Mesa/Boogie 4x12 Recto Cabinet

Features? It's a cab! Ok, it's got stereo inputs.

EBMM Axis w/ Bareknuckle Nailbombs instead of the lifeless stock "custom" DiMarzios -> T-Rex Mudhoney Distortion -> EHX POG 2 -> EHX Deluxe Memory Man -> Soldano Hotrod 50+ -> the cab under discussion

This cab was given to me by a (very good) friend. When I got it, I was playing in a 6-piece band with 2 brass players, and it was way too much for the overall band sound to handle. Eventually - reluctantly - I went back to my old 70s tall Marshall cab, which is way tamer and allowed me to fit in better with the band.

Currently I'm playing in a prog/post-punk trio. Eventually I figured that now there should be enough space for this beast to tote its muscle - and muscle is what it is all about. It's brutally clear. One of my main sounds is the pickup switch in the middle position with a generous amount of distortion from the foot pedal into the already-crunchy "clean" channel of the Soldano, for a grinding, low lead sound. The Marshall tended to fart out on the lower notes, the sound kind of collapsed, so I had to cut back on the bass on the amp.

Then I tried the Recto again. Now I can even add a suboctave from the POG and it still delivers everything I feed it with precision and clarity. Amazing dynamics and low end, with no compromise on the mids and highs - huge.

I wouldn't call this cab's sound "warm" per se. It's like a slab of granite, doesn't cushion anything but just, well, reflects. Amazing for cleans, too. You can get a warm sound, just don't count on this cabinet to provide it.

Oh, and it's very loud.

I wouldn't know how to break it. It's 15, 20 years old and has seen some rough handling, as evidenced by the tolex. No functionality issues ever.

No idea.

Great cab if you want a big, rude sound. It suits my current needs perfectly, but I wouldn't use it if I were playing in a funk band.

MESA RECTO CAB OVERSIZED. HAS JACK ON BACK FOR STEREO AND CHAINING 2 CABS TOGETHER. AMAZING CASTERS THAT ARE WAY BETTER THEN ANY CASTER ON THE MARKET HANDS DOWN.

I DONT KNOW WHY ANYONE WOULD BASH THIS CAB OR VINTAGE 30'S. SEEING HOW MOST OF THE CABS OUT HAVE THESE SPEAKERS IN THEM.DIEZEL EVEN USES THESE SPEAKERS. THIS CAB COULD BE HIT BY A SEMI AND IT WOULD STILL BE IN ONE PIECE.SOLID WOOD NOT PARTICLE BOARD OR ANY OTHER CRAP THAT MANY CBAS ARE BEING MADE OF. THE SOUND IS AMAZING. PEOPLE SAY ITS TO BRIGHT OR FIZZY.WELL MAYBE YOU HAVE YOUR PRESENCE OR YOU STUPID *** TUBE SCREAMER SET WRONG. I USE A MESA 2 CAHNNEL TRIPLE AND I DONT HAVE THIS PROBLEM. IT SOUNDS DEEP AND FULL. THE LOWS ARE AWESOME AND THE WAY THE HIGHS AND MIDS WORK ARE AMAZING. I HAVE USED OTHER CABS WITH EMINENCE OR EV SPEAKERS. AND THEY DONT HAVE THE CRUNCH AND BITE THIS CAB HAS. I CANT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH IT. HANDS DOWN THE BEST CAB BUILT.

ITS A MESA.THESE THINGS ARE INDESTRCUTIBLE. AND THE CASTERS ARENT THE CHEAP *** CASTERS THAT COME OFF IN A WEEK. I HAVE NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH IT.MY OTHER CABS I HAD TO KEEP GETTING NEW CASTERS AND THE INPUT JACKS ON THE BACK WOULD ALWASY HAVE AN ISSUE WITH MISSING NUTS AND ****.FROM MOVING THEM ALL THE TIME.FOR A TOURING MUSICIAN. THESE CABS CANT BE BEAT.

ONE PHONE CALL AND I AM SPEAKING TO SOMEONE.NOT A MACHINE. AND THEY ARE VERY HELPFUL.

HANDS DOWN THE BEST CAB YOU ARE GONNA GET.YOU CAN SPEND MORE ON A CAB THAT MIGHT LOOK COOLER OR HAVE A BETTER NAME.BUT IF YOU WANT VALUE AND FUNCTION. THIS IS THE CAB. FOR TOURING MUSICIANS I CANT STRESS HOW AWESOME THIS CAB IS. I HAVE HAD ENGL,VHT,MARSHALL,AND MANY MORE I DONT FEEL LIKE MENTIONING.AND THIS CAB IS UP THERE WITH THE BEST OF THEM.

2000 model, 8 ohm mono, Dual 4 ohm stereo, signal through for daisy-chaining a second 4x12. Ubiquitous Vintage 30's. Oversized, 5/8" marine grade baltic birch plywood construction. Handles just about anything you throw at it.

It's had a broad array of guitars played through it, USA Strats, Les Pauls with Burstbucker Pros as well as EMG's, Peavy Wolfgang, to name a few. Played a Mesa rackmount Dual Rec through it, also a Mesa Studio Pre/Simul 295 Stereo rack system, and lately, been fooling around with a '67 Fender Bassman transition Silverface. With the the Vintage 30's, I believe that it is a very versatile amp, delivers bone crushing-deep bassy-mondo distortion, but does well with cleaner amps put through it. I have a smaller, traditional sized Mesa "Road Ready" 4x12 that sounds a bit more focused in the critical mids, but loses some "breathability" and some low end in the bargain. Built for the Dual Rec, and at certain times, the buzziness annoys me, but when it's dialed in, it's one of the best high gain sounds ever created. More a critique on the amp than the cab, though.

This is one bit of a sore spot for me. I'm a Mesa loyalist, however two issues have surfaced with this amp: an intermittent short in the mono jack, and a weird problem with the internal brace for this amp. The short occurs every now and then, and seems go in and out if you wiggle the phono connector. I've taken it apart, cleaned with contact cleaner to no avail.
Regarding the brace, it butts up against the middle of that vast piece of plywood that caps off the back of the cab, per industry standard for back loaded 4x12 cabs. The problem is that for some reason, the brace was cut fractionally too short, maybe by a few hairs, and doesn't fit tight up against the back panel, but instead is a bit "untight" if not loose. So, whenever you hit a note that matches either the cabs "fs" or natural resonant frequency of the back panel, and it makes an ugly, noticeable "honk" or sound of a vibrating 1x3 piece of wood vibrating against the back panel. Mesa's solution was to send me a piece of medium density foam to slap on the end of the brace to create a tighter fit between the back panel and the brace. Every six or seven months, the problem will return and I'll have to scrape off the old foam (now very pancaked or compressed) and replace it with a new, springier piece of foam. Pain in the a*&, eh? But whenever the short abates, and the foam on the end of the brace is fresh, it's a killer cab.

Okay, the crappy foam fix notwithstanding, Mesa is a huge company that hasn't forgotten what it's like to offer personal, Mom and Pop-type service. Imagine being able to go back in time to speak to Leo Fender about issues concerning your Concert amp, well this is possible just call up Mike Bendinelli and talk shop about your particular Mark series amp to your heart's content. Good people swarm this organization.

I'll admit, I'm more of a bass player, and my guitar skills are fair to poor, which is why I gravitate towards high gain amps, a bit more forgiving than a sparkly-clean Fender. But it is what it is, on paper, the standard, must-have cab for the nu-metal/alternative rock revolution. It can be a bit boomy, but that goes along with it's raison de etre- what it's supposed to do, that is hit you in the chest with the bass response. I love the bone-crushing annihilating tone, don't like the back panel/brace issue. The Taurus covering is a tad chintzy, but hey, spring for custom croc, or leather or suede if that's an issue. If it were stolen, I think i'd try a front loaded Diezel or Bogner Ubercab, but I'd probably come back to the Standard Recto Cab.

It has celestion vintage 30's speakers and is really solid. It is so heavy, don't lift this one on your own, your back will kill you !
It has 8 Ohm mono and 4 Ohm stereo so it's not big deal. You can also connect other cabs on this one.

Wow ! The best cab I ever played ! I play a Triple Rectifier and modern metal. This cab is so great it has a lot of deep bass but doesn't sound boomy. It also can get you really stinging highs. It is just a great cab ! Every amp played on this cab sounded better, everybody woho used it was really excited about the sound improvement of his equipment.
On the other hand I played my Triple Rectifier on a Marshall 1960s and Behringer 412H but they can't get the sound I wanted.

I played many gigs with it always providing it for all the other bands playing with us. It never disappoited me. Only the covering has get some cracks and marks but hey, that's Rock'n'Roll. And this doesn't touch the sound.

Didn't need the support.

I play the box for I think 3 years now. I would definitely buy this again.
It's just all about the sound. I don't know anything better for now !
Just the price is really high ! But that's Mesa. :-)

not much to verify here, its got 4 vintage 30s' closed back, 8ohm mono 4ohm stereo, speaker out to daisy chain. The cab is built solid as hell i'm sure it could double as a bomb shelter for your pets
better eat your wheaties take your vitamins and find a good chiropractor...I carried this thing up and down 3 flights of stairs twice a week for 2 years I have a permanent hernia in my ass. The only weakness on the features is the sensative tolex covering.

the best cabinet on the market my friends...you can't go wrong here the soud is severely brutal..set this cab next to any other cab out there,.it'll melt em' like napalm..now, of course, this isn't your dad's old fender blues box thiscabill scare the shit out of children,conformative citizens, blues players, and some hippies, but hey thats what it's made for...and please be aware to get the most out of this demononic offspring you have to crank your amp volume or you'll get too much bass..yeah this cab is meant to deliver sound from a stage and travel distance..not for bedroom.

This cab has seen its share of beer bottles, rain, subzero weather, survived lightening strike, it's never missed a note.

one time I called them and left a message, and they called me back elpronto.

been playing for 8 months, no really since,1983 if you can remember those days of marshall stacks...seriously though this cab really is the force that will conjur up a demonic plague whenever you plug into it. just something about these cabs everything that comes out sounds so evil. beware I say onto thee.

Bought this cab new 2006. The cab is built like a tank, weighing 106 lbs with tarck lock casters. Other features already mentioned

I run a Lonestar 100 Watt Head through this cab, where I previosly had a Marshal 1936 twin cab with GT12-75 speakers. I sold the Marshal which was made of particle board with plastic handles. I could not get a decent sound out of those G12-75 Celstion speakers.
The Mesa Recto 4x12 is the bomb. Clean sparkling highs, and brutal lows with gobs of distortion. The tone of this cab is simply astounding with the Lonestar head. Everything I need for Rock, blues, and old school Metal. The tone of the Vintage 30s is warm and responsive. The cab is amazingly loud with a nice broad dispersion.

Built like a tank with metal handles and 13 ply birch. The construction and workmanship on the Mesa Cabs are simply the best. No buzzes or vibration.The back panel fits in snug with a gazillion screws. Quality through and through. The 106lbs is a challenge to move around. I have tried picking it up myself to take up and down stairs, but it needs two people. The leather finish is awesome, but scuffs easier than Ticker Tolex on other cabs. I prefer the leather, but you have to be a bit more careful to avoid scuffs and dings. This cab is a keeper.

Dunno.

Buy this Cab. You will not be sorry. If you get the opportunity, test your head through the cab at the guitar store before you shell out the big bucks that these cabs cost. They are well worth the extra money. Its not often you find these cabs used in guitar stores, because most people keep them once they have bought one.

okay, this thing has "celestion Vintage 30's" meaning this is the best type of speaker for distorted tones, and its also great for dirty and clean tones you can run it stereo or mono. the cab is built over-sized so you get a "big sound" this thing is built like a tank!!!

here's my set up:

* ibanez RG 320dx guitar with EMG pick-up's 81/B 85/N
* the guitar is runing into a VOX AD120VTH
* and the Valvetronix is running into the boogie cab

(i hate taking too long to set up when playing live, "simple is pimple")

okay, first i'd like to say my vavletronix sound really good with a cheap create cab, but when i got the boogie cab, my tone just went over the top awesome. the low-end is just "BOOMING!!!" it can take any amount of bass you crank into this thing and it wont fart like a cheap cab. the highs are crisp and clear, they pierce but dont hurt the hears. the mid-range is so creamy and punchy, its great for lead tones. the best thing this cab does for you tone, is that it make its louder, i dont have to crank my amp as loud at practice to cut through, and this thing sounds better the louder you get.

a million other artist could agree more, that this thing can take punishment and still put out great guitar tone. this thing was built to last, they are known for touring around the world and able to take the abuse.

i didnt buy direct from mesa/boogie, i bought it at guitarcenter.

this cab isthe best cab to own, its great for recording and built to last, you can play bee-bop jazz with style, or extreme heavy styles of music like metal or nardcore, this thing can handle any amp and make it better. i love it so much, that i vow to only play mesa/boogie cabs from now on... forever!!!

