Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier Solo Head Triple Channel

Made in 2003, 3 channels, wish it had reverb but can't complain because it sound's so friggin awesome. More than enough power for anybody. I play just at home and am afriad to turn it up past 4, it might blow the windows out.

I have a les paul 2001 with emg's 81 & 85's in it and it just sings through it beautifully.

Only had it for 3 months, nothing wrong with it.

Great, called a couple of times and they called right back.

Far as I'm concerned it is the best buy out there, I was going to get the Zakk Wylde Jcm 800 but it only has one channel. The Recto ius much more versitile and I like not having to throw a pedal in front of it to get distortion.
Get the Recto you won't regret, just your pocket book will, but worth every penny

I BOUGHT A MESA BOOGIE DUEL RECTO FEBUARY OF LAST YEAR. THE BEST PURCHASE I HAVE EVER MADE. I READ A REVIEW SOMEONE SUBMITTED GIVING IT AN OVERALL RATING OF 1 AFTER 1 DAY AT A GUTAIR SHOP AND GOT SO IRRATED THAT I HAD TO SUBMIT A REVIEW OF MY OWN. THIS IS NOT AN AMP YOU CAN GET TO KNOW IN ONE 4 OR 5 HOUR SESSION. IT HAS SO MANY DIFFERENT POSSIBILITIES OF TONE IF YOU DONT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING ITS NOT SURPRISING ARNT SATISFIED.THERE ARE 8 DIFFERENT PRE AMP SOUNDS IN THREE CHANNELS,TWO DIFFERENT RECTIFER MODS AND TWO DIFFERENT POWERAMP MODES.THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS.THE ONLY REASON I DIDNT GIVE IT A 10 IS BECAUSE IT BOTHERS ME THAT I I HAVE TO SETTEL FOR ONLY THREE OF THEASE POSSIBILITIES AT ANY ONE TIME.

I USE A JACKSON PROFESSIONAL WITH DUEL EMGS. I PLAY MOSTLY ROCK AND JAZZ.THIS AMP IS UNBELIEVABLY WITH THE RECTIFER SETTING ON TUBE AND THE TUBE SETTING ON SPONGY IT SOUNDS LIKE GOD IS TALKING THROUGH IT. AS YOU PLAY THE TONE TWISTS AND CHANGES TAKING ON A LIFE OF ITS OWN MAKING ME DO A DOUBLE TAKE TO MAKE SURE SOME ONE DIDNT SNEAK AN EFFECTS PROCESSOR IN TO THE LOOP WHEN I WASNT LOOKING. I PULL THE TWO CENTER POWER TUBS OUT MAKING IT A 50 WATT AMP WHICH IS EASIER TO CONTROL. THE IDIOT WHO COMPLAINED ABOU HEARING NOTHING BUT NOISE WHEN ONE WAS ON TEN IN THE SAME ROOM DOESNT REALIZE AT THAT VOLUME THE TONE WAS PROBUBLY MATURING ABOUT A QUARTER MILE BEHIND HIM. NO DISTORTION IN THE CLEAN CHANNEL AT HIGH VOLUMES. THE DISTORTATION IS LIKE SATEN BEATING YOU WITH A SLEDGEHAMMER

NEVER HAD A PROBLEM

I'VE BEEN PLAYING FOR 8 YEARS. I'VE PLAYED MARSHELLS FENDERS CRATES AND HUGES AND KEFNER AMONG OTHERS, BUT NEVER PLAYED ANOTHER AMP I LOVE AS MUCH AS THIS

2003 mesa dual rectifier triple channel. you know the features.

i play a shechter c1 elite with a seymour duncan distortion pick up. i play in a hard rock band, so this amp is perfect for that.i used to have a peavey triple xxx and that was noisy as hell. lots of feed back. None with the mesa. its great. i can actually stop playin a riff and its quiet!! what a concept! this amp can go from very clean to dirty clean to mild distortion to kick your self in the nuts and slit your throat distortion. it rox to say the least. channel is not distorted at all at high volumes, and believe me. . . i play at VERY high volumes.

ive had the head for about a week, so far so good. this head is built very well. i could drop it and it wouldnt even phase it. not that i would. since i dont have a back up, i can only use this amp at shows. plus even if if the tubes would decide to take a crap at a show, you could just switch to solid state ( silicon diodes ) thats whats nice.

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ive been playing for about 11 years. i play in a hard rock band ( www.fatelement.com) check us out.

the amp looks great, and sounds awesome. what more would you want?
one thing i would change, however, is the price. a little too hot for me. im STILL paying this thing off.

This amp is everything. It has more options then the others and more power then any Marshmallow...If you try it chances are you will buy it and for $1500 its well spent and with the footswitchable fx loop and solo button, i cant think of what else other then maybe reverb.

I play everything from stones metal to jazz and this amp can cover it all with great ease. Its tough to get quiet sound because it is rather powerful. The second distortion (futherest left) is where the thing shines. So amazing you wont stop getting complements...

Still new but Parkway Music near albany ny has great service so im not worried

Try one even if you cant afford one, one small company one BIG SOUND. I tried everything before this knowing i was making a big investment, tried marshall, tried fender, even tried roland for some reason but this amp fits me perfect.

Who are the morons complaining about this amp??? Jesus your an idiot if you spend 1500 bucks on an amp you think sounds like shit. Try playing it first then make up your mind. Anyhow I have a feeling most of these sour reviews are from people that dont know what there looking for. Its a Mesa boogie they must suck right? Thats why almost every signed band in any circut plays these on and off stage.
Only complaint in features for me is no reverb.

