Mesa/Boogie 4x12 Recto Cabinet

Bought new in 2000...as versatile a 4x12 as you'd need...has four input jacks in the back: one 8 ohm, one 16 ohm, and two 4 ohm, for running in stereo. I can't imagine a "feature" I'd need that this doesn't have...hell, it's a speaker cabinet.

I play punk, with touches of ska, metal, reggae, and funk. I run the whole course, from clean, to semi-clean, to rhythm crunch, to high-gain lead sounds. This cab keeps up with all my sounds like no other. This is easily the best 4x12 I've played through. I play a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifer (rackmount) through it. This is the way the Dual Rectifier was meant to be heard. Case in point: my band went on a road trip with another band a few months back and, in the interests of saving van/trailer space, I agreed to share the other band's Marshall cab, bringing only my Mesa head. In two words: NEVER AGAIN!!! I couldn't believe the difference: the distorted channel had nowhere near the bass response, and the clean channel sounded "muffled"; the Marshall appeared to be rolling tons of high and low end frequencies off. I was sent running to my head to tweak the EQ. Since then I've tried my head, just for fun, through my brother's crappy Fender Roc-Pro cab (which was actually as good as the Marshall), as well as a Crate Blue Voodoo 4x12 and a Hughes and Kettner 4x12. Of all those, only the H&K came even close. This cab really, really sounds great.

This cab is about 30 pounds heavier than any other 4x12 I've seen. Super heavy duty construction. The tolex is subject to the usual nicks and bumps, but until I'm man enough to shell out $350 for a road case, I guess that's my tough luck. Aside from that, I think you would have to drop this thing from a very great hieght to make it stop working. It's fallen flat on its face once or twice, and it's made medium length car trips, rolling around the back of a pickup truck, and it's seemingly bulletproof. I would and do gigi without a backup. (as IF I would tote around a backup for a cab that costs $750 and weighs 150 pounds!)

Mesa is great. Contrary to some other people's experiences, I've always gotten messages returned the same day, and I've always been able to talk to someone who actually knows and works with the productgs, rather than a paid "customer service rep" who sits around all day on the phone. Knowledgeable, courteous, helpful...they're awesome!

If this cab were stolen or lost, I'd buy another in a heartbeat. No question. It is, in my opinion, the best all around 4x12 cabinet available at any price.

Four Celestions Vintage 30's in an extra size cabinet. No impedance switch like Marshalls have. I give it a 7 because of the size and cause there is no impedance switch.

OK I do not want to critisize Mesa so there will be no rating at the end of this category. So here the story goes. In a store I wanted to try as many 4x12 cabinets as possible. The preamp was a rack Line6 POD PRO unit, trough a rack 9100 Marshall poweramp (coud say powerplant) into a Mesa cabinet. The sound just wasn't hapening. I mean the sound was like trash thrown into an aluminium container. So I tried the Laney 4x12 cab (I dont know wich speakers were in it) and the results were similar. The laney cab let the guitar sound go trough but was heard like it was somewere in the bottom of the old mine. Just like I would be using tons and I mean tons of reverb (No FX were being used trough either of the cabinets).The boogie costed twice as much as the Laney, but the Lane was less disasterous. So I was frustrated already. I had the money but there was no deasent product to buy. The last two cabinets i tried were Marshall 4x12 JCM900 1960A and JCM800 1960A. Well that was an improvement. Icould finally hear the guitar sound shaking my chest. The sound of the Mershalls was too trebly and had no bass but could be great for somebodys taste. I came to a conclusion that it is probably poweramps fault. Mesa costed twice as much but considering the sound should be tenth or quarter as much. SO should the Laney. The fact is that I belive that the Mesa cab was by far the mest but just didnt want to be fed by a Marshall. It is importand that you put together the pieces of the same manufacturer. Why the Marshalls sounded naturally (although I didnt like the color of the sound) and Laney and Mesa did crap as far as the sound structure and character goes. Mesa would probably sound like a dream trough Boogie power amp, as my Marshall EL34 50/50 sounds trough a Marshall 4x12 with Vintage 30's although the construction is defenately poorer. I wanted te change my cab for a same speakered Boogie but my Marshall power amp doesnt let me. That is a shame, but the speakers are still great.

Take this review as a potential buyer warning. Always test all your gear together before buying it. Many people do this: They test a product in the store and if they like it there they buy it. When they take it home they are sometimes disapointed. I have had such a lesson once.

4 x 12" Celestion Vintage 30s, 280 W, 2 x 4 Ohm stereo, 1 x 8 Ohm mono, 1 x extended. Bought it 5-8-2000.
The only minor issue a guy could have is with it's size and weight. It's a monster alright. My flatmates got scared when they first saw it...

I'm using a Ibanez RG 470 with an EMG 89, an EMG S and an EMG 81 as my main guitar through a Line6 POD to a Mesa 50/50 poweramp which is connected in stereo to this cab. If you're looking for -TONE- this is the cab to beat. I dreamed of this cab for 2 years, and when i finally got enough money i had to wait for another month to get it. Was it worth the wait? HELL YEAH!! IMHO there is no better cab.
It's one big monster designes for one thing: -TONE- It REALLY doesn't get any better. Don't spend your money on anything less, you'll be very sorry. Once you've heard this cab there is no turning back!
I mostly play metal but even if you're playing boyzone/back street boys, whatever (why would someone -ever- want to do that?!) i bet it would still be the best cab for the job. You just can't go wrong.
As for volume: you could easily play wembley with it, or blow every window in a 150 m (500 ft) radius if you (accidently?) crank it hard enough.

This is a Boogie, it would probably survive a fall from 10 meters (30 feet) high. The thought of this makes me cringe though since i payed a lot of money for it and i don't want to see it damaged in any way.
As i've already said for my 50/50, this thing will probably outlive me!

They never failed to answer my e-mail. That can't be said for a lot of companies. Most don't even bother... (If you're thinkin' Marshall you're right...)

I only had this cab myself for 2 weeks, but i've heard it many times before and fell in love the first time i heard it. I'll never want to buy another cab again (can't afford to either..). For me there is no other cab. If you're looking for a 4 x 12, you owe it to yourself to check these out. You can't go wrong with this cab, whatever your style is.

standard 4x12 recto cab made in 2000.....70 watts per speaker.....can plug in and use in stereo if desired.....a kickass cab, more than enough power, really.......

i use a ibanez rg series and a charvel jackson with emgs.....plugged into an effects board (12 effects) then into my marshall valvestate head (until i save enough money for my mesa triple recto solo head!)this cab sounds kickass and is way better than my old marshall 4x10! very punchy highs and lows, absolutly perfect......i am picking up another soon, to run in true stereo!!!!!

this thing is fucking built like a tank!.....i could barely fit it in my girlfriends buick!.....heavy as fuck, so it'll last for the rest of my life!!!!!

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i've been playing for 4 years, and this is the best cab i have ever played on!!!!! i own a lot of shit and love every piece of it!!! i chose this one based on others who use it and my own personal test on it!

Purchased 6/2000, This cab blows away the competition. Delivers incredible High, low and everything in between for Tone. I searched the internet and local stores for 3 straight weeks and the moment I heard the Mesa I laid my $$ down. A little more pricy than the average cab, but you get what you pay for. I'm running this with a Marshall Valvestate 100 watt head/Boss G5 processor and Gibson U2 style Strat down tuned to C. This Cab has incredible bottom end and Highs that just seem to play themselves. I even pluged my acoustic in and rocked some neil young, the cab stood tall and pounded the tones into my chest. I've never heard incredible quality and such a well tuned machine until I purchased The Recto 4x12cab. I've running this cab stereo at 4 ohms each. Can also be run at mono 8 ohms and output for additional cab. This is expandable if you make it to Giants stadium. Aditionally Mesa uses custom celestion speakers. Mesa Did not like the standard gasket used with the normal celestion and reconstucted it and had Celestion cutomize a speaker for them. note This speaker may be 7 watts but the freq. Response is set at 100db making this speaker extremely versitable, responsive and made to deliver vinatage 60's sounds with a new metal edge. This cab is the bomb! There is nothing more I could ask for in a 4X12

This cab is Extremely versital - Mesa ustilizes a Patented Point to point technology that instead of rolling off freq rates that the speaker does not read, it's circuitry redirects tones into a range understandable by the speaker, which = Incredible clean tones as well as a growling distortion.

