The Rectifier FAQ Thread

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Q: I can't seem to get enough gain out of my Recto. Is there something wrong?

Or "My recto doesn't do metal" Or "my recto isn't as heavy as my friend's Peavey 5150" Or "my recto gets lost in the mix".

General observation: The Mids are the aggression control. The more aggression / tightness / cut you want, the more you turn the mids up. Presence adds top end harmonics and 'cut'. Won't get fizzy at 'gig' levels. If the tone gets too bright, drop the treble slightly.
 
lolzgreg said:
In response to the question of boosting, Rectifiers, in my experience prefer boost pedals that have more of an emphasis on the high mids than the low mids, considering the Rectifier series is a bit more low mid voiced and grindy. The Maxon OD820 Pro, Maxon OD808, and Boss SD-1 are my favorite boosts with the Recto; the OD808 and SD-1 will give you quite a bit more "sheen" than the OD820.
I use the MXR GT-OD and boy... it works beautifully!!! 100% recommended.
 
Total noob here and brand new to forum,

I have little to no experience with Mesa amps and just played my first Dual Recto the other day and was floored. It sounded amazing on all channels.

I have several questions about these amps though.

First, what is the difference between single, dual and triple rectifiers? Obviously I get the single only has one rectifier but what type is it? And the dual has diode and tube rectifiers but what about the triple? And what difference does it make, diode or tube rectification? Does it effect the tone?

And what about the Mini recto? does it have only one rectifier? how does it compare to a dual (since that is the only one I have played) in terms of modern high gain? I mainly play metal and loved the dual's red channel on modern high gain.

I am seriously considering getting one of these. Also what about cabs besides the recto cabs, any good alternatives, just for curiosity sake. I don't particularly like Vintage 30's .

Thanks, I appreciate all the knowledge I have seen so far on this site,

Rock on!
 
That's actually a good question so I'll jump into it.

The Dual Rectifier was the original of the Rectifier series until the Triple Rectifier came out somewhere around Revision F of the 2 channel models. The original thought was that it had two types of rectifiers, tubes and diodes. That was laid to waist when the Triple came out having 3 rectifier tubes and also silicone diodes. Some time later (I'm not sure when) the Single was released as a 50 watt head that had NO rectifier tubes. It only ran on solid state rectification. Also it ditched the Spongy/Bold switch as well. So the meaning between Single, Dual and Triple really hasn't been consistent from one head to the other, save for sounding good with the name. I don't know why it wasn't designed with at least one rectifier tube in mind, but hey, that's not for me to decide. A large part of the Recto sound is from that pre-amp combined with their cooly biased power section, and the Single still had that. The rectification type does have an effect on tone; it's not super pronounced but it's there. Diodes are more aggressive and upfront. Using the rectifier tubes introduces a little sag into the sound and gives it a slightly more loose, vintage vibe.

Like it's bigger brothers, the Single Rectifier underwent a revision. Series One accepted only 6L6 tubes and featured 4 modes total: Clean and Pushed on Channel One and Vintage and Modern Channel Two. Series Two brought about the adjustable bias switch to run EL34s (which sound FANTASTIC in a Single Rec) as well as introducing Raw mode to the gain channel. Two channel layout on both versions with both Output and Solo controls. It also got a sibling called the Recto-verb: Basically the single recto with reverb. Still a fairly sought after little amp too. People that have their Recto-verbs love them. Great flavors of Recto tone that unfortunately were discontinued recently since the newer Multi-watt Rectos can switch down to 50 watts. Still, if you're looking for good Recto tone on the cheap, these can be had used for a great price.

Mini Recto - 25 watt amp switchable to 10 watts. Recto preamp with EL84 power section. A little brighter I believe than the standard Dual and Triples. This is most likely due to the EL84 tubes vs 6L6s that the bigger Rectos ship with.