2004 recto cab with stock V30s. Visually very appealing. The input options are adequate.

Using les pauls into the Dual recto 3 channel with a few pedals. I found this half stack for sale used without a scratch. Had to buy it. I play in a rock cover band so the versatility of the 3 channel head suits me. The cabinet sounds good enough. No complaints there. However, I've switched back to my Marshall 1960a...more on that later.

Based on the construction I see here, this is the most reliable piece of gear I own.

Haven't dealth with them.

Playing about 20 years...professionally for about 3. I love the classy look of this cab and I believe the sound faithfully reproduces what I'm sending...especially well matched with the characteristics of the dual recto head. I own a Marshall 1960a as well and opened the backs of both cabs one day. Except for the speakers, the quality of materials and construction is not even remotely comparable. The inside of the mesa is a brick house. I know this because it weighs more than a brick house...a full 40 pounds heavier than the 1960a. With the quantity of gigs I play, I can't justify lugging this thing around. If you have someone who can always help you, that's fine. Make no mistake...this thing is beyond heavy. This position is admittedly "weak" but hey, this back has to last me another 50 years.

I have the standard recto cab with the straight sides. I'm not sure what year this cab was made. I bought it off my roommate and it looks like it's seen some shows. I'd guess it's a 2003 or 2004 model. The features are pretty basic. I just wish it could run at 4 or 16 ohms mono. I was hoping to use it with another Marshall cab and I can't run them together because the ohms don't match up.

So, as I indicated above, this cab has made my Marshall cabs obsolete, in more ways than one! But I'll get to that in a second. I play heavy music mostly. I'll bust out some blues and jazz chops every now and then but when the day is done I'm a metal/hardcore kinda guy. I use an Epiphone Les Paul Custom and a Schecter C1+ both loaded with EMG 81/85 pickups. I play in Dropped C. My effects: Boss TU-2 chromatic tuner, Dimebag Crybaby From Hell, Robert Keeley TS-9, Boss Super Chorus and a Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor. My head is a Peavey 5150 Block Letter head with Electro Harmonix tubes. Everything is connected with Monster 500 cable and Monster 1000 speaker cable.

I've played through Mesa cabs before and never liked them. They always sounded lifeless and flat to me. However, for some reason this particular one has made me a believer. It's the perfect compliment to the 5150 and the EMG's. I tried the cab out once in practice and then used it immediately the next night for a show. I couldn't use the Marhsalls for the above reasons. I fell in love with it that night. First of all this thing is loud!! It's a monster too. With the head on top of it the amp almost comes up to my chest!

The tone is absolutely what I've been waiting for. It captures that Bury Your Dead, Throwdown, Unearth, Shadows Fall tone with ease. The bass is tight and punchy. The mids are incredible. Very well defined, crunchy and articulate. The highs are also very crisp without being harsh and overbearing. I've read some people complaining about the mids this cab delivers. I can understand that. When I'm playing alone in the practice room the cab can sound a bit nasally. However, and this is important for anyone who plays live professionally, those mids help your guitar cut through any mix. With the Marshalls I could achieve what I thought was a good tone but in a live setting the leads just weren't cutting through. People would always come up to me after the show and say they couldn't hear the leads very well (even with the mids on the 5150 always cranked). After the last show with the Mesa I got alot of compliments on the sound and my leads as well. I can't even describe what this has done for my lead tone! I just kept smiling during the show because the sound is so thick and rich it's not even funny. For the first time I could hear every note (every mistake too). I wasn't ready for that. At first I was upset about not being able to use the Marshall cabs along with this but now I could care less. With it's volume, projection and robustness I don't really need another cab. I'm selling those bitches!!

About the clean tone. I don't really like the clean tone very much of this thing. It's taking some tweaking with the amp to get a full clean sound out of it. Ironically, the cleans are just kind of bland and flat. Fortunately, I don't use the clean tone enough in our music to have it make a big difference.

One other thing I love about this cab is it's durability. As I've said this one was used and had been through some shit already. However, it's still standing solid and sounds great!! As of now I also have two Marshall 1960 Cabs and wihin a few weeks of playing shows the casters began to break off. The Handle one one of the cabs had to be replaced as well. Marshall uses cheap plastic parts on their cabs to reduce the cost of shipping from Britain. The result is an inferior product. Mesa uses all metal parts and quality components on and in their cabs. This thing aint going anywhere.

I'v never had to deal with them.

My roommate let me have this cab at $425. At that cost I've gotten the deal of a lifetime. I don't think I'd have paid $850 for a new one. Moral of the story, if you can find one used. . . get it. It's worth it!! I love this cab. It's improved my tone and my playing by leaps and bounds. I can hear myself without having to turn up. The cab responds perfectly to the 5150 head and EMG's. If you play metal and want that huge, chunky, punchy, tight, articulate distortion look into one of these cabs, especially if you have a 5150!!! Sure, try one out at the store but also give it enough time so that you can see what it does for your sound in the context of your band. Then you'll see the true beauty of this thing. Mesa knew what they were doing. I'll say that much. I'm still giving it a 9 because I don't like the cleans and I wish it had more wiring options so I could use it with other cabs.

2000-2001 Recto tall all features mentioned.

Totally unnatural one trick pony. This is a follow-up to my prior review from 2003. I see some players agreed to subjectively review the cabinet and considered the limitations of the V-30 Celestion in their reviews. I am amending my review to include some further V-30 bashing. The cone doping and resultant damping in the volumetric Recto cabinet work but only as a the aforementioned one trick pony. IMHO the V-30 is a pre-Celestion G30H abortion project. Celestion spent too much money and time trying to design a "modern-vintage" driver and it failed. They tried to pull the plug but had to sell the unwanted motherload of crap to Mesa who had the marketing muscle to hype it in the Recto product, mainly nu-metal one hit wonders, appealing to teen-agers with deep wallet parents. Black Shadows did not a MESA make. Neither do V-30s.

I'm sure some of you are offended now my apologies. BTW the mids I speak of are unnatural due to the doping. The freqencies I measured with a meter and tone generator were off the 4-6khz that you hear in every great guitar recording ever made from the beginning of time. It is a very artificial mid and not WARM at all. Think of it as a Solid State tranistor tone that is accurate at some frequencies (like "doped" bass and edgy mids) but sterile. Using Mesa's unmusically overpowered flat sounding heads with scooped out mids works. Using anything else and you will not like it.

Totally dependable.

Good folks but please offer speaker options and get out of bed with Celestion V-30s please.

Good, Bad & Ugly depending on how used. For new metal (full of Bass and deafening drop B notes or barred chords) it's good. For rock (drop D and standard tuning)it is bad sterile. Listen close to the doping you dope and stop smoking it. For old school rock it is just plain ugly and unmusically related to anything guitar-god produced in the last 30 years. That is why my guitar gods will never use this speaker for anything relevant but "noise" reinforcement.

I keep this around until I decide on G30H or Greenbacks for it. Heck the 75 which is popularly criticized still sounds warmer to me but can get as boring.

Its a Cab, the only features you need are inputs...

This cab is beautiful, solid construction, soldered guts, quality through and through. I play an older Peavey VTM 60 through this thing and let me tell you it is amazing. Loud and clear no matter how the amp is set up, I play metalcore/hardcore tuned to B and this will handle it and not sound sloppy all day long. My set up is as follows: Ibanez RGT42FM > Behringer 1501 15 band eq > BBE 462 Sonic Maximizer > Peavey VTM 60 > Mesa Oversized Recto Standard Cab > Shaking floor and windows.

Havent had a problem with this cab since i bought it 7 months ago, sure i havent had it too long but oh well i guess.

Never had to deal with Mesa at all but friends who own Mesa products have had good things to say.

All in all this cab great, tight even with the B tuning and handles anything I throw at it with ease. 280 watts power handling is nice and yes if someone stole it I would get another no ifs, ands, or buts.

It's a cab. Do cabs ever really come loaded with a ton of features? I guess you could complain that it's really only wired for 8 and 4 ohms, but that's really not a big deal at all.

I find that Celestion Vintage 30's tend to be a real bone of contention with some people. With others, they are the speakers with that intangible "it" quality. I fall into the latter group, as I like a nice midrange honk (after all, electric guitar is mostly a midrange-based instrument). I currently play out of a Peavey Triple XXX I've been using for a few years now (used to own a Marshall JCM2000 DSL100; the overdrive just didn't saturate enough for me and was flat at the same time). I was previously using a Marshall standard 4x12 before this cabinet, and the G12T75's just didn't do it for me. While articulate, there just was no midrange response from those speakers, and the cabinet construction didn't lend itself to much low end, either.

I recall demoing a Boss Loop Station through a Triple XXX that was sitting on top of a used Recto 4x12 at a local music store and asking, "Damn, why does this amp sound so much better than mine? It's the same model." I soon realized that it was the cabinet, and embarked on my quest for a used Mesa Recto 4x12. Of all the gear purchases I've made, I think this cabinet is the most satisfying.

Let's not forget, ladies and gentlemen, that what this cab does best is chest-thumping distortion/overdrive. It is, after all, a closed-back, mostly birch cabinet loaded with speakers that accentuate midrange. Unless, like me, you like warm, midrange-spiked cleans ala Mogwai and other post-rockers, it's not the best choice for cleans (though you won't hear the speakers break up, that's for sure). Open-backed design with flat response speakers like the aforementioned G12T75's will give you that open, airy sound much better. But for thumping, thick, midrange-based distortion, I don't think you really can get much better, except maybe with Orange's cabs, which are largely similar in design, anyway.

On a side note, I a/b this (usually running both at the same time for at least distortion so I get a super, super-thick sound) with a Fender DeVille 4x10 combo. Best of both worlds, though I may be switching to a Fender Twin Reverb with a Maxon OD881 out front soon. I was thinking of trading my head in for a Mark IV, but I'll likely hang onto the Triple XXX because it has treated me so well and I need to pinch pennies. Either way, this cab is a perfect complement.

It's like a rock. The tolex, while not particularly great-looking, is even pretty durable (I want Jim Marshall's head on a pike after half of the tolex tearing off of my old 4x12). The casters are solid. Everything about this cab is solid.

Never dealt.

Given that I bought mine used, it was a fantastic deal for me (since, as we all know, they cost an arm and a leg new). But hell, I'd even go so far as to say that they're worth the $700-800 new. Mesa has generally put out very solid products (as evidenced by the sheer lack of cheap products), and this cabinet is no exception. I've never played a more reliable, resonant, midrange-response, bass heavy cabinet. Believe the hype.

4 Celestion Vintage 30 speakers rated at 70 watts each. Cab is rateda t 8ohm with stereo separation at 4ohms each. Has sweet casters that roll soft and smooth. Good solid handles.

I think this thing sounds pretty crappy. I switch between a Mesa Boogie dc-3 shorthead and a Mesa Tremoverb combo. I thought it would beef up the dc-3 and it just made it more brittle and harsh. THe tremoverb is less clear that it was before. I thought for sure when I bought this that I was gonna love it. I was very wrong. I switched back to the cab that I used before which was a custom built Collins 2x12 with Celestion 75's in it. That cab is awesome. It is made from SOLID birch, no plywood. IT was so much clearer and bigger sounding than the mesa recto crap, I mean cab. I don't know why people like them so much. I am currently selling it.

No problems. It seems very solid. It weighs a ton!

I have been playing for 20 years and am pretty disappointed by the sound of this cab compared to many others. If it were stolen I would never get another. The only thing I really like about it is the casters. I wish all cab's had these ones. IT doens't compare to the VHT with p-50s or the Orange 4x12's. It sucks.

