Hello RT

[some dude]

It’s been awhile. If I remember correctly the last time I hung out here someone was having a mental
breakdown and the forum was imploding. It seems to have settled down now...

Anyway, I recently traded in some unused gear and picked up a second TC-50. I’m probably going to
have some questions down the road and figure RT is a good place to get answers.

The plan is two 2x12s side by side, but for now the second TC-50 is running into a 1x12 cab until I can
afford a second 2x12.

The plan is to keep the delay in the loop of one amp and run the other amp dry. I want to keep things
simple so that I can pack up one amp/cab and go without needing to rewire a bunch of sh*t.

I have a few things I’m going to experiment with...
- running one amp a bit scooped and the other with more mids,
- running one amp tight and the other loose,
- running one with EL34s and the other with 6L6s,
- running one cab with V30s and the other with Greenbacks.

I’ll also play around with 6V6, but that’s more out of curiosity than because I think it’ll produce what
I’m after.

The idea is to get a thicker sound without being obnoxiously big. Even just adding the second amp with
similar settings thickens things up considerably, and running one amp tight and the other loose offsets
the two amp’s response speed enough that it’s almost like I’m double tracking in real time.

FWIW, the Recto 2x12 has a pair of 8ohm V30s pulled from a Recto 4x12, so it has a more midrange
and less top/bottom end than a typical Recto 2x12. I may play off this with the second Recto 2x12 cab
since it’ll be more scooped with its stock speakers.

Cheers

 

[skullfxr]

Hell of a nice rig there! Cheers!

 

[311boogieman]

It’s been awhile. If I remember correctly the last time I hung out here someone was having a mental
breakdown and the forum was imploding. It seems to have settled down now...

Anyway, I recently traded in some unused gear and picked up a second TC-50. I’m probably going to
have some questions down the road and figure RT is a good place to get answers.

The plan is two 2x12s side by side, but for now the second TC-50 is running into a 1x12 cab until I can
afford a second 2x12.

The plan is to keep the delay in the loop of one amp and run the other amp dry. I want to keep things
simple so that I can pack up one amp/cab and go without needing to rewire a bunch of sh*t.

I have a few things I’m going to experiment with...
- running one amp a bit scooped and the other with more mids,
- running one amp tight and the other loose,
- running one with EL34s and the other with 6L6s,
- running one cab with V30s and the other with Greenbacks.

I’ll also play around with 6V6, but that’s more out of curiosity than because I think it’ll produce what
I’m after.

The idea is to get a thicker sound without being obnoxiously big. Even just adding the second amp with
similar settings thickens things up considerably, and running one amp tight and the other loose offsets
the two amp’s response speed enough that it’s almost like I’m double tracking in real time.

FWIW, the Recto 2x12 has a pair of 8ohm V30s pulled from a Recto 4x12, so it has a more midrange
and less top/bottom end than a typical Recto 2x12. I may play off this with the second Recto 2x12 cab
since it’ll be more scooped with its stock speakers.

Cheers

(Edit - sorry about the picture size)

Yeah, RT lost most of the obnoxious posters and it is just the cool cats now

Sweet rig for sure. Why 2 TC50s though? Are they that versatile? Have not played one yet but dying to. I guess you are not really after any answers to questions so I'll just stop at that. I guess I was thinking a Mark or Mulitwatt or Marshall flavor would be fun too.

That said, I've really been enjoying by wet/dry set up now that I have it done right and the Rectoverb and Quick Rod are a match made in heaven. Welcome back.

 

[some dude]

Sweet rig for sure. Why 2 TC50s though? Are they that versatile? Have not played one yet but dying to. I guess you are not really after any answers to questions so I'll just stop at that. I guess I was thinking a Mark or Mulitwatt or Marshall flavor would be fun too.

I’ve tried running two different amps in the past (Marks, Recto, Electra Dyne, etc) and I’ve never really liked the results. What I gained in thickness I lost in focus, and I never really liked the feel of trying to play two different rigs simultaneously. It obviously works well for others and they get great results, but I could never get into it.

