'Rectified' Module Inferior?

[DC Widowmaker]

...as in, inferior to the later versions: "recto" and "treadplate"? I ask because I'm looking to sell my "rectified" and want to know if I'm gonna have trouble getting a reasonable offer for it.

 

[GtrGeorge!]

no..........I own a tread plate and have been with the MTS system for a while. I have never seen anybody putting down any of the Mesa-Boogie modules. Each has its fans...none has developed a bad reputation.
I use my treadplate all the time live for a dual rectifier sound. Sounds very good to me.
GtrGeorge

 

[Shinozoku]

The main issue people have with those modules is just that they CAN be woofy and loose, but that's the case with a lot of the old modules. Really all you need to do if you think it's too loose is pop a 2200pF Orange Drop in the C3.

 

[DC Widowmaker]

Ok that makes absolutely no sense to me , but I'm sure I can research it. I was just wondering if there is some kind of noticeable difference in quality betwee.n the older incarnations of the rectifier emulator and the newer ones. Thanks for the replies.

 

[Shinozoku]

A few pieces of the circuitry were switched out to improve the voicing of the module over time, and they changed the name each time. the Grail module is like the ultimate stock incarnation of the Rectified module (although it's an artist mod), and the others are frequently modified to the Grail specs, or sent in the Pete for his various Recto mods (the Orange mod, Red mod, and Racktifier mod).

The only problems you might have with it is a bit of muddiness in the sound, which is controlled by a cap in the C3 position on the board (look behind the Gain pot on the module for a big cap with C3 next to it on the board). Lowering the value (and using a superior quality cap for it) tightens up the low end and tends to get rid of some of the mud.

But not everyone has this problem! It all depends on the ear of the person dialing it in

 

[JKD]

Sacred Groove posted these, how to convert any of the modules into a Grail:

--Grail mod--
Recto:
-C3 @ .0005uf (500pf)
-R1, R2, R3 @ 150ohm (brown, green, brown)

Rectified:
-C3 @ .0005uf (500pf)
-R1, R2, R3 @ 150ohm (brown, green, brown)
-C14 @ .00047uf (470pf)

TreadPlate:
-C3 @ .0005uf (500pf)
-C14 @ .00047uf (470pf)

C3 affects how much bass is going into the gain, hence the 'tightness'
C14 affects the mid voicing (I believe)

R1,R2,R3 are input resistors (I think) which also affect the gain...in very old (silver faced) modules these were higher (470Ohms) and can cause clipping but it's hard to notice on top of the distortion anyway....reducing these to 150Ohm improves clarity...you get most bang for your buck (out of the 3 resistors) just by changing R1.

 

[Shinozoku]

Yeah, C14 s mid voicing.

thanks for that info, though! I'm gonna make a note of what does what in the modules for when I decide to start modding them myself

 

[DC Widowmaker]

Thanks Shinozoku and JKD for that info. Exactly what I was after. So the 'Rectified' does require more 'fixing' than the later incarnations. Might have to look into having it modded.

 

[okstrat]

Keep in mind too the tighter you go (lower) with C3 the less gain you'll have as you are cutting frequencies. Also lose gain when you drop to 150 ohms on the resistors too. While it does make for a better tone (IMHO) a few guys get a little bent when they lose gain.

On C3 a 500pf is supernaturally tight - may want to try a 1000pf in there too just for grins.

Pete

 

[JKD]

Keep in mind too the tighter you go (lower) with C3 the less gain you'll have as you are cutting frequencies. Also lose gain when you drop to 150 ohms on the resistors too. While it does make for a better tone (IMHO) a few guys get a little bent when they lose gain.

On C3 a 500pf is supernaturally tight - may want to try a 1000pf in there too just for grins.

Pete

+1 ... I *increased* the 500pf in my Grail to a nice 1000pf Orange Drop