new to boogies

[mylilss]

hey guys how is it going. i just picked up a mesa boogie 2 channel dual rectifier. i think it is an early revision g. but am not to sure. anyways it sounds awesome so far, but i was curious if there are any tips or tricks to these amps to get more "out" of them ?? :mrgreen:

BTW, this is an awesome site .. glad i found it

 

[fluff191]

hey guys how is it going. i just picked up a mesa boogie 2 channel dual rectifier. i think it is an early revision g. but am not to sure. anyways it sounds awesome so far, but i was curious if there are any tips or tricks to these amps to get more of them ?? :mrgreen:

BTW, this is an awesome site .. glad i found it

Welcome to the site.

The best way I have found to get more of them is to just keep an eye out and save your money. :lol:

 

[mylilss]

sorry i mistyped it. i meant tips or tricks to get more "out" of them .... :mrgreen:

fluff191: i saw your dual recto was modded by FJA. i have been contemplating doing that to mine, how has that worked out for yah? what all was done to it ??

 

[screamingdaisy]

Use a nice guitar/pickup, go easy on the bass and play them loud. That's about all there is to it.

 

[mylilss]

Use a nice guitar/pickup, go easy on the bass and play them loud. That's about all there is to it.

i learned the bass part early as well as the loud part. i have a japanese dean soltero, and a knock off neck through prs with dimarzio's which is my main axe ...

these amps sound insane when cranked

 

[fluff191]

: i saw your dual recto was modded by FJA. i have been contemplating doing that to mine, how has that worked out for yah? what all was done to it ??

I got the Standard mod (high end fizz is gone, note clarity and tightens up the low end ALOT), along with a pull-boost, which is bascially a built in tube screamer boost for channels 2 and 3.

The mods really opened the amp up alot. I can switch preamp tubes and get a boosted JCM800-type of sound, or I can make it sound like a super tight metal machine. All with no boost pedals. Love it.

 

[YellowJacket]

hey guys how is it going. i just picked up a mesa boogie 2 channel dual rectifier. i think it is an early revision g. but am not to sure. anyways it sounds awesome so far, but i was curious if there are any tips or tricks to these amps to get more "out" of them ?? :mrgreen:

BTW, this is an awesome site .. glad i found it

Well, you can search '2 channel recto' and make all the changes everybody suggests. When you are done, you will have most likely spent enough money to afford yourself another amp and there are many others worth getting. People here swap out tubes, output transformers (must get a tech to do it), get heads modded, buy a myriad of different cabinetry, swap speakers, etc. I think in the end, it comes down to excessive personalization. In my case, building custom cabinetry and buying boutique pickups gives me somewhat of a unique tone compared to everyone else. The reality is that there will be very few if not no people who own all the same parts I do so I really have something unique to me. IF you want to customize, it is best to go to music stores and try MANY different things. Guitar speakers and speaker enclosures are AS integral to tone as an amplifier, trust me. Tubes also shape the tone, but not as much.

While tone is great, the reality of the situation is that almost no one will notice subtle differences live. I've come to the conclusion that someone with a good ear will notice at best that I play a Les Paul through a Dual Recto. While things are totally a different business in the studio, people mix and match so much gear there that you really don't hear the same thing on an album that you hear live. To make the situation much more grim, many people cannot even tell the difference between a tube amp and a solid state one, let alone different brands of guitars and amplifiers. What they DO notice is how a musician plays so it pays to spend all that time in the practice room developing both your chops and your individual sound / style.

 

[screamingdaisy]

People here swap out tubes, output transformers (must get a tech to do it), get heads modded, buy a myriad of different cabinetry, swap speakers, etc.

Oddly enough, the Rectifier is the one amp I've never felt the need to change anything on. I even prefer the stock tubes. All it really requires is the right guitar and a loud volume, at which point most of the problems people have with them go away.

 

[YellowJacket]

I have Mesa badged 12ax7s, Mesa badged EL-34s (the premium ones), and my much lauded homemade cab. Turning it up does help a lot. It goes from being fizzy to a tube driven crunch machine frenzy. I just wish I could turn it up more often since it gives an auralgasm with an extra helping of hearing loss!!

 

[fluff191]

All it really requires is the right guitar and a loud volume, at which point most of the problems people have with them go away.

+1

A crap guitar through the greatest amp in the world will still sound like a crap guitar.

 

[YellowJacket]

All it really requires is the right guitar and a loud volume, at which point most of the problems people have with them go away.

+1

A crap guitar through the greatest amp in the world will still sound like a crap guitar.

Ya, I was providing my Dual for the backline at a show (I'd NEVER do that now) and luckily the sounddufus' let me be the amp tech! Some guy plugged in a crap fender knockoff. The name started with A and I can't even remember what it was. Anyway, whoever wound those pickups must have used fridge magnets because on modern mode with the gain dimed, he was still getting squeaky clean tone! geez. Anyway, first thing out of his mouth was "this amp sucks balls". I'm all "correction, your guitar is rubbish!" I think that was prime next to the kid playing an american start with single coils and complaining the tone of my amp was too 'chunky'. He wanted it to sound more like a stomp box, I guess. Great guitar but **Newsflash**, if you want to play ozzie, get the proper axe for the job!

 

[Scooterjohn]

In my case, building custom cabinetry and buying boutique pickups gives me somewhat of a unique tone compared to everyone else. The reality is that there will be very few if not no people who own all the same parts I do so I really have something unique to me. IF you want to customize, it is best to go to music stores and try MANY different things. Guitar speakers and speaker enclosures are AS integral to tone as an amplifier, trust me. Tubes also shape the tone, but not as much.

I have to agree here. I've gone through a lot of different cabs over the (ahem) decades, and I've ended up using a Port City 2x12 loaded with Tone Tubby ceramics, over my 4x12 Recto cab for both live and studio work. There was a time I wouldn't use any thing other than 4x12 cabs (with the exception of recording clean parts in the studio). I think I have my own sound no matter what I use...but I was liking what I was using. My situation for playing has changed now, so I'm after a different sort of Mesa.

 

[YellowJacket]

How would you describe the tone of a port city cab?

 

[Scooterjohn]

How would you describe the tone of a port city cab?

Keep in mind that I've only used this cab with the Tone Tubbys, haven't tried V30s with it (even that's what they often load them with...I got mine unloaded), but I would call it full and punchy. The way the cab is constructed, it gets good bottom, and it sounds nice with clean tones as well.

 

[mylilss]

yeah i run a set of avatar premium 2X12's with g12t75's in them. it sounds really good. i went ahead and ordered a new tube set for the recto since it had groove tubes in it (which i cant stand). i went with a eurotubes jj full retube kit with integrated kt66/kt88 power section and ecc83s's, and ima try there GZ34 rectifiers for the heck of it. the amp sounds awesome, so there isnt much i wanted to do to it, although i have been contemplating sending it to FJA to get the standard mods and the gain boost, but thats still up in the air.

also someone mentioned that somewhere you can find out when the amp was made according to the serial number ?? my SN is R-005236 . one thing i like about this amp is how clean it is. it still has the handmade in the usa sticker on top, and the builders tag on the back .. or at least it looks like a builders tag. only thing is missing are the rubber feet for the bottom, as it set in a padded rack for most of its life, and they were removed so it would fit better