Rect-O-Verb Lead sound Issues-HELP

[saucygitaristak2]

I've had my rect-o-verb for a couple of months now and I absolutely am in love with the with tight low end and the warmth of chording and rhythm as well as the lack of noise at high volumes BUT...
When I try to kick into a fast lead passage (in other words "SOLOING") it sounds choppy and plain unattractive. I'm sure if my pick attack was perfect it would sound better but on all my solid states I sound flawless, even on the clean channel. It's as is the rect-o-verb accentuates imperfect playing. So anyways my question is does it just need to be boosted with a fulldrive or a tubescreamer or should I look elsewhere for a lead sound, such as the Carvin Legacy I was considering?

 

[ConvexStone]

I use the vintage mode and the rectifiers, i can get really creamy lead tones, the amp just sings and becomes very expressive, and for a more modern lead tone I just use the spongy/ss rectifier (modern red)
I really love my mids, but i noticed, that I had'em to high, making my lead tone a lil' stiff. so i turned'em down and my master a lil' bit up, problem solved (for me anyway)

hope it helps...

 

[saucygitaristak2]

Only problem is the rect-o-verb doesn't have a spongy/bold switch or a silicon/tube diode switch. I'm thinking that might have a little bit to do with it. I've been turning knobs for a while and nothing seems to help the lead sounds. I'm really starting to believe it wasn't intended for what I'm trying to use it for...but thanks anyway

 

[chennie]

I have a rectoverb as well, but I got a really nice lead tone and rythem at the same settings. But several things to mention here:

The dynamic behavior is really different than a solid state amp. The first weeks, I really could net get used to the tone of the recto after playing a solid state old fender. I really felt bummed a thought I had made a stupid and expensive mistake.

The first weeks, it also sounds crappy because the speakers had to be played in first. At the celestion site is a paragraph how to do this is in short amount of time.

Also, I don't what your setup is, but I am running the amp through the 1x12 speaker that was the combo speaker and a 2x12 v30. This combination of speakers gives in my opinion a better sound than either one of the speakers. Also it feels like the rectoverb doesnt really comes at its right with only one speaker.

My room is quite small and at the moment I have rather big setup, too big for my room. I found that at some spots of my room, or even in the hall gives sometimes a better sound, some places have more bass and some places have more smooth highs, while other is something in between or more crappy.

Last but not least, try using the equalizer settings differently. It took me months to find a real nice standard setting sound. I have several guitars, but each needs its own settings. In other words, the settings are quite sensetive regarding tone. Don't be afraid to do something totally different.

If you have a series 2 rectoverb, you could also try to use EL34 tubes instead of the stock 6L6 tubes.

 

[chennie]

oh and I forgot, yes it is true. What I said with the different dynamic behavior, you can't play that sloppy. The rectoverb accentuates your notes more than a solid state.

Maybe it is not that easy fun as it has been, but I will make you a better guitar player in the end. You have to work harder but the result is much more rewarding.

NOwadays I also play with less and less gain. Used to be around 3 O'clock at the vintage setting, now it is around 12 and 1 O'Clock with the same metal riffings. It just sound much better, much more articulating, much more dynamic feel in it, more singing , tighter, better but even agressive =)

 

[recto-robbie]

hey saucygitaristak2,, I own the ROV series 2 combo. Im using it along with recto 2x12 cab so I now have the 3 speakers working together.
The last poster chennie couldnt have spoken the truth about this amp more. I have gone through the exact same ordeals with the ROV as he did.
First like he said,,the addition of the cab is great,but I dont see it totally needed for a good lead tone. It seems to add more depth,bottom end,,a much fuller sound.
I also have noticed with the ROV and pretty much any tube amp that they sure were not made to cover any flaws in your playing. And the 3 guitars I own all sound very much different through it. As they should.
Example,,I once owned a pod xt,,all three guitars sounded pretty much the same way through it. Once I brought home my ROV I couldnt even play one,,fender tele standard, through it because of the cheap *** pickups. In order to get the same output from it compared to my LP Custom I needed to have the volume of the ROV at about 70% compared to the LP at 20%. I never even thought about anything like that with a pod solid state, Everything played the same.
And like chennie said,,it also took me a good month or so to find the sweet spots,,they are there,,I learned a lot from the guys on this forum.
I also agree with the breaking in speaker thing. At least I hope. I purchased my recto 2x12 cab about 2 months after my ROV. For some reason at somewhat high volumes with a good amount of bass I get a farting sound out of the cab? I cant believe the cab cant handle the ROV,,its being run with an amp that maxes out at 70 watts lower than its max wattage,,and it does this when only cranked half way.. Hopefully it simply needs to break in a bit,,,God I hope.
You had also mentioned the use of an overdrive with it,,,get one.
I use 2 different OD;s with it all the time. I use them differently through the ROV but the main use for me is to use it for boosting,,tightening,adding sustain and saturation to my lead work.
Again this took me a while to find the right sounds because I found myself always adding too much gain from the pedal on top of the high gain from the amp. Too much gain made it sound very sloppy.
And one last thing,,I couldnt agree more with chennie again about using less gain. I only use the modern channel now for that severe power chugging metal sound,,and have found myself using the raw channel more and more. I usually keep the gain on the raw channel around 12 and 2 oclock,,,where as the vintage between 10 and 12 oclock.
Good luck to you.
P.S ,, the addition of a graphics EQ and even more so a good reverb pedal in the loop helped a lot also.

 

[jtb226]

maybe look into an overdrive (NOT distortion) pedal to give you a little more edge to your solos and to tighten everything up? i've heard really good things about the tone on the behringer TO800

 

[saucygitaristak2]

Yeah like I said I was thinking about a Fulldrive.
Thanks for the advice I'll try breaking in my speakers and ::sigh:: I GUESS I'll start working on perfect picking. I have an straight Avatar 4x12 with 4 V30's. I'm strongly considering an Ibanez prestige RG2550 with Evo's. Maybe that will also help since I'm still playing out of an Epiphone G-400 with stock pup's.

 

[Peter]

I have a similar issue with my Lonestar classic. I think their might be something wrong with it. You could let an amp tech look at it. but im no expert.

 

[MesaDCLP]

Ignoring style for a moment, settings are going to be the turning point here ... and even then; it may take an extra cab depending on how loud you need to be.

Try setting your Channel Masters low like 9 or 10 o'clock. I usually set it a hair above where it really starts to increase the volume, and I let the mode control the gain, adjusting the output as necessary. The second channel gain is 11 to 2:30 depending on the mode I'm in.

Set the Output as high as you like. Noon is pretty loud, but pushing to 1 or 2 really wakes up the power amp. Above that, the tone will change dramatically, and if you don't like it, it's time to get a cab. The extra cab will give you more volume without changing the tone too much, and it will spread the sound so you sound bigger at the same volume.

Trick is, too much of any knob, it is going to fart. Tube amps are designed to be articulate, so don't think it's all the amps fault. They love more speakers, and with that said, add a cab. You will find that you will run your bass knob lower and your output lower to get the same tone, and also you will be able to get louder.

It's a good amp, so don't second guess your decision. Just buckle down and try everything. Your skills will improve because you did.

8)