All sounds are great, unless your looking for a fender, marshall, vox, peavey, bogner, soldano, carvin tone...DUH if you know what sound you want ie. fender,etc. go buy a one already and shut up.
Its a Mesa they sound like a mesa, how many reviews is it gonna take....
All channels are well voiced, very versatile. I play straight through, no effects...why would you buy a TUBE amp this expensive just to throw tons of digital effects in front of it? If you say flabby bass your crazy. Get the right guitar, the right strings, the right cab, the right intonation and neck settings etc. Amazing how people complain when they dont even know how to set up their OWN "personal tone".

I've owned many boogies for the last 8 years, no problems EVER

Awesome, when I complained about driving ten hours (round trip)to the closest dealer they just had Zone music right up the street from them ship me one. I've had questions and they've answered them all to my satisfaction. You think if you called fender or marshall....yeah right LOL

Excellent, you'll noticed I did'nt comment much on the tone, and I won't. You need to decide that for yourself kids. Go play through one first, preferably through the cabinet and guitar etc. you play through(own). And for the rest of you peeps, shut up already go buy a jcm800(Tone from 20 some odd years ago) and be done with it.

Goto mesa website and download the manual. Read all the specification before you want to buy one!

I use Ibanez and PRS guitar with Duncan distortion PU. I play heavy stuff!!!!!!!! The king of monster distortion. A little loss attack response time, but that's ok!!! You can use for any style of music!!! Aggression!!! Flexibility!!! I'm very very happy to own this!!!

FX Loop off/EL34/Bold/Solid

Green (clean)
Gain: 10 ~ 11 o'clock
presence: 12:00
Hi:1:00
Mid: 8:30
Low: 9:00
I like to add some compressor and delay.

Orange (Modern)
Gain:12:00 ~ 1:00
presence: 3:00
Hi: 11:00 ~ 12:00
Mid: 7:00 ~ 9:00
Low: 11:00 ~ 12:00

Red (Vintage)
Gain: 9:00
presence: 11:00
Hi:10:00
Mid: 9:00
Low:9:00 ~ 10:00

I hope I can have 2 Orange channel~~

Mine is mode in 2001. Never have problem, just maintain tubes.

no more answer if u post any question on the website.

I have played more than 7 years. I own both 4x12 and 2x12 cabinet
I use Ibanez J-custom 7 string guitar and PRS CE 24, lot of pedal
just like RMC3, Pale green compressor, Whammy, axess electroc midi control... If mine was stolen, I would buy one againnnnn!

I use a 1978 Custom Les Paul with the original pickups..I also use a Custom made Tom Anderson Baritone, I had the amp rebiased for Svetlana 6L6s with Electro Harmonix 12AX7s in the preamp section..the rectifier tubes MESA puts in the Amp out of the factory suck!..so I replaced them with GE 5U4Gs...if you turn your output all the way up (wich is what you should do anyway to open up the tubes)and use the master as the volume control...the tone is in comparison with Diezel and Uberchall(Bogner)Amps..the clean is pristine with these settings as well.

Ahhh, the "legendary" Dual Rectifier. This head's got as many features as a NASA space shuttle, which in itself seems like a good idea, but... I don't own one, and you're about to find out why.

Let me just state that too many features, high wattage and a cool diamond plate front panel do not add up to good tone. I try to play any style I can get my hands on, from country to hard rock, so a versatile amp is a necessity for me. This Mesa certainly isn't it.

Out of curiosity, I decided to try one of these heads, seeing that almost every review of this thing is rated at "10". I went to the store early one Saturday morning and brought along my trusty Tom Anderson Drop Top (for the record, this guitar sounds great through everything it's played through.... til now, that is).


What is it about this amp that people love so much? I tried the clean channel first, since no amp is worth anything to me if the clean sound blows. Well, the clean channel on this head blows donkeys. While not completely useless (I suppose if you run effects through it), it's lifeless, sterile, bland, boring... you get the picture.


Now, onto the crunch channel. Right... I've heard tube overdrive pedals which can kill this thing in terms of "usable" gain (and that meaning you can actually use distortion while retaining dynamics in your playing). Typical Mesa sound. Deep low end with top end capable of shattering glass. Sounds almost passable at low volumes but turns to complete shit when cranked. How useful is that? I won't even comment on the modern channel. I'm not a metal/Korn/Creed fan so it's of no use to me, although I did try both overdrive channels for lead work... Needless to say, it doesn't do much good.


I've had the occasion to hear these amps used in a live situation a number of times. IT DOES NOT CUT THROUGH THE MIX AT ALL. One guy had his cranked up so loud that I thought my head was about to be chopped off. Noise, and just noise, period. It completely obliterated the band.

I'll offer a rating of "1" since this forum will not allow me to rate it any lower.

Mesa are known for their quality. I use a Boogie Rectifier 1x12 which I love. In terms of this amp's reliability, God only knows. It sounds broken, that I can tell you.

I've dealt with them in the past (I used to own a Triaxis). Never had any trouble getting answers from them. Good customer support from what I've seen.

The most overhyped, overpriced, piece of crap system I've seen. They go from upwards of $2K here in Canada (give me a fuckin' break) and that's without the fancy diamond-plate or snakeskin finish. Like my former Triaxis (which was also way too damn expensive), this thing does not deliver, unless you like that razor blade sound (mind you, the Triaxis' clean channels are really cool).

The bottom line is that if you want solid tone, get an amp which basic features, a good set of tubes and a good cabinet. I wouldn't use a Dual Rectifier even if I was given one with a full endorsement. I care about my tone, and hopefully you'll stay away from this joke of an amp if you care about yours.

2002 Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier 3-Channel 100w Solo Head

This amp has more features then any amp you'll ever find (accept for Road king of course) The FX Loop is the best!! Here's how the footswich goes Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, FX Loop on/off, and Solo Boost. Theres soo much more but I think most of these other dudes pretty much covered all that.