This time around I wanted to try it with two identical amps. I had a preamp/stereo power amp in the past that I loved and it sounded thick as shit, so I figured I’d try to pull the same thing off with two heads. So far I’ve gotten a significant increase in thickness with a minimal loss in focus. It’s almost like I’m double tracking live, but it doesn’t sound/feel like I’m playing two completely different rigs.

Personally, I find the TCs versatile. Originally I picked one up a couple years ago because I got a classic rock gig and my Rectifier just wasn’t cutting it, then I fell in love with TC. I actually sold my last Recto to buy the second TC. I find it’s a blend of the things I like about a Recto, Mark and Electra Dyne all rolled up into one amp, and it does everything from old school to modern and feels good doing it.

I don’t mind the questions. It forces me to put some thought into things.

That said, I've really been enjoying by wet/dry set up now that I have it done right and the Rectoverb and Quick Rod are a match made in heaven. Welcome back.

The wet/dry thing is sick.

 

[Spaceboy]

FWIW, the Recto 2x12 has a pair of 8ohm V30s pulled from a Recto 4x12, so it has a more midrange
and less top/bottom end than a typical Recto 2x12. I may play off this with the second Recto 2x12 cab
since it’ll be more scooped with its stock speakers.

Can you explain what you mean here? Why do the 4x12 of the same speakers have more midrange?

 

[some dude]

FWIW, the Recto 2x12 has a pair of 8ohm V30s pulled from a Recto 4x12, so it has a more midrange
and less top/bottom end than a typical Recto 2x12. I may play off this with the second Recto 2x12 cab
since it’ll be more scooped with its stock speakers.

Can you explain what you mean here? Why do the 4x12 of the same speakers have more midrange?

8ohm speakers are wound different than 16ohm. I think one gets more windings of a thinner wire, but I can’t remember which one.

With V30s, I find the 16ohm versions sound brighter than the 8ohm. To me, that extra top end makes the 16ohm version sound a bit more scooped than the 8ohm version.

Because of the top end I really didn’t like the Recto 2x12 for a long time but used it anyway because it was more portable than the 4x12... then one day I had the idea to pull out the 16ohm V30s and stuff some 8ohm V30s out of a Recto 4x12 in it just to see what would happen and Bam! There was the sound I dug out of the 4x12 coming out of a box half the size.

 

[Spaceboy]

I’ve always noticed my 2x12s sounding brighter, but always assumed that was the lack of bass resonance from the smaller enclosure. Hm, I have both versions of some Vintage 30s around, maybe I need to do a little A/B in my spare 1x12.

 

[some dude]

Update #1

This thing sounds killer. I should’ve done this years ago.

My first good amp setup was a Rectifier Preamp into a 2:100 power amp. I traded it away years ago because I got bored wanted to experiment with new ideas, eventually going back to a Rectifier, but I’ve never been able to achieve the thickness that that Recto Pre/2:100 rig produced. I figured the thickness was something to do with each power section outputting slightly different signals.

I’ve tried using two different amps over the years but never really liked it. It never seemed to have the focus of a single amp, and I’d struggle to control both amps simultaneously since they’d both react different to my playing.

I’ve wanted to try it again with two identical amps, but the cost kept getting in the way. A few days ago I decided to say f*ck it and cleared a bunch of stuff out. For the last few years I’ve been gigging as a bassist, so the pile of gear in my house has doubled and I’m getting sick of the clutter. I decided to jettison all the crap that I’ve acquired over the years and focus on building a single rig around a pair of TC-50s.

So, here I am.

The increase in the thickness in sound is palpable, but the loss in focus is minimal. Running delay through one amp has allowed me to mix the delay a lot wetter without loosing clarity, and because the dry signal is feeding through both amps they delay acts almost like a ducking delay that sits behind the dry tone while playing then pops forward during the rests. The delay has a bit of modulation on the repeats, which is producing a detune effect that’s further thickening the sound, particularly on longer notes where the repeats have a chance to build up.

