ssssaturation from a rectoverb combo...at low volume?

[kickinlikebruce]

I've got a rectoverb 50W combo 1-12 series 2, completely stock, and I'm looking to make it "my own"- the 90W speaker seems a bit too stiff for the volume I play at (mostly at 3 or 4). I'm wondering if anyone has any input on what I should change it to, as well as possibly changing the preamp or power tubes to something different. I've been reading the reviews of ceramic vs. alnico spkrs, I just NEED the saturation point to be at a lower volume.... anyone...anyone..

 

[clutch71]

Instead of changing what's in there add a 2x12 rectifier cab. The amp can be tweaked to sound decent but is going to need volume to get to it's pure tone. You can drive the ouput while keeping the master down and this will work the power tubes a little harder.

I recommend that you add a good OD out front (this will work well at cranked volumes too or just dirting up the clean channel for a nice bluesy tone) and some guys like an EQ in the loop.

I'm not one to recommend an attenuator because of the price/tone issues folks alledge.

 

[kmanick]

I've got a Rectoverb heand and a recto 2X12 cab and I use a hotplate with mine, an EQ in the loop and a modded SD-1 in front , and I can get mine to sound great at any volume
I actually know several people local to me that have rectos and use hotplates with them with great results.
Just don't expect your amp to sound like it's cranked at bedroom volumes, that's not how to use a hotplate. Use one to get your amp down to managable levels and you'll be much happier with the results.

 

[kickinlikebruce]

Had this amp been offered in a 30W model (hint to mesa's R&D team ), I would have bought it. Does a hotplate make that much of a difference? I haven't found an OD pedal that I'm completely happy with yet. I was sampling this amp to see what it offered before I got one. I'm currently running an Option5 Destination Rotation with a BBE Sonic Max., I had a Big Muff PI, but wasn't EVER remotely happy with the sound it produced. What's the concensus for a great sounding OD pedal? What would the 2-12 cab have in it for speakers- would another cab work for this? Thanks for the replies.

 

[kmanick]

I have 2 , 2X12 cabs, a recto cab with V30's and an Avatar cab that I loaded with Mesa C90's.
both sound good, together they sound great.
The modded SD-1 I got is by far the best OD pedal I've ever used.
This who I got it from, he posts here, and on the 7 string forum (where I know him from).
http://www.bodenhamer-electronics.com/
He has other pedals as well, but a lot of guys over on the 7 string are of the opinion that his Modded SD-1 works well in front of a Recto so I went with that.
The hotplate will tame a loud amp, it won't turn it into a bedroom amp(well it will) but without some speaker movement the sound is never the same.
Put it this way, without a hotplate the Rectoverb (for me) would be un usable in my house.
It's just way too loud.

 

[clutch71]

I almost mentioned in my post the Kmanick uses a hotplate and he would be a good person to talk to. Glad he chimed in.

The Metal Muff is a distortion pedal and I use a Pocket Metal Muff for "bedroom" distortion in lieu of a hot plate with the DSL 50. For me it's a workable and affordable solution even for my DSL 50 which sounds great at lower volumes. It's run on the clean channel only.

A good OD, well there's lot's of opinions on that, and you'lll just have to try them out and see what fits you. The TS808 RI fit my tone (Both with the DR and DSL 50) very well. I run it gain at 0, tone at noon, level to parity gain on a high gain channel in an "on all the time" mode.

On a clean channel I tweak it for a SRV bluesy like tone.

Good luck

 

[kickinlikebruce]

Thanx for the info....is there much of a sound difference with swapping out tubes, or is it not worth my while? I guess I'm shopping for a hotplate....I will check out that SD-1 via your link, as well as the TS 108 (is the "RI" for re-issue?) It's just tough to buy an effect without playing thru it first, though I am happy with my axe ('78 LP Custom, stock) and the sound I get with it. Guess I'm off to the shopping board, I'll keep you guys posted as to what my rig ends up being- thanks again, KLB

 

[kmanick]

This is just my opinion, but I've found that EL34's respond better at lower volumes than 6L6's do.
I have a friend that lives near by that has a Rectoverb combo and I had posted this up on the 7 string forum, so he decided to give it a try and he loves the way his Rectoverb sounds with EL34's. (he also uses a hotplate and a LordovChaos modded tubescreamer).
I think the El34's tightens it up a bit and adds a little bit of an upper mid flavor to the tone (which these amps are lacking).
Makes the vintage mode very usable for stuff like Satch/Vai/Vinnie Moore etc.
I don't gig anymore so I am always looking to see how I can get my amps to sound as good as they can at lower "Home" volumes" and recording.
I don't go for bedroom volumes because I think most tube amps sound like crap that low and you need some speaker movement to fully realize the tone of an amp.
I did the same type of experimenting with my JSX and found that amp sounds the best to me with KT-77's in it.
I'm going to try some of those in my Recto as well and will probably like those the best there too,as they kind of blend the best of what El34's have to offer with the best of what 6L6's have to offer.

 

[Juancito12]

Before I had my amp modded I tried different preamp tubes with no change at low volumes. Agree the EL34's seem to sound better on the crunch channels at low volumes. The 6L6's sound better to me clean at all volumes but that's not what you're looking for. Someone on the forum suggested the Route 66 pedal and tried that on vintage with the channel cleaned up (gain down, output at 12 channel volume to taste) and that worked ok but wasn't happy with it. I didn't have my cab at the time so didn't try adding that to get better low volume sound.

I borrowed a hotplate and tried that but it still sounded constipated at lower volumes. The way the hotplate works you have to get the volumes up to a certain point to get cranked tones. They're good if you want to bring down the volume from ear bleed to loud but for bedroom levels I didn't find it worked too well. I've read that these are better at getting low volumes but again only to a certain level: http://www.tedweber.com/atten.htm

I didn't mod my amp to get cranked tones at low volumes but it was a great feature of the mod. I don't have any clips yet (buying a new guitar so funds are low for recording gear and mics) but the Voodoo site has clips of the Modded Dual Recto at low volume...
http://www.voodooamps.com/home/SoundClips/tabid/61/Default.aspx

I use different guitars, cables, picks but I can get those same cranked tones at low volumes.

I'm not recommending an expensive mod to get those tones at low volumes but the costs of new cabs, speakers, tubes, pedals and attenuators can add up to the price of a mod and might not get you the results you want.

 

[CoG]

I borrowed a hotplate and tried that but it still sounded constipated at lower volumes. The way the hotplate works you have to get the volumes up to a certain point to get cranked tones. They're good if you want to bring down the volume from ear bleed to loud but for bedroom levels I didn't find it worked too well. I've read that these are better at getting low volumes but again only to a certain level: http://www.tedweber.com/atten.htm

Yeah, I have used these, same thing, good for going from "zomg loud" to slightly below earplug level. below that the tone is pretty good but it's sooooo compressed that it's weird to play.

 

[kickinlikebruce]

I wonder if Boogie offers a mod that would cut the volume in half, while the tubes are still aglow.....hmmm...sounds like a boutique amp.. I guess that for what I paid for the amp, I think its one of the more versatile amps available for less than 1500 balloons, so if I gotta do some tweakin, I'm still ahead of the game. AND, I'm finding quite a few modded SD-1's- still wondering about the EQ though. I'm checking out the Boss, I'm not looking to spend a shyteload of ca$h, but I want to make sure I don't end up with a hissbox. Thanks for all the input.