I use a 2001 Paul Reed Smith Singlecut through this baby as well as a 1998 Gibson Les Paul Standard for Alternate Tunnings. The cabinet I'm currently using a Marshall 4x12 1960A, also I've replaced the factory 6L6's with Siemen EL34's. And !DAMN! does this head smoke!! I mean we're talking serious tone, baby!! It's hard to put it into words, thats how awesome this head is. And it's so versatile, don't let anyone fool you. This amp is good for almost any form rock, Jazz, Blues, all that stuff!! I'm in a original Modern Rock band (along the lines of Creed, 3 Doors Down, Seether) and this amp does the job better than any I've owned. Anyway's heres my full description of the sounds:

Channel One (Clean or Pushed)

A Rectifier has it's 'own' clean sound, I can't compare it to any I've heard before. But it's very cool, it's way better than what you'd expect from an amp like this. It has alot of body to it, it travels around a large room very well. The pushed mode is awesome, it really sparkles. Great for clean fills and blues type licks.

Channel Two (Raw, Vintage, or Modern)

The raw mode is good for jazz licks and blues rhythm. Vintage is where I always have this channel set. I bring out the mid alittle more on this channel than I do on channel one and two. Basically I get a very warm, rich sounding destortion awesome for leads!! The Modern mode is a more high end sounding distortion, much more harsh and in your face. The difference between the two modes (vintage and modern) is amazing and it gives a world of opions in channel two.

Channel Three (Raw, Vintage, or Modern)

This is the ultimate channel!! Raw mode on this channel (like on channel 2, Accept with alittle more drive) is cool for blues, jazz, and any type of overdriven sound you want to get. The vintage mode is AWESOME, lots of bottom end. It's kinda in between the sound of an older rectifier and a marshall jcm2000. The Modern mode absolutely SCREAMS of tone... If you've been looking for that perfect distortion here it is. I love going out of a soft-clean verse and then busting into CH.3 Modern in the chorus. It's better than sex!!

All in all this amp screams of tone and its only right to give it a 10.

This amp is built better than any of them. All you have to do is look at it and see. I've had mine for little over a year now and I've had no problem at all.

Never dealt directly with Mesa.

I am completely satisfied with this amp in every single way. I don't ever see myself playing through another amp as far as gigging and recording are concerned. I'm a young dude and I've been playing for about 7 years. And I've been in working bands since I 14 years old. I've owned a Fender, a Marshall, and a Soldano. And then I bought the real thing and I always sound AWESOME. No matter the situation I can always be confident that my set up is going to better if not as good as the next guys and that ROCKS! Because if your serious about being a musician then that means you have invested money, time, and overall emotion into what you do and sound is everything. So I hope you buy a mesa, GOOD LUCK!!

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This is the WORST!!! Customer Service Dept I have ever delt with in 25 years of playing guitar! I ordered a simple replacement fan for one of my amps from Mesa Boogie 2 months ago. They shipped me the wrong one. Fine...mistakes happen. I contacted them and returned the wrong one back to them. They sent me the wrong one AGAIN! Fine!?! I contacted them. They sent me the wrong one a 3rd Time!! IDIOTS!!! Obviously they are morons! Read on...it gets better...

What really pisses me off is that they billed me for EACH of the wrong fans they sent to me and when I return the WRONG fans back to them, they try to tell me they haven't recieved them and I will be billed for them!!!

Mesa Boogie gear is way cool. The company SUCKS!

Let me say that my knowledge of this head,have to with the fact that the other guy from my band had one once.Confusion Fusion,man.This amp pretends to be all in one, but honestly...it fits very well for somethings, but it's not a safe solution for a versatile kind of playing.That pannel is not pratical...you spend so much time to get other sound textures...well you know what it bothers you,really.

Decent crunch, roars nice,but that clean sound...well it don't distorts but can't you compare with a Fender Twin, a Rolland JC Chorus even a Matchless one?.It reminds the new Ashdown Fallen Angel!
That's the difference between a great amp head and the others!

Definitely in my country Mesa don't have any representation, so take your conclusions

This is a review for the Dual Rectifier Triple made in 2003. I feel that the amp is infinitely versatile for the style of music that I play: rock. I'm tired of reading reviews on this site by people who expect a "sound" from their equipment that such equipment was not designed to achieve. Does Mesa/Boogie claim that this is a "blues" amp or a "jazz" amp? NO! Read their brochure or the manual that comes with the Dual Rectifier! Addressing the features specifically, the amplifier has three channels, each with a switch for adjusting the character of that particular channel. I hate channel three's "modern" setting but then again it's sound is better suited to metal and I don't play that. Obviously this doesn't lower my rating in this category because if I don't like it, I don't have to use it! The amp is definitely loud enough, anyone who has problems with volume is playing too large a venue without a PA system. Any "respectable" club or hall will have a PA so that you can mic your amp. The amp takes 6L6 or El34 power tubes, and 12AX7's for the preamp. The footswitch suits me perfectly, although channel switching can on occasion elicit pops from the amplifier.

