Rectoverb Series 2 combo - opinions needed

[Monsta-Tone]

So.....I've had a couple of Rectoverbs over the years. Most of you guys know that I'm a notorious gear whore!

The 1st one I had sounded really good. The other 2 not so much. All of them were Series 2's.

Anyway, the 1st one I had is available again locally for $900. I'm thinking that I would like a higher gain amp than my DC-5 (which is severely souped up with gobs of gain already).

I'm wondering what the general opinion is of the Rectoverb Series 2 combo is?
And....what a good offer might be for it?

I live on an island and shipping is murderous for combo amps. If I can find something locally, it would save me $200 or so.
I'm not really looking for a head/cab setup.

Here is what I need:
Bright cleans with lots of headroom
Silent foot/channel switching
FX loop
Gobs of crunch and distortion
Sustain for days
Lots of bass, but not muddy
Touch sensitivity

I play in a 4 piece band and am the only guitar player. We play all original music.
Our sound is something like Widespread Panic sitting in a mushroom bar in Amsterdam with Iron Maiden, Frank Zappa, Santana, Rush, Jimmie's Chicken Shack, Incubus and Steely Dan.

 

[thejay]

I have a ROV II and I love it! I have the 1x12 combo and an extension cab when the mood suits me. From my LP/RDs to my Strat it sounds great with any guitar - perfectly balanced clean and distortion in my opinion. Nice headroom, great crunch, recto distortion, silent switching. I have used with EL34s but I think the amp screams with 6L6s. I got a killer deal on mine for $800.... thats for both! $900 isn't bad considering the shipping issues you might have getting them from the mainland.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

Right on, thanks!
I also have a line on a Soldano, so I'm not sure which direction I'm headed just yet.
Another friend of mine has a Lucky 13 that he wants to sell. Not as much gain as the ROV in it's stock form, but I have some mods that put it right up there in SLO territory!

 

[thejay]

very nice!!

 

[Blaklynx]

OK, this will be as honest as I can be.... I have a Rectoverb Series II.

Cleans are good, not spectacular. A little one-dimensional, kinda flat, not a beautiful 'surround 3D' type clean. Not Fender, better than Marshall (compared to the JCM800). Headroom is OK. I can bypass the preamp section and use other preamps so I can get some beautiful cleans. I have a lot of gear so I can experiment.

Silent switching but with a very slight delay. Can be a nuisance if you expect instant switching. Can't do anything about this.

Heaps of crunch and distortion. It's a Recto. Crunch you can use the clean pushed mode. Great for those classic ACDC type rhythms. A little more difficlut in the drive's vintage or raw modes. These two modes don't sound as full as the clean pushed mode. If you don't mind switching channels between clean channel and drive channel, it's not a real issue.

Sustain for days..... not really there. For a rhythm machine, no problem. Plenty has been written about Rectos not having liquid sustain. The amp (all Rectos really) need help with OD/Drive pedals. A compressor will help, too. Some will beg to differ but seriously, don't expect Santana-esque sustain. It won't happen. If you want to play legato-style a stock Recto won't cut it.

Plenty of bass. Surprising really. Muddy will depend on your guitar and pickups but in general, an EQ in the loop will help. Cut around the 200Hz range and if it sounds lacking a little body on the bottom end, up the frequencies around 60~80Hz a little. All depends on gain settings and how hard the input is driven, likewise the settings of the amps tone controls. Experiment. I use a MXR 10 band EQ. Great pedal.

Touch sensitivity.... All depends what you mean by this. Is the amp forgiving if your playing is not up to scratch? No. You'll soon know about it. You cannot cover bad playing with this amp. There's no super-saturated-compressed gain to cover mistakes.

cont'd......If you're on about if it cleans up rolling back the volume? Yes. Depends what mode you're in. In vintage mode it can 'clean up' but there will always be remnants of the signal being partialy distorted. Like a weak 'half' distorted signal and the other half being kinda clean. It sounds 'not so great' because you're niether here or there. The drive modes seem to like a good signal and love to be pushed reasonably hard. However, a good OD pedal that has a good gain structure can overcome this issue and using a pedal and the guitar's volume control you can go from clean-ish to outright driven-chugga-chugga-palm mute-sustain.

Is it a good amp? Yes. Can it do all you want? No. It needs help. Even with some help, it may not be quite there for you. As you may well know, Recto amps are not easy to dial in. My Peavey JSX is a breeze to use in comparison and sounds great at low volume. But, I love the Rectoverb. It has it's own sound and no other amp has the Recto tone except the Recto amps.

Here is a review I did on Jemsite, scroll about halfway down, same username as the one I use here.
http://www.jemsite.com/compare-guitar-amplifiers/Mesa-Single-Rectifier-Rect-O-Verb-Series-2-50W-1x12-combo/reviews/

 

[cyber104]

BlackLynx did a VERY nice job of describing the ROV. I also have a Series 2 Head and I agree with everything he said 100%.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

Cleans are good, not spectacular. A little one-dimensional, kinda flat, not a beautiful 'surround 3D' type clean. Not Fender, better than Marshall (compared to the JCM800). Headroom is OK. I can bypass the preamp section and use other preamps so I can get some beautiful cleans. I have a lot of gear so I can experiment.

