Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier Solo Head Triple Channel

-2001 Model Mesa Dual Rectifier 100 watt Solo Head:
This amp is extremely good at it's job which is being a loud, high gain rock amp. It offers you three channels each with a set of modes: Channel 1 is clean with a clean or pushed mode, Channel two is a medium high gain channel with a raw, vintage and modern mode and channel three is a high gain channel also with a raw, vintage and modern mode. It has a multi-pin footswitch as well as a modifiable effects loop

The rig I use consists of two Dual Rectifiers with recto 412's A/B'd to two Hughes & Kettner Duotone 50 watt 1x12's with an Ibanez Sabre fitted with DiMarzio humbuckers and a Schecter C-1 with Duncan humbuckers. I play hard rock and in my opinion the Dual on channel 3 vintage mode gives the best distortion without too much damage to articulation but you can also get very respectable clean tones along with the traditional rectifier super-distortion.

It's a very dependable amp as long as you take good care of it. I have never had one break down and i dont expect to

I cant help too much in this category, I guess that means good things though

Its a great amp but only if its what you want. You cant buy this amp expecting to be able to play every type of music and still sound great. If thats what your looking for I'd suggest looking at the line6 line of products. I can't give it a 10 for the sole fact that it is a very expensive amplifier

I must say, being an old school fart with a boat-load of all kinds of equipment I've collected over the years, this new three-channel recto has surprised me. It has numerous features yet maintains a simplicity of use that is second to none. Three channels, eight modes, tube or solid state recifier section, solo boost for all channels, parrallel effects loop with output and input levels, slave out, tube bias select, and numerous other tidbits to long to list here. Even without stock reverb, I must rate this at a 10 for its feature rich simplicity.

Here is where I was literally blown away! As stated before I am an old fart that is a deciple of the coveted brown-sound of the past and have never been a fan of any nu-metal or super-scooped buzzsaw tones of modern aggression. I played one of the dual recto's the first year they came out and I did not care for them because all they seemed to do is sound like a really expensive Crate. While this may be the preferred tone for some, I do not care for it myself. Enter the new three Channel Dual Recto. It is my belief that that mesa has incorporated the tones of the now discontinued tremoverb into the three channel Dual & Triple Recto amplifiers. This would be the raw voicing on channels two & three. In short, I love these sounds. I have been a Marshall & Mark series player for years and have for the past few years incorporated the triaxis & 90:90 into my setup. The raw setting on the rectos is amazing in this old school brown-sound realm and has a sweetness all it's own. As stated before I will likely never use the recto in any of the modern settings, just as I will likely never drop tune so I can chord with one finger all the time. However, it's nice to know that particular sound is there just in case I ever need it for something. Now for the superficial part. I'm especially pleased to own one of these kick ass looking diamond plated amps that I can actually use for my tonal tastes! Boogie finally adapted these beauties for use by the non-tonally challenged!

I have never had a serious issue with any boogie I have ever owned.

Though customer service can be busy at times they are incredibly helpful and knowledgeable. Top 10.

Old School tone Freaks unite! These things don't suck anymore!

This amp rates a 10 in features. Now go to the Dr. Z, Top Hat, Fender, and Matchless reviews and read the generous ratings there. Does anybody even consider what the word features means? This amp has 3 seperate channels, and 8 different voicings. Tube or solid state rectifiers. Assignable effects loop. Solo button and solo volume knob. For those of you who scoff at having tube rectifiers, all I can say is you should open your ears. I can switch between Godsmack and Aerosmith and Hendrix with all these options, and sound so close that nobody would notice the name Mesa on the amp. Yes, this amp excells at the new age metal sounds. But it also nails most other styles of music with some tweaking of knobs and flipping of switches. THAT is what features is all about. The single channel amps must be rated a 1 in comparison to this amp. I play all styles at an advanced level, and I need amps that do more than spend their lives working 1 sound to death. That is TOO easy....

The recifier series created the first new viable and recognizable amp sound since Marshall in the 60s. Now every modeling amp and pedal has the old amp tones (Vox, Fender, Marshall) and the new California sound. Whether you like it or not, the Mesa sound is as important today as the twangy surf tones that came out of those Fender amps 40-50 years ago. Mesa is either hated or worshipped ... I choose to just plug in and wail. I love a wall of sound, and the hard rock tones in these 3 channel Rectifiers is second to none. And the metal high gain sounds are the benchmark for all other amp makers. It is pretty impressive when Bogner mentions a Mesa when advertising a new boutique amp (Uberschall). It shows just how important the Mesa sound has become. And may I add that I can nail Santana through the Stones on this puppy? Metal heads need only buy the old 2 channel Dual Rec. For those of us who play all styles the 3 channel Recs are king.

Tubes ... you can't live with them, you can't live without them. So many wonderful tubes ... so many chances the amp will go bad at a gig. So bring spare tubes as a matter of practice. Tube amps are only as reliable as the tubes that power them. Mesa is very picky about the tubes they use ... but reliablility still suffers in favor of pure tone.

