Tone and Amp advice... modded Recto vs. Road King vs. Mark V

I own a 2009 3-channel Dual Rectifier with a 4x12 recto cab. I've been endlessly searching for a tone similar to Alter Bridge, Limp Bizkit, 12 Stones kind of tone, in other words, tighter, but still american sounding. I've tried pretty much everything:

1) Tubescreamer TS-7: tightened up my higher gain channels, but gets really annoying having to turn it off when going back to the clean channel, it still has a drive, even with it all the way down.
2) Boss GE-7 equalizer: as a clean boost. If I boosted the 800-1200Hz sliders, the high gain channel sounds awesome, but screws up my clean tone, if I'm to leave it on, as I like a mid-scooped clean tone.
3) EL34s: tightens up a bit, but I kinda prefer 6L6s for the clean channel.

So I've been doing some research and came across Voodoo amps, they offer mods for the recto. From what I've heard in their site, it's seems pretty awesome. But I also came across reviews of the Mark V, and fallen pretty much in love with it. And finally, the Road King, which you can select which tubes you want for each channel.
Other than that tone I'm looking for, I need some versatility, an amp capable of chimey clean sounds, and tight low and high gain sounds. I play mostly post-grunge, but also ska-punk, jazz and metalcore, so it needs to cover these styles as best as it can, other than getting "that" tone.

Should I:
a) Have my Dual Recto modded at Voodoo?
b) Ditch my DR for a Road King?
c) Ditch my DR for a Mark V?

As far as the Roadking, it has the same gain structure as your Dual. Sure, the RK adds alot more options, but with a Recto the distortion is based in the preamp. If you find you need to boost your Dual you will most likely be boosting the RK.

The MKV is a fantastic amp that will give you all the compression and saturation you are trying to get using a boost with your Dual, but straight into the MKV. However, it's voiced in the higher mids and does not have that huge Recto lowend and famous Recto low-mid grind.

I've never tried or even heard a Voodoo modded Dual in person. Some reviews I've read say it somewhat changes the amp from it's original Recto Growl. However, the sound samples on Voodoo Amps website sound pretty good, but so do alot of stock Recto clips on the net.

If you can, you should try to find a MKV at a music store so you can give it a test drive. It is a great amp, but it is quite different from a Recto. I would print the sample settings from the manual and bring it with you for reference.

Sorry I can't give you a definitive answer on what is best for you, only you truly know that.

Dom

Thanks

It'd be nice if people with experience with the Voodoo modded DR chimed in.

luiza177 said:

I own a 2009 3-channel Dual Rectifier with a 4x12 recto cab. I've been endlessly searching for a tone similar to Alter Bridge, Limp Bizkit, 12 Stones kind of tone, in other words, tighter, but still american sounding. I've tried pretty much everything:

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I'd recommend trying out a 2 channel dual or triple recto, as those were the amps these guitarists were using to get their tone from.
IMO that will get you extremely close to their sound, but also matching their choice of guitars/pickups will seal the deal!

Are 2-channel Rectos any tighter than 3-channel ones?

I used to own a 3 channel dual before I sold it off to get the 2 channel triple I have now, and I never looked back.

The tone of 2 channel duals/triples is the sound you are looking for if you into Alter Bridge, Limp Bizkit, 12 Stones.
It is the quintessential recto sound as you would hear it in your head, but even better once you crank it. It is extremely aggressive, but yet incredibly smooth. Under high gain, chords retain incredible clarity in their note's definition.

They are tighter and warmer more organic sounding heads than the 3 channel heads, They sound clearer and more present to my ears (no brittle fizz and thin tone), as well as meaner.
A boost is not necessary with these heads at all (but you can still use one if you'd like)

Mark says he uses 2 channel Rectos for recording.

I have a Roadster and play through a Tremonti signature and can get that tone. I recorded myself fooling around with Ghost of Our Days, cleans and dirty sounded almost indistinguishable. My Mark IV on the other hand, it's not the Tremonti sound at all, and that's why I bought it. So the Mark V won't give you that Recto tone, but it's still very versatile.

luiza177 said:

I need some versatility, an amp capable of chimey clean sounds, and tight low and high gain sounds. I play mostly post-grunge, but also ska-punk, jazz and metalcore, so it needs to cover these styles as best as it can, other than getting "that" tone.

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Basically, from this description alone, you're already describing your liking for a Mark V. The Mark V has some spanky clean sounds you'll love -- very good for ska..but also great smoothy jazz tones as well. The distortion is extremely tight and clear, and doesn't have the buzziness that the Recs have (which makes me favor the Marks in those regards as far as distortion). Metalcore? The Mark V will do it in spades. I know a few 'core' bands who are loving their Mark Vs alot. So basically, my point is..if you're looking for versatility, go with a Mark V. Don't get me wrong -- the Recs do a good job ( especially the Reborns) at a few different sounds, but the Mark V just has a bigger tonal palette.

