[Beckerboi]

The other day i bought a mesa boogie dual rectifier for 800. It was a ninety's edition so it is a two channel. I have heard that the 90's DR are a little better but i have no idea. Since i am not expeirenced at all with mesas i got a couple questions but first let me give you guys some backround information about myself.. First off, some bands i like are Necrophagist, Dream Theater, SYmphony X, Parkway Drive, The Human Abstract, and Between the Buried and Me. I thought it was a good step up to what was playing thru. (A pod Xt thru a Marchall Avt).
So obvioulsy i lke a lot of technical metal. When i got this i realized that this thing was a gain monster but i didnt realize that it was so muddy...for soloing especially. When i would go shred i felt that it had no clarity at the high notes. It just seemed that it was lacking. But i do know that mesa is known for its quality so there must be a way. I know that the human abstract guitarist (Andrew) uses it. His sweeps sound pretty tight as well his rythem. My question is what can i do to make this thing sound tight and clean?

Change tubes?BBe maximizer?Tube Screamer?Reverb?Delay?Eq?Better Cabinet?

Thanks in Advance.

[MrSandMan]

Sounds like it's an old 2-channel and it's probably REV F, which means it's darker (muddier) than REV G Rectos. REV means 'Revision' of the circuitry board. The older pre500 were REV C and REV D. They were sharper sounding, brighter sounding and more notably, shred machines. It was George Lynch's 'secret weapon'.

The following REV was F, more dark and muddy/bassy. Very low in treble and presence and one of my favorite amps. REV G (the latest revision) are more balanced yet fizzy, yet more refined. Also a great sounding revision, just have to try and eq out the fizz.

To fix your problem, don't use the BBE, that basically scoops the mids and adds bass. Treble boost or a nice EQ system will help you with your problem.

You are definitely a lot better off than your old system, though you will miss all the effects the POD Xt provides. The recto will be more full and punchy (tube power). Though I hear the AVT is loaded with a 12AX7 and sounds decent for a hybrid.

What are the serial numbers on your recto? I might be able to tell you more what you have.

Oh, as far as tube life, it's hard to say if they need changing. If they been played a lot, they'll last about a 1 year. The REV F are dark amps to begin with. But exhausted tubes will make the amp sound totally lifeless... so that might be a problem too. Can you ask the guy who you bought it from about the tubes?

Rectos are great amps! -- however, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think most of those bands you mentioned play Mesa Boogie Mark IV.

[Brian Krashpad]

Also, don't forget that the guitar is part of the equation. Chaz knows more about Mesas than I ever will, but part of it may be that your guitar is not a great match for this amp.

What guitar/pickups are you using?

[Beckerboi]

Ok I think the serial number on this 90's dual rectifier is R-011958. I found it on the back right corner next to the tubes. I wonder what REV my amp is.

An Eq sounds like a great idea. You wouldn't happen to know a good eq rack or pedal would ya? The pod felt so comfortable because i spent hours fprgraming my sound. But since it was solid state it sounded bad live. To me this sounds like it could be perfect if i got rid of the fizz, and muddieness. I like a lot of clarity but also a substansial amount of gain, ya know. When i shred it feels so clutted to me. Would a good eq and noise gate fix that?

The DR is also stocked with 6l6s. What about El34's i heard they sounded pretty good on this amp for soloing too? And some tubes i can see in the amp are the following: two Mesa 5U4G's, four 5881WXT Sovvtek's, and some little fenders tubes toward the front. I do not know anything about which tubes are good so i have no idea if these tubes are good. What are your recommendations?

As for my guitar i have a ibanez rg320 with dimarzio super distorions. I do not know if that is good for this kind of amp though. I heard emgs sound good for these kind of amps unless i am wrong. I hope to get a jem or a petrucci in the near future.

Hope that helped you guys, ... in the process to help me lol.

[Brian Krashpad]

On the guitar side, it would seem to me that with a dark amp a hot pickup would be a good match. Super Distortions are pretty hot, so I'd say it's more an amp/EQ thing. But EMGs would be hotter still, so that might be a better match, though I wouldn't ditch the DiMarzios if you like them.

Maybe see if you can borrow a guitar w/EMG's or have someone with such a guitar come over and A/B the amp with your guitar and theirs?

Or, you could go to a guitar store and say you were interested in a guitar with EMG's but wanted to bring in your amp to test it out. That might work.

[MrSandMan]

R-011958 is probably a late 1990s, so actually you have the newest revision in 'G'. The REV F were around pre4000 and the REV C and D were pre500 (i.e. R-0972 = the 972nd Recto made) Your amp was the 11,958 Recto made.

The REV G (or any recto for that matter) are a gain monster, however, the REV G are not muddy, they do have fizz sizzle. The best way to cut out the fizz is to run the treble at about 9 o'clock to 11 o' clock range, cut back the presence and run the gain about 1 o'clock. (Rectos EQing are weird)

IMHO, Sovtek 5881WXT are the junkiest tubes on the market and less quality. From the tones you described, I think EL34 are just what the doctor has ordered for you.

Preamp tubes are the gain stages and a significant part of the tones as well. 12AX7 are the most popular and the hottest. What I do with the gain monster, Peavey XXX, is change out the 2nd preamp valve to a 12AU7, which cuts back the gain. Experimenting tubes is an entirely different world, you might want to read THIS ARTICLE to help you understand valves a little better. Also check with Eurotubes.com. Bob, the owner, is a great guy and can help you find the best tubes for your amp. (he even sells different types of packs of tube combinations)

I agree with Brian, your guitar isn't the problem. The Dimarzio super distortion are hot. The Ibanez RG320 are awesome guitars, my buddy had one and I loved how it played. They have a really fast action and are precision instruments.

Like Brian said, you could take your guitar into guitarcenter and play a new Dual Recto to see if it sounds flat like yours. However, I'm leaning towards your tubes are probably dead and lifeless and need replaced. What cab are you playing through? That can make a difference to some degree as well.

[Brian Krashpad]

This is cool.

I'm totally out of my element with all this high-gain Recto stuff, since that's not what I play or have direct experience with. But it's fun to see how my guestimations match with someone (like Chaz) who actually knows the stuff. Sorta like a theoretical challenge.

Hello learning expereince!

[floydmoline]

yeah there was a time when i knew more about amps than charlie lol but i think he has now gone beyond me, at least on mesa's lol. i share the same problem as brian, i don't really play the high gain type of stuff, i like a good ole marshall cranked which is now concidered dirty :-\, i never really did care for mesa's myself, the early ones sounded good but had more knobs than a MOOG synthesizer, and the newer ones don't sound good to me (with the sole exception of the F-50)

[floydmoline]

as for the original post i agree with sandman change the tubes first off, and my recommendation for tubes are JJs (eurotubes.com), they are FAR superior to anything else being produced currently. i have personally found the mesa DRs to be too loose for my taste, but you could probably tighten them up nice with a pedal EQ, or overdrive feeding the front end, i wouldn't go with a tubescreamer though, to tighten it up, I'd go with a digitech bad monkey, though i don't care for them, or what i prefer a BOSS SD-1. just one guys opinion.

[Beckerboi]

ANy of that sounds good to me lol