Single or Dual/Triple-Rectifier or Rectifier Preamp?

RiF said:
The thought of having to put a 50,- stomp box before my 2500,- amp makes me feel bad.


Then for gods sake, whatever you do -- try to forget that you'd be listening to the amp through a 120,- speaker! :loco:


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Did anybody check out the Fame (or Yerasov) Bulldozer? It claims to be a Rectifier 2ch clone. I once had one for some days, but that was the time where my daughter was born, so I didn't had the time to check it out really and returned it.

Oh, I'd love to get my hands on one of those. Are they still on sale at Musicstore? I remember them being off sale shortly after they were introduced for whatever reason...

As far as I know, the Bulldozer is a very truthful nod to the Dual Rec... but on the other hand, Yerasov's building the smaller line of Fame tube heads.

If they deliver what they promise, then it's probably the best solution for us Euro guys to get the Recti sound...
 
I had the Bulldozer for a few days but could only check it very briefly with my Mesa 4x12 cabinet. It sounded goddamn brutal with insane amounts of gain possible, maybe a bit untight. The next days I could only check it with my Palmer PDI-03 speaker emulator / load box and in this scenario, the amp had too much "sag" for my taste. Sounded like a compressor that sucks down the transients so much that the signal sounded as if the amp had some latency. Could be the Palmer or the fact that the master volume has been at 12 o'clock.
And yes, they (musicstore.de) sell the Bulldozer for a regular 1000,- EUR but they also have returned amps for 850 - 900 EUR. For 1/3 of the price, it could even sound a bit worse IMHO...
 
This exact low-end filtering is what makes me hate the Tube Screamers. I like a big low end and TS's are destroying it. But Rectos are said to have big low end capabilities, so maybe the TS is not ripping everything apart.

I know what you mean...but the TS is a verficktes MUST with the recto.

don't even try it without one in the store

..., maybe a bit untight. ... the amp had too much "sag" for my taste. Sounded like a compressor that sucks down the transients so much that the signal sounded as if the amp had some latency.

that's EXACTLY what the TS is for

my other guitarist playing through a rec said it feels like playing with rubberbands for strings, and he was complaining about that "latency" also....the TS fixed it
 
my other guitarist playing through a rec said it feels like playing with rubberbands for strings, and he was complaining about that "latency" also....the TS fixed it
The good thing: The Bulldozer seems to be pretty close to a Recto.
The bad thing: This is something that really bugged me. Need to check out an Engl or Peavey in the store, too ;-)
 
The good thing: The Bulldozer seems to be pretty close to a Recto.
The bad thing: This is something that really bugged me. Need to check out an Engl or Peavey in the store, too ;-)

the engls are ubertight (except the mudball) but they won't give a sound as brutal as the rec.
the 5150 is damn brutal but also benefits from a TS (like every amp eactually).

if you want "tight" and refuse to use a TS (I said the same thing a couple of years ago btw..."if an amp can't give me the sound I want w/o a pedal in front it ain't my amp") the Recto will not be the amp for you.
the TS makes it extremely tight though.

Also check the VHT (now Freyette) Pittbull, VERY tight and good sounding amp
 
Lasse, what is a "Mudball" (I know Fire- and Powerballs, though)?
I have a clip of my Bulldozer (recorded with a PDI, no mic/cab) over at netmusicians.org where you can actually hear the "sag". Can anybody confirm, that Rectos go into that same direction (not sound-wise, but attack-wise)?
I am currenty playing my Marshall 30th Anniversary with a Bad Monkey in front and yes, I have to admit that I do not only use it for boosting the signal but also for tighting up the low-end... Maybe I am less of a green-box-hater than I pretend to be. But I am talking about a 16 years old, not very metal amp.
 
Engl's in general don't need a TS in front of them.
Savage could be brutal and tight but different from Mesa and Peavey sound.
Anyway I don't think that a TS is a good reason to buy/not buy a Dual Recto :D C'mon
 
OK, just came back from the store where I checked out the following amps with my Les Paul Standard (stock pickups):
  • Randall RM100 /w Blackface, Plexi and XTC modules @ Mesa 4x12 and Marshall 1960
  • Mesa Dual Rectifier @ Mesa 4x12
  • Engl Fireball @ Engl 4x12 (big one)
  • Framus Cobra @ Engl 4x12
Unfortunately, the testing room sounded so awfully bad (over-boomy bass, phase-cancellations all over the place etc.) that it has been really hard to judge by ears, so I judged by "feel".
Here are my personal results:
Mesa Rectifier: Not my amp (with or without a pedal) at all. Just does not feel as if it "wants to be played". I had to work hard to play this amp. Very unusual frequency spectrum as if bass, middle and treble do not work together as a single sound but are three different ranges (I don't know how to explain it...) ....we won't get friends.
Randall RM100: Supergreat amp, sounds very organic. The Blackface module is very cool, but I don't care at the moment. The Plexi module just rocks big time, the whole amp would be worth the money just for this module (for immediate AC/DC or ZZ Top or even Van Halen stuff). The XTC has not been brutal enough for what I am searching for. If I hadn't my Marshalls already, I would buy this amp immediately. If I could only check out the 1086 module somewhere... ;-(
Engl Fireball: This is my taste! I don't know if this sound will cut through in a mix, but it just felt right (maybe due to the compression?) when played. Very brutal, ultra-chugga-chuggable, but not very flexible. The store did not find their Powerball head (which should be in stock but wasn't there), which could be the one I will head for.
Framus Cobra: Great amp, too. Sounded pretty Engl'esque to my ears, but as I said, the room is awful. Something did not get me, though.

So thanx for your Recto comments, but I am out of the market for Rectos and will need to decide between Engl and Randall (if I find a more brutal module).
 
Just don't think the Mudball is the Fireball's bigger brother as far as tone goes... maybe at the price and name tag, but that's it. Surely both have the signature Engl voicing and (good) fizz going on, but the mid-spectrum is different. I liked my Fireball a lot but I wouldn't want a P'ball...
 
Just don't think the Mudball is the Fireball's bigger brother as far as tone goes... maybe at the price and name tag, but that's it. Surely both have the signature Engl voicing and (good) fizz going on, but the mid-spectrum is different. I liked my Fireball a lot but I wouldn't want a P'ball...
Thanx for the tip, coz' I assumed the PB is the FB's big brother. But I will check it out before I buy anyway. And there is this new Fireball 100 that looks promising.
 
With the RM100, you're want to try the Ultra XL module, I think you'll dig it!
I read in another thread that you wanted to trade your Recto for a RM100 but finally did not. Is the UltraXL more brutal sounding? Did you try the 1086? The XTC sounded very good, but more hot-rodded-Marshall'esque than head-crushing-brutal to my ears.
 
Yeah the Fireball is completely different than the Powerball. I've owned a Powerball and have worked with a Fireball on several occasions, and I want the new 100w Fireball to boot. The Fireball is warmer and more raw in my opinion. The Powerball, when I bought it I thought it was the big brother to the Fireball as well, is muddy and very hard to dial in for recording. It has this crazy fizz to it that will make you scream and want to throw the head in the street. Lasse knows what I'm talking about :lol: The Fireball is much better, IMHO.

Try one out though, you may like it, who knows. I would say Savage, Fireball or SE if you go Engl though.
 
Savage = :worship: Can't say I'm too keen on the Cobra, very fizzy/static-y sounding IMO, but I've heard some decent clips