Mini Rectifier Users - Your rigs and setup

[RalfT85]

Hi guys!

I got my Mini Rec a week ago and loved it right away when I flicked the standby-switch for the first time. Awesome sound at low volumes. I might even use it as my main amp as carrying around my Dual in his amp case with a 19" unit and then not being able to pull the output over 9 o'clock on stage (FOH man always complaining:"Turn down this brutal loud amp!!!!") has been pissing me off for quite some time. Now I can get a good Recto tone already with low or normal volumes.

I am experimenting with different setups, pedals, gear and stuff just to make this amp perfect for my stage situations. To get some inspiration I would love to hear from you guys how you use your Mini on stage, maybe post some pics?

I usually play hard rock/metal stuff like Tremonti,Alter Bridge,Creed...

Here are some of my thoughts:
1) How can I get my Mini to act like a 3-channel amp...I need a clean sound, a rhythm tone and a lead tone (with my Dual I had those 3 channels, now I don't although I had channel II almost identically set up as channel III but with less bass and more mids and using the solo volume boost). I thought about getting an overdrive pedal to shape the tone a little with and additional volume booster to be heard when it's my time to shine during solos. So I would boost channel II modern.

2) Any experiences with channel I set up in pushed mode while dialing in a great clean tone through the volume of the guitar and getting AC/DC like crunch when the guitar volume is cranked? Still couldn't find satisfying settings.

3) Is your Mini also getting very hot when using it for quite some time even when the tubes are not hardly pushed? Compared to my Dual this baby is a really hottie :lol:

Looking forward to your posts...

 

[elvis]

Glad you like the MR. I have had some good times with mine.

For pushed, I just set the clean channel up similar to the ROCK CLEAN setting in the manual. Works well for me both clean and pushed. You can dial up the gain for more heavy in pushed. You may want to back off the bass for more AC/DC pushed tone. I can't say I'm thrilled with the clean tone, but I find it serviceable.

For more virtual channels, I use an OD808 and a BB Pre. I set up the lead channel for rhythm with minimal gain, and kick in the 808 for a gainier rhythm, or the BB Pre for liquid lead. Or both, for molten lead. Sort of like 5 channels at that point. I use a G system to automate the switching, so I can go back and forth with only a single foot press. A GCX would do the same thing.

I haven't noticed it getting really hot. The one thing I can think of is that the MR has the tubes contained inside the chassis cover, while the DR has them venting out the back of the cabinet.

 

[metalgarth]

Here's a suggestion:

Get a used Boss GT-6, 8, or 10 and run it front of the Mini. The important thing is to only use the Compressor, OD/Distortion and amp control functions. I do this with mine and use the "mild distortion" into the green channel set at pushed to get an old school Marshall Plexi tone (think Journey Escape era) and use a maxed out clean boost to get a "blues breaker" type tone. I also use the Tube Screamer OD model into the red channel for some serious Recto grind :mrgreen:

 

[KiwiJoe]

I'm an "all amp" guy, and I've found that if I need that "3 channel" option with mine I can get a fairly decent clean sound in "pushed" mode at just about any gain/MV setting by rolling back the volume knob on the guitar; rolling it up and/or switching to the bridge pup gives a good crunch; and hitting the switch to channel 2 for leads (for my style I go with "vintage"). I just do it by feel until it sounds right, but then again I don't mic mine so I don't have to deal with sound people.

 

[UnderJollyRoger]

I have recently set my clean tone so it distorts just a little when I use the bridge pickup; and when I switch to both or the neck pickup, it cleans up (I've set the neck a little quieter than the bridge). This will probably work if you only need a small amount of crunch ...

 

[noodles]

I use the Mini Recto in my cover band. We cover everything from classic and modern rock to pop, R&B, and even a little country, so I have to have a pretty broad range of sounds.

Channel 1 is set to clean/25w, dialed in dead clean, with the gain around 11:00. I don't use much mids on this one, and the presence is up a decent amount, bass around 11:00, treble around 1:00, so the sound is very sparkly and bell like. This works great with a Strat in position 4 for quacky/funky rhythms, and gives me plenty of chime for my electric 12-string.

Channel 2 is set to vintage/25w, AC/DC gritty, with the gain around 10:00. I use plenty of mids on this channel, up around 1:30-2:00, not much presence, bass and treble the same as channel 1. This gives me that thick, Brit sort of sound, which works great for the classic rock stuff, especially when driven with a pedal out front.

My pedalboard goes tuner -> wah -> modded tubescreamer -> modded Boss DS-1 -> modded CE-3 -> amp. I also have a buffed loop switcher that drops into the effects loop of the amp, with a MXR Carbon Copy and an Electro Harmonix LPB-1 that are always on. This is my solo boost. The loop switcher is custom built, and also has an A/B switch to switch between channels on the amp. This gives me a lot of tonal options. Channel 1 is dead clean; step on the TS and it's in Tom Petty territory. Channel 2 is Angus Young rhythm; step on the TS and it's classic rock. Add the DS-1 to this, and it fattens things up, getting things into Boston or Thin Lizzy territory. I turn on the effects loop, and it gives me a volume boost and delay for leads. We operate from a very low stage volume and all direct philosophy, so I often use 10w live, and always use a H&K Red Box MKIII to go direct to the board (no mic on the cab).

A lot can be done with a two channel amp and a few choice pedals. You just have to know how you're going to approach it. :wink: