Mesa/Boogie 2x12 Recto Cabinet

i wrote the review below. . .just wanted to add something. I decided, just for fun, to change out one of the vintage 30's for a celestion G12T-75. This cab, as I say below, kicked ass before, and kicks ass now as well. If you like the sound of the cab, but want a slightly more "modern" sound, than this is a mod that could help. The highs were nice before, but now they sound really. . .good. theres no other word which will work better there. This cab had great lower mids and bass before, but now with this mod the whole cab goes to a whole new level. maybe G12T's dont sound very good when its just 4 of them on their own, but when one is combined with a vintage 30. . .truly beutiful.

Mine is the Vertical version, not too many reviews here on that one so ill put in my two cents. I got it "used," but it was from somebody who had bought it like two days earlier new, i even got the warranty papers unsigned. It has two 16 ohm Celestion Vintage 30 speakers, which themselves are not the bass heavy monsters everyone makes them out to be. but ill take that cause up during the sounds portion of the reivew. it has another jack for daisy chainig, and it is heavy because its so well made. I took a look inside, and it was very clean, everything was tight, and the joints were soldered. the jacks are heavy duty. . .basically no expense was spaired in making this cab top-of-the-line, so I'm happy. It gets a 7, because it is what it is and it does it well.

I'm playing either a telecaster with a Seymour ducan STL-2 hot single coil or a Tom Delonge strat with a telecaster hot rails pickup. These guitars go straight into my Fender Prosonic head (dont underestimate my Rectifier Killer), and then into this cabinet. I play modern punk rock, in the vein of finch or NoFx or The Used.
These speakers are not all that bassy. . .actually they are known for a nice warm midrangy sound with very natural breakup, all the things a "vintage" speaker has. So how do these Mesa cabs all sound so thick and bassy? simple. . .the cabinet. When you have that much wood and that much open space inside a cabinet with just two speakers (the same principles applies to the 4x12's), you get the huge sound the mesa is known for. The reason that there isnt very much midrange in these cabs isnt because of the cabs, its because of the amps. usually an amp with 6L6GC tubes is used on these cabs. 6L6 tubes, by nature, have less midrange than their brothers, the EL34's used in marshall amps. THIS is what leads people to belive that Vintage 30's are Scooped-mid bass monsters. i lift this cabinet up off the ground with my other guitarists amp case, so i can get isolation, and i get a great crunch. . .not to bassy, not to mid heavy, and not to trebly. This caibnet is more than loud enough for any setting i have to play in, even with just the 50 watts coming out of my fender, i can get loud enough, even too loud. stupid sound guys always telling me to turn my beutiful tube tone down, so that they can process it through their stupid pa systems.
Oh i forgot to mention. . .i have played the cabinet in every possible possition. . .on the casters, upright without the casters, on its side, raised up to chest level, whatever you can think of ive tried it. I found through out this testing that if i want massive bass response, than all you have to do is lay the cabient on its side, on the ground. If you want to sound like trebly crap, then go ahead and stand it on the casters. however, if you wnat to do the best for yourself and your tone, than do what i do now and raise up your cabinet. Another reviewer below said that his tone turned to shit when he brought the cabinet off the ground. obviously you have two different opinions, but for me, for punk rock, for my tone, i have to lift he cab up, and at ear level i dont have to depend so much on my stage monitoring, because i can hear my amp, wow what a novel idea right! I love this cabinet, and for hard stuff, rock or punk or whatever, there is NOTHING better. . .believe me ive looked! 9's all around.

oooh, see heres the thing i get worried about. i have only played like 4 gigs with this cabinet, and its already pretty much covered in war scars. the headstock of my strat went straight through the grill cloth, like it was paper. . .ive never scene anything so fragile thats meant to protect something else. I didnt think aobut it because ive hit the front of my old marshall AVT cabinet, and i never actually went thorugh the cloth. I found a place online that sells mesa grill cloth though, which is pretty cool because im replcing the fender silver cover on my head iwth the mesa stuff, and whenever i feel the need i can replace the front of my cabinet. . .and no buyer will ever know the difference, although i wouldnt lie, id tell them i replaced it just as any of you would of course!
The casters are great, the trac-loc system should be the industry standard. . .i use it constantly, and without it id be screwed.
The leather corners are STUPID! they are just as bad as the covering, because they ARE the covering. I'd really even wrather have plastic than this crap. . .not a good decision. If you want a cabinet for reslae value only though, than good luck findign one thats built today that will stand the test of time! mesa's, right now, are the best at holding their value, but only if you baby the thing to hell and never actually take it out! over all this thing sounds great but the outside just dosent hold up for me. . .it gets a 4 because they could have done so much better. (i know before what i said about how no expense was spared, but that was on the inside of the cab)

never used it, never will. this cabinet will never break, and if something with the wiring goes wrong than ill just fix it myself.

overall, this cabinet is impressive. . .it holds its value, realatively speaking, and the sound is explosive, beutiful even. I'll be brief. . . because i want to go play my babies. I'll give it, based on all of the above high and low points, an 8 overall, because the inside cinstruction and sound outweigh the problems outside. . .and i supose that its better to have external than internal problems like most other cabs and amps have. feel free to email me aobut anything. . .ill try to help any way i can.

