to dial in a vintage scooped mids/heavy sizzle sound. It's also easy to dial in a stronger midrange and dial back the sizzle for darker modern sound.

Combined with a Recto cab (particularly the 4x12) the amp has some seriously cool midrange crunch.

I was also looking at the new Dual reborns. The pushed mode on the first channel rocked my socks! The Raw/Vintage/Modern channels were really nice too but they had that sizzle that I always try and eq out of my sound. I am still considering the Dual reborn tho. From what I have heard it can do it all as well.

The only drawback to the Reborn is that it only has one clean channel. I used to really love the pushed clean sounds, and it used to really piss me off that I had to give up a clean channel to achieve them. I tried using Raw but it wasn't the same vibe at all (although it was cool in it's own right). Having that second clean channel is why I'd go for a Roadster if I ever bought another Recto.

 

[satch4u3]

I actually did the ElectraDyne to Mark V swap this afternoon during my lunch break. I spent 30 minutes with it and I can tell already that more up my alley. So many usable sounds options! It's a tweakers delight! My plan is to get the tones where I want and forget it. Even tho it is know for its "Tweak every time you sit down with it" stigma.

 

[screamingdaisy]

I actually did the ElectraDyne to Mark V swap this afternoon during my lunch break. I spent 30 minutes with it and I can tell already that more up my alley. So many usable sounds options! It's a tweakers delight! My plan is to get the tones where I want and forget it. Even tho it is know for its "Tweak every time you sit down with it" stigma.

The Mark V isn't as bad as earlier Marks for that. I had a Mark III that I swear sounded different every time I turned it on, and it used to take about 15 minutes of loud playing before the amp smoothed out (or maybe it was that my ears dulled... not sure).

Anyway, I find the Mark V a lot more consistent sounding. I give my ears a 5 minute warm up to adjust to the tonality of it and after that it sounds perfect. The only thing I really touch is the graphic EQ, which I adjust for volume and room if necessary.