thinking about getting a 2 channel dual...

[turmoil]

i've heard a lot of people talk about older rectifiers being "better sounding" than newer ones. i currently have a 3 channel triple rectifier and i love the sound a lot but it has waaay too much wattage. i'm lucky if i can turn it up past 3 at shows and it just seems like overkill.

i really like the way rectifier's sound so i'd like to stay with one but obviously with less wattage, so i think the dual would be perfect.

with that being said, i think i might try to find either an older 2 channel dual rectifier (preferably one of the first 500 - i know it might be long before i find one but it would be worth it right??) or the dual rectifier rackmount version.

i don't really know a whole lot about these older rectifiers so i would LOVE some help from you guys that have experience with them.
do those two dual rectifiers sound different from eachother? which one do you think i should look into getting? thanks guys!!

 

[Elpelotero]

let me just say you have seen the light at the end of the tunnel

the older 2 channels went through an evolution...you had the first 500, with revisions C and D. (no one has ever seen an A or B). Then the racktifiers and those above 500 came in with revision F, which are supposedly close sounding to revision D. Note however, that the transformers for anything after 500 are different.

Eventually they stopped with the F and settled on whatever it is they settled on. These very early rectos have Serial loops. The later ones have Parallel.

The tone, versus a 3channel, is very very organic and smooth. There is lots of aggressive attack and gain. There is lots of clarity, meaning you hear all the notes in a chord even with distortion. The cleans are OK at best; the 3channels have better cleans. The clean has a very low output, so you have to crank it loud. The vintage channel sounds like an old Mark amp as far as creaminess is concerned, but it's no C+ (i've never heard anything like my C+ and doubt i ever will). The tone is very tight compared to a 3channel, meaning you can pull off speed metal much better. There is also no "fizz" or the beehive noises that many people complain about with the 3channels. You will also find you do not need to crank it as loud as a 3channel to get great sounds. You can put it at a relatively low volume and get good sounds.

Is there anything else I'm missing fellow 2channelers?
any other questions you have?

i found both of mine on ebay for 900 each. people never bid on them for some reason! you can tell one apart by the small logo, attached power cord, serial loop, odd looking wood case in the back where the metal bar is, and the serial number.

 

[turmoil]

wow, that's a lot of great information man! thank you so much!!

at this point i'm not sure which one i would want to go with but i definetly want to find one somewhere.
since mesa boogie still had some specs on their site for the Racktifier i got to read about that, and it seems cool but i'd like to know more about these 2 channel rectifiers.

what exactly is the difference between the serial and parallel loops?
since there are only 2 channels, are there 3 modes in each channel or how does that work?
any other information/pictures of fronts and backs of these earlier rectos would be greatly appreciated!

and do you think it's best to just wait and find one on ebay??

 

[verity38]

volume wise it doesnt matter i cant turn mine past 3. so either way volume wise it doesnt make a diffrence but as for tone this head is amazing! the clean sucks tho.

 

[turmoil]

also, i've been reading about voodoo amps for a long time and their mods because i was going to mod a 5150 i owned but then i sold it.

does anyone have any experience with their mods? i'm thinking about maybe modding my rectifier instead and going with the mercury magnet output transformer too.

 

[verity38]

i dont know about that but i have a question about your picture..sorry for going of topic but where did you get the blue inside of your rec and the blue light cover?

 

[turmoil]

check your PM's verity

 

[Elpelotero]

wow, that's a lot of great information man! thank you so much!!

at this point i'm not sure which one i would want to go with but i definetly want to find one somewhere.
since mesa boogie still had some specs on their site for the Racktifier i got to read about that, and it seems cool but i'd like to know more about these 2 channel rectifiers.

what exactly is the difference between the serial and parallel loops?
since there are only 2 channels, are there 3 modes in each channel or how does that work?
any other information/pictures of fronts and backs of these earlier rectos would be greatly appreciated!

and do you think it's best to just wait and find one on ebay??

serial loop runs the whole preamp signal into the efx unit and then the whole signal back into the power amp. parallel loop runs a % you select into the efx unit and returns that % with efx added on. the leftover preamp runs untouched into the power amp. serial loops work best with certain kinds of efx whereas parallel loops work better with other types of efx.

unfortunately, if you have an all in one unit like a POD, you will have trouble with a parallel loop. i forgot the exact reasons why, but you just do. parallel loops work well with stompbox pedals of certain kinds of efx (reverb? delay? i really forgot).

the 2 channel amps have 2 channels (obviously). Orange channel has clean and vintage. Red channel has vintage and modern. However, you can clone the channels to mimic the other, so you can have two reds, two oranges, etc...

you can try ebay, craigslist (california is best for boogies), boogie board, guitarcenterauctions.com, pawn shops, local music shops, harmony central, and a few others.