Vintage 30s, input, handle, all enclosed case (straight front, none of that slanted malarkey). Its not an all-singing all dancing cab, no stereo options etc. But that doesn't bother me. The handle is almost pointless when you're lifting it (this thing weighs around 75lbs and a bit of slim rubber on top isn't fun)and there's no wheels (better for sound and stability, if neccesary you could get removable castors). Start smashing up your house because this thing is pretty big and doors are only so wide.

Its enclosed, so its got bass, an impressive amount of bass for a 2x12, it sounds really deep especially with a nice valve amp. The mids are nicely rounded. The highs can really shine through, you have to go careful with your treble control. Volume wise - its loud, but still respectable at home. You can play niceenouogh not to hurt the neighbours, but then you crank hard and kill the drummer at practices. WARNING: Do not take it off the ground. I know what you're thinking: "I want to lift it up so people can hear me clearly through the band". I tried this, I nearly cried, after staring in confusion at my amp for a bit I realised that the speaker had lost 50% of its depth and "grrrrr". I think its afraid of heights because it sounded a bit girly up high. If you want people to here you better then get another 2x12 and pu it on top or just buy a 4x12.

Boogie = Reliable. Thats what everyone says. I have no reason to disbelieve this. The cab is solid, I've read some other reviews that say boogie skrimp on the quality of the joints but the cab seem solid enough to me. I think if it fell out of a window onto my car (unlikely I think) then my car would be scrap but the cab would be ready for gigging. Its a tank, rhino, brick, etc., etc.

I sent boogie an e-mail about my amp and within a week or two (maybe sooner I was away from my computer for a bit) they had sent me a reply that was very comprehensive, friendly and helpful. It was like an essay! "I'm not trained all the way down to component level but..." They no their stuff man and they're only too willing to have a look at your product if you're not satisfied. They're supposedly quite flexible even if your warranty has run out. Of course if you do have a problem then you'll most likely have to ship it to the US, not too bad if you live there but a bit pricy and time consuming if you don't, like me.

I've had this a couple of months and no problems encountered. The price tag is ridiculous, the handle is hilarious and if you were thinking of buying a cover for it... thats #40-odd pound for you sir! But economic griping aside this is quality. I use it with my 3 chan. dual recto head and Ibanez Jem 7v(wh) (Thats a lot of money right there baby). I considered getting a Marshall 2x12 because they're a third of the price, but this cab was designed for my amp and it sounds great and looks menacing. Its like a little black monolith. I was really impresses by this cab when I heard it. Its almost as powerful as the 4x12 but works better at lower volumes so you don't have to make your ears bleed to get a good sound from your amp. The super-size construction doesn't take up that much room but can be a bit awkward for moving around. Don't get the 1x12 its not going to do your amp justice, get this its a good all-round cab volume-wise, and sounds great with a nice recto head.

THE FEATURES ARE AN INPUT AND A HANDLE.

I JUST GOT THE RECTO 2-12 CABINET TODAY-2-24-03 FOR 500 BUCKS.AND I AM WONDERING IF I MADE A MISTAKE. I HAVE USED MY 2 CHANNEL 1997 DUAL RECTO HEAD SINCE 1997 WITH A VINTAGE LANEY 4-12 -1980- OR SOMETHING WITH AMAZING RESULTS. IT SOUNDED HUGE- WIDE OPEN- LIKE THE GRAND CANYON - WITH BEAUTIFUL MIDS AND SOARING HIGHS.
THE RECTO 2-12 CAB RIGHT NOW SOUNDS A LITTLE MUDDY IN THE MIDS- SURE THE LOW END IN COOL BUT THE REST SOUNDS HARSH. I WAS WONDERING IF THIS WILL CHANGE AS THE SPEAKERS BREAK IN OR SOMETHING.
I'VE ALWAYS HEARD AUDIOPHILE FREAKS USE PINK NOISE GENERATORS TO BREAK SPEAKERS IN AND CRAP- BUT HEY - I SOLD MY PINK-NOISE GENERATOR LAST WEEK FOR CRACK- WILL ONE OF YOU GUYS TELL ME IF THIS CAB IS GOING TO SOUND SWEETER IN A FEW WEEKS OR WHAT?! BECAUSE RIGHT NOW I AM A BIT BUMMED.- MAYBE IT WILL NEVER SOUND LIKE MY 4-12- I STILL GOT IT BUT I WAS TRYING TO MAKE THE GIGGING SITUATION A LITTLE EASIER CONSIDERING I HAVE A CAMARO.

NOTHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO THIS THING - COME ON MAN- IT LOOKS LIKE A BABY RHINO.

I HAVE NEVER HAD TO CALL BOOGIE EVER - SOLID- GEAR - BUT I AM SURE THEY ARE COOL.

BOOGIE IS THE BEST THING OUT THERE IN ITS PRICE RANGE-BY FAR- KILLS ALOT OF GEAR THREE TIMES AS EXPENSIVE. IT IS JUST THAT THIS THING SOUNDS A LITTLE TOO, "IN YOUR FACE". RIGHT NOW. I LITTLE TOO MUCH LIKE A SOLDANO OR A RIVERA - I HATE THOSE AMPS. I JUST WANT IT TO MELLOW A BIT AND SOUND LIKE IT DID WITH THE BIGGER CAB- LATER-RAY H.-WWW.RAYZHELL.COM

As other reviewers state below, it's mono and not switchable to stereo. I don't use stereo, so it doesn't matter to me, but I guess I have to take off points for that. Apart from that, it has the features I want: nicely made sealed cab with 2 Vintage 30s.

I converted my Voodoo modded Mesa Heartbreaker combo to a head by buying a head cabinet direct from Mesa. I also bought this 2x12 cab to go with it.

I love this cabinet. Beautiful midrange and bottom end. I find that the highs are sizzling, but very appealing. I think some people consider the highs to be harsh, but harsh means bad to mean. I think the highs sound really good, but they are overly pronounced, so I installed Weber Beam Blockers to diffuse the highs a bit. I may take them out some day if the cab mellows bit, which is supposed to be what happens as the speakers break in more.

I would give this cab a 10 if the highs weren't so loud. I know this is largely a function of how sound waves work, i.e. I've read that high frequency waves are very directional and are smaller, so you get the full effect of the highs without the full effect of the lower frequencies when you stand close to the amp. This is why I think the beam blockers are a good idea. Even though there's a scientific explanation, I do think the effect is even more pronounced with Vintage 30s, so I took a point off. If it weren't for the Beam Blockers (a cheap solution), I'd have taken more points off.

Seems to be built well. I've heard they're made of 14-ply birch, which is apparently a good thing! But I've also heard that the joints are not the best construction, which is a bad thing. I forget how it's made, but apparently Mesa usses a carpentry shortcut.

Overall, it seems really solid and reliable. I would have given it a 10 if I hadn't heard about the inferior approach used in joining the cab.

Top notch. The people I talked to at Mesa were knowledgeable and extremely helpful.

I would buy this cab again for sure. It goes really well with my Voodoo modded Heartbreaker head. Seems to be a perfect match.

Not much to speak of. It's a cabinet, what is it supposed to do?

I found the speakers to be great. Nice, ballsy sound. Midrange is pronounced. Seems a little bassy at times, but I just try to watch the bass knob on my amp. Very distinct sound from the V30's.

No problems at all. Did a 2 week tour with it. Kicked ass.

Never tried contacting Mesa/Boogie

Overall, great compliment to my Dual Recto head. A million times better than having a huge 4x12. Great sound. Although, I must mention, although its shorter than a 4x12, its really wide and heavy. This isn't a bad thing, just the truth. I highly recommend this cab for a nice, ballsy rock sound.

2002 Model, This thing is built like a tank! There isn't a whole lot to it. The only thing I would wish is due to it's heavy weight (80lbs) I would have like to have seen some casters and a beefier handle.

Sounds great! I matched mine with a 2002 3 Channel Dual Rectifier. The two together are like peanut butter and jelly. The 2x12 easily beats many 4x12's and unleashes a tight deep sound that projects well.

No problems here

I have listed pretty much everything there is to it. I would definately replace and recommend it to any one that is willing to put up with the weight for sound.

