The moment you realise your Triple Rec is browner than 5153

[donnyboiler]

https://soundcloud.com/donnyboiler/panama-triple-rec

Yeah that

[T.L.]

Wow. That's cool. There's still a hint of that Mesa compression, but it's amazing how "brown" that sounds.

By the way, your playing kicked ass.

[chrisom]

That DID sound excellent. I always said EVH should have used a Dual/Triple Rectifier instead of 'developing' his own amplifier. Your guitar sound is way better than any of the tones I heard on 'A Different Kind of Truth'. The playing was great too. I can just imagine how good Ed would sound if he ditched his 5150's, resumed using the Eventide, and got a Mesa Recto.

By the way, does yours have EL-34's or 6L6s?

[donnyboiler]

Glad you like the playing guys. I try

Yeah, the Rectos are a weird thing. People naturally scoop them and set them quite dark which gives you that huge saggy sound on DT's Train of Thought or all the shitty pop-metal stuff from the late 90s. But Dave Grohl gets great rock sounds out of them which tends to get overlooked. They're not super tight out of the box so they actually lend themselves really well to medium-high gain.

At their heart, they are an SLO circuit with more features, a slightly darker sound and transformers the size of the Moon. How people make them sound such a mess is beyond me! I love that they're unfashionable right now too

Mine is stock with MESA 6L6s right now.

[evh100]

I always found it odd that Eddie didn't hook up with Mesa Boogie amps. I mean, they're on the west coast, right? No schleping halfway across America like he had to with Peavey back then.
With enough internal tweaking by the Mesa techs, Ed could've gotten closer to an amp that sounded like his Marshall than he ever did with Peavey and his line of amps. Just a thought....

[chrisom]

I remember reading in a guitar magazine article where Randall Smith from Boogie attended some event where EVH was playing. During the soundcheck Ed was motioning for his tech to turn his variac 'Up' then 'Down', etc. to find the 'sweet spot'. After they left the stage, Mr. Smith went over and measured the voltage which was 89 volts. This was part of the technology that went into his Dual Rectifier line of amplifiers he was developing (along with 2 types of rectification). 'Bold' or 'Spongy' voltage. 'Vintage' or 'Modern' gain.

I used to run a Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp into an old RCA tube mic amplifier (w/ a pair of 6L6's in triode for 30 watts).
I built a solid-state rectifier into an old dead tube base like shown in Tom Mitchell's 'How To Service Your Own Tube Amp' book, so I could plug in either a tube rectifier or solid-state. Solid-state was tighter, the tube was looser. Both were excellent usable cool responses, but different from each other. I would like to hear Ed playing thru a Recto since it's Mesa's entry into the British-style amp market. More British than my Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp could sound (good as it was)...

[donnyboiler]

Yeah to all of this.

I think actually the thing to realise about Ed circa 88-92 is that he was annoyed with the Marshalls and the SLOs. My guess is he got sick of trying to get the right saturation out of the Marshalls, found it in the SLO and didn't like the feel (he's on record as saying he didn't like the SLO's slow response, an attribute the Rectifier series shares). So he built the 5150 as an attempt on combining the SLO's easy saturation with the Marshall's hair trigger response.

I have a theory the sound in Eddie's head all along was something akin to the 5150s... the magic Marshall we all love was his attempt to make Marshalls do something they weren't quite designed to do. Ironically when he finally did make an amp that did what he wanted, all the traditionalists hated it! I think the 5150 series was a huge success for him and Peavey in so many ways, but a big step away from classic VH.

I actually like all eras of Ed's tone, except the newest album, which sounds a congested honky mess. I don't blame the 5153 for that... Ed didn't play guitar for a whole year around that time and that doesn't help one bit. I like the 5153, but not as much as my Triple

[mixn4him]

Donny you are not helping at all!! Just sold a DR a couple months ago to get a 5153 and just sold it cause it was just not the right tone for me. Now seems I need a TR! Has anyone tried these settings on the DR to see if we can get the same results or is there a special magic in the TR with the extra tubes and huge transformers?

I actually LOVED Ch1 of the DR but could never get Ch's 2&3 right. I think you cracked the code..

[rdodson]

Have any of you all had experience with Pete Thorn's SE amp from Suhr? The latest edition, not the CAE one.

It sounds like a pretty good stab at this stuff, but I haven't played one. I'm still happy with my 101b (which RB designed after helping get 12301 going again).

[donnyboiler]

Donny you are not helping at all!! Just sold a DR a couple months ago to get a 5153 and just sold it cause it was just not the right tone for me. Now seems I need a TR! Has anyone tried these settings on the DR to see if we can get the same results or is there a special magic in the TR with the extra tubes and huge transformers?

I actually LOVED Ch1 of the DR but could never get Ch's 2&3 right. I think you cracked the code..

Thanks man! The key for me was presence full up and treble quite low. I've used that trick on a few Marshalls but this amp definitely responded well to it! Yeah the punch of the Triple is something else but I would expect similar results from a Dual. I'm getting a Road King in a trade soon so hopefully I'll be able to post my findings with different tube selections. I think 2x 6L6 and 2x EL34 should be really interesting for early VH. The big winner is definitely the punch on these amps... once you have that the EQ is secondary IMO.

Have any of you all had experience with Pete Thorn's SE amp from Suhr? The latest edition, not the CAE one.

It sounds like a pretty good stab at this stuff, but I haven't played one. I'm still happy with my 101b (which RB designed after helping get 12301 going again).

I haven't played a PT but I played a CAE OD100. Cleans are spectacular but I'm one of the guys who thinks the 101b has amazing cleans when set right. The latest generation PT is supposed to be more Plexi-like, but I wouldn't trade a Bogner for one personally. The CAE/Suhr dirt channels never made my spine tingle like a Bogner. Having said that, I hated MESA amps until I played one, so what the hell do I know?

[rdodson]

Yeah, mine isn't going anywhere. Love it.

[dazzlindino]

https://soundcloud.com/donnyboiler/panama-triple-rec

Yeah that

That is excellent! Tone and playing
Couple questions
What speakers / cab are you using in this set up?
What mike/s are you using?
Mike placement on the speakers?

[donnyboiler]

https://soundcloud.com/donnyboiler/panama-triple-rec

Yeah that

That is excellent! Tone and playing
Couple questions
What speakers / cab are you using in this set up?
What mike/s are you using?
Mike placement on the speakers?

Thanks dude. MESA 4x12 with V30s, SM57 on axis right where the dustcap meets the cone.

[JohnnyGtar]

https://soundcloud.com/donnyboiler/panama-triple-rec

Yeah that

That sounds really good. What bridge pickup did you use for that clip?

[donnyboiler]

Thanks man. It's a stock Suhr Modern HH with a SSH+ in the bridge. It's a fantastic pickup, it reminds me of the EVH Wolfgang pickup but with more spank in the highs.