I finally figured out why I can't get along with a Mesa Recto

The longer i own my rev F and hear it mic’d up in a track next to other amps that are often more expensive or the “flavor of the month” so to speak ( cough cough omega, cough), the more I get convinced it is simply the greatest high gain amp ever built…. I’ve got 13 of the best high gain amps ever built in my studio right now ( not all mine) from Friedman to Diezel, 2 KSR’s, omega, all kinds of shit… the recto often just smokes them all in a track. Im
Constantly blown away at how dynamic and punchy it is compared to other amps I own. For instance on one part of a track where it’s just bass and drums and the guitar comes in on the drop, the recto is just on another level for punch and weight. But what’s interesting is that it isn’t as compressed sounding as the other amps, it sounds more alive and almost dances around in a way, constantly sounding interesting and interesting. It’s not like it just dies out after the initial transient, it continues to bounce around and stay dynamic and interesting for the entire section. While, the driftwood for instance, sounds amazing absolutely, but after the initial hit it’s just kinda…. There. Hard to explain. the recto just has more going on dynamically for this track anyways. I’m going to put up some clips later of some tracks we did, and the recto just smokes in a mix with its low end punch and it’s focus. I love that thing, no doubt about it.
How do you set up the bold/spongy and the tube rectifier options when tracking?
 
They are a Chinese tribute to the Philips/Sylvania 6L6 that block letter 5150's and OG Recto's shipped with. Not a bad tube!

I bet it would pop even more with the real glass.
Agreed. I prefer EL34’s in my Recto’s, but in the 6L6 family, the best sounding ones in my Rev D and others were hands down my JAN Philips ECG 5881’s (prefer them to my Philips 7581’s/6L6GC’s or Sylvania’s) and for v1 pre-tube was the JAN Philips ECG 12AX7 blue letters as my clear favorite there, but possible I’d also love my winged C 12AX7 there
 
Agreed. I prefer EL34’s in my Recto’s, but in the 6L6 family, the best sounding ones in my Rev D and others were hands down my JAN Philips ECG 5881’s (prefer them to my Philips 7581’s/6L6GC’s or Sylvania’s) and for v1 pre-tube was the JAN Philips ECG 12AX7 blue letters as my clear favorite there, but possible I’d also love my winged C 12AX7 there
Which is why the JJKT77 is great in them was well. Best of both worlds if you can get the bias up there.
 
Always liked this Recto tone. It’s a Rack-tifier version running EL34s on Silicon Diode mode (not recommended!)


“Not recommend” means unsafe. Rock n roll is about adventure. The two are mutually exclusive.
 
Which is why the JJKT77 is great in them was well. Best of both worlds if you can get the bias up there.
I thought those were ok in my Rev D, but have liked JJ E34L’s so far best in it, even over my vintage Mullard XF4’s and Siemens for that particular amp, but still gotta try my old Telefunken’s, GT E34L’s and Winged C’s in it. So far my I’ve only really liked those JJKT77’s in my gjika. It just works in that amp, but in others have been preferring my EL34’s
 
I thought those were ok in my Rev D, but have liked JJ E34L’s so far best in it, even over my vintage Mullard XF4’s and Siemens for that particular amp, but still gotta try my old Telefunken’s, GT E34L’s and Winged C’s in it. So far my I’ve only really liked those JJKT77’s in my gjika. It just works in that amp, but in others have been preferring my EL34’s

What was the bias point/rating etc. of the E34L's and KT77's you tried?
 
Dude! Love that riff! Love the Haunted🤘 Ola wrote a mean ass riff right there! Your playing is outstanding! Always like your input on here brother.👊 20 watts?? Lol


Haha! Thanks homie. NOT my playing though, those are the original DI tracks I used from Ola! I wish I was that good!
 
How do you set up the bold/spongy and the tube rectifier options when tracking?


Always bold, rectifier always off. No need for that with most of the stuff I’m tracking. That stuff is just going to soften the attack and percussiveness( is that a word) of the amp. Which is perfectly great for anything other than rock/metal for sure, just not really needed for me.
 