Speaker inputs - what more could you need?

I went to a music store 200 km from home, layed my eyes on the Dual Rectifier, and thought: i dare not try it! Can't afford it! But guess what, I couldn't resist it. I had some hope that it was a myth, no amp could be as good as everyone claims. Was I wrong... bought it! Well, my economy didn't allow me to buy the Mesa cab, so I went home and plugged it in to my Marshall 1960 AV, it sounded real good but not mind-blasting. I sold my Marshall, my comic book collection, and bought 100 packages of noodles and got me two recto-cabs. let me put it this way: since I got the Mesa cabs, I don't need food anymore! It's better than sex! When you're finnished, just go and have a beer. No cuttling, no talk! The sound is amazing, high gain hevay metal distorsion, and still every single note is clear. I will defend these cabs with my life if nessecary!

Heavy duty (and I really mean HEAVY!), could probably run it over with our tour van. Reliability amongst band members is a problem. -Oh no, do I have to carry that cabinet-trying-to-impersonate-a-bank-safe again?

Haven't had any reason to contact them yey-

I will never ever buy any other cab. This is it! I have playefd a number of marshalls and combos, had an excellent combination of a Metaltronix head and 1960AV cab. it was great, but is nothing compared to Mesa.

let me revise my review below. it has 3 inputs.2 stereo at 4 ohms. 1 mono at 8 ohms. and one output,i dont know what for. it can handle 280 watts.it contains vintage 30 speakers. this can is soo loud it can blow the pants off your mom for easy access.
super nice i wouldnt trade for the world.
i use my fender esquire custom gt(telecaster body with a invader humbucker)
i run this through my marshall g100rcd solid state head.

very good for loud music,ie. metallica.box car racer.the offspring etc.
i use it in my garage when i turn it up so the house doesnt fall apart.
can't describe the sound i havent heard anything close to it.
it can play any style you throw at it without breaking up.

i have had it for 3 days without any issues.

no reason for it.

super nice cab. mesa is the best of the best, it broughts out the thickness of my pickup(seymour duncan invader).i got mine for 450 plus the cover,which is basically a steal.

4 inputs.2 stereo at 8 ohms.1 at 8ohms.1 at 16ohms. it can handle 280 watts.
has g12 celestion speakers.
super nice i wouldnt trade for the world.
i use my fender eqsuire custom gt(telecaster body with a invader humbucker)
i run this through my marshall g100rcd solid state head.

very good for loud music,ie. metallica.box car racer.the offspring etc.
i use it in my garage so the house doesnt fall apart.
can describe the sound i havent heard anything close to it.

havent had any problems yet.i have only had for a day but what a wonderful day it has been.

havent had any issues yet.

super nice cab. mesa is the best of the best.i got mine for 450 plus the cover,which is basically a steal.

pretty much everything you could want for features

ive used this cab with various amps (a 3 channel triple, a dual rectifier rackmount, and a marshall jmp-1 with 5100 power block )all of which i own and this thing can handle its own. i compared this too many other cabs with different speakers and the mesa v30's sounded the best overall . they sort of sound a little tame at first that because the take the brightness out of the mid and high end but dont tak away the punch of those frequencies.this thing chugs very nicely but once i retubed my mesa with tubes from eurotube the bass became that much tighter which meant my loose bass wasnt a limitation of the cab being oversized. the cab has 2 different kinds off bass first is the upper bass(which i compare to the deep lows a marshall v'30 cab makes)and a sub sonic low end bass that is almost exclusive to this oversized cab and believe me it roars with any amp attached especially a recto. the cab pushes out the subsonic bass and upper bass to make that deep ass sound that no other cab can make which is in large part do to the oversizing of the cab extending the low end presence while making it a bit deeper and looser. so thats kinda the trade between the traditional sized and the standard a tighter higher bass or a slighlty looser deeper bass.i used to think tighter would be better until i retubed my amp with tubes from eurotubes.and now my amp sounds about as tight as i want it too in the upper bass and plus its got that extra low end prescence the standard offers.

its been on 2 tours and its covering is top notch but its construction joints hold up well to abuse

im waiting to see whats nextbut i dont think they could retool this design anybody only make something different sounding.

stereo, 4 ohms or 8 ohms. i guess thats as good as it gets for a cabinet.

prs custom 22 with dragon 2 pickups. used with varios amps, mesa mark 4, line 6 hd147, carvin something? diezel herbert. e.q. in fx loop with bass and highs turned up slightly. i got this cab to play down tuned (C)metal. these cabs are supposed to be able to handle massive low end, and they do NOT. tried it out for a month and it farts out way to much, every low chunk sound just farts. ive played my set up through crate cabs that are half the price and they handled the low end just fine. i think its the vintage 30s. these arent made to handle that much low end. i also have 2 traditional mesa 4x12 cabs and they dont handle low end well either but have a much fuller sound than the recto cabs. i was very disappointed with this cab, returned it to guitar center. am going to try vht fat bottomed cab.

it rattles and i hate the speakers so i cant give it a score because i feel this amp doesnt suit my style so i make it unreliable by useing low end tones.

dealt with them and they are great.

mesa doesnt have that tight sound that i want and these cabinets dont help much with that. for the lack of tone this cab doesnt get a good review.

Custom Ordered Creme vinyl Wheat grill cloth 412 oversizes Recto Standard Cab to match same colored Tremoverb Head. Removable casters are a Plus and overall Construction is great. Back plate jack has all the options you would need. 4 Vintage 30s.

I'm running mostly a PRS Custom 22 through this cab so no problems with the sound of that guitar. Honestly I'm a little dissapointed. The cab has a real beaminess to it that I never experienced with my piece of crap Marshall 1960 Cab. I think it must be from the way the speakers are angled or something or maybe it has something to do with the baffle? It's like standing in front of a light beam. The sound directly in front is pretty decent but if you stand slightly to the side the sound becomes muffled. Didn't expect that from a Cab of this caliber. I assume that with another cab in stereo that problem could be solved but it's tough to shell out another 800 beans to fix a problem in the design of an Cab that should be top of line to begin with. Second problem was with the sound post. When I turned the amp up to playing levels(not too loud, around 8:00) a farty noise would follow every bass palm mute. I originally figured the screws were loose and tightened them. No Dice. I tracked the problem down with a friend playing chunky fifths while I listened to the back. It was happening right below the input jack for the speakers.The sound post was undercut and the little piece of foam they slapped on wasn't cutting it. Called Mesa they said they've heard of the problem and sent me a bigger piece of foam with a sticky adhesive back. That worked! Overall I feel that the Cab should have never passed Mesa inspection. They know people aren't playing blues on these things their for jackhammer metal riffs! Lastly, What's up with the 4 Vintage 30's? The Recto amps were designed around the 90watt Black shadow speakers that originally came in the Cabs and the bass had a ultra tight response. I feel that mesa changed this to turn a profit because the 30's were out selling the shadows but at the expense of the sound of the cab. I think I'm gonna do what Mesa should of done and put two black shadows in the cab in either an X pattern with the v30's to get the best of both worlds or put the two shadows on the bottom to improve the loose bass response. These are my concerns with the amp that I think anyone should know about before they spend the $800 on the cab. Overall I like the cab but it isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination. With some tweaking I think It could be alot better.

Except for the Sound post issue stated above I think it's built great. Light years ahead of Marshall.Mesa Custom options are Killer.The Cabs are pretty tough too. They are a work of art. The Mesa engineering logo looks great. The cab has become a Rock/metal icon. It's an 8 overall though because there is better cab makers like bogner and Diezel. You pay alot more however but your in pretty deep already with Mesa so why not have the best?

This is where Mesa kills any other Company. Top notch for me so far. Some employees are a little short with you like they have something else to do but overall I've had great experiences and advice. They seem bias on some issues like their crappy tubes and the New 3 channel recto's being good amps. Whatever. Their quality control has gone done with their increased visibilty. Their stuff is in every Guitar Center in the country so something was bound to be looked past in the production line. Its simple math I guess.

A little dissapointed but I still think it's a real decent Cab. I'm trying to be real objective here because I can't stand all the bias love fest honeymooner reviews you read on HC. I don't think you get what you pay for applies here. You get alot of hype from this company but they are an upgrade from marshall and the prices are similar so I still think the cab is somewhat of a value in today's market place. I just wish mesa would take more time sweating the small stuff like they use to when they were a small ambitious company,

4x12 celestion v30 guitar cab with 2x4ohm and 1x8ohm inputs. Handles 280 Watts which suggests to me that the V30s are 70 watts each.

Okay I have waited years to buy this cab. Read all the reviews seen all the players using it and totally had my heart set on this being the "ultimate" guitar cab. Unfortunately for me I was very very wrong. I don't know what the hell is with those Vintage 30's but to my ears they are one of the most unmusical and muffled sounding speakers ever created. Players simply MUST be using replacement G12T-75s to get good sounds out of these cabs. I have a home made 2x12 half back cab with G12T-100s hooked up in parallel (4ohms) using gold plated connectors and audiophile grade heavy duty speaker cable. This little monster sounds SO much better than the Mesa cab for both clean and distorted tones. I feel shattered - this mesa cab was supposed to be THE best cab. I have listened to the speakers on the celestion website and basically the V 30s sound exactly like what you hear there. I thought those setting were done with some amp on like 1/4 - 1/3 gain and was like "well these are by all accounts the BEST speakers ever made and I'll just dial them in right myself". No ammount of tweaking my Mesa Nomad head could get rid of that woody, nasal muffled sound. It is as if these speakers are sucking the life out of my amp (and yes, all connections are correct). If I can I'll post some sound files with the same amp setting so you can see what I mean. Not happy. I am able to get usable clean sounds (which are still eclipsed by my home made 2x12) and some distorted solo sounds are a little smoother than the G12T-100s. But as far as powerchord distortion goes this cab is just lifeless and bland. Like you're listening to it through a wall.

I cannot fault the build quality of these cabs. The components are certainly a cut above most maufacturers but unfortunately this doesn't add up to a better cab. The bottom end is over emphasised (especially combined with what can be an already bottom heavy head). Maybe the thicker cabling and gold plated spaded in my DIY cab make the difference...I dunno.

I have dreamed about this cab for literally 3 or so years and when I finally got one I was ready for the best tone and nastiest distortion I'd ever heard. In theory, the Nomad 100 head paired with this cab is a match made in heaven but the sounds - both clean and distorted - that I was getting from my DIY 2x12 half back were FAR superior. I wanted this cab to be the best and honestly believed it would be (it's built like a tank!) but in the end it's just an overhyped and dissapointing piece of gear. All I can think to do is replace the V30s with G12T-75s (75s have less bass than the 100s which will mean they are better suited to a closed back cab). While this wont be cheap, at least it will mean I can make the most of the only good thing about this cab - its construction. Anyone had similar experiences? I'd like to hear from anyone with similar problems or anyone who's swapped out for some 75s. The search will continue - I'll let you all know how the 75s sound in about a month or 3.

Yeah so it doesn't have a 17.862 ohm jack but hey...for the "features" I'm talking about woods, speakers, solders, inputs, finishes, cables etc. All very fine components inside and beautifully SOLDERED speaker/jack connections (not just clamp on spades like most). The craftsmanship and quality of this is second to none. Picked mine up used.

I tend to agree with some reviews below in that the vintage 30 speakers aren't REALLY overly "vintage"...however you can kind of still feel their heritage coming through. This cab is as much an exercise in physics as it is carpentry. How it produces the bass it does I will never know - bass that is huge and focused, mids feel "tight" against the cones and clear articulate yet pleasingly smooth highs. Also I dont think that it sounds much like the sound files on the celestion website at all - I guess that I'm running a different amp/cab/guitar/ and trying to recreate a poor quality mp3 or whatnot through standard computer audio card into cheap speakers. Based on the celestion wedsite I'd prefer the G12T-75s but in REAL life - hands down v30s. MESA just seem to ba able to take an already great speaker and house it in such a quality cab that you can't help but get a great sound. Improved the sound of my rig DRASTICALLY (and I thought it sounded pretty good before!!!)

