Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier Solo Head Triple Channel

Mine's a 2003 triple channel solo head. I don't play a wide variety of music but the amp itself is so versatile that you can do so many different things with it. It's 100% tube tone (with the option of solid-state rectification instead).I typically play rock / hard rock upto metal and the Dual Recto certainly delivers. As everybody else has already said, it's got 3 channels - 1 clean, 2 distorted channels - but I prefer the Orange distortion channel in a band situation typically (its generally less fuzzy than the Red Channel and compliments my second guitarist's rig better). It would have been nice to have some reverb but the FX loop is great so that makes up for it. The solo function of the head (to allow for an immediate boost in volume when required) is without a doubt an extremely useful feature of the amp and is just such a great idea. The amp is damn loud also, so it can be hard to crank.

The amp has so many sounds in it that it's really difficult to dial in the sound you want (even though I've had this amp for almost a year and didn't want to review it until I had used it sufficiently). I use an Ibanez RG770FM and the pup's aren't overly hot, but with slightly hotter pickups such as my friend's Duncan JB or Dimarzio Tone Zone, the amp distortion really smokes. That isn't too say that the stock pups on my guitar are bad (I like them a lot) but hotter pickups certainly give a more full sound. Warning: You will not get a good distortion sound out of it unless u crank it until at least 25%... anything less than that is just buzz. Some people complain that the FX loop seems to make the amp more fizzy... in my experience this isnt the case and as long as the amp has sufficient volume going through it, it sounds fine. However since the amp is so loud, turning up the master volume past 25% can be a problem. The speaker cable used to connect the head to the cab is important also (make sure its a speaker cable not an instrument cable like people are often conned into! It actually makes a HUGE difference and instrument cables will damage the amp). My cleans are generally set for a spanking-clean kinda sound (you can't get Fender cleans out of a Mesa obviously though), the orange distortion channel can get a really nice Marshall-esque boogie town, and the red channel provides the well-known Mesa all out high gain distortion. If you crank the amp, you won't need ridiculous amounts of gain. The amp can get quite bassy.

Well since it's a tube amp it's always best to have spare tubes, but I've used the amp at two gigs (without a backup) and had no issues. Treat it well and you won't have any problems.

I haven't properly dealt with Mesa/Boogie but I once sent a general question about the amp via their website... it took them around 2 weeks to respond. However I don't live in the US so maybe it's just their international services that aren't so hot!

I've been playing for over 3 years, and this is now my main amp, and would recommend that anyone should try out the amp at a respectable volume in order to see whether they like it or not. In truth it sounds very similar to bands that use the amp on commercial album's so as a general idea of what the amp sounds like, merely listen to a band that uses them. However, it's extremely versatile and can do a wide variety of styles of music, so don't believe that since the majority of nu-metal/pop/mainstream rock bands use them that they're only good for super high-gain. The price is rather high, but then again since I haven't had any problems with it and like the sound of it, I can't say that it wasn't worthwhile. Mesa should fix their prices in Europe however, because they're absolutely insane!! (almost three times the cost of it in the US, which is why i bought my amp from Chicago). If it were stolen or lost I'd be tempted to try out other amps first before buying it again (just to experiment with new sounds and amps obviously) but if I had another spare $1500 then I'd buy it again!

year-2000
The mesa works great! for the style of music we play: Hardcore (Madball/Terror/All out war/By my will etc.)You will also find it is very versitile for other sounds & types of music.
This amp comes with 3 channels (1-Clean/2-80's Rock/3-GOD LIKE!)
I use the effect loop for a Flanger, excellent option keeping pedals off the floor. As far as features I wish it had? Well, maybe a chorus/reverb options would have been cool on the clean channel- no big deal, a pedal can remedy that.
As most know(Should know)Its an all tube amp (4-Power tubes-6L6 or EL34 choice) (2-Rectifier Tubes with the option to switch to solid state)

I use an ESP Viper 400 with EMG 81 Pickups. 11 Guauge strings.(Not to twangy no too muddy- just right!) ADVICE for that someone who has a Recto and is experiencing some frustration on getting a great sound.
I have a check list for you!
FIRST-Make sure you have a good Quality Guitar w/great pickups(Seymours/EMG etc.)Guitars? I suggest (ESP/LTD) (Epiphone) (Schecter) The Price is decent & they are all setup with quality items(with the exception of pickups-depends if they come with quality ones-dont buy it if not). If you have a Recto, you obvioulsly can get a Guitar (If not! use your damn credit card & spend $700).