Call them today and talk to them. They are still a relatively small company, and live for their customers. These guys really believe the customer rules.

I have played for 30 years, and also own a modded Marshall TSL100. I have owned and played Bogners and Dr. Zs ... and some modeling amps. You buy a Mesa Recifier amp to play rock. Period. It IS the sound of modern rock. Boutique amp makers copy old sounds and give them to you in pretty packages. Mesa amps are mean muthas that look as cool as they sound. How can you give an amp with a now classic sound anything but a 10? The sound of these amps is copied by every pedal and amp manufacturer from Fender to Sans Amp to Line 6. Even Marshall has that lame tone shift button on the new JCM2000 series that is supposed to give you the Mesa sound. For half the price of a boutique amp these Mesas get you the sound that is on the radio now. No mods needed.

My boogie dual rectifier solo head was made in 2002. Eight different sounds are divided into three channels. So you can get a lot of sounds out of it. I changed my old boogie rack to this Top. Well, this Recto has no effect section and you are not able to change Channels via Midi. My kind of music is based on dry sounds and I regularly don't use effects. Only a few lowleveld harmonizing effects are used by me from time to time. So thats no big problem for me. I use this amp on Stage and our 120m2 bandroom. I was afraid of buying the triple rectifier, because 150w tubepower seemed to be to much. And it is. My boogie is extemly loud, what is really satisfying our drummer.
I give a rating of 9, because of the missing chorus, reverb and midi. Why is it a nine then? Because of the sounds. The singing clean solo sounds from channel one are that full, that they often sound like effected.

I use this amp with two main guitars. A dimarzio modified Strat with the blue velvet singlecoils on the one hand, on the other hand I use my 4kUS$ german Nik Huber custom guitar. Nik Huber has worked for years together with PRS. You can compare this guitar with the PRS guitars. It's like a swamp ash special, especially designed for me with a Gibson classic 57 bridge pu, a hot rail on middle position and a Gibson P94 on neck position. That guitar married with the Recto has the best sounds I ever heard. From impressing solo sound(clean and lead) to the ultra high gained boogie modern sounds. All you need is there. The high gain sounds are a bit noisy. That makes 9 of 10. Clean channel is working fine. I think everybody knows distortion of the Rectifier, Brutal is the high distortion of channel 2(modern switch). But whats with channel three then? MONSTER

This amp is new. 2 weeks ago I bought it. No comment

I know the boggie company for some years, because of my older Rack. Never had a problem with them. It's like a big family and every new boogie customer in germany is very welcome. The warranty is two years.

Replace? at all costs. For the next time no other amp exists for me.
Compared with my boogie rack the dual rectifier is a bit noisy and louder. Why did I choose that one? It's the right amp for my Guitar.

This is a new 2002 Three Channel Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier Solos head.. Say that five times fast.. It has evreything I need but Reverb Fans may want to invest in a outboard unit. This is very versatile for my needs.. I've had it for over a month and a half and it's perfect..This is my main amp I gig with and rehearse with.. I run it through a Mesa 212 Closeback Cab with Vintage 30's and a Genz-Benz G-Flex 212 Ported Cab.. Huge sound!! But an 8 for no reverb..

I play two 82' Ibanez Musicians guitars with stock Super 58's humbucker pickups for my main (type) of music.(NuMetal/Sevendust/Metallica/AIC/ect..)I also play an early 90's Fender Telecaster with a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails bridge pickup and a stock neck p/u for my cleaner songs.. I know a lot of people complain that this is not a very versatile amp but I beg to differ... This is not a Fender or a Marshall amp but a Mesa Dual Rectifier.. This amp is very sensitive to the settings you set in place. To explain it clearly is the eq ( Bass / Mid / Treble ) are very responsive to there settings and to get the right sound doesn't mean you set it up like a Marshall or a Fender.. I myself can get a very bluesy sound and one of the sweetest cleans out of this thing I've ever heard.. Can you get a great sound at a low volume?? Yes,.. But like anything you have to play with it until you find your sweet spot.. To the people who say this is a very stale amp and bad tone.. I think you need to practice a little bit more before you can appreciate the sounds this bad boy has to offer.. Make sure you read the manual very carefully and you will find out how and what this baby can do.. Is it noisy?? Yes and No.. If you play Metal Or Hard Rock without a Noise Gate through any Tube amp then expect noise and a lot of feedback with Any Tube Amp.. Get A NOISE GATE!! I love channel one's clean tones!!! Very lush especially with a little chorus from my Danelectro pedal and echo and I'm in heaven...Bottom line is this is a great amp for the professional and the weekend warriors in search for great tone..Remember, take your time to get to know it true characteristics so that you will find your sweet spots...I give this section a 9 for that nothing in my search for tone is perfect but this thing comes close....

