Mini recto & boost

[pegagos]

So, it's been a month since I got the mini recto and although I was very impressed when I first got it, I think yesterday I really found the sweet spot for me. I've been impressed with the rhythm capabilities of the amp but I was struggling to get a good singing sustain solo sound. Don't get me wrong, solo work on the vintage mode in the 10watt setting is very nice. I was just trying to get something similar to what I had going on with my mark III. I know they're different preamp circuits and voicings.

Well, yesterday I was messing around with my bb preamp which I used mainly to get different type of overdrive in the clean channel. I know that most big recto users like to boost their amps to tighten their sound a bit and get additional sustain etc. I decided to try the bb preamp as boost in the dirty channel which I never really done before with the mark iii or the mini recto. I also changed the EQ on the mini a bit similar to some suggestion I read in the forums for the big recto. Pretty much bumped the mids to around 2 o'clock which I had at around 10 o'clock. Then, there it was. The sound I was looking for. I'm not to technical on what's going on but I think the compression of the bb preamp and pushing the preamp of the mini recto really made my guitar sing like I was used to. I went a step further and boosted about 6db of the 800hz freq with my fish&chips eq in the loop and man, I couldn't stop playing. Made even easier for me to play and run across the fret board like I was used to.

So my new settings are:

Mini rec:
Vintage mode
Gain: 11:00
Treble: 11:00
Mid: 2:00
Bass: 10:30
Presence: 9:00

On the BB preamp:
Gain: 8:00
Volume: 4:00
Treble: 11:00
Bass: 1:00

I guess I am just new to the recto family and boosting the preamp section and I can see now why people do it. Is it necessary to boost the mini rec? no at all. But for me, it was the missing piece to the sound I like.

Now, I am thinking of leaving the bb preamp on all the time, and clean up bit with guitar volume when needed and then engage the eq with the mid boost for solo work. I am just curious on how all the master boosters out there use their boost? do you leave it on all the time or just during solo work? I did notice some additional noise since boosting the signal. What do you guys use to keep things clean?

Thanks, pegagos

 

[noodles]

I use a boost for pretty much anything that is not a clean or just breaking up sound. Rectos love boosts, and the Mini is no exception.

 

[Jacko123]

Thanks for sharing this. I'll give it a shot!

 

[JonCurcio]

I leave the boosts on all the time. It helps add tightness and edge to the rhythm stuff and makes the leads more fluid like you say. I use the 10db mid boost on my Radial Switchbone, and boost with a Maxon OD-808 on top of that. I also use an ISP Decimator out front and in the loop. I engage the loop Decimator for high volume playing.

 

[Jacko123]

I used to have a Dual Rectifier and would always use a Maxon 808 to tighten up the lows.

Now I have a Mini Recto (no longer have the Dual Rec or Maxon), but I did try my Line 6 M5 and used the Screamer pedal. Put the Drive to "0" like I used to do with the 808 and it tightened it up ... even though the Mini is pretty good without a boost. Thanks for the tip!