When I got this home I swore I could put a matress on top and sleep there if guests came round. It's SO huge. I also decided I'd have a look inside...well about 20-30 minutes later after i'd unscrewed the 29th screw and had FINALLY popped the back off (this process alone almost had my arm disclocated) I was greeted with - as described above - a super quality job with the finest soldered connections and speaker cables that (unlike another "M" brand) were nice and beefy. Quality quality quality. This thing could handle re-entry from space let alone regular gigs at the local.

Haven't dealt with MESA directly but I have heard good things.

For the price I paid you could probly afford to buy 4 v30s and about half the materials you would need to recreate this monster(wood/wire/jacks/screws/solder/soldering iron/etc etc...). Aside from a few tolex rips (mostly isolated to the back shoulder and back panel) this cab is pristine. Find one second hand. It is WORTH the retail price. If this were stolen I'd look everywhere for a second hand one (so expensive!). Failing that I know I'd never be happy with a lesser cab and after trying the best I'd just save for a new one. That basically says it all!

Well it's a cab! Perfectly suited to my Nomad 100 Head. Mono, Stereo. Everything you need! Nothing you don't!

OH MY GOD. I almost cried when I cranked this thing for the first time. It is AMAZING. Consider this; previously I had been using Marshall MG series cabs (shudder) and then upgraded to an open back 2x12 cabinet with GT100s. The Marshall Goldbacks are so budget that they aren't even on the celestion website and even the GT100s don't get a mention under the "guitar" section. With a Standard recto 4x12 with V30s I have tone to die for. What I love about this cab is that the bass takes care of itself. If this makes any sense, I can now dial down the bass on my Nomad Head and use the graphic and parametric eqs to fine tune the MIDS and TREBLE. This frees up valuable "frequency space" in my amp allowing a tone that I have heard in my head for years (kinda like a familiar recto sound crossed with the "brown" sound of a hot rodded marshall). This thing is unbelievable. This is where the buck stops for cabinets. This is the holy grail of cabinets.

Reliability? Just look at it. This thing could be in one of Osama's caves and still come out unscathed. Mine has the diamond metal plating on the sides. I think a train would still come off second best.

Bought second hand (that's Australian dollars ppl) - didn't deal with them

In Australia these retail for $2250 and I got mine for $1000. A few superficial battle scars but at least the speakers are broken in. Honestly this is the single most significant improvement in my tone I have experienced. I am now running the Mesa Nomad head into Invader equipped guitars and a strat with minimal effects (EHX small stone, 535Q wah and Marshall Supervibe). Lost? I'd just phone up the nearest phisiotherapist and ask to speak to the guy with back problems. Perfect tone!

Oversized Recto 4x12 slant cab.
Four Celestion Vintage 30 speakers
280 watts Power Handling
More input jack options for a cab then ive ever seen.
I also own a Marshall 1960B 4x12 which will be used as a comparison piece in this review.

Ok I got this cab as part of the first stage of my rig upgrade. Im planning to pick up a new amp along the lines of Bogner,VHT, Engl, etc in the future but for now ive got my current head which is a Line6 Vetta HD with the 2.0 software. Provided its a "modeling" amp, it actually provides some damn decent tones. Insane amount of power. My co-guitarist uses a 100 watt VHT Pitbull and he STILL tells me to turn down.

Mesa 4x12:

All i can say is even with the vetta this cab made my sound bigger than it ever was. My heavy tones are bigger and have expanded low end. The typical Mesa "chunk" factor" is there. The clean tones sound fantastic and also retain good projection.

Marshall 1960B 4x12:
Decent cab. Worth what i paid for it off a friend. $250 mint condition. The cab has its drawbacks tonally. Seemed a lil dark and muffled sounding. NOT a terrible cab but NOT great either.

Mesa cabs are built as tough as any other high end cab out there. I work in a recording studio and ive seen amps of every kind and condition. This cab is as solid as any Bogner or Diezel cab. Built with the finest quality.Unfortunately i lost my faith in Mesa amps due to past amps of theirs ive owned but their cabs are still top notch.
Marshall cabs are cheaply built. Everything that can be made from plastic is, the speakers are connected with wire thin enough to snap between two fingers. small casters which are a curse when wheeling it over unsmooth road or sidewalk. Mesa casters are big n' beefy and will roll over even a pothole with relative ease. Only caster better would have pneumatic tires. Cabs can be falling apart at the seams and still shake the house. Enough Said.

Mesa customer service is second to none from my multiple experiences with them. You get called back when you leave a message. They will stay on the phone with you as long as it takes to fix an amp problem. Friendly Techs. Only negative aspect is they stubbornly enforce list pricing on everything they sell. Even Bogner doesnt do that c'mon Mesa lighten that up a lil! Doesnt get a 10 for that.

Good Solid Cab. Would be nice if they were cheaper brand new. 800 bucks puts you in Bogner cab territory. Bogners have slightly better projection and resonance but also charge boutique pricing.
Good cab for recording and touring. Almost doesnt need a road case.
Killer product.

Yep, the good ol' Recto cabinet. Not many features since it's a cab, right? Just your basic 4-8 ohm plug for stereo or mono. It came equipped with 4 Celestion Vintage 30's, but being the souped-up type of guy I am, I decieded on replacing two of those for Celestion-built Mesa Black Shadow Custom 90's. Wow is all that I can say about that. The mids come way down with the help of those mc-90's. Much better tone.

Before switching the V30's, I would rate this cab an 8, but after....a solid 10. I run my two channel Dual Recto thru it, and it pairs up well. Nice beefy tone with distortion, and sounds like a gem on clean.

Never a problem with it yet, but unless you blow a speaker, it can't be very unreliable. Not like it's gonna fall apart when you're playing on it.

Very helpful and friendly. I've dealt with them several times, and they always were there to answer any questions.

Kicks ass! This is probably the best cab that I have ever played through. Almost enough to break your back trying to lift it, but thank God for those casters.

2000 Recto, tall cab with Celestion Vintage 30's. Ohm hole in's and out, stereo or mono, about average with todays demanding, corporate and boutique brainwashed, musicians.

Getting sucked into the Nu-Faggot hype, I went and bought one of these cabs used on ebay. These reviews had my member throbbing all the way to pick it up, I figured this is an entry level price to try one of these, low risk thank god for the secondary markets.

Using Schecter Elite w/ Bridge Duncan Invader, neck stock. Fender alder/maple Strat with Hot Rails bridge, HS-3 neck. Yamaha SGB500 w/ Pearly Gates and of course an 80's Kramer Stagemaster w/ JB bridge (swapping it soon)and floyd rose. I'm playing neo-classic Yngwie, Blackmore, VH, Rush, Zep, Maiden whatever mood rattles my sack. Blues SRV, and ZZ, Maiden, need I go on about my favs?

I've used a Marshall Jubilee, MP1 w/ 50/50 Marshall, Mesa 20/20 & Single Recto, and Triple Recto. What can I say, this cab is suited for the Recto head. The Marshall sounds much clearer, louder and in your face. It does throw a huge wall of Mids at you.

Speaking about in your face, has anyone really listened to V30's mids objectively? As I read on the internet and agree with, there is nothing, I repeat, nothing VINTAGE about them. Almost piercing mids, bright verging on spitty, and a very almost dare I say grainy mid when distorted. Bass, yes it does it very well but I don't prefer to play my bass through a guitar rig.

Cleans are a different story, that clarity pays off, beautiful..the nicest clean I have heard. Only problem is I don't play clean enough to justify these, I'm sure the average Trip-Recto owner isn't buying that head for clean either. The problem is having FOUR V30s in one cab, just way too much mids for me. Such a shame this cab suffers from the opposite of my Marshall 1960A cab with the too laid back G12-75Ts. Bottom line, sounds best with the Mesa stuff.

Sturdy, has the leg up on Marshall due to no shipping cost factor. $ go further on quality.

n/a

Objectively speaking, this cab is a 10 for build and 8 for speakers so I give it a 9. You be the judge but beware of the style of music you will be limited to with distortion...all the Limp Bizkit and Korn folks rejoice. Clean is fine, jazz or surf is marvelous.

Playing long enough, have too much gear and am not a multi-platinum selling critic or sold out endorser. If it were stolen, I would consider something else.

I bought this due to the hype, and once the hype settles your left with an excellently built cabinet but the whims of Celestion speakers. Have to suggest swapping 2 speakers out for sure, call Avatar and ask for Dave when your ready (no, I don't work for them but super prices).

It all led me back to my Marshall cabinet with the "X" pattern of G12-75s and G30Hs for a whole lot less and a much warmer, smoother, tone that does 80's metal and vintage blues with greater clarity and plenty of bass for me.

One final note, don't compare this to a Marshall Cab..particulary the 1960A that's Apples to Oranges all the way around. Go listen to the Vintage Engl cab or another cab with V30s and note the prices as your wallet cringes.

I use a mesa dual recto triple channel solo head, so basically they were made for each other. Sounds amazing and handles the high volume well with little noise. I also tried my old head with it, a laney tf700, made it sound a whole lot better. Also tried that head with a laney 4x12 and a marshall 4x12 and neither of them came close to sounding as good as the mesa.

Weighs a tonne so i'm guessing its pretty durable. Very well made.

havnt tried

best cab ive ever heard and have been playing to 12 yrs, and im only 19. Doubt i'll ever get anything other than mesa again.

i got this cab used for $500, it was pretty banged up lots of road wear but eveything works fine on it and it sounds great.
has 4 mono, 4 stereo, and 8 mono ohmage selection... i wish it had a 16 ohm selection but thats ok, doesnt really matter since my head has 4,8,and 16 selection.

i run my Marshall Jcm800 2210 head through this cab and the sound is unbelievable...i cant imagine getting any more thicker, bassier tone with any other cab...ive found my rig! This cab is perfect for hardrock'n/metalheads who love a beefy,bassy,loud in yourface guitar tone. The highs are also very nice on this cab... i love the sound thats for sure. only thing that sucks is my marshall head is a 100 watter and through this cab, its unplayable at home! house shakes with master volume at like the midway point between 0 and 1. LOL!
i cant blame the mesa cab for that though.
Need to get a thd hotplate or somethin!

this thing is a 130 lb tank.... very heavy, but solidly built... i like how the handles are made out of solid steel metal... everything seems like it would withstand anything.... only thing i dont like is the leather tolex rips apart too easy... but thats ok..... the cab seem's like it would never fail.

Mesa Boogie... everyone says theyre great... i bet they are.
i havent dealt with them yet though... hopefully i never will have to!
dont think so anyway!

this cab shouldnt get lost or stolen... just because of its size and its weight i think it be kind of hard for a punk to walk off with my mesa cab out of a gig at a bar without me noticing... but in the event of that happening, i would definately try to get another of these cabs, it works perfect with my jcm800.... it gives out some maxiumum crunch with a bass response from the cab that i dont think i could find anywhere else!

Well, I bought it from someone who purchased it from the Mesa Boogie store as a display model in about 1992, and being a very very early model, it has the pop in casters on the bottom, stamped steel name plate instead of cast, and the 90 watt Celestion Custom 90's instead of the Vintage 30's. This gives it 360 watts power handling. Why I would need that much capacity, who knows, but oh well. Everything else is the same as the newer models though...

This cab sounds great. Not the usual recto cab sound, thanks to the Custom 90's. It actually has kind of its own voice. It handles bass better than a V30 equipped cab, IMO, and it has a better top end. I guess more of a scooped tone, but the mids are still nice. That said, I would trade some bass for a better mid kick, but Im not complaining.

It has been to several gigs with me, seen its fair share of " hey, we're blocking the street, we gotta load in asap" abuse, and on top of that, its been a sexy piece of furniture all along. It holds up pretty damn well.

I have had one dealing with Mesa's customer service, and it was great. I called them to get info about this cab, and my Tremoverb head I just purchased, and they called me back within a half hour. Mike was very friendly, and helpful.

Its a great cab, with a different sound than every other recto cab out there. I have used it with a POD/Mesa 2:90, a Triaxis/2:90 and then a 20/20, a Rectoverb, and now my Tremoverb. Yep, Im a fan of Mesa stuff. But this cab has made everything sound great. Well, maybe not the POD, but the only thing that makes that sound good is a crappy pair of headphones. Anyways. The amps come and go, but this cab is pretty much a permanent fixture in my sound... although I would love to get an Orange cab to pair up with this and dish up a little midrange... ooohhh...