I have had the two channel version for over two years and it has never broke down..But I changed the power tubes every six months just in case because I do gig alot.. Mesa builds these things like a Sherman Tank but you should always be carefully transporting tube amps.. And always check everything out before you turn it on, everthing tight nothing vibrated loose, ect.. I always carry extra tubes because you never know what's going to happen and when I gig I do take my two channel Daul for a backup. Not that I have needed it but when your playing live you don't have the luxery of stopping to change tubes and ect..So a quick switch of my foot and my back up kicks on.. But after two years with no problems I can give it a 9..

I have called and talk to them regardng advice with effects and certain settings for the loop and they have always been more than helpfull..But Warranty is a Non-Transferrable 1 year from time of purchase..This is where I think they Suck..1 year is just when this thing is barelly broke in and what I have noticed is that amps show their true colors after 2years.. These are top notch and for the price I would like the confidence of having a warranty for at least 3 years.. For this it gets a 6..

I have been playing for over 15 years and my quest for the perfect amp has been fulfilled so far..Would I replace it if I had too?? Yes!! I love the tones I get from this beast.. What I hate about it? Is not the amp but the people who buy it and don't take the time to figure it out and then bash it and say it is stale and not very versatile..No, it's not going to sound like a Marshall or a Fender..It's a Boogie!! What I have noticed is that everyone who has mail ordered this thing hates it because it shows up with busted tubes and ect. Well fix the tubes and play with it..Or go and get one from the Music store and try it out.. You can find these things in every State, why mail order one? I don't know why they can't get the sounds they want other than not trying to know the amps features..Oh well their loss..It's a Boogie!! I wouldn't have anything other!! 9 1/2

Bought in 2001. This amp is used in a metal band. Three channels solo, rhythm and clean. each channel has its own switch for three different modes for low gain crunch,moderate,modern hi gain settings. The effects loop is level variable. Comes with 5 button footswitch that features a volume knob controlled solo boost for each of the amps three channels and an effects on off switch that work in the same fashion.

This amp is used with a 1997 gibson sg standard plugged straight in with no effects save for the noise gate i use to cut down on high gain hiss. The amp is played through an ampeg 4 x 12 cab with 100 watt celestions.(note to buyers if you have the money purchase the mesa 4 x 12 recto cab. no other cabinet i've ran across so far will do this head justice. you will be louder and your low end response will be much better) This amp works perfectly with the metal band i play in. The low end is tight, the mids are nice and crunchy and the highs are smooth yet they bite overall this amp is extremely loud. you can get a variety of sounds with this amp if you are willing spend time tweaking knobs. it can go from classic rock, british crunch, sparkling clean and ultra modern hi gain settings.if you push the gain on the clean channel it will distort. i usually crank the volume on the clean 3/4ths higher than the other two channels. i was expecting the tone controls to be a bit more active but after a week of using this amp i was one smiling mofo.

my settings: amps master volume is usually 50%

solo ch3 for light crunch
all knobs at 50%, gain at a quarter, mod switch on

rhythm ch2 for main dist
bass,mids and volume 50%, treble and prescence 100%, gain 75% mod

clean ch1 for clean sound
bass 75% prescence 75% treble and mids 50% volume 75% switch clean

want to hear these settings on a recording?
check out http://www.mp3.com/thelust/
no effects, no eq just the dual rectifier ran through a peavey 2x12 open back 100 watt celestion cabinet(it's all i had at the time) and recorded with a single shure sm58 mic. there is a phaser on the clean channel for the song valentina so you can't really judge the timbre.

bought amp in sept 2001 have not had a single problem since.

have not had the chance. heard they are nice.

i've been playing 10 years and i own two gibson sg guitars and crappy marshall valvestate head that i would throw out the window of a moving car if mesa called me up and dared me to.
if this amp were stolen i would freak then buy a new one asap.
I love this amp for the sheer volume,the low end chug it puts out and the solo switch if you need a volume boost which is great for solos.

on a personal note this amp is made for people who can play and know how to get the tone they want. no you're not going to get a metallica justice for all, scooped mid death, ultra processed sound when plug in and turn this amp on. and if you want that fender twin crystal clean sound buy a fender twin for those about to bitch. this is a hardrock/metal amp if you play blues, jazz or country it might not suit your needs with out some effects processing depending on the type of sound your looking for.

2001 Model. It has lots of features, for classic rock,and heavier hard rock sounds. It has 3 channels you can choose from 3 different modes on each channel.It also has a 5 button footswitch which gives you a choice to choose from all 3 channels,a solo boost,and effects loop on and off.You have lots of sounds to choose from.

I play with a 71 Les Paul Custom.I play anything from classic rock to The (AKA) Grunge period,to Incubus and modern Hard Rock.The amp is very quiet when the volume and gain are cranked. Much quieter than my Marshall DSL-50,or any other Marshall for that matter.I play in a band environment and it cuts through the mix just fine. I owned the (2 channel) version of this Duel Rectifier.I traded it in on this head.This head is more verstile than the (2channel). The clean is much better. I liked the modern sound on the (2channel)a little better,but that is my opinion.It is a little more creamier and is a little thicker and fuller than the new one. The (3channel) also has more bite on the modern channel which is better if you like metal I guass.

