Recto Lovers - what would you buy now?

Racerxrated said:
This is like saying you can make a Mark III sound just like a C+...well, sure, after all they are Marks and they'll sound similar....but there are still big differences. It's not as simple as 'eq to brighten it' ...ok so it's brighter....so now it's a C? Hard to believe that one. The C is not only brighter, tighter, has more balls(like in an unreal way), has 10x better clarity, has almost a C+ type feel, has a ton of TIGHT low end, no harshness no matter how you dial it, and....wait for it....is one of the BEST lead amps I've ever played. On the same level as an SLO, or C+. Not even kidding. Try that with any other Recto...they are for the most part rhythm amps only...but not the C.
So, no, you can't get a G or any other Recto to sound just like a C by putting an eq in the loop. If you really compared your friends C with others and believed that, then I suspect there's something off with his C. Maybe Mike B needs to do some work to it.

As far as cost, 5K for a C....6-8K for a C+....4K for a new Friedman....6k for a Wizard....I'd easily pay 5 for a Rev C vs all those other choices..and it's not close. Yes I think the C is the best Mesa I've played, for what I like, over even the 4 C+ I've owned.
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We can all try to lead the horses to water, but can’t force them to drink it lol. I actually like its feel & lead tone even more than my c+ & SLO. The Rev D imo also has an excellent lead tone that’s unlike the later Recto’s
 
braintheory said:
We can all try to lead the horses to water, but can’t force them to drink it lol. I actually like its feel & lead tone even more than my c+ & SLO. The Rev D imo also has an excellent lead tone that’s unlike the later Recto’s
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Of all the amps I've had, here's my top list for lead tone / feels.
- no GEQ IIC+
- SLO
- Rev C
- (slight gap)
- Badlander
 
Candiria said:
I understand. I think it's equally important to show the other side of the coin though, where you can get the vibe you're looking for in a more attainable fashion. That's what I said in my post, and you apparently took umbrage with that, as if you can't actually get the recto sound from a Rev G.

At the end of the day all of this is dependent on the individual. There is no "best", just what's best for you. A Rev C is best for you and that's great, but someone might actually flat out prefer an F or G to a C because of their tastes.
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Sure, I can agree with showing the other side. My descriptions are more directed to guys that care about these differences and I’m just sick of guys saying they sound the same or close enough because for guys like myself that is misleading and costs more time & money to figure things out than needed. For other guys what you’re saying may be better for them. I didn’t take umbrage to anything. I just try to clarify and describe things as accurately as I can to those that care about it the way I do. Not everyone does and that’s ok too

Of course it’s all subjective and I can respect different opinions, but more so if they’re opinions from guys that have done their due homework in actually trying & comparing all these amps in person like I have. I don’t know anyone yet with that experience (or similar) that would choose a Rev F or later vs either a Rev C or D. For those that find the C maybe too aggressive or harsh, the D I think could be the answer possibly. It has a little more richness in the low mids vs my C, but the C is more aggressive in the upper frequencies. Without budget or practicality as a constraint I don’t predict many guys choosing later Rev’s than those 2, but just my perspective based on trying and comparing them
 
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GJgo said:
Of all the amps I've had, here's my top list for lead tone / feels.
- no GEQ IIC+
- SLO
- Rev C
- (slight gap)
- Badlander
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Feel wise it would easily be Hermansson for me, but not really into the tone itself (hollow, brittle for my taste), despite the fact that I’m getting one very soon myself. Still love it overall. For lead tone itself it’s the Rev C for me and then maybe original version Uberschall or iic+ hrg. For non-metal amps it would be the 1980 Jim Kelley, Gjika & Alessandro for leads. I had a DR & tried an SR I liked the feel itself more of them vs GEQ versions (they were faster & tighter), but for tone itself I still liked my hrg more, more complexity imo. I’ve not tried though as many c+‘s as you nor quite as many Marshall’s as Tom (still a lot though). I’ve tried a little bit of everything more so haha
 
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A lot of talk about minor differences in Revs, but nobody’s talking speakers or tubes?

For me, the recto’s thru the Mesa V30’s is a different experience than Greenbacks.

I always preferred Greenbacks and EL34’s. I had an early rev F rackmount that was one of the best amps I’ve ever played. Easily better than my 2C+. The feel on that amp was just perfect.

To be fair, I never played the 2C+ live with my band.
 
glip22 said:
You have me Gassing but they are 12k, not 5 from what I can find. 12K is way too steep
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12k is ridiculous. One or two months ago, there were two Cs sitting for 4.5K and 5K here in Europe Germany, and sitting and sitting. Not sure if they got sold or not. I admit, posting it on FB or in forums where you have an international buying "audience" and many tone-freaks would have moved those amps faster.
 
BesaMoogie said:
12k is ridiculous. One or two months ago, there were two Cs sitting for 4.5K and 5K here in Europe Germany, and sitting and sitting. Not sure if they got sold or not. I admit, posting it on FB or in forums where you have an international buying "audience" and many tone-freaks would have moved those amps faster.
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That same seller was trying to sell a pair of 1967 Greenbacks for 1500....but then updated the listing and admitted 'one doesn't work, and the other makes a weird noise'....ya ok.
 
gtrwun said:
A lot of talk about minor differences in Revs, but nobody’s talking speakers or tubes?

For me, the recto’s thru the Mesa V30’s is a different experience than Greenbacks.

