Know your Recto!

[stratotone]

The road king and roadster I owned were ok, and certainly made the amp a lot better from a versatility standpoint, but sheer tone the older two channels beat em, in my opinion.

And I don't think you've heard what your recto can do until you've paired it with the oversize recto cab.

 

[tfridgen]

Love my first year ractifier. Just finished doing some profiles of it for my Kemper so I can use it live. Only bad thing is it's hard to read the damned black lettering on the chrome, especially on the back!

Got a killer lead tone by going orange, running everything around noon but diming the mids and running presence and gain at 3/4, turned OFF the fx loop, master volume for the channel was 1/3rd up, spongy, tube rectifier, EL34s. This kills for neck pickups especially, has a nice little sag to it on the initial attack but feels pretty cool. Was able to replicate it exactly with the Kemper.

Oh you KNOW there's more money comin your way if you share em up

 

[some dude]

The road king and roadster I owned were ok, and certainly made the amp a lot better from a versatility standpoint, but sheer tone the older two channels beat em, in my opinion.

I own both and I prefer the tone of the Roadster to that of my 2 channel. The JJs ECC83s that the Roadster came with stock put a pretty big blanket on the tone, ditching the V1 for a Tung-Sol was all it took to wake the amp up.

And I don't think you've heard what your recto can do until you've paired it with the oversize recto cab.

And turned up the volume.

 

[stratotone]

I own both and I prefer the tone of the Roadster to that of my 2 channel. The JJs ECC83s that the Roadster came with stock put a pretty big blanket on the tone, ditching the V1 for a Tung-Sol was all it took to wake the amp up.

I disagree, I think part of it is the circuit design changes and also all the switching options on the roadster and road king. Every one of those sucks a little tone. But hey, we all hear/percieve things differently.

 

[Spaceboy]

I just can't do rectifiers.

 

[stephen sawall]

Taste is a personal thing. I remember a long time ago people saying how they loved Fender or Marshall & the other sounds horrible.

In many ways the DR has replaced the Marshall in that it is very common to see at gigs & it's sound has been recorded so much in the last 20 some years that it is a common sound. Many years ago I remember seeing Funkadelic with a row of DR's behind them. At that point I realized that the DR has spread out & would be found in all kinds of music. Country / rock / hip hop & everything else it is common to see DR's being used.

 

[Mailman1971]

I had a few Rectos in the past....never spent much time with them and traded them out.
But after getting my 1st FJA modded one...Holy crap. World of difference between them.
Its my favorite tone by far.
Said it before....like a Hybrid of the Mark IV and the Recto. Really mind blowing.

 

[some dude]

I disagree, I think part of it is the circuit design changes and also all the switching options on the roadster and road king. Every one of those sucks a little tone. But hey, we all hear/percieve things differently.

All those little circuit changes gave it a far superior clean channel, a far superior mid-gain sound, and an FX loop that doesn't suck the life right out of it. I also no longer have to choose which channel's tone I'm going to sacrifice when I choose whether I'm going to use the tube or diode rectifier.

 

[JCDenton6]

I got a 2-Channel Rev G. Triple Rec off a guy on Craigslist a few months ago. It's freaking amazing. I loved it from the first moment I fired it up. I traded a guy a Marshall Class 5 and an Egnater Tweaker I never used for it. It's MINTY

I have a Mark V that's not loving all the attention the Triple Rec is getting. I loves my Recto.

Awesome, looks as minty as mine!
I have not found myself getting sick of this amp yet!

Sweet thread as well!

 

[stratotone]

I disagree, I think part of it is the circuit design changes and also all the switching options on the roadster and road king. Every one of those sucks a little tone. But hey, we all hear/percieve things differently.

All those little circuit changes gave it a far superior clean channel, a far superior mid-gain sound, and an FX loop that doesn't suck the life right out of it. I also no longer have to choose which channel's tone I'm going to sacrifice when I choose whether I'm going to use the tube or diode rectifier.

I agree, the two channel rectos are more of a one trick pony but it's a better trick IMHO. I'd rather have an amp that did one thing really well (high gain on the rectos) than try to be a jack of all trades but master of none.

Even with the 'far superior clean channel' - it still sucks, it just sucks a little less. Clean channel on my Ecstasy murders the road king or roadster... I have no issues with mid-gain (guess it depends on your definition of mid-gain), and the loop on the first year rackmount rectifiers is a serial, not parallel loop. Mine works fine.

I run my rackmount as two gain channels - use red for rhythm, orange for leads. A/B box with a vintage Fender Twin for cleans. Sounds awesome! I just never bonded with the two roadsters I had or the road king. They did everything ok, but again I'd rather have excellence than general mediocrity. Just my opinion.