I had no troubles with my old (2channel) model. Mesa stuff is made very well. I have had troubles with all my Marshall Heads in the past. And still do with my DSL-50.

Never dealt with them.

I have been playing for 9 years. I play this through a Mesa 4+12 recto cab. I played this head through a Marshall 1960a that I also own and the Mesa blew it out of the water!!!!!!I also own a Marshall DSL-50 head. This amp sounds great with my 71 Les Paul Custom. I traded in my (2channel) Duel Rectifier for this one because I could get classic rock sounds and heavy rock sounds with out reaching behind the head to change modes.The clean on this head is also much improved over the old (2channel) version I have read about that on other reviews and they were right. Like I said I think the Modern mode is a little better on the old version but I will learn to deal with it for the more verstile features on this head.I would buy a new one if this one were lost or stolen. But I hope that will not happen this head is very high in price. It also has a 1 year warrenty. 6 months on the tubes. And the footswitch is very nice the switches click in and out very smoothly much,much better than those crappy Marshall footswitches.THANKS PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!

This thing has more features than I could ever imagine using! The FX loop and solo boost are awesome. There are infinite possiblities sound-wise. As far as power, I think I should have gotten something a little less powerful, but oh well!

Me and my band play mostly hard rock (with a little bit of metal and punk). We have had a VERY hard time getting the sound we have been looking for and up until now, all of my equipment has really sucked! I have two cheap guitars (squire strat and a Slammer/Hamer) and two really REALLY cheap amps. I was going to just get a new guitar, because I thought that was the reason I could not get a good tone, but instead, I bought dual recto. There was never much hope in making the squire sound good, but the Slammer sounds awesome. I might actually keep that one for a little while! I am still having a little trouble getting channel 3 to sound just right. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know

Since this is my first tube amp, I am not sure what to expect as far as tube life. The amp is built like brick house. At first, I had a little trouble with the foot switch. The amp would switch from ch.1 to ch.2 on its own, and very rapidly. I thought I hadn't pluged it good, but that wasn't it. After I turned the rotary channel selector on the back from footswitch to ch 1. and back, it stopped. It only did that a couple of times, and hasn't done it since, but I was still sort of worried about it...

I haven't dealt with them yet. I hope they are as decent as everyone says they are...

I have only been playing for 3 years, but this is exactly the sound and power I have been looking for ever since I started picking around on a guitar!

3 channels, 8 modes, all different and sound great. 5 button footswitch is great. all the features i could dream of, solo boost, and fx loop are great.

For the guy that said korn sucks...you are forgiven. Korn is god. they use mesa dual recto's and they sound amazing. this amp is perfect for high volumes and the style of music i like to play which is metal from anything and everything from old metallica to korn to system of a down. simply liquid distortion, and a great clean channel

10....this amp kills. it has been my dream amp forever. i've been playing for 4 years and this amp is perfect for me. I've been going to guitar center every weekend and drooling over this mesa. and finally i was able to buy it! All these bands that are big are using mesa amps for a reason, they kick major balls. perfect for metal...perfect

3 channels
3 modes
Improved clean channel
"variac" (bold Spongy)
EL34 or 6l6 biasing switch
5 button footswitch
Bad ass look

I love it. I use a new ESP EC1000 with EMG 81s and it just rips! It is awesome. I have finally found my sound. I mostly use channel 2 on Vintage.

I just got it, and put EL34s in. I have played at loud volumes, but I need to really gig it first

Mesa was great. I always seriously contemplate any purchase of expensive equiptment. They helped give me any info i needed. I was originally planning on getting a MarK IV. However, Mesa helped me come to the conclusion that the Dual Recto was more for me.

Wow....im the fourth person to post a review this month.....This must be the season to buy a Boogie. Anyway, this amp is great. There are so many options it is amazing. I agree with alot of people who say that channel Orange on Vintage mode with EL34s is the best way to go.

3 channels and seperate EQs,Solo boost,Footswitch,Bias switch, 3 modes per channel except first channel

I really like the heavy distorted sound. I am in a cover band and most of the new music out right now is heavy. So it fits me perfectly. I like the 2nd channel on vintage mode too.

It is very sturdy and built like a tank

Mesa was quick to respond to all of my emails

I really like it. I think that most people dont like to take time to "tweak" or adjust the EQ properly. Along with another poster, the EL34s are more to my liking.

3 independent channels with independent EQs
RAW,VINTAGE, MODERN voicings on channels 2 and 3
CLEAN and PUSHED voicings on channel 1
Bold/Spongy switch
Vaccum or Rectifier tube settings
Bias switch (allows you to switch from EL34s to 6L6s easily)
Solo feature
AWESOME FEATURES....BUT NO REVERB! (oh well)

Now, Im going to be honest and right to the point. Almost anyone who says that this amp sounds "steril" or "Muddy" or "like shit" is a moron or has had a bad experience. This is for one of three reasons:

1: The amp was screwed up to begin with (QUICK STORY): I was in Guitar Center looking to try out the Recto. So the assistant plugs me in and flips the switch...nothing happens. So I look at the back and say "Hey....somone took out the fuse..." The assistant grabs another one and sets it up. I plug in....this one sounds like shit....really bad....muddy as hell...Come to find out, one of the tubes were stolen from this one, and the ohms was switched to 4 instead of 16....Then the assistant tells me that people constantly go in there and steal peices (footswitches, FUSES, cables..) for their own Rectos.

