Cleans on a Dual Recto 3ch

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Adambomb

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For one thing the cleans aren't that good. And another, why do I have to turn the Master volume on clean channel almost all the way up to match my stage volume with the other 2 dirty channels?
 
Yeah DR cleans suck, but that's like getting mad at your Porsche because it doesn't fit a family of 7 :wink: . I've just come to accept that my cleans are going to be muddy. The other guitarist in my band plays a JSX and the crystal clear cleans on that amp balance pretty well with my cleans for a nice mix.

I too have always wondered why i need to crank the volume on the clean channel to match the other channels though.
 
I actually dig the clean channel. But I'm coming from playing a one channel Plexi and using the neck p/up volume rolled off for my clean so do with that what you will.

Are you guys running with the loop engaged? I find that to my ears when it's engaged it really "suffocates" the tone. Just sounds as if it's being throttled back. The whole amp "opens" up when its bypassed and the clean sounds very piano like.
 
I actually dig the clean channel as well. I also have to run the master sky high because if you dial in any amount of gain then you get break-up. I also run a clean boost in front of the amp (modded TS9) and that brings alot of clarity out of it and I just have to roll the guitar volume down to keep it "clean". I also run loop bypass mode, the amp sounds horrid with it on in comparison IMHO. Try running a chorus in front of the amp with a minimal amount of effect, it does wonders for the clean channel and I also do the Zakk Wylde approach like this and leave in on CONSTANTLY and it really adds some cool texture to heavy rythm tones.
 
R_ADKINS80 said:
I actually dig the clean channel as well. I also have to run the master sky high because if you dial in any amount of gain then you get break-up.

Yep I've been experimenting with running the gain way low as well. On cleans and crunch stuff. Think alot has to do with
the output of the p/ups. I'm using EMG 81/85 and they just slam the front end. Channels crunch earlier and saturate earlier
and can start losing their punch and clarity if I crank the gain to where it should be for more moderate output p/ups. So I just dial it back until it feels right and the articulation is there. Less really is more. And I must give props to Peter Diezel as thats pretty much what he advises in his VH4 manual, mostly for o'drive channels but nonetheless all good advice.
 
I really like the clean channel :D Loop is on. I owned a Hiwatt 50 watt 1x12 combo for many years and can duplicate the tone I got from that amp. Been considering a chorus for the Recto for some time, I think that is my next purchase.
 
MF said:
Yeah DR cleans suck, but that's like getting mad at your Porsche because it doesn't fit a family of 7 :wink: . I've just come to accept that my cleans are going to be muddy. The other guitarist in my band plays a JSX and the crystal clear cleans on that amp balance pretty well with my cleans for a nice mix.

I too have always wondered why i need to crank the volume on the clean channel to match the other channels though.

I'm running it with my loop on and modded the loop for serial. I think you might be right though. The DR does sound better for clean with the loop off.
 
Cleans sound great on my 2 channel, love the mids bumped half way up with the presence down almost all the way, no bite just smooth
 
I think the 3ch dual has great cleans, loop on or off. The presence control is not the traditional negative-feedback circuit. It is a treble roll-off, so you have to turn it up for the classic fender cleans.
 
3124+ said:
I think the 3ch dual has great cleans, loop on or off. The presence control is not the traditional negative-feedback circuit. It is a treble roll-off, so you have to turn it up for the classic fender cleans.

Really?! That's a great bit of information to know! In fact, I find myself loving the tone for a nice chimey clean with the presence dimed, so that makes some sense. I love the cleans on my TR. Obviously it's going to be very difficult to replicate Fender cleans, but accepting that, I've found some stuff in there that I really like.
 
TheMagicEight said:
3124+ said:
I think the 3ch dual has great cleans, loop on or off. The presence control is not the traditional negative-feedback circuit. It is a treble roll-off, so you have to turn it up for the classic fender cleans.

Really?! That's a great bit of information to know! In fact, I find myself loving the tone for a nice chimey clean with the presence dimed, so that makes some sense. I love the cleans on my TR. Obviously it's going to be very difficult to replicate Fender cleans, but accepting that, I've found some stuff in there that I really like.

That is good info...I love a good fender clean. In fact, I own two Fender amps for that reason.

I didn't buy the DR for a good clean channel, but I'm surprised how decent it sounds. I have also wondered why you have to crank the volume on that channel to match the ouput of the other two channels.
 
After playing dozens of "boutique" amps over the past 10 or so years, I would classify the DR cleans as definitely usable, but certainly not the strong point of the amp.

To be fair to the Dual Rec, tubes and speakers make a HUGE difference. Many players (including myself) choose tubes and speakers that will enhance the lead/rhythm tone. This inevitably will impact the clean tone. When I bought my DR used somebody had retubed with a set of JJ 6V6's. The clean tone was drastically improved over the stock 6L6's.
 
mightypudge said:
To be fair to the Dual Rec, tubes and speakers make a HUGE difference. Many players (including myself) choose tubes and speakers that will enhance the lead/rhythm tone. This inevitably will impact the clean tone. When I bought my DR used somebody had retubed with a set of JJ 6V6's. The clean tone was drastically improved over the stock 6L6's.

So true. I've found that a 3ch DR with a quad of GT KT-66HP through an open back 2x12 or 4x10 is Fender all the way to the bank. For all around clean/overdrive use and reliability, I do like the STR-430 though.
 
Has anyone tried a sonic maximizer? I did on a rectoverb and it did a very nice difference, I may buy another BBE but in the sonic stomp format and to check if that helps with the cleans too, I know it will help with the other 2 channels.
 
I don't understand either why the cleans have to be bumped quite a bit in order to get the matching volume of the ch2/3. I actually like the cleans as well. It's no Fender of course but for what it does. It's quite musical. I actually like the loop on as well. Both channels seems to be a bit fuller to my ears.
 
The orange and red channel circuits produce a much stronger signal than the green channel, so it is necessary to run the clean volume higher for proper balance. This is completely normal.
 
I have the same issue with my Triple Recto head. I dont agree that you should have to run the green channel so hi up to get it to sound the same as far as volume. I play my amp loud live, but when you use the green channel for green, I have to crank it up and it still does not match the other two channels, this to me is a design flaw. This will only happens to my head only with something plugged into the FX loop, with nothing in the FX loop, all channels are the same volume and sound good. Mesa gives some crap story about the circuitry that it uses when using FX loops jacks, making it different, ok but you should be able to use the FX loop on any channel and all volumes should be the same, and its not the tubes, Mesa sent me new tubes to replace the new ones I already had still did the same thing, this was a brand new head I purchased. I have five other heads different makes, and none do this.
 
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