I Just bought this 4x12 vintage 30 loaded standard recto cab for 769.00, Features, its a fucking cabinet duhh!

OK lets make this short and to the point. I use a ESP explorer w/ EMG-81, through a dual recto (3 channel). I previously used a cabinet w/ vintage 30's and while it was the size of the recto cab, it sure sounds alot different. The recto cab has the most bottom end I have ever heard out of (1) 4x12 and its supper tight and punchy too.
bascially it kicks so much ass if you play heavy music and own a Mesa Recto you MUST have one of these, no substitutes. I thought as long as you had vintage 30's in a large closed back cabinet it really did not matter, but it SURE does. This thing puts the HEAVY into your tone. Oh yeah, I called mesa and asked why it sounded different than other manufactures vintage 30 cabinet's, ( marshall, crate, bogner, randall, etc...) is because celestion makes custom vintage 30's just for mesa that no one else uses that have much thicker paper in the speaker to retain a bigger and tighter bottom end.

Its a MESA!!!

Dealt with them with my recto head one time, (faulty tubes) and they were great. All though if you want to have something custom done or ordered your in for a wait.

I have been playing for 3 years and this is one the best things I have bought to improve my sound peroid. The only thing I wish I had was another one so I could have a full stack, I have one on order I just have to wait because mesa builds everything by hand and built to order, not mass produced crap like the cheapo immitaters. Yeah I also would like to have the diamond plated side armor too, because diamond plating is so METAL!

This is an older model from 1995. It has three inputs, two of which are for stereo operation (each runs at 4 ohms). The other input is for mono operation at 8 ohms. I wish it had the ability to run at 16 ohms, but for the price I got it for I'm not really complaining. The cab has 4 Vintage 30's at 280 watts.

I use this cabinet with a Peavey 5150 II. I play a lot of different styles, but mostly rock and ambient heavy stuff....the cabinet has a HUGE low end response. When I run it with my 1960TV Marshall cab with Greenbacks, my sound has a perfect balance that I love. The mids of the Greenbacks fill the void of the Mesa cab, which provides all of the low end that I would ever want and some sharpness to the soft, articulate highs coming from the 1960TV. Together, they sound amazing.

On its own, the cabinet sounds great. I love this cabinet now that I've had it for about a month or so. Vintage 30's have a very wierd habit of sounding COMPLETELY different in certian cabinets; the way the speakers handle the signal and dispense the sound is completely relying on the cabinet and construction themselves. The Mesa is built like a tank, and has 13-ply birch construction. It weighs a ton (I think a little over 100 pounds), but it is worth its weight in tone and projection. The only word that I can think of that accuratly describes every part of its sound is muscular. The cleans are well rounded, and powerful. The overdrives are, well, extremely tight and well-projected. It feels very strong and refined. Also, I love cabinets that can make you feel like you are at a concert....the Mesa does just that. I can get that certain feeling of my clothes jumping and my chest vibrating exactly by using this cab. Other cabs do that, but not like this one......

When pushed hard, the sound only gets better. The tone becomes smoother and the harshness dies down (my cab's speakers were broken in long ago, so that inherint problem of harshness with the Vintage 30's is non-existant). I love it.

Mesa cabs, unlike their amps, are extremely reliable. Very rarely does one break down, simply because they are built very tightly and with really good parts and wood. Mine's been bumped around a lot since I got it (and with the touring band who owned it before) and it has never given a problem.

I had a Mesa Tremoverb that needed some small parts (like some knobs and light cover). It wasn't much, but Mesa treated me like I was ordering a huge stash of amps from them (and I bought the amp used, too). I haven't had to deal with them since, but based on that encounter, they deserve a very high rating.

I've been playing for several years, and own a lot of other amps and guitars. I mainly use two Gibson Les Paul Customs and an American Deluxe Stratocaster, but I occasionally break out the Flying V and Ibanez JS from time to time.....If it was stolen, I doubt that I would be able to find another at the price that I paid for this one (tax time is the PERFECT time to buy used gear, because people are selling their stuff cheap just to pay their taxes). Easily smokes the 1960B that I was using before (the Marshall with GT-75's). If I had to buy one at sale or list price, I would compare it only to Bogners or Diezels, but I doubt that I'll have the scratch to spend on a $1,000 cabinet (or $799 one for that matter) any time soon. The only thing that I wish it had was the ability to run at 16 ohms. Other than that, I'm very happy!

2000 model Recto-Cab. I bought from a music store owner who claimed it was purchased for his touring band but it sat in an Anvil case and was never used it at all. Looked like it was just out of the box new.

Tons of bass, amazing high clarity, tons of power. Only thing I don't like, which pertains to all cabinets, is if you stand directly in front of it, the highs will kill your ears. I like to stand off to the side. Unfortunately, my drummer bears the full assault of this cabinet!

Built amazingly well. Solid and heavy as an anvil. No cheap tolex. I'm not sure what wood it is, but it's good quality I can tell. Seems to weigh twice as much as my Marshall 1960A cabinet did!

Haven't used them. I own a Marshall JCM2000 DSL100 head paired to this cabinet, so I doubt I'll ever have to contact Mesa.

Initially I owned a Marshall AVT412 cabinet with my Marshall DSL100 head. The sound was decent but I knew I needed to upgrade to the big leagues. I sold my AVT412 and bought a new Marshall 1960A cabinet. I found the cabinet to be thin sounding and way too trebly. There was no balls to speak of and I was highly dissapointed and wishing I had my AVT412 back. Luckily, I found a music store with this Recto-Cab on the floor and the owner cut my a deal. I can tell you, there is no comparison to this cabinet and Marshall's. Granted I did not try the Marshall with the celestions V30s which Marshall says is the comparable cabinet, but I can tell a worls of difference in the construction and quality of the Mesa, and to me, that means almost as much as the sound. With my DSL100 head and this cabinet (and an outstanding EQ), I have the tone I have been looking for. It's pricey brand new, try and find one used to save money but you won't be dissapointed (only your checking account will).

I bought this cab in July 2002. In terms of doodads, not much here, but then again, it's a cabinet. Compared to other cabinets, though, this thing has much better features. It features void-free birch construction (not cheap particleboard), steel reinforcement beams, and 4 12" Celestion speakers. Handles 280 Watts.

Mesa Recto Standards are widely regarded as the new world standard in 4 X 12 rock cabinets. Why? Well, for starters, the bass is just incredible. All the voluptuous bottom end you could ask for, just like your old girlfriend. The mids are nicely scooped, which I like, since I play mostly modern rock. The treble is all there, and the clarity is just amazing. No farty bottom end. This is due in no small part to the outstanding speakers, and this cab makes virtually any amp sound killer. I often use it with my 15-watt solid state Fender amp, and with the drive channel on, this combo is as close to a Dual Recto stack you'll get for the money (and it's pretty damn close!)Like previous reviews have stated, if you own a Rectifier, you MUST run it through this cab to get the most out of it. They were designed for each other. Even if you're like me and dream about rectifiers but can't afford one just yet, the Mesa 4 X 12 will be a massive upgrade to your rig. However, if you're not into lots of bass and scooped mids, you might want to look elsewhere.

This thing is built like a Sherman tank. Just knock on it, and you'll instantly feel how solid it is compared to other popular cabs, some of them costing more. Even if you're one of those people that hate the Mesa sound, you'd have to admit this cabinet is uncannily well-built. Only had it three months, but not even the slightest problem yet.

I've never had to deal with Mesa, but from what I hear they have the best customer support in the biz. In fact, I've never seen or heard a bad thing said about Mesa in that regard.

I really can't say a bad thing about this cab. If you're looking for the ultimate modern rock cab, it behooves you to give the Mesa a try. I've tried a couple other "custom" cabinets, and they're not as solid in the construction department. They also cost more, and I didn't like the sound as much. Some people say Diezel and Bogner make better cabs, and for those particular people, they do. Remember, THIS IS SUBJECTIVE OPINION. There is no right or wrong answer to what sounds good. Keep this in mind when you're reading this review as well as the reviews of others. Just try out everything you can and go with what you like best. I stand by my choice though. :)

This is an year 2002 4x12 Recto cabinet. It is the tradition version. That means that it is cca. 3 inches shorter than the stabdard version.

The features on this cab are ok, but maybe I could use a 16 Ohm setting, which is not available on this cab.
But on the other hand it is posible to connect another extension cab after this cab (something that Marshal does not offer you).

I play rock, hard rock and some blues. Here and there I play some old school metal, but this is not my main field.

I have this cab only for 2 weeks, but have played it quite some times in the recent two years (friends, music stores...).

Since I live in Europe, my first cab was Marshall 1960A. I quickly found out that it was very trebly and empty sounding with no low end.
I soon changed it for a Marshall 1960AV with Vintage 30's. The sound was much warmer, but it still had those highs that are very unpleasant to your ears. I sold it after 3 months. But what to buy now? There was not much choice in local stores (in fact, I already bought their best stuff). The only choice was to drive 500 miles to the store that had other cabs (VHT, Soldano, Mesa, Peavy, H&K...).
I tried them all. Mesa had the fullest sound. Some Italian employee in the store said "This cab has hm hm er a oh how to say..., well CORPORATO. Well like VINO (wein)". And I said, "Oh, you mean that it has BODY like a good wein".
And man, it really sounded fat. Other cabs were also good, but more trebly (VHT, Orange). I can't describe it but Recto cab sounded like an earthquake. I wish I could test a Diesel cab (In Europe it is cheaper that Mesa), but it wasn't available anywhere near.

However, back to Marshall. Marshall was way cheaper. Here in Europe Mesa cab costs twice as much as Marshall cab does. This was a bit much for me. I put them side by side and... Well, you know the story from now on.
Mesa = very solid construction, a lot of bass, very nice highs. Takes over the command as you turn it up (Very big sound).
Marshal 1960AV Vintage 30's = Good cab, cheaper cab, trebly, ratles, can't handle much low end (farts out), gets worse as you turn it up.

Marshall 1960AV sounds like a 1x12 or 2x12 cab in comparison to Mesa 4x12 Recto cab. In fact, I bought a stock Celestion Vintage 30 speaker direct from Celestion dealer. Than I made the cab for it. It turned out that Marshall 1960AV had more highs and just a bit more bass than my DIY 1x12 Vintage 30 cab. Plus Marshall started to resonate like crazy when I hit A# on low E string (Clean or overdrive).




There are no more problems since I have a Recto cab. I ordered a standard (toller) version, but there has been a misunderstanding and a got a traditional one. I was sceptical at first, but after I tried it... It still has more than enough bass and it is a bit clearer than the big brother. No regrets at all. Great for my style.


!!!!!!ATENTION!!!!! Read my previus review below (10-15 reviews lower). I tested Mesa cab in the store with Marshall poweramp and POD PRO preamp and it sucked. I am still not sure why, but Marshall cabs sounded far better. Maybe there was something wrong with the Mesa cab. BTW, I don't own Marshall poweramp any more. I play trough apoweramp made by a local guy that kinda clones old Mesa amps. In the future I will change also that part.

I have been playing for 10 years. I have gone trough various equipment. From solid state, to digital, to tube. And even a lot of tube amps are just tube and nothing else. They sound like shit. I prefer the juicy sound of Class A power section. Mesa Blue Angel, THD Univalve, Vox AC30, Dr. Z stuff... Class A/B is fine, but many producers construct amps that way so they do not take advantages of the powertube overdrive (which it is all about). Actually I like some Class AB amps very much (Diesel VH4, Bogner Ecstasy, Marshall Plexi, Mesa Mark IIc+, Soldano.

However, whatever the type of power amp, Recto cab will always be an important component of my sound equipment. I will buy another one sometime in the future, when I save some extra money. It makes you smile, although it is expencive (so this is a 9).

This is a 2001 4X12 Recto Cabinet. It can be used at 8ohms mono and 4ohms stereo. I wish it had a 16 ohm option too...

I use this cabinet with a 1996 Marshall 60 watt JTM 612 combo. The only guitar I am using with it is an American Series Fender Telecaster with a Harmonic Design Super 90 bridge pickup. The JTM 60's create tones that are among the very finest Marshall has ever produced. I get excellent clean tones, superior blues tones, and classic Marshall crunch. The only tone I cannot produce without effects is a full on bassy metal tone.