As for tone, I would have to give this amp an A+. Please people, we all know (or should know) that tone comes from a myriad of interconnected elements, but first and foremost from the fingers of the player. If someone buys this amp thinking that they're going to sound like their favorite player they are sorely mistaken. True, the amp has an incredible amount of gain. It occurs to me that players who feel that this amp does not have enough gain are not looking for more gain per se, but rather an eq adjustment or a stompbox to shape the gain differently. Somewhere on this site a reviewer stated that their favorite amplifiers let a players unique playing style shine through. This amplifier definitely fits the bill. This is one of my cheif concerns with digital modeling amps. I'm not going to say that they sound like crap, because, in essence, there are pleasant guitar tones that do not necessarily arise from "all-tube" circuits. (Remember the JC-120?) In my opinion, though, modeling amplifiers seem to eradicate the subtle nuances of a players style. (Aside from the fact that they FEEL different than the original amplifier). I play a custom Fender stratocaster with two single coils in the neck/mid position and a humbucker in the bridge. The guitar fits perfectly within my playing style and the amp completes the package. Channel 1 is not noisy at all and if used with single coils will not distort if set to CLEAN. In my opinion the quality of the clean tone on this channel is every bit as good as Fender. Why are people always comparing clean channel's to Fenders? I rarely see anyone on this site complaining that the Mesa's distortion doesn't sound like a Marshall. If these people are in fact looking for Fender clean and Marshall distortion, perhaps they should buy the respective amplifiers. Mesa has it's own reputation for both clean and distortion, because they have consistently strived for tone that differed from the norm. The clean channel sounds like Mesa clean. It's well rounded, without too much of that ice-pick glassy high that I never cared for in Fender. The distortion is "moderate" as well, without the trebly shrieking that I hate about Marshalls. In the end, though, to each his own, but I'm just tired of reading comments by reviewers who are disappointed at the distinctive tone that has made this amp a classic, and who wish that it sounded like a Twin or a JCM 800! I feel such commments would be better suited to the Line6 section. Channel 1 pushed is great for a classic rock sound and I've gotten some great Zeppelin tones out of it. Channel 2 and 3 are similar, with the presence knob's range creating the main difference between the two. Raw is good for softer clipping distortion sounds, Vintage is awesome, and when used with the Tube rectifiers, sounds like a vintage Marshall with more low end. The modern setting is, I guess, what everyone's using these days, but I feel that it's a tad too harsh for my playing style. It's far better suited to metal, etc. The distortion is always brutal. It sounds huge and when you turn the master up, the amplifier really opens up. Do not go by what you hear in the store when you tested it out at modest volume levels. This amp needs to be played loud. BUT, and here's a big BUT :), make sure to break in the speakers on your cabinet before you start talking about the bass "farting". The cabinet sounds like crap when it's brand new, so play loud and break it in!

I decided to write this review after owning the amp for a while, afterall, what's the point of gauging reliability after some bedroom practice and a couple of shows. I'm afraid I would have to give the Dual Rec a 10 in this category simply because it is unbelievably reliable. This amp has never failed me, even after playing the thing at 3/4 volume gig after gig and during practice (I have a semi-soundproofed room at home). I bought mine at the factory store on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood, and after I purchased the unit they took it out of the box and tested it for ten minutes to ensure that everything was working fine. Too bad for those guys who seem to keep getting "bad" amp heads from Boogie. Somehow I question the credibility of their claims. Also, Mesa's pre-biased tube sockets are an immense immprovement - either that, or a means by which mesa can insure continual customer dependence. I personally shirk the latter.

I have yet to use Mesa/Boogie's technical support but I have *heard* that they are excellent. I do know that their representatives at the outlet store were very helpful in helping me choose an amp that was right for me, not necessarily the most expensive/tricked out amplifier in the store.

I have been playing for the better part of six years, and before you write me off as a mere hobbyist realize that I was a music major and am currently a music minor: which means that apparently, I know about "musicality." This amp enables a player to have ultimate control over pick attack and tone, and, if they're clever, unlock some tones that this amp "shouldn't" be capable of. I don't think I could ever lose it, but in the event of an unfortunate occurence (theft, etc.) I would buy it again. I love the sound of this amplifier. Paired with my Strat, I can get any tone that I want, including convincing jazz/blues tones on first channel pushed with the gain knob at 12. I compared it to various Marshall amps (which sounded too harsh), the Peavey 5150 series (which sounded less musical to me), Soldano SLO 100's (I thought this amp was more versatile). The only thing I hate about this amp is the ungainly weight and size of the 4x12 recto cab that I have to haul around to my shows. I don't wish that it had effects on it, not even reverb, because then people would complain that the reverb isn't properly matched with the character of the amp. I would rather effects be outboard anyways.

2003 Dual Recto, features said many many times below. Built in variac from spongy to bold, rectifier/silicon diodes switch, external switching, fx loop, solo boost (VERY NICE), durable as hell stuff. 3 channel model, and is footswitchable between channels. Footswitch is channels 1-3, fx, and solo. I use this amp just in the store acutally, ive tried for hours upon hours, but have yet to buy it. This thing is in a sound proofed room and is freakin blasted... headroom is incredible.

Ive run a PRS Mark Tremonti model thru this amp, and I almost feel as if they are a match in heaven. I absolutely love this amplifier, and is for a metal/heavy rock/nu-metal genre. It has a very small hum on loud distortion. This amps clean is good, not as good as a fender cyber clean, but its good. Its distortion... well, thats why i fell in love... modern, raw, and vintage choices per each channel, and clean has chioces of pushed/clean. Pushed is like a slight distortoin, crunchier sound on the clean, and modern is new age recto. This distortoin is brutal as all hell. I love this amp!!!

Mesa Boogie my friend, Mesa boogie... its all made out of metal, it doesnt need its own biasing which will save you a ton of money, tubes go out 6 months - 1 year, like all normal tubes... the whole thing is metal, its meant to be abused almost!

Customer support is also a shining spot.. i dont even own the amp, and I can call in with questions.. i called in once about modding the dual rectifier to 50 watts, i heard that you can take out two power tubes and rectifier tube, and it will be 50 watts... i called after hours, and they returned my phone call that next morning when the opened! I was very surprised they called me back, and that quickly... they treat me with the same respect as if i had spent $1000's on the product... excellent service.

