YellowJacket
Well-known member
I was out checking out gear today for fun. After playing possibly the best bass guitar ever made, I stopped off at the local L&MQ and discovered that they had a Mini Recto in stock. Let the fun begin!
Man, these amps are SMALL and CUTE!!
So I hooked up a Gibson Les Paul Studio to a Mini Recto through a Stiletto 4 x 12 today. I ran the tone stack in typical recto fashion (all flat with the presence at a quarter)
Cleans: Definitely buttery recto fare with warmth and snap added by EL-84s. LOVED IT! Sounded great on both triode and pentode!
Modern High gain: On triode, it is less aggressive with less highs and bite. Definitely smooth and great for soloing. On Pentode, it gets bloody loud. Basically, it was quite an extreme tone. Definitely recto but less smooth, firm, and controlled than I am used to. My 2 Channel Dual sounds like it is as aggressive as all hell and it is barely trying. This head roars with a particularly frantic sort of intensity; it sounds like it is always cranked, no matter what the volume. The feel with almost squishy and the crunch tone was marvelously complex. Pure metal on Pentodes / modern mode. Maybe it is just me but the tone sounded very scooped to me. Almost annoyingly so.
Vintage High Gain: It was ok on Pentodes but I found 'my' sound on Triodes. The crunch here was more balanced and it worked well both for lead playing and chording. This amp definitely has a clean and a crunch that I really like.
I was having a lot of fun but something was frustrating me. The sound was maybe inherently buzzy in some way? I figured it might be the cheap Gibson LP Studio (that kept going out of tune) so I decided to test that theory. I powered up the Electra Dyne 2 x 12 combo for comparison sake and ended up playing that the rest of the time there.
Ultimately, the Mini Recto blew my mind but when I tried it for myself, I found my self not really getting it at all. It is like this shirt you see and think that it looks awesome, but when you try it on it is ill fitting and looks stupid. Your skinny short friend then tries it on and it looks as awesome as you thought it should.
Things to test: I would have to try it with MY guitar through MY cab to really form a FAIR opinion on it. I have a feeling it would perform much better with those conditions in place. That being said, I am very familiar with Rectos so I had a pretty good idea what to look for.
Conclusion: For me, I guess I'm too old for toys like this? The amp is AMAZING and definitely the sort of size and format I would want but it just didn't jive with me. I wished it would but it didn't. If I was in the market for something to do recto tones, I'd probably get this rather than one of the large format amps. Since I already have a Dual, I'm inclined to stick with what I have. For those who wish to downsize, definitely try before buying. That being said, take my opinion with a Grain of salt. 6 months after I got my Electra Dyne it is still my #1 and people who are huge fans of the DUAL tone will probably like this little gem much better.
Man, these amps are SMALL and CUTE!!
So I hooked up a Gibson Les Paul Studio to a Mini Recto through a Stiletto 4 x 12 today. I ran the tone stack in typical recto fashion (all flat with the presence at a quarter)
Cleans: Definitely buttery recto fare with warmth and snap added by EL-84s. LOVED IT! Sounded great on both triode and pentode!
Modern High gain: On triode, it is less aggressive with less highs and bite. Definitely smooth and great for soloing. On Pentode, it gets bloody loud. Basically, it was quite an extreme tone. Definitely recto but less smooth, firm, and controlled than I am used to. My 2 Channel Dual sounds like it is as aggressive as all hell and it is barely trying. This head roars with a particularly frantic sort of intensity; it sounds like it is always cranked, no matter what the volume. The feel with almost squishy and the crunch tone was marvelously complex. Pure metal on Pentodes / modern mode. Maybe it is just me but the tone sounded very scooped to me. Almost annoyingly so.
Vintage High Gain: It was ok on Pentodes but I found 'my' sound on Triodes. The crunch here was more balanced and it worked well both for lead playing and chording. This amp definitely has a clean and a crunch that I really like.
I was having a lot of fun but something was frustrating me. The sound was maybe inherently buzzy in some way? I figured it might be the cheap Gibson LP Studio (that kept going out of tune) so I decided to test that theory. I powered up the Electra Dyne 2 x 12 combo for comparison sake and ended up playing that the rest of the time there.
Ultimately, the Mini Recto blew my mind but when I tried it for myself, I found my self not really getting it at all. It is like this shirt you see and think that it looks awesome, but when you try it on it is ill fitting and looks stupid. Your skinny short friend then tries it on and it looks as awesome as you thought it should.
Things to test: I would have to try it with MY guitar through MY cab to really form a FAIR opinion on it. I have a feeling it would perform much better with those conditions in place. That being said, I am very familiar with Rectos so I had a pretty good idea what to look for.
Conclusion: For me, I guess I'm too old for toys like this? The amp is AMAZING and definitely the sort of size and format I would want but it just didn't jive with me. I wished it would but it didn't. If I was in the market for something to do recto tones, I'd probably get this rather than one of the large format amps. Since I already have a Dual, I'm inclined to stick with what I have. For those who wish to downsize, definitely try before buying. That being said, take my opinion with a Grain of salt. 6 months after I got my Electra Dyne it is still my #1 and people who are huge fans of the DUAL tone will probably like this little gem much better.