Its come down to Stiletto Trident Vs. Triple Rec Vs. Mark IV

[Geiri]

yeah. i had heard that the stiletto's sound like marshalls. I didn't like the jcm 900 i played, and i had messed around with it for a month before i realized it didnt have the mid crunch.

I do want versatility. I have a pedalboard with a chorus, delay, wah, and variety of distortion boxes.

I know lamb od god plays mark IV's, and im not talking about thier studio recordings because god only knows how much tweaking they do to get that lustful sound. but live, they just run mark IV's, no pedal board...so i crave that gain.

I have a rectoverb 50, and i do not like the distortion. the background hum is the start of the problem. then i just cant get it to eq the way i want. Ive tried the facotry settings and posted a few other times seeking rectoverb settings and still havent found that sound. I dig the clean sound and the reverb control. Im just worried that a triple rect will have the exact same gain...even though the trips have more tone shaping options.

I guess my appeal to the trident was the tone shaping switches.

And i guess the mark Iv would give me the most options at once, plus reverb.

I do want multiple channels. At least a clean and gain, with separate eqs and such, which is why im looking into 2 and 3 channel amps.

So if i dont like the marshall tone, it looks like its down to the Trip Rect and the Mark IV.

Thanks for all the replies, this really helps me out.
Keep it coming

first off the trident sounds nothing like a jcm900.... probably more in the range of a tsl but i think the tridents sound is more appealing..... and i think the triples have a different tone than the rectoverbs.... there's a lot more head room and has more of a firebreathing type tone... the ROV sounds somewhat tamed at time.... mark iv to me can do what you want but its tone is a lot dryer because there's not as much saturation

IMO i think you should take a look at the roadster.... its slightly more than the triple rec but well worth the money..... the tone shaping abilities are the most powerful in any mesa minus the RK.... plus you're getting some of the best cleans mesa has out there (lonestar circuit).... there is so many different tones in the roadster you can cover almost all grounds... and again its only slightly more than a triple.... well worth the extra $$$ for lonestar cleans and tons of toneshaping options

Hi guys and gals
I a/b the roadster with a three channel DR trough a 2x12 v30's cab. Everything said about the roadster clean channels is right very nice indeed but when it came to the gain channels I found the roadster wanting balls compared to the recto. It was similar sounding but something in the recto was missing in the roadster. The recto has two completely different sounding gain voices but the two gain channels on the roadster were the same. So in gain territory I would say that the recto has more variety of options tone wise while the roadster wins the clean sound competition hands down.

Three channel DR with od in front and an 10 band eq in the loop and you will destroy anything in your path.

I love the mark also but I could not trade my DR for one, I would have to have both.

Hope this helps

 

[alex1564]

Keep in mind that you don't need all your gain from your amp. Most professional bands use boosts of some type, whether between guitar and amp, preamp and poweramp, or both. Also, meticulous EQing makes a huge difference in making the tone heavy and brutal - its not all about how it sounds when you crank that gain knob. EQ pedals are invaluable tools for guitarists that are serious about their tone. Figure out what style of gain you want and pick your amp based on the desired overall character.

 

[LEVEL4]

I've been struggling with a similar dilemma. There was only ONE solution that I could divine. You need BOTH!

If you haven't already made your purchase . . . used, you can possibly afford both. You could get a used Single-Recto for under a $1,000, or a used Dual for about $1,200. Then get a used DC-series, Mark III or Mark IV for about the same price range. Believe me, I couldn't decide. I A/B'd a Recto and a Mark IV for over an hour, and I just couldn't pick just ONE amp to have. HAD to have both. The Rectos sound VERY different from the Marks. And the Mark CAN'T do "Recto." Trust me, it can't. And, the problem is, you'll WANT IT TO.

So, to solve my dilemma, I bought a Single-Recto for $900, MINT. Just got it yesterday, and it's EXACTLY what I wanted. I also recently got a DC-3 head (very Mark-ish souding, also with the Mark-like, five-band GEQ), for $650, again, MINT. I am VERY happy with the combination. Both amps sound VERY different, and I only spent $1,550, total, for both amps! I'm still debating whether my DC-3 is "good enough," or if I'm going to be driven to get that Mark IV as well someday (the DC-3 is a surprisingly damned good amp!).