Try a Stiletto cab and not a Recto cab if you want a tighter sound IMO...

How are the clean tones in the 2-channel rectos?

JCDenton6 said:

The tone of 2 channel duals/triples is the sound you are looking for if you into Alter Bridge, Limp Bizkit, 12 Stones.
It is the quintessential recto sound as you would hear it in your head, but even better once you crank it. It is extremely aggressive, but yet incredibly smooth. Under high gain, chords retain incredible clarity in their note's definition.

Click to expand...

^this. Mark Tremonti's tone has got 2 channel recto all over it.

luiza177 said:

Should I:
b) Ditch my DR for a Road King?

Click to expand...

If you're looking for low end tightness don't go expecting to get it from a Road King. In my experience they're even more low-end-heavy than regular rectos.

luiza177 said:

Should I:
c) Ditch my DR for a Mark V?

Click to expand...

Yes.

Obviously I'm kind of biased, but I think you'd love the Mark V if you want to have a tighter response and still have an american sound. Any Mark fits that bill perfectly. It's also much more midrange-compressed out of the box on the lead channel and lends itself to soloing way easier and more expressively. I don't use a boost with my Mark V. All it does on this specific amp IMO is add an extra layer of unnecessary convolution to your tone.

Also, with regards to having to stomp your tubescreamer or EQ every time you switch channels - are you running a pedal board or rack setup? With a rack you can make presets that can switch your pedals on automatically for different channels. After going from pedalboard to rack, I honestly can't ever see myself going back.

I don't have any experience with modded rectos, so i can't really help you there.

I'm running a pedalboard. I use a lot of pedals, so even if I end up not modding it, I may sell it for a newer Multi-watt recto, for the series loop and well... the multi-watt, I mostly run my current recto with only 2 power tubes.

I started looking into other overdrives/clean boosts, maybe there's one out there I can keep on... I'm looking into the fulltone OCD, I hear it can be used as a clean boost and has pretty great responsiveness. I dig the clean channel just before breakup, so maybe I can get a good compromise. Any thoughts?

Have you seriously evaluated your guitars / pickups? This makes a BIG difference in tone. **Insert Bare Knuckle Pickup plug here**

Ultimately, I was at war with my Dual Rectifier for 10 years and opted to go with a Mesa Boogie Electra Dyne. Definitely the right amp for me.

That being said, my old 2 Channel Dual definitely has a mojo that other heads lack!

Yes, I play a PRS custom 22 loaded with Tremonti pickups. I love the recto's tone, especially boosted, which is why I'm hesitant to sell it for a Mark V. So before I decide on any amps, I'm looking into other OD/boost pedals, my main issue is the "tap dance" problem.

Boosted, hmm?
Sounds to me like you should look into a midi control setup for your rig. Rather than spending $500+ for amp mods, just buy one of these programmable systems for you. It will do the tap dance and you can just click a few buttons at your leisure. I think the one is called a G Major!!?? Hopefully someone who has half a clue how this works will chime in for me. I'm assuming it is set up so when you click on 'clean', the controller simultaneously removes the boost petal from the guitar signal and switches the head to the clean channel...

If I was to get serious about my setup, I would do likewise and run a Tonebone Cab bone with my Dual Rectifier and Electra Dyne as well as a midi control so that I could access all my tones on one pedal. Alternatively, I'd just run each as a separate quarterstack. I can't even imagine how awesome 'Dyne Vintage Hi + Dual Recto Red channel would sound together!

A G-Major is a rack mounted guitar effects processor. There are many MIDI controllers and loopers, I use the Voodoo Labs Ground Control Pro controller and GCX Audio Switcher. Gives me one-stomp control over my rig, no more tap dancing.

Everything is in a road case (well, almost everything, the Crybaby is new):




And this is the controller/pedalboard:


The rack mounted gear is listed in my signature.

Dom

Nice! Does that thing work for stompboxes, or alternatively is there some other similar thing that does?

The stompboxes that are in my rack are in the loops of the GCX, which is controlled by the Ground Control Pro.

http://www.voodoolab.com/gcx.htm

http://www.voodoolab.com/gcontrolpro.htm

There are also many non-MIDI pedal switchers available. Here are the Voodoo Lab Offerings:
http://www.voodoolab.com/commander.htm
http://www.voodoolab.com/switcher.htm

And some stuff from The Gig Rig:
http://www.thegigrig.com/acatalog/switching_systems.html

I chose MIDI control so I could completly control my G-Major as well as the stompbox switching.

Dom

Thanks! This Gigrig stuff seems really nice, I'm wondering though, I was reading thier manuals, I suppose the even though the Rectos are midi controlled, you can't use the midi out to control it, right?

The Rectos are NOT MIDI controlled. The footswitch just happens to use the same style connector. If you wish to control the amp via MIDI, you need some sort of Control Function Switcher that connects via the 1/4" External Trigger jacks (or a custom cable that connects to the footswitch jack)

http://www.voodoolab.com/controlswitcher.htm

Dom