Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier Solo Head Triple Channel

I bought this amplifier in 2001, so it is now 4 years old. I've waited 4 years to post a review about it, and now I feel like I can safely say that, aside from the circuitry, I know this amplifier like the back of my hand. I play with a band professionally, we gig, and I have this amp at home for practicing and recording, and I mostly play modern rock. A Perfect Circle, Linkin Park, Story of the Year, Incubus, Audio Slave, Tool, Filter, Pillar...you get the picture. I also play alot of classic good old rock and roll (Hendrix, Led Zep etc), as well as some heavier stuff (Black Label Society, Kittie, etc.) and this amp works great for all of these styles. The features are all you will really ever need in an amplifier. In fact, It's not simple, but its not too complicated. I find the more complicated an amp gets, the more it takes away from the sound. If you play rock, this amp gets the prize. If you play jazz or softer, you might find the Mesa's legendary gain overpowering or to much.

This amp has 3 channels (clean, rythm, lead) and all of them have their own flavor. The effects loop works great, no headphone jack though (If you only have the option of low volume, bear in mind that this amp starts sounding really good at mid volume levels. The low volume levels of gain still sound cool with their own kind of tone, but when the tubes start to get hot is when the amp kicks you in the gut and brings you to a level of sonic power I'll never forget). Plenty powerful, even if you play at HUGE gigs (I'm talking crowds of upwards to thousands of people) you probably won't be playing at more then half power anyways, because you WILL be mic'd up.

Features are great.

Ok, so I'll give a cheap first guitar, a mid-range, and an awesome. I use an Ibanez GSA60 (cheap first guitar) a Schecter C-1 (mid-range) and my custom beefed up strat replica (awesome). And, a little note I must make, PRS guitars...they just sound ridiculously good on these amps, I don't know why, but you see it alot these days and that is proof. On all of these guitars, it sounds great. The cheaper guitars (crappier pickups) can be made to sound like a guitar that costs at least double the price, which is great, because after you buy this amp with the cab, you might find yourself short on cash. This amp tends to have a little hum to it on the distortion channels, but the amp suits all the musical styles I play. A drawback: If you are looking for a great sparkling clean, this high gain monster is a little lacking. The clean distorts easily, and just doesn't have that sparkle. But, lucky for you, you're buying this because you want a sword that can cut through sonic landscapes like smoke, so the distortion is plain and simple: best damned and most versatile distortion EVER. I like Marhsalls and Mesa's, but the Marshalls distortion seemed to be a little to squeally and less full to me. I've used this amp for a long time, there just isn't anything like it...it is awe inspiringly powerful.

Bottom lines: The clean isn't anything special, if you want amazing clean, buy a Marshall Plexi (not a reissue), or a Fender Bassman. The distortion is enough to make you drop to your knees in awe, and/or move you to tears with pure sonic power.

This amp is also INCREDIBLY dependable. These, like many others will say, are built like a tank. No need for a backup, it has never failed me once. The Dual Rec. has never ever let me down.

Great customer support. The company is getting bigger though, so in the future (I pray this doesn't happen) they might become like Marshall product support, or worse...Digidesign...eehh, makes me shiver at the thought.

I've compared this to all the Marshalls, Line 6, Fender, Ibanez, Randall, and Soldano amplifiers, and this one takes the cake in my opinion. The important thing is to try all the amplifiers that you can to find out which one you like best, don't just take my advice or anyone elses, see for yourself. I'll have this amplifier the rest of my life, if it was stolen I'd probably track the thief down and beat him with a very large cinder block and steal his sneakers. Oh, and there is alot of hype about this new amp from Mesa, the Stilleto. It sounds good...but in my opinion, nowhere near as good as the Dual Rec.

Overall: Best sounding most versatile rock guitar amplifier.

it's a 2005. It's the best amp if you want good distortion. The three channels kick ass if you want one channel to be super high gain and the other channel to have a good low gain sound. The footswitch works pretty well. The first few times i was using it there was this popping noise but that went away after about the second day. 100 watts of all tube is enough to play any decent size gigs. The triple rec is overkill in my opinion unless you're playing a large venue. I play hardcore with my band and we've never played that large of shoes, mostly in clubs and such, and a triple rec would be overkill, which i never thaught i'd say, but ya. I gave it a nine because no reverb, and i'm in debt now because i didn't have enough money to pay for the cab i got, so i hadta get it on a guitar center card with no intrest for a year, which is a good deal, but if you get over the year you're pretty much screwed, so i couldn't afford a reverb petal for a while.

