Mesa Rectifier guys: help give me advice

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cardinal

cardinal

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Yesterday, I got a Rev G Dual Recto on a bit of lark: I generally like its tone. It sounds monstrous and I love the growl of it. But it's a bit "slow." The initial attack just is a bit soft, I guess. Particularly on my low B and F# strings (8-string player). Boosting it with an OD808 of course sharpens the attack but it kinda neuters the growl of the amp IMHO.

It's not that I think the amp is dark or muddy or flubby. I'm running the presence pretty high (1 o'clock or so). Bold. SS Rectifier. I've been liking the Modern Mode (Vintage mode seems like there's a heavy blanket over the speakers). Master around 11 o'clock. Loop bypassed. The low end is solid. It cuts well. Just this kind of pillow-like initial attack, which is kinda cool for certain things I guess but by default I would prefer something quicker.

So for a Recto but with a quicker initial attack: is it the Triple that I want? Or should I look for an earlier Rev (C, D, E, F)? Or is that slow attack just kind of a Recto thing?

I've had a few Triple Rectos a few years ago and liked them well enough but sold them off, just keeping some Marshalls. If I'm remembering right, I guess maybe it was the "slow" feeling of the Rectos that left me with the Marshalls instead, so maybe this is just they way Rectifiers are?
 
Have you tried putting an eq pedal in front of it, just to trim some bass, and/or boost some upper mids? In this manner you should be able to tighten the response and add some punch without greatly effecting the amps voice in the way a tubescreamer does. I like to do this sometimes with my vfe Standout, set to be more subtle than a tubescreamer, for when I want an ‘unboosted’ kind of sound but without the flubbiness in the bottom end.
 
The newer multi-watts are a bit quicker/tighter, but I much prefer a Recto boosted, especially for those tunings. When booster, don’t be afraid to turn the bass up higher. I also liked running an EQ in the loop when I had mine to boost some of the frequencies that get cut by running the boost in front.
 
Thanks guys. Playing with an EQ pedal is a good idea. I guess cutting the lows could give a "quicker" attack. It's just that I don't think the low end is "loose." Just kinda like a pillow.

Ultimately I'll probably end up back just using an old Marshall, so I don't know why I bother sometimes. For whatever reason I have a 5150 block letter showing up tomorrow; maybe that will scratch this METAL itch I have and will have a bit quicker feel.
 
Try the boost 100% But also, a little known trick on the Recitfier: Turn the Treble to 0 and use the presence as your high frequency eq adjustment.
Turning the treble bring the mids much more forward and also seems to tighten up the low end, and give the amp a little bit more of an immediate feel. Ever since I found this out, this is the only way I dial my 2 Channel triple in.
 
What type of music do you play? I actually have the same feeling about the rectos. I play alot of modern metal and I usually turn on my Mark V or 6505 before the recto. but lately I have been on a recto kick when I jam at home. What works for me lately are these settings:

Run the Maxon with gain 0, volume 75% and tone neutral.
Modern/bold
Gain: 1:00 (o'clock)
treble: 1:00
mids 1:00
bass 10:00
presence 10:00

I also use vintage mode some, in which case i jack the treble and presence up to like 2:30 (75% of max).

Hope this helps you!
 
I'll try turning down the treble but man I can't imagine how dark the amp would be then.

I do have to say that the Fryette Power Station is just the best purchase I've made in a long time. I remember I eventually figured out how to dial in my old Triples, but it was a struggle to find just right setting that was tight enough but not fizzy. With the Power Station, I can run the Recto's master up high without blowing out windows, and dialing the thing in is super easy. I really don't hear any flub or fizz at all. Just a really mean sounding amp.

Wish the attach were just a bit quicker though.
 
jgillihan":1tcm4f0m said:
What type of music do you play? I actually have the same feeling about the rectos. I play alot of modern metal and I usually turn on my Mark V or 6505 before the recto. but lately I have been on a recto kick when I jam at home. What works for me lately are these settings:

Run the Maxon with gain 0, volume 75% and tone neutral.
Modern/bold
Gain: 1:00 (o'clock)
treble: 1:00
mids 1:00
bass 10:00
presence 10:00

I also use vintage mode some, in which case i jack the treble and presence up to like 2:30 (75% of max).

Hope this helps you!
Click to expand...

Cool man, thanks. Yeah, when I'm in vintage mode, the treble and presence get cranked way up. I tend to clone the Red to Orange, which gives use of the presence controls for both channels due to some quirk of how the thing is wired up.
 
cardinal":o1khbhl6 said:
I'll try turning down the treble but man I can't imagine how dark the amp would be then.

