Recto gain saturation

[b0nkersx]

Turn up the gain if you want more. It takes less than ten seconds to run through the entire range of the gain knob.

 

[Heritage Softail]

I think it's safe to say that by even by having the gain knob on the amp at 12 o'clock regardless of how loud the master on the amp is turned up it's never going to give you enough gain saturation to play metal, I'e Metallica One would be a good example to use.

This is like when I bought a new Mustang GT, and took a big rock and put it between the bottom of the gas pedal and the floorboard. Then I got in the car and pushed the gas pedal down until it hit the rock, and that piece of crap car would not go fast, it just did not have enough power....

Yep, I totally agree with you. That amp will never have the gain saturation you need. Your brother is right, it sucks.

 

[Spewnz]

I think it's safe to say that by even by having the gain knob on the amp at 12 o'clock regardless of how loud the master on the amp is turned up it's never going to give you enough gain saturation to play metal, I'e Metallica One would be a good example to use.

This is like when I bought a new Mustang GT, and took a big rock and put it between the bottom of the gas pedal and the floorboard. Then I got in the car and pushed the gas pedal down until it hit the rock, and that piece of crap car would not go fast, it just did not have enough power....

Yep, I totally agree with you. That amp will never have the gain saturation you need. Your brother is right, it sucks.

+ 1 Bajillion!!!

 

[b0nkersx]

This is like when I bought a new Mustang GT, and took a big rock and put it between the bottom of the gas pedal and the floorboard. Then I got in the car and pushed the gas pedal down until it hit the rock, and that piece of crap car would not go fast, it just did not have enough power....

Yep, I totally agree with you. That amp will never have the gain saturation you need. Your brother is right, it sucks.

This other time, I got a guitar, but I only put the lowest and highest strings on it.

I thought it sounded terrible. Didn't have enough range to play metal.

I think it's safe to say that by even by having the gain knob on the amp at 12 o'clock regardless of how loud the master on the amp is turned up it's never going to give you enough gain saturation to play metal, I'e Metallica One would be a good example to use.

Wrong. If it didn't have enough gain to play metal, this board would be a lot more dead and the Dual Rectifier would have been discontinued at the end of the grunge era.

 

[94Tremoverb]

????

*TURN THE GAIN KNOB UP ALL THE WAY*

Not 12 o'clock, not 2 o'clock, ALL THE WAY UP. 5 O'CLOCK.

Now does it have enough gain?

 

[Cleekster]

The guitar I'm currently using is a schecter C1 Plus FR guitar, it has a mahogany wood body guitar, with Duncan Designed active pickups inserted in the guitars neck and bridge pickups, which in there own right are not ideal sounding pickups.

Also I know that people are still wondering why I haven't uploaded any clips of me playing my amp yet, I will try to upload some clips soon, But in order to do that I still have yet to buy a microphone, so that I can record the sound of my amp through it.

But anyway after experimenting today, with the EQ settings my amp, I have come to the conclusion that my amp only starts to sound good when the master volume is cranked above the 9 o'clock range, any lower that range and the amp sounds awfully thin sounding especially the gain, but having said that I think it's safe to say that by even by having the gain knob on the amp at 12 o'clock regardless of how loud the master on the amp is turned up it's never going to give you enough gain saturation to play metal, I'e Metallica One would be a good example to use.

Ok dude.....i think you're confusing gain saturation and sustain. they are different.....IME the only way to get SUSTAIN from a recto is to crank the power section and get most of you're overdrive there BUT at best you're looking at master of puppet's type heaviness and having to run the mids pretty high(or it will sound like poo) IMO and stupid loud volume and in the bedroom a hotplate isn't going to cut it.
Gain saturation is what happens when a recto's gain is above 12:00 and IMO has no balls, articulation, or tone...it's just a wall of sound, the sound that fuels the "haters". I can get the gain on metallica's one with my gain at around 11:00 .....it's(metallica's tone) not terribly distorted but it has sustain.....the idea that you need gobs of distortion to do metal is absurd in my view.

Have you considered a mark 5? the mark series amps can get heavy but they also have sustain.......diddo for the 5150.

It took me 3 years to dial in my recto to where i liked it.....lot's of frustration, lot's of cussing, and lot's of work especially with the stock Mesa tubes but in the end it was worth the effort and i've got tone that kicks my singers marshall all over the stage.....BUT recto's aren't for everyone and maybe not for you......

 

[KH Guitar Freak]

I wonder why you need that much gain anyway, unless you want to sound like Dimebag or something...

 

[JF Omalycat]

The guitar I'm currently using is a schecter C1 Plus FR guitar, it has a mahogany wood body guitar, with Duncan Designed active pickups inserted in the guitars neck and bridge pickups, which in there own right are not ideal sounding pickups.

Also I know that people are still wondering why I haven't uploaded any clips of me playing my amp yet, I will try to upload some clips soon, But in order to do that I still have yet to buy a microphone, so that I can record the sound of my amp through it.