I have been playing for 3 years, owning a Mark Tremonti SE with real Tremonti pickups, a shure wireless guitar system, Mark Tremonti power wah, and a cheap 30 watt practice amp. After 3 years, the practice amp has to go, and im looking at this baby. I love this things brutal distortoin, unsurpassed distortoin. My only gripe at all would be about its "good" clean channel, just not at par with its distortion. This thing does it all, and I love this amp! Buy one! Dont waste the money on buying another practice amp, knowing in your head one day ull be buying an amp again.. this thing will last you forever!

Loaded with features--- 3 different channels, with 2-3 switchable sounds each... exceptionally great footswitch... 2 independent footswitchable volume levels (output/solo) that hardly affect overall tone..

This amp has balls. Period. I play a lot of metal (especially Metallica) and this amp handles it great. Throw in an Ibanez Tube Screamer, and you're in TONE HEAVEN.

However, I dont ONLY play metal... I am also in a church worship band that plays a lot of soft rock and blues, and the clean channel works great for that too.

No matter how you slice it, a tube amp is never 100% reliable, but this comes pretty close... the thing is built like a tank. Maybe not quite as durable as a Marshall Mode Four, but still very durable. It has handled blackouts, drops, and shakes, and I have never had a problem with it...

I have never used personal tech support, but the support on the website has helped numerous times with the PDF Acrobat manuals, and based on the pride in quality of Mesa/Boogie, I would expect nothing less than top notch.

All in all, I love this amp, and will be playing it for years to come! I am very picky about guitar tone, and being a sound engineer love to play around with all kinds of guitar rigs. This amp is one of my favorites on the market!

Awesome! Three channels, clean and two distortion. Very flexible effects loop, spongy & bold voltage switches, solicon diode (solid-state) or vacuum tube switch, external switching for every channel. This amp is powerful. 100 watts of pure tube power. I own a 130 watt RMS solid state amp, and this mesa boogie just blows it away with volume with 100 watts.

I think this amp has a reputation for being "powerful" and "for metal." Well.... HELL YEAH! I play lots of Slayer, Megadeth, Ozzy, Iron Maiden, Fear Factory, Mudvayne, Splipknot, and Marilyn Manson. Every song I cover sounds ultimate! The mesa does a great job simulating classic tones, but remember you probably won't recreate the "exact" tone. There are many variables that create signature tones that you hear on albums (amp miking, guitars, etc.). You will however get the thick, liquid tube distortion sound that makes solid states sound horrible. This 100 watt head has enough volume power to be crushing at only half volume. I have never turned my amp up all the way, it would do ear damage and wouldn't be worth it. Lots of folks claim you should get the "triple" instead of the "dual", however I think that the triple channel, 150 watt is not worth it at all. The Dual Rectifier is so loud, everytime I play it at 1/4 volume, my ears ring for like 5 hours. Plus when it comes time to change out tubes, you'll be replacing many more tubes in the triple vs. the dual rectifier. More expensive!

I've owned this amp of for about two years now, and I learn something new every time I play it. I was first just pure rocking out on it in my apartment, waking up my neighbors and such. But now I am starting to mike it, and recording songs with the 4x12 cabinet. It sounds brutal!!! Actually, it's pretty hard to make the Mesa sound bad! You can do it though, just turn all the knobs up to the max (why would you ever do that?) but not the volume.

You can dial in almost any tone you want in the amp. Both distortion channels have Raw, Vintage, and Modern gain settings. These switches drastically change the volume and circuit structure. The clean channel sounds very rich and sparkly. You can switch on the "push" switch to add some grinding gain to the clean, maybe even crank the gain on it to get some serious crunching! I actually used the "push" to record an entire metal/groove song!! It was not the intense distortion, but very interesting. Anyways, every channel sounds much different, and every knob noticeably changes the tone a lot. I couldn't be more happy with this amp and all the sweet sounds you can get. Best amp I've ever heard and played.


If I were to buy another amp for "tone" it would be another Mesa Rectifier series for sure. Save up and get one, you'll be happy for years.

I don't do much touring yet, but the quality is by far the best i've seen. Marshall uses plastic on/off/standby, where Mesa uses traditional Fender type switches (COOL!) I've packed this amp around to many recording sessions, and to play with friends, amp is built strong and very dependable. Just be careful with it, it is expensive you know.

This is an amazing amp. Every time I'm recording guitars without my boogie, I always tell everyone that I wished I had the Mesa, cos it makes the album sounds so much better. If you have been recording with a POD or something similar, use a microphone and mike up the Mesa, and your recording will sound like professional raging metallica recordings! You might as well sell your POD, cos the Mesa rules.

the amp is great as far as versatility... 3 channels, FX loop, options to go from diodes to tubes, the ability to switch between el34s and 6l6's...very nice. lets you make your own tone.

i play a les paul standard with an EMG-81 in the bridge. my bands musical style is alon the lines of Refused, Glassjaw, Blindside, Every Time I Die, Boy Sets Fire, and stuff like that. i love this amp cause i can get anything from thick tight palm muting all the way to searing creamy lead tones. i use channel 2 for my main tone, because i think it sounds warmer than channel 3 does. i set channel 1 as clean as i can, put channel 2's gain to about 2 or 3 o'clock, and then pull channel 3's gain to about 10 o'clock. i use channel 3 as a mildly distorted channel. i play an ampeg 4x12 cab that i put Vintage 30's in. the amp gets a bit noisy when i have it cranked real loud....not feedback-wise, just regular hum from a high gain amp. i like this amp because i can get pretty much any kind of distortion i want out of it, from mellow bluesy tone to full on shred tone. i also own a soldano hot rod 50 and am soon getting a Bogner Uberschall. all three amps have their tonal pro's and cons. id have to say the boogie is the most versatile tonally. ive played tons of Soldano SLO100's, and none of them can even kiss the ass of my boogie, or even my hot rod 50. i dont understand what the fuss about those amps are. anyhow, if you want a nice, thick and chunky tone tone out of this amp without any thinness, play channel two. presence about 9, master at 5, gain at 7, bass at 9, mids at 4, treble at 9, and you should be ready to rock. this amp rocks, and will always be one of my favorites. oh yeah, and if you are recording with it, dont just use an sm57. use a sennheiser 421 with the sm57 and it will sound much, much warmer.

