Struggling to get a good Rect-O-Verb "Modern" soun

[Surfguitar!]

Hi to all,

I'm new here and new to Mesa Boogie amps in general. I was a rocker back in the 80's then my focus shifted to Blues, Surf, Country, Acoustic, etc. for many years.

I have recently converted back to hard rock, and I'm having a blast playing it again. I purchased a Mesa Boogie Rect-O-Verb, and I have a Gibson Les Paul Studio with exposed coil Gibson humbuckers like the 60's Classic Les Paul (usually in the lead/bridge position). I'm playing Godsmack and Disturbed type stuff, etc.

Let me describe my problem to you. First off, I LOVE this amp so I'm not dogging it AT ALL. I'm looking to dial it in better though. I know the sound is in there, I'm hoping someone will wake me up and shed some insight..

I retubed it after I bought it with Mesa tubes, I'm running the Mesa 6L6's, and the Mesa SPAX7's.

My amp settings are (on a 1-10 knob scale) Gain =6 Treble =5 Mid =6 Bass =6 Presence =6 Reverb =5 Master =3/4 Output =3/4 Solo =4

So I like a heavy rhythm sound. Now in short, my issue is definition with single notes while maintaining a good crunchy sound. Perhaps this has been discussed.. I don't want mush or extreme saturation when playing single notes.

What do you think of my rig/settings. Any insight would really be appreciated!

 

[dual rec]

With my dual a lot of times just a simple adjustment of gain and treble can make a world of difference. I like to get the smooth high gain sound so I turn it up till it fits my taste. I don't make it all distortion and no clarity, I just fine tune until I get it where I want it.

Also, there isn't just one tone defining knob on the mesas, it is all of them. I go through periods where I get tired of my sound or want to adjust it. When I do, for a while I might be completely sick of the amp but when it's there it's there and you will know it.

 

[screamingdaisy]

My amp settings are (on a 1-10 knob scale) Gain =6 Treble =5 Mid =6 Bass =6 Presence =6 Reverb =5 Master =3/4 Output =3/4 Solo =4

So I like a heavy rhythm sound. Now in short, my issue is definition with single notes while maintaining a good crunchy sound. Perhaps this has been discussed.. I don't want mush or extreme saturation when playing single notes.

This is all subjective, but I'd turn the gain down to 12:00, the treble up slightly, the bass down slightly, and maybe a bit less presence. With the gain around 12:00 I find that 10:00 usually works pretty good on the channel master. Remember, the louder you can go the less preamp gain you'll want/need.

As for the single note definition, I find that to be more of a pickup issue than an EQ issue. I'm not a Gibson buff, but if you're using the fatter, vintage sounding Gibson pups you'll never get good note separation....that's what the more trebly sounding Gibson pups are for.

 

[chennie]

I'm dialling it like this. all clock scales

Gain 12-14:00, treble 13:00, mid 9-11:00, bass 1-14:00, presence 10-11:00, master 9:00.
Add reverb to own taste, often somewhere between 11-15:00.
Output and master is often balanced, I try to get as little as preamp gain and more power amp gain as possible at room volumes. Gain is often set as my mood. From these settings I begin fiddling around with my sound to as what I like best at the moment. But I always go back to these settings nowadays.

I found out that having more treble in comparison with less presence gives a much nicer sound

 

[coop21]

Something else you might want to try is turning down the gain and putting a clean boost in front. I use a TS-9 to add clean gain. The TS-9 drive is set on zero and the level is around 1:00. I set the tone to be neutral. This gives you just a little clean boost. I set the amp gain between 11:00 and 12:00 on the vintage setting.

 

[jbird]

I would turn the Presense down, and Treble up!

 

[woody777]

+1 to what everyone else said... and try setting the reverb to zero...

 

[Surfguitar!]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys!! A buddy sent me some info from the owner's manual (which I do not have). I have the Combo 50 by the way..

It is echoing similar Gain and Treble recommendations. The two are apparently closely linked on thise amps. I know this is kind of an obvious point, but after reading a bit it is apparent that the Gain level at a certain point (around 5:00) will saturate (perhaps kill) the tone of this amp, so I am proceeding with caution here - nice to know it's available though!

The manual suggests a Treble setting between 11:00 and 1:30 - the "sweet spot", that should help with definition.

I guess I feel a bit dumb here but the manual also states that the Output knob controls the overall Volume. I was thinking the Master did. Can I assume that you have been using your Output knobs for a Volume knob??

Please elaborate on how you set the power or volume levels on your amps.

 

[MesaDCLP]

I have the rectoverb series 2 (combo) with matching 3/4 back cab. All in all, 2 12"s. I love this machine. Not perfect, but it suprises me all the time.

Knobs are crutial. With that said and quoting a manual somewhere ... Master controls Preamp, Output controls Poweramp...Solo is an extension of the Output knob.

Deal with the cleans first and get your tone that you want, while pushing the output to your volume limit. ...Loud as you want, and clean enough? Ok, now work with the overdrive.

I love modern because it's over the top...of everthing thats been done without a pedal, IMHO.

Tone is Subjective, ...Subject yourself to it all, and find that sweet spot on the overdrive.

...still finding mine.

 

[Surfguitar!]

Master controls Preamp, Output controls Poweramp...Solo is an extension of the Output knob.

MesaDCLP,

That's exactly what I need. You're right this amp doesn't do it all, but it is awesome. I like pedals, I'm just not a big fan of overdrive pedals (at least at this point in time anyway). What a joy this amp is, I have never played such a dynamic "rockin" tube amp.

I actually tweaked the knobs on mine based on the feedback I had been given above and what the manual had to say. I might add that I did this before the amp was turned on. It does give me a little better clean single note definition.

A little knob turning and I'm in a two hour jam session unlike yesterdays!