100% toltex coating, tough speaker screen, and the casters actually work which is a first for me. Never have I had a cab roll with such ease. This is a big cab, made tough. Alot of craftmanship went into this.

NA

I've been playing for about 15 years in that time I've played through peavey, Fender, Marshall, Bagend (in that order) Peavey just poor quality, fender poor construction, Marshall nice tone - but cannot deliver highs and lows with perfect clean tones(made for heavy more distortion) Bagend did not "buzz" like the Marshall, but could handle the power - but lacked in tone. This Mesa has it all. If your looking for a good comparision at a little lower of a price Sunn's model T is very close to the Mesa. But I am now sold on Mesa!

brand new 2000 model speaker cab. very solid heavy wood covered with sweet looking leather. closed back. the handles on the sides are a must since this is an extremely heavy duty cab. i am disapointed that it did not come with wheels, i will have to buy some before i drag it to a gig. loaded with celestion vintage 30 speakers, 70 watts a piece. i listended to the sound bytes on the celestion homepage and these are definitely their loudest, fullest sounding speakers. the back panel has a mono 8 ohm input and output jack and stereo 4 ohm jacks. basic features but all the highest quality, i gave it a 9 because it doesnt have wheels.

ok, this is hands down the best all time speaker cab for rock music. i play an ibanez rg7621 seven string through a line 6 head, usually on the rectifier setting. this cab allows me to get the perfect tone, im not kidding. it gets unbelievable amounts of bass, i only have the bass on my amp at 5. with the bass this cab gets it can get muddy real quick, but eq it right, and you can get a nice thick tone. it gets a nice punch in the upper mids and the highs cut through great. this is also the loudest thing i have ever heard, it is a beast! i only use one of the 150 watt power amps on my head, one cable into each of the 4 ohm inputs. i turned the amp half way up and hit one power chord and it blew my band away, you can feal the bass in your chest it is incredible. rhythm work sound very thick, but leads still cut through great and have a smooth full tone. clean tones are also deep and rich with a nice bright high end too. over all the cab souns huge.

well ive only had it a few weeks, but it feels like its built like a tank. i would depend on this cab.

dont know, though it does suck that they limit the amount of dealers in each region to keep their prices up.

ive been playing for 4 years, but it wasnt until the last year that ive gotten really good gear. now i play through an ibanez RG7621 seven string with fixed bridge and a 60 guage low B for ultimate bass. i also use a line 6 head, and i believe this cab is the perfect match for it, especially if you want to get the most out of the rectifier seting. i tried the line 6 cab which was supposed to get a flat response that doesnt color your amps tone, but i found it to be very mid rangy with hardly any bass. compared to this cab it sounds tiny. if you want a HUGE tone (clean or distorted) this is the best thing on the market, well worth the money, as well as the back aches from hauling it around. if anyone dared to steal this i would hunt them down and castrate them. it has become a vital part of my tone and has brought me much closer to acheiving my perfect tone.

New model. Equipped with Celestion Vintage 30s. Operating at 8 ohms with my current rig. Markedly larger than the average 4x12 cabinet. 280w capacity.

I don't know how many other people " mix and match " rigs, but I'm using this cab currently with a Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 50 head. Although I will be upgrading soon. I traded a Marshall 1960AX 4x12 100 watter (greenback speakers) for this boogie. The 1960AX cab is considered, by any standards, to be an awesome cab. And it is, for vintage type tones. but I was looking for a more versatile cab, as well as one that could smooth out the disortion on this Marshall head. Well, this Boogie delivered, and more. Due to the size of the cab and the materials used, it really accentuates the low end/lower mid range frequencies, even at a low volume. Smooths out the distortion quite well since you have to push this cab alot harder to get it to clip. Gives my rig a much more professional sound.

Made by Mesa boogie. 'Nuff said.

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I know that tone is a very subjective thing to talk about. There is an endless sea of amp heads and cabs to choose from, but regardless of the head you choose, please don't buy an extension cab without giving a Recto Cab a thorough test drive.