thing has never ever crapped out on me. 100% reliable. the power cable jack is loose on my head, but thats cause i am rough on my shit. i replaced the rectifier tubes about a year ago, cause one of them was flashing every once in a while.

the guys are always really cool at mesa and down to talk about amps and stuff for hours. they dont act like the typical "high end music business" cocky kinda guys.

ive been playing for about 10 years now, and have played a TON of other amps, thanks to my dad, who has been doin this way longer than me...haha...i really like my hot rod 50, and im REALLY gonna love my uberschall...(well, for $2,800 i fucking BETTER)..but i will always love my mesa first and foremost because it has just been a great, solid, reliable amplifier. it sounds amazing, and has absolutely the perfect tone for me. if you go into a guitar center or something and try one out, force them to let you turn the thing up. listening to it on 1 or 2 doesnt do it justice. if you wanna hear this thing scream, then turn it the hell up!

already covered!

this is just a note for the people who play the 2 channel heads and say the 3 channel doesn't sound as good. WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE!!!!! I own both the 2 channel rec and triaxis and the new 3channel amp sounds awesome. you can get everything out of this from fender clean-hot rod marshall-all out thrash and it never runs out of steam. Now I can take this head and a cab to a gig and thats it, no stomp boxes for extra channels amd the new switches raw etc offer an amazing array of tones.

never a problem with boogie ever.

HHMMM never needed to use em

bin the 2 channel and get the 3 channel, it is way more fexible has a tighter bottom end and sounds better what more do you need!!

2002 Dual recto triple channel head
3 channels (Clean, Gain, Lead)
Excellent FX loop.
I wish it had reverb but it makes up for it.

I use an American Rhoades with EMG 85/81 set.
Metal!!! this amp is metal and is meant to play metal so, if you're one of these jazz enthusiasts or blues suckers then don't even waste your time criticizing this amp.
I've played a few gigs with my recto and I've never had trouble with feedback or anything.
This amp can do many things, from; Nu Metal to 80s to a great Children of Bodom Sound. Clean has nothing lacking and can produce a quick clear striking tone as well as a warm tone On clean "Pushed" you can get a great classic rock tone or eric johnson tone.

I have played a few gigs and it is perfect to me, it has never broken down or even given me any trouble.

N/a

I bought this amp about 5 months ago wanting to play Metal however, I had an awakening and realized that neo classical is what I want to make.
Because I'd prefer a Marshall over this does not mean I will badmouth it because this truly is a perfect metal amp.
If were stolen I'd have the guy pay for it and buy a Marshall.
If it were lost I'd be too busy crying about my lost 1500$ amplifier.
If you like metal, Death, Grind, Nu, Classic, 80s or any other type of metal then this amp is for you.

This amp is a 03 model,I couldn't ask for anything better,my style is christian alt,rock(Disciple,pillar,Living sacrifice,east west,embodyment)I previously used a Marshall Tsl100,Also a good amp,but it can,t hang with the Mesa!

Bibson Les paul standard,gibson Flying V,ESP Viper,
Clean channel is surprisingly very clean,O.D. channels are kickin'
really low bottom end,I also use the recto cab 4x12.

Only had this amp a month,We play/practice three to four times a week
for at least 3 to 4 hrs.Haven't had any problems yet,But you have to remember it is a tube amp,you need spare fuses,tubes,It's pretty cool because it doesn't have to be re-biased when you change tubes as long as you use the same rating tube.

Never dealt with them,so i really don't know.But I have talked to several pro musicians,they tell me they are pretty easy to deal with.

I have been playing for 25 yrs.If it were stolan I would hunt them d
own and retrieve my stuff and they would not be real happy with me!
This amp is pricey,but do you want to spend your hard earned money on something you can just get by with or do you wantto spend it on what you really want,the amp is hand built ,not sent on an assembly line.

I don't know why people think that this thing is not versitile. This thing can get anything from a juicy warm Fender to a spankin hot Mesa (duh) and anywhere in between. Though I guess it could use some reverb...

My live guitar is an '03 Epiphone Les Paul Jr. (laugh all you want). This guitar sounds so spankin through this amp. My studio guitar is an '83 Gibson Les Pual Custom. Yet again, souns spanking through this amp. If your looking for that beasty-like "chug", get this shit. Make shure that the amp you get (or try out) has all of its tubes, fuses, etc. I read that one guy tried one out and it was missing some tubes (somebody stole them). Try this amp out. No matter what sound your looking for, it's in there. Happy tweaking.

Can' tell yet.

Can't tell yet. Probably never will. These things are beasts.

I've been playing guitar for 9 years and have been shoping around for a good amp for 3 years. Buy it. You will NOT regret it. I suggest some type of a reverb unit (for livley cleans) and some type of a noise reducer (with full gain, it's quite hissy-like).

2002 (3) channel dual rectifier bought it for 1500.00
Its got more buttons and bells than almost any other head, but who care if it doesnt sound great right? I will address this below.