But anyway after experimenting today, with the EQ settings my amp, I have come to the conclusion that my amp only starts to sound good when the master volume is cranked above the 9 o'clock range, any lower that range and the amp sounds awfully thin sounding especially the gain, but having said that I think it's safe to say that by even by having the gain knob on the amp at 12 o'clock regardless of how loud the master on the amp is turned up it's never going to give you enough gain saturation to play metal, I'e Metallica One would be a good example to use.

Congratulations, you're the proud owner of a hundred watt tube amp. :?

You keep saying that "even" with the gain knob at 12:00, you're not getting enough. I don't understand why you just don't turn it up more? The "sweet" spot on my Rec is somewhere around 2:00, depending on the output level. (for me, anywhere between 10:00 and noon.) That's a pretty versatile, usable area, whether your playing metal, grunge, hard rock, etc... If you can't get reasonably close to a generic metal sound in that gain range, there's something wrong with your amp, or something wrong with your technique.
I know this for a fact, cause I just got done blasting out some Harvester of Sorrow, and if I say so myself, it sounded pretty rockin'. 8)

 

[Soma]

I wonder why you need that much gain anyway, unless you want to sound like Dimebag or something...

From someone who had a lot of trouble dialling in their Recto, I don't think this sort of comment helps. If it sounds good to someone with the gain dimed then by all means they should run it like that. I think the best advice I've heard so far in these threads is forget everything everyone's said about where the knobs *should be* and just twist them until they *sound good*. There are so many different set ups running here that no one set of settings is going to sound good for everyone. I currently have my Recto set up on vintage hi gain with the gain dimed and it's the happiest I've been with it so far, big, aggressive sound that's still nice and full.

Cheers.

 

[bermuda_]

Maybe it could be the pickups I'm using?

Also one things that shocks me is that there's people out there that claim that you can get different tones out of your Recto, how are you supposed different tones out of your Recto I'e which knobs change the tone of your sound?

 

[b0nkersx]

which knobs change the tone of your sound?

ALL OF THEM. In fact, there are SWITCHES that change the tone too! Who'da thought!


Dude, it's really hard to take you seriously when you ask questions like this. Read the manual for crying out loud. Inexperience is one thing, but you're being stupid and just plain lazy. You aren't even making an honest effort to dial in anything; you're just asking other people to do it for you.

If reading the manual is too complicated for you, why don't you just TURN THE KNOBS FROM 0 TO 10 AND LISTEN TO WHAT THEY DO?

"DOES CHANGING THE CAR FROM DRIVE TO REVERSE MAKE IT DO DIFFERENT STUFF?"

 

[Cleekster]

I wonder why you need that much gain anyway, unless you want to sound like Dimebag or something...

from someone who had alot of trouble dialling in their Recto, I don't think this sort of comment helps.

Why?...it's a legitimate question that IMO far too FEW guitarists are asking themselves and so they play a G minor chord and all the audience hears is a wall of mush.

If it sounds good to someone with the gain dimed then by all means they should run it like that.[quote/]
No they shouldn't......at least not on a Recto.

I think the best advice I've heard so far in these threads is forget everything everyone's said about where the knobs *should be* and just twist them until they *sound good*.

I agree with you to a point.....BUT just because it sounds good to you doesn't mean that it sounds good to anyone else and let's not forget that we play music for other peoples enjoyment. it isn't just about what you want but a....comprimise really, of what you want you guitar to sound like AND the people EXPECT a guitar to sound like IMO.....the average person makes no distinction, if your guitar sounds like sh!t then that's exactly how they'll say your band sounds especially if it's guitar driven music....people want the same intelligabilty from a guitar as they expect from a singer.....they want to hear the notes not a wall of distorted mush in the key of g.
Just my .02 cents

 

[bermuda_]

Of course my questions are genuine, if they weren't I wouldn't be on the Mesa Forum in the first place, also I paid a lot of money for this amp, so I expect it to perform well, If I wanted another a solid state I would have bought one.

 

[Jerrick]

Maybe it could be the pickups I'm using?

Also one things that shocks me is that there's people out there that claim that you can get different tones out of your Recto, how are you supposed different tones out of your Recto I'e which knobs change the tone of your sound?

I doubt its the pickups. Im using some no-named medium output pickups and its fine. Even with some low output pickups I can get enough gain.

Why are you shocked that people can get different tones from this amp? The Dual Rectifier isnt just an on and off switch. Theres a lot more to it than that. Turn all the knobs completely to the left. Theres a tone. Turn everyting to the right, theres another tone. Set everything at 12:00, theres a tone. Move all the knobs randomly, theres another tone.

The sooner you put up a clip or video of your tone, the sooner we can help you out. You dont need to buy some interface and mic, you can just use a videocamera or something, or if you have a good cellphone camera. It wont be perfect, but it will be good enough to hear whats going on.

But really, im not sure what more we can do. Weve shown you settings, that didnt work. We told you to just turn up the gain if there isnt enough and not leave it at 12:00, that doesnt seem to be working for you. Im not sure if you ever tried a boost in front of the amp either.

 

[Soma]

I wonder why you need that much gain anyway, unless you want to sound like Dimebag or something...

from someone who had alot of trouble dialling in their Recto, I don't think this sort of comment helps.

Why?...it's a legitimate question that IMO far too FEW guitarists are asking themselves and so they play a G minor chord and all the audience hears is a wall of mush.