Speakers are very, very subjective, especially with Rectos. I am one who LOVES the Recto sound through a Mesa cab with Vintage 30s. I also love a Mark through those speakers and 5150s through them too. But V30s are not for every one. A lot of people have had great success with various cabs and speaker combos. Mills makes phenomenal cabs. Avatar makes a great cab for the buck that you can get loaded with whatever you want. Mojo tone as well. Genz-benz cabs sound good too. The Revision G Dual Recto I just got? I played that through a Genz-benz with Swamp Thangs to test it and man that was a hellaciously awesome sludge/doom tone coming out of it. Celestion and Eminence both have a variety that are great. Legend V12s fit the less aggressive/shrill (whatever you want to call it) bill of the V30 as do WGS Veteran 30s. I've heard them run through G12T75s that have sounded good, despite that speaker being scooped in the mids. G12K100s are another favorite for Rectos. EVs too, but they weigh a ton and cost a ton, but if that's what you want go for it. MC90s (Mesa Black Shadows) also sound fantastic. A more even response than the mid heavy V30 (and sounds great mixed with V30s). What I'm saying is this: different speakers will profoundly affect the voice of this amp as will the construction of the cab it's in. If you can try one with different cab/speaker combos then do it. It'll help narrow down what you want for your tone.

Hope this helps dude.
 
I'm gonna do some sound tests today with Triple Recto (2 channel) -> done yesterday.

Is any difference between using of VACUUM TUBES (normal) and SILICON DIODES (hi power)? I mean difference in lifetime of tubes?

And should I change this setting with amp completely OFF or is it OK to be turned ON? (not in operational stand-by mode)

EDIT: OKEY guys, thanks for "no-show" there :mrgreen:

I figured out changing of settings on my own yesterday - POWER ON - STAND-BY OFF. The question about lifetime of tubes is still on my mind though. Anyone?
 
fluff191 said:
screamingdaisy said:
I have an Orange 4x12 and I think it sounds like crap next to my Mesa cabs.

And trust me... I've tried really, really hard to like it.

It did sound great with my Orange amps... with Mesa amps though... meh.

Really? Wow interesting.

Yea an Orange cab is pretty much just bass heavy and that's it. They don't project like the Mesa cabs do. Had an Emperor cab that was like and Orange and hated it. It was like we didn't even need a bass player. But I also seen that the OP has different tastes like everybody. I'm Suprised this thread is a sticky. But some good info on the OP's opinion.
 
fluff191 said:
Q: How do I sound like __________ ?

A: Simply, you can't. Tone is in your fingers. But you may be able to get close. Start by setting all your tone controls to NOON (12:00) as a starting point and go from there. It may take hours, it may take days. And no, you can't just go buy an overdrive pedal to make things magically better.

As an old guy but a new guy here, I found this bit the most relevant piece of insight by far. Thanks for the FAQ in general and for putting this right at the outset.

Cheers,
Joe
 
Great FAQ! I only just discovered it :roll:

The only thing I disagree on is that Mesa cabs are supposed to sound best...
 
Yetti said:
Dont Dial in Settings/Tones with your eyes. Use your ears its what theyre there for!

I can attest to this!

Also, I am running 2 Splawn 2x12 cabs with Celestion Creamback speakers and it sounds massive.
 
I am surprised there was no info on how to date a head via serial in this FAQ.
Guess I'll just take it apart sometime and search for a marker writing inside.
 
There's a lot of people on the boards lately that could stand to read this thread. Especially the "my recto doesn't have enough gain".
 
That was pretty awesome info. Thanks for taking the time to write that up.

I came across this on a web OCD & Mesa search or I prob wouldn't have seen it since I belong to the Vintage section. I have a question. I recently picked up a DC-5 and dig it. (I actually had that "I wish I could play it at lower volume" issue and picked up a Jettenuator and it solved that issue. Great investment in my opinion.) I really dig the clean channel on the amp & am finding a sweet spot for the rhythm. The bass doesn't seem to be as tight as I'd like but I think I'll figure it out with more tweaking.

