Sick of crappy sound might sell my dual recto

[wolfgang999]

Dual Recto 2 channel

I have jacked around with this thing long enough and can't get a good sound out of it. Forget the orange channel. So I play a peavey wolgang, I've played through several amps with this guitar and all have sounded good.

Here a my settings that I can get the best sound with

Red Channel (normal)
presence 12
Bass 12
Mid 12
Treble 2-3
Gain 2-3

I even bought a mxw 10-band eq but didn't help any. It kills the tone when putting it in the loop and in front of the amp it still sounds like crap. Any last suggestions before I move away from the mesa boogie amps.

 

[ToneAddictJon]

What kind of a sound are you going for/ what style do you play? I actually like my 3 channel more than any 2 channel I've played or heard (that's also with E34L's in it though).

 

[wolfgang999]

Rock/metal, looking for a nice gain sound. The clean sounds fine with this amp its just the gain.

 

[Elpelotero]

your settings are very normal. Just a little too much treble, but not too out of the ordinary.

If you don't like the sound of the amp with those settings, which are near to being flat, then the recto is just not your amp. There's millions of people out there who feel that way, so it's not a bad thing. What bands do you listen to or guitarists whose tone you like?

 

[wolfgang999]

your settings are very normal. Just a little too much treble, but not too out of the ordinary.

If you don't like the sound of the amp with those settings, which are near to being flat, then the recto is just not your amp. There's millions of people out there who feel that way, so it's not a bad thing. What bands do you listen to or guitarists whose tone you like?

Tool tone

 

[ToneAddictJon]

You should be able to nail tool tones with that setup dead on!!! Are you on bold or spongy power? Tube or Silicone Rectifier? I would put some new tubes in there if you're not getting as close tool tones as you can without a studio with that setup.

 

[wolfgang999]

You should be able to nail tool tones with that setup dead on!!! Are you on bold or spongy power? Tube or Silicone Rectifier? I would put some new tubes in there if you're not getting as close tool tones as you can without a studio with that setup.

I can get the tone but it always seems like the mids or highs are just bleeding through and it sounds annoying. If I lower the mids or highs it gets really really muddy sounding. Do you think it needs re-tubed?

 

[ToneAddictJon]

If you bought the amp used, I would definitely retube it. That's the first thing I do anytime I buy a used (or new for that matter) tube amp. What do you mean by the highs or mids bleeding through? If the cab is sitting on the floor, make sure you don't stand above it when dialing it it, you want your ears to be at the same level as the speakers, it will completely change the sound. After listening to it at ear level, and if it still doesn't do it for you, definitely change the tubes. If you end up not liking it, you can sell it for a bit more with "fresh tubes" plus "extra set of tubes" (I've gone through a lot of gear so any money I put in I make sure I can get out of it). If you have 6L6's in it, you may like the tonalities of EL34's, they add a bit of crunch to the grind.

 

[Living_justice]

try this, switch to modern on back, this is for the red channel
bass 9 o'clock
mids around 8,9,10 o'clock try them
treb 1 o'clock
gain looks good
pre 12 looks ok to
bold
silicon

 

[Elpelotero]

Adam Jones settings have lots of mids and little gain. He doesn't crank the gain on his diezels.


Notice however, if you are after his current tone, it's mostly diezel and marshall stuff, with very little (if any) rectifier sound in there. His old old stuff was mostly marshalls and rectos.

So if you're shooting to exactly nail his tone on the new album, you have the wrong amp for the job. For starters, diezels use el34's.

 

[Living_justice]

just get a mark 4 with el 34s in it, and then you can get any tone, i av just dailed in a nice tool tone on rhy 2 with el 34s.

 

[Mr_You]

What kind of speakers/cab are you using?

 

[siggy14]

Are you playing by yourself jamming along, or in a band? The way a Rec sounds by itself and in a band situation are two different things. Yes with to much mid's it doesnt sound good when playing by yourself. But put yourself with a band and it sounds great.

