Turning down the presence knob to zero on a Recto

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bermuda_

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Hey guys!

I was just wondering why do people recommend that when you are using a Recto,without an overdrive, you should turn the presence knob down on the amp to zero, I just can't see the logic in dong this, because when I was playing on channel 3 with my Recto, I noticed myself that when I turned the presence knob down to zero on the amp, the amp sounded awful muddy, but when I turned the presence knob on the amp up to about 12' o'clock, it seemed to help in getting rid of some of the mud that was coming from the amp.
 
I run mine at 9 o'clock. But the amp is out being modified to eliminate the fizz, so I will let you know once I get it back.
 
If you turn the presence down, turn the volume up. No presence at bedroom levels sounds weird.
 
Well just out of interest guys, why does my amp sound muddy, when I turn the presence all the way down on the amp :?
 
bermuda_ said:
Well just out of interest guys, why does my amp sound muddy, when I turn the presence all the way down on the amp :?

Are you playing at quiet volumes? It'll sound muddy if you have 0 presence and you're playing @ bedroom levels.
 
Nope, the master volume on the amp is set to 10 o'clock and the amp still sounds muddy, with the presence knob on the amp at zero?
 
bermuda_ said:
Nope, the master volume on the amp is set to 10 o'clock and the amp still sounds muddy, with the presence knob on the amp at zero?

I mean master volume and output. You need to turn them both up. Unless you mean with the master output bypassed.
 
Then turn up the presence and turn down the bass. I usually run my presence higher than most people on this forum (around noon) and I leave my bass at around 11:30. What kind of guitar are you using?
 
It might be my preamp, and power amp tube selections, but my treble is seldom above 9:00 and my presence is just barely on. It might be your cabinet and speaker selection. A combo of both of them. If I am playing at low volumes I might bump it up a bit. What ever sounds good to you. You don't have to turn the presence down because someone says you should. Read the manual and try some of the "recomended settings" you might not like them at all but if you try them, you may discover a new way to map your amp to get your sound.
It is what sounds good to you, and your band or and to a point your audience. I think most of us have heard bands
or someone playing and have said "what are they thinking" while other times we aproach them and ask "how do you
get that sound" I can't get my XXX to sound like your XXX.
/cheers
 
The guitar I am currently using is a Schecter C1 FR it's a Mahogany bodied guitar, with Duncan Designed active pickups in it :wink:
 
Surely guitar signal is another factor I missed, as well as effects ect. You do get my drift.
Set it where ever it sounds right to you. If you cannot get it to sound the way you want it
is time to change some gear. I really have no idea why people buy a bad sounding amp then
spend more modding it than the amp costs. If the amp sounds bad leave it at the store. :?
 
I've tried turning down the presence on my 2 channel Dual, and I just don't dig the tone. It doesn't sound good at all. I read some of the setting people post on here, and then I'll try them, and I wonder how they come to that conclusion, because the amp sounds very dark. It all comes down to what tubes you're using, which guitar, which cables, what your loop is set like, bias modded or not, room, speakers, etc. Everything comes into play.

Something else to take into consideration: Potentiometers can have up to a 20% tolerance. That means a 20K pot can read up to 24K, or as little as 16K. If someone has an amp that is at one end of the spectrum, and yours is at the other end, there's a 40% differential between them. So your settings are going to sound much different than theirs.

Set it where you like it. Plain and simple.
 
I probably run my presence on my 2 channel Recto higher than most on the forum (around 1 o'clock). Granted, I use darker tubes, but I wouldn't run it much lower regardless.

YMMV, but the amp just doesn't cut through a mix enough in a band situation with the presence that low, especially if you're up against high mid amps like Marshalls. It may sound a little bright if you're jamming loudly by yourself in a room with your amp, but add the rest of the band and its a whole other ball game.
 
i turn the presence off on channel 3 of my triple rec because as stated in the manual...channel 3's presence picks up where channel 2's leaves off...anyone else doing the same???
 
to me running the prescense on anything other than zero just makes it bright and thin......but then again i run my recto different than most with a balanced eq w/ a lot of mids dialed in and about 95+% power tube distortion(gain 8:30/master 12:00/output 3:00). i also run a 1x12 and a 2x12 C-90 loaded cab......it actually cuts BETTER than my singers Marshall.
 
Agreed with two statements above:

1. Read the manual and try the recommended settings. Tweak from there.
2. Set it where you like it to be, or what sounds good to you.

Keep in mind that a lot of players may be recommending you keep the presence down for RECORDING purposes, i.e. to keep the brightness under control, to compensate
for mic positioning, etc. You may not want to keep it that low for performance, or just practicing.

Personally, I keep my Roadster presence (I know, not the same amp, but I used to have a TR also) just below half way, and adjust as needed for recording.
 
i keep my presence low also. like the manual says ch3 takes off from where ch2 ends. i dont know about other 3 ch DR owners, but i have no problems with the fizz everybody talks about. you really have to tune with your ears on these monsters otherwise you can tweak for days. the eq is set up completely different than most amps. i keep reading that the 2 channel beats the 3 as far as tone. i dont agree with this at all. i really believe its all hype. if the 2 ch were really that much better mesa would still be making them. really most of your tone comes from your fingers and not your amp. eddie van halen will still sound like eddie van halen no matter what he plays through. as far as the loop, i like the par loop works like a mixer fx loop. this way your signal stays true. again its just the way you set it and of course the vol on your amp makes a big differnce.
what do you other 3ch dr owners think?
 
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