It's been interesting reading all the comments. I've noticed a number of people have mentioned putting a tight boost in front or setting EQ to extremes like turning the bass all the way down to get the right sound. It makes me wonder if you have to go to such extremes is it really the right amp for what you're playing.
The way I approach an amp is if I have to set EQ too far off neutral it probably doesn't have the right core voicing to start with. I think of adjusting the EQ as finding the sweet spot on the sweep range and compensating for room acoustics, not to try to overhaul the voicing. For me that's usually between 10 & 2 if neutral is at noon. Same thing with adding a boost or something in front. I look at a boost as goosing the front end a bit to push the amp a little harder to stand out for a solo or something. Not to try to make a loose amp tighter. Basically, if I'm at the point where I'm trying to forcibly compensate for something that's part of the amps core character then it's not the right one for me. Not to say it's bad, just not what fits me personally.
I play a good bit of thrash metal or faster paced melodic rhythm which is why a recto doesn't fit for me. I like something more focused and it just didn't agree with my playing. If I'm fighting the amp's core character then I know it's not voiced the way I want and I'm not going to be able to bring out its full potential. With a Recto I wasn't able to define what I was fighting until I watched that comparison video. Like I said it's a great amp with an iconic sound and is perfect for a lot of players. For me, not so much. It's time to move on and now I can define what I doesn't fit.
I think…. That’s a pretty terrible philosophy and viewpoint on getting tones personally. There are no rules in this, whatever works, works. Just because you use extreme eq settings on a recto or xyz amp to get the tone you want, doesn’t mean another amp can actually do or get the sound you get with the amp set like that. Try all you want, you’ll never get another amp to sound like my recto with a dirty tree for instance. Yes it cuts the bass going into the front end and yes it makes it response sort of like other amps when you start doing that, but nothing else is going to sound exactly like that in the least. Don’t box yourself into thinking you shouldn’t have to do this this and this and I can only set my amp around. Also, pushing the extremes of an amps eq doesn’t “overhaul the amps voicing” by any means. I almost always record my 5150 with the bass and resonance on 10, and I assure you it still sounds like a 5150, no matter what I do. It’s not about trying to make the amp something it’s not. It’s not about getting the biggest thickest sound I can and the most negative feedback ( presence and resonance controls) I can from the amp going into the DAW, because I can always cut what I don’t need. Boosting in the DAW doesn’t always sound nearly as natural. I couldn’t care less where the dials are set at on the amp if it sounds great. It doesn’t make any sense in the least to think “ well, im not gonna go past noon really on the amps eq, Because if I do, somethings wrong”….With that philosophy all amps would have to have the same exact eq etc, which we all know the recto is anything but “normal” with its eq.
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