You should be able to nail tool tones with that setup dead on!!! Are you on bold or spongy power? Tube or Silicone Rectifier? I would put some new tubes in there if you're not getting as close tool tones as you can without a studio with that setup.

I can get the tone but it always seems like the mids or highs are just bleeding through and it sounds annoying. If I lower the mids or highs it gets really really muddy sounding. Do you think it needs re-tubed?

 

[noodles]

I can get the tone but it always seems like the mids or highs are just bleeding through and it sounds annoying. If I lower the mids or highs it gets really really muddy sounding. Do you think it needs re-tubed?

What cab/speakers are you playing through? That was exactly my complaint about the Rectos when I was using V30s.

You're using a bit more gain than I would. Drop it back to about 12-1, and drop a tube screamer in front of it. No one should run a Recto without one.

Are you playing by yourself jamming along, or in a band? The way a Rec sounds by itself and in a band situation are two different things. Yes with to much mid's it doesnt sound good when playing by yourself. But put yourself with a band and it sounds great.

+1 I actually don't think Rectos sound all that good by themselves. I never liked them when I played them in stores. The first time I got the chance to play one in a band situation, though, I was floored. The bottom end blends in nicely with the bass, and the mids just fill out the sound. They're one of the few amps that are strongly focused in a very tight frequency spectrum.

 

[vertigo_]

I have a roadster and it sounds awesome , I don't use a tube screamer but I do have emg 81 as my bridge pickup. The problem with rectos is :

At low volume all that mid will sound nasty. So alot of people will take out the mid and punch in high and low. Sounds pretty nice at low volume. But it kills your tone at band level.

Love the mid, use the mid - It will love you back, but not use you

 

[stompboxfreak72]

Cut your bass to 9 oclock, put master volume on 4 or 5 and then adjust channel volume to taste.

use a Tubescreamer or a Digitech Bad Monkey ( an absolute steal of a pedal for lousy $40) and slap a delay pedal in the loop.

Amp sounds like ass at bedroom volume and is dry as a turd baking on concrete if no reverb or delay is used.

 

[wolfgang999]

I'll try a re-tube just ordered some el34's. The cab is a avatar 2x12 v30 closed back. I'll try some of the suggested settings and see how the results turn out.

Thanks

 

[wolfgang999]

What will a Tubescreamer do for my amp sound? Is this not just a gain pedal, I have an eq pedal but kills the tone more than anything

 

[holdsworth]

Notice however, if you are after his current tone, it's mostly diezel and marshall stuff, with very little (if any) rectifier sound in there. His old old stuff was mostly marshalls and rectos.

Actually, Jones started using Diezels when his friend suggested it to him for the Aenima album, and mixed the bass tones of the diezel with the higher definition of his old Marshall (from Undertow). I think he started using Rectos sparingly for Lateralus, but Diezel is definately his main-stay amp.

Seriously though, Rectos should be able to get you in the ball park. Bare in mind that you really need to crank the Rectos high to get the best out of them.

 

[stompboxfreak72]

Hi Wolfgang....there are numerous threads on this board about the merits of using an overdrive pedal with a Rectifier amp. Search them out and read them. Briefly :

Tubescreamer is an overdrive pedal that is famous for boosting mids. Some people love 'em, some hate 'em. Since your DR is already bass happy the Tubescreamer will accentuate the mids and really help you cut through when playing with bass and drums. Furthermore, a good overdrive pedal will tighten up your sound and give you more grit and sustain.

There are many opinions about which overdrive is best. I love Tubescreamers. If you can borrow one then great. If not maybe try a $40 Bad Monkey .....it is similar to a Tubescreamer but el cheapo. If you want a Tubescreamer I like the MAXON OD-9. expensive ($200) but excellent.

Read the other threads. I hate my Rectifier without an overdrive pedal and delay pedal ! I never had any luck with eq pedals but that is just my lowly opinion.