I do have to say that the Fryette Power Station is just the best purchase I've made in a long time. I remember I eventually figured out how to dial in my old Triples, but it was a struggle to find just right setting that was tight enough but not fizzy. With the Power Station, I can run the Recto's master up high without blowing out windows, and dialing the thing in is super easy. I really don't hear any flub or fizz at all. Just a really mean sounding amp.

Wish the attach were just a bit quicker though.
Click to expand...

That's what I thought as well, but you will be surprised.

Here's a little video I just took on my lunch break. Treble at 0

 
Cool man, thanks! I'll definitely give it a shot tonight.

Also: how is the Single Rectifier? I've read some reviews by folks saying that it's their favorite of the bunch because it sounds more pissed off or aggressive. I wonder if maybe it has a more immediate feel for whatever reason.
 
cardinal":1qhlh3p2 said:
Cool man, thanks! I'll definitely give it a shot tonight.

Also: how is the Single Rectifier? I've read some reviews by folks saying that it's their favorite of the bunch because it sounds more pissed off or aggressive. I wonder if maybe it has a more immediate feel for whatever reason.
Click to expand...

The single is great as well. It's the only rectifier that you can actually get the power section working on, IMO. The others are just so damn loud. The Single did sound a little meaner, but my triple was tighter and I'm all about the tightness (teehee) so I kept it and sold the single. They were damn close though.
 
Cool thanks. I plug it into a Power Station, so i can get any of their power sections working, though I think I’d have to be careful not to really crank up a Triple.
 
as bad. seed said; I used to run mine bass-9 oclock, mids-3 o clock, and treb 9 o clock. something about the mids past noon and bringing the treb below noon, makes the mids pop out. theres enough presence to brighten it back up imo.
also try the boost at half instead of 100% on the level/balance knob, and the tone higher. wont add much but will lean it a little.
 
Good ideas guys thanks.

Know what is a bad idea? Ordering a Multiwatt Triple, which is what this idiot just did. I’ll see if that has a more immediate feel to it and will just return one or both if I can’t make it work.
 
The multi watt triple is an amazing amp. It addressed the exact problem you had with the G. With a maxon od808 in front, that amp is hard to beat for an amazing metal guitar sound.
 
Glad to hear that!

Tinkered with it. Turning down the treble made it too dark for me, but really cranking the mids did help.

What really helped was swapping to a more aggressive pickup. My #1 had a pretty low output, evenly-EQ’d pickup. I swapped to something hotter (which I’d been meaning to do but just hadn’t gotten around too). Despite having more bass, the pickup made the attack sharper I guess because it has a more aggressive top end.
 
The MW Triple is the way to go. Other great options are: Rev F Triple or Rev C modified Triple.

Also turn up the presence. Yes, up. 3-4:00 will take it to another level. Much tighter and more immediate attack.
 
This is exactly why all players need one Recto, and one Mark (with a pentode / triode switch). A Mark in pentode is immediate AF. These models have that.

Mark V (90w, 35w & 25w)
Mark IV
Mark III green stripe is pentode
Mark II & III Coliseums (at least mine- the half power switch is a pentode / triode switch)
 
Bad.Seed":3htq27pr said:
Try the boost 100% But also, a little known trick on the Recitfier: Turn the Treble to 0 and use the presence as your high frequency eq adjustment.
Turning the treble bring the mids much more forward and also seems to tighten up the low end, and give the amp a little bit more of an immediate feel. Ever since I found this out, this is the only way I dial my 2 Channel triple in.
Click to expand...

I was just getting ready to suggest turning treble to zero and mids up and then I saw Bad Seed beat me to it :thumbsup: I run a MW dual recto this way and with a host of different ODs (Savage drive, 805 Duncan, Bxom boost or Ts9) and none seem to diminsih the crushing low mid grind that I love about the Recto. I'm also running an MXR 10 band in the loop and boosting/cutting certain frequencies. Takes the "blanket of the speakers" and opens the amp up ;)

I'm a sucker for a sharp/immediate attack and the MW, even on the orange ch rectifier setting, set as above and with the right guitar and bridge pup is TIGHT and has a quick attack.
 
GJgo":kskh3np7 said:
This is exactly why all players need one Recto, and one Mark (with a pentode / triode switch). A Mark in pentode is immediate AF. These models have that.

Mark V (90w, 35w & 25w)
Mark IV
Mark III green stripe is pentode
Mark II & III Coliseums (at least mine- the half power switch is a pentode / triode switch)
Click to expand...


... and the JP-2C... and any Mark IIC+, IIC++, or III modified with a pentode modification (2 resistors) or pentode/triode switch. Pentode is where it's at... especially for metal.
 
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