I use a epiphone explorer with standard pick-ups, it's not as fancy as all these other guys guitars but hey, it gets the job done and i'd rather have a sick amp like this than a killer guitar and a shitty amp. I play mostly hardcore and metalcore and this amp suits me perfect. The only lame part is the pushed channel on the first channel doesn't really get very distorted, and to me, it's a pretty good clean, hell, my dad who likes neil young and that shit was playing on it. Last, the distortion kicks ass. If you want amp with the high gain distortion, get this, it's the best i've played, and there's a lot of variety of sounds, anything from super high gain like old converge, to low ends like sinai beach.

nothings ever broke or gotten messed up

never dealt with them.

it's a great amp!!!! it's expensive but it's worth it. but if you're gona spend that much on the head, you need a good cab. I got mine at guitar center and i was gona get this used marshall 1960 cab that sounded like ass. IT just killed the tone out of the head. I ended up spending some more mula and geting a mesa rectifier cab that was on sale because the model was discontinued and the distortion became full again. <B>I don't get how so many people run this head through a marshall 1960 cab, they sound like ass. That is unless you want distortion with no bottom end.</b> Maby it was a dud cab but i doubt it. Well the moral of this story is <B>GET A MESA CAB!!!</b> the cabs are specifically built for the head so you know they're gona sound better than the other cabs.

The features are simple enough. im not gonna relist what everyone else has put.

I bought this amp in early 2002. and its been through hell with me ever since.

alot of players seem to think that once they have this head theyre all set. YOU MUST HAVE A GOOD CABINET! i repeat YOU MUST HAVE A GOOD CABINET! when i first got it i was playing it through this awful jackson cab that i had bought for like $125 bucks a few years earlier. in 2003 i joined this band and they demanded i buy a marshall cab. and im happy i did. ive since replaced 2 of the stock G12T75's with vintage 30's. that has made it sound even better. this amp may not be as completely rich in harmonics as a soldano SLO-100, but its damn close. i highly reccommend buying a marshall cab and experimenting with speakers. those rectifier cabs sound like ASS so dont even think about it.

i play metal/hardcore so this amp gets the job done great. its loud and heavy. and its got great tone. i knew it could do a little better, so i bought an ibanez tube screamer TS-9 and it REALLY brought out alot of bite and heavy attack.

i know this amp can do alot more than the heavy rock you see it for 99% of the time. its also a great amp for rock and country.

the only thing i wouldnt use this amp for is anything where youre gonna need great clean tone. this amp just doesnt have it. only a blackface is a blackface. maybe with some kind of modeler it might sound better, but alone the clean channel just isnt great.


I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT TUBES!!

do not use groove tubes in this. if you do, i will punch you. either use mesa's tubes (tubes made by other companies that mesa tests and relabels. more expensive but worth it) or really look into what your options are on www.tubestore.com i highly reccommend Electro Harmonix's 6L6GC. thats what i use and its amazing. the most harmonically rich tone i have tried. and trust me i have had so many different kinds of 6L6 and EL34 in this head its rediculous.

the facts in short:
groove tubes are garbage
mesa tubes are great but expensive
this player prefers electro harmonix
groove tubes are garbage
groove tubes are garbage

this amp has taken a beating and a half and has always worked. ive had it serviced just to keep it going strong but there was nothing wrong with it. dude just strengthened up some of the solder joints, and re tubed it.

funny story - i used to work for a collection agency and i hated my job and no matter how hard i tried they wouldnt fire me. i used to just call mesa and ask them all kinds of weird shit. THESE PEOPLE KNOW WHAT THEYRE TALKING ABOUT. i assure you. they can answer every question you throw at them and i tried like crazy to think of some real good ones.

You know the features. Not having reverb is a bit tacky for such an expensive amp.