SECOND-What kind of cab are you using, it matters, I use a 4x12 Peavey MS cab, I get the sound I am happy with. Some use Marshall cabs, or even the cab the amp is designed for the mesa cab. Cabs give different sounds (Crisp/Deep/Crappy etc.) Just dont use a cheap homemade cab with Jensens speakers (Yes I have seen it!)

THIRD- EDUCATE YOURSELF ON TUBE TECHNOLOGY!!! It is the life source of your amp, ther are LOTS of variations to the topic, LEARN THEM!!. Purchase some quality "Groove Tubes" or any other topline Tube maker! Why? it sounds better!!Thats what you want! The mesa tubes work fine,just as the stock rims on your car work FINE! Put some custom wheels on it & you will turn heads and increase performance, same with the amp-better tone/sound.
Go to the site review/understand all sections of the tubes category:
Preamp/Power/Rectifier. Email tech support for questions they will answer them. I use (GT-21AX7-C Preamp)(GT-5ARU/GZ34 Rectifier)(GT-6L6S Meds(4-7) YES!! Power tubes come with 3 different Distortion/volume levels. RESEARCH THIS OUT LEARN LEARN LEARN!
IF YOUR AMP SOUNDS WEAK & SCRATCHY WITH NO CUT THROAT POWER, YOUR TUBES ARE TIRED-REPLACE THEM- SIMPLE!!! If you hit the road have backup tubes/tool/batteries/strings etc.

FOURTH- Use quality speaker cables! Quality Gutar Cables! Keep power cables & speaker/effects/guitar cables away from eachother, otherwise it will humm-hiss an all that crap! Keep your speaker/effect cables short as possible. Dont use a 20ft guitar cable from your amp to your head. Use a SPEAKER thick Guage 5ft cable instead. Get IT!

FITH- Mesa has a manual for suggested sound settings, try them out! Then tweak them to your desired sound. TAKE YOUR TIME TO DO THIS!
Once you find your sound then mark them! OH! Use the rectifier Tube setting Much better than "Hi-Power" Solid state better feel, otherwise buy a peavey "Mesa" wannabe.


All the above is from my HARD learning experience with the setup.
I hope this help you!

I cant afford a back so I dont have one, but its a good idea to do so with any instrument (YOU NEVER NOW!)

I blew a diode & personally drove the amp from Oakland to Petaluma & the mesa folks fixed it Free! Thanx to the Mike Wolf at MESA. I have delt with mesa a few times in my research to better grasp the operations of the amp & the tubes used in it. Special thanks to Mike Wolf & Kevin at Mesa Boogie, SUPER freindly I could of gone & had a beer with these guys! They FULLY Backup there product & will take all the time they can to help you out!

I have been playing for 14 years I started at the age of 14.
If it were stolen, Yes I would get another one & probably insure it!
There are allot of high quality amps out there, this one fits my needs well. so far it is my favorite.
Feel free to contact me for any help or tips on this amp, I have been through hell & back with my guitar setup. Its not a bad thing its educational. vavasssc@gene.com -Stephan www.bymywill.com/index.htm

I bought my Dual Recto new, with the matching Recto Standard Slant 412 cab.
There are multiple settings for each of the three channels, an effects loop, master volume and solo volume which gives you an extra volume setting if you need it.

The head also has a variac switch with 2 settings and a switch that lets you determine if you would like to use the recitfier tubes or a solid state recitfier like most other amps.

Very versatile.

Note to anyone getting this amp. Read the instructions. The controls are different than any amp I've used and the sounds can be drastically altered. For me, some of the best sounds were with settings I would have never considered had I not read the instructions.
Also, Remove the 2 middle power tubes and one of the Recto tubes, the amp is much more manageable as a 50 watt head. With all the tubes in, I couldn't push the tubes enough to get a good sound, with the 3 tubes removed, It was still loud as hell, but I was able to push the tubes (in my house, playing out won't be a problem) much easier without blowing my ears out.
Once I did that, I backed off the gain and behold, the holy grail of guitar sounds.
Awsome amp.

I haven't had the amp long enough to give a fair assesment.

I called to make sure I was taking the correct tubes out and they were great. Seemed like they actually cared.

I would have liked to pay less, but to be honest, it's worth the price I paid. I've had a 5150 half stack in the past and while it's a wonderful amp, it's not in the same ball park as this one. The fact that it's hand made is amazing, and then, when you see how sturdy it is, you'll be blown away.
I also like the fact that Mesa doesn't allow any price differances.

All of the features have been mentioned in previous posts. This is an extremely versatile amp but it only gets a 9 because there is no reverb. Having three fully independent channels with a total of eight different modes more than makes up for the lack of reverb however.

