Mesa Dual Rec tone help

[AdamB]

Hi,

I have had a Rebel Yell in my Gibson SG X for a while now and absolutley love it! I have a Peavey 5150 II and a Mesa recto cab, thing is, i've just resently upgraded my head to a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier (2 channel, 1993, black plate model, very nice!!)

I've not had much chance to crank my Mesa up and try it's real potential, and it seems quite hard to dial in 'that tone' that i want! Somewhere between Comeback Kid (www.myspace.com/comebackkid) and BigWig (invitation to tradegy era if anyone knows it?! If not, www.myspace.com/bigwignj they're newer songs with a slightly treblier tone than i'm after) but yeah, a mix between them two, very thick, defined, without any farting!!

Just wondering if anyone here has a dual rec and could help me out with this?

Please don't say 'use your own ears' and 'we can't tell you the tone you want' cos when i turn it up (the neighbours aren't happy then) the tone drastically changes from the low volume settings.

I've got down a few from grail tone etc, but any help would be amazing!!

Also, anyone took out 2 of the power valves to take it down to 50watts? Does it still sound desent cos you can crank it hard?

Cheers in advance

[OD-Black_Fire]

That change in tone could be because you hear more treble and bass and loud volumes. Try turning down the treble and bass and boosting the mids a bit when you turn it up high.

But yeah, the tone does also change in the sound when you crank it. You hear more of the amp and less of the room.

But that "fart" you are describing seems to be that deep gnarling metal growl. If you don't like that I would not have gone with a Rectifier. You could try removing more mids and bass and turn down the gain, that might "unfart" it a bit.

[TwilightOdyssey]

Try using the SS recitifier instead of the valve one.

[ibanez4life SZ]

Swap out the rectifier tubes for JJ GZ-34s! It did wonders for my Dual Recto! Tightness, definition, and better but in a band mix! Amazing tubes!

As for settings, this is what I use:

Modern (going to be channel 2 for you, I have a 3 channel)
Tube Rectifier, w/ JJs

Presence: 10 o'clock
Gain: 2:30
Bass: 12
Mids: 2
Treble: 10

I hate scooped tones, and that gives me a huge, crunchy, and definited tone, that is not harsh in the high end either!

[JamesHealey]

try using a hotplate with it so you can get the beast cranked and sounding like a recto should, not a fizz box like rectos and 5150's sound when they're not cranked.

[AdamB]

The farting is just when i palm mute on G, G sharp and A on the E string

I've heard good and bad things about the thd hotplates, about losing lots of tone etc, is this true?

Cheers ibanez4life sz, i've wrote down them setting along with loads more, so i'll let you know how it goes :) I'll look into them jj rectifier tubes too

[_tom_]

The farting is just when i palm mute on G, G sharp and A on the E string

I've heard good and bad things about the thd hotplates, about losing lots of tone etc, is this true?

Cheers ibanez4life sz, i've wrote down them setting along with loads more, so i'll let you know how it goes :) I'll look into them jj rectifier tubes too

Hotplates only really suck tone when you turn it down to -16 and below.

[AdamB]

Ok man, cheers

[AdamB]

Swap out the rectifier tubes for JJ GZ-34s! It did wonders for my Dual Recto! Tightness, definition, and better but in a band mix! Amazing tubes!

Are these better than the mesa rectifier tubes then?

[ibanez4life SZ]

They are better by far!

[AdamB]

Cool, ordering.....

[snipesace]

be careful, remember, using non mesa tubes voids your warranty. anyone had a problem with their dual rec fx loops completley dying? (ie, master and solo volumes cant be used no matter how you set up the back switches etc.)

[HTH AMPS]

For metal tones I would not bother with valve rectifiers - the GZ34 offers a minimal amount of 'sag' so I wouldn't even bother.  I typically notice a slightly glassier/chimier top end with valve rectifiers but it's not what I'd pick for metal tones (or anything heavier than AC/DC).

I wouldn't advise getting a hotplate for an amp with so much gain either.  Get yourself an MXR 10-band EQ for the effects loop and tweak your tone to taste - this will give you ALOT of control over your tone.

From my experience with a Single Recto I would say that the tone didn't change that much as it was turned up.  Certainly not like a JMP Marshall for instance which is night & day at bedroom or stage volumes.

What output valves does it have btw? - a good fresh set of 6L6s with a bias job could be just what you need.  How fresh are the preamp valves?

 :twisted:

[AdamB]

ibanez4life SZ - Thanks for those settings!!! It sounded amazing tonight at practice! Done a few fine tweeks, but never the less, thanks so much!

HEAVIER THAN HELL - I rang up watford valves today and had a long chat, as it happens i don't need new rectifier valves as i use the solid state (silly me), but i bought some JJ power valves and EH gold pre amp valves, the guy i bought it off said the tubes have only had 10hours of use, but i was unsure, they are all mesa except the pre amps are harma (watford valves own make) So yeah, about the warrenty, from what the guy at watford valves was saying is that mesa just buy aload of cheap valves in, either russian or chinese and then computertest them, put mesa on them, and charge far too much. So, although i'm happy with the sound at the moment, hopefully the new pre and power valves will makie it that bit sweeter!

:D

[ibanez4life SZ]

The settings I gave you are very odd for a Mesa, but they are easily one of the best I've found!

I'd still try the JJ's! Get them, and put the amp in Tube recto mode! They wil be the perfect compromise between SS and tube rectification IMO! And at only $28, you really have nothing to lose!