If it sounds good to someone with the gain dimed then by all means they should run it like that.[quote/]
No they shouldn't......at least not on a Recto.

I think the best advice I've heard so far in these threads is forget everything everyone's said about where the knobs *should be* and just twist them until they *sound good*.

I agree with you to a point.....BUT just because it sounds good to you doesn't mean that it sounds good to anyone else and let's not forget that we play music for other peoples enjoyment. it isn't just about what you want but a....comprimise really, of what you want you guitar to sound like AND the people EXPECT a guitar to sound like IMO.....the average person makes no distinction, if your guitar sounds like sh!t then that's exactly how they'll say your band sounds especially if it's guitar driven music....people want the same intelligabilty from a guitar as they expect from a singer.....they want to hear the notes not a wall of distorted mush in the key of g.
Just my .02 cents

I dunno, my recto sounds pretty good to me with the gain dimed. Anyway, I believe bermuda is a bedroom player and as such how it sounds to him is most important. Not all of us are playing for other people, and my thoughts are that if you're in a band when you buy a recto you probably already have a fairly good idea how to dial in in a band situation and if you're not in a band, then it will come with experience when you need it.

A lot of people say things like 'don't turn the gain above 12', but in my experience that just doesn't cut it for a heavy aggressive sound. I'll admit I don't crank my recto really hard, but that's my point, there are so many people here in so many different situations that you just can't put down a blanket statement like that.

unless you want to sound like Dimebag or something...

I'm by no means a Dimebag fan but to my mind it sounded like KH Guitar Freak was putting a negative connotation on wanting to sound like him. Maybe he does? Apologies if I was wrong.

Cheers.

 

[Heritage Softail]

The Rectifier is a very verstile amp. I was just up at the guitar center, rainy today so I couldn't fire up the Softail like yesterday, and played a Telecaster w/2 of those funny looking Fender Humbuckers in a Rectifier half stack. Just habit to plug in to that amp. Played it clean, neck pup on the guitar, and noodled some jazz, clean old Dire Straits, some crazy lick I am learning from a Marty Friedman lesson. The amp sounds great, it does take some minimal level of confidence to grab it and jam on it. I know it is a good amp and play it expecting good things to come out. And you guys know how people come around ask you about what you are playing sometimes, and about the amp, or guitar, where did you learn to play like that, etc. I think it is just a little bit about having it settled in your mind that you like your equipment, you know the song, and then let it rip and enjoy the music. I enjoy other people playing at the music store, some more than others.. :wink:

It is very simple. Knobs are meant for twisting. Record the song with your device, then record your sounds from the amp that you think cover that sound as you experiment with knob twisting. Listen to it later. A recording will not lie. If you are not willing to take some action to help yourself, why should anyone else!

 

[fluff191]

which knobs change the tone of your sound?

I can't believe people are still commenting on this thread.

 

[volatileNoise]

Kinda agree with the above comment here....

But seriously, dude... Read the manual, gain on Ch3 in Modern mode should not need to go above 2pm... Unless you have a pile of **** guitar, and if this is the case all that extra gain required will mash the tone (if you even have a decent tone with that guitar to begin with) I don't know **** all about the guitar you have, but watched a clip of some Indonesian guy playing one through a Behringer... and yeah, whatever...

But you do need to use Presence, and you do need Bass, and you need to use some decent amounts of Mid, Mid is what makes you cut through when playing in a band, without it you have little tone (if it makes a **** tone, your guitar probably has a **** tone) and all people will hear is "white noise" or a mash of overdriven crap.


All I can really say from experience, is that NO knob on a recto in full balls mode, should be on ZERO, I don't care what anyone says, if you have to do this there is something wrong, or something wrong with your hearing.

And lastly, it is all about the combo, this amp is not the be all and end all, but it can be almost unbeatable with the RIGHT guitar, and I know personally that I would not own a Recto if I wasn't using a guitar worth about as much as the amp itself is worth to buy, if you get my drift.

I have said it before and I will say it again, a cheaper guitar plugged into a high end amp sounds like??? A cheaper guitar plugged into a high end amp!!!

 

[rectofried]

i have played recto's since they first came out..i have 3 at the moment. it took me a long time to get what i was looking for at low and high volume..as with others 2 o'clock is my sweet spot on the gain. but with loop by passed volume was an issue.. i keep loop active crank the master to 11 or 12 o'clock and work the loop master volume as overall output.. i get the best results this way live and in the bedroom.. but as others have stated a recto just sings when cranked a little. but i get a better cranked sound the way i set it up at lower volumes. i use bold setting with the above but u can use spongy to get more thickness but might not be as tight. i prefer the crispness of the bold setting.

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Fluff...I need a beating the horse to death smiley....pronto!

Possibly preceded by a face-palm smiley...

I don't get what this thread is about anymore?

If you want more gain, turn the gain knob UP! That's why it has a range...why are you so bent on having it at noon? I have mine at 3 o'clock at gigging levels...sounds sick.

Same goes for 'changing the tone'....I don't quite understand how that's a question...what you do think all the knobs and switches are for?

Eric