Don't be fooled by the "Nu-Metal" stigma that is usually associated with this amp. This is a multidimensional amp that can achieve many different sounds extremely well. If you like more of the British sound, just swap out the 6L6's for a set of EL34's, flick a switch (no biasing needed) and you?re set. I prefer the sound of the stock 6L6's however because they have a thicker bottom end and a more saturated sound than the EL34's.

This is not one of those amps that you need to roll your hand across the knobs and crank everything to 10 to get a good sound out of it. In fact, not one knob on my amp is cranked because Mesa's are designed so you have to find the "sweet spot", which takes a little more time, but well worth it at the end. My theory is that if you have to set the gain to 10 on your amp, then there isn?t enough gain in your amp to begin with. That goes for any setting. Many people don't spend enough time dialing in their sound with this amp but you have to be patient. It took me several weeks to dial in my sound exactly how I wanted it after I bought the amp but it was well worth the wait because I have finally found "my sound".

I play eight different guitars through this amp and they all sound great. I usually use my USA Jackson Custom Shop Dinky Archtop with an EMG 81/85 setup, my USA Jackson SL-1, and my PRS Custom 24. This amp lends itself well to all different kinds of playing styles. I can even get a killer blues sound out of it when I'm playing my strat through it.

Since Recto's are know for being a bit on the bassy side, I use the "Traditional" Recto cabs rather than the oversized "Standard" Recto cabs to keep the bottom end a bit tighter. The Celestian Vintage 30's in the Recto cabs sound great with this amp as well.

I have played this amp live when I was in a hard rock cover band and it preformed flawlessly. I would use channel 3 in the modern mode for newer stuff (Godsmack, Disturbed, Creed, Nickleback, etc.) and use channel 2 in the vintage mode for older stuff (Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Metallica, etc.). The clean channel is warm and can achieve a crystal clear sound or a slightly overdriven sound if you choose. Overall this amp sounds great for just about any style you would want to play.

This thing is built like a brick s*** house. I have owned this amp for over two years without a problem. It doesn?t rattle or jingle even after a couple of falls and being banged into things repeatedly when I haul it around. I would expect nothing less from a hand-built amplifier.

I recently replaced the power tubes for preventative maintenance reasons since I was playing out live but the old tubes were working just fine. In fact, I kept the old tubes as backups since they still sounded good when I took them out.

Everyone I have dealt with at Mesa has been great. I have called them several times with questions or to order tubes, accessories, etc. and they have been very helpful. Tim McKee is especially knowledgeable and can answer any question under the sun. Even if you want to call them just to ask about getting a certain sound or how to tweak something just right, they can help. What other amp manufacturer offers that kind of customer support?

When I bought this amp over two years ago, I played about every other head with similar features and in the same price range on the market. I was not overly impressed by the Peavey 5150's and the Crate Blue Voodoo just sounds like a really loud solid state amp with no warmth whatsoever. The closest comparison I found was with the Marshall JCM 2000 TSL-100 but I thought the Marshall lacked the thickness and the crunch that the Dual Rectifier has. Plus, you get a lot more features from the Dual Rectifier than you would with a TSL-100 for about the same amount of money.

Overall I have been very pleased with this amp and wouldn't trade it for anything. I think you would be hard pressed to find a better sounding, more versatile amp than a Dual Rectifier for the money.

This is a 2002 100W three channel Solo head. This is amp is very versatile even within the narrow range of music that I play. I go for a very dry sound so the lack of reverb doesn't bother me at all. I go for a very saturated, compressed sound much like Master of Puppets Metallica and Fear Factory. The amp has more than enough power for whatever you do. I have waited a year to submit this review because that is how long it took me to find my sound. I only give it a 9 because the clean channel is not horrible but it's not perfect either.

To all potential buyers!! If you can't find a store that has one in stock, go to the Line 6 website and listen to the sound clip of the POD recto setting. That is EXACTLY how this amp sounds at its best out of the box. So if you are the plug straight in with no effects kind of player and you don't like what you hear, move on, this isn't the amp for you. HOWEVER, This amp's sound can be colored in in some fairly simple ways as mentioned below.

My rig: Jackson RR3 with EMG 81s straight into a Rocktron Piranha, Piranha output to the input on the mesa. I have a Boss GE-7 EQ pedal in the effects loop with the effects send and return at about 3:00. Don't listen to the manual which tells you to keep them both at 12:00. Even without an external preamp, the EQ set up in this fashion SIGNIFICANTLY improves the sound of this amp.

