Rectoverb 2 and the blues. Silly me, I use channel 1 99%

[yohimbe2]

The more I visit this site, the more I'm coming to realize that the majority of the people here are into hard rock and metal. I'm curious to see what people mean when they describe "good tone". Are we talking Van Halen or Metallica, distortion? Are we talking about the three kings, t-bone walker, etc...? What type of music are most of the Mesa people playing with their amps ? I've watched quite a few Mesa amp clips on youtube and they all lean heavily towards Metal/hard rock.

I've taken a step back in my guitar playing and am playing old blues. (Studying T-bone walker at the moment). I went to guitar center and was so blown away with the strat/rectoverb clean tone I bought both. In the store I used channel one pushed (Clean) and the neck pickup. I've had the amp two months, and I havent had much of a need to use anything else than channel 1. (Set it and forget it for me)

Are there others out there that are not playing metal that use a Rectoverb? How many people here are using high levels of distortion as their primary sound? What kind of music do you play? I want to get an idea of the type of people posting on this forum.

 

[ytse_jam]

I think you're right when you say the major part of the people posting here is into hard/heavy stuff. I've got a studio pre and when practicing alone i enjoy playing mainly high gain riffs, but with the band i play mainly rock and hardrock (but a bit folk rock and heavy metal too... i know, we must decide what genre to play ), so i have to lower the gain. And with my pre i can find many great mid-gain/low gain tones and great cleans too.
That said, i think mesas shine on extremely dirty and extremely clean, however in the middle you can find many great tones as well. I have to say that i'm starting lowering the gain even when playing heavy stuff, since a bit less gain gives a better crunch and tone definition. Maybe what you were saying is that keeping the gain all the way up would oversaturate the tone and not let the personality coming out from it (hope this sentence has some sense in english). I agree, but definitely i would say that both ultraheavy metallers searching for ultimate distortion and low-gain lovers searching for feeling and character in their tone can surely find their holy grail in a mesa product.

 

[yohimbe2]

I agree, but definitely i would say that both ultraheavy metallers searching for ultimate distortion and low-gain lovers searching for feeling and character in their tone can surely find their holy grail in a mesa product.

I hope so. I'm really enjoying the clean sound I'm getting with my mesa. I bought a ROV hoping to cover a lot of ground.

In order to understand what people mean by "good sound" (very subjective) its important that I understand the music that they play and listen to.

For example, many of the blues sounds I'm going for have a gritty low rent sound that contributes to the sound. In other words, it's a GOOD bad sound. Now many may strum out stairway to heaven on a clean channel with these settings and think it sounds bad. But give this same amp to a great blues player, and you'll get a very different opinion.

All in all, it's always my own ears and opinions I will trust,(You gotta listen yourself) but I am curious to understand what the majority of people mean when they say good tone...

 

[KDS]

I play blues/blues rock originals using a ROV series 1 and Tom Anderson guitars. I love the 6L6 tones and the boogie/anderson combo is an awesome combination for getting good blues tones that also have a little extra "hair" on them.

I never use the second channel, I get all my extra crunch and lead tones from an old Boss ME-5. My Drop Top has a switcheroo system on it and, between the switcheroo and my volume pot, I get a ton of really nice tones.

This forum has been extrememly useful in getting the most out of my boogie. You can use a lot of the info on tubes and EQ settings to tweak out your ROV.

BTW, I played every high end amp in the shop before I bought my Boogie and the ROV smoked everything there.

 

[yohimbe2]

I play blues/blues rock originals using a ROV series 1 and Tom Anderson guitars. I love the 6L6 tones and the boogie/anderson combo is an awesome combination for getting good blues tones that also have a little extra "hair" on them.

I never use the second channel, I get all my extra crunch and lead tones from an old Boss ME-5. My Drop Top has a switcheroo system on it and, between the switcheroo and my volume pot, I get a ton of really nice tones.

This forum has been extrememly useful in getting the most out of my boogie. You can use a lot of the info on tubes and EQ settings to tweak out your ROV.

BTW, I played every high end amp in the shop before I bought my Boogie and the ROV smoked everything there.

Man I'm glad to hear you saying this. So many people knock the clean channel on the ROV, I was starting to get a complex. I'm loving my tone.

Out of curiosity what are your settings?

I'm in channel 1 pushed with a Stratocaster/neck pickup. (Guitar tone at 5, guitar volume 3-4) If I turn up my guitar volume, it starts getting distorted nicely. At 3-4 things are clean and very nice.

Mostly all amp settings are not far from 12:00. (Except the output) My presence is down around 10:00.

I can really hear the guitars tone at these settings and if I want more bite, I use the middle and bottom pickups. Its funny, I really havent spent to much time tweaking the amp...I'm happy playing where I am for now. I'll really have to force myself to mess with the knobs someday.

 

[Anonymous]

Post removed.