2: They didn't take the time to tweak- Many people who sit down and scoop the mids, max the presence and treble, and dime the bass are dumb asses. READ THE MANUAL at Mesa's web site. It clearly shows how the EQ works together.

3: They didn't crank the amp like it is supposed to be cranked- The master volume set to 2 is not going to do it guys...it IS a tube amp...Have you ever heard a Marshall tha sounded good at low volumes.....I think not.

I have heard this amp sound like Classic EVH with full, rich sound (EL34s-Channel 2 -modern, with mids cranked)...and I have heard it sound like $1500 worth of shit.... The choice is yours.

No problems whatsoever, I would feel comfortable gigging without a backup.

Never had to deal with Mesa

What can I say....hopefully I am not the only one out here who knows how to tweak an amp such as the Recto.....Give it time, it takes a while to get "your sound"....Also, if you aren't looking for a Death Metal sound and more of a EVH or Early Metallica tone, go with the EL34s.

I got this amp in 2001. It has 3 channels. 1 clean channel where you can have it on pushed or clean. and channel 2 you can have 3 settings... raw, vintage, and modern. and channel 3 has the same (raw, vintage, and modern) but gives you more presence for soloing. It is 100 watts and is extremely loud!!

I play a les paul custom, and it sounds great. You can get many different tones out of this... from the fuzzy sound, to a fuzzy sound that is crisp (crazy i know), it just tears everything a new one.

heck yes you can depend on it... its a mesa what do you expect. nothing less than the best. i have not had one problem with it and i have had it a year. i had one tube blow but it was under warranty and got a new one right away, and nothing has happened since.

i called mesa and asked about different style tubes. and they called me back (they call back every call they get) and they were more than helpful in helping me find the right tubes... and if i ever had a problem needing service im sure they would be more than helful as well.

If it was lost or stolen, heck yes i would buy another one. The tone is just awesome. In my old band the other guitar player had a Marshall JCM 2000 DSL and the Mesa just blows it away.... Just listen to the band No Use For A Name their tone is amazing. After listening you will want a mesa!!

This amp is all over the place, its amazing! It has 3 seperate channels with different setting for each channel. The first channel (clean) has either a clean or pushed setting which gives you the opinion of two highly useable sounds. The second and third channel have Raw, Vintage, and Modern settings which gives you 3 levels of distortion on each channel! The third channel has a much higher treble setting making the second and third channel very different and allowing for many possiblities of sound though this beautiful sounding amp. It has channel volume, gain, presence, treble, mid, and bass knobs for each of the 3 channels, along with a master volume and solo volume knob. The Solo allows you to choose a proper volume for your soloing work that can be activated by the footswitch that is included with the amp. You can also choose between the tubes you use, giving this amp so many possibilites that I've had it for over half a year and haven't reached all its capabilities.

I'm currently using a Jackson guitar with an EMG-81 in the bridge and it sounds #@&%$*(% HEAVY! Plus it has one of the best clean tones I've heard from any amp. I also use the three channels to gain different sounds for soloing and other areas of playing. The sound is consistant and thick when you want it to, and clean and smooth when you need it too. You can get the clean channel very loud with minimal distorting. I've used other amps before that give off way more distortion on clean settings when you turn them up. This amp is just so clean and beautiful sounding I've only even recieved complements on it!

Well I've only had it for just under a year but it still sounds like it did out of the box. I've never had any troubles with the tubes or anything at all.

Never had to deal with them but if there service is as good as there amps then this category deserves a 10!

This amp is reliable, has AMAZING tone and sound, I've never had one problem and to top it off, it looks awesome. If anything ever happend to my amp I'd rush out and buy a new one, maybe a triple rectifier because that extra 50 watts would only add to its tremendous power. If you are at all worried about spending so much on this amp, you shouldn't be, I've never regreted buying this from the first time I flipped the power switch.

Here is another follow up to my reviews from the "other" Dual Recto/Triple Chan board.

***If you can't get good tone out of this head, here are some hard-learned suggestions.

DO NOT USE THE F/X LOOP. Turn the switch on the back to "Loop Bypass". Do not use the "overall" output knob next to the "solo" control. Again, turn the switch to "Loop Bypass". With the loop function off, you will now have pure control over your 3 channels. The "overall" volume function served to crush the life of each individual channel. Ignore it...get rid of it...bypass the loop and be forever happy.***

Now, after one year of living with this amp, I am pleased to say that the tone is simply fantastic.

