Not much gain in my 2 channel triple

[ryjan]

Much less than that wouldn't budge my 068 ga string..
It's just simply not as much gain as i am used to.

Are you sure you're not a bassist? :lol:
I can't think of any style or genre that would ever require more gain than my Roadster has. Either you are having a hard time adjusting to pro level amps or you have a broken recto. Either way, with .068" strings you should be looking at Ampeg. :wink:
Check this thread out concerning FAQ's on the Rectumfizzles. http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=54097

 

[Tone1026]

Haha... its plenty of gain for collective soul, or white stripes!
As i stated before i run a clean preamp on my pedal, maybe that's what im hearing thats missing. I'll compare distortions between the pedal without the preamp and the amp and see what the difference is... by golly thay might be it!

 

[ryjan]

Huh....my Roadster must be broke then. :?
I can get KSE heavy with the gain at 1:00 plugged straight in without any boost. When I play Metallica or Maiden covers I run the orange channel on vintage with the gain at noon.

 

[Tone1026]

12-1 on the gain for me is white stripes gain for sure. Seriously. So maybe mine is broke.

I think what i hear that i consider "lacking" is the pre-amp from my pedal. when i turned it off and ran pedal distorion through orange clean modern, it was pretty similar to the amount of gain in red modern direct.
So maybe it isn't a gain issue after all..

 

[ryjan]

I think I understand what you're looking for. Get yourself a tubescreamer style pedal. That along with some hotter pickups will get you that saturation and compression you're after.

 

[JCDenton6]

Have you had the amp looked over at all? Some LDR's may have gone bad and that might be affecting your gain.
I remember you sending me a message on youtube about my triple.

I ran my gain around 1-2 a'clock with EMG's and I have tons of gain, which is where it was at in my youtube vid.

 

[Tone1026]

Have you had the amp looked over at all? Some LDR's may have gone bad and that might be affecting your gain.
I remember you sending me a message on youtube about my triple.

I ran my gain around 1-2 a'clock with EMG's and I have tons of gain, which is where it was at in my youtube vid.

I was hoping you would respond!,I get flub at 12-2 oclock.. i have to have the gain cranked to get 90's alternative gain. (STP, Pearl Jam..)

I had a burnt screen resistor, that was changed by a certified mesa tech, who checked the rest of the screen resistors. (you can read ALL about it under "Tubes") I don't remember him saying anything about checking LDR's though..

 

[YellowJacket]

Have you adjusted the height on your wimpy assed epiphone pickups? Like I said, I heard a budget strat with crappy pickups that didn't even distort through my recto. Also, turn the bass DOWN for less flub!

You have lots of options now, so go try some Can't go wrong with Bare Knuckle pickups and new electronics so why not start there? In the meantime, get the amp checked out just to be sure. The settings I posted for my Recto are for death metal tone with passive pickups. You should be getting heavy tones even with the gain at 12:00. It will be phat but tight.

 

[Tone1026]

Some LDR's may have gone bad and that might be affecting your gain.

Do you know which ldr's would effect the gain, it is the same on both channels, both modes, very similar..

 

[YellowJacket]

Red set to modern is brighter, stiffer, clearer, tighter, and more aggressive than Orange to Modern. The Orange channel is crunchier, warmer, and more elastic overall. (A subtle difference)
Modern has more gain (An extra gain stage) than Vintage high gain does.

 

[Tone1026]

Red set to modern is brighter, stiffer, clearer, tighter, and more aggressive than Orange to Modern. The Orange channel is crunchier, warmer, and more elastic overall. (A subtle difference)
Modern has more gain (An extra gain stage) than Vintage high gain does.

Ive noticed the tone differences between red and orange, and a volume difference between modern and vintage. In both channels the distortion "saturation" is very similar. not sure if one LDR effects the gain on both channels.

 

[YellowJacket]

Yes, there is a huge volume jump from Vintage to Modern. This is due to the extra gain stage in the preamp circuit for Modern. Just a piece of trivia: For the old 2 channel rectos, there is not a dedicated clean circuit. The 'clean' setting is just vintage high gain with the gain turned really 'low' on that setting.

 

[Shemham]

Yes, there is a huge volume jump from Vintage to Modern. This is due to the extra gain stage in the preamp circuit for Modern. Just a piece of trivia: For the old 2 channel rectos, there is not a dedicated clean circuit. The 'clean' setting is just vintage high gain with the gain turned really 'low' on that setting.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but in my knowledge there's no extra gain stage between the modes. The main difference between the vintage and modern mode is that the modern mode cuts off the negative feedback circuit.

