Recto Pre EQ

This seems like such a basic question to ask , but I just seem more and more lost the more I mess with my EQ.

I finally got the Recto Pre (yay! amazing thing... its just an organic bliss!) and I'm mainly using it in the area of recording. But I can't really find a useable setting. Like I mess around, sounds good... hit a quick recording... and it just doesn't quite come out how I was expecting. I'm really not use to the EQ (doesn't quite work the same as other amps I've used).

I'm looking to get basically a Korn sound (yeah yeah, should be easy with a Recto, but I'm really not finding it). I've tried the settings I often always hear for Korn, and what I use to use on other equipment, but none of them are even really close.

Really looking for some "guidance" here on how to find what I'm looking for.

First off....make sure you master volume is at or above 12:00......




As I'm sure you know, Korn runs two rhythm guitars that're EQ'd quite different. The low rhythm is treble at zero, presence cranked, lots of mids and not too much bass.

The high rhythm is pretty standard....put everything near noon and EQ to taste.

If you watch Korn play, they're always working the volumes on their guitars....that's a big part of their sound. For both guitars run the guitar volume around 5 or 8 to add some tightness to the chugging, then dime it for "leads". For the ratty sounding cleans, leave it on the lead channel and drop the guitar volume further.

Anyway, that's what I've figured out, but it's by no means gospel.....



EDIT.....I just realized something.....you're using the direct outs, aren't you?

Lots of news in that post.

No treb... cranked pres... no bass... lots of mids..... that's completely contradictory to every Korn setting I've ever seen, no wonder I'm lost, lol...

And I'll probably figure this out as I toy with it in the next couple of hours, but where is the gain usually set? I'm very use to cranking the gain, but I don't think that's "the best" on a Mesa (not sure how to say that, lol).

Master volume at 12:00 or higher, OK.... does it matter what the RECORDING OUTPUT is at?

And yes, I am using the direct outs; I'm recording with it.

Since you're using the recording outs, the master volume level doesn't matter. As for the recording out level....I'm not too sure, I've only fiddled with it briefly and that was over a year ago.

As for the rest....yeah, most people get Korn's sound pretty mixed up. The main rhythm tone is a combination of the guitar and bass....if you listen to that Pink Floyd cover they did you can hear the strait rhythm guitar (it's droning durring the intro, then the chord work that kicks in around 1:30) without the bass, and it doesn't have the same bottom end when the bass drops out.

The second guitarists tone is a little different, but the one of the settings in the manual gets pretty close if I remember correctly.

As for gain.....modern....and keep it somewhere around noon....and use your guitar volume.

Gain around noon? I'll try it out... but if memory recalls, I had it around there and it really didn't sound very distorted.

Thanks for the advice, I'll be looking into it a little bit... will probably certainly be back with more ques. lol

PUBH said:

Gain around noon? I'll try it out... but if memory recalls, I had it around there and it really didn't sound very distorted.

Click to expand...

What pickups are you using? I use EMGs, so you may need a little more volume if you're using something of a lower output.

Also, Korn uses DiMarzio PAF Pros are something like that.....though Munki's guitar has had some sort of EMG in it for quite some time now.

thought id chime in as im a long time korn fan.

screamingdaisy is right... alot of people get confused about there tones. its not any traditional type.. i mean fieldy scoops out nearly all of his mids. and the treble is rolled off the guitar.

i've been able to get somewhat of a korny sound out of my nomad. i went back and listened to the life is peachy album to hear how they used their tones. go back and listen to "mr. rogers" when it kicks in and notice how the tone is muddy but used in a way to how the song is. how it almost sounds like rolling sludge but at the same time it sound effin cool as hell.

another thing is that even though the recto pre is supposed to get you that recto sound plugged in direct. they have said that they crank their amps up in the studio to obscene volumes... i think what you might need is some real power tube distorion in order to accomplish this. :roll:

Thanks again for the help and info.

I found a better setting than I have been using by working off the ideas I got from you guys. I have my settings now around gain 2:00, treble zero, mids 9:00, bass 3:00, presence full. Though still more tweaking to do.

I suppose to get a good full Korn sound I'd have to layer guitars that are set differently. But I take it from some comments already... one guitar is set overall lower (more 'bassy') and the other one is a little more 'trebly'?

Just trying to get use to taking the idea I have in my head, and figuring how that works out on the EQ.

And yeah... I'm looking to get the 2:100 power amp when I can, but at the moment I don't have the money for it.



Also a separate but valuable question:

I've never used an amp before with an effects loop. I have a number of pedals, but lets just say I am looking to hook up my BOSS Flanger. How exactly does that work out with the loop?

Also, I've read somewhere or another that the effects tend to sound better not running through the loop, but after the preamp. Is that true? Branching off this question then... is it recommended to add effects before the preamp?

PUBH said:

Thanks again for the help and info.

I found a better setting than I have been using by working off the ideas I got from you guys. I have my settings now around gain 2:00, treble zero, mids 9:00, bass 3:00, presence full. Though still more tweaking to do.

I suppose to get a good full Korn sound I'd have to layer guitars that are set differently. But I take it from some comments already... one guitar is set overall lower (more 'bassy') and the other one is a little more 'trebly'?

Click to expand...

Double tracking a riff really thickens it up.....and yes, one guitar is EQ'd much lower than the other. Like I mentioned above, the "Another Brick in the Wall" cover they did really lets you hear the individual guitar sounds.

Also a separate but valuable question:

I've never used an amp before with an effects loop. I have a number of pedals, but lets just say I am looking to hook up my BOSS Flanger. How exactly does that work out with the loop?

Also, I've read somewhere or another that the effects tend to sound better not running through the loop, but after the preamp. Is that true? Branching off this question then... is it recommended to add effects before the preamp?

Click to expand...

I'd try your flange both in front and in the loop and see which way you like better.

Some effects (EQ & chorus for example) sound best when used in series...so they're best used after the preamp.

Effects like delay on the other hand tend to sound best when used in parallel, so they'd sound best in the loop.

Personally, I run my wah, overdrive, octave, and phase before the preamp, and my chorus and delay after the preamp (ie, I don't use the loop).