1978 Les Paul Custom into the Dual Recto into a stock Marshall 1960A slant cab is pure heaven. The clean sound is sweet and reminds me of old 1950's live rock. Very VOX in nature with great warmth and jangle.

The "Vintage" dirty is THE best guitar sound I have ever heard.

Since I have bypassed the LOOP function, even the "Modern" dirty sounds great. I can now use the "Modern" or Thrid Channel as my solo channel.

The cover that comes with the head sucks. You really must invest in road cases. I have already taken a large chunk out of the leather in the front...

n/a, have never needed to call for help. Yet.

Out of the Les Paul, the Clapton Strat and my old Telecaster, the Les Paul really sounds the best with this amp.

The strat and tele are great companions to my VOX AC-30.

I would get the same model should something happen to this amp.

I wish, however, someone at Boogie would explain why that stupid "LOOP" function changes the ENTIRE gain structure as it does. I nearly walked away from this amp as a result of the tonal dog shit that can occur as a result of the loop being activated.

Final words...BYPASS THE LOOP!

Rock on.

OH MY GOD! This amp is awesome. absolutely the answer to my prayers. I hate bad sounding guitar amps, and this definetely does NOT sound bad at all. All the distortion a kid could ever want with room to spare. Normally to get a good distortion sound I'd have to crank the gain to ten and scoop all the mids. on this thing, I get a great tone with the gain at 75-80% and the mids at 40%. The only thing I dislike is the clean channel. It took me experimenting for a month to get a good clean sound. but now that I did, its awesome. I use channel 1 for the clean, like its intended, channel 2 for my full-out heavy overdrive sound, and channel 3 for my crispy, mildly distorted tone. channel 2 has more beef to it than 3 does at a lower gain level and it suits my style better, so that's why I use the channels in reverse order

I play moderately heavy art-influenced rock similair to a hybrid of a perfect circle, deftones, radio head, dave matthews band and in flames. I use a PRS ce24 maple top guitar tuned to standard tuning and run it through about 10 fx pedals to generate un-guitar like sounds. don't read this wrong, I didn't mention anything about sounding like shit the way korn does.

I use channel 1 for the clean, like its intended, channel 2 for my full-out heavy overdrive sound, and channel 3 for my crispy, mildly distorted tone. channel 2 has more beef to it than 3 does at a lower gain level and it suits my style better, so that's why I use the channels in reverse order. The clean channel actually cleans up when you turn the volume up higher, which is nice unlike most amps that get distorted when you turn the volume up. oh, something you should know, when the fx loop is engaged, the presence control doesn't work on channel 2 and 3 when they are in the modern modes. Kinda weird, but that's what it says in the manual that came with it.

It's built like a friggin' tank. far better than the nearly road useless marshall jcm 2000 tsl. I replaced my marshall with this fine mesa because the marshall kept dying at rehearsal and I couldn't risk it dying on stage. so, I did what was logical... I bought a mesa.

Never had any problems.

Holy hell! buy this amp.... don't waste time and money, don't buy a marshall jcm2000 tsl. marshall makes really nice stuff, just not that amp... it doesn't even compare to the sheer durability of the mesas. Not to mention the tone you get with this thing! absolutely amazing. once you find your sound on it, you're all set.

clean sound really sucks, not loud enough, for that matter, the whole amp really isn't very loud, better hope you have a mic in front of it, you can be drowned out by your bassist, unless you are a bedroom rocker, then...
retube it with e 34 ls's, the 6l6's really bite. do you think boogie would part with good tubes in every amp they produce? i think not. also , this head sounds best with vintage 30 loaded cabs, forget about any other speaker , played it through my Bag End 2x12's and it sounded terrible, oddly, because the Bag End speakers are sonically superoir and can handle way more bottom than the Celestions. I have a Marshall 30th anniversary 3 channel amp which smothers the Mesa in terms of sheer volume, clean tone and the "classic rock" tone, but for todays modern rock, nothing compares to the distortion, mid cut and chug of the Rectos. It does fart out with 6l6's though. Solo boost is a great thing too. Ive had a mark III, mark iv and a tri axis..the recto is the best for distortion and lead tones, look elsewhere for clean. Its a simple amp to use, dont have to tweak it for hours to get a good tone either.

so far so good after a month of full volume crankage.

boogie support is second to none, could only wish every company in every industry had customer support like they do.