Also, I don't feel the need to run any external EQ: both amp's internal EQs do PLENTY. And, I don't run any pedals in front of either amp (I run an RE-20 Space Echo in the DC-3's FX loop). They sound so goddamned good, all by themselves. And, I make these evaluations from auditioned playback of miked cabinet recordings, not just in-room "listening." The acid test for me at least, is how well the amp records.

Get the DC or Mark for their versatility, graphic EQs, and for their beautiful, mid-rangey lead and rhythm voicing. Get the Recto for the exact opposite: those MASSIVE, sub-sonic, scooped-Recto sounds with TONS of "BITE."

 

[ANIMATED SUSPENSION]

I've been struggling with a similar dilemma. There was only ONE solution that I could divine. You need BOTH!

If you haven't already made your purchase . . . used, you can possibly afford both. You could get a used Single-Recto for under a $1,000, or a used Dual for about $1,200. Then get a used DC-series, Mark III or Mark IV for about the same price range. Believe me, I couldn't decide. I A/B'd a Recto and a Mark IV for over an hour, and I just couldn't pick just ONE amp to have. HAD to have both. The Rectos sound VERY different from the Marks. And the Mark CAN'T do "Recto." Trust me, it can't. And, the problem is, you'll WANT IT TO.

So, to solve my dilemma, I bought a Single-Recto for $900, MINT. Just got it yesterday, and it's EXACTLY what I wanted. I also recently got a DC-3 head (very Mark-ish souding, also with the Mark-like, five-band GEQ), for $650, again, MINT. I am VERY happy with the combination. Both amps sound VERY different, and I only spent $1,550, total, for both amps! I'm still debating whether my DC-3 is "good enough," or if I'm going to be driven to get that Mark IV as well someday (the DC-3 is a surprisingly damned good amp!).

Also, I don't feel the need to run any external EQ: both amp's internal EQs do PLENTY. And, I don't run any pedals in front of either amp (I run an RE-20 Space Echo in the DC-3's FX loop). They sound so goddamned good, all by themselves. And, I make these evaluations from auditioned playback of miked cabinet recordings, not just in-room "listening." The acid test for me at least, is how well the amp records.

Get the DC or Mark for their versatility, graphic EQs, and for their beautiful, mid-rangey lead and rhythm voicing. Get the Recto for the exact opposite: those MASSIVE, sub-sonic, scooped-Recto sounds with TONS of "BITE."

+1 (Check out my sig !!) 8)

 

[Jak0lantern01]

A Stiletto drop tuned and using a boost can be quite heavy AND articulate sounding. Heck, listen to Velvet Revolver's SLITHER that's played with Marshalls and Stilettos, pretty powerful tone on that tune. Throw an EQ in there, you can scoop the mids real good if you want.

 

[jdurso]

What settings do you use on a roadster to get you near a MK IV rhythm tone? (I assume a lot of it is in that EQ pedal in your loop?)

for the mark iv rhythm (or atleast how i had it setup when i had one) i use channel 4 modern, 100 watts with diodes, bass at 12, mids at 10:30, treble at 1, presence at 9-10, gain at 12:30-1, volume at 10 and i adjust my output accordingly until i find the sweet spot.... that alone doesnt come close until i trigger my maxon ge601 in my loop..... i use it to tighten everything up and to bump the mids a little.... i bump 100 and 200 (100 a little bit more than 200), i bring down 400 the same amount that i raise 100, i bring up 800 equal to 100, 1600 equal to 200, and 3.2k flat.... it looks like two two back slashes (kinda)..... what i end up with is a very tight, very thick rhythm channel that is very similar to the way i had my mark iv channel 3 setup..... the extra compression in the roadsters 4th channel aids in the tightness too because those same settings on channel 3 dont sound as good.... i'm hoping with the addition of a fulltone ocd in front will give me more of a mark iv lead tone but we'll see..... i'm not saying its exactly like a mark iv because only a mark iv can do a mark iv... BUT those settings remind me a lot of a mark iv so to me its close enough which is fine because i love channel 3 vintage... its just balls to the wall recto growl