BTW, when I profiled my rackmount for my kemper, I turned off the fx loop - better tone that way, because it was going through less crap. If I was recording the rackmount, I'd do the same. Every amp benefits from the most direct signal path possible. The signal path for the roadking probably looks like a jigsaw puzzle from all the switches!

above is my opinion, btw. I just think it's pretty informed since I've used rectifiers since the early 90s and Mesas since the 80s. This isn't my first time to the rodeo.

 

[some dude]

above is my opinion, btw. I just think it's pretty informed since I've used rectifiers since the early 90s and Mesas since the 80s. This isn't my first time to the rodeo.

Not mine either. If I was forced to I'd accept using an amp that only did one thing really well, only in this case the Roadster also does high gain better than my 2 channel so it's win-win for me all the way around.

 

[D-Rock]

I just can't do rectifiers.

I used to be the same way. Or at least I could only use them with a boost.

These things got me likeing my Recto more than ever.

-12AT7 in the 2nd spot
-Shelved the boost pedals
-V12 Legends for speakers
-Active pickups
-EL34's
-absurd eqing tactics

 

[soc_monki]

i hadnt played my Single in a while...decided tonight that i would hook it back up and take it for another spin. and i was horrified! volume fluctuated big time and i got scared. i remember reading about how the cathode follower position is sensitive, and if you use a subpar tube or a tube that is going out in that spot it could cause problems. well, i took the tube out and put in the one from the first spot (a Sovtek LPS, which i checked and saw it was good for this position, at least i hope my research is right!) and put a known good Sovtek 12ax7wxt+ in the first spot. HOLY CRAP. not to mention the tube i took out was a JJ ECC83S. theres another one in there, and i may yank it too.

even at low volumes the Single can sound pretty monstrous. no boost at all, channel 2 modern, turned the master up, channel volume just a touch, presence is around 9-10 o'clock, bass is low, mids near cranked, highs around 1 o'clock, gain 1:30 or so. and it sounds GOOOOOOOD. running EL34s, btw. pretty gainy, but not too gained out, and chunky with plenty of cut and articulation.

i think i may be regretting telling my boss i would sell it to him. so, since he hasnt been able to get up the money, i may just keep it! cant hurt to have 2 cool amps around, can it? a Mesa Single and a Peavey Ultra Plus...im covering a lot of ground. plus, i could always hook up both amps to both my cabs, use my stereo flanger and recreate this gem...

 

[stompboxfreak72]

Tried DR for 8 years. Constant battle with that amp. I was addicted to the bottom end but could not solo on it at all.

Splawn Nitro does not sound like a recto but its the only other amp I have played that has the low end that I love.

 

[Erock]

I've owned or had extensive playing time on the rev F thru multi-watt versions, and my favorite has been a blackface Rev F my friend owned. Some other standouts were a Rev G I owned that sounded killer, and a 3ch version that I couldn't get rid of fast enough. The other Rectos I've owned sounded good, but were just middle of the pack for me. There seems to be dogs and gems in every revision IME.

Earlier this year, I picked up a 2011 Triple Rec multi-watt on a trade. My sole intention was to have an item I could move quickly. It sounded so good however, I couldn't get let it go. It's my favorite Recto I've owned or played at this point. Massive and punchy, yet tight enough for heavy riffing, with a bit of give that makes it a blast to play in the "feel" department. Killer amps IMO.

 

[mchn13]

Crank dials, while reducing others.

I did this - cranked the mids and reduced bass and treble to zero. Then I just added a bit of bass to make the sound fatter and then I engaged the OD =

This actually worked for me too, after i got rid of the first recto i had, i found this trick and the amp came alive. It got dark with the treb that low but bringing up the pres brought more high mids back and it brightened up. Wierd but true....

 

[thiswaythatway]

Crank dials, while reducing others.

I did this - cranked the mids and reduced bass and treble to zero. Then I just added a bit of bass to make the sound fatter and then I engaged the OD =

Woah, love that assatar.

 

[Zachman]

I gotta admit, I thought this was a Don Barzini thread... LOL

 

[siggy14]

The recto's have so many different tones, however if you are a marshall type person you will never get there and get fustraited. I have my marshall for my marshall tones and my recto for my recto tones.

 

[Shiny_Surface]

Been through a few.

Late 90's Rev G Dual Rec
One of the first early 2000 3 channel Dual Rec's
Roadster head
Late 90's Rev G Triple Rec (of my favorites)

and now a Triple Rec multi watt...recorded a quick clip of it tonight just doing some palm muted power chords and yes I boost Recto's they take them well imo.