Should I mod the Ractifier?

[GJgo]

Hey guys, opinion question. I've been talking to Racer about it but curious what other guys think. So I picked up this Racktifier rev G and had a "head shell" made for it. Partially because I wanted a short Recto head to sit on my Vert because it looks bad ass! The amp sounds great for a Dual. ...But, I prefer the Triple sound be cause it's tighter & more aggressive. The Dual in comparison is a little loose & less angry.

I know that Ractos are sought after & this one is all-original, in perfect working order & very clean. I have a few ways this could go.
- Sell it & continue the GAS.
- Keep it as-is because Racktos are valuable.
- Send it in to Mesa for service & have it modded to Rev C spec. (Maybe around $500 for service & mod?)

I'm going to tell you that with the custom shell I've got about $1400 in the amp now. I'm not the kind of person that likes to put more into an amp than it's worth which is why I'm hesitant to have it modded. Mostly because I don't know if a "Rev C" Racto would command a premium down the road if I sell it. What do you guys think?

Side question, should I swap the knobs on the two heads so the Rackto is all blacked out & the Triple is all chromed out? Hmm..

Pictures-

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AkHKunsDncv1gakOazuWIOcfRIW_iw?e=LUBGbM

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AkHKunsDncv1gasE2074vYryz_YPKw?e=0kT5O7

 

[Filter500]

Maybe buy a new set of black knobs to try on the rackto, but I would leave the triple as is as it looks perfect to me. As far as a rev C mod, I wouldn't bother if you plan to sell the amp someday. It also sounds like you have all of the recto sounds you could want from your clips. I can imagine the rackto sounding a bit more aggressive and tight with a little more presence dialed in and some tube experimentation.

 

[Beyond Black]

I’d leave it like that, it looks cool enough. Nice demo, man, they all sound great. That Triple is the winner. It’s got a wicked snarl in the mids. What tubes are you running?

 

[Racerxrated]

A. Leave it stock, they are sought after and you won't get your money out of it if you mod it....
B. Mod it! It's your amp, who gives a &^%^% what anyone thinks. Lol.

Honestly, I think you should research the Rev C Duals and listen to clips/opinions of that tone first. Because, I think that ultimately you are more a fan of the classic Recto tone...Rev G boosted....than you would be of the first version Rev C which was designed around the Hair Metal tones of 91-92. Grunge hadn't quite took over yet, when the first rectos were designed. So those first versions really sound more like an SLO/Boosted Marshall with Bass on steroids than the classic 90s Recto tone. I love a good Marshall tone so that's right up my alley...but I suspect your fav recto tone is more in line with a boosted G, which is the main classic tone from the 90s.

Decisions!

 

[Exo-metal]

Keep it and slam the front end and you should get what you want out of it Jeremy, enjoy?

 

[thenine]

Who made that head shell? Me want for my Rackto

 

[GJgo]

Who made that head shell? Me want for my Rackto

I got it here. Special ordered it so I could get the measurements tight around the head.
https://www.stagecraftgear.com/product/american-standard-rack/

 

[GJgo]

Maybe buy a new set of black knobs to try on the rackto, but I would leave the triple as is as it looks perfect to me. As far as a rev C mod, I wouldn't bother if you plan to sell the amp someday. It also sounds like you have all of the recto sounds you could want from your clips. I can imagine the rackto sounding a bit more aggressive and tight with a little more presence dialed in and some tube experimentation.

I can tighten up the bottom end by using JJ power tubes and running in the Traditional cab. It's usable that way, and is epic for a Dual, but it's still not a Triple level of tight- which a 2 channel Dual may just never be. The Multi-Watt dual (which I sold) is that tight.

 

[stephen sawall]

Anything similar to a Tube Screamer tightens the bass more than any modification.

 

[panhead]

go ahead

 

[acalaf]

before modding, clean all the pots and jacks with deoxit. also change the power supply and filter caps. they are more than 25 years old at this point if original. these 2 things make a big difference IMO.

 

[GJgo]

Thanks guys, i'm leaning towards not modding it. Normally every old Boogie I get I send in for Mike B. to work on it. But this Rackto is literally in perfect condition, not even scratchy pots, so I have no real reason to send it in.

Beyond- right now both my Rectos have Mesa JJ pre tubes & Mesa 440 power tubes. I prefer JJs in the power section but I'm trying to use up what I have first..

I did another tone comparo with it today, matching to a trad vs. OS cab.

 

[midnightlaundry]

Leave it

 

[Metal1977]

Yeah, leave it like that. It's a nice piece of history, hard to find mint like that.

One boost that i like clearly better than the others with the rev G's is the Cusack Screamer. Doesn't tight the bass as much as my other boost, but super transparent and really quiet. I keep the bass lower instead of counting on the boost to do the job, it blend nicely with the amp.

 

[Filter500]

Thanks guys, i'm leaning towards not modding it. Normally every old Boogie I get I send in for Mike B. to work on it. But this Rackto is literally in perfect condition, not even scratchy pots, so I have no real reason to send it in.

Beyond- right now both my Rectos have Mesa JJ pre tubes & Mesa 440 power tubes. I prefer JJs in the power section but I'm trying to use up what I have first..

I did another tone comparo with it today, matching to a trad vs. OS cab.

The oversized sounds better through my headphones/computer setup, where the traditional sounds better through my TV stereo setup.

 

[GJgo]

Thanks again for all the input. Honestly, I think I'm going put the amp up for sale. I've realized I'm more of a Triple guy than a Dual guy, and this amp is SO CLEAN! Someone will love it. Plus I have some other irons in the fire.

 

[Exo-metal]

Didn't like it boosted?

 

[Shask]

Hey guys, opinion question. I've been talking to Racer about it but curious what other guys think. So I picked up this Racktifier rev G and had a "head shell" made for it. Partially because I wanted a short Recto head to sit on my Vert because it looks bad ass! The amp sounds great for a Dual. ...But, I prefer the Triple sound be cause it's tighter & more aggressive. The Dual in comparison is a little loose & less angry.

I know that Ractos are sought after & this one is all-original, in perfect working order & very clean. I have a few ways this could go.
- Sell it & continue the GAS.
- Keep it as-is because Racktos are valuable.
- Send it in to Mesa for service & have it modded to Rev C spec. (Maybe around $500 for service & mod?)

I'm going to tell you that with the custom shell I've got about $1400 in the amp now. I'm not the kind of person that likes to put more into an amp than it's worth which is why I'm hesitant to have it modded. Mostly because I don't know if a "Rev C" Racto would command a premium down the road if I sell it. What do you guys think?

Side question, should I swap the knobs on the two heads so the Rackto is all blacked out & the Triple is all chromed out? Hmm..

Pictures-

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AkHKunsDncv1gakOazuWIOcfRIW_iw?e=LUBGbM

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AkHKunsDncv1gasE2074vYryz_YPKw?e=0kT5O7

I think the triple sounds best in that clip. It has the certain something that I like about it. Maybe a bit less lower mids, and more depth in the low end? It makes the duals sound smaller.

 

[GJgo]

Didn't like it boosted?

Not as much as I like the Triple!

I'm anticipating a soon-to-be NGD and and moving some things around to fund it.

 

[Mailman1971]

I played a FJA modded recto for years and loved it!!