NGD- Multi watt Triple Rectifier

[Les Zombie]

So i was in a mesa mood and i picked up a multi watt triple rectifier, so far im not sure if i like it as much as the multi watt duals that i owned. This amp seems alot brighter to me, i was expecting it to be slightly different because its a triple, but theres something about it that i dont know if i like.
My dual settings didnt sound good at all, so ive been tweeking to find a new setting.
The tubes seem pretty good and everything functions proper but theres more highs at the same setting than im used to.

maybe because it has more headroom and it sounds more open, less tube breakup and compression and that could be whats throwing me off. I always play my rectos boosted thru my uberkab, ive been lowering my highs and added some more lows than i normally do when i owned my dual rects.

Usually with rectos i play them with bold/diodes
Vint mode ch2, loop bypassed
Off the top of my head i think my old setting was
Treb 1:30
Pres 1:00
Mids 12:00
Bass 12:00
Gain 1:30-2:00

But on this triple im running the bass at 1:30 to 2:00 and backed off the highs a little, i was thinking it would be the opposite and i would have too much lows on the triple. Now i should also add that theres not a lack of lows because any higher and it would be too much. But that its higher than what i run them on my other rectos i owned.

Cleans sound great, ch3 i usually play in modern mode and its also a little bright but i think i have that balanced out better now. So its just ch2 that im working on.




I should maybe try some different pre tubes. Do you guys think that could be my issue???

I paid 950 shipped for it but i might return it. Also didnt come with a footswitch, so it might not be a great deal. Its in mint condition and doesnt look like it was used very much.


I hate making NGD threads but maybe you guys can tell me if my triple should be brighter than a dual.

 

[Shiny_Surface]

Congrats Tom.

That's why I personally prefer the Triple Multi Watt, it's brighter/tighter (imo). The extra headroom makes it sounds more clean/defined around the edges and not as "dirty" low fi as a Dual. Even across the different revisions the Triples just sound meaner to me in general.

It could be you just prefer the sound of the Dual.

I don't think messing around with preamp tubes is going to change that aspect of it much.

I'm currently running mine with EL34's, and boosting it of course.

 

[cardinal]

Maybe you just prefer Dual Rectos, but yeah the Triple essentially seems brighter. To make it a bit warmer, I'd try using the tube rectifier and play with the 50 watt setting. To me, that was were the Multi-Watt Triple really shined. I still prefer the Rev G Triple, but the Multi-Watt is a great amp.

 

[Les Zombie]

Ok so im not crazy, so you guys are saying that the triple is indeed brighter and thats normal and the characteristic of the amp. I agree that it does sound more agressive and meaner.

Now that i think about it i had el34 in my last dual. I should pull the el34 from my herbert and try them in this amp to see if i like them better than the 6l6 that are currently in it.

 

[Les Zombie]

I havent decided if im gonna keep it yet.

When i bought it i was thinking the multi watts used was about 1200 to 1300 but if i have to retube it and buy a footswitch then its not that great of a deal imo.

I bought it from gc but i might return it and get another roadster instead.

 

[Moshaholic]

Congrats...!!!

Have you ad a BE100 yet???

 

[Les Zombie]

Thx giles, no i havent tried one.
No place around me sells them.

 

[siggy14]

I havent decided if im gonna keep it yet.

When i bought it i was thinking the multi watts used was about 1200 to 1300 but if i have to retube it and buy a footswitch then its not that great of a deal imo.

I bought it from gc but i might return it and get another roadster instead.

Are the tubes that are in it bad? or just not what you like in tubes? Because if the tubes are still good take them out and put them aside just in case you decide to sell later. IF you just need to buy the footswitch and cable that is about $1100 you paid for the amp which is not bad at all. Keep in mind any used amp you buy the person is going to replace the tubes so I would not really take that into account.

 

[Les Zombie]

i dont know how long these tubes have been in the amp.
i tried some old el34 that i had laying around and i think they sounded better than the mesa 6l6 thats in it.

anybody tried kt77 ???