If you do buy this amp (and you play metal), remove all of those worthless metal plates on the preamp tubes and throw them away. They are negative to anode plate and 'urge' the electrons back the cathode. The exact opposite of what you want! Remove all of the preamp tubes and put in some Groove Tubes ECC83Ss in the preamp section. They are only 15 bucks each and they are the entire gain stage i.e. 'Sound' of the amp. Makes a HUGE difference! I put JJ 6l6GCs in the power section but I'm picky. I tried EL34s and thought that they had more of an open ended distortion with less compression and attack.

Cabinets: I had the 4x12 Dual Rectifier cab that came with the amp. It had EVs in it and I traded it in for a new Mesa 2x12 with Celestion 30s in it. A marked improvement, so make sure you get a newer Mesa Cab or one with the Celestion 30s in it. They are less 'farty' than the EVs and provide punchy bass, tolerable highs and limited mids (which I like).

I really can't get a great clean sound but with the EMG 81s it's tough with any amp. I never use it so it doesn't bother me.

For me the only distortion settings I use are Channel 2 Vintage and Channel 3 Modern. Most folks who play metal never leave the latter but the former has a really sweet balanced distortion. This amp is extremely quiet even at high settings. When the tubes start crapping out you'll hear microphonics even when your not playing but that isn't the amps fault! I give it a 9 because out of the box it isn't perfect. But a little cash and tweaking time and you will keep this amp forever.

Always use a backup.

I take very good care of my amps so I can't say whether it can take a beating or not but it is built very solidly. My main gripe with this amp is the pots. This amp is only two years old and 3 of the pots had dead spots. Not scratches but points of complete cut-out. I cleaned the pots and everything was fine but to me that is a bit poor for an amp of this quality.

I have never dealt with the company.

I have been playing for 15 years. When I was amp shopping, I played every head in guitar center and this one was the best of all of them. I tried every Marshall including the hilarious Mode Four, Peaveys, Crates, Randalls, Line 6 (which are great if you like solid state amps). I've never played any of the boutique amps but I would buy this amp again if it were stolen.

Its 2001 and almost everything about the features has been said......its pretty verstaile...only draw back i found on the features is the fact that it dosnt have a reverb and that it dosnt have a good versatile FX loop like the TSL

used it tru a Ibanez rg550bk with gibson pups and a ibanez 7 string with Dimarzion pups....brutal distortion awfull sound ,it sounds sterile and dosnt have the tone....my ex-jcm900 was a way better amp in sound quality (and jcm900's are pretty hated among everybody)...i tried to make this shit sound real but no luck, also i took it to some experts and no luck.......sounds like crap ...but hey if you like nu-metal its problaby the amp u need ...dont expect it to make good tone and sound cause if you have tested a marshall this amp wont do it...tried the site , downloading configurations and the manual ...no tone there either

didnt give me no problems exept the pop when u changed channels...but no biggie...seems built like a rock thou.....

didnt hve the pleasure to deal with them , but word is that they are one of the best

i currently own a TSL way better amp , try one of these first trust me ....
if it was stolen i would problaby pay the guy for doing me such a great favor...
only thing good about this amp is that it looks cool
i compared it to like 6 other amps and i felt like crap when i saw that every one of them sounded better...(marshall's,Fender,Peavey,Laney)
If you have tried one and liked it hey amps are like girls , they arent made equal and there are no duplicates, so if you like it when u test it ....test it again and make sure, compare it to other amps.....make sure cause its an expensive amp and you dont wanna end up like me.......


P.S. There are hundreds of amps , and maybe what is good for me of for other people is not nesesarily good for you ,....so the best advice i can give you is try and retry before u buy ....make sure to test it with you guitar ,that way you will notice the real diference

Three channels with a pretty wide range for each. Very versatile as is. We just got the head and haven't spent more than a couple hours with it. My girlfriend, Tiffany and I build and mod amps and never expected to ever be able to afford an amp like this.

We will need to get the footswitch, although I was able to figure out how to switch channels and the solo function.

We ran a Les Paul Standard, a modded Fender Tele (with Duncan pickups) and a mahogony body/quilted maple bound top Tele with American series Fender pickups through it.

This amp covered any style we play. I'm more blues oriented and Tiffany leans toward 80's metal.

The amp exhibits little noise except when trying to coax clean from the red channel. The clean was not quite "Fender" but is excellent. The clean quality depends on what speakers we tried.

I was able to get my favorite distortion tones from this thing. Nailing punchy, Marshall tones was a cinch. We liked Celestion Greenbacks in a detuned cabinet (as per Kevin O'Connor of London Power) best but the amp sounded great with a Vintage 30 in a closed back ported cabinet...especially distorted. Clean, the Greenbacks were better, or the V30 combined with an open back Jensen cabinet.

We build and mod amps and aside from the coldish, typical Mesa biasing, I'm more than pleased.

