Question about my 1992 Dual recto...Possible issue.

Hey guys, On my 1992 dual recto, when I switch the power setting from "spongy" to "bold" the power indicator light (jewel light) on the front panel gets brighter with bold setting and dimmer with spongy setting. Is this normal? I don't recall this happening on my previous DRs. Or is this something that was done with the older early dual rectos? Thanks for any help you can offer.

Spongy drops the internal voltage to ~90v, which dims the light.

I was told not to switch settings voltage/rectifier settings on early Rectos with the amp powered up. I never hurt it prior to being told... but I figure better safe than sorry.

screamingdaisy said:

Spongy drops the internal voltage to ~90v, which dims the light.

I was told not to switch settings voltage/rectifier settings on early Rectos with the amp powered up. I never hurt it prior to being told... but I figure better safe than sorry.

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Does the light brighten/dim on the later 2 & 3 channel recto's the same way when switching bold/spongy? Is it a Mesa recommendation to not switch bold/spongy while its powered on with the early recto's? Reason I ask is I like to switch the settings while I'm playing to change up tone/feel on the fly for comparison and what not. I wont be to happy if I find I have to turn the amp off to SAFLEY change the bold/spongy setting. But I would rather not hurt the amp if it is the case. Any way I can confirm this aside from calling mesa? :?

guitarslayer said:

Does the light brighten/dim on the later 2 & 3 channel recto's the same way when switching bold/spongy?

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It doesn't dim the light on my Roadster, but spongy mode sounds different on my Roadster too. My educated guess is that on earlier Rectos it sagged the ENTIRE circuit... tubes, lights, everything. The results were cool, but they changed the character of the whole amp (darker, less gain, less volume, more sag, less fizz at low volumes, etc). On the Roadster changing to spongy doesn't change the character of the whole amp (no change to gain, not as dark) so much as it sags and smooths the response (less volume, darker/less fizz at low volumes).

Is it a Mesa recommendation to not switch bold/spongy while its powered on with the early recto's? Reason I ask is I like to switch the settings while I'm playing to change up tone/feel on the fly for comparison and what not. I wont be to happy if I find have to turn the amp off to SAFLEY change the power section setting. But I would rather not hurt the amp if it is the case. Any way I can confirm this aside from calling mesa?

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You'll have to call Mesa. One dude I talked to said Mesa told him not to switch on the fly, while another dude on this forum told me that Mesa said it didn't matter. The first guy said that Mesa told him the original Rectos weren't designed to switch on the fly, and that flicking the switch causes a momentary power drop followed by a surge in the power supply that can be hard on the amp. I too find it irritating to power down, but I've chosen to play it safe. I usually just switch it into standby myself, that way the tube heaters stay on and I don't have to give them a moment to heat back up again.

screamingdaisy said:

You'll have to call Mesa. One dude I talked to said Mesa told him not to switch on the fly, while another dude on this forum told me that Mesa said it didn't matter. The first guy said that Mesa told him the original Rectos weren't designed to switch on the fly, and that flicking the switch causes a momentary power drop followed by a surge in the power supply that can be hard on the amp. I too find it irritating to power down, but I've chosen to play it safe. I usually just switch it into standby myself, that way the tube heaters stay on and I don't have to give them a moment to heat back up again.

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Thanks for the input! I will call mesa next week to see what their official word is. When I find out I'll post their response.

guitarslayer said:

screamingdaisy said:

You'll have to call Mesa. One dude I talked to said Mesa told him not to switch on the fly, while another dude on this forum told me that Mesa said it didn't matter. The first guy said that Mesa told him the original Rectos weren't designed to switch on the fly, and that flicking the switch causes a momentary power drop followed by a surge in the power supply that can be hard on the amp. I too find it irritating to power down, but I've chosen to play it safe. I usually just switch it into standby myself, that way the tube heaters stay on and I don't have to give them a moment to heat back up again.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the input! I will call mesa next week to see what their official word is. When I find out I'll post their response.

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What did Mesa say

Same on my Tremoverb.

Can't wait to hear Mesa's response.