I bought this cabinet because the stock single 12" Celestion Heritage speaker in my combo (although capable of creating splendid tone) would thin out and become trebley at moderate to high volume levels. The Mesa Recto cab elimiated that problem with authority! I can crank it now and NOTHING degrades or rattles except my house. The tone of the Celestion Vintage 30's is slightly colder (which is not a plus for me), but the loss is very subtle and I have adjusted to it.

I tried a Mesa dual rectifier solo head with this cabinet to compare it to my Marshall. Because, as I stated, my Marshall does no get the hard core bassy metal roar. The Mesa head definitely created a fantastic distorted metal thump. It exceeded my expectations in this regard. However, every other tone was TERRIBLE compared to my Marshall JTM. My Marshall blows the Mesa Dual Rectifier head out of the water in all catagories except metal tone. The Mesa head is a one trick pony.

I would give this cab a 10 in tone if it was just slightly warmer.

Built like a Brick s@#* house. No way will it break or even wear much

Have not needed any yet

Quality, quality, quality as with every Mesa product. Looks awsome with my combo on top. Tone is a 9+. And, as another reviewer stated, don't think this cabinet is for metal only. It does clean, blues, and crunch as well or better than anything out there!

I had two of these Recto Cabs. A standard (taller) from 1997 and a traditional from 2001. Rear-loaded closed back cab with a removable back. It has Vintge 30 in it. It can be run mono or stereo. I believe the power rating is 280 watts. There is also a speaker out which is cool if your head can only run one cab.

I'm sure some people will disagree with me here,but oh well. I think they only sound ok. They fart out too easily if you're going for a nice bassy, high gain crunch (not that buzz saw tone). This cabs' bass response is too loose. It's a little too strong in the mids. I think it has pretty nice highs though. They do give you a big sound which I like. Don't get me wrong I got a killer sound that I liked very much (many other people loved my live sound as well) when I was running through these cabs. These are just the flaws I feel they have. They definetly sound better when running two together. I could get a much warmer sound without having to worry about it fartig out. Just to note, there is a slight difference in sound between the standard and traditional as others have mentioned. The traditional (shorter) is slighty tighter sounding in the bass. Now after owning a better cab I feel even stronger about what bothered be about them in the first place. I've gone to Diezel cabs and there is no comparison. I have heard that the Bogners are second to none as well. Like I said, the Recto cabs are pretty good cabs (better than Marshall that's for sure), but there are better ones without a doubt.

Built like a tank. I never had a problem and would gig without a backup. So long as you don't do anything stupid to blow it and everything was done right before it left the factory, there aren't too many things that can happen, it's a freakin' speaker cab.

Never had to deal with them.

I've been playing for 11 year and I'm very particular about my sound. If I was on a budget and couldn't have got the Diezel cab, I definetly would stay with the Recto. I also dig the removable casters. They do give you a pretty big sound too. But with Mesa being one of the big dogs, I have to be more critical. And having said that there are better cabs. Check out the Diezel and Bogner cabs. Cause if you don't agree with my description of the Recto's sound, you just might after you play one of them. If you have any questions shoot me an email.

good evening !!!

Iam searching for a"95,96 or 97 and a half, 100 Watt dual Rectal Trem-O-Verb and the steel diamond 4x12 Celestion V-30 4x12 Cab. I have owned Two Rock Emarld 50 Pro, three Top Hats, two Dr Z, three perfect- tweaked Naylors Electroverb 60 and cabs, three line 6 Flextone 2 XL and HD , plus Fender etc. The air that is pumped out of this cab at 2 o'clock level is almost unexplainable! When Db levels get to the 120 level one prays for perfect sounding HARMONICS! If one utilizes older PRS Custom 24's with HFS and Vintage bass pickups, one will never search any farther !!!

jDJones, air Margaritaville, or Air hooterville .

My cabinets were manufactured in 1994, back when leather came standard. Speakers are Vintage 30's, which age beautifully. The manufacturer's power rating is 280 watts, though some debate has been made about whether it is 280 or 260. In all truth, more damage is done to speakers by underpowering than overpowering. By underpowering, I mean clipping the power amp and presenting a DC voltage to the voice coils which basically turns them into heater coils until they fuse or short out. My cabinets have the diamond plate cab armor on the sides, which makes them almost bulletproof. Besides that, the armor completely changes the appearance of the stack by making it look like a monument to rock and roll. The only drawback to such a robust cabinet design is the weight. My cabs weigh about 120 lbs each...uggh. You get used to extra weight, and as expensive as these cabs are, you feel like you got something a little more solid for your money.

My setup consists of a Jackson Kelly guitar, a quality cable, the Dual Rectifier head, and two 4x12 Recto cabs...no effects whatsoever. The cabinets and head were designed together to work together, so they complement each other really well. What I mean is, the Dual Rec puts out strong low end, vocal mids, and crunchy highs...the cabinets augment this further by being larger volume(more bass), and having great mid presence. The highs from these cabinets are really smooth. Much of this characteristic is due to the jute-dipped grille. It acts as a mild filter to remove harsh sounding frequencies from the treble range. You get all the crunch without the feeling of an icepick being driven into your ears(or maybe my hearing is shot after standing in front of them for 7 years!) I give this rating a 10, because I really can't imagine improving on the tone. I've never really tested these cabs with other amplifiers, but with the Dual Rectifier it is a match made in Heaven. Even clean tones sound great, something the Vintage 30's are not really known for. Some of this could be due to the mellowing of the speakers over the years. The only thing about these speakers, and any closed back 4x12, is the narrow projection of the sound. It doesn't really have the broad open sound of an open back cab or combo...however it sounds more controlled and tighter than either of those setups.

Where these speakers really shine is with loud high gain distortion. Man, they pummel you with bass that is defined without sounding hi-fi, and you can dial the boominess easily. That is what really sold me on these cabs, they make your stack sound like a whole wall of speakers. The midrange character is also awesome. With vintage high gain sounds, the mids(without wah) almost sound like vowel sounds...its enough to give you chills during lead sections on the lower strings. The treble, as I mentioned earlier, is very smooth yet very prominent. You can dial in as much high end sizzle as you like, without losing the airiness or thickness of the amplifier's tone. Truly great cabinets for distortion.

I've not had one single problem with these cabinets since I bought them in 1994. Viva Mesa Boogie!

These guys are great, I don't know how many times I've called them with a simple question and ended up talking gear for half an hour. Extremely knowledgeable and eager to help.

I give these cabinets a rating of 9, not 10 because I don't believe they fit every application. For example, someone who plays Country or small gigs in general probably doesn't need the skull crushing capability of these cabinets. However, for rock and metal players, it would be hard to find a better cab. This is especially true for Dual or Triple Rectifier owners. I'm sure for different amps there are cabinets designed to augment their strong points(Marshall, VHT, Bogner, etc.) Anybody who has any questions, comments, or just wants to talk gear, can feel free to email me...I would love to hear from you.

A correction to a previous poster. The Traditional Recto Cabinet is not open backed. The difference between the Recto Traditional and the Recto Standard is that the Traditional Cabinet is a few inches shorter. This does not affect the amount of bass, but rather the way it is projected. The standard cabinet has a "looser" bass sound, while the traditional's bass is "tighter". Which is better is simply a matter of how you personally like the bass of your tone projected. Hope this helps.

Just as a correction to the review below, Vintage 30s are rated at 60 watts each, not 25. You must be thinking of celestion greenbacks. A recto 4x12 cab handles 240 watts as opposed to the marshall's 300 watt capacity. The reason a vintage 30 will sound louder at the same power rating is due to it's SPL sensitivity rating. Vintage 30s are more efficient speakers, wattage-wise.

I've owned both, and like both. That said, I still own my recto 4x12 cab.

This cab features Celestion Vintage 30 speakers with stereo and mono inputs on the rear pannel. It is constructed with one inch think solid wood and also has removable wheels. Colsed back construction, a quality cabinet.

THIS CAB IS AMAZING! I have been using a marshall JCM 900 1960A 4x12 w/ celestion GT-75's for the last few years and I could never quite nail my sound. I needed a thighter, less muddier low end, smoother highs and scooped mids. At first I decided to go with a bigger power amp, but then I dedided to try this cab before upgrading the power amp. This cab was it! It gave me more volume because the Mesa cab can handle 100 watts as opposed to the marshall's 300, (Vintage 30's are 25 watts a piece, GT-75's are 75...) so my 100 watt poweramp was able to drive this cab more for the extra volume I needed. Not only was the volume there, but the Vintage 30's really cleared things up! It fixed all of the tonal problems that I mentioned with the marshall. I have been searching for MY tone for years and this cabinet helped complete my search! I use this only with the "metal" band I play with, and this cab does the job wonderfully. Here is my other equipment: Guitar (multiple w/ emg's) into EB volume pedal (with "tuner out" into a Korg DTR-1) into a vox wah into a tubescreamer into a Mesa Formula Preamp w/ an alesis MEQ 230 in the fx loop into a T.C. Electronics G Major (controlled by an art X-15) into a mesa 50/50 poweramp into this cab. I'm not saying that this cab will make your rig sound perfect, because what you put into it is definatly a factor, but if you are using GT-75's or Greenbacks or anything else, try a mesa w/ Vintage 30's, and it just might be for you.

Mesa equpiment is pretty reliable, I own 4 peices of their gear and have only had a problem with one. I would take this over a marshall with the same speakers because of it's better construction, quality, and sound.

Mesa customer support is great, they're awesome guys. Quick efficient responses to e-mails or phone calls, and they will help you out!

This is a great sounding cabinet, it looks mean and will last for years. The only set back is the weight, it is VERY heavy, much heavier than the marshall. But it is worth it for the tone.

I will assume it was built in 2000. I play punk rock, surf, and some ambient stuff. To my ear, this cabinet serves them all properly. The cabinet does not leave me wonting for any features. I use it for all band practices and shows. It is sufficient, especially when matched with my Dual Rectifier. It gets a 7 for features not because I desire more, but due to its simplicity. This is its virtue, like a Telecaster.

I primarily play an American Telecaster with a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails humbucker in the bridge position. My melodic hardcore style is suited well to the frequency response this cabinet was designed for. I can tell you honestly, this is the best cabinet I have heard. However, my subjectivity has not been tested terribly extensively with Bogner, H&K, etc cabinets. I prefer this over a Marshall, however. I am giving it a 10 because it is extremely solid and uses what appears to be the industry standard, the Celestion Vintage 30 12" speaker.

I am always nervous with the cabinet simply due to its value. I want it to last for many years, so I am careful with it. Considering I carry it in my trunk a lot, roll it on asphalt sometimes, and play a lot of tough punk shows it has performed famously. My insecurity lies solely in the money I spent! I am giving it a 10 because it has never let me down.

It is really built with care, and the weight is definitely worth it. You could use a workout anyway, no?

I have never had to deal with them. Not applicable.

I have been playing for about 8 years on and off. I also own a peavey 4x12 cabinet, an ADA MP-1, a Tubeworks power amp, a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier, a Peavey Valverb, Fender guitars, and a bautiful Larrivee acoustic. If this were stolen, I would buy another identical cabinet as soon as I could afford it.

I love the fact that I get my "dream" sound out of my rig these days. I hate that people see Mesa stuff and assume you're 100% metal. I'm not metal at all and I never solo. I play for the love of music, I don't need the money.

I compared it to the Marshall Vintage 30 cabinet and this one is built much better. This seemed to matter the most to me, since build quality certainly affects sound quality and they both have the same music speakers.

This amp was made in 1999. I personally play death metal and this cab is awesome. Since I only play the one style basically I haven't really experimented with others.

I use an Ibanez RG-7 and a Crate solid state head. Since I use the solid state it is a bit noisy etc but things like that are to be expected. The bass is real tight and has great punch. Highs are clear and the speakers can handle 270 watts!

I depend on it everytime we play. I use it with no backup and have never had any breakdowns or problems. The leather which surrounds the cab protects very well (alot better than the plastic normally on amps and cabs).

Have never had to deal with them which is good as far as reliability of the cab.

