slysendice said:
There's actually not much for Electra Dynes on the used market here in Canada.
Yay for Canadians!
The Electra Dyne is neither better nor worse than a Dual Rectifier, it is simply a different tool. I personally play my Electra Dyne 90% of the time and use it for most things. It DOES low gain / mid gain better than the Recto and also has a superior feel for lead playing. The clean tone is also fantastic. The Recto is better for super scooped / non mid focused tones and it has a more gainy / raunchy tone with a more guttural and bassy tone overall. As for recorded tone, it is indispensable for modern high gain tones. The Electra Dyne is smoother and more mid range-y overall. It also really crunches.
But still no one has really conclusively answered my question about the tonal differences between the 2-channels and the Multiwatts. Considering acquisition of a Multiwatt would be easier as well as the fact that I'd be getting a brand new amp, I'd like to know if it's really worth the hunt.
2 Channel Duals are looser and warmer (except Rev C - F) and more of a grunge / nu metal tone. The Red channel is great for rhythm while the orange channel is more elastic and suitable for leads. It just sucks because the orange channel also dubs as the alternate clean which is smooth and buttery but a bit dull. It sounds as good as a bad Fender, definitely way better than any Marshall. Keep in mind that the 2 Channel Dual does Modern / Vintage high gain and 'clean' which does not have terribly much headroom. Generally if you need cleans, you're stuck with cleans and whatever you can dial in on the other channel and I used my Dual for years before realizing how awesome the orange channel actually is when you use it for what it was designed for: High gain.
The 2 Channel Duals are basically that mid to late 90s iconic high gain tone and they do that well.
The 3 Channel Multi-watt duals have some distinct advantages over the 2 channel version.
1) A much improved clean tone.
2) 3 channels. You have clean cleans, or cleans with breakup and two more channels for a discrete mid / high gain lead and rhythm.
3) Added versatility. You have the following modes: Clean / Pushed on Channel one as well Raw Vintage High Gain and Modern High Gain on Channel Two and Three.
The Clean / Pushed and raw modes are much improved over the original 3 channel heads, not to mention the 2 channel ones. The Raw modes can be used as an alternate clean or a clean with hair as well as blues / classic rock type applications.
Vintage and Modern high gain are both an updated tone which is tighter and brighter than the original 2 channel heads which are warmer and darker by comparison.
4) Channel assignable power / rectification. This counts for something since 50watt / tube rectification can be selected with vintage high gain for a killer elastic lead tone while 100watt / silicon diode can be used for cleans for maximum headroom and 100watt / tube rectification for a phat rhythm tone on Modern high gain. Nice and wide.
Obviously the addition of a solo boost is nice as well but not so necessary with the multiplicity of channels. Of course, it depends how you are using the amp...
So, the 2 channel duals are one trick ponies. The Multiwatt Duals are versatile tools that can be used for many applications.
The Electra Dyne overall is a more midrange focused and complex tone that is more british sounding than the Rectos.
There you have it. I recommend the Multiwatt head because you'll get more mileage out of it. If you must get a 2 channel Dual, get the Electra Dyne to do everything else. You won't be sorry. My $0.05. (also Canadian)