I use a 2002 PRS McCarty and a 92 Strat. I have a variety of pedals of which only 3 or 4 are used at any one time. The effects loop cuts the output volume, and with the effects I use, I notice no difference running the pedals in front of the amp (other than the volume of course). The clean channel is very good for my tastes; slight brekup only at the higher gain and volume settings. Channel 2 is my main channel for general distortion, set to vintage. Channel 3 is capable of cool overdrive to the proverbial "rip your face off" distortion. People that can't seem to get good sounds out of these amps either aren't trying hard enough or haven't read the instructions. I have changed the stock 6L6 tubes to some EL34's and the diiference, albeit slight, is enough to make a difference in top end clarity. I've also pulled the two middle power tubes to run the head at 50w. With the mesa 4x12 cab, even at 50w, it's loud enough for permanent hearing damage in short periods of time. I have a 2000 Marshall DSL 100 head that I A/B'ed with the mesa, and using the vintage setting and el34's, I've produced sounds that are extremely "Marshallesque." The verstility of this amp is astounding. It gets a bad rap because every nitwit-nu-metal clone has the gain set at 10 and the mids at 0. The mid knob is your friend; it will give you tone.

I've had it for a little over 6 months and it has never failed. And this is also running it on only 2 power tubes. Inevitably fuses and tubes will go with time, but the amp itself is very solid.

Haven't had to deal with them.

I've been playing for about 10 years now and I've tried a lot of equipment. The dual rec is a keeper and is now my main gigging amp. There are adavantages and disadvantages to every amp made. For me, the dual rec has the most positives with the fewest negatives. If it were stolen I would go into debt to buy another one immediately. If it had reverb and a better effects loop, it would be a 10 hands down. Buy one. You won't be dissapointed.

The head features 3 channels. The 2 distortion channels have 3 separate modes of gain you can choose from, taking you from old rock to new levels of intensity! The clean channel has 2 separate modes of operation as well, allowing you to go from a traditional clean to a pushed dirty clean. Each channel has it's own separate eq, allowing for a variety of tone variations between channels. Of course like all amps, you have to spend time with it to find the right tone for you. Also I would recommend throwing the cheap chinese tubes away, and investing in some NOS or at least svetlana tubes. The back panel of this amp looks like a science fiction movie!! There are so many options in sound, effects loop, bias, preamp out. The footswitch has 3 buttons for the 3 channels, a button that turns the effects loop on and off, and one is a solo boost. For the money, this is a great quality head to buy!

I run a Gibson Les Paul Studio straight into this beast. In close quarter rehearsal settings, higher volumes cause feedback when not playing, but then again, with this much power and gain, do you expect anything less? At reasonable volumes, there is no noise whatsoever! Quiet as a church mouse. The gain from this monster is amazing. No signal clipping at the highest settings. The chinese 6L6s sound a bit flat, but thanks to the bias select switch on the back, you can lose those things and get some good EL34s! DEFINATELY CHANGE THOSE TUBES TO GET A BETTER TONE!!!

I ordered mine straight from Mesa, have had it about 8 months, and this thing has not failed me yet! It has been through shows in several states, been abused by insane stage antics, banged around by careless roadies, and it STILL plays like new. I don't even use a case for it, because the thing is built so tough. Sure, I plan on buying a shock mounted case for it eventually, but that is just for flight purposes. If you want a reliable amp built like a tank, this is the amp for you!

I had to deal with customer service a bit as they were slammed when my order was placed. Being that I was not a major artist, my order was given away to Cradle of Filth. They of course built me a new one, and it took a while, but they stayed helpful and friendly until it was finally in my possession. And since my order was given away, they sent me freebies!!! Who doesn't like free stuff?

I have been playing for 14 years, and have played many amps over my career. I have played marshall, peavey, line 6, crate, carvin, vht, yet none of them were able to deliver the aggressive sound that the dual rec has. If someone stole this amp, after crying for a while, I would get 2 more to replace it. I cannot see myself playing ANYTHING but a dual rec for the rest of my days. Just a side note, if you play a Les Paul like I do, you will agree, this is the ONLY amp worthy of your Gibson! The sounds you will have will greatly move you to the bottom of your soul! GO BUY ONE ALREADY!!!

