Question from a newbie about high gain sound..

[Sorg]

Which settings are recommended to get that high gain metal sound that Mesa Boogie is famous for? I hear that sound on a lot of records, but I can not come close to that sound at all.. I have Dual rectifier with 3 channels.

I want a fat and heavy distortion.. My problem now is that it's not fat enough just very "overdriveish".. So I want it more scooped..

 

[user 7737]

with what amp ?

 

[Sorg]

Oh, sorry.. It's Dual Rectifier with 3 channels.

 

[rectonator296]

try putting an eq pedal.

 

[Sorg]

I have the Boss Eq pedal.. But should I put in loop or guitar - eq - amp?

In general, let's say I use a Pod.. Should I put the EQ before or after the pod?

 

[camsna]

EQ before the Pod.

Try this. Turn the gain DOWN and the output UP.

Then fuss with the rest of the knobs for the next year or so...That's what it takes.

But seriously - gain down. Most guys dime the gain thinking it'll get them there. But it's just muddy and flabby. Try channel 3, Modern, gain around 12 or 1 o'clock - maybe less. Master at 11:00. Mids at 8:00. Bass at 12:00 or 1:00. Treble at 1:00 - 2:00. Presence at 1:00.

Output at 11 or noon.

It's a good place to start...

 

[Sorg]

EQ before the Pod.

Try this. Turn the gain DOWN and the output UP.

Then fuss with the rest of the knobs for the next year or so...That's what it takes.

But seriously - gain down. Most guys dime the gain thinking it'll get them there. But it's just muddy and flabby. Try channel 3, Modern, gain around 12 or 1 o'clock - maybe less. Master at 11:00. Mids at 8:00. Bass at 12:00 or 1:00. Treble at 1:00 - 2:00. Presence at 1:00.

Output at 11 or noon.

It's a good place to start...

Yes I knew about the gain. Seldom used more than 12 o clock. But do u use bold or the other one? And tubes or recto?

 

[155]

throw the pod in the trash and put the eq into the loop and go easy on the gain 12-1 oclock and fine tune sound with eq

 

[camsna]

Bold.

Diode rectification.

 

[ANIMATED SUSPENSION]

What pups are you using ??

 

[TomiR]

The standard thing to do with a Recto is to throw an overdrive pedal in front of it. The Ibanez Tubescreamer in it's various incarnations is usually a sure bet.

This is pretty much the industry standard when playing metal, and I would go as far as saying that 90% of the metal albums that were tracked with a Recto, were tracked with the OD+Rectifier combination.

The overdrive pedal is not used to bring more gain, but to boost the pre-amp section of the amp and to remove some of the flubby low frequencies from the signal coming from the guitar.

And remember, when using the red channel on modern mode, be careful with the presence control! A lot of people complain that the 3channel Rectos are fizzy, because they are used to use high presence settings and they crank the presence, thus creating a very harsh, thin, fizzy tone.

The red channel has A LOT of presence. because of the very aggressive presence control. I usually have the presence at 9o'clock and the tone is bright even with those settings, but it's more balanced and there's no fizz. The red channel, modern, diodes, bold, pretty low presence settings and a Tubescreamer=crushing metal tone!

The orange channel is darker (similar to the red channel on the older 2channel Recto's! That's what confuses a lot of 2channel Recto players)

 

[mrd]

Also, make sure you turn it up. A lot. :lol:

I would be less aggressive with the treble, 1 or 2o'clock seems like too much. I usually have mine set at 11:30o'clock.

 

[madryan]

Also, don't drop the scratch on an actual tubescreamer, get a Boss SD-1

 

[camsna]

Also, don't drop the scratch on an actual tubescreamer, get a Boss SD-1

But get it modded by Robert Keeley so that it doesn't suck away all your tone!!! YUCK!

 

[Sorg]

What pups are you using ??

pup = pickups? I have a PRS Custom 22 with original pickups.

 

[Sorg]

Thanks for all the tips! Could someone please also put some sound clips of their sound and settings without too much adjusting of the sound with recording devices?

Btw, if you use the modern channel with tube screamer.. Let's say you want to switch from this to clean, you need to stomp twice on the pedals right? First switch channels + turn off tubescreamer?

 

[Leng]

I don't know what a 3-ch Recto's footswitch looks like, but it's quite easy and natural for me to switch to clean and turn the screamer off with a single stomp on my 2-ch with the screamer close to the footswitch.

I do get some really nice sounds, however, with the screamer on the clean channel.

The red channel has A LOT of presence. because of the very aggressive presence control. I usually have the presence at 9o'clock and the tone is bright even with those settings, but it's more balanced and there's no fizz. The red channel, modern, diodes, bold, pretty low presence settings and a Tubescreamer=crushing metal tone!

+1

Also, the first couple months with my Recto, I hated its lack of crunch without the tubescreamer. As I grew to know her better, I use the screamer less because I can dial her in with so much more understanding and experience and the way I play the guitar itself has changed a lot to accommodate her particular rectifying tone. Tables have turned and I now don't use the screamer.

How long have you had the amp?

I used to think talk like this was exaggerated:

Then fuss with the rest of the knobs for the next year or so...That's what it takes.

But it's absolutely true, that really is what it takes.

 

[Octavarius]

Remember that the sound you hear on most records is double tracked and gone through a lot of post production, etc.

 

[clutch71]

The one thing I have not heard on here is what cab/speakers are you using? That could be a factor.

Octavarius is right though, studio sounds are double tracked and engineered 10 ways to God. Someone else mentions volume too. To get into the guts of a DR it really has to be cranked IMO.

 

[clutch71]

The one thing I have not heard on here is what cab/speakers are you using? That could be a factor.

Octavarius is right though, studio sounds are double tracked and engineered 10 ways to God. Someone else mentions volume too. To get into the guts of a DR it really has to be cranked IMO.