I tried putting 6L6s in one amp but didn’t really like it. I thought I would like the highs and lows of the 6L6s supporting the mids of the EL34s, but what I found was that I lost the warm, creamy sound I dig out of the TC-50 and that I wasn’t getting the same harmonics out of single notes further up the fretboard.

The 6L6s did work well with higher gain settings, but as I backed the gain down they didn’t produce the vintage flavour I get out of EL34s. Instead, they sounded kind of stiff and underdriven.

I’m still curious about 6V6.

TL,DR - two TC-50s are better than one.

 

[stephen sawall]

I don't think I have ever played on two identical amps. I used two amp rigs most of the time for decades. Last about decade I have been using single amps most of the time.

 

[some dude]

I don't think I have ever played on two identical amps. I used two amp rigs most of the time for decades. Last about decade I have been using single amps most of the time.

It’s pretty cool. Everything I like about one amp... only there’s two of them.

On a side note, I kept trying to blend the gain levels by running one amp at my ideal level, then running the other amp a little bit cleaner thinking it’d give me more definition, but the results were kind of weird.

What I’m finding works better is running one amp at my ideal level and the other with way too much distortion. Now I’m getting a bunch of extra hair, grind and overtones but still have enough definition to hold it together.

I should probably note that my ideal gain level is the bare minimum required to produce the sound I’m going for, so my “way too much” might be someone else’s normal.

 

[skullfxr]

I don't think I would personally run two of the same,BUT I like how my Splawn promod and nitro accent each other. They are similar enough to not sound the same, but the difference adds girth.

Back in the day, lamb of God's guitarists both used mesa mkIV's and they sound great live and recorded. The settings are vastly different though but I get the concept. I have seen them four times on three different tours.

Like I said earlier, sweet rig!

 

[some dude]

Update #2

I found a GCX/Ground Control used at a fairly significant discount...

I’ve wanted one of these for probably... 15 years, but the cost:benefit ratio never tipped in its favour until now.

I’m surprised at how much functionality I’m getting out of it. I knew it would reduce tap dancing, what I didn’t anticipate with how much I’d start experimenting with ideas that I wouldn’t have bothered with before due to the complexity of the tap dance.

I have no idea how to best make use of a midi controller, but because I typically use my amp like it’s a single channel amp I’ve set up three banks that function that way since it’s what makes the most sense to me. I ca use the IAs to add/remove effects like they’re stompboxes, then I can jump to a couple of base tones I can build off of.

11 Green Dry
12 Green Wet (Dry + Loop/Delay)
13 Green Lead (Wet + OD pedal)
14 Green Solo (Lead + solo boost)

21 Blue Dry
22 Blue Wet
23 Blue Lead
24 Blue Solo

31 Red Dry
32 Red Wet
33 Red Lead
34 Red Solo

I have an IA setup for switching the reverb and another for switching the loop. Unfortunately, I can’t set one up that will trigger the solo on both heads simultaneously. It’ll only trigger one head at a time unless I use a PC.

One amp is setup with what I’d call optimum gain if I were only running one amp, and I leave the reverb on because it softens the feel a bit and adds something interesting to the top end. This one is running through the 2x12.

The other amp is setup with what I’d call too much gain if I were only running one amp. I leave the reverb off because it makes the amp feel a little harder, run a touch more top end, and I run my delay the the loop of this amp. This one I run through the 1x12, and it’s sounding so good through this cab that I don’t know if I want to bother getting a second 2x12.

Still interested in the 6V6 thing... but I’m not there yet.


I’ve also set up an extra bank I call Metallica just for the fun of it

51 Green + chorus + reverb + delay
52 Red
53 Red + OD + delay
54 Red + OD + delay + solo

In the future I want to add a midi controlled delay, but I’m already dipping to far into my savings so it’ll have to wait.

The actual “rack” part is obviously a work in progress...

 

[rottingcorpse]

The actual “rack” part is obviously a work in progress...

That's funny! Thanks for the grins!