recitifier & cab questions/swapping gear?

[metguitar]

Hi everyone....I've reading through these posts for the last few weeks and there's lots of good info around here...hoping you can help. I have a question...I play in a hard rock band using a Triple Rectifier into a Marshall 1960 Lead cab....my guitar is a Gibson Les Paul Std. with Tremonti bass/treble pickups. I'm thinking about swapping out the Triple Recitifer for a Dual, as well as picking up a Rectifier cab (not sure whether i want a 2x12 or 4x12). My reasoning for this is because my band plays quite a few shows....some at pretty decent-sized clubs, others at small bar-type places. The Triple through the Marshall sounds good to an extent, but it's hard to get the best heavy tone at certain shows without volume being overkill. The dual is 50 watts less, so do you think this is a good option for me? I like the overall Mesa rectifier sound, but would like to be able to push the tubes a bit more, as well as get a little more low end. How do the rectifier 2x12 or 4x12 cabs compare to a Marshall 1960 lead cab? I'm going to be trying out a bunch of this stuff this week, but was hoping to get some additional info. Any opinions on this would be extremely helpful. Thanks!

 

[Russ]

The 2x12 is pretty cool especially if you are playing smaller bars but if you are playing larger venues you will want the 4x12. A nice compromise is the Genz Benz G-flex 2x12. It is a ported 2x12 that is claimed to keep up with most 4x12 cabs. Many here like them.

With regards to the Mesa 4x12's, the Stiletto cab is comparable to the 1960 but with a little more bottom. The Standard cab will get you noticeably more bottom.

A dual is nice because you get to push your power tubes more than you would with your triple. I think a triple has more bottom though if only because of the headroom but you were saying you don't like having to play at volume levels that are overkill and still push your power tubes. With a dual you will still be really loud though. The 50 watt difference between 50 and 100 watts only equates to about 3 db's. I think it is even less between the 100 and 150 watts because db levels are not linear. Small bars do not really appreciate triple recs. You might be better off with a single in those applications. You might even like a recto pre with a 20/20 for small bars or drop your dual down to 50 watts.

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

I love my dual recto....it has the volume, but can also go down when you can't push it to overbearing levels.

As for the cabs, try the Standard 4x12s....you may like them...I much prefer the traditional Mesa 4x12s...much tighter bass response and overall clearer with the rectifier series IMO.

 

[mesanomad100]

Hi I also play a veriety of gigs where the venues are sometimes small and sometimes larger,I use a Dual rec. with a recto 2x12" recto cab,I love this for both venue sizes,If you have a PA this should be doing most of the work if your amps mic'd so the size of cab doesnt really matter if its running throught the PA,of course a 4x12" will have a lot more bottom end and you are shifting more air resulting in you being able to hear yourself better on stage,depends how you transport your gear I suppose,you already use a 4x12" so this doesnt really applly to you but I rely on my band shipping my gear about so there is no room for a 4x12" cab


I do use my 1x12" thiele cab with the dual as well and it does sound really great,good bottom end as well due to the ported cab but not as good as the 2x12" recto cab and definatly not as loud as a 4x12"

Another alternative would be to run an attenuator,like a THD hotplate,tame that beast a little whilst still keepin the output stage ticking over nicely,the great thing about the dual is if 100watts is too much you can just pull 2 tubes and drop it to 50watts,you cant do this with your Triple as you will be dropping it by 1 3rd(Im sure thats right) not by half


I would keep the triple and see about a Mesa cab or similar and then work with what youve got and tame her with a power brake of some sort,the THD hotplate is an amazing attenuator

 

[Russ]

metguitar, in case you are wondering, the Traditional is the older Stiletto cab before it was renamed.

 

[metguitar]

Thanks for the input guys! I never really considered the Genz Benz 2x12's, but from the reviews I've been reading they might be worth a test. Most people are saying that they are right up there with the Mesa 2x12's and 4x12's. I think if I make a move to switch gear I'll start with the cab, so I'm definitely going to try out some Mesa's and hopefully the Genz Benz 2x12 (i wish they had a dealer near me!). I'd actually prefer a 2x12 at this point if I can find one that suits what I'm looking for. Anyone here who uses the Genz Benz 2x12's?

Also, I can see how the dual recto might have less low end than the triple because it has less headroom. i wonder if a dual recto used with a more low-end friendly cab like a mesa or GB will still give me a little more bass response than my current triple recto with a marshall 1060 lead? Plenty of options to consider here...