What makes a Badlander part of the Rectifier family?

Rex Rocker

Rex Rocker

Well-known member
I tried one today. It didn't really sound like a Rectifier to me at all. Not even a boosted Dual or Triple.

A boosted Dual still sounds pretty scooped, fat, and grindy. Just tighter. The Badlander has much more mid content, and is deifnitely not nearly as fat.

Is there some technical reason? I know part of the reason a Rectifier sounds so unique compared to other amps is because the poweramp is running sorta different with the negative feedback as opposed to everything else, correct? I really don't know the correct terms, but I also know the presence knob in modern mode acts differently compared to most other presence controls in amps. Is the Badlander similar in this regard?

Or is it just marketing, and it was because the Rectifier is probably the series they'd sell best under?
 
The Badlander to me still has that unmistakable throaty growl on powerchords that you only hear in recto amps (not in Marshall’s, 5150’s, etc). I think guys think of amps more functionally in in terms of eq and tightness can hear it as being not like a recto for that reason, but the tone itself is still like a recto to me that’s more modern with the eq differences you mentioned and tighter. The feel is quite different though. Almost more mark-like to me

The Badlander gets fuller when loud enough, pretty full sounding vs a lot of amps imo, just thin/not full vs other Recto’s. I don’t like my Badlander much till its volume is at least at 9 o clock. I think they shoulda called it maybe a Recto 800 lol
 
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Somewhere on this forum is a thread where a member a/b‘d a badlander with a JCM800 and I was floored at how close they sounded. Granted, I have no doubt that the tone stack and amt of gain on tap with the badlander allowed for countless other sounds. But that was a tone you don’t really think of as being available in a Mesa. And it’s a tone I could play all night long - especially with my Spark or TS-Mini out front. I remember after watching that clip, I was scrolling badlander listings for the next week.
 
I love my Badlander 50 Rack. Honestly, I really don't care how close it sounds to a Recto to be honest. It is just a great sounding amp, period. Being shipped an EL-34 amp, I was expecting it to sound different and it does. I have not tried 6L6s in mine yet but it is nice to have some options.

My guess would be that they went with that name as it has some history and longevity.
I mean look what has happened to all of the other past EL-34 offerings....stiletto, Royal atlantic, TC50/100. etc...etc.
I realize you can switch them out on some of the models but they were probably shipped with EL-34s for a reason.
 
The Badlander 100 I had for a while loved my 412 with all greenies, unlike most Rectifiers that need a V30 or something mixed with V30, hadn't thought of it sounding like an 800 though.
 
Just the name, really. Well to be fair, the Badlander does share some DNA with a Rev C Recto. Better upper mids & a C+ like liquid lead.

Also from the Mark VII manual, p16-
"This upper region is really where the MARK VII Mode introduces a new Boogie gain voice that falls
sonically between where the MARK IV Mode sits and where “Modified Brit” circuits, like our Triple Crown and
Badlander, hang their hat."
 
Great amp with wicked growl and feel. I only wish it came with more available low end like a typical Recto or a resonance knob.
It fills out at high volume but can use some help at lower volumes.
 
Beyond Black said:
Great amp with wicked growl and feel. I only wish it came with more available low end like a typical Recto or a resonance knob.
It fills out at high volume but can use some help at lower volumes.
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Exactly. Playing one in my band I came away with the feeling that it's a killer rock amp, and not an ideal metal amp.
 
It's definitely got the Rectifier pedigree so I can understand why but maybe their timing of the Mark VII's release was bad so they didn't want to introduce it as a new line. Who knows, but I do know the Badlander is an awesome amp and has a really good sound.
 
It sounds fairly different from a Recto, but it’s my main amp lately. I do think a lot of the complaints people have would’ve been easily solved with a depth/resonance control. It doesn’t lack low-end, but it’s more akin to a 2203 on the lows than a Recto. I’ve said it on here once or twice, but it sounds like if you blended a 2203 and Recto, which maybe some high and low pass filtering. It doesn’t have tons of bass and the presence doesn’t do that Recto thing. You can crank any knob and it will sound more or less usable, where a Recto shit can get out of control. If you’re a Recto guy, it’s not a Recto, but it cops a bit of that mixed with a bit of Marshall.
 
Yeah, I was not saying they shouldn't have called it a Rectifier. It's their amp. It's their brand. They can do whatever they want. It just caught me off guard that I was kind of expecting something along the lines of a boosted Recto. But it wasn't. At all. And not saying it wasn't a good amp either. It was. It just didn't sound like I was expecting it to.

I didn't hear the "growl", TBH. I did like that the tonestack was powerful enough to shape it to be mean-sounding, but it also got honky pretty fast. At least compared to what I'm used to with a Recto.

I wouldn't have compared it to an 800 either, TBH. I'm not particularly fond of how the low-end is on those amps. It's neither particularly deep nor particularly tight.

Beyond Black said:
Great amp with wicked growl and feel. I only wish it came with more available low end like a typical Recto or a resonance knob.
It fills out at high volume but can use some help at lower volumes.
Click to expand...
I think no resonance knob on all amps nowadays is kind of an oversight. Rectos are fine because they're already MASSIVE-sounding, but it would be cool if you could fine tune it, TBH.
 
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Rex Rocker said:
Yeah, I was not saying they shouldn't have called it a Rectifier. It's their amp. It's their brand. They can do whatever they want. It just caught me off guard that I was kind of expecting something along the lines of a boosted Recto. But it wasn't. At all. And not saying it wasn't a good amp either. It was. It just didn't sound like I was expecting it to.

I didn't hear the "growl", TBH. I did like that the tonestack was powerful enough to shape it to be mean-sounding, but it also got honky pretty fast. At least compared to what I'm used to with a Recto.

I wouldn't have compared it to an 800 either, TBH. I'm not particularly fond of how the low-end is on those amps. It's neither particularly deep nor particularly tight.


I think no resonance knob on all amps nowadays is kind of an oversight. Rectos are fine because they're already MASSIVE-sounding, but it would be cool if you could fine tune it, TBH.
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The red ch on crush mode has the growl. That’s the only reason it made the cut vs other amps I’ve got for some brief sections on my friend’s reamp. Honestly more growl in some ways than my actual Rev C or D. Not saying it’s as good of an amp as those, no way, but perhaps more overall growl (especially in the mids & uppermids) when listening to the long held powerchords. The green ch I don’t like as much for gain, just for cleans due to its more glassy, scooped voicing

A good early ‘80’s 800 IME can be pretty tight (‘70’s jmp2203/4’s not as much IME) and with 6550’s gets a plenty big bottom end (not recto levels, but still good). They just vary and many need servicing and sound lacking as a result
 
Yeah. Not saying a good 800 can't sound fat. Or tight with the right boost. It's just the low-end is voiced different. Not DEEEEEP like a Recto. Just kinda fat, but it seems to be pushing higher in the frequency spectrum. I always wondered what an 800 would sound like with a depth/resonance control to get that a little of that sub low going.
 
Yeah everything in an 800 is high up. The lows sit high, the mids sit high, and the highs also.
 
It sounds like a recto to me. Obviously the frequencies are different, but it has that grainy Recto distortion. I hear the same thing in Pitbulls. Then again I probably don't EQ my Rectifiers in the typical way.
 
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