I use ESP guitars w/ EMG-81's and (1) standard recto cab. First off to sound heavy you need lots of gain and lots of bass, and plenty of clarity. Now that you know what heavy is, this is how You get maxim heavy out of the new rectos while retaining over the top heavy tone we all love. As this person stated below this amp is extremly hard to tweak, so the impatient should not buy this amp, and should buy a marshall tsl 100 which is almost as heavy but a lot easier to tweak. Now that you understand that this is how you get your over the top bass heavy tone that Korn, Godsmack, soulfly/sepultura, testament, cannibal corpse, soil, mudvayne, and yes metallica (all these bands use these amps). Yup metallica put away their triaxxis and 400 stragety power amps and their Mark IIc+ in favor of the new rectos. Check out metallica.com they used these in the studio, and in four nights of live giging at the Fillamore both James and Kirk used walls of the new rectos stacks, check out the picks and the songs they played all old stuff & ST. ANGER, no reload or load shit. Any way here is how you get it to sound heavy. Recto STANDARD cabs are a must, no substitutes, (2) are better much better than one also. With out these cabs you will have shitty bottom end as others have said. Now the settings, use silicon diodes to tighten your bottom end, use spongy to thicken your sound, then use channel (2) the orange one. Ok set the gain to at Least 4:00 oclock, then mids at 8:00 (almost totally scooped), treble at 1:00, presence at 12:00, bass all the way up at low volumes, but dont ease it off past 3:00, you should be able to get close to half way up on the volume at 50 watt mode. If you need more volume get another cab, dont sacrifice your bass for volume.
channel master at 9:00 oclock. Output or volume should be at least 1/3 the way up. Effects loop should be set at 100% and 10%, min. and max. to retain max volume and bass. I think these heads sound best at 50 watts, two center power tubes pulled and one rectifier tube pulled, to achieve a more of a power amp saturated sound. It appears most recto buyers dont know about power tube saturation. My setting can sound muddy or not clear at low volumes, but soon as you crank it really hard she clears right and sounds super heavy. These settings are best for standard 440 pitch tuning, for drop tunes you should ease off a LITTLE on the settings. Try My settings before you say these cant get bass heavy. If you dont like them you can always trash talk me later, like I am doing to the guy below me.

kicks ass!

they Kick ass!

The new Rectos are the most heavy and articulate tube amps out, only second to the VHT ultra lead pitbull with KT-88's. The VHT is more tight in the bottom end, and it is a little more articulate, BUT it's gain isnt has thick, and its bottom end is not as overwellming, and its bottom end even goes lower to (in frequency), even though the VHT has a Equalizer built into the amp which is KICK ASS. Overall all I like the VHT a little better even though it is not quite as heavy. The NEW rectos are a 10 while VHT UL is like a 10.5 !!!!

I bought this amp at guitar center in '02. This amp has insane versatility. Too much, it's really a pain in the ass to dial in your tones (I am very specific), it took months and month for me to get a sound I could live with. I do like having three channels, though, it nice to have three sounds to play with at a time.

I play metal with roots in Metallica, Megadeth, Tool, Danzig, and Black Sabbath. I play an ESP LTD grynch. I play in varying tempos, and at fast tempos with high gain, tight low end and definition are crucial, I use mainly channel three, but I like to switch between clean, mid, and high gain sounds on different songs. My main distaste for the amp is it's flubby low end. If you want defintion with this amp on high gain (around 2-3 o3 clock) you can kiss you're low end goodbye.You must read the manual to gain control of this amp. You must be very careful not to set anything too high, or it'll sound like crap. You can't set the bass to high(I'm afraid to go beyond 1 o'clock) or you'll lose clarity and definition. You can't set the treble too high (especially in channel 3)or it just gets saturated with it. I have spent a long time tweaking this amp, and it never satisfied me. It just can't get a tight low end. It has great tone, but try to add a little bass for thickness (nothing extreme) and it all goes to hell. You won't sound like Metallica, that's for sure. If you're such a mesa freak buy a triaxis and a power amp. By the way, this amp sounds completely different when cranked then when at low volumes. This is a great amp for anyone not concerned with tight low end while maintaining definition with high gain.

I've blown a bunch of fuses, had to replace one tube, and now it's in the shop having it's rectifier circuit replaced. Have owned it for a year and a half. Definitely bring a back-up to your important gigs.

Great customer service, if you call them at the right time.

If you're a metal player with need for tight, low end, I definitely would not recommend it. It is an unnecessary and expensive status symbol. If you're playing sucks and you need a pretty amp to make people think you're a serious player, buy it. If you're a jazz, blues, or hard rock player, you'll probably love it. If you have a thirty day return policy, and if at the end of thiry days you've haven't found a good sound, take it back! I intend to sell this and get a Peavey triple XXX. If you DO want to buy a dual rec., buy it from me! It is in mint condition, and will have a brand new rectifier circuit! I'll sell it for a grand including S&H and insurance. E-mail me!. jonvanblack@hotmail.com

This is a 2002 triple channel Dual Rectifier. It has 8 modes, 3 on the 2 distortion channels and 2 on the clean channel. Footswitchable channels, effects loop, and solo boost (I couldn't live without the solo boost). Also comes with a slave out, bias switch for either 6L6's or EL34's, built in variac (another great feature)and the option to switch between rectifier tubes or a diode rectifier stage. Has all the features a serious guitarist needs.

I play for a signed band and the best way to describe our guitar tone is raw, full-bodied, yet articulate and defined. My main guitar is a PRS Custom 22 with Dragon II pickups although I'll sometimes play my McCarty or my Strat. I have recently fallen in love again with my Vox Wah-Wah that has been modified to be a true bypass. And although as a band we never play blues (mostly just original rock), I love blues, classic rock, and anything Santana's ever done. This amp does it all. Jesus Christ it does it all. I like to run my amp with 6L6's and have both the tube rectifiers going as well as the built in variac going at all time.

