Can a Recto do Van Halen?

some_dude

Raging BB Gunologist
Mesa posted this up yesterday. As a long time Recto user the tone/playing caught me off guard.

 
Re: Can a Recto do Van Halen?

Sounds pretty darn good to me.

I remember a friend's dad was in a cover band back around 2000. His main amp was a Dual Recto, I remember being shocked he was getting great 70's/80's/90's tones of all types.
 
Re: Can a Recto do Van Halen?

I'd say it's sounds just fine.

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Re: Can a Recto do Van Halen?

Sounds pretty darn good to me.

I remember a friend's dad was in a cover band back around 2000. His main amp was a Dual Recto, I remember being shocked he was getting great 70's/80's/90's tones of all types.
They are way more versatile than a lot of people believe. Run EL34s in them and they sound a lot more like a hot rodded Marshall than the quasi-bass amps some guys turn them into.

I use a Road King now and absolutely love it. There are an absurd number of options, but I keep it pretty simple.
 
Re: Can a Recto do Van Halen?

They are way more versatile than a lot of people believe. Run EL34s in them and they sound a lot more like a hot rodded Marshall than the quasi-bass amps some guys turn them into.

I use a Road King now and absolutely love it. There are an absurd number of options, but I keep it pretty simple.
I've got one too. ;) The guy I referenced was a push in that direction!
 
Re: Can a Recto do Van Halen?

How do you think they compare?

I have both a Dual Recto and a Rectoverb 25 combo... they remarkably similar, yet remarkably different. The video is very accurate to how my ROV:25 sounds, but the clip stands out to me because I've never thought to use it that way.

To answer your question, they both share the same basic Recto sound but the 100 watter sounds bigger, punchier and tracks tighter while the ROV:25 does old school, browned out saggy small amp ready to explode better. I also prefer open back cabs for clean and riding the edge of overdrive type sounds, which is another thing I think the ROV:25 does better than the 100w Recto.

On the big Recto turning down the gain can make it sound kind of bland and boring unless you're playing it at skull crushing volumes where they power section is compressing. The ROV:25 doesn't have that problem... it does those more old school distortion sounds easier and more authentically. Probably has something to do with the EL84s imparting their own raggedy edge early on.

On the ROV:25 the speaker is the real gem IMO. It's less tight and more vintage sounding than a Recto cab. Kind of like a V30 with the harmonics of a Greenback. Probably not ideal if you're in a Metallica cover band, but if you're looking for old school, looser cleans and distortion sounds it's outstanding (IMO).
 
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Re: Can a Recto do Van Halen?

They are way more versatile than a lot of people believe. Run EL34s in them and they sound a lot more like a hot rodded Marshall than the quasi-bass amps some guys turn them into.

Even more so if you plug one into a Marshall cab with G12M-25s.
 
Re: Can a Recto do Van Halen?

They definitely are more versatile than they are given credit for.

But that vid doesn't sound all that brown/oldschool van halen to me. The playing style is there and fooling ears. It sounds more like his modern 5150 tones.
 
Re: Can a Recto do Van Halen?

A Peavey Bandit can do VanHalen if the guy playing through it can do VanHalen.
 
Re: Can a Recto do Van Halen?

Still sounds like a Recto to me. Not EVH like at all IMO. Lacks the proper midrange and treble freqs. Bass is wrong too, you can hear and almost feel the saggy Mesa lowend.
I mean...it'll do...in a pinch, but the player/playing is the main contributor here.

(This coming from someone who actually thinks Rectos excel more at rock/blues tones than they do at metal)
 
Re: Can a Recto do Van Halen?

They definitely are more versatile than they are given credit for.

But that vid doesn't sound all that brown/oldschool van halen to me. The playing style is there and fooling ears. It sounds more like his modern 5150 tones.

My thoughts as well.

But like others said above, Rectos are more versatile than people think.
 
Re: Can a Recto do Van Halen?

Not really the old school VH Marshall tones, but still good tones, I could definitely live with them.
 
Re: Can a Recto do Van Halen?

I had the head and cab and no it doesnt do it very good,maybe the v30 didnt work well for it. The DSL blows it away for Marshall tones!
 
Re: Can a Recto do Van Halen?

Yeah I had a dual recto reborn for awhile and they are very versatile amps. Of course you won't nail some sounds and will always sound like a recto. But if you can't get a good, full range of tones out of one of those amps you're not doing something right.
 
Re: Can a Recto do Van Halen?

Well, we Halen Junkies belong to forums where we dissect every single last element of ED's VH-1 tone, and sorry, a Dual Recto ain't in the Recipe. Not that you can't get close,and saying playing like Ed through a Gorilla is good enough is total BS. .. but I don't think some of youse guys realize the extent to which we try to exact the actual sound dead on.

Marshall Plexi.ONLY a Marshall Plexi.Your best bet with a Mesa would be a Stilleto.

( Not to be a gear snob..if all you got is a Bandit then go for it..a lot of it IS in the Spirirt, and no amount of gear is gonna help you there)
 
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Re: Can a Recto do Van Halen?

Back when the first Rectos hit the market in the mid '90s, I was in a music store in Seattle and just to see what it would do, the sales guy helped me do a little experiment.

We had a new 2-channel Dual Rectifier plugged into a Mesa slant V30 412. And right next to it...a used BF Fender Deluxe (no reverb) that the store had taken in, plugged into an identical Mesa slant V30 412. What surprised everyone was how quickly we were able to dial in the clean channel to match the tone of the Deluxe. A great sounding little amp, btw...especially plugged into the 412. Plently loud when pushed to 7-8 on the volume and simply gorgeous.

And the Mesa matched just perfectly but it could do it at a much louder volume. And it could capture that pushed tone of the Deluxe at a lower volume. I think B.B. King could have been right at home on a Recto.

And of course, the Recto has that whole other channel with its massive distortion capabilities. And the new Reborn has even more versatility.

The Mini-Recto Reverb...what can I say? I came this close to buying one, but a used Mark V:35 popped up and I got that instead. The MRR is a killer amp and I'm sure I would have been very happy with one. It's a different flavor than the Mark Series, but there are a lot of great tones in that amp.

I don't know about the whole " My amp HAS to sound like a Marshall" thing. I've done the bar band scene for years, and I can tell you that the drunk at the bar, the guys shooting eight-ball, the dart and pinball players...even the dancers on the dance floor...they could care less about what amp you're playing. Is it not quite Eddie's "brown sound"? Hey, they don't care!

WE care, of course...the "Artiste" within us. For myself, I don't try to sound exactly like Eddie, Carlos, Eric, or Stevie Ray. I like to think that I'm doing good when I simply sound like me. For me, that's the Mesas.

I really enjoyed the clip. Thanks for posting.

Bill
 
Re: Can a Recto do Van Halen?

Well, we Halen Junkies belong to forums where we dissect every single last element of ED's VH-1 tone, and sorry, a Dual Recto ain't in the Recipe. Not that you can't get close,and saying playing like Ed through a Gorilla is good enough is total BS. .. but I don't think some of youse guys realize the extent to which we try to exact the actual sound dead on.

Marshall Plexi.ONLY a Marshall Plexi.Your best bet with a Mesa would be a Stilleto.

( Not to be a gear snob..if all you got is a Bandit then go for it..a lot of it IS in the Spirirt, and no amount of gear is gonna help you there)

I think it's overrated anyway. Great music, and great guitarist, but I still find his tone way too screechy.
 
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