Back home: Mesa Boogie RACKTIFIER photos

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4nkam

4nkam

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Well, I just got back home from a little winter break in Arizona and the racktifier #0860 was waiting for me :) I haven't had much of a chance to give it a decent run through but what I heard so far is making me very pleased and without any second thoughts on selling my Tremoverb head. It does need a good cleaning and it appears as though the lower left rack ear took some abuse during shipment, but I think I can fix it all pretty soon.

I'll take some better pix in a day or two, post some more in depth ramblings, etc. And yes, a rack case is coming in a bit so shaddup :D

1.jpg

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mj
 
That looks sweet! The rack case is definantly going to help with carrying it around, though :lol:
 
Question 4nkam, what are the differences between the two EMB effects?
 
Nice!

Maybe you can use a large c-clamp and two strips of wood as a sandwich to bend the rack ear back without removing any paint.
 
Very nice mJ! BTW, what poweramp do you use for your preamps? Also, got any MP-1 settings to share?
 
Everyone seems to dig the lightswitch cover :)

The two EMB rackwahs are technically the same but they seem to have different wiring/work done inside. Also, the lower one has more features and seems to be the same as the touring models used by Slash, Hammett, Vai, and Santana. I really don't have much info on EMB but as I understand it, these were built on a per-order basis according to the person's needs.

The first one has one XLR input location for the controller, bass, high, and depth controls. It sounds great but seemed as though it wasn't sweeping through enough High end and as if it was missing say 15% of the travel up there.

The second one is loaded with 6 controller locations, LED fault lights to tell you if any of the cables/controllers are crapped out, ability to turn on/off individual controllers, etc. The board is also completely filled, unlike the first one. The tone is pretty much EXACTLY like Slash and Hammett's live tone from the 90s too.

I actually messed around with the first one and jumped one resistor to another and now the treble response is there and almost sounds exactly like #2 but I'm thinking of putting it back the way it was (already had work done to it from what I can see) just so it's a bit different.

One of these days, my money order situation will be resolved and my 2SR will be here too :D

Right now, I just use the recto (tverb) or straight into the jc120 as far as poweramps go. I was pretty surprised at how nice it was through the jc120 head too. I have lots of stuff to do/buy this year (not all gear related, haha) so I think I might just pickup something for around $500 down the road.

mj
 
Noice! Did you have a quad too at somepoint or did I imagine that?

Does that EMB allow you to run a whole bunch of wahs at the same time then? Or some kind of switching between different wah sounds? Excuse my ignorance!
 
Very cool Monty, great killer tones can be had out of that unit!

Nice find!
 
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Scott Ians Beard":c49cf said:
Noice! Did you have a quad too at somepoint or did I imagine that?

Does that EMB allow you to run a whole bunch of wahs at the same time then? Or some kind of switching between different wah sounds? Excuse my ignorance!
Click to expand...

What do you mean "did you?" There's a quad in that picture. The EMB one with all those extra LEDs lets you run up to 6 pedals I believe.
 
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Code001":5e3af said:
>|<>QBB<

What do you mean "did you?" There's a quad in that picture. The EMB one with all those extra LEDs lets you run up to 6 pedals I believe.
Click to expand...


Lol, just saw the quad on the second picture. Guess i should read the whole post before replying :lol:
 
Yeah, the second EMB lets you run 6 controllers but only the same tone you have dialed in :)

Now I just got done playing the racktifier and lemme tell ya, people aren't lying or hyping them up when they say these things sound beastly and vastly different than their brothers in the recto line. I immediately noticed quite a few differences compared to my tremoverb...and that is saying a lot because I (and many others) LOVE the Tremoverb and think it has cool tones.

Off the top of my head, here are some quick thoughts:

1) No stereotypical Recto buzz/fuzz. NONE. I can crank the treble, gain, and presenece (not that you should but you COULD and it works) and there really isn't that buzz which turns so many people away from Rectos. It can get in that same realm of aggression for SURE but it is very pleasing.

2) Lots of gain. LOTS OF GAIN. Now, it's a very usable gain and not just a huge amount causing buzz and fuzzy clipping when rolled down. In fact, the gain sounds very sweet and smooth running as low as 9:00. If I tried that on the Tremoverb, the tone would sound kinda weak. But the racktifier is EXTREMELY punchy and thick. Think of the feeling you get when you plug a great head into a great cabinet and can feel all that chunky roar jumping out at you. It's nuts. Down side is orange variable high gain does get rather compressed sounding the higher you run the gain. But around 12:00 is very Warren Haynes-ish :D

3) Leading off from #2, I gotta say this is a very tight, thick, and articulate amp. It has that recto vibe but it just feels and sounds much much nicer.

4) The clean mode isn't as nice as the Tremoverb, but I haven't messed around with it much. Even if it doesn't cut it, it's no biggie for me :)

mj
 
Damnin Monty!! Every damn day your gear collection gets better. I forgot that you bought another ADA. Is it stock, or 3TM? Wanna sell it? :D haha. Congrats on the Rackifier, I realy dig the Chrome Chassis!
 
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