Tips on getting a Dual Rec to sound good

John_A

Been trying to get to grips with my new Dual Rectifier, and having some trouble.  Basically it seems the amp has so much bottom end, there's not enough focus to the sound.  I'm trying to get more of a Plexi type of sound out of it rather than modern high gain

guitarfishbay

What settings are you using now and what cab?

guitarfishbay

Generically I'd suggest this -

Spongy Mode (less low mids, less output, softer feel) 

Tube Rectifier (again softer feel)

50 watts (less bass, slightly narrower sound)

Do not use Modern mode

Run the treble at least 1 oclock, maybe higher but you'll know when you've gone too high.  Compensate for a bright sound by using the presence knob.  On a DR the treble knob voices the amp - the higher the treble the thinner the amp sound (less bass and mids), the lower the treble the thicker the amp sounds (more bass and mids).

Try raw mode, and boost it if you don't think it has enough gain/tightness.

guitarfishbay

As an alternative to the boost idea, thinking about it you'll probably be happier with an EQ pedal for those tones as it'll be more transparent.  Cut around and below 100hz and boost about 2k, IIRC that worked quite well when I had an EQ pedal.  I used the EQ before the amp.

Using spongy/tube recto and the EQ cutting lows and boosting 1 and 2k slightly I got some great ballpark 'EVH' type tones in to the EVH 412 when I had that cab and the EQ pedal.

MDKV

I always find a boost or EQ pedal in the front helps tighten these up. 

As mentioned above the EQ on the amps doesn't react like others so you need to really use your ears and not your eyes if that makes sense!

fretmeister

Tube screamer in front.

that amp doesn't need a clean boost, it needs a bit of dirt. The TS is a good choice.

octatonic

John_A said:

Been trying to get to grips with my new Dual Rectifier, and having some trouble.  Basically it seems the amp has so much bottom end, there's not enough focus to the sound.  I'm trying to get more of a Plexi type of sound out of it rather than modern high gain

Dual Rec's don't really do that tone.

The closest you will get it on Vintage Orange, spongy, tube rec but it is more of a grunt than a bark.

Read the manual- the bass/treble/mids are highly interactive.

Dave_Mc

Try the pushed setting on the clean channel. It did a pretty decent more vintage overdrive type of sound, I thought (though whether plexi-ish, I dunno).

But yeah as others have been saying I'm not sure going for a plexi-type tone is really what it's aimed at.

Jetfire

Ive found that with the Mark 4, for all the channels, crank the mids and treble to taste but no bass at all and that gave some great sounds.

John_A

Thanks for the input everyone.  Yes I should read the manual, but coming from a Marshall set everything at 12:00 approach it's all a bit daunting.

The pushed clean is great, I could do with 3 channels of that, do using mostly the raw mode on channels 2 & 3.  I have been using spongy/50W & tube rectifier mainly, I'll try a combination of increasing the treble, and reading the manual

I've read a lot about boosting the amp with a TS to tighten it up, but there's somthing in my head that says if I need to put a pedal in front of my amp to get the core sound I want then maybe the amps not for me.  It's early days yet though, I'll keep plugging away,.

John_A

guitarfishbay said:

What settings are you using now and what cab?

 

Raw mode,spongy, 50W & tube rectifier with (approx) the following settings

Gain 11:00

Vol  12:00

presence 11:00

treble 1:00

mid 10:00

bass 9:00

 

Blackstar closed back 2x12, but also tried a few other cabs, and actually like it best through an open back 1x12 with a G12H

guitarfishbay

Definitely read the manual, it'll explain how all the controls work.

http://www.mesaboogie.com/manuals/3chRecto_multiWatt.pdf

FelineGuitars

The bass tone control on a dual rec acts an octave below that on a typical Marshall if I recall correctly. I don't know if there is amid to the tone stack that can be done to change that. For a more Marshall sound the Stiletto is a better choice. Think Mesa released that as two guitar bands were finding two dual recs were not sounding as one dual rec and a Marshall as the two players were figthing for the same frequencies

guitarfishbay

FelineGuitars said:

