Rectoverb 50 Combo (Series One) - Cabinet Question

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theviper

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Hi Everyone - I'm new here, although have been reading threads for a while.

Also - I did a few searches in advance before posting this, as I know how annoying that can be. :)

I recently acquired a Series 1 Rect-o-verb 50 Combo, in really good condition. Think it was made in 1999 or thereabouts. I absolutely love the thing.
Took a while to really dial it in to get to the sound I want, but knew it as soon as I did. The sensitivity of the eq is actually a fun thing for me. Did a full re-tube with JJ's, and that made a WORLD of difference (both pre-amp, and power amp sections). Was loaded with random pre-amp tubes.

One thing I have been noticing though at decent volume and on lower notes is that there is a pretty noticeable vibration sound (almost "glassy" in a way) - but hold on that because I 'm certain it's not the tubes. Reason I say that is it actually stops, when I push in the mesh grill covering the speaker. And I have the silicon rings on the tubes - certainly watching them, they don't move at all. Haven't had the balls to take off the grill yet, but I'm planning on doing so this weekend to have a look. I know combo's are notorious for rattle and vibration etc. - but wondered if anyone had the same problem? Thought I'd narrowed it down to that single screw that sits in the chassis - the one that is designed to reduce vibration, and is also a grounding screw - it was loose, but fixed that and still the same.

In any case, it leads me to another question about cabinets. Endless reading on the difference between 4 ohm, and 8 ohm etc. and I'm still a little confused (here we go again, I hear you say! :))

The amp has one 8 ohm, and two 4 ohm speaker outputs. Reading the manual, it appears that Mesa recognize people will often mis-match speaker and output impedance, so damage isn't a real problem. But just had a couple of questions:

1. Can I run the combo speaker, AND use one of the outputs into a 2x12 cab that is 4 ohm at the same time? (i.e. the combo out of the 8 ohm, and the cabinet out of one of the 4 ohm outputs) Or does one negate / cancel the other?
2. If that didn't work, can I run both the combo speaker (Mesa c90), and an 8 ohm cab out of the two 4 ohm outputs, which I *think* is what the manual is getting at. Just that the manual had me confused where it says if you are running into two 8ohm speakers, connect one each to the two 4 ohm outputs (but wonder if the speakers are run in a parallel configuration, how that would work).

Actually not sure if it's relevant for the rect-o-verb, but the 2 channel manual for the Dual Rectifier has these awesome configurations for speakers - but it doesn't address my questions above.

Sorry for the n00b questions - just not wanting to break anything. Looking at getting an Avatar 2 x 12 loaded with the GH30 (I think that's right) and a V30, but really hoping to run at the same time as the combo speaker (pending the removal of the vibration!). Pretty sure I'd order the 4ohm version of the cab - but hoping that doesn't reduce any flexibility later.

Thanks to all for any advice you can give. Long live the Boogie!
 
If you want to run the proper impedance use an external cab which total impedance is 8ohms. Then you would plug both the external speaker cab (8ohms) and the combos built in speaker (8ohms) into the 4 ohm inputs. This is running two 8ohm loads in parallel which adds up to 4ohms hence no mismatch. No idea why your combo is rattling.
 
If you can touch the grillcloth and the vibration noise goes away...ummmm...OK clearly I missed something. I'll re-read the op.
Nope.
Uhhhhh...if you touch the grill and the noise stops...it's the grill. It's so obvious...I must be wrong.
If you have a problematic (loose or microphonic) preamp tube you will not actually SEE it move.
To determine if a tube is microphonic you can tap it with a pencil eraser or other "soft-ish" material. If it makes a loud noise when you tap it...oh I guess some troubleshooting 101 is necessary first...
Troubleshooting 101, rule around 9 or 10..states that, when you find something that fixes or gets rid of a problem, like touching a grill or tapping a tube...uhhh...brbrbrbrbrbbblblblb...THAT was the issue!!

Just like when you misplace something, once you find it, you can stop looking for it. If you hear rattling and you touch something and the rattling stops, you don't have to keep troubleshooting or problem searching. You have FOUND the PROBLEM!!!!!!

But again, I'm obviously missing something because...none of that needed to be explained.
HEY....is Ashton Kutcher about to jump out of my laptop saying I been PUNK'D????

Rotflmao...NOW I get it. Good one.
Hey, if I stop sitting on this thumbtack my bum stops hurting. Don't suppose they are linked?...naaaaah
 
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