I have been playing for over 12 years and this cab kills my crate cab. I can't wait to get my triple rectifier as I've heard one on my cab and its even better. If it were stolen I'd kick the person whom stole its ass. Pretty heavy although its got big wheels which will roll over just about anything.

The difference between the traditional and standard besides size is that the traditional is open backed which gives nicer clean sounds and the standard is closed back which gives more bass and better distortion.

I think mine was made in 1999. Four Vintage 30's, 4,8 or 16 ohm. It's got everything a 4x12 cab should have. Mine is covered in red suede. It wasn't my first choice, but it was the only Recto 4X12 cab Atomic Music (in College Park MD, a great used/vintage music gear store), but I've grown to love the looks.

I play my Mesa Trem-O-Verb head through this monstrosity. The best low and high end response of any cab I've ever played through, mids are also great. HUGE, HUGE sound. Cleans sound really good (not as good as an open back cab IMO), and distortion tones,....well, lets just say nothing compares! I love it.

I've gigged quite a bit with it, not one problem. It's built better then most cars, solid, and heavy as HELL!

Mesa Boogie has always answered my emails and has been very professional. I've also ordered things from their website and never had a problem.

If you have a TOV, Duel/Triple Rectifier or Nomad amp, this cab is a must (or one of the Recto 2X12 cab, which I also own). I've also heard they make other amp brands sound better. Great product,....just go buy one!

you've already read this same shit a million times by now. But it has everything you need in a cabinet. Yeah, its heavy. But, its worth the extra wieght.

I originally bought a Marshall JCM 800 1960A 4x12 cab to go with my JCM 900 head and totally hated it when I got it home. I had to crank the amp to get any kind of distortion and even at that it wansn't a great sound at all! No bass, shitty clean, it sounded like a peavey solid state! I was pissed and almost spent $400 getting the cab loaded with Celestion V30's, and I wasn't even sure if it was the cab or the amp. Luckily a friend at a guitar shop told me to come by and play my JCM through a Mesa Cab. It was instantly apparent that the marshall cabinet was the weak link in my setup. This cabinet with the Marshall head is loud and versatile. I am getting good cleans and great distortion at all levels. The Marshall cabs are loaded with those lame celestion 75w speakers that just suck. A lot of people will tell you you have to crank the volume to get the "marshall sound." But, that just isn't true. Even on 8-10(which you have to leave the room to play) it was a wimpy bass and distortion. It just takes too much to break up the 75w speakers. The marshall cab would probably sound better if it had the v30's or Greenbacks in it.

This thing is a tank, I can't foresee anything going wrong with it barring any really wierd or big accidents.

Haven't needed them.

seriously, this cab is great. I think the speakers have a lot to do with it, but the it sounds so much better than the marshall 1960 cab. If it were lost/stolen I would definitely replace it.

Brand New Very Late 2000. The features of this cab are the same as damn near ever other cab, except this cab should define quality. The Celestion Vintage 30's are nice, nothing really special to me thou, as I feel its the construction and size of this cab that makes it sound great. The Vintage 30's probably do help thou. Gets a 9 because it barely fits in the back seat of a 98 Cavalier...and with it there its tight to fit another person

I play fast heavy punk with a shitload of palm muting and this rules.
I use a Nunobettencourt N4 guitar with a boss metal zone and usually a marshall JCM 900 head. With the metal zone I can get amazing distortion because it takes away 90% of the "chainsaw" sound of the metal zone leaving huge...huge bass with smooth treble sounds. I made 1 mistake by getting the standard recto...I should have gotten the traditional because its 3" smaller. All mesa cabinets have extreme bass so since the traditional is the same cabniet only smaller it would actually fit in a car!! Bases on sound alone and not the 33" 130lbs that this cabinet is...I give it a solid 10..easy

This thing is so heavy and well made it will hurt you if you get in its way...well before you could ever hurt it.

Amazing!!! these guys really do define customer support. I was origional going to use a bass head thru this cabinet till I got a head and the guys from Mesa (both techs) returned my call like 4 hours later saying that this was not a good idea. I have called them several times before I even got my mesa and they were very helpful

One thing that is bullshit is the Mesa Warranty...1 Year on heads and I think 1 year on this cabinet (less on the speakers)...$1300cdn & only has a 1 year warranty...WHAT THE FUCK?

My friend has a 4x12" half-back (equal with the recto) so I knew I needed to get a Recto 4x12 if I wanted the best. I tried Marshall and it had nothing, no where near the Mesa in my opinion. If lost i'd go nuts...If stolen I'd probably join the postal workers (hehe) and find whoever took it.

If I could change anything it would be:
the weight (130lbs is alittle much)

Shit I love:
everything else

This is about as versatile as a spearker cabinet can be. It is a standard 4x12 cabinet with vintage 30 speakers. It has 3 jacks on the back for various impedance selections. One area of confusion I thought I might comment on is the difference between the recto standard and recto traditional. Mesa's website has no explanation of the difference between the two other than the name. The recto standard cabinets come in the base and top kinda like marshall cabs. They both have angeled speaker baffles. The only difference is the bottom cab has a larger top on it so you can stack the cabiets. I own the one with the thin top (big enough to fit a head on it but not another cabinet). The big difference is the recto standards are about 3 inches taller than the traditional cabs. The other recto cabs are called "traditional". They look about the same size as a marshall cabinet. The top cab also has an angled speaker baffle and the bottom a straight like a marshall cabinet. The only reason I rate it a 9 is because the impendance selections are not quite as flexible as my Marshall cabinet.

The cabinet sounds excellent. I bought it because I was having problems with my Marshall cabinet farting out at higher volumes. I use this cab with a Rocktron Piranah preamp and a Marshall 9200 power amp to drive this cab. It sounds kinda like a modified Marshall I guess. Probably because of the power amp. The sound is supberb. It sounds far better than the Marshall I own. Particularly in the bass response. Another thing I noticed is that it is considerably louder than my other cabinet. I guess because of the difference in speakers in the Mesa. Check out the celestion web site and listen to the difference for yourself. The sound bites are pretty accurate. Unfortunately I can't say alot about the clean at this point because the clean sound on my setup is terrible (too bad considering how good the medium to high gain sounds are). However, I don't see any reason why clean sounds through this cabinet would not sound as good as the distortion sounds.

I have only owned it for three months, but I can't forsee anything going wrong with. It is speakers and wood so what could possibly happen. One thing this cabinet has on all others I have looked out is the construction. Make sure you look at the backs of them. The walls of my Marshall are about 1/2" thick the Mesa is about 3/4" to an 1" thick. The Mesa is probably more durable but also alot more heavy wich sucks. Watch out for the vinyl covering, it looks like it might tear up easily. I plan to buy a cover before mine leaves the house.

I have not dealt with them.

I have been playing for about 13 years. If it were stolen or lost I would replace it as soon as I could afford too. I love the sound. To my ears this is the best cab I have heard but I have not heard everything. I bought it based on the reviews on this sight. I did'nt even try it out first! The only thing I hate is the weight and size. The recto traditional is only about 5 pounds lighter due to its shorter build. Maybe I should have got the traditional. Even though its only 3" shorter that is alot of extra space in a civic! Please make sure you research and try everything first. It is a matter of personal preference. For my style of music so far this is the best.

What can i say? 4 Vintage 30's (swwweeeeeeeeeeet) and nifty looks... its a speaker cab for gods sakes

JESUS CHRIST ON A BIKE! this cab is SWEET! perfectly compliments the Dual Rectifier or any amp for that matter... especially the Line 6 Flextone HD. the dumbasses at Line 6 put "flat output" (or something) speakers in their cabs so that... well i dont know why, but trust me Vintage 30's are better. it handles low tunings really well, with enough bass to give dick cheney a heart attack!

a brick! a very good sounding and good looking brick at that...

no needs for it yet

in two words, WOO HA! metal, clean, jazz, even pop shit, this cab handles em all well and makes any guitarist sound great!

Carefully made for me (on order :o) in California. 8ohm in mono (includes parallel out for connecting a second cab), dual 4ohm in stereo. Huge rollers (which are removable, great feature when you want to stack your cabs). All covered in leather (new car smell!). Look great and is pretty big. 33 inch high not couting the rollers. It,s just a cab, it doesn't need much features, so I'm giving it a good rating, since it has everything I could need.

You might want to know that I'm a fan of big metal distortion and mahogany guitars with humbuckers.

I got it 3 days ago and only got to test it with a solid state Peavey head (first gen Supreme 160W). The cab really brought out the weaknesses of my amp! But it made it sound "warmer" in some way (although the clean sounded like pure s***, but that's to be expected from a solid state Peavey). It has a full, thick sound, but amazingly didn't have has much bottom end as the Peavey 412MS cab I was using before. It's pretty strong in the mids, but only the good mids, it has this "mean" attack in the mid that you can hear in James Hetfield tone and that I always wanted and always thought it was in the amp or the guitar, just found out it's in the cab!

What I like the most is that it's the first cab that I can put at ear level at rehearsal volumes and walk away with my hearing 100% normal, it doesn't fatigue my ears like lesser cabs. It has crisp highs, not deafening highs.

I can't wait to test it with a better amp. I'm trying it out with a Line6 Flextone II HD soon, I tried this head in my old Peavey 412MS and it sounded incredible althought a bit muddy, can't wait to try it with the Mesa cab.

Just got it

Tried to call them once for a technical question on their dual-rectifier amplifiers, a girl responded and told me there were no tech available right now and she asked if I wanted to hold or to be called back, since I'm usually at work during business hours and I'm hard to join I told her I would wait and I never got a line. Well at least someone did answer the phone (a human person!!!) which is much better than a lot of other companies!

Sounds great, looks great, cost a small fortune, but if you're serious about playing guitar, why spend money on lesser cab when all you have to do is put out 2-3 more 100$ bills and get a REAL cab.

Made in 2000. 8 ohm mono input, 4 ohm mono input, 4 ohm stereo inputs, four Celestion Vintage 30 speakers, removable casters. Versatile enough for me, and I'm not picky.

Bottom line: This cabinet is/should be every rock/metal guitarist's dream. I run a Mesa Boogie Mark III 100 watt head into this cabinet, and I play a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe with Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates humbuckers. Like most amps/cabinets, it sounds a little thin at low volumes, but as soon as the amp is turned up, this cabinet is the shit. The low end is very pronounced, while the mids and highs come through amazingly well also. It seems incredibly loud. I'm not sure if this has more to do with the head or the cabinet. Regardless, this cabinet sounds incredible. It doesn't "fart out" as other people put it. Very good note definition at extremely high volumes. It's just great. Sometimes i also combine this cab with a Mesa Boogie Halfback 4x12 with Celestion 90's. I can't put into words the amazing sound this produces.

I've only had this cabinet for a week. But all my other Mesa gear has been 100% reliable. I have no doubts about the reliability of this cabinet. The only thing that could possibly happen is that the leather-like covering could probably get scuffed or torn fairly easily, but that's just a cosmetic factor anyway.

I've dealt with Mesa Boogie twice. Once to obtain a users manual for the Mark III, the other to inquire about their cabinets, namely this one. Both times, they responded within a reasonable amount of time. It wasn't the fastest customer service, but it was extremely helpful/insightful. So I'll give them an 8.

Overall, I believe this is the best speaker cabinet for anybody playing rock music, whether it be punk, metal, hardcore, or whatever. It's no fluke that nearly every hard rock band today uses these. I tried this cabinet out along with a Marshall 1960BX 4x12. The Marshall didn't have near the handling power of this cabinet, and it also lacked the low end definition of the Mesa. If it were stolen, I would cry because there is no way in hell I will be able to afford another one. I feel like this cabinet will be a lifetime investment. I hope when I'm 80 years old this thing will be sitting in my living room next to my rocking chair. Anyway, it's the best sounding cabinet on the market, especially for Mesa Boogie amps, and it IS worth the price.

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!!!!!

n/a

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.

N/A

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!