 

[CoolRails]

I test drove the ROV 2 three different time in the store, and was extremely impressed with the clean channel - Especially the first time, I played a Deluxe Ash Strat w/ those SCNs... it sounded so glassy and perfect.

I also test drove the LSS, but never thought I could afford it. I was totally set on getting the ROV, but I met a guy on the day I went down there who owned 2 LSS's, and we plugged into 2 LSS's and jammed for about half hour. It was magical - I had to have it. It was only 300 more anyway.

But I have to say, I was MOST impressed by the clean sound of the ROV on "Pushed" with Low Treble and Presence, but pumped mids and bass. It sounds so Magical and Sparkly and Smooth....

 

[KDS]

My settings are similar to yours. gain, treble, and mids around noon. Bass around 10-11, presence around 11, master around 9:30-10 o' clock. I was running the master around noon and it sounds better when I roll it back a little.

I've been messing with the string gauges and pickups on my guitars so I may revisit the crunch channel on the ROV but the clean channel is really giving me what I want right now.

An LSS or Express 5:25 would make a great second amp for me but the ROV is my desert island amp. It just sings every time I play it.

 

[HappySinner]

The first Boogie I ever met was a Rectoverb. The guy in the music shop took the opportunity while the amp was warming up to lay the 'Boogie Schpiel' - you know, the one about how Boogies need to be tweaked, how they need to have a tone 'dialled in', how you had to be patient finding your sound, how the emergency exits were at the back of the plane and the middle of the cabin, and how, in the event of a sudden drop in cabin pressure, a mask would drop out of the ceiling and smack you on the head... actually, I think I got that last bit mixed up with something else I heard, but I digress...
I plugged my guitar in, turned the standby on, and played about four chords through the clean channel. I didn't even look at the controls. I played a G, a D, an Am, and an Emaj9, from memory, and they sounded gorgeous. I then looked at the controls on channel 2 and played with them 'til they looked pretty. I had no idea what they did on a Boogie, so that was as good a place to start as any. I switched channels and played some big power chords, some chunky riffs and some scary widdlywiddly stuff. It sounded perfect.
I asked the salesman who had possession of the family brain cell that day. It was fun.
Fortunately, the salesman was a good friend, so harm was done.
I think. :shock:

 

[yohimbe2]

I test drove the ROV 2 three different time in the store, and was extremely impressed with the clean channel - Especially the first time, I played a Deluxe Ash Strat w/ those SCNs... it sounded so glassy and perfect.

I also test drove the LSS, but never thought I could afford it. I was totally set on getting the ROV, but I met a guy on the day I went down there who owned 2 LSS's, and we plugged into 2 LSS's and jammed for about half hour. It was magical - I had to have it. It was only 300 more anyway.

But I have to say, I was MOST impressed by the clean sound of the ROV on "Pushed" with Low Treble and Presence, but pumped mids and bass. It sounds so Magical and Sparkly and Smooth....

Funny, my test drive was a Deluxe strat and a ROV as well. I bought both.

I've been back and fiddled with the lonestar and Mark 4, (Both sounded great) but don't regret the ROV for a second. I just don't understand the complaint everyone is making aboout ROV cleans...I'm glad to hear others feel the same way

 

[yohimbe2]

The first Boogie I ever met was a Rectoverb. The guy in the music shop took the opportunity while the amp was warming up to lay the 'Boogie Schpiel' - you know, the one about how Boogies need to be tweaked, how they need to have a tone 'dialled in', how you had to be patient finding your sound, how the emergency exits were at the back of the plane and the middle of the cabin, and how, in the event of a sudden drop in cabin pressure, a mask would drop out of the ceiling and smack you on the head... actually, I think I got that last bit mixed up with something else I heard, but I digress...
I plugged my guitar in, turned the standby on, and played about four chords through the clean channel. I didn't even look at the controls. I played a G, a D, an Am, and an Emaj9, from memory, and they sounded gorgeous. I then looked at the controls on channel 2 and played with them 'til they looked pretty. I had no idea what they did on a Boogie, so that was as good a place to start as any. I switched channels and played some big power chords, some chunky riffs and some scary widdlywiddly stuff. It sounded perfect.
I asked the salesman who had possession of the family brain cell that day. It was fun.
Fortunately, the salesman was a good friend, so harm was done.
I think. :shock:

Thanks, another similar story (Except the brain cell thing)... I havent messed around much with my settings..Its kind of like the Rotisserie chicken comercials on TV...set it and forget it...

 

[mrdylan]

In bands I play mostly heavy music but at home I play more blues when practicing as that is just how I play. I am not a shredder and play/prefer SRV type stuff as far as leads go. I can get very raw and semi clean bluesy tones easily out of my Triple using mainly the first channel but driving it up.

When I practice leads I play to SRV the sky is crying and Clapton's from the Cradle those 2 are so much fun to play over.

 

[jehu]

i'm using a 2 channel dual recitifier on vintage mode. i play in band that uses elements of metal, rock and[i/] punk.

most people i know that own mesas, play hard rock or metal.