Giving the Recto Sound a Haircut.

[MasterTrax]

I wanted to reduce the hair, the fizziness, of the preamp distortion in my Solo 50's chan 2 at higher gain settings and hopefully tone down the brash qualities of the tone without sacrificing the ability to get a lot of gain and sustain.

So...

Last night I pulled V1 and V2, both Mesa Sovteks, and replaced them with a pair of '58 Mullard longplate ecc83s.

The resulting change in tone was exactly what I hoped for. Almost gone is the bees-in-a-bonnet "ZzsZzsZzsZzs" that accompanied every note and chord at high gain settings before the swap. I didn't lose any bottom end with the Mullards either, and the overall clarity of the tone is somewhat clearer without losing the 'oomph' which drew me to this amp in the first place.

Overall, a striking difference in tone - more than I anticipated - and my trusty old Solo 50 has coughed up its last hairball. Now I can get big fat rhythm chunk in chan 2's vintage mode that won't sound like brillo pads rubbing together.

M

 

[stadidas]

I've a Mullard in V1 and the rest are Brimar. I found the same effect, much less fizz. Wonderful.

 

[MasterTrax]

I played for several hours on it last night after the swap. I didn't want to stop.

Here are the settings I have ended up with using the new tubes (for heavy rock rhythm):

Output: 11 o'clock
Channel Master: 11:30
Presence: 10 o'clock
Bass: 2 o'clock
Mids: 9:30
Treble: 2 o'clock
Gain: 2 o'clock
Mode: Vintage

 

[Elpelotero]

Wow that's really scooped! lol.

Anyways, I think it's pretty funny the name you gave your thread..."haircut." Very original. lol.

 

[recto-robbie]

Glad to hear you got your sound,,,, I have to say that I have never tried any mullards or such but I have heard that running long plate tubes in a combo isnt the best for the tubes. The reason I brought this up is because I purchased some GT 12ax7-m which are supposedly mullard copies and are long plates also. I thought they sounded nice but only after a month or so they became microphonic on me.. These are the only tubes ive ever had go bad on me with my ROV.
Anyways I hope your mullards last much longer and they probably will being quality NOS tubes...Good luck to you

 

[MasterTrax]

Elpelotero,

:shock: LoL, I didn't think of that. It is pretty scooped....the Single rec is in a dual rig along with an Orange RV50. The two amp's sounds almost sit one on top of the other with little competition for sonic space. The rec sounds best in this rig with it's mids scooped a good bit, letting the throatier mid-rich voice of the Orange fill this opening beautifully. The overall sound of the rig is wide and full.

Recto-Robbie, my Single Rec Solo 50 is a head, so I do not expect any issues regarding the health of the tubes. I have also tried a few of the GT Mullard reissues and like their sound a lot in a couple of my amps. I had one go bad on me too.

 

[Russ]

How about that?...

I wouldn't have dared put my Mullards in my Rec but being as you are reporting good things I might check it out. If I like it I might have to get another set because the ones I have now are for my JMP.

 

[MasterTrax]

If you want smoother tone from the preamp, Russ, you might like the difference. If you don't want the amp to lose that razor edge, the Mullards will probably disappoint you.

 

[Russ]

My Mark IV does the real cutting for me. The Rec is more for stuff that the Mark IV has troubles with which isn't much. I do like the slight sag of the Rec tube but was contemplating finding absolutely odd settings to use the Mullards with to see what the Rec was capable of. Since I have had it, it has just been thrash riffing because I like the added character it gives. The Mark IV is still tighter but the additional bottom from the Rec really adds a dimension. I think I might try the Mullards though in the Rec even if it is a short audition.

 

[jtb226]

the mullard would be best in v1 correct? (or at least a GT mullard copy)

 

[MasterTrax]

the mullard would be best in v1 correct? (or at least a GT mullard copy)

To answer your question, the tube position that affects the sound of the amp the most is V1 - in most amps - including Mesa's Recto line.

 

[Russ]

condensed answer: yes

 

[redhouse]

I wanted to reduce the hair, the fizziness, of the preamp distortion in my Solo 50's chan 2 at higher gain settings and hopefully tone down the brash qualities of the tone without sacrificing the ability to get a lot of gain and sustain.

So...

Last night I pulled V1 and V2, both Mesa Sovteks, and replaced them with a pair of '58 Mullard longplate ecc83s.

The resulting change in tone was exactly what I hoped for. Almost gone is the bees-in-a-bonnet "ZzsZzsZzsZzs" that accompanied every note and chord at high gain settings before the swap. I didn't lose any bottom end with the Mullards either, and the overall clarity of the tone is somewhat clearer without losing the 'oomph' which drew me to this amp in the first place.

Overall, a striking difference in tone - more than I anticipated - and my trusty old Solo 50 has coughed up its last hairball. Now I can get big fat rhythm chunk in chan 2's vintage mode that won't sound like brillo pads rubbing together.

M

Hello.

What power tubes are you using?

 

[eaeolian]

I've had - and preached about here - excellent results of a similar nature with the TungSol 12AX7 reissues in V1 of my Triple. It definitely tames the fizz...

 

[MasterTrax]

I'm using some pretty hard Mesa 6L6 power tubes. I tried JJs and I did not like them, although I love their EL84s.