most effective way to tighten a recto?

[155]

looking for the most effective way to tighten my roadsters bottom end, lookin to tighten it sinificantly and a od isnt cutting it! it not enough what else is there?/? this is loop system off

 

[Mark Fore]

Assuming you have the bass at noon at the highest already, anything above that and you will get flub. Also, your gain shouldn't be above noon either. If you need more gain, that's where the OD pedal comes in handy... I know you said it, but a good OD can really tighten it up. For example, I put a Fulltone OCD in front of mine and run the treble straight up. IT does solve the problem for me. A lot of people use an MXR EQ pedal in the loop. I tried it and it altered the sound and removed too much of the Recto vibe for me. Cabinets play an important part as well. If V30's aren't tight enough, try EVM-12L's. Those are very tight and will get you where you need to be.

Other than that I'm at a loss for what you can do. Good luck. If that doesn't work, get a Mark IV or V. Those are definitely tighter and through a 4x12 sound massive.

 

[cellardweller]

looking for the most effective way to tighten my roadsters bottom end, lookin to tighten it sinificantly and a od isnt cutting it! it not enough what else is there?/? this is loop system off

Just outta curiosity; What kinda pedal are you using?

 

[155]

ive tried many different ods, ocd ,ts-9, luther ,bad monkey ect , your saying the gain is loosing the low end? it only aroung 1:30ish so.. also bass is below noon at noon tops

 

[Chris McKinley]

Frankly, unless your unit is malfunctioning, it's hard to believe that your Roadster isn't tight enough with the bass at or below noon, the gain no higher than 1:30, and one of the OD's you mentioned running up front. Perhaps it's what's in your definition of what tight ought to be. What kinds of sounds are you using as a reference target for your sound? Are you coming to a Roadster from any kind of modeller or modern digital distortion as your primary distortion sound? If so, those kinds of units can provide an artificially high level of gain compared to what can be generated from a tube amp without all kinds of mud, compression and flatlining of your tone controls.

Certain solid state amps can also provide an artificially high level of gain/compression in the same way. For instance, if you're used to playing Dimebag's material through a Line 6 POD on the Insane setting, then switching to a real tube amp like a Recto series Mesa is going to seem surprisingly low gain in direct, unaffected comparison, especially with regard to the actual useable levels of gain the Mesas have. Even with a good OD, real tube amps have a tonal characteristic known as 'bloom' which is considered a very desireable trait and which is responsible for a lot of the natural sustain that tube amps are known for. However subtle this trait is, it can still seem a little mushy compared to the rigidly tight, austere, and often strident sound produced by certain high-gain solid state amps and digital distortion devices.

Again, with an example of two of what it is you are trying to achieve, perhaps we might be able to zero in on how to help you more specifically.

 

[KH Guitar Freak]

Them SPAX7 preamp valve in position V1 would marginally tighten up the sound. With my Roadster, I usually use an OD pedal up front, and/or an MXR KFK EQ pedal in the loop, works for me. Also, looking at your signature, you've got a Rectifier cab. I would say swap it for a Stiletto one, basically going from oversized to standard sized...

 

[155]

Im comparing it to my marshall tsl 100 through the same cab loaded with v30s just seems flubbier then the marshall everything else is good just the low end

 

[wildrat666]

Ive got the bass around noon middle at 12-1 oclock,treble 1 oclock gain at 1 oclock.prescence 12 oclock, boosting it with maxon od808 vol max gain 0 and tone at 12 oclock and it is very tight.
what kind of pickups are u using?????

with emg s it is super tight

 

[155]

im using seymour duncans sh14's its not the pups because they are tight with the marshall

 

[Chris McKinley]

155,

The Marshall has less bass overall, higher-focused bass, and higher-focused mids. It's also running EL34's in the power amp which give it a different kind of crunch than 6L6 Rectos. You might try something as simple as putting a graphic EQ in the loop and cutting the 200Hz by 6db and boosting the 800Hz and/or the 1.2kHz by 3db.

 

[Laskyman]

In all honesty, the recto will never be the same "tight" as the Marshall. To get close, you will need an EQ - lower the 200s a bit raise the 100s and 800s a bit. I spent a long time trying to make the Roadster behave more like a Stiletto after I realized just what the Stiletto was all about. In the end, I now have a Stiletto Deuce, and play more than I do "tweak"...
YMMV...

 

[coppa]

I dont know if this will help on a roadster:

Im running mesa 6L6 in my SOLO 50 but I set the bias switch to el34 so the tubes are getting a hotter bias. On red channel I have chanel volume at noon or less, presence off, bass at 9:00, mids at 1:00, treble at 1:00, gain at 11:00,and the output is cranked to about 1:00. With SOLO on also about 1:00. Sounds about as tight as I think a recto could do without any pedals or eq. Be warned this should be loud as all hell.

I find that using the solo switch adds a little something to the sound that is different than having the output in the same setting. Im hearing it add a little bit of presence or something. its very small but can make the difference in having the amp feel the way you want it to.

Marshalls are not the same thing as a recto. whats the point of trying to make a recto sound like a marshall????

