Clean amp to match Triple Rectifier dirty channels.

Everyone,

My Mesa was in the shop the last few months, and had a couple of bad JFETS, Pots, and the Feedback circuit needed to be modified with the help of Gary L. at Guitar Electronics and a triple/dual rec expert who works with Mesa. I'm happy with channels 2 and 3, but I continue to find channel 1 underpowered. I would like to go a different route and get a dedicated clean amp that will match the volume of the dirty channels and still sound nice. I plan to route both heads into my rectifier 4x12 cab via a Tonebone Headbone.

What clean amps do you guys know of that will fulfill my requirements of sounding good through a Mesa 4x12, and match channel 2 and 3's volume on the triple rec at least Master of each Channel 1/2 and main output 1/2?

I also in the not near future plan on getting a midi switching system. The Tonebone Headbone won't affect my ability to do this correct?

Thanks :wink:

Oh, I forgot to mention that price is a factor so no lone stars or anything from mesa.

Thanks!

I can't think of any amp that will be clean and that loud. Sounds like you are trying to do a Pete Townsend thing, as loud as possible but as clean as possible. I was going to suggest a Hiwatt, or a Marshall Major, but you mentioned that price was a factor, and I'm not sure of your price range since it was not included. Maybe a 100 watt Fender Bassman would get you close?? Good luck with your search and let us know what you get.

Thanks for the response. I see you have a triple rec. How do you compensate for the lack of volume on channel 1? I find it completely unusable when switching between channels.

Essentially I'm looking for a clean amp that will be heard clearly over a loud drummer. The triple rec can be adjusted to match in volume.

What is your price range?

try a roland jc 120h. They are supposed to be super loud, reliable, great cleans, and take pedals really well. If you want to stick with mesa, maybe find a cheap Mark series. maybe a IIA, IIB or a Mark III. you can sometimes find them in the 6-$700 range. Also, chances are a mark series will need some work, but they are awesome amps. maybe look into the caliber series. DC 5 or DC10. They are supposed to have great cleans too

scott

$600 sounds about right. I don't plan on getting it for a while. Gtr_Pkr, what do you do to make up for the lack of volume?

petrucciowns said:

$600 sounds about right. I don't plan on getting it for a while. Gtr_Pkr, what do you do to make up for the lack of volume?

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I usually do not use the clean channel. Just 2 and 3 for me baby! :twisted:

+1 for the Roland jc120...best clean out there at high volumes.

I'm only seeing the JC120 in combo form. Would a 2x12 JC120 sound weak compared to my 4x12 recto cabinet? If not, I could use an A/B box to switch between the two. If it would sound weak, is it possible to route the output of the JC120 into the 4x12 alongside the rectifier via a tonebone headbone? I'm also looking to be able to use my weber mass 200 to attenuate the signal of both amps while I'm at home. Is this possible in the A/B situation? With the tonebone I'm sure I would just be able to route the output to the attenuator prior to the cab. I need the volume for when I go out to jam, but I have to limit my volume in my apartment complex.

though not an 'amp' per se, i've used a gsp1101 in 4-cable method in a clean amp setting with a dual rectifier. i had the clean preset setup to bypass the recto's preamp. it was as loud as a dual rect could get. pretty versatile and more portable than a separate amp.

now if you really want a separate head, I used to have a carvin x100b that had an astounding clean channel. either one will be way below your price range.

I'm only guessing but I'm sure the 2x12 combo will keep up. those are supposed to be loud. you can find it in the head... jc 120h, but you have to keep searching. I saw one sell for 350 a few weeks ago


scott

Guys thanks for all the assistance I'm thinking of the following for my set up.

Triple Rec:
Red Channel - High Gain Chunky Rhythm
Orange Channel - Lead with Delay
Green Channel - Rush style rock Rhythm

Guitar input into A/B box split to Triple Rec and JC120

JC120:
One channel - Clean/Acoustic (Piezo?)
Other channel - Blues Lead


I was thinking since this is a keyboard/MIDI amp as well it would sound nice with my Graphtech piezo pickup. One question though. I want my delay on at all times on channel 2, and when I press channel 1 or 3 on the footswitch I want the delay to stay on, but not carry through into the 1st or 3rd channel, that way I don't have to press both channel 2 on the footswitch and delay. How would I set this up through the effects loop?

Thanks!

petrucciowns said:

What clean amps do you guys know of that will fulfill my requirements of sounding good through a Mesa 4x12, and match channel 2 and 3's volume on the triple rec at least Master of each Channel 1/2 and main output 1/2?

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Turn the channel masters down to somewhere between 9:00 and 10:00, then set the clean channel so that it balances those two.

Since this will reduce the overall volume, turn your master output up to compensate.

screamingdaisy said:

Turn the channel masters down to somewhere between 9:00 and 10:00, then set the clean channel so that it balances those two.

Since this will reduce the overall volume, turn your master output up to compensate.

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Exactly, I can easily get my ch1 clean mode as loud or even louder than ch3 modern mode.

EQ it properly, and dial in at least 12.00 on the gain, and seriously turn the volume pot to 2.00 or higher...

By the way I run ch3 modern on 10.30 as well, this is heaps enough, then crank the output.

I do A/B with my Single Recto and my JC120 and it's perfect. The JC120 is a one channel amp though, the distortion knob is a joke... really. But the cleans are really awesome, LOUD as Hell!! The volume is set to 1 (not 1.2, 1.5, ONE) and it's loud enough with my drummer in my face and my bassist You will always have enough power, whatever dirt amp you got, don't worry about it.

To be honest, the Recto can achieve a great clean tone, with the right guitar of course.

**** honest amps, that's for sure.

If clean is the need then I would suggest the cleanest amp on the planet, a Fender Twin Reverb (NOT evil Twin). Anything from 66 to 1975 will do the job, and the early 70's silver faced Twin Reverbs can be found for very good prices almost anywhere. 80 watts of pure headroom.

I would get a Fender Tonemaster.

A lot of people don't like this amp, but I think that's because they don't understand it or haven't ever discovered how to get it to sound good. The clean channel sounds great (which is what you want anyway) but the 'distortion channel' doesn't, at least at reasonable volume. That's because it isn't really a two-channel amp, it's a one-channel amp with a 'more gain' channel. It's not meant to be used to get dirt at low volume, it's meant to give more drive at high volume when the power stage is already being pushed - get the master volume up to 5 or higher. Used like that, it sounds absolutely godlike, seriously one of the best amps I've ever played. The clean channel sounds even better at that sort of volume too - and it is LOUD, it will hold up against the Triple no problem.

And it only really sounds good through V30s - the matching Fender cabs have them, and so does the Mesa Recto cab so you have that covered too. You might even find the dirty channel useful - it has much more of a vintage character to it than the Mesa.