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nickname009 « poor man's recto »
Published on 04/03/11 at 18:53B-52, made in china, designed by bruce egnater, specs:
• All-Tube Signal Path
• Tri-Mode Rectifier: Tube - Class A or AB,
• Solid-State - Class AB
• Overdrive Channel: Gain 1 and Gain 2
• Each with Independent Master Volumes,
• 3-Band EQ, Assignable Contour Control
• Clean Channel: Master Volume, 3-Band
• EQ and Bright Switch
• Global Controls: Volume, Low-Res
• (Resonance) and Reverb
• Effects Loop with Level Controls
• (Footswitchable)
• Line Out with Level Control
• Selectable 4 / 8 / 16 Ohms External
• Speaker Jacks
• 4-Position Footswitch: Channel, Gain,
• Reverb and Effects Loop
UTILIZATION
it's a basic 3 channel knob with some extra features like the global contros and the 3 modes that can go from class a, ab or solidstate, which i find pretty interesting.
Easy to use, the manual isn't really necessary to get things goin.
Pretty versatile with seperate EQs for the clean and dirty channel. the dirt channel shares the EQ between the gain 1 and 2 modes.
SOUNDS
During the time that I owned it, i've played it through 2 o r 3 different guitars, an ibanez S with tom anderson pickups, a flying V with invaders and another ibanez with duncan blackouts.
Of course you can already tell this is a poor man's rectifier. With a more decent clean than an actual one i'd say. You can definitely get some real chunky sounds and the gain 2 mode is cool I use it with the gain maxed out and just kick it in for some crazy dive bombs or wild harmonics and noises etc. Otherwise, to me gain 2 sounds exactly like gain 1. Some people have claimed there's slight differences, but honestly i can barely hear any if everything was set exactly the same with the levels/gain knobs.
Gain 1 is the main distortion that I use. It's thick and crunchy and can get very bitey if you want it to. It DOESN'T sound like a rectifier to me, but it has all the right stuff to sound like one and does sound in the same vicinity as a recto, but not quite. It's definitely a modern sounding distortion though.
The clear is good, doesn't break up as far as I remember, the reverb isn't that great, the tank flunked out on me I had to get it replaced, B52 was nice enough to send me a replacement however, but the actual effect is really subtle even when close to maxed/maxed out.
The 3 tube modes make a difference. Solidstate is way bitier and sometimes too harsh, I like the A or AB mode.
OVERALL OPINION
It's a decent amp for the money if one didn't care about trying to emulate a sound and just wanted to get a good decent tube amp with ample features. The reverb tank might flunk out on you, though i heard the newer versions have already fixed that. Otherwise, it's a heavy ass head and it's BIG. But it's sturdy. Minus the reverb tank flunking, I've gigged with it and had it dropped a few times from waist level and everything was still intact minus some tubes. The head is CSA approved which is kinda cool, shows that the detail was put into getting the circuit approved and the chassis itself is very strong. Not sure about the 'birch ply' though..
I'm glad I had it and it served me well, though i probaby wouldn't buy another one cause it's heavier than most combos. And I've turned into a combo guy nowadays anyhow.
It can get some modern sounding distortion sounds. And can get quite loud!
• All-Tube Signal Path
• Tri-Mode Rectifier: Tube - Class A or AB,
• Solid-State - Class AB
• Overdrive Channel: Gain 1 and Gain 2
• Each with Independent Master Volumes,
• 3-Band EQ, Assignable Contour Control
• Clean Channel: Master Volume, 3-Band
• EQ and Bright Switch
• Global Controls: Volume, Low-Res
• (Resonance) and Reverb
• Effects Loop with Level Controls
• (Footswitchable)
• Line Out with Level Control
• Selectable 4 / 8 / 16 Ohms External
• Speaker Jacks
• 4-Position Footswitch: Channel, Gain,
• Reverb and Effects Loop
UTILIZATION
it's a basic 3 channel knob with some extra features like the global contros and the 3 modes that can go from class a, ab or solidstate, which i find pretty interesting.
Easy to use, the manual isn't really necessary to get things goin.
Pretty versatile with seperate EQs for the clean and dirty channel. the dirt channel shares the EQ between the gain 1 and 2 modes.
SOUNDS
During the time that I owned it, i've played it through 2 o r 3 different guitars, an ibanez S with tom anderson pickups, a flying V with invaders and another ibanez with duncan blackouts.
Of course you can already tell this is a poor man's rectifier. With a more decent clean than an actual one i'd say. You can definitely get some real chunky sounds and the gain 2 mode is cool I use it with the gain maxed out and just kick it in for some crazy dive bombs or wild harmonics and noises etc. Otherwise, to me gain 2 sounds exactly like gain 1. Some people have claimed there's slight differences, but honestly i can barely hear any if everything was set exactly the same with the levels/gain knobs.
Gain 1 is the main distortion that I use. It's thick and crunchy and can get very bitey if you want it to. It DOESN'T sound like a rectifier to me, but it has all the right stuff to sound like one and does sound in the same vicinity as a recto, but not quite. It's definitely a modern sounding distortion though.
The clear is good, doesn't break up as far as I remember, the reverb isn't that great, the tank flunked out on me I had to get it replaced, B52 was nice enough to send me a replacement however, but the actual effect is really subtle even when close to maxed/maxed out.
The 3 tube modes make a difference. Solidstate is way bitier and sometimes too harsh, I like the A or AB mode.
OVERALL OPINION
It's a decent amp for the money if one didn't care about trying to emulate a sound and just wanted to get a good decent tube amp with ample features. The reverb tank might flunk out on you, though i heard the newer versions have already fixed that. Otherwise, it's a heavy ass head and it's BIG. But it's sturdy. Minus the reverb tank flunking, I've gigged with it and had it dropped a few times from waist level and everything was still intact minus some tubes. The head is CSA approved which is kinda cool, shows that the detail was put into getting the circuit approved and the chassis itself is very strong. Not sure about the 'birch ply' though..
I'm glad I had it and it served me well, though i probaby wouldn't buy another one cause it's heavier than most combos. And I've turned into a combo guy nowadays anyhow.
It can get some modern sounding distortion sounds. And can get quite loud!