Mesa 4x12 duel - Stiletto vs. Rectifier!

[MetalMGH]

Picked up a Mesa Rectifier (oversized) slant 4x12 today from Richard Z of Rammstein (as did lolgreg on here a few weeks ago ) after selling my old Mesa Stiletto slant 4x12 (the smaller of the two Mesas, but still the same size as almost every other 4x12 out there, and the exact same speakers as the Rectifier cab). However, before I sold the Stiletto cab, I re-amped a pair of DI's from a riff from one of my band's songs through it one last time, and then today after getting the Rectifier cab I re-amped the tracks through it without touching the settings on the amp (and made a tiny increase in the mic preamp volume to make sure they were peaking at the same levels).

However, I at first tried the bottom left speaker on the Recto cab, and was pretty disappointed with the sound; went to the bottom right, and GODDAMN did it sound better IMO, listen for yourselves! (and believe it or not, the mic was farther from the dustcap on the bottom left speaker than on the right, despite that awful fizz! )

Personally, I much prefer the clarity of the Recto cab, and it doesn't have the "stuffiness" in the mids (around 400 Hz) that drove me bonkers about the Stiletto. Comments welcome!

[MetalMGH]

Oh, and the signal chain on all clips was:

Mackie Onyx Satellite Line Out --> Little Labs Redeye Re-amp box --> Ibanez Tube Screamer --> Mesa 2 channel Dual Rectifier --> [CAB] --> SM57 --> Mackie Onyx Satellite Preamp

EDIT: And the guitar used for the DI's was an ESP LTD EC-400 w/ an EMG81 in the bridge

[brandondrury]

First of all, I think all of these clips sound bad ass. While the Stiletto cab does have more 400Hz stuff going on, it's certainly not boxy in any way, shape, or form. It's a kick ass sound in it's own right.

The Recto cab is definitely scooped more in that region.

Personally, again subjective, I actually preferred the way the "not so good" Recto speaker broke up a bit. If it's not breaking up from actual level, it has a more "broken up" sound to my ears.

As usual, you've proven that massive sounds are possible with a SM57 and a stock audio interface preamp. Great work!

Brandon

[MetalMGH]

Thanks a lot Brandon! Yeah, after letting some time pass, the BL speaker doesn't bother me as much and has a bit more cut than the BR, but there's still that nasty fizz; all the same, I think blending the two might be just the ticket! Ah re-amping!

And yeah, the Recto cab is more "scooped" there, which is the term that made me nervous enough to buy the Stiletto cab at first, but in a mix I find the Stiletto just makes things feel very stuffy/wooly, so instead of the Stiletto being normal and the Recto being scooped, I prefer to say the Stiletto has too much and the Recto is just right

[lolzgreg]

Originally Posted by MetalMGH

Picked up a Mesa Rectifier (oversized) slant 4x12 today from Richard Z of Rammstein (as did lolgreg on here a few weeks ago )

RAMMCABZ FTW!