Channel 1. Clean: Not as good as my Vibro King (nothing beats a vibro king for cleans) but far more acceptional than any Marshall could ever pull off. (the mode 4's are a joke). I like to have a relatively high presence on mine to make my custom 22 shine right through.
Pushed: God damn. Like I said, I love blues and classic rock. Well this mode is it. Plug the McCarty or Strat into this mode and you have tone my friend. This mode sounds more like a vintage combo amp a la 1962 Bluesbreaker because alot of the low end that Mesa is known for is rolled off when you play in this mode but the Vintage 30 speakers handle this well.

Channel 2
Raw: Sounds alot like the pushed mode on channel one but can achieve a little more gain and the low end that rolled off on the pushed mode of the first channel appears and a full bodied overdrive emerges.
Vintage: I love this mode. Both the McCarty and the Custom 22 handle this channel great but I tend to prefer to have the Dragon II's handle the higher gain. Thick, tight, articulate, distortion. I love soloing in this mode
Modern: I actually prefer this channel's modern distortion to Channel 3's. It sounds more like the older dual rectifier's modern stage with smoother highs and tight low end. The presence control is the ultimate tone shaper.

Channel 3:
Raw: Once again this overdrive has a very cool vibe of it's own. It's janglier sound is reminiscent of single channel Marshall tones but somehow Mesa never loses the Mesa vibe that ultimately defines and redefines itself time and time again.
Vintage: Maybe I'm just a sucker for the vintage channels on this amp but once again, I love this channel. It's got more of a full-bodied rounder tone than the other vintage mode and definately comes through with the Mesa chunk while never losing definition in the mids and highs. Great channel for strong, raw guitar work, especially rhythm.
Modern: Like I said, I prefer channel 2's modern stage to this one b/c at about the point where channel 2's presence maxes out, this one barely kicks in. Good for scooped metal sounds as well as death metal and any thing Metallica-ish (that could be good or bad) but once again, this channel could never be mistaken for anything else but Mesa.

Built to last as are all other Mesas. Haven't had any need to replace any tubes, etc. and never broken down during shows.

I've been playing ever since I was in 5th grade. I love the guitar and the many tones any given guitar can produce, but in order to hear a guitar's personality shine through, one must pair it up with the right amp. This is the right amp for anyone looking for tones ranging from slight, gritty overdrive to all out modern metal and everything in between. The guy before me said that he plays a Les Paul Studio (why would anyone want to? buy a real guitar and play it through this thing) and thinks that this amp sounds terrible because of problems with EQ. The manual specifically tells you that if one turns the gain up all the way, then the signal will be completely saturated with gain and the tone controls will have little to no affect on the signal. Just be smart when using this amp and you'll be rewarded.
One last note about the tone of this amp. No matter what channel or mode one runs this amp on, it always ALWAYS has so much character, flavor, and vibe to it. The beautiful overtones of your choice guitar will always shine through and if you're not a good guitarist, this amp will show that. In my opinion all good amps have one thing in common; they all allow the player's touch, attack, and persona to shine through. In my opinion, a good amp allows 80% of ones tone to come from one's hands.

Just a note to the guy who said he didn't really like channel three because of its tone being mid-scooped and would like channel 3 to be an exact clone of channel 2, call Mesa up. They can send you the same pots which will make the 3rd channel identical to the 2nd or vice versa. Hope this helps......I'll be submitting my review of my 3 channel Dual in another few weeks after I play with it some more. Rock on.

Has pretty much all the feature one could ask for. Three channels, all with their own EQ chanles, with a solo feature (on the included three channel footswitch) which boosts your volume nicely. Also has a footswitchable efects loop.....a nice touch. Has a tube/diode rectifier switch...another nice touch. The tube switch sounds much like my Mark III did, while the diode switch gives you more headroom and a heavier grind. Also has effects loops send/return levels, another nice touch. No reverb. Odd, for an amp of this price, and a bit irritating to me.

I'm playing a Les Paul Studio through this. Play mostly new styled rock similar to 3 Doors Down, Creed, and Fuel. Mostly original music with a few copies thrown in. I sometime uses an array of footpedals, sometimes not, depending on my mood. Distortion is really where this amp lacks. I've owned this amp and a Boogie Mark III in the past two years. Bought both because everyone kept telling me I needed to blow the $1500 on a Boogie to get "that heavy sound". What a bunch of crap!!! Neither amp really impresses me. The cleans are OK. Really no shimmer, but it's not bad compared to the other high gain tube amps out there. The distortions are weak plain and simple. Yes, you heard me correctly. The bottom end is flabby and there really isn't enough useable gain (yes, I've tried new tubes). Yup, I know all the metal bands like Creed use this amp, but quite honestly they must eq and process the crap out of the signal to get a decent sound out of them. I agree with all of the reviewers that the distortion is better at higher volumes, but you won't sound like those high gain recordings with out bunch of post-preamp eq'ing/processing. The mid's seem overwhelming at high volumes, and you can't scoop them without sounding paper thin. The onboard eq is useable on the clean channels, but once you kick in that Boogie distortion you are going to sound like a Boogie no matter how you set the EQ.....not very flexible at all. Yes I agree with many of the others who have posted that it definitely has a sound that helps you cut through a loud band mix. It's a bit noisy on the high gain setting, as all tubes amps seem to be....however a little less noisy than my Mark III was. Out of all of my pedals my Carl Martin chorus XII pedal seems to make the noise problem worse on this amp. Only on this amp though.....weird!! It's a sad thing if this is the best new tube technology has to offer. If your into weak gain and flabby bottom end you'll love this amp. If not, look elsewhere. I think I'll be selling this pretty soon. Better than the Mark III, but still not even close to worth the $1500 bucks Mesa is asking for it.

So far so good.....but have only gigged with a few times as I've only owned it a couple of months.

These guys know how to do Customer Service.