How get a smoothy tone with a single recto ?

[Petrucci Theater]

Hi everyone, I have a second hand single rectifier and I would like it to be smoother, I find it too harsh, there is too much high. In one sentence, I would like a hard rythmic tone but a smoothy Mark IV lead tone ! Yeah just like Petrucci in fact :lol:
There are 5 GT preamp tubes and 2 stock 6L6 in it, I have tryed to put 3 JJ ECC83S in v1 to v3 but it just give more gain, they don't take away the harsh side. Somebody told me to try this preamp settings :
V1:Tung Sol V2:Electro H V3 to V5:Sovtek LPS

What do you think about it ?
I use the vintage mode and a home made tube screamer with full volume, and 0 tone and gain, but that's not enough.
What's more, my modern channel sounds like crap with 6L6, but is a little better with EL34, I think that you can't believe how much highs go out from this channel !!!! :shock:
So please tell me what can I do to get a almost Mark lead tone !!!!

Don't tell me to get a Mark IV, it' s too late

 

[ThunderMonkey]

Unfortunately, you're NOT going to get a MARK tone from your SINGLE REC !
Two different animals completely ! I've owned several Recto's in the past including an 03 SR for a little while and although I liked the SR tones (**** decent) there wasn't enough headroom or tone options to justify keeping it.
I now have a 93 DR and CAN coax some nice Mark lead tones out of the Orange Channel high gain mode (as opposed to clean rhythm) it's **** nice, your SR just can't do it.

You CAN try a nice EQ with a Compressor boosting up the mids but if you're looking for Petrucci tone...get a Mark. Sorry to be so bold about this and others may disagree but it's just what I've experienced in my tonequest.
Good Luck.

btw....Welcome to the Board !

 

[Petrucci Theater]

Thanks, I know that a mark would be better, maybe one day....
But if you gave me your preamp setting maybe that would help me :wink:

 

[Guitarzan]

Simple... Swap your V1 with either a GT 12AX7M or a JAN 5751. If either of these are not available try the JJ ECC803.

 

[ThunderMonkey]

I can suggest just experiment...my settings might not be similar to your tastes. Try channel 1, pushed mode, all settings at 12 o'clock (to start), except gain, way up and tweek your presence and high, you might need more mid tone and maybe add some gain and tone from your Tube Screamer.
Experiment with all the settings and good luck !

 

[Petrucci Theater]

The pushed mode is definitly not enough hard.

 

[Cleekster]

I had the same problem with my ROV and i put Sovtek EL-34wxt's in it and got a really nice warm sound w/out the icepick highs:
Treble-5:30
Mid-10:00
Bass-1:30
Prescence-3:00

also my Master was at 10:30,Output was at 10:00 and solo was at 5:30

Unfortunately Sovtek doesn't make these tubes anymore.......Perhaps the Mesa labeled sovtek el-34 is the same tube.

 

[18&Life]

Slow down, have a sit, start with some hugs than try to convince it that it's a mark IV !!! :wink:

Sorry man I couldn't resist :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[recto-robbie]

No you dont need a MarkIV,, I had a go with two brand new MarkIV's last week and I dont think they will suit everyone, although they are very nice and if you want the best lead sound more than anything else, it wouldnt hurt looking into one.
But if your like me who decided to keep the single rec instead of opting for the MarkIV, there are a few things I have learned since owning my ROV.
For tubes,, I have bought quite a few different preamp and power amp brands both in 6l6 and el34. I like messing around with different tubes for the fun of it. I personally have come to a favorite preamp tube setup which consists of V1= penta labs 12AX7,,,V2+3 Tung-sol12ax7RI. and a balanced Tung-sol in v5. I wasnt looking to lower the gain potential of the amp,,,I just wanted it to sound even better, and this helped. I think the penta lab12ax7 sounds even better than the tung-sols,,honestly.
For the power section right now im using TAD6l6wgc's which open the amp up nice and provides a 3d type sound to it. I run jj6l6, mesa6l6's,
Tad6l6's, SED c winged el34's and jjkt88's and all sound a bit different and all are nice. I cant really say I have a favorite because I found I will get tired of a sound, then swap them and im happy again.. They're all good.
I found running an overdrive in front of the amp helps tremendously. But the thing I learned the most is turn your gain down. The single rec has brutal distortion,, from month to month I keep finding better tones and in doing so I keep finding them with less and less gain. Most all of my best sounding leads are done when I have the gain anywhere between
10:00 & 2:00 on either the raw or vintage modes. Kick in your overdrive pedal with its gain real low and the volume up high and tell me that isnt what your looking for. Sweet enough that the MarkIV isnt on my mind anymore.
P.S im using three overdrives that are all very similar but different at the same time and cant seem to make up my mind which is actually better are, Ibanez ts-808,, BB preamp,, and the MI Audio blues pro... All are excellent. Good luck

 

[stadidas]

Get hold of some vintage Mullard ECC83s (12AX7s). They're very smooth sounding. I have one in my V1, and the rest are vintage Brimar. They certainly helped smooth out my Single Rec.

 

[Jak0lantern01]

I personally found the JJ's to be too harsh in my single rec and replaced them about a month or two of tolerating them. Doug's Tubes shipped me a combo that I'm very happy with, maybe you should check them out or give them a call.

 

[Guitarzan]

I personally found the JJ's to be too harsh in my single rec and replaced them about a month or two of tolerating them. Doug's Tubes shipped me a combo that I'm very happy with, maybe you should check them out or give them a call.

The ECC83's, yes I'll agree. Try the ECC803's for a less pushed tone.

 

[Petrucci Theater]

Thanks for your help guys :wink:
ECC803's GOLD could be better, on the paper it is :lol:
But what should I put in V2 and V3 ?
If I put preamp tubes that are more focused on highs than lows, and I put less highs on the amp, would it be good ? The JJ's are focused on lows, so when I put less highs the tone is smoother but loose some precision :?
Maybe that when I will get a G-major the compressor and the delay could help me to solve my problem (a bit).

recto-robbie : I use my overdrive like you but the tone is not enough smooth, but it is **** better

PS: I'm listening to DT's last album, such a beautiful Mark IV sound