I got the amp in July of 2004. Played a show with it the following weekend. It takes a bit of work to figure out how to tweak sounds to your liking, but once you get it down, you can get some amazing tones out of it. I think it's plenty versatile for the average guitarist's needs. Some might like a fourth channel, but I think three is plenty. Built in reverb would be nice, but it's not necessary.

I play a Gibson Les Paul Studio into this, using the Standard Recto 4x12 cab. I have a Deluxe Memory Man, Vox Wah, and Boss ME-50 going through the FX loop. The clean isn't the cleanest, but I prefer it a little gritty anyway. Channel 2 I use as my lead channel, instead of channel 3. Channel 3 is my crunch.

The sounds I get are amazing. The distortion on this thing reminds me of the sound of little kids getting their heads ripped off. My band's songs require a wide range of guitar sounds, from clean, melodic parts to crushing distortion and a nice crunch in the middle...and this thing can handle those needs with no problem.

I've had it for six months now with no problems. I've played at least a half dozen shows with it and used it at home at least twice a week. Aside from the normal disadvantages of tube amps (tubes going bad, etc.), I can't imagine anything going wrong with it. The construction is solid.

Never used it, although the warranty is great and I've heard great things about the customer service.

I've been playing for about 8 years now and this is the best piece of equipment I've ever owned. The sound may not be for everyone...all I can say is use your own best judgment to find what you think sounds good to you. But if you like the Recto sound, I'd definitely recommend getting it. Of course, there's times when I wonder if I should get a Diezel or Bogner or Framus in the future, but then I turn on my Recto, crank it up and remember why I forked over $1500 for it in the first place.

Enough features to keep me busy for a freaging year. damn this thing is loaded with features, the only thing is, i wish they made different face plates and have them more easily accesible. the metal faceplate looks ugly to me, espeicialy after seeing it over and over.

i have an epiphone les paul custom with emg 81s and a fender 1950s telecaster as my main guitars. i play a style similar to the used, finch, incubus, and tool. (

this goes to the kid who said crate tones fit finch and incubus's sound better) hey kid.. finch and incubus both use mesa, not crate.

the gain is well over the ammount that anyone will ever need. i only turn it up about half way. its amazing how bad this amp can sound if you dont know the characteristics of it. i was really dissapointed in it when i first bought it because i wasnt able to get a sound i really liked at first. but months later i love the thing to death, its amazing how much variety of tone this thing has.

ive used this in a few gigs, nothing went wrong. this thing is built really strong.
just bring extra tubes and youll be fine.

mesa has the most excellent customer support. what amp company calls you after you purchase their amp just to say "welcome to the family." and ask if you have any questions about it. ive never had a phone call like that from any other company.

overall this amp is awesome, if your into metal, punk, or even country. this amp will do you good. just wish it came stock with el 34s

3 channels, it's all been said... I really like the amount of features on this amp which allows for great versitilty.

I've used this amp with alot of diffrent guitars playing lots of styles. (Godin Flat Five, USA Strat, Ric 330...) I found this amp to have useable sounds for just about everything. Using the switches and eq I could get it all. This doesn't mean they were all amazing but where for sure useable. Also, an separate eq and a reverb pedal really step this amp up several notches. Having the extra control from the eq really helps. Which out it it is a bit hard to dial in but is good once you find the sweet spots. I used it mostly for harder stuff (Chevelle, Blindside..) and I liked it. I've found that a good cab is a must have.

I gigged with it for about a month and have had no problems with it. I run it with the master about half way up which is pretty dang loud (channel 1 vol at 5 oclock, 2 channel at around 3 and the 3ed channel at 12 oclock) so I would guess pushing it that hard that much would help it break if it was. No problems.

I've been playing 7 or 8 years and have played alot of other gear. I like this amp but am getting an up grade. I've got the money so I'm going a step up, something in the Bogner, Framus, Engl range...Good amp for a good used price but I can't really see paying 1500 or whatever for a new one. I'm giving it an 8 because compared to higher end amps it falls a bit short.