 

[domct203]

Yes, there is a huge volume jump from Vintage to Modern. This is due to the extra gain stage in the preamp circuit for Modern. Just a piece of trivia: For the old 2 channel rectos, there is not a dedicated clean circuit. The 'clean' setting is just vintage high gain with the gain turned really 'low' on that setting.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but in my knowledge there's no extra gain stage between the modes. The main difference between the vintage and modern mode is that the modern mode cuts off the negative feedback circuit.

I believe this is correct. The Red & Orange channels share the exact same gain stages in Vintage or Modern, with tweaked tone-stacks for the respective mode. I also believe this topology continues today with every Recto ever made.

Modern mode is mostly in the Power-Amp.

My Roadster is really only a 2-Channel amp with two foot-switchable sets of controls (& circut tweaks) per channel.

Dom

 

[Tone1026]

So if low gain levels is a component related issue, what are we looking for? Good rock tone with the gain cranked, but not so much in the 12-2 o clock range.

 

[domct203]

So if low gain levels is a component related issue, what are we looking for? Good rock tone with the gain cranked, but not so much in the 12-2 o clock range.

Have you tried cleaning all the accessable contacts in the amp (all tube sockets/jacks/pots etc)? It would also be good to re-tension 9tighten up) all the tube socket contacts. That would rule out poor connections in the circuit.

Next would be a trip to a tech to check LDR's.

Dom

 

[Tone1026]

So if low gain levels is a component related issue, what are we looking for? Good rock tone with the gain cranked, but not so much in the 12-2 o clock range.

Have you tried cleaning all the accessable contacts in the amp (all tube sockets/jacks/pots etc)? It would also be good to re-tension 9tighten up) all the tube socket contacts. That would rule out poor connections in the circuit.

Next would be a trip to a tech to check LDR's.

Dom

I did use deoxit d series on all input jacks, and tube sockets, i did not clean all pots, my local tech said he doesn't just clean all pots by default, as you lose some of the natural "drag" from the grease that is originally in there. he said he only cleans them if they are bad. my orange channel master could use it. The distortion coming from both gains between orange and red are very similar.


How much difference in gain/saturation might you see using a high gain preamp tube such as a tung sol in V1? The ones in there now are just straight jj 12ax7 (brand new)

 

[Tone1026]

Basically i have to scoop the mids, and crank the treble and gain. pres and bass at 11.

Similar to molten red off the 2 channel manual, save the treble and gain being cranked rather than being on 2 or 3.. So a brighter/ higher gain preamp tube may just do it.

 

[domct203]

How much difference in gain/saturation might you see using a high gain preamp tube such as a tung sol in V1? The ones in there now are just straight jj 12ax7 (brand new)

There is a very slight difference, not enough to go from "White Stripes" to "KSE" tones with just a tube swap, that's for sure. I would still go with the Tung-Sol in V1 regardless.

I'm still thinking this is LDR related.

Dom

 

[YellowJacket]

I believe this is correct. The Red & Orange channels share the exact same gain stages in Vintage or Modern, with tweaked tone-stacks for the respective mode. I also believe this topology continues today with every Recto ever made.

Modern mode is mostly in the Power-Amp.

My Roadster is really only a 2-Channel amp with two foot-switchable sets of controls (& circut tweaks) per channel.

Dom

Then why the massive jump in overall volume when switching from Vintage to Modern via channel cloning? Oh well, the tube task chart indicates that you are correct.

So if low gain levels is a component related issue, what are we looking for? Good rock tone with the gain cranked, but not so much in the 12-2 o clock range.

Listen, you are using weak ass epiphone pickups. Have you tried adjusting the pickup height on your bridge pickup? If your pickups are very low, you will get a very weak signal going into the amp which would account for the lack of gain saturation you are experiencing. Switching to a very hot pickup will give you far more gain saturation, a far bigger difference than switching one preamp tube. Switching the electronics for CTS500k pots will give you that extra bold / open high end you want. Adding a clean boost into your signal will amplify this effect further.

If you want to test your amp, take it to a music store and AB it against other rectos with some higher end guitars. You will hear almost immediately if there is a problem with the amp itself. Definitely get it checked out in the event something is wrong.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBDf2kqHPgo (a Triple doing metal)