This one is an early model. Mono out has a Neutrik mod. Worn out on the outside, casters are missing. Internal condition is excellent. Rest of features see previous reviews.

Use it with a Laney VH-100R and a Yamaha SF-500 guitar. I play allround guitarrock, but this cab is made for loud rock/metal. It sounds great in one word. Very loud, tight bottem end, well balanced
midresponce, not to much highs. The Vintage30's colour the sound pretty much but in this cab it's not disturbing. It differs in detail with other cabs like a Marshall 1960 with Vintage30's. If you add up all these "details" like selected speakers, size, construction, quality of the plywood etc. the Mesa is a far better cabinet than the Marshall's, Trace Elliot's, Crate's etc. I owned a Marshall Silver Series with Vint.30's that sounded nasal and a little muddy. Not this one. I have to turn my amps volume down because of the enormous output of this fucker. The other band members like it a lot because their sound benefits too. (They use ear-plugs and in-ear monitoring haha)

Don't bomb it, or set fire to it, and you'll be fine.

Great cab. As long my back holds I'll play this thing. I ordered a
set new backbones at the local medicalcenter. I still have to screw some caster on this heavy MF. I used some shoepolish to freshen it up,
looks fine. If priced resonable buy it!

This beast has 4 hand picked Vintage 30 Celestion speakers, 280w of power handeling capibility, cool removable casters, 8 ohm 4 ohm inputs w/ a 8 ohm out to connect another cabinet directly, and a leather cover. The only gripe I have is it could be a little smaller as so that I dont need a Ryder truck to haul it around. The size is why I gave it a 9

Most of the amps in the other reviews are real amps so I figured all you out there that have smaller combo amps w/ external speaker outs might wanna know whow it works for you! Well the results are in and here it goes!!!! IT HAS KICK YOU IN THE BALLS SOUND !! I have a Crate TD-80 amp (which says its rated for 80w but we all know its not) It is a tube amp, well at least the pre-amp section. At practices I had to have my amp up 3/4 of the way to be heard and after bout an hr. my thermo would kick in and shut down my amp. Well im happy to say that problem is gone since I picked up this cab. I only have to put my volume at about 1/3 now and they now know there is a rythem guitar playing w/ them. The sound definately seems to be for rock and metal, but we play everything from Allen Jackson to Van Hallen and Metallica and songs like Dust in The Wind. This cabinet has sounded amazing for all the different music I like to play. Best $800 i've spent on gear so far(untill my Dual Recto head come in I ordered it the same day I picked up the cab-no 100w's in stock :( )

Havent had any problems, but its Mesa. Nuff said!

Havent had to deal w/ them yet. Doubt if I will have to

Bar none another amazing Mesa product. Love the way it brought to life the tired ass amp I've had to put up w/ this far. I tried my guitar (Ibanez RG-470) w/ every amp, cab combination possible at my local Mars dealer, and by far the Mesa combo was a distinct leader for me. The sound alone made me shell out the $2200 for the amp and Recto cab.I couldn't see spending less and loosing sleep wishing I had bought Mesa. I had no Idea that it would sound as good as it does on my Crate though. Well dont take my word for it go test yourself. You'll understand what I'm saying!!!

4 12 in speakers
280 watts
4,8, 16 ohms
the typical features

I know that you're not supposed to write in unless you've played one extensively, but I can't help myself. I've played through Marshalls my whole life, and just to see what they were like I sat down in a store to day and tried a Boogie. OH MY DEAR LORD!!! It was incredible! The sound was just so clear and incredible it gave me goosebumps. And they look gorgeous too! But don't take my word for it, go out and try one of these things. Simply incredible. I'm going to sell my Marshall cab right away to buy one of these puppies! If you can afford it, buy it!

I've owned Boogie equipment before and it's always been very well put together!

I've dealt with them before, and while they've sometimes been a little slow they've been thorough. They're getting incredibly busy as more and more people fall in love with Mesa/Boogie (and rightfully so!)

I'm going to buy one as soon as I can! The 9 is only because it's always theoretically possible to get better. Also, I've never played through any of the extreme companies like Matchless so I can't very well say a Boogie is better. But I will say it's incredible, but I think i've mentioned that!