Considering the purchase of a triple rectifier stack - What do I need to check?

SonVolt said:
There's a bunch of cork sniffing internet warrior bs in that statement. I've got an older 3 channel and it's just as brutal as my 3 channel Multi-watt. There's very little difference in tone/feel. You will love the amp.
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I am also pretty sure I will like it. Upgrading from my Peavey Bandit 112 to the triple recto will be a major upgrade; even if it’s the worst of them all.
 
Even one of those is probably just a boost away from glory.

Mnemonic covered it pretty well. It might be a parallel loop which is fine. There will be a send level and mix level. As long as the Send level is at the halfway mark. Volume with the loop engaged should be normal. Think of the channel masters as FX send levels for each channel when the loop is in use.

Tube Rec and spongy should both reduce the volume ever so slightly and give it slightly less of a stiff push in the low end. This is normal and sometimes desirable, depending on what you’re going for. These can be switched on the fly and you don’t need to put the amp in standby to try those settings.

When powering it on, taking it off standby, look to see if any of the power tubes glow bright red (called red plating) this can be the tube itself or a lot more inside that is wrong. If this happens, turn off the amp immediately.

If they let you turn it up a fair bit, check to see if the tubes glow blue in a considerable way when you play hard. This can indicate a tube that is wearing out. Price on the whole setup is good but tube replacement for a triple Rec would be pricy these days.

Main thing is you get healthy volume from all channels, big firm low end and good top end (anemic or too spongy lows or a dull top end can indicate tired tired power tubes). Pots that don’t crackle or sputter when you turn them or have EQ or sound/gain jump around when you turn them (this wouldn’t be different for a SS amp either). If the crackle goes away after turning the knob a few times you probably just worked some dust and dirt loose and the pot is OK.

If there is sputtering in the sound when the amp is first turned on, independent of knob turning but it goes away after a few minutes this could be a bad preamp tube that sorts itself out after warming up or something more expensive involving reworking a bad solder joint that sorts itself out after getting warm.
 
I didn’t mean my comment of ‘least desirable’ to mean they’re worse - I myself have 3 channel non multiwatt dual rectifier I love, but it’s also the model that tends to sell for the lowest price amongst rectifiers (excluding the meme amps like the mini rectos)

I still think the loop sucks though.
 
skoora said:
Even one of those is probably just a boost away from glory.

Mnemonic covered it pretty well. It might be a parallel loop which is fine. There will be a send level and mix level. As long as the Send level is at the halfway mark. Volume with the loop engaged should be normal. Think of the channel masters as FX send levels for each channel when the loop is in use.

Tube Rec and spongy should both reduce the volume ever so slightly and give it slightly less of a stiff push in the low end. This is normal and sometimes desirable, depending on what you’re going for. These can be switched on the fly and you don’t need to put the amp in standby to try those settings.

When powering it on, taking it off standby, look to see if any of the power tubes glow bright red (called red plating) this can be the tube itself or a lot more inside that is wrong. If this happens, turn off the amp immediately.

If they let you turn it up a fair bit, check to see if the tubes glow blue in a considerable way when you play hard. This can indicate a tube that is wearing out. Price on the whole setup is good but tube replacement for a triple Rec would be pricy these days.

Main thing is you get healthy volume from all channels, big firm low end and good top end (anemic or too spongy lows or a dull top end can indicate tired tired power tubes). Pots that don’t crackle or sputter when you turn them or have EQ or sound/gain jump around when you turn them (this wouldn’t be different for a SS amp either). If the crackle goes away after turning the knob a few times you probably just worked some dust and dirt loose and the pot is OK.

If there is sputtering in the sound when the amp is first turned on, independent of knob turning but it goes away after a few minutes this could be a bad preamp tube that sorts itself out after warming up or something more expensive involving reworking a bad solder joint that sorts itself out after getting warm.
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Thank you so much!
 
That price is a steal, jump on it immediately.
Set up properly that amp will blow your mind. Set all the tone/gain knobs at noon, boost it with the pedal set at level dimed, gain at zero and go from there.
 
Neptical said:
Any Recto with a Serial modded loop ( easy to do ) will be the best Recto one can have. Good luck on your new rig!
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How easy is this? I've read about it quickly. Is this DIYable if you're not too agile with a soldering gun? Seems pretty straightforward but still a bit nervous about messing things up.


Beyond Black said:
That price is a steal, jump on it immediately.
Set up properly that amp will blow your mind. Set all the tone/gain knobs at noon, boost it with the pedal set at level dimed, gain at zero and go from there.
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Yes, I've sent a deposit and going to pick it up on saturday.
 
I would buy it. It's not a super early 3 channel head because it has the "Loop Active" label above the Solo and Master Volumes. The early ones had 1 triode that wasn't used. I want to think it was V1B. After that, they started using it for something, but I can't remember what it was for. I had both versions. Don't worry. You're not missing very much or anything at all.

The power tubes are the STR430s. They're the Sovtek 6L6GC or EH 6L6GC. They mate well with that amp and feel less stiff. If it has Chinese 12ax7s, which is probably the case, it probably sounds pretty damn good. Make sure all of the power tubes are glowing. The 430s are kind of leaky, so you will see some blue-ing near the glass once it's taken off Standby. If one isn't glowing, a screen grid resistor is probably down which is common from a power tube failure in these amps. It's a cheap part that can be replaced with relative ease by a tech or yourself (if you can solder).

Like someone else said, the power tubes last damn near forever in these things, so you probably don't have anything to worry about.
 
^^^
Good eye on the tubes. Looking again I can barely see that the last two digits are rounded on top, so they must be the 430s, although they did also for a short time use straight-bottle 420 types, but they might have had a brown base(?). My coke-bottle 420s are black-based though. Probably the 430 sovtecs in this thing.

The cab with the serial in the 46's is somewhere in the early-mid 2000s.
I have one that is in the 31's that was mesa dated to 2000, and my 2011 is in the 69's, so they were going up by around 4-5,000 per year give or take.
 
I am amazed by the level of details and all the cues that everyone has given so far. This is a fantastic community and I am glad i've joined. I think I have everything I needed to know to at least buy it with a peace of mind. I will be in touch with pictures once it's cleaned up. If it wasnt used in over 5 years, I figure i'll have some cleaning to do!

Thanks everyone! You guys are the best.
 
Dale B said:
It's not a super early 3 channel head because it has the "Loop Active" label above the Solo and Master Volumes.
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That’s one clue, but not a definitive indicator by itself. I’ve had Rev Cs with the “Loop Active” label, and some Rev Es into the high 30k range without it.

The 430s are what the shipped with stock, and it’s what the amp was designed around. They made a subtle transition to early white label 440s a few years in, and those essentially became the standard for them during the rest of the run.

I personally like the 430s in those amps made during the first couple years. I still like dropping C8s in the preamp though.
 
MaximusJ said:
How easy is this? I've read about it quickly. Is this DIYable if you're not too agile with a soldering gun? Seems pretty straightforward but still a bit nervous about messing things up.
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Massively easy but I don't want to persuade you if your uncomfortable. It's quick so have a tech do it which shouldn't be too much.

When you have more control ( EQ in loop ) to remove some of the bloated low mids, a Recto is even more annihilating. It really opens the amp up and screams better for leads. The 'silkiness' is there when set up right. It's outstanding against all my other Boogies and Marshalls.
 
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