That's what I thought here. Gotta have stellar cleans.

Silent switching but with a very slight delay. Can be a nuisance if you expect instant switching. Can't do anything about this.

This is a real bummer! Mesa has so much going on when you change channels it's unreal! I have a Maverick that even changes the power supply structure when you change channels. It sounds phenomenal, but.....just too busy. Lots of places that can fail. I know lots of guys that have had the LDR issue in their Tremoverbs. I like nice and simple, super quick switching with no pops (Roadster), delays (Heartbreaker on Tweed setting), reverb cut offs (most newer Mesa), etc..

I use a MXR 10 band EQ. Great pedal.

This is good to know! I've been thinking about adding an EQ pedal to my board. My DC-5 has a great EQ, I'm hooked on it for a solo boost!

Touch sensitivity.... All depends what you mean by this. Is the amp forgiving if your playing is not up to scratch? No. You'll soon know about it. You cannot cover bad playing with this amp. There's no super-saturated-compressed gain to cover mistakes.

By Touch Sensitivity, I mean.....Can the amp pick up subtle nuances in your playing? Say, if I hit the strings harder or softer, can you hear the difference at full gain? I'm not a very technical player like Satch or Vai, I'm more of a Jeff Beck, Santana kind of player that relies on experimenting with technique and nuances.


I ended up getting the Soldano instead. It is nowhere near as versatile of an amp in terms of gadgets. I will have to build an FX Loop into it and there is no Solo or Master Volume.
But....in terms of tone, it is hands down the winner! Blackface cleans and Recto-like distortion (with a few mods) but with tons of clarity and sustain!

Thanks for your help guys. Blaklynx, that was exactly the kind of review that people should give more often! Honest and to the point. Thanks!

 

[Blaklynx]

BlackLynx did a VERY nice job of describing the ROV. I also have a Series 2 Head and I agree with everything he said 100%.

Thanks.

I'm not a fanboy of Mesa gear or any other gear. All amps have good and bad about them. They should be presented, both pros and cons, when asked in an unbiased manner.

I think this board has many good members that are very mature. Plenty of good discussion and fairly unbiased most of the time. It makes for good reading.

 

[Blaklynx]

This is good to know! I've been thinking about adding an EQ pedal to my board. My DC-5 has a great EQ, I'm hooked on it for a solo boost!

By Touch Sensitivity, I mean.....Can the amp pick up subtle nuances in your playing? Say, if I hit the strings harder or softer, can you hear the difference at full gain? I'm not a very technical player like Satch or Vai, I'm more of a Jeff Beck, Santana kind of player that relies on experimenting with technique and nuances.

I ended up getting the Soldano instead. It is nowhere near as versatile of an amp in terms of gadgets. I will have to build an FX Loop into it and there is no Solo or Master Volume.
But....in terms of tone, it is hands down the winner! Blackface cleans and Recto-like distortion (with a few mods) but with tons of clarity and sustain!

Thanks for your help guys. Blaklynx, that was exactly the kind of review that people should give more often! Honest and to the point. Thanks!

You won't hear 'absolute subtle' nuances. I'll say there is a difference but maybe not to the extremes you may want, for example, a light pick attack for a more 'crunchy' tone vs a hard pick attack for a hard driven tone; I think you'll struggle at high gain settings. Playing with the volume control and pick attack will have more effect but at full guitar volume, it's not as promounced. The clean pushed mode is pretty good in that regard and the raw mode is better than vintage mode. I use Raw mode most for that very reason, plus I feel it's more dynamic than the other two drive modes, but I also use OD/Dist pedals. Many times I cascade two pedals just for that reason; set one for a good crunch tone (think ACDC) and I can roll off the guitar volume to almost clean it right up. I don't have the gain on the amp set high, around 10-10.30 oclock. The other pedal I kick it in for a good drive/singing sustain tone, simply to get that real chugga-chugga-palm-mute style of tone; think Iron Maiden. Modern mode I don't use at all. So in essence, to answer your question, I'd say 'no'..... not impossible but not 'easy'.... especially at full gain.

As for the Soldano, build that effects loop and for a solo boost add an EQ in the loop, set sliders for a mid boost, increase the output level and then engage for solo..... instant volume. You can do this for any amp with an effects loop. Alternatively, use the EQ pedal the other way. Turn the EQ sliders and output level down and leave it enganged for your rhythms and so on and then disengage for a solo boost letting the amp's preamp settings come through. A lot of people don't think about doing it this way.

Thanks for the kind words.

 

[thejay]

Blaklynx, nice review, though I would disagree only slightly, much more indepth than mine and actually made me think about it alittle more. I primarily use my Roadster though I use the ROV from time to time. In comparison the ROV is much easier to dial in etc Roadster is a beast all on its own.