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Need Help With Triple Rectifier.

4K views 6 replies 6 participants last post by  Fun111 
#1 ·
Hello Everybody. I just got a Mesa Triple Rectifier. I love my High Gain Rhythm tone on Channel 3 modern, but I'm having some trouble on channels 1 and 2.

On channel 1 "Clean" the volume is very limited. Having the channel volume maxed is 1/4 of the volume of channels two or three with channel volume set at half. Is there a pedal that will boost the volume of the clean channel so that it is more equal with the other two channels without boosting them as well? How would it be set up?

On channel 2, I'm using vintage mode and finding some decent leads, but when I solo on the high E string the sound is very high pitched, trebley, and ear piercing. Even when I have treble set to 0 it is still like this. What is a work around for this? Would I need an EQ pedal, and once again can you have a pedal affect only one channel?


I just changed out the tubes with JJ high gain tubes, and are using them as instructed, so tubes are not the issue. I don't know if pickups have anything to do with this, but I have a D sonic in the Bridge and an Air Norton in the neck position.

I'm usually a very soft picker, and I've noticed that the triple rec is not very responsive to light picking. Is this normal?

I appreciate any help that I can get. I read this forum a lot, I just don't get around to posting very often.
 
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#3 · (Edited)
I'm on that forum too.

Secondly, the Triple Rec, even though it is an incredibly awesome amp is kinda a brute force amp. It takes some "massaging" to get certain tones out of it. What most people do for metal is set Ch1 to clean, Ch2 to raw (or vintage), and boost Ch3 in vintage with a TS9 (it is alot better that way). Also running a EQ in the loop may help your situation.

Edit...if you are a super articulate picker (like me) and an avid soloist, you may wanna think about swapping your Triple Rec for a Mark series - they are *the* lead amps...but not voiced the same. Recto=dark and grindy, Mark=sweet and singy. Both bring the heavy though. I'm sure you'll work through it, it took me like 3 weeks to dial in my Mesa the first time -_-
 
#4 ·
The channel 1 volume issues are not a unique issue and affect the mark series and the recto series. Switching on the solo boost will get you a bit more volume while in the clean channel.

Recto distortion is a love/hate type thing. You'll get massive gain but your single note tone is going to suffer greatly for it. Thin and shrill sounds about the norm for a recto. I've heard about the TS9 but when you pay 2K for a head, needing a distortion pedal is unacceptable.

+1 on the Mark series. I have a Mark V combo. For lead tone, Mesa has always been the gold standard with its Mark series and the V takes it to an entirely new level by including the entire history of Marks in one package...which pretty much makes it THE most versatile amp on the planet and the biggest bang for anyones buck. Its a super high gain amp too. The Mark V gain is one of the most understated elements of the amp...not as tight and focused as the recto but a sweet slightly midrangy distortion that will make you just want to play power chords for hours.

Judging by your screen name, I can tell what tone you are after and you won't get it from the recto. If I am not mistaken, he used rectos on Train of Thought and that was his worst album for guitar tone.

Go try the Mark V out somewhere. Grail Tone has the official Petrucci Mark V amp settings posted. If I were you, I'd bring those with you....dial the amp in....and you will more than likely be trading in the recto for it. Its THAT good.
 
#5 ·
...not as tight and focused as the recto but a sweet slightly midrangy distortion
Dude, the Mark V's Ch3 is tighter than the real Mark IV. Its well within 95% of a real IIC+ too, and on extreme mode/triode with a deep 750 scoop (the petrucci settings) it nails my Mark III tones!

The Mark V is unreal tight, blows the recto out of the water on tightness. Using a tubescreamer in front of a recto bumps the mids and tightens up the loose bass (ala Killswitch tone) instead of it being really flubby, (ala early Mastodon tone).

I've played all the Mark amps, including my friends Mark V many many times, and i've been thinking of selling my huge Mark III rig for it...only downside it has 7 preamp tubes...thats alot of tube changing!
 
#7 ·
Triple recs are great but they need a bit of understanding to get the most out of them.

Firstly, to get the volumes balanced, set the clean volume first, then balance the other two off it. If it's still not enough, you'll need to turn up the gain. Low gain settings on the clean channel sound very very dry.
Next, Rectifiers are VERY sensitive to your playing, as are all Mesas. This is why a lot of people use compressors, it hides those little differences in dynamic. If you need a bit more push out of the sound, you play harder. I like this quality, a lot of people don't, but is common across most Mesa stuff.

Finally, I'd advise trying to dial the 2nd channel for rhythm and 3 for lead. 2's a bit crunchy and less bassy, so it picks up chords much better, and can potentially sound really marshally, with a touch of America, lol. 3, turn up the bass, and down the presence and mid you get a really fat lead sound. Reverb and delay help this a lot though.

Everyone has this kind of trouble with their first boogie, don't give up!!
 
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