Just built my first tube amp! Custom Dual Rec!

[Anonymous]

Great thread!!! Love to see this kind of stuff, and when I get back home... Im definatly going to be building a similar style amp. Im in the realm of wanting to understand and build something of a 5150, dual rec, framus cobra hybrid type!

 

[hunter]

Thanks! I would love to record a boosted clip, but alas, I don't own a boost.

If you can build an amp, you can build a boost

 

[Inquisitor]

Fucking cool as hell.

 

[TheMagicEight]

Sounds awesome! What tubes do you have in it?

Thanks! I've got some old Sovtek 5881s in there now (actually, they came out of the VTM120). For preamp I'm running Sovtek LPS everywhere except in the cathode follower spot - which I guess I'd call V3 - and that's Chinese.

Sounds great! Though the attack seems to be a bit more 5150-ish than recto. Very cool though, good job!

I think you're right about that. I'm pretty sure on later revisions of the Rectifier (late Rev. F, Rev. G, and definitely on 3ch Rectifiers), they put 100 ohm resistors in series with the cathode bypass caps. This made the amp a little darker and thicker with less gain, though others will interpret it as sluggish and loose. Since I'm going for earlier Rectifier sounds, I didn't do this. 5150s and the SLO use practically identical preamp stages, and this is similar to the early Rectifiers. However, the Rectifier voicing seems to lie largely in the tone stack for its darker voicing, and though I want my own version, I do want a sound in the same ballpark as the Rectifier.

I'm thinking about modding mine a little further, actually. I used a 1uF bypass cap in the first stage as per Mesa schematics. I'm considering swapping that out for a .68uF to clean up the gain a little. Essentially, this would work to simulate the effect of a boost pedal by cutting out some extreme lows (also allowing me to run the gain higher). I could then possibly tie that 100 ohm resistor in series with the cathode bypass cap of a later stage to keep it sounding like a (much tighter and more aggressive) Rectifier and not a modded Marshall.

 

[TheMagicEight]

sounds great dude. have any gut shots!?

I'm reluctant to post gut shots because - being my first build and still a work in progress - it ain't pretty. I might eventually, but I'd say my biggest mistake for this project was using the wrong board. I used something cheaper from Weber that's too small for everything I've wanted to do, and because of that, it's a bit cramped. For my next build, I'm going for a much larger board, and because I'm looking to build my own designs, I'll be using prototyping board.

Great thread!!! Love to see this kind of stuff, and when I get back home... Im definatly going to be building a similar style amp. Im in the realm of wanting to understand and build something of a 5150, dual rec, framus cobra hybrid type!

Awesome! It's been one of the most rewarding things I've done recently, and though it requires many hours of research and attention to detail, I'd highly recommend one of these builds!

Thanks! I would love to record a boosted clip, but alas, I don't own a boost.

If you can build an amp, you can build a boost

Ha! Yes, I suppose I could. Maybe I can borrow a friend's boost for a session. There's so much gain on tap already though; I can't see wanting one except to tighten up the gain, and for that, I've got a few ideas.

Fucking cool as hell.

 

[Ola Englund]

wow that sounds really juicy!

Wouldn't it be awesome if you could build all your gear yourself. Then you only have yourself to blame when something fails live.

 

[killertone]

Sounds badass!

 

[johnpace2]

I'm local... You can borrow a boost if you want.... Also, you should build me one!

 

[JackBootedThug]

i like it.

 

[Shatter_The_Silence]

I would rock that... it sounds different than a recto though, i cant put my finger on it. sounds amazing man, good work!

 

[eternal_idol]

mercs on a recto.... interesting.

I haven't found a recto i like that didn't have Schumachers in it. and my back up amp has the same transformers so i'm set if mine die.

IMHO, should have dug a little deeper and did the orange channel cloned to red as a single channel. that was the real golden thing about those old recto's

 

[stephen sawall]

I think it sounds great ....
Very cool your first ...

 

[TheMagicEight]

I'm local... You can borrow a boost if you want.... Also, you should build me one!

Hey John, let me know if you want to check it out in person!

I would rock that... it sounds different than a recto though, i cant put my finger on it. sounds amazing man, good work!

Thanks! Yeah, it's definitely got a little more bite than most Rectifiers.

mercs on a recto.... interesting.

