Hey guys,
I wanted to share some recent experiences with these two cabs with you.
Most of my prior guitar recording experiences focus around recording the Mesa Traditional cab. This one has a very interesting and unique midrange focus not really found in any other cabinet. It can do a certain sound well, but I always found it lacking in some regards as the kind of tone I tend to be after is focused differently.
Well, lo and behold the other day I got a chance (along with some friends) to try out the Recto Standard alongside the Traditional with these amp heads:
EVH 5150 III
Mesa Boogie Mark IV
ENGL Invader 100W
There were 3 guitarists there, myself included. We all thought the Recto Standard consistently performed better with all 3 amps, and with both our guitars (Jackson Rhoads, Alder body, Duncans etc. & Schecter Hellraiser C7, Mahogany, EMG 707s).
The difference, in the best terms I can describe, is hearing your tone through a boombox/radio compared to a full-range speaker system. The Recto Standard has a strong mid-mid and upper-mid focus that gives you a rather full tone. My main complaint about it is the loose low-end, but I'm sure with the right tools that could be tweaked (we had no tubescreamers on hand, sadly).
The traditional cab, whilst having its own unique sound, has a fairly brittle, buzzy upper-mid & very full low-mid. That's what distinguishes the characteristic sound to me... the low-mids sound a certain way, and as soon as you get a 5150 or Recto through it boosted by a TS, you start to hear where The Sneap is coming from.
I personally like a stronger tone, and one more channeled into the mid rather than low-mid. Nordstrom's tones on Nightrage's 'Sweet Vengeance' and In Flames' 'Clayman' have been amongst my very favourite for years. The Recto Traditional cab focuses the tone more into that range. Having said that, I know Nordstrom likes the ENGL V30 cab, unfortunately for us however, none were on hand to compare with.
Now, before I close this rant off, I wanted to delve into the ENGL Invader head, a topic on with I've had a few words in the past.
In my experience with the Invader 150W versions, I've never been pleased. It always sounded like a muddy, indistinguishable mess, with not much tone-shaping potential. I've tried the 150W through both the Mesa Trad and the ENGL V30.
Now the Invader 100W, whilst being a bit clearer, still suffered from much the same tonal characteristics. The best way I can describe what happens is, the amp has an extremely full midrange, bordering on muddy, even on conservative gain settings. As you increase treble, the high-mids really pump up. They've set the high-shelf to start fairly low on the spectrum. Now, the interesting thing is, the amp feels like it starts a roll-off after about 5 or 6kHz. There are no real super-highs and it always sounds dull and muddy, even when the treble and presence are cranked. All you tend to get from those two controls is just an insane amount of high-mid.
So all that said and done... the Mark IV and EVH 5150 III amps kick arse. The Invader I can see working for Nile-esque death metal, perhaps some modern hardcore, but not far beyond that.
Thanks for listening!
I wanted to share some recent experiences with these two cabs with you.
Most of my prior guitar recording experiences focus around recording the Mesa Traditional cab. This one has a very interesting and unique midrange focus not really found in any other cabinet. It can do a certain sound well, but I always found it lacking in some regards as the kind of tone I tend to be after is focused differently.
Well, lo and behold the other day I got a chance (along with some friends) to try out the Recto Standard alongside the Traditional with these amp heads:
EVH 5150 III
Mesa Boogie Mark IV
ENGL Invader 100W
There were 3 guitarists there, myself included. We all thought the Recto Standard consistently performed better with all 3 amps, and with both our guitars (Jackson Rhoads, Alder body, Duncans etc. & Schecter Hellraiser C7, Mahogany, EMG 707s).
The difference, in the best terms I can describe, is hearing your tone through a boombox/radio compared to a full-range speaker system. The Recto Standard has a strong mid-mid and upper-mid focus that gives you a rather full tone. My main complaint about it is the loose low-end, but I'm sure with the right tools that could be tweaked (we had no tubescreamers on hand, sadly).
The traditional cab, whilst having its own unique sound, has a fairly brittle, buzzy upper-mid & very full low-mid. That's what distinguishes the characteristic sound to me... the low-mids sound a certain way, and as soon as you get a 5150 or Recto through it boosted by a TS, you start to hear where The Sneap is coming from.
I personally like a stronger tone, and one more channeled into the mid rather than low-mid. Nordstrom's tones on Nightrage's 'Sweet Vengeance' and In Flames' 'Clayman' have been amongst my very favourite for years. The Recto Traditional cab focuses the tone more into that range. Having said that, I know Nordstrom likes the ENGL V30 cab, unfortunately for us however, none were on hand to compare with.
Now, before I close this rant off, I wanted to delve into the ENGL Invader head, a topic on with I've had a few words in the past.
In my experience with the Invader 150W versions, I've never been pleased. It always sounded like a muddy, indistinguishable mess, with not much tone-shaping potential. I've tried the 150W through both the Mesa Trad and the ENGL V30.
Now the Invader 100W, whilst being a bit clearer, still suffered from much the same tonal characteristics. The best way I can describe what happens is, the amp has an extremely full midrange, bordering on muddy, even on conservative gain settings. As you increase treble, the high-mids really pump up. They've set the high-shelf to start fairly low on the spectrum. Now, the interesting thing is, the amp feels like it starts a roll-off after about 5 or 6kHz. There are no real super-highs and it always sounds dull and muddy, even when the treble and presence are cranked. All you tend to get from those two controls is just an insane amount of high-mid.
So all that said and done... the Mark IV and EVH 5150 III amps kick arse. The Invader I can see working for Nile-esque death metal, perhaps some modern hardcore, but not far beyond that.
Thanks for listening!