The amp appears to be very well built. The flying leads on the pots make repair easier, but I'd never gig with a tube amp of any type without a backup.

We just bought the amp, so we'll see if we run into any prolems. The tubes are still original, and I see no reason to change them...yet. I spoke with technical at Mesa this morning and I expect this thing to last. If it breaks down, we'll fix it.

As a repair tech, I've dealt with Mesa going back to the early 80's and have found them to be easy to get hold of, and very helpful. I like to get full schematics for all my amps and effects, but as this is a current production amp, Mesa won't release the schematics...so for that little niggle I give them an...

I've been playing since 1967, and my girlfriend since 1984. This amp was such a ridiculously great deal, we'd be pissed if it were stolen and I'm positive, would never be able to afford a replacement.

We bought it because of the price. I saw it at our local pawnshop, in perfect shape, with the cover and they wanted $229. My girlfriend asked if they'd take two bills, and they countered with $185 plus tax. How could we pass it up?

We may choose to sell it in the future if we find it doesn't get enough use, but I assure you...we won't sell it for $185!

im sure u all know this by now

i use a Gibson Les Paul Standard, i play metalcore, melodicore, emocore, etc, good shit, this amp works great for these styles and many others.
Basically, i went to the local guitar shop (LA Music anyone?) to pick up drum sticks for my drummer, and figured "what the hell, ill fool around with this mesa for a couple minuts." at the time i was playing a 5150 II stack. the minut i plugged in, the clean blew me away, for a high gain amp it is fuckin amazing! i mean, its no matchless, but if you want a matchless... buy a matchless. i love it. the gain channels have a bit more of a learning curve, but once u figure it out, its hard to beat. i had to have this amp, and have it i did. the next day i traded in my 5150, and bought this amp. the longer you have it, the more you will like it.

although iv heard that they are fragile, i have yet to have a problem with this amp, and i tour quite a lot, so its not like its just sitting in my apartment

havnt had to deal with them yet... the manual was good...

iv been playin for about 9 years, and if this amp where stolen, id replace it in a second. The tone is just amazing, blows my old 5150 away.

This is my second review of this amp. My first was after having it for 1 day. After playing through it for a week I love it even more. Amp was made in 2004. Perfect for any style of music. VERY LOUD!

This amp is perfect. I have read many bad reviews and I just cant fiqure out how anyone can have a problem with this thing. It can produce almost any tone you can dream of. I have been using a Laney Aor series 50 for the last 20 yrs and this head can reproduce what the Laney does and a zillion more tones to boot.The modern feature on channel 3 is killer. Every channel is wonderful.I play a Jackson SL1 and a Gibson Les Paul classic and I think maybe the problem for others is the guitar they are using and the fact they did not read the manual that comes with this unit. This head is awesome. If anything ever happens to it I would buy another in a second!

Only had it one week so I dont know, but the thing is built like a tank!

I have been playing guitar for 25 years and have always been very picky when it came to tone. This head is the king of tone. I have used Peavy, Marshall and Laney, and the Mesa blows them all away by far. You can dial in almost any sound you are looking for with this thing. Again I will say this amp is AWESOME!!

I bought the amp in 2001. It took me a while to get over the learning curve. The only bad feature is the parallel effects loop. Manageable, but not versatile.

You can get any sound out of this amp if you set it up right. I play metal mostly. Judas Priest to SOAD. My formula for God tone:

2 EL34's - 50 watt setup. You have to be able to crank the master volume to get good tone. Didn't like the 6L6's.

Recto cabinet - used a Marshall cab at first, first mistake

Vintage gain settings - The Modern setting is over-the-top and too loud. I can only get the master volume to 3 using the modern gain (and not piss off my bandmates). Again, you have to crank the master volume to push the power tubes. I run the gain knob around 7-8 with the Vintage setting.

I like to use effects with my rig. I have a TC Electronic G Major. People will tell you not to use this unit with the Recto because of the parallel effects loop. They are correct. I piddled around with crappy sound for a year scratching my head thinking WTF? Then I read about serial versus parallel effects loops. I managed to fix the problem by cranking both the pre and post effects knobs to 100%. This seems to have fixed the problem and the effects sound great. Also, you can control the channel switching via MIDI using the TC, you just need a special cord.

I had an issue with the foot controller cord (which I don't use anymore). Mesa replaced it for free. I also have something funny going on with my gain knob on the clean channel. I swapped it out, but the problem is still there. Might be a tube issue...?

Good so far.

I have been playing in bands for 15 years. Overall, its the best amp I have ever heard/played. Once you learn how all the controls work together, you can dial in any tone.