Single Rec Series 2 the best Rec so far?

[Acesofbelkan]

I sold one of my guitars, and the buyer is a very musically educated guy. By that I mean he has tons of boutique level to high-end amps from all different brands and a ton of guitars and the guy listens to bands from all the era's and can play the guitar like a pro. So frankly I think his opinion means something.
I wanted to know what everyone else thinks. Tone-wise, is the Single Rec Series 2 THE best recto?

 

[volatileNoise]

Home jam levels and bedroom levels, 50w equivalent's are always better than the bigger wattage versions, on stage at decent output levels (though I have seen softies using Recto's at weak levels on stage) it is a different story.

I have owned the S2 Solo 50, and now own a DR, and the Single Rec becomes a bit of a loose unit at high volumes in a live situation, and the tone tends to get over saturated when the output is pushed hard.

 

[domct203]

For the best high gain tones the Trem-O-Verb gets my vote.

Best all-around (versatile) Recto would be the Roadking II/Roadster.

Dom

 

[Acesofbelkan]

Yeah the Roadking and Roadster would be the BEST recto in versatility, but I mean in the single,dual,triple recto family, his reason was that the "single recto doesn't have a fizzy sound to it like dual and triple recs do."

 

[domct203]

OK...........?

The Roadster and Roadking ARE Dual Rectifiers. So is the TOV. Both sound better to me then the Single.

But this is my opinion based on what I like from an amp.

Dom

 

[Acesofbelkan]

In your opinion, what is it about the high-gain tones from the TOV and RK/Rster that sound much better to you?
If you made a list of the best to worst recto's what would the list be?
I'm just trying to get an idea of where recto's stand against eachother

 

[volatileNoise]

This is a highly subjective question, with no correct possible answer.

Example - The last gig I played before relocating interstate, our band was supported by a friends band playing earlier in the evening. My friend in this band uses a RK with 4x12. And yeah they sounded like a typical rock band, nothing out the ordinary.

After our band finished playing our set later that evening, with my DR and 4x12, my friend that played earlier with his RK, came up to me and said he was blown away by my sound, said it was the best Mesa sound he had EVER heard. We are talking about someone who has been playing in serious bands for many years (and is a great guitarist) and is someone who has seen many other touring bands play live using ALL of the various Recto models, including a band we are fans of that in particular use the TOV.

Moral of the story - Tone is subjective, and an amp will ONLY sound as good as the person dialing it in can make it sound.

And of course the guitar plugged into it does play a fair role in the overall ability to dial in a decent sound as well.

 

[dtrax]

I owned a series 2 Rectoverb, then got rid of it and got a 3CH Triple.

I never could find a tone I was happy with, with the RoV. It was just a bit too bright sounding to me and lacked "umph" in the low end. I went through plenty of tube changes and even had a tech check it out - it got a clean bill of health. At band volumes it would fart out due to lack of headroom. Bear in mind I play with a lot of gain (metal/hardcore/whatever...) so the RoV just wasn't the amp for me.

My triple rec just crushes everything in it's path. No joke, the RoV and Triple are so polar opposite the only similarity they share is the same silk screened "Rectifier" logo.

So for high gain heaven, the 3CH Triple is my fav. And even at bedroom volumes I can get a very usable tone (the trick is to drop the output by going Spongy/Tube Rec).

 

[erectifier]

I bought mine about 8 months ago and i haven't looked at another amp since, i think it slays! In the defense of other heads this is my first one so im sure as i progress and try others i may find a better one. I don't play anything needing too extreme gain so im often in the vintage channel and that voicing is on the money for me. Ive found it can do that really liquidy high gain bands such as opeth use, ive also dialed it in for jam nights playing everything from reggae to blues to rock you can always come up with something satisfying. The 50 watts is also good for me as im in a pretty small band and dont play anything bigger than bars and medium venues, usually i have the channel volume at 12.00 and use the master to attenuate then just eq as needed. Although i'll be honest i do perv on markV rigs pretty often

 

[BostonRedSox]

I agree with the author about the Single Recto series 2s. Those Rectos are different than the Duals, even those with power optioning. I don't think its just the 50 watts that make them different either. They are more rockin' and brighter in my opinion. The distortion is just thick and cutting. I love them actually! I love the videos SteveHubbard put on YouTube detailing his Single Rectifier sounds too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcNRcr_lAEc

 

[volatileNoise]

After playing a gig with my DR cranked last night, I quickly remembered why I upgraded from the Single Rec...

Though I kinda would like to get another one at some point, could use it for opposite side of stage! :lol:

 

[94Tremoverb]

The Single Rec doesn't do it for me either, especially not the Series 2. I find them a bit flat and harsh, they don't have the dynamics and richness of the Duals (which is what sets them apart from most other high-gain amps). I can see why some people like them, but I can't make them work for me, I've always felt like I was having to fight them, and I've never got one tone I really loved out of one.

To me the 'best' Rectifier is the Tremoverb, and the *definitive* model will always be the Rev G 2-channel Dual Rectifier. I don't really like the 3-channel Duals either, especially not the clean channel (which I know a lot of people prefer) and which is more like the one on the Singles.

I don't agree with volatileNoise that 50W amps are better than 100s at low levels - I think it's the other way round. When neither is remotely cranked, the difference in power is meaningless and the 4-tube amp always has more depth and complexity, to me. I would expect a Triple to be even more so, although I've never played one.

 

[fluff191]

To me the 'best' Rectifier is the Tremoverb, and the *definitive* model will always be the Rev G 2-channel Dual Rectifier.

+1

 

[volatileNoise]

I don't agree with volatileNoise that 50W amps are better than 100s at low levels - I think it's the other way round. When neither is remotely cranked, the difference in power is meaningless and the 4-tube amp always has more depth and complexity, to me. I would expect a Triple to be even more so, although I've never played one.

Interesting, well I think the noticeable thing for me is the fact that the way I have my settings (lot of mids with moderate gain) that the DR doesn't really get good gain saturation at low levels for the heavier stuff.

So at home it is now the Orange DT switched down to 7w, I guess the little EL84 tubes can get that gain happening at low levels.

But I do kinda agree, even back in the day with the Single Rec, I still had to push it at reasonable levels to get good gain, the more I think back about it, the more I recall that they do sound a bit sterile, maybe some different tubes could help.

Though I still find that I can't stand the sound of the DR at low (bedroom) levels, I think the tubes just run too cold for low output levels.

 

[94Tremoverb]

That's exactly why I use an attenuator, and fitted my Tremoverb with a bias adjust (mostly for the Spongy modes, they really are far too cold normally). I don't use the attenuator so I can crank the amp up full, just far enough that it starts to sound good. I didn't find it sounded terrible before though, it's just better now.