NAD - gotta Boogie....

Aahzz

Aahzz

Habanero Evangelist
So the Marshall half stack was too much amp. I tried, but I have apparently evolved from what I used to be, because I used to dig a 100 watt half stack at home and now I just don't. At least part of the reason is that it scared the dogs.

So I sold it, and had picked up a Marshall DSL 40c combo, but I just didn't bond with it - too harsh in the high end. Lots of people clip a resistor and/or replace the speaker with a Creamback, but I didn't feel like going either route. So it went back to GC - I do enjoy buying used gear there and having 45 days to return it, giving me plenty of time to be sure.

So now, enter the Recto. Found this 50 watt Rect-o-verb series 2 combo on Craigslist, and couldn't resist. There's a lot of tonal variety in this little beast, I've spent a good amount of time twiddling knobs today, but so far I'm enjoying it quite a bit. We'll see if it holds, I know I'm fickle, but...so far, I digs it.


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Aahzz said:
What is it you prefer about the ELs?
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I suppose it’s just my preference. I like that British sound over the Fender thing.
Not that the Fender sound isn’t good, because it is. It’s just that I prefer the British thing.
I suppose at the end of the day, it’s about what you are looking for out of the amp.
 
Aahzz said:
The previous owner put EL34s in it, I may switch back to 6L6....
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Go to the 6L6s. I’m on my 4th or 5th Boogie and everyone I’ve owned that can take either sounds better with 6L6s. The EL34s sound thinner and weaker in a Boogie.
 
Aahzz said:
What is it you prefer about the ELs?
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Ok, I’ve had a chance to think a little more about this and I think I can add something besides personal preference.
@telecaster911. If I’m incorrect here maybe you can set us straight.
I’ve played through several 6V6/6L6 amps over the years but I’ve never owned one. So my experience is a bit limited by that and most of my knowledge on those tubes are only from what I’ve read online...
I think with an amp like this Boogie, the EL34 gives you the best of both worlds here. The average Boogie already has a fantastic clean channel. If you swap to 6?6 tubes I think you would only marginally improve the clean channel. You’d probably gain a little bit of a bigger bottom end and some clean headroom. But I don’t think you really need that with this amp...like I said, it’s clean channel should already be great.
On the other hand I think a 6?6 swap would affect the OD channel opposite of what you would want. I’m hesitating to use the words detrimental or negatively because I don’t think those tubes would make the amp sound bad, per se but IMO you would be taking away from it what it needs to do what it does on the OD channel as effectively as it currently does.
 
I thought Randall argued only the Mark series were "Boogies". Didn't they used to run an ad that stated, "Not all Mesas are Boogies"?

That EL34/EL84's sound British and 6L6/6V6's sound Fender is a oversimplification. Amps get their voice from the preamp/PI design, not their power tubes. I'm not saying there isn't any difference between the tubes, but it's mostly only when pushed to the point of compression and breakup. I can't say which will sound better overall, but on the Rectifier, I expect the 6L6's will sound rounder with more clarity.
 
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