I always preferred Greenbacks and EL34’s. I had an early rev F rackmount that was one of the best amps I’ve ever played. Easily better than my 2C+. The feel on that amp was just perfect.

To be fair, I never played the 2C+ live with my band.
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Well I did talk about tubes on page 3 a bit. So many of these shootouts are using early revs with NOS tubes vs later models with modern tubes.
I'm sure the differences are slight, but really it's slight differences that we hear anyways between the revisions. Anyone compare to a multiwatt loaded with the old coke bottle 420s?

The old 430/sovtecs might be the ticket for the rev-G, since they are a bit clearer and more open IMO.
 
Racerxrated said:
That same seller was trying to sell a pair of 1967 Greenbacks for 1500....but then updated the listing and admitted 'one doesn't work, and the other makes a weird noise'....ya ok.
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There’s a C sitting on Reverb France for 11K. Good luck with that.
I am lucky I got in this revision game more than 10 years ago when the talk about it started I think on the Boogie Board? You could have those pre 500 for 1.5K. They were just considered a few hundred bucks more valuable than a normal 2 Channel.
And I should have jumped an a 2c+ that time, but spending 2K plus on an amp seemed ridiculous to me at that point.
 
dave74 said:
Well I did talk about tubes on page 3 a bit. So many of these shootouts are using early revs with NOS tubes vs later models with modern tubes.
I'm sure the differences are slight, but really it's slight differences that we hear anyways between the revisions. Anyone compare to a multiwatt loaded with the old coke bottle 420s?

The old 430/sovtecs might be the ticket for the rev-G, since they are a bit clearer and more open IMO.
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Agree, even the bigger YT channels neglect tubes. You should at least try the match the preamp tubes when doing a comparison.
I usually run Beijing 12ax7 in my Rectos. When comparing, I match the powertubes.
 
For close mic high gain recording, tubes really don't matter. Any minor differences are just a knob twist from fixing.

Also for close mic high gain recording, the differences between any Recto are also pretty minimal. I think my Rev C vs. MW vid showed that, and I have plenty of others. Most minor differences are also just a knob twist away from fixing.

In the live band mix, the difference between any Mark, or any Recto, or any SLO etc.. are also very minimal assuming you can turn knobs. If you want a significant change to your tone you need to move to a completely different kind of amp or speaker, with the speaker being the most important variable as the gain goes up.

The reason people are paying these premiums for the high dollar amps is because of how they make you feel when you're playing them in the bedroom. Here there really is a difference that is very hard to quantify, and yet everyone who has the opportunity gets it.
 
Owned pretty much every version of the rectifier out there, they’re all killer except the 2000-2009 IMO. My favorite has been my rev E which I will keep. If you’re looking for that in your head rectifier sound get a multi watt. They’re rev f voiced and sound great. You can honestly get super close to the rev f with the red channel with a multi watt. Orange channel is a different story the rev f and before amps orange channels are totally different. The new ones are way nasally in comparison.

Now, I will say this in regards to the old rectifiers and the iic+. People put these amps WAY up on a pedestal. I’m guilty of it myself. Are they better, yeah they are… but you can get really close with the new stuff. When it used to be a 500 dollar difference was it worth it? Totally. Anymore though? People are out of their damn mind paying 5 k for a rev F.


Also, being someone who does studio work on the side, there is so much damn bias towards, well “in the room blah blah blah”. There is so much bias towards amps when they’re cranked. Mics don’t lie. Is a rev c better than a multi watt by 5500? FOH. Is the iic+ better than a no stripe mark iii by 8 grand. Absolutely not.
 
Bram576 said:
Owned pretty much every version of the rectifier out there, they’re all killer except the 2000-2009 IMO. My favorite has been my rev E which I will keep. If you’re looking for that in your head rectifier sound get a multi watt. They’re rev f voiced and sound great. You can honestly get super close to the rev f with the red channel with a multi watt. Orange channel is a different story the rev f and before amps orange channels are totally different. The new ones are way nasally in comparison.

Now, I will say this in regards to the old rectifiers and the iic+. People put these amps WAY up on a pedestal. I’m guilty of it myself. Are they better, yeah they are… but you can get really close with the new stuff. When it used to be a 500 dollar difference was it worth it? Totally. Anymore though? People are out of their damn mind paying 5 k for a rev F.


Also, being someone who does studio work on the side, there is so much damn bias towards, well “in the room blah blah blah”. There is so much bias towards amps when they’re cranked. Mics don’t lie. Is a rev c better than a multi watt by 5500? FOH. Is the iic+ better than a no stripe mark iii by 8 grand. Absolutely not.
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I would trust my ears more than any mic. Different mics, placement etc all matter in a recording...your ears hear what they hear. Are these amps worth the asking price? To the buyer who pays, yes. For most people, no.
Also, feel is important and that certainly doesn't have anything to do with how it 'records'. For some reason a few here think that recording an amp is more important than it is. It's Rig talk...not recording talk.
No offense.
 
and to throw another option out there... this Hermansson bloke seems to be doing some great work with Rectos.

Anyone had any experience with his work with rectos?
 
Mr. Willy said:
I had a 2 channel Dual Recto from ‘94 many years ago. No idea what rev it was, but I thought it sounded very good. Wish I still had it.
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Seee! I always sell stuff before the prices go crazy. I sold my leather 93 for $1200 about 8 years ago ...and it took a while to sell for that price.
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93 DR guts1.jpg
 
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