Always bold, rectifier always off. No need for that with most of the stuff I’m tracking. That stuff is just going to soften the attack and percussiveness( is that a word) of the amp. Which is perfectly great for anything other than rock/metal for sure, just not really needed for me.

Both affect B+. In a Roadster, I believe Bold/SS is 500v, Spongy/Tube is 400 or so.
 
This thread reminds me why my Hermansson Mesa Recto is my favourite amp for that recto sound.

Dial the tightness knob up, allows you to turn the gain up to pretty much max and it stays tight and grindy/growly. Like hitting it with a 33 or something. By far the best Modern Metal amp for tightness along side my Hermansson Marshall. Thrash’s too like no other. Tighter and bigger sounding than a badlander.

Dial the tightness knob down and it’s pretty much the Rev G I sent over in the first place, super growly, huge wall of sound, yet still has a faster pick attack and more usable gain. Takes an EQ pedal out front like a champ too.
 
Always bold, rectifier always off. No need for that with most of the stuff I’m tracking. That stuff is just going to soften the attack and percussiveness( is that a word) of the amp. Which is perfectly great for anything other than rock/metal for sure, just not really needed for me.
With good GZ34’s or the right vintage 5U4’s like Winged C’s, JAN Philips ECG, or Sylvania’s I find I don’t actually lose that much attack or tightness and get a more 3D, thick sound from the tube rectifier mode, still in bold setting, so I’ve been sticking to that lately. The stock Mesa labelled 5U4’s are imo just not as good. The GZ34’s can also have a nice uppermid growl. Some describe GZ34’s as almost sounding like being still in solid state rectification vs the thicker sounding 5U4’s
 
No idea what version my Triple is…black front with chrome chassis. Doesn’t matter what power tube brand is in there, doesn’t break up at all. It is biased about 55%…..Don’t even have any rectifier tubes in it…use the clean channel for country stuff, sounds good. Second channel on Orange. Bass off, mids cranked, treb around 1:00 presence about 10:00. Gain about 2:00. Sounds pretty good. Don’t really mess with the third channel….no boost or anything. With the 7 string its pretty nice.
 
I've had 3 rev F's and a multi watt. Never could get any of them to sound good to me. I kept buying them thinking it would sound better the next time but unfortunately never did. Just not for me.

I had a Roadster and actually preferred it over all the rest. Needed a boost but sounded killer with one.
I never gelled with rectifiers then tried a roadster and to me they sound way better !
I find them fuller and less shrill.
They have more warmth.
 
I dusted off the old rev F and it definitely needs a boost. The amp itself is nothing special. Once boosted I admit it does sound pretty awesome.
 
With good GZ34’s or the right vintage 5U4’s like Winged C’s, JAN Philips ECG, or Sylvania’s I find I don’t actually lose that much attack or tightness and get a more 3D, thick sound from the tube rectifier mode, still in bold setting, so I’ve been sticking to that lately. The stock Mesa labelled 5U4’s are imo just not as good. The GZ34’s can also have a nice uppermid growl. Some describe GZ34’s as almost sounding like being still in solid state rectification vs the thicker sounding 5U4’s
Yeah, I’ve got JJ GZ34’s in my G/C Triple and they’re much tighter than the Mesa 5U4’s. Makes the Tube setting much more usable for heavy tones. I actually dig it as much as SS. And ALWAYS on bold.
 
Yeah, I’ve got JJ GZ34’s in my G/C Triple and they’re much tighter than the Mesa 5U4’s. Makes the Tube setting much more usable for heavy tones. I actually dig it as much as SS. And ALWAYS on bold.
Yeah I pretty much just use tube mode these days with bold. The Mesa 5U4’s imo aren’t great. With Winged C or Sylvania 5U4’s they can get almost as tight imo as those GZ34’s and sound heavier, thicker and they’re cheap (both those brands can be found around $10 per tube). I like GZ34’s for the extra uppermid snarl. My favorites for those are the old Siemens, Telefunken’s and JAN Philips, but they are VERY expensive and in a recto not as big a difference vs JJ’s as say in my ‘63 Vox that uses them. Not good in that amp
 
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.
 
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