The bass tone control on a dual rec acts an octave below that on a typical Marshall if I recall correctly. I don't know if there is amid to the tone stack that can be done to change that. For a more Marshall sound the Stiletto is a better choice. Think Mesa released that as two guitar bands were finding two dual recs were not sounding as one dual rec and a Marshall as the two players were figthing for the same frequencies

If you chop a load of bass on the way in you can compensate for it at the amp and it'll feel tighter.

For high gain, one fun thing to do is get a Bad Monkey, run the low really low - not far off zero, run the high fairly high, definitely above 12:00 but you can push way higher, and use red/modern/bold/diode at the amp.  There is so much bass on that channel that even running the bass that low on the BM can be compensated for at the amp.  It sounds wicked, super tight and punchy, not that much like the classic Recto boom and scoop high gain tone and much more like a thrash tone.

I know what John means about wanting an amp you can just plug in to and get a good tone from - and for a lot of people that is the best way to go, not everyone enjoys tweaking.  But if you want one amp that can cover most bases a DR (especially a new Mutli Watt, or a Roadster/Road King) can cover most genres if you've got a couple of pedals to go with it.  I've rarely felt like I can't get close to a tone that I like with my Roadster and some pedals.  

However, if sounding convincingly like a Plexi is the main goal an actual Plexi type amp is probably the correct choice.

hugbot

Yeah I'm thinking you made teh wrong amp choice for what you're going for here.

octatonic

FelineGuitars said:

The bass tone control on a dual rec acts an octave below that on a typical Marshall if I recall correctly. I don't know if there is amid to the tone stack that can be done to change that. For a more Marshall sound the Stiletto is a better choice. Think Mesa released that as two guitar bands were finding two dual recs were not sounding as one dual rec and a Marshall as the two players were figthing for the same frequencies

Yes this is precisely why they released the Stiletto.

ICBM

You can get a great Marshall sound out of a Dual Rectifier. Many people don't realise this, but the circuit is actually based on one (via the Soldano SLO).

Just think about what a Marshall is like circuit-wise, and set the Rectifier accordingly:

*Solid-state* rectifier mode (no Marshall used a valve rectifier after the JTM50), and *bold* for 100W or spongy for 50W (these correspond to the different HT voltage for the two models). Vintage High-Gain mode. Bass below halfway, mid, treble and presence above.

It is also better to fit EL34s, but perhaps surprisingly enough not that critical.

Set like that, I have been able to make my Trem-o-verb so indistinguishable from a Marshall 2203, going through the same speakers, that two of us tried to adjust the controls on the wrong amp because we forgot which one was actually on.

Speakers: G12M-25s or G12H-30s in a Marshall or other lighter-weight cab preferably, not V30s in a Rectifier cab.

John_A

Thanks guys. I'll keep trying. I do have other amps so it's not critical I get it right instantly

Catthan

I have a LSS and a MkV and the bass is always at 0 with dirt. You can push presence higher to tighten things up but be cautious of fizz at low volumes.

Some guys at the boogie forum say  " dial it in with your ears, not your eyes" which sounds a bit corny but you can close your eyes and give it a shot

John_A

Catthan said:

I have a LSS and a MkV and the bass is always at 0 with dirt. You can push presence higher to tighten things up but be cautious of fizz at low volumes.

Some guys at the boogie forum say  " dial it in with your ears, not your eyes" which sounds a bit corny but you can close your eyes and give it a shot

Tried this but can't get a grip on the metal knobs with me lugs. Seriously though, thanks and I'll give it a try

Drew_TNBD

Honestly? I don't think you're going to get a plexi sound from a Recto. I'd flog it personally if that's what you want. Get a Friedman or an old plexi!