not happy with treadplate module

hello ,
i own an randall rm50 and i wanted a module with loads of gain , for metal music use , and i've heard about treadplate/recto.
so, i said it ok , mesa boogie sound is not bad at all.
but as soon as i tried it i was sooooo disappointed .
distortion is so minimum you can only sound like ac/dc in 70's!
its miles far from rectifier.
am i doing something wrong here?
does anyone feel the same about this module?

it needs an OD pedal- that should get it closer

stock without a pedal- the gain is not usable past 2 oclock

If you're handy do the Grail mod to it

You can always send it off to Pete to Mod it for ya!!!

If all he's getting is AC/DC tone from it (i.e. Plexi/JTM levels of gain) then there's something wrong with the gain on it.....probably a bad tube.

That said..I couldn't run a stock Recto, Rectified or Treadplate module without a pedal to tighten it up....after a c3 mod (1000pf) it's bearable...then it just needs the mids sorting

whats the point in using a pedal?
i try to avoid pedals. if i wanted to get into the pedal things i would buy something digital that have million sounds. i want it all tube and less wiring.

pete is a bit expensive for me due to the shipping costs (i live in Greece).
any suggestion to a module that has on its own full distortion?
thanks guys

If ya wanna go stock with good high-gain tone, I'd get either an SL+ or UltraXL.

I'm with ya on the pedals; that's why I got into MTS in the first place. Lots of guys use 'em on here but if I had to go back to pedals I'd just buy myself a nice Orange Rockerverb and pedal myself into oblivion :shock:

Pedals? Because you can get sounds with pedals you cannot get with an amp alone. Like transistor clipping with a fuzz pedal. Or cascading transistor clipping with two fuzz pedals. Or a mid boost with a tubescreamer. They're tools. These things are analog. But after playing around with a DAW, it's turning out that I have no shame regarding digital editing.

dboy5150 said:

I had to go back to pedals I'd just buy myself a nice Orange Rockerverb and pedal myself into oblivion :shock:

Click to expand...

:lol: LMAO!!

OK, the stock Treadplate should give you a lot more gain than that even without any mods. I'm guessing you have bad tubes in there. Start by changing out your tubes to high gain JJ's and see what happens.

ACDC is nearly clean. Something is wrong with your treadplate.

SDWR said:

ACDC is nearly clean. Something is wrong with your treadplate.

Click to expand...

Few people know this fact.

Julia said:

SDWR said:

ACDC is nearly clean. Something is wrong with your treadplate.

Click to expand...

Few people know this fact.

Click to expand...

Lol..this is getting funnier each post

Mines hosed too, Just gave out on me yesterday. I'm gonna try the JJ and Ruby combination this time around, Thanks Harsh!!! :wink:

Julia said:

SDWR said:

ACDC is nearly clean. Something is wrong with your treadplate.

Click to expand...

Few people know this fact.

Click to expand...

Well, Malcom is anyway. Angus has some dirt to his tone.

i replaced the tubes today .
totally different result : from young to hetfield XD
cheers guys

andrianosd said:

i replaced the tubes today .
totally different result : from young to hetfield XD
cheers guys

Click to expand...

Nice dude, Glad to hear!!!!!!

andrianosd said:

hello ,
i own an randall rm50 and i wanted a module with loads of gain , for metal music use , and i've heard about treadplate/recto.
so, i said it ok , mesa boogie sound is not bad at all.
but as soon as i tried it i was sooooo disappointed .
distortion is so minimum you can only sound like ac/dc in 70's!
its miles far from rectifier.
am i doing something wrong here?
does anyone feel the same about this module?

Click to expand...

The Recto/Treadplate isn't a high gain module. I got one and never use it because it lacks tons of gain. Just get rid of it and get an ULTRA XL. Its the only module that performs in the gain department.

andrianosd said:

i replaced the tubes today .
totally different result : from young to hetfield XD
cheers guys

Click to expand...

Nice...glad that was an easy solution 8)

schlagdog said:

The Recto/Treadplate isn't a high gain module. I got one and never use it because it lacks tons of gain. Just get rid of it and get an ULTRA XL. Its the only module that performs in the gain department.

Click to expand...

Really?? I have a stock Recto and I have the gain at about 40% and it is more than enough to get it screaming (and no boost either). IMHO, its not the best Solo module coz of the tone structure, but sounds great for rythm work.

The UXL does have TONS of gain that's great for soloing, but its not the best rythm module. I guess it boils down to what you wanna use the Recto for...

I do always experiment with the tubes to suit my flavour, tho.

I tried a bunch of tubes and put the .001 cap in it. Its only average at about 2:00 gain. After that it is all mud. I have it on the classified section now along with the 1086 because they are so worthless.

Well obviously The AC/DC tones are pretty low gain..and especially considering that people in this forum (most) love distorting an amp by send a signal thru a distortion box first.
..oh and dont forget to crank the power amp for power amp distortion, and use low wattage speakers to get speaker distortion!!!! And when you record it, push the gain on the channel for a little more distortion (!!!)
YIKES!!!