Take heed...
Anyone who can stand up and say truthfully that these amps sound band/terrible/awful need themselves examining. This amp gets better through experience and using the fucking thing rather than just complaining that it doesnt sound like a Marshall (which are shit anyway) and bitching that you cant get a good sound out of it.
The only bad sounds in this amp are the ones that are dialled in by inexperienced guitarists who do not really have the first idea of what constitutes a good guitar sound. Playing in a store is no good either. Let me tell you if you are considering buying this amp then go ahead and purchase it you cannot regret it.
People that get the results from this amp know how to use it and have more than likely got a bit of sense about themselves.
if you are frustrated with the sound of your Rectifier here are some suggestions which may help.
1. run the amp at 50 watts. The perceived volume difference between 50 watts and 100 watts is hardly noticable, but running the amp at 50 watts by pulling out the two center power tubes and one of the rectifier tubes will add harmonic content to your sound when turning up the volume.
2.Set the variac switch to spongy giving a looser feel to the amp and set the rectifier to valve/tube.
3. Dont scoop the mids!!!! Keep them quite a bit above half. It amazes me how many people think that for a metal sound they have to scoop the mids. This is so wrong. A good metal sound in my opinion is something that sounds downright filthy, think Daron Malakian from System Of A Down's first album before he started with all that Mode 4 crap. That to me is an awesome metal sound and i would bet my bottom dollar that he set his amp up like i am explaining. Obviously it was a Boogie too.
4. Keep the individual channel masters a bit below half, balance up the sounds from each channel keeping them a bit below half this keeps the clarity.
5. Use the amp loud and live. Open up the overall master volume for some seriously sick guitar sounds (at least past half)
6. Use a Mesa cab! Tried using it wit a mARSEshall- v. poor
7.try this setting for a really aggresive modernish Malakianish crunch/grind that is still good for solos
Gain 7.5
Bass 8.5
Mid 7.5
Treble 5.5
Presence 3
Channel Vol. 4.5
Mode Vintage
Channel 3

set up similar sounds for all of the channels by using a more mid, less treble approach. your guitar's sound sits in the middle frequency of a band situation. Cymbals etc taking up the high end and Bass Guitar and Kick drum taking up the Low end. why set your tone up with loads of bass, loads of treble and then scoop the mids??? I fucking hate stupid Fucks that set their amps up like this. All this causes is your guitar to clash with the high end and low end space that everyone else is sitting in. the MID FREQUENCY IS WHERE YOUR GUITAR SHOULD BE!! USE YOUR FUCKING MIDDLE EQ CONTROL AND TURN IT UP MORE THAN YOU ARE USING IT NOW TO BE HEARD AND HAVE A PUNCHY, AGGRESIVE GUITAR SOUND THAT SITS IN THE MIX WITH A BAND (IT MAY SOUND ODD IN THE BEDROOM! FOR ALL YOU WANNABE'S OUT THERE!) IN THE MIDDLE OF A SONIC SPECTRUM IS WHERE A GUITAR SHOULD BE SO PLEASE PUT IT THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. This amp is the best amp i have ever owned, it caters for every possible style of music, it looks cool, it sounds amazing, it is not a one trick pony, its hand made and its a million times better than all of those horrid amps out there that tend to be black and gold, and have eight lettered names in a white script font.

There... My two cents worth!

everything u need and way to much more

Ok everyone needs to snap out of this dual recto hype im not sayin its a bad amp it just doesnt sound like 1500 dollars mybe 900 to 1000 but thats it anyway i bought this new crate bv150 its the 150 watt version of the bv300 which i dont understand who the hell needs 300 watts hell i dont even need 150 really but anyway this new crate is definitly worth what u pay for, its 1200 dollars, sounds better than a dual recto thats for sure and has a little more tone options u might say but anyways just a thought try it and see wat u think dont get me wrong other crates sound like shit with some exceptions by the way i play finch type stuff, Taking back sunday, rage, and of coarse weezer and incubus two of the most brilliant bands out there

well they r built like a damn bomb shelter which is good, Hell they should of went ahead and made a bullet proof kevlar dust cover for it then there aint nothin that could stop this shit

they better support there customers 1 year warranty's come get the fuck outta here i want at least a 3 year and also that crate has a 5 year warranty which i feel more secure with

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