This is a New 2001 Mesa Dual Recto Triple channel. I purchased it to replace my 2 channel recto. Obviously, it's a tube amp. The amp is pretty much the same as the 2 channel, just with a crap load more options to choose from. I play pop punk, so it suits me well. It's got the three channels which is a nice change from the older model. It also has an FX loop swith and a solo switch, which are nice. The footswith has 5 buttons, one for each channel, one for Solo (basically a volume boost), and one to turn on or off your FX loop. Each channel has it's own separate eq's which is nice. Also, there is a main output pot and a solo output pot. The main ouput adjusts what it says. It's great because you can turn your amp up and down, but keep each channel's level at the same spot, so you don't have to adjust 3 outputs. The solo output basically adjusts the amount of volume you want to add when you hit the solo switch. I love it for when my other guitarist drowns me out a little, I just hit the switch and I'm slightly louder. However, these two output controls only work when the FX loop is in use. So what if you don't use your FX loop? I don't use mine, so what I did was take a 6 inch patch cord and go right from the send into the return and set the levels both at about 1 o'clock. This makes absolutely no difference in sound, but allows you to use the main output and the solo output. Try it out. I don't think there are any features you can add to this amp. There are so many options, it's wonderful. Each channel also has a choice of tones. Channel 1 has either the 'clean' or 'pushed' options. Clean is a bit more subdued... the only real diference I noticed was that pushed is a bit louder and a bit more crisp. I keep it there. Channels 2 & 3 have the Raw, Vintage, and Modern options. I keep channel 2 on vintage and get a mild distortion out of it. Channel 3 is on Modern and basically causes incontinence when I crank it up. Mess around, you can get a lot of sounds out of it, but it's really meant to be a heavy distortion amp. We all know that or you wouldn't be reading this. This is my only amp so I use it to practice and to play at shows. I have the matching 4x12 cab and it rocks.

I use this amp mostly with a Les Paul studio. It sounds very nice. One problem is that when you have high gain on the 'modern' setting, it gets a bit fuzzy when you're not playing... a lot of hiss. I bought a Boss NS-2 and reduced it significantly, but did not eliminate it. Get a gate, you'll have no problems. The only other thing I use other than the amp's footswitch and the gate is a volume pedal. No fuss, no muss... whatever that means. Basically, if you're reading this you know what this amp is all about. It's VERY LOUD and it has great tone. If you wan't one, save up and get it, it's worth it. At least to me it is. Make sure you try one out at a store first though... don't take my word for it.

Built rock solid. I never had a problem with my old Recto, so I'm assuming the same goes for this one. Just make sure you change your tubes every 6 months or so (the preamp tubes that is). You'll sound good forever that way.

I called them a couple times, they get back relatively quickly and have always helped me out.

I think I covered everything in the other areas. I've been playing for 15 years or so. This is my only amp and I have 2 guitars, a Gibson Les Paul Studio, and a Hamer Standard. They both sound damn good in this amp. If stolen, I'd WANT to get a new one, being able to afford it is a different story. The amp rocks, bottom line. If you want one, go try one out and get it. Be patient and you'll get the sound you like, but keep in mind, this amp is made to be heavily distorted. The only problem I have is the price. 15 hundred bucks for a few pieces of wood and some electronics hardly seems fair, but i guess you pay for quality. Sure I can pay less and drive a Hyundai, but I'd rather have the Ferrari.

lots of great features on this amp. 3 gain voicings each for channels 2 and 3, 2 gain voicings for channel one, plus a master volume boost for each channel. wow! not to mention the bold/spongy switch and rectifier switch whick each have dramatic effects on the tone and responsiveness of this amp. cool fx loop options, alternate channel switches for each channel for using a midi loop switcher like the digital music gcx to change channels via midi-- something i wish my marshall tsl100 had.

i use a prs ce22 maple top, a fender 52 reissue tele, and a peavey wolfgang stoptail. the wolfgang has dimarzio pickups, the tele has harmonic designs, and the prs has the stock dragon bridge pickup with a harmonic design z90 in the neck. i play hard rock (a la tool, soundgarden, etc.) not metal.

i really tried to love this amp, but it just doesn't cut through the mix when i play with my band. too muddy, fizzy, and compressed, not enough upper mids. this may be partially due to my bass player using an 8 string bass, but my marshall tsl100 cuts right through and sounds fantastic, and the boogie just plain doesn't. it sounds amazing by itself, though. but really what i've figured out is that the dual rectifier just doesn't have the character that a marshall has. i know that all the nu-metal kids like this amp because its like sooo heavy, dude, and it has so much gain and bottom end, but all this turns to mud the minute your bass player and drummer start playing.

i will say this, however. if you are in a two guitar band, and your other guitarist uses a marshall, the dual rectifier makes a nice partner. a boogie and a marshall together is a match made in heaven. where the boogie is weak, the marshall is strong, and where the marshall is weak, the boogie is strong. together they're unstoppable. but overall, if i had to choose, i'd take the marshall every time.

i work at a music store which sells mesa boogie, and believe me when i say that mesa's quality control department needs a major kick in the pants. i would say that 40-50% of the rectifiers and nomads are either bad out of the box or go bad within the first month, and that just plain sucks. on the bright side, most of the problems (maybe 70%) are due to bad tubes. EASY fix. about 25% are due to bad pots. a little more of a pain in the ass.

however, once once these problems are properly fixed they seem to be more reliable. but my rectifier spent three of its first six months in the shop for one thing after another, and that's a real bitch after spending $1500.

great customer support, i'll definately hand it to boogie in this department.

just not my bag tonewise, i really don't see why so many people like this amp as much as they do, unless they're just playing by themselves, because they just don't cut through the mix in the average heavier-sounding band. would make a great second amp combined with a marshall or something similar but i wouldn't want this as my only amp

This amp was made in 2001, and I just recently bought it. It has 3 channels and a total of 8 different modes to switch between. Channel one is clean, and the other two are gain channels. The amp is rated at 100 watts, but it sounds much louder than most other 100 watt heads. Most of the other features have already been covered, so just read them or check out Mesa's web page.