 

[WizardSouth-JP]

I have had several Dual Recs, a Roadster, MkV, and 2 Triple Multi-Watts. I still prefer the Triple Rec Multi-Watt. My current one sounded like ass until I got Laura to send me some Pre-Amp tubes for it. I run the Orange Channel in Modern and the Red Channel in Vintage with pretty similar eq settings. If you use these settings and don't like it - it's possibly tubes (or cab)

Presence = 10:00
Bass = 11:00 or 12:00
Mid = Noon
Treble = 1:00
Gain = Noon - 1:00
Master = 9:00 or higher
I run mine in Bold with Diodes or Tube Rectifier depending on my mood.
Maxon OD808 to boost level up - gain down, tone at noon

 

[Les Zombie]

I have had several Dual Recs, a Roadster, MkV, and 2 Triple Multi-Watts. I still prefer the Triple Rec Multi-Watt. My current one sounded like ass until I got Laura to send me some Pre-Amp tubes for it. I run the Orange Channel in Modern and the Red Channel in Vintage with pretty similar eq settings. If you use these settings and don't like it - it's possibly tubes (or cab)

Presence = 10:00
Bass = 11:00 or 12:00
Mid = Noon
Treble = 1:00
Gain = Noon - 1:00
Master = 9:00 or higher
I run mine in Bold with Diodes or Tube Rectifier depending on my mood.
Maxon OD808 to boost level up - gain down, tone at noon

i played it for a couple hours today and i switched from my uberkab to my mesa oversized 4x12 and made some more adjustments.
it was sounding better to me today, i wont get much time tomorrow but maybe saturday i can change some of the pre tubes.
in the old days when i got a amp i always changed pre tubes and would spend hours trying different combinations but lately ive become lazy and cant be bothered.

 

[WizardSouth-JP]

I have had several Dual Recs, a Roadster, MkV, and 2 Triple Multi-Watts. I still prefer the Triple Rec Multi-Watt. My current one sounded like ass until I got Laura to send me some Pre-Amp tubes for it. I run the Orange Channel in Modern and the Red Channel in Vintage with pretty similar eq settings. If you use these settings and don't like it - it's possibly tubes (or cab)

Presence = 10:00
Bass = 11:00 or 12:00
Mid = Noon
Treble = 1:00
Gain = Noon - 1:00
Master = 9:00 or higher
I run mine in Bold with Diodes or Tube Rectifier depending on my mood.
Maxon OD808 to boost level up - gain down, tone at noon

i played it for a couple hours today and i switched from my uberkab to my mesa oversized 4x12 and made some more adjustments.
it was sounding better to me today, i wont get much time tomorrow but maybe saturday i can change some of the pre tubes.
in the old days when i got a amp i always changed pre tubes and would spend hours trying different combinations but lately ive become lazy and cant be bothered.

The Triple i had before my current one was crushing so when I got this one it sounded thin and I was not happy. Swapping 3 preamp tubes made a huge difference. I run the Trec with an Uberkab, Bogner V30 4x12 or an Uberkab with V30/Scumback J75 and with all 3 cabs it sounds really really good. Huge low end and a sick mid grind. It's one of my favorite amps hands down. Good luck tweaking, don't give up - once you get it dialed in you'll be grinning ear to ear.

 

[RedB4Black]

Love my triple. My buddy runs kt66s in his. Sounds really good... And the reason I bought one. Probably my favorite amp next to the UL

$950 without the foot switch is a decent deal. I paid $1100 for mine here on RT. They go for more on ebay

 

[Erock]

Don't give up Tom, these things can sound crushing if you like the recto sound already. You can also check with Mesa to see when it was made. The 5 year transferrable warranty is really nice, and they do honor it.

 

[fretout]

Congrats on your new multi-watt! Sorry it isn't sounding that great to start with, but there are some options to tame the brightness of it.

I've always found the Rectifiers to be sensitive to preamp tube changes. I found a mix of RFTs and JJs darkened up my Triple quite a bit. If you have some laying around, try swapping them in and see if it darkens up enough.

Also worth trying out is a safe cab mismatch. I don't see guys talk about this much at all. I've had good results darkening up the tone for some rhythm tracks I was doing by running the 4 ohm output into a 8 ohm Recto cab.

 

[Les Zombie]

I have a bunch of pre tubes, some chinese,tungsol, RFT, and sovtek.
Once i get home from work on gonna try some of them.

Thanks for the tips guys.

 

[Les Zombie]

so i mixed up a pre tube cocktail and threw it in the recto and it sounds better now. the amp had the usual mesa JJ's.
so i put a RFT in v1, C9 hg in v2, and tungsol in v3.

 

[Shiny_Surface]

so i mixed up a pre tube cocktail and threw it in the recto and it sounds better now. the amp had the usual mesa JJ's.
so i put a RFT in v1, C9 hg in v2, and tungsol in v3.

Hey Tom did the tube swap brighten it up any, with the Reborn Triple being on the brighter side the stock JJ's would have been the darkest it could be I'd imagine.

 

[Les Zombie]

no it never got brighter but maybe thats because i used the RFT in v1.
it does sound better, im sure over the weekend i will try a few others.
i had some old el34 laying around and i also tried them and now im thinking if i keep the amp i will retube with some ruby el34bstr.

 

[jsp]

Are you running your presence at 1:00? That seems a bit high.