Grim ( Is it really worth it??)

Noo I cant believe how much hassle i have gone through to get my dual rectifier head, I origonally bought it from ebay, i live in the uk and got it shipped in from america which meant i had to wait 2 weeks for it to arrive (which was not very fun) then i got a letter which said that it was being held in customs and that i had to pay £120 (about $250) to recieve it, then when i went to pick it up from the depot i found that the 5U4`s had shatterd inside and left shards of glass inside, so i ordered more tubes and cleaned the amp until it shined, then when i finally got it running it sounded like ***, so now ive sent it in for servicing and just found out today that it will take 3 weeks because the guy is on holiday all next week and the week after is booked out. It just makes me wanna break down and cry, will someone please re-assure me into believing that getting a boogie was the right thing to do and that it will all be worth the while when i finally get my amp sorted, i just want a tone that sounds like kirk and james` from s&m, cos it makes me cream everytime i hear that tone.

Jimmy55 said:

sounded like ***.... re-assure me into believing that getting a boogie was the right thing to do.... when i finally get my amp sorted

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Just keep in mind it's not a marshall, or anything else for that matter. The EQ is a whole different animal from anything else you have ever played. Just dont turn the gain or bass all the way up, and dont turn the mids to zero. Be patient, experiment, and your efforts will be rewarded with a tone that crushes all.

What spkr cab are you using? What tubes did you put in the amp?

Goddamn. I bet it was shipped USPS AND the sender didn't pack it carefully enough. I too, bought mine off ebay- and it took three weeks to arrive (an I'm in america!). When I got it- the rectifier tubes were also shatterec- glass every where. And if that wasn't enough- when I tried everything out, no sound came out- only a horrible buzzing tone.

I got it repaired and it's been working fine since, and the tone is AMAZING! Just make sure you've got good preamp tubes in there, only because it really makes a difference with this amps EQ. I blew a preamp tube at a show once, and replaced all of them with OLD OLD sovteks, and it sounded like ***. Popped some new JJ's in there and the sound is stellar.

I second NoGlass in that you really need to spend some time with the EQ, but it's definately worth it. The amp is very versatile.

You made a grear choice in an amp, so hang in there. I really wish people would take better care when shipping tube amps. You're supposed to remove all the tubes and wrap them in paper, and put them in a seperate box- just so situations like this don't occur.

Remember, one of the GREAT benifits of tube amps is that they're easy to make repairs too, and they're worth making repairs to. And most problems (once you become familiar with them), can easily be fixed by you!

Good luck with everything and let us know how things work out.

the_meridian said:

Remember, one of the GREAT benifits of tube amps is that they're easy to make repairs too, and they're worth making repairs to. And most problems (once you become familiar with them), can easily be fixed by you!

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Exactly what I was going to say, well sort of. Most tube amp problems are the tubes themselves! They are easy to diagnose and/or replace! Did you attempt this? I'm not sure if the Rectifier tubes have to be in there or not (since they're shattered), but I know if one goes out you can run on the silicone diodes! Did you try that? One more thing, replacing or diagnosing tubes is pretty non-intrusive, but if you feel they are not to blame then definitely get the amp to a tech!

Mis-posted by Jimmy55:

Jimmy55 said:

ive never had a tube amp before so i didnt know wat to do when i found the amp sounded awful, i did however get the rectifier tubes replaced with mesa 5U4gb tubes (which to my knowledge are the same accept for the size arnt they?) after i replaced the tubes and played it for the first time, the amp just sounded awful and didnt seem to have any thickness especially in the palm muting department, and when i played single notes to solo the tone just broke up in seconds and sounded awful even when i dialed in suggested settings, ive read abit into rectifiers and from wat i read knew this is not how it is supposed to sound, so i just sent it in for repairs, i also have a question, ive read that some people replace the first 12AX7-A pre amp tube with a SPax7 tube, what does this actually do?

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First off, I'd use the silicone diodes for rectification if your a heavy palm muter. A toggle on the rear of the amp allows you to choose between tube rectification or silicone diodes! About the pre-amp tubes, SPax7's are supposed to be quieter in higher gain amps...

Well, i got a phonecall from the shop and the guy said he couldnt find anything wrong with the amp, maybe i just totally suck at EQ, i did try suggested settings from the manual but it didnt seem to make a difference, if a tube amp seems to sound dull and muddy is that a tube problem, im running through a 4x12 mesa standard cab and am using an esp m1000, so it cant be the guitar, maybe its just me, maybe i should be a bit more patient dialing settings? i might try and post a recording.

Does that M1000 have EMG's in it? Change the battery. As for EQ try this:
start w/ Ch3, modern. Bold. Diode rec.
Bass 12:00, Mid 11:30, Treb 12:00, Pres 10:00, Gain 2:30, Master to match other channels, Output as loud as your neighbors will tolerate.
Make very fine adjustments from there, one knob at a time, till you find the tone. Be patient its worth it!

I waited 4 months for my Road King Combo to be shipped from Mesa. It was worth EVERY SECOND. The tone just KILLS.

Do however, follow the previously posted advice. The eq is very interactive, and it takes some tweaking to get it just right...but when you do...YOU KNOW IT. The sun will burst through the clouds, the birds will sing, deer will come up and eat out of your hand, your acne will clear up, you'll regrow hair, you will become more handsome.....you get the picture...the tone is THAT good.


RB

Its not that i couldnt get a totally amazing tone, i cant seem to get anything slightly good at all, when i hear recordings of mesa amps and they sound amazing, and totally different to wat i get when i try, i played on a boss mt-2 the other day thru some cruddy solid state marshall, and the tone sounded better than anything i could dial through my mesa, im just convinced that something is wrong with it. im still gonna be pacient with it and get thru this bollocks.

Why don't you try playing through another Dual Rectifier, preferably with the same guitar and cables you normally play through (speaker cable incl). This will eliminate any questions on whether your amp is at fault or not. Determining which amp is for you can be a life-long journey, but doing research on your favorite artists and the equipment they're using is a good start. Just keep in mind that these artists are in state of the art recording stuidios, using techniqes that some of us may not have access to, so your never going to sound just like a record! I would recommend you stop trying to sound like someone else and forge a sound all your own! You've definitely got the right amp, you just need to make sure it's working proper, you have good equipment going to it, and all of your connections are correct!

Hmm, just a thought I'm sure has'nt been overlooked :idea: You fellows in the UK are'nt on different power than the US are ya? You are'nt trying to run an amp with a transformer designed for 120 with 220/240 power :?: Thought I'd ask :wink:

jbird said:

You fellows in the UK are'nt on different power than the US are ya?

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+1 JBIRD! Cant believe I missed that one. There is a discussion on the Vintage Amps forum of a similar nature...a guy in Germany using a US MarkIV.

The US version of the dual rectifier that i bought requires a 120volt 4amp power supply, this implication of that was, apparently, that i need a 500watt step-down transformer, so that is what i bought, and that is what i have been using.