I'd like to concur with the commentary in general. Two speakers both are 16 ohm Celestion Vintage 30's. The quality of the sound and contruction are above anything else I have seen.
One thing I can't figure out is, this is a MONO 8 ohm cab. Why isn't it switchable to a 16 ohm stereo cab? As soon as I got mine, I removed the back plate where the two inout jacks are. Inside there are two thin wires that connect the two speakers in series. If you snip the two silver wires, Wala! Stereo! Now when you plug into the left jack it's your pluggin directly into the 16 ohm left speaker. Plug into the right jack, and your plugging directly into the 16 ohm right speaker. by installing a simple toggle switch available from radio shack you can easily make this a stock mono 8 ohm cabinet or a stereo 16 ohm cabinet.
I own the Mesa Boogie Road King combo(Best Mesa Boogie amp hands down) so what I wanted to do was keep the combo dry and use the line out into a TC G Major effects unit, then stereo out into a Mesa 50/50 power amp, into the Mesa 2x12 recto cab, which has now been converted to stereo. I stuck the Road King on top of the 2x12 and does this right sound amazing!!!
Anyway, my rating is based on the stupidity of not having the ability to switch this thing to stereo right out of the box.

My 3 main axes are a Les Paul Custom, A vintage Strat, and a Gibson custom SJ-200. They all sound amazing through this setup. The closed back of the the 2x12 Recto cab really compliment the open back of the Road King. It's a very "thumpy" cabinet. Very sweet!

As everyone pointed out there really is nothig that can go wrong. It's top notch quality all the way.

As someone mentioned a few reviews down, dealing with Mesa can be a little frustrating. If you have a problem with crushed tubes or need something that was missing in the box of your new Mesa item, they really bend over backward to help. They are all over it like flies on a dead bunny. BUT....
If you need some extra part or something custom, FORGET ABOUT IT! They SUCK BEYOND BELIEF!!! For example, I tried to order one of those cool cabinets they show on their website with the "embossed red leather" (but no dealers seem to ever carry). Talk about a run around. One guy told me the cabinet for for my road king would cost $700!! AND take 6 months to get!! Another guy told me he wouldn't mess with it because it would be a big hassle to get done, let alone in a timely manor. What a load of crap! If they wanted 7 bills for the road king cabinet I wonder what they would want for the 2x12 recto? Being it's not much smaller than the Road King, but because of the closed back cab, has more area that would need to be covered by the leather... It makes absolutely no sense to me. Another guy told me the cab would cost $500 and that I could trade in my old cabinet and would get back to me with the details. He never called back. When I called him back he said he acted like I was irritating him and wanted to pass me on to someone else. Nice....
Technically this would be considered after market and not actual support of an actual operational problem so I will grade them accordingly. Screw that.

It's a great cabinet, and I would buy it again if it were lost.
It totally destroy's something like a Marshall 1936 2x12 cainet sound wise.

2x12 Recto cab. Pretty straight forward. I use with Mesa Trem-o-verb, 63 Fender Bassman, and Zinky Mofo. Sounds great on all of them, clean or dirty. I play alt. rock with a Les Paul Jr., Les Paul Deluxe, and a Guild Bluesbird. I have 2 other 2x12 cabs, a fender and an Orange.

This cab really blows my mind. I think it sounds better than the recto 4x12 that I also own. I opened the back to see what speakers were in there because I assumed they were different than the vintage 30s in my 4x12.

I've had it on the road for 6 months now and it shows no signs of trouble.

Mesa has always been great with me.

If it were stolen, I would CERTAINLY buy another. In fact, I'm thinking about selling my 4x12 for another 2x12,except for having to have a new case made.

Made in July 2001. Horizontal version. Built like a tank with 1" No Void marine grade plywood. Has 2x12" Celestian vintage 30 speakers. I think this cost me $460 new (without looking it up)

I mostly play classic rock to heavy metal. This cab is great for all of the above, even sounds decent on clean where a open back or half back would excel. Excellent bottom end, great power handling. I was looking at the 4x12 rec cab before this one. I had a Mark IV at the time and played it through both... due to the size and not much of a sound difference I got the 2x12 and I haven't been disapointed at all! The low end may be a little lower on this cab, where the 4x12 seems a little brighter. I'm getting a Road King and I have a open back cab that I will probably use for clean sound (can assign channels with certain speaker cabinets/combinations) and use the 2x12 for everything else. My friend built one of these cabs out of 3/4" plywood and it just doesn't kick the bottom end like this one. It's made like a ROCK! This is the first cab I have had with Vintage 30's.. and they sound awesome at any volume (especially cranked a little). I thought about building another one with 1" plywood identical to this and stack them when needed.

Built like a ROCK! If you damage this unit I feel for you, cause you were just in a car wreck and a semi hit you! :)

I have never called Mesa directly. I shouldn't have to on this Cabinet... not much that could go wrong! (hopefully I wont have to on the new road king! :/ )

Excellent Cabinet if you play heavy metal, rock, blues, Dream Theater, etc... I'm currently running a Peavey Classic through it and it sounds awesome! If you play christian clean, or cawntry then this may not be the cab for you. It does what it's suppose to as a closed back cabinet.