Rectifier Switch.....vacuum tubes or solid state diodes?

I was wondering what people use for there rectifier setting. I like the solid state for punchy metal, but vacuum tubes is good for rock"n"roll.

I dig and use em both along with the bold/spongy settings depending on style of music/mood/moon phase etc.

Currently on silicon/bold for maximum punch.

laters,

I only run the tube rectification. There is always a harshness that I can't get rid of on diodes. I typically run spongy with 6L6's and bold with EL34's. I seem to be able to get the best heavy tones in those configurations and I just tweak the eq to get it as tight as I like.

I have the RKII and run Ch.4 modern with two EL's and Diodes. I find kind-of with El's it seems that the diodes will help make it just a little more powerful, whereas the 6L6s get punchier like people said with the diodes.

I'm usually on the diodes, but I honestly can hardly tell the difference between that and the tube rectifiers. Maybe I just don't have it in me to turn my Triple up and really take advantage of it....

Nearly always on bold though.

When using In Ear monitors and the amp is barely on, I use Bold and SS Recto. Makes the amp tighten up and rounds off the bottom. Outdoor gigs or clubs I go Tube Recto and either Spongy or Bold, depending if the set has punchy clean songs or not.

In my short time with my tremoverb combo I've used tube setting and spongy. I play quite Rootsy "alt.country" stuff.

i'm using gz34 rec tubes with kt77 power tubes biased nice and hot. deff a ton of punch and growl. i play modern metal

To me there isn't much of a differance between the tubes or diodes. I actually left it on diodes for two weeks and didn't even notice till I was moving the head around. I use the tube setting mainly because the more tubes the better.

I personally never use the diodes. I think it sounds a little more 'alive' with the tubes.

I have discovered I like the Diodes for punchy metal. The rectifier is warmer for solo's. Of course there's no footswitch for it but that would be asking too much. THERE IS A SOUND DIFFERENCE between the rectifier and diodes. If you can't hear it I'm sorry but there is a pretty good difference. Wonder how long the rectifier tubes last? Cause on my DR the tube rectifier setting is just not near as tight or punchy than the diodes.

try the gz34 rec tubes. punch and sing.

i've experimented briefly with the settings during band situations. So far to my ears and the stuff that I play at home and band settings. I prefer the Silcon/spongy feature. I've used the Tube/spongy only once and it seems to sound alittle too loose for my taste but then again I only used a 1x12 cab so to make things fair. I'll give it another shot tinkering with it during next band session and see what sounds best
.

And this is the true beauty of the Road King and Roadster. There is really no compromise as each channel can be set to different tubes. The only thing that would be cool but is probably impossible, would be to be able to set each channel to spongy or bold. I like my channel 3 vintage diodes on bold but like channel 2 brit on spongy. Not a big deal for playing at home or in a studio but live you'd have to compromise one or the other.

I like the silicon diodes for punchy metal rhythm tones, but greatly prefer the tubes for lead. In the studio that's not an issue, but for live I found a good compromise by using the 5AR4/GZ34 rectifier tubes.

Some people have reported problems with the commonly used JJ GZ34 (too-small pin size, blowing fuses)...I tried them and had no issues... well, one failed but was replaced under warranty without question. The pins fit okay, however Eurotubes reccommended using a fuse 0.5 or 1 Amp larger than stock due to the higher current demand of the JJ GZ34, and I was not comfortable with that as IMO the amp would not be protected as well in the event of a power tube failure or other electrical fault. I found some Mesa-branded 5AR4 rectifiers, and have been using them (with the stock 4A fuse) for around 2 years without problems.

3-Ch Triple, '80s metal, prog rock, modern hard rock.

I play hard rock/metal and run diodes exclusively unless I'm recording a lead (this is for a 2 channel Recto).

I personally use silicon diodes for distortion sounds. If you want numetal sound thats it, you get a clear, transparent, and well-defined distortion, without a muddy bottom, but if you play more blues or fuzzy sounds, use the tubes.
For cleans sounds i prefer only the tubes.

Adambomb said:

I was wondering what people use for there rectifier setting. I like the solid state for punchy metal, but vacuum tubes is good for rock"n"roll.

Click to expand...

That pretty much sums it up.