4,8,16 ohms 4 12 inch celestions vintage 30's black leather, mesa emblem, great construction, flawless

must have for mesa tov head!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! tried all the others come on, pony up that 800.00 plus and experience what the mesa product was built to sound like

mesa -nuff said

never needed it

this is an update to a previous review. please don't make the BIG mistake of purchasing anything except the mesa 4x12 recto cab!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i went thru h and k, marshall, laney, crate, and peavey the bottom end just explodes and the highs clear and glassy which helps to tone down the mids from the head. i recently got into a discussion with the builder of the klon, bill finnigan, about how i loved his overdrive pedal's clean boost but thought the gain was weak. his comments were to the effect that mesa's were not very good amps and randell smith was overated. he suggested i try some real clean, boutique amps such as dr z and bogner. i did and the pedal did sound a lot better but not in the same ballpark as the mesa to start with.each amp has it's own pluses and minuses . one amp can never DO IT ALL!!!! if you want brutal, crushing, overdrive and distortion then the mesa tov is your ticket.NOTE:i did try solodano since they peaked my interest by trashing mesa in their reviews. the solodano head is awesome if not too bright for my liking but mesa with the right tubes:testla 12ax7,svetlana 6l6,and rca recifiers still is my choice for ultimate grind over solodano, bogner ,and matchless. of course a lot of people might disagree but tone is always a subjective type of thing. and at 1,500.00 it's about half the price!!!!!

the basics: 4x12 cabinet loaded w/ 70-watt Celestions, straight cab design w/ std tolex covering, heavy-duty removable casters--in all, a solid, kick-ass cabinet that SMOKES and oozes Fabulous, bone-crushing tone night-after-night!!!!

great low-end definition--really thick-n-juicy!! I hook this thing up to my trusty DC5 wide-body combo and BAM!! The sound just opens up!!! I've seen my arm hairs rise up and move while playing!!! You could literally "feel" your sound, the crunch and definition all in one massive serving!!!My amp sound like a 100+ watt amp--it's hard to believe that I'm only pushing 50!!!Yep. thick and juicy, all right!!!

this cabinet is definitely rock-solid--by far, the best cabinet I've ever owned (I used to have a great-sounding Peavey 5150 straight cabinet that comes close)--my back-up cabinet is basically the combo's internal speaker (or, if I play my cards right, I could borrow my bro's VHT straight cabinet, which sounds great in it's own right, too!!)--this cab has, so far ,withstand all the gigging and rehearsals I've dragged it through!!

yo, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!! Enough said!!

overall, this is the cabinet that I hope to build my next rig around--might get a Single Recto, Mark IV or Triaxis preamp, also maybe a slant cabinet as well!! If this were stolen, I wouldn't hesitate to go get another one ( or kill the bloody fool who snaked it in the first place!!) I used to have Laney, Randall, Peavey and Crate cabinets (God, I almost thought about getting a Marshall JCM900 4x12)--I'm so glad to have this as my backline!! I have a gig w/ my band this weekend--I'm thinking about using my bro's VHT Pitbull Ultralead amp head w/ my cab--devastation will be eminent this weekend if all goes thru --yeah, the VHT crushes thru the cabinet, too!!!

This was made in 98 and has 4 celestion vintage 30 speakers in it. It has 8 and 4 ohm inputs and some other connections for linking cabinets together. It is huge and heavy. The casters roll easy and come off easy, they fit on securely and are very heavy duty. It does all a speaker cabinet can do.

I use a dual rectifier solo head with it and a gibson les paul studio and flying v. It sounds great. The projection is astounding and it does not fart out at higher volumes. The lower mid range and bass frequencies are tight and pronounced. This is the cabinet for metal and hard rock, not sure about for other styles. Sounds great with a mesa head but I'm sure it will work great with anything else too.

It is solid. It is much heavier than any other 4x12 I've used before. The celestions are handpicked by mesa so I am betting the company will stand by them. Mesa has legendary reliability so I expect no trouble.

Never dealt with them, heard they are cool.

The best cab i've encountered. It is hard to move though. It weighs close to 90 lbs or so and is larger than standard Marshall size 4x12s. It barely fits in my car. The casters make a huge difference in moving it on level or flat inclined surfaces, but you will most likely need two people to carry it up or down stairs (or onto stage). The sound is great for metal and hard rock players, buy it without fear, others should check it out first.

Cool ass features. I use my Recto cab with a Trem-O-Verb head, and it sounds awsome, sweeping lows with that Mesa high sustain. It could be the amp though. I play this cab at home, and soon to gig with it. 1 8ohm jack, 2 4ohm jacks. Thick walled (very, very heavy), closed back. PLaying losed back and then playing open back is a totally different experience. You gotta open the back yourself cause all it is is a closed back. I'm gonna cut out a nice big rectangle at the top and maybe at the bottom so I could bet more of that sweet Mesa bass. Has detachable alloy casters and not teeny ones like the Marshalls.

This amp suits all of my needs, except for more bass, but that's not a design neglection. The Mesa people thought that a closed back cab would define the Solo Head sounds. But I love the bass even more, my band is modeled after alot of bass, so getting that extra runble from the cab feels good to my feet and to the crowd.

Mesa. Nuff said.
(I think Mesa also make tanks and bomb shelters for the military.)

I have no idea how long the warranty is, But if you own a Mesa product, you're part of the family.

I would buy tons of them, if I needed them. They are their own class of cabinets- dependable, heavy and bulky (can stop .22 cal bullets at close range), awesome sounding, economical too (all Mesa products are the same price, EVERYWHERE! No bargain hunting, or crazy 50% markup). I f I do get another cab, it'll be the one with the side armor, now those can stop 50 cal at point blank. I cringe evrytime I see a pic of one of those beauties, it's just that I fell in love with one without side armor and had to bring it home. I love evrything about the cab as well as my Trem-O-Verb, which is one of the finest amps ever made. Both built like tanks and sound extremely well.

As the other review stated, the Recto 412 is taller than a Marshall 4 x 12. I have an early 70's Marshall 4 x 12 and with casters it is slightly shorter than the Recto 4 x 12 without casters, so we are talking about a very tall cabinet--sizewise, it is about the size of the old Marshall TV 4 x 12 cabs of yesteryear. The cabinet features four Celestion Vintage 30 specially handpicked by Mesa--apparently there is a lot of variation between Vintage 30's, akin to Strats or Les Pauls, or even Marshalls. The speakers are wired in such a manner that you are given three impendance options: 8 ohms mono, 4 ohms mono, and 4 ohms stereo. Generally I run this cabinet at 8 ohms mono, as I don't have a stereo setup and use this in conjunction with my Tremoverb head. Also, the cabinet comes with huge 4" casters which are very easy to roll (much better than Marshall's casters), but keep in mind because is such a tall cabinet that you end up getting something very tall if you use the casters. The casters are what Mesa calls a "Track-Lok" design, which means that you can undo the casters by way of pushing a small pushbutton on the chassis of the caster, allowing you to slide the caster off. This is a great design--much better than those lousy Ernie Ball pop-out casters, which stay about as tight as a whore at the Mustang Ranch. Well, you get the idea. You can get this cabinet in two formats, top cab and bottom cab. Keep in mind that Mesa DOES NOT make a straight front cabinet, so even their bottom cabinet has a slanted baffle like their top cabinets. Personally this is fine with me, as the slanted baffle gives you a little more dispersion when you are standing in front of the amp. However, I would guess that a straight front would lend even more bass to this cabinet--which may not be desirable, as the low end on this cab is already extremely pronounced. Cosmetically, Mesa used to offer this cab in both a black grille and a vintage gold grille (the gold was extremely hip, and this is what I have), but Mesa is now charging more money for the gold grille, which is a bummer. I would give this cab a 10, because it does what it does extremely well--basically, it is a rock and roller's cab, with the emphasis on earth-shaking low end and low mids. Big tone out of this cabinet, but keep in mind that the focused feel of this cabinet is not that versatile--this is NOT the cab to play blues, jazz, or pop with. We are talking hard rock/heavy metal tones, or some commercial rock tones (burning solo tones, mostly). So since 10 is reserved for being "very versatile," I will have to say a 9.

Keep in mind what this cabinet was designed for--to be a match for the Dual Rectifier Solo Head and the Tremoverb head, both of which have their forte in hell-bent gained-out tones. For these applications, these cabinets are simply the best on the market. If you are using either a Dual Recto or Tremoverb head, you MUST use these cabinets (or other Recto cabs), or risk losing the tone that was intended. I also have an early '70s Marshall 4 x 12, which is a great cabinet, but it loses the low-end punch inherent in the Recto and Tremoverb deseign. Like I said before, this is a big rock tone cabinet, and for that it delivers amazingly. Compared to your standard Marshall 4 x 12 with Celestion Vintage 30's (my friend has one, so I was able to A/B it both live and in the studio), the Mesa has a more concentrated low-mid punch and a bit more bite. The low-end wallop simply eclipses the Marshall, and overall the sound is bigger on the bottom and top end. Upper midrange is more pronounced, too, so be careful with the midrange knob on your amp, as a super-high midrange setting could make these cabinets harsh. However, with the midrange dialed in just right, you have an incredibly ballsy cabinet.

Like most Mesa products, it is heavy as hell, and basically is bulletproof. The only niggle I have is the thin leather covering. While the leather is tres cool from a cosmetic standpoint, it does easily scratch, so make sure you get a slipcover, as the scratches don't look very hip over time. In terms of construction of the cabinet and speaker design, I would anticipate no problems. I usually open up my amp at around 10:00 to 11:00 on the red channel, which is incredibly loud. I have had no problems with the cabinet rattling or farting out, as I have with my Marshall cab.

As I've said before, Mesa is a great company for customer support--but only when you can actually talk to them. Lately my dealings have resulted in a message being taken, and a two or three day turnaround. Sometimes my calls were never returned. This may be the end product of a company which is growing rapidly, but I think Mesa should look at improving this situation. On the upside, the techs, when you do speak to them, are extremely helpful and knowledgeable, which is not usually the case when you talk to other guys.

As I said in my Tremoverb head review, I play this cab and head dry with my Tom Anderson Drop Top Classic. The fact that I don't use effects speaks highly because I don't want anything to color the tone of the head, cabinet, and guitar. With this setup I get a huge, woody distortion tone that is gained out but retains clarity. I know these are key catch phrases in musical instrument ads and literature, but the bottom line is that I don't use anything else. The Soldano Hot Rod 50 head collects dust, I have sold all my effects, and my late-'70s Marshall 4 x 12 sits there as a piece of furniture in my room for the Soldano head. The cab is pricey, but definitely worth checking out. YOU DO GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!

This cab is huge. It is bigger than a Marshall 4x12, mainly for more bass. The grille is made from some kind of cane (mine has the "Gold Tone Grille")that is dipped in a wax or oil called Jutte to better disburse the highs. You can run it in mono or stereo (sounds awsome in stereo with a Lesile simulator or stereo chorus) The speakers are Celestion Vintage 30, I feel these are the best Celestions ever! They combined the classic voicing and breakup, such as the "Green Backs" with the reliablity of a modern high wattage speaker.

This is an all out rock cab. The bass and bottom spectrum is not for the faint of heart. It has an excellent midrange and the best highs of any 4x12 cab I have heard or used. The break up of the sound is very controlled and offers that classic Celestion sound. It does very well for the sparkliest clean to Mesa's Dual Rectifiers argo mean. I have been able to achive very nice jazz and fusion tones with it, but sometimes the bass is over powering. This could be a good thing though if you play outdoors alot or if the acoustics are very absobsive where you play. You owe it to yourself to check this one out

Like "Hooked on Phonics" - I works for me. The casters are heavy duty 4 inch type that you can remove via an ingenious locking plate.

Only the best. You cannot ask for better support! Even better than what you see in the Saturn Automotive ads. Someone wrote that due too being a small company, it may take a few days for a reply, that's because they take full care of their customers. Any questions, from types of tubes to run, to tone tweaks and setups. A+ service from them.

Very good cab for sounding like a guitar hero, or when you need to kick some serious sound. Grille is availible in black and "gold tone". Black leather is standard wrapping, they offer an awsome armor plating and custom wrappings like colored leathers, suedes, and snake or croc skins. The dimensions of the cab are just the right size to fit in a mid size car trunk. I suggest getting to slip cover for it too. This cab looks way to cool to get scuffed up. The only thing I could see that I may posiblly want to see on the Recto 412 is the half-back option like on other Mesa cabs. But I am more than happy with what I got. That's why I choose this one!