 

[fishyfishfish]

Im running mesa 6L6 in my SOLO 50 but I set the bias switch to el34 so the tubes are getting a hotter bias

Nothing fried yet? I did that with my LSC and cooked a diode. Anyway, I would try El34's in the Roadster, and use a clean boost such as Keely's Java Boost, or RC Booster. I can only speak for my Dual Rec, but when I lowered the gain to around noon, used the booster to push the front end of the amp, and dropped in some El34's, it really sucked up a majority of the flub. Hope this helps.

 

[Chris McKinley]

Just for clarification, the Keeley Java Boost is not a clean boost at all. It's a treble booster, meaning that it selectively adds gain and harmonic distortion to treble frequencies along a linear curve. The higher the frequency, the more gain and distortion the signal receives. It may very well, however, help in tightening up 155's Roadster in that it also tends to cut bass frequencies noticeably.

 

[coppa]

Im running mesa 6L6 in my SOLO 50 but I set the bias switch to el34 so the tubes are getting a hotter bias

Nothing fried yet? I did that with my LSC and cooked a diode. Anyway, I would try El34's in the Roadster, and use a clean boost such as Keely's Java Boost, or RC Booster. I can only speak for my Dual Rec, but when I lowered the gain to around noon, used the booster to push the front end of the amp, and dropped in some El34's, it really sucked up a majority of the flub. Hope this helps.

its only got maybe 6-8 hours on them that way. time will tell. Ill post about it if something blows up.

 

[phil110567]

Hi there!

I have a roadking

When I use the Channel 2 in Brit mode, I get a very tight sound.
If you want to get marshall tone, sure start here.
If you want to get more gain, put a pedal in front
I have great result with Fulldrive II and a BB Preamp in front of the amp in brit voicing.
It sounds like having a plexi on "6" with much less volume
I use a Roadster 2X12 cab I like. So the result is not too bassy and then tight.

For different tone, I use channel 3 in raw mode witth an OCD in front.
I have the power amp setup to EL34 + 6L6 and another set of speakers.
The OCD is on high peak. It sounds like a high mid boost.
The result is a not too gainy, beautifully expressive tone, which cleans up well with the guitar volume.
The drawback is the dynamic. This is a bit compressed. You must try this with the volume high so you don't loose too much dynamic.
Hope this helps...

 

[KH Guitar Freak]

Hi there!

I have a roadking

When I use the Channel 2 in Brit mode, I get a very tight sound.
If you want to get marshall tone, sure start here.
If you want to get more gain, put a pedal in front
I have great result with Fulldrive II and a BB Preamp in front of the amp in brit voicing.
It sounds like having a plexi on "6" with much less volume
I use a Roadster 2X12 cab I like. So the result is not too bassy and then tight.

For different tone, I use channel 3 in raw mode witth an OCD in front.
I have the power amp setup to EL34 + 6L6 and another set of speakers.
The OCD is on high peak. It sounds like a high mid boost.
The result is a not too gainy, beautifully expressive tone, which cleans up well with the guitar volume.
The drawback is the dynamic. This is a bit compressed. You must try this with the volume high so you don't loose too much dynamic.
Hope this helps...

I usually crank the gain and treble for extra gain, then set the rest, especially the presence, to taste. Also, I might kick in my Keeley TS9DX Flexi 4X2 for a boost if need be. This is using a Roadster btw, pretty similar none the less...

 

[Wstinnett]

Just curious, I hadn't seen it mentioned. Are you using the "modern" channel setting with the power setting on "bold" and the diode rectifier?

My DR on these settings with the gain at around noon is extremely tight, even without an OD pedal.

Also, I run it at 50 watts so I can crank things up a lot more, which I think helps out too.

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Weird...

I get a SICK tight tone out of my Roadster when boosting with a Maxon OD808. Certain overdrives don't works well for this purpose...the maxon sure does!

Speakers might be something to look into. The Celestion G12K-100 is the tightest speaker with the biggest bottom end I've heard. I friend of mine on the board has two of them for sale right now.

I'm my setup, x-patterning these speakers with V30s made a HUGE difference.

Best of luck!

Eric

 

[jdurso]

four solutions in my mind:

1 - different OD... something with a little more bass cut. I found the Maxon OD808 and the Fulltone OCD to not only get the preamp more compressed (which will tighten in itself) but also it cut a little more bass than other ODs.

2 - a different cab. You might try the Stiletto 4x12 or even better, a Mills Acoustics 4x12. The Mills can handle any amount of bass you throw at it and basically retains clarity while adding power to your sound. I run the bass on channel 4 modern at about 3 oclock which i could never do with any other cab

3 - better preamp tubes. Its the most overlooked solution because as rewarding as it can be, it can be frustrating and expensive. In the roadster if you focus on V1, V2 and V3, get the right tubes in there, you can kill flub and fizz in one fell swoop. V1 and V2 dictate the highs, mids, headroom and harmonic characteristics. Once you lock those in to your liking you can play with V3 which dictates the character and amount of bass on tap.

I tried all of the above and I can get just about any tone i want. I used to use an eq in the loop to tighten things up but by going down route #3, i had no need for it anymore. Add in a cab that is basically flub-proof and the right OD, and its pure heaven.

4 - At the end of the day, the Roadster just might not be the amp for you. If your looking for Marshall liek tightness but with a tone that has more ballz, the Stiletto is what you should look at.