Triple Rec or RACK?

[amokrun]

I am pretty fed up with my Mesa Triple Rectifier, been trying for the past few months to get the heavy tone I need(death/grind kind of music). I can get it heavy but at the expense of clarity and vice versa. I am thinking now of going to rack units, but no idea which would be best for extreme metal. What do you guys think, what would be a good rack setup for this? I got the BBE Sonic Maximizer which seems to help some with the Mesa.

[srommes]

Sell the Recto, buy an Engl E570 preamp and never look back. Of course you'll need a poweramp to go with it but this preamp brings the tightest, heaviest Brutals you can imagine.

[methusalem]

The Mesa isn't tight enough for death stuff... srommes is right, you need an Engl or similar, where the low-end isn't so flubby... the Engls are much clearer in that department. Of course, that also means that your rhythm technique needs to be near perfect.

 

Andy

[somata]

i have a dual recto, and i love it for the tech-y death/grind that i play.

 

here's how i got mine nice and clear:

 

MXR 10 Band EQ as a boost, mostly goosing the mids, with a bit of an overall level bump will go a long way towards tightening up the amp

 

Channel 2 vintage for the high gain. the modern mode just has too much mud, and vintage on channel 3 doesn't have enough cut and crunch

 

i also use a g-major in the loop, and use its parametric eq for some more tone shaping

 

i really like the Electro Harmonix 12AX7's for the preamp, and the mesa STR 440's in the power section

 

my rough settings (channel 2 vintage):

Channel volume: around 9-10:00

Presence: backed off from full on

Treble: backed off from full on

Mids: 11:00--12:00

Bass: 11:00

Gain: 2:00

 

For band practice and shows i run the master volume at about 11:00

 

and get rid of the sonic maximizer...

[espnorange]

try something with the mesa. turn the bass down to ~9, turn the master volume for the channel way up, and the gain to around 11. put the mids at 12 oclock and the treble way up, keep your presence around halfway

 

(all settings as on a clockface, not from 1-10)

 

[edit] also, a boost like a tubescreamer is an absolute must out front. keep the boost way down, and use the output to keep it at unity (so its the same volume on as off). tightens up sound a LOT. i use one for any highgain tube amp, but especially a must with rectos dude

[amokrun]

Thanks for all the info, I will investigate the ENGL unit. My guitar player actually has an ENGL head, hasn't really impressed me much but maybe with some tweaking it will change my way! I've also been meaning to check out the Tube Screamer, now I will.

 

Somata, why would you recommend to do away with the SM? I've heard nothing but good about it.

[petejt]

Ditch that Sonic Maximiser.

 

Throw it away before considering ANY other options.

 

 

[petejt]

Somata, why would you recommend to do away with the SM? I've heard nothing but good about it.

 

 

Well, you've heard wrong.

 

 

So get rid of it.

 

 

[amokrun]

Okay, cool, I understand you think I should get rid of it, I simply want to know why. I just bought the thing, so I want to understand your sentiment. I think it's made to work more with a preamp, not a head. Is this why you think it's not a good addition? What's the reason?

[Spacehog26]

Sonic Maximisers are designed to make a decent guitar rig sound like an iPod turned up too loud. They rob all the soul out of a guitar tone. A good sounding rig will only sound worse with the addition of a Sonic Maximiser. They're the musical equivalent of a turd polisher.

[petejt]

 

Okay, cool, I understand you think I should get rid of it, I simply want to know why. I just bought the thing, so I want to understand your sentiment. I think it's made to work more with a preamp, not a head. Is this why you think it's not a good addition? What's the reason?

 

 

They are made to work with post-production mixing, it gives the overall mix (drums-bass-guitars-vocals-keyboards-anything) a 'lift'.

 

It just does not work effectively in a guitar rig. It's not meant for it. It's just that BBE have capitalised on the thousands of n00bs who don't know how to use an equaliser.

[petejt]

Sonic Maximisers are designed to make a decent guitar rig sound like an iPod turned up too loud. They rob all the soul out of a guitar tone. A good sounding rig will only sound worse with the addition of a Sonic Maximiser. They're the musical equivalent of a turd polisher.

 

Exactly.

 

Just because it's "shiny", doesn't change the fact that it's a pile of {censored}.

 

 

 

I'm going to quote your post in my signature. Too many n00bs fall for BBE's hype .

[Asmodaus]

By now I'm sure you know all of this is opinion.

 

Your Triple Rec would shine with an EQ, graphic or parametric. It's the only way to fully shape your tone. Some compression would help tighten it all up as well. You don't need a rack amp for that.

 

The Sonic Maximizer is basically doing EQ and some compression/expansion. Which is why you like the sound better through the SM. I'd rather control these settings myself through my EQ and dynamic effects. I'd do this before switching amplifiers because even if you don't get the sound you want the FX can still be used on the next amp you get. Good Luck.

[amokrun]

 

By now I'm sure you know all of this is opinion. Your Triple Rec would shine with an EQ, graphic or parametric. It's the only way to fully shape your tone. Some compression would help tighten it all up as well. You don't need a rack amp for that. The Sonic Maximizer is basically doing EQ and some compression/expansion. Which is why you like the sound better through the SM. I'd rather control these settings myself through my EQ and dynamic effects. I'd do this before switching amplifiers because even if you don't get the sound you want the FX can still be used on the next amp you get. Good Luck.

 

 

Thanks, makes sense. What about OD pedals, re they worth examining to make the sound tighter, more brutal?

[methusalem]

Depends on the OD pedal.

I've found the good old tube screamer pretty good for that: gain almost all the way down, volume up almost all the way, tone up pretty high. It cuts some of the bass, so it doesn't get flubby... you can then add more bass with the post preamp EQ on the amp.

 

All it really comes down to is good pre- and post-preamp EQ'ing. Google it, there's some really good info out there for guitar.

[parnas]

 

I am pretty fed up with my Mesa Triple Rectifier, been trying for the past few months to get the heavy tone I need(death/grind kind of music). I can get it heavy but at the expense of clarity and vice versa.

 

 

 

Trade your three channels one to the older two channels head. You will get both heavy and clarity.

[TheCapstan]

The problem is that it opens up only when 75% of the Master Vol is crancked, which is way lowd to be using at home or small studio. It would be better for you to change it for a Dual Rec, and add an EQ.

If you dont own a Compressor, I would reccomend an Alesis 3630 compressor ($99 new)

 

There you go, the heaviest metal sound, for less!!