I recently bought an OCD pedal for possibly 2 reasons. I wanted to have a 3rd channel. My plan was to go from clean to OCD for classic rock type sounds and then Hit the amps rhythm channel for a more metal type sound. However, I notice that the OCD on clean is very similar to the rhythm making it kinda redundant. I know this is not technically the right place for this question but maybe someone has experience with that model mesa as well.

Thanks much for your time.
 
mazzith said:
I am surprised there was no info on how to date a head via serial in this FAQ.
Guess I'll just take it apart sometime and search for a marker writing inside.

While you have it apart, look on the board by the big blue caps (don't touch!) and you will see the revision in gold print, It will read RF-1C, RF-1D, RF-1E, RF-1F or RF-1G. You should also see a date and initials on the inside of the amp by the inputs.
 
Hello guys, I'm new to the forum and MESA family. I found this thread very useful. I would like to share one more thing that may be of use to some of you.

Any decent 5 pin cable will work for your dual/triple footswitch. These midi cables cost quite less than an OEM MESA one (which in Europe is around 60 EUR).
 
chris_barnes said:
Hello guys, I'm new to the forum and MESA family. I found this thread very useful. I would like to share one more thing that may be of use to some of you.

Any decent 5 pin cable will work for your dual/triple footswitch. These midi cables cost quite less than an OEM MESA one (which in Europe is around 60 EUR).

Hi guys, I'm a fresh Boogie owner too :)

Just wanted to let everybody know that Chris' statement is NOT true, and I learned it the hard way.
Basing on my experience, 5 pin cables will get you as far as to change the channels and light all the lights on the foot controller. The FX loop however will not be activated, despite the fact that the LED on the FS turns on. (worked like this on a 5pin MIDI cable from PROEL)
7-pin cable is the solution to that problem.
 
Happy New Year to all Boogie players!

FWIW. I bought a second hand Triple Rectifier back in October 2016 and use it with my Horizontal Rectifier 2x12 cab and it sounds very good. Plenty of huge bottom end but the surprise was how I was able to get a very nice woody jazz tone via the green channel with the dials all set to 1 o'clock using my Jackson USA KE2 equipped with an EMG 85 in the neck.

As for the the Orange channel, it sounds as awesome as it did on my Dual Rectifier (Sold in 2016) but the Red channel, I feel does sound better on my Triple than on my old Dual. In fact I play almost exclusively on the Red channel on the Triple and again with the controls all set to 1 o'clock.

As far as hearing a popping noise when changing channel using the footswitch, I have not noticed it on my Triple Rec but it does make a popping noise when using the channel selector knob on the rear panel of the amp.

Anyway, overall, I am very happy with my Triple Rec.
 
Q: Can I pull (4) power tubes out of my Triple Recto to make it 50 watts so I can play in my bedroom?

A: No.


This information is incorrect. Yes, you CAN do that. Even Mesa says so. There are no negative consequences to the output transformer's loading or windings by NOT having all possible tube sockets populated.

However, you have to leave the installed tubes in pairs. Although there is no technical reason why you can't install one tube of the pair in any given output tube socket and install the other tube of the pair in any other given socket on the other side of the transformer, it's a very good practice to preserve the recommended pairing.

On a Triple Rectifier, as seen from the back, the output tube sockets would be numbered 1 thru 6 from left to right. Pairs would be 1 and 6 for the outer pair, 2 and 5 for the middle pair, 3 and 4 for the inner pair.

The reason why it's safe to run without tubes in all sockets is because all the tubes on that side of the transformer just connect to the same winding. There's nothing extra inside the transformer that would be missing its load.

However this does reduce transformer loading and you would want to move your speaker connection to a lower impedance tap just for safety. That means connect your 8 ohm cabinet to a 4 ohm jack instead of the 8 ohm jack.
 
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