I haven't found a recto i like that didn't have Schumachers in it. and my back up amp has the same transformers so i'm set if mine die.

IMHO, should have dug a little deeper and did the orange channel cloned to red as a single channel. that was the real golden thing about those old recto's

What about the Mercury Magnetics transformer don't you like compared to the Schumachers? What in my clip do you hear that doesn't do it for you?

Looks like the Orange to Modern has a different presence circuit and slightly different tone stack. Overall a little brighter. I actually didn't want that for this build; much of the Rectifier voicing lies in the relatively large cap tied to the treble pot, killing some upper mids. As for the presence circuit, well, I've gone to town on that!

 

[EchelonEngineering]

sounds top notch!

 

[Joeytpg]

wow man, I must say I REALLY enjoyed that clip!

how much would an amp like that cost if I were to ask you to build me one?

 

[eternal_idol]

What about the Mercury Magnetics transformer don't you like compared to the Schumachers?

I've never played a recto with Mercury's, actually think i might like it, I prefer merc's to drakes in Marshall's

its hard to put works to comparing transformers i find. as the biggest differences are in feel. IMO

a thing i like about the schumachers that each tap on the output doesn't feel all that different from the other
there are slight differences but i like the uniformity.
also they are utter beasts, hit hard when you hit hard. not to much sag not too much bloom.

again this might not give a solid explanation but i tried.

as for the orange channel, i find it the opposite. i find it warmer and thicker then the red channel when cloned. I found the red channel had more higher frequency (wider in the spectrum)

as for your clip, cant say anything bad about it. I can't get my rectifier to sound like that, then again my red channel is modded and our hands arnt the same

PS. i just like to debate, i learn more that way

 

[eternal_idol]

I love the rectifer pre amp design based just on the interaction between the mids and the treble

 

[TheMagicEight]

What about the Mercury Magnetics transformer don't you like compared to the Schumachers?

I've never played a recto with Mercury's, actually think i might like it, I prefer merc's to drakes in Marshall's

its hard to put works to comparing transformers i find. as the biggest differences are in feel. IMO

a thing i like about the schumachers that each tap on the output doesn't feel all that different from the other
there are slight differences but i like the uniformity.
also they are utter beasts, hit hard when you hit hard. not to much sag not too much bloom.

again this might not give a solid explanation but i tried.

Ahh, I see; I had assumed you played one with the Mercury Magnetics and didn't like it.

I think I see what you mean about the Schumachers. Actually, on the older Rectifiers, there's only a 4 and 8 ohm tap. The 16 ohm jack connects to the 8, so there may be a legitimate reason why the different impedances sound similar.

As for the Mercury, well, I haven't cranked it yet but so far so good! I'll be doing more testing today or tomorrow, but so far, the Mercury seems to be holding up nicely to the punishment I've been giving it. And the tone? Fantastic.

as for the orange channel, i find it the opposite. i find it warmer and thicker then the red channel when cloned. I found the red channel had more higher frequency (wider in the spectrum)

as for your clip, cant say anything bad about it. I can't get my rectifier to sound like that, then again my red channel is modded and our hands arnt the same

Hmm...another assumption on my part. I always ran / run my Red presence off, and at that point, it should be a little darker than Orange to Modern. Then again, it's been a couple of years since I've played on a 2ch, so maybe not.

as for your clip, cant say anything bad about it. I can't get my rectifier to sound like that, then again my red channel is modded and our hands arnt the same

PS. i just like to debate, i learn more that way

No argument there!

 

[TheMagicEight]

wow man, I must say I REALLY enjoyed that clip!

how much would an amp like that cost if I were to ask you to build me one?

PM'd

 

[BorfJr]

This is stock a Rectifier sound with gain at 9:30, BMT at noon, presence off, and MV somewhere between 9 and 10; no negative feedback, just the "stock Rectifier" setting. Guitar was a friend's Les Paul with an open poled (I think) 498T. The pickup is too close to the strings and that comes through a little. Bogner 4x12 with 65w M75s, with an MD421 close miked, and a Neumann 147 and Royer 121 in M/S config for room. Not too much time spent on placement, but you get the idea. Excuse the noodling!

https://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_so ... D=10467223

Any feedback on the tone is appreciated; good, bad or otherwise.

Sounds great!