Here is where this amp really shines. Let me start by saying that I play many different types of music, ranging all the way from country to metal. Mostly I play hard rock and metal though. My main guitar is a Gibson Les Paul with a Duncan Distortion in the bridge and a '59 in the neck. This setup really suits this amp well. The clean channel is exactly that, clean. It can be deep and full or come very close to that sparkling Fender sound. Most people don't care too much for this channel on this amp, but it suits me fine. I like it alot better than the clean from any Marshall I've played. If you dial in a little more gain on this channel, you get a cool SRV type sound, even with the Les Paul. Channel two is probably the most versatile as far as range of tone goes. With the Raw option, you can acheive a very good blues tone that nails BB King's sound. On Vintage, you can get anything from AC/DC to the Allman Brothers and any other southern rock sounds you might want. Switch it to Modern and you have a great lead setting. I pretty much dialed in the exact sound from the early Van Halen albums on this channel. Channel three picks up where channel two leaves off. This channel is a little more difficult to dial the sound in, but when you get it, man does it sound awsome! I started out hating this channel, but when I found my sound, it instantly became my favorite. I use this channel in the Modern setting for heavy metal rhythm guitar. My setting along with the Duncan Distortion brings out some of the heaviest sounds you could ever imagine. I play alot of Metallica, Megadeth, POD, and even Ozzy stuff on this channel and it sounds amazing. Just take the time to read the instruction book to get an idea of where to start on this channle and go from there. Once you get the sound you're looking for, you'll be glad you put in the extra tweaking time. I am amazed every time I play this amp at the range of high quality tones available. I really think you can find almost any sound you want with this amp. The only place I found it isn't great for is country, but it's a high gain amp anyway, so why bother playing if for country. Get a Fender for that.

I've only had this amp for about a week, so I can't really say how reliable it is yet. I know several other people that own Rectifiers, and they've never had any problems with theirs, so hopefully mine will be the same.

I haven't dealt directly with Mesa yet, but I hear their customer support is top notch. Hell, they even give a 6 month warranty on the tubes that come with this amp. Try to find another company that will do that.

I am very satisfied with this amp. I've been playing for nearly 10 years, and this is the best sounding amp I have ever played. I would recommend trying it out before you buy it, because it may not be for everybody. Most people that like any kind of rock music will like this amp though. It has tons of tonefull distortion and a great clean channel as well. I use mine with a 2x12 vertical Recto Cabinet, and this gives my huge bass response. The Mesa 2x12 sounds much better than most 4x12 in my opinion. The only cab that would sound better with this amp is the 4x12 Recto cab. If you need a big sound for less money, or if you just want something more portable, check out the Mesa 2x12. It sounds great. Before I bought this amp, I spent nearly 6 months trying out all different kinds of amps. I tested Marshall, Randall, Peavey, Crate, Hughes & Kettner, VHT, and even Soldano, but the Mesa beat all of these. It is a great amp, and would make any guitar play happy.

I think this amp is a 2001. I bought it recently, and love it. Very Versatile. 3 channels, Tube/Diode selector, FX Loop, 100 watt, slave out, etc.

I am running an Ibanez RG 320 through this with fender cables, Powersound pickups, and GHS strings. This suits my style of music extremely well. Despite the fact that it has 11 tubes, it is eerily quiet. The distortion is brutal enough to emulate an earthquake inside your head, and I love it.

Can't say how reliable it is, but it's a Mesa, so it has to be reliable. I would definately gig w/o a backup.

Never dealt with them, but I even get a 6 month warranty on the tubes. Not bad. I bought it from an authorized dealer/service center so I shouldn't have any problems finding one.

Been playing for about 3 years and I am never going to buy another amp from anyone but Mesa. This thing is a dream come true. A die-hard metal tone. If it were stolen, I'd hunt down the bastard that took it, beat the shit out of him, molest his eye sockets, and cut off his ass with a dull pocket knife. I doubt he's get very far though since the amp weighs as much as a small planet. Buy one of these, simple as that.

First of all, I haven't bought this amp yet, but I will as soon as I can afford it. I have played it many times in the stores. My main guitar is a Gibson Les Paul with dual humbucker pickups. This is what I've played the amp with most of the times in the store. It has 3 channels with bass, mid, treble, gain, volume, and presence for all 3 chennels. It is a very loud amp as well. It sounds best through Mesa Recto cabinets, since the two were designed to go together. I've played it through both the 4x12 and the 2x12. They both sound amazing with this amp. If you want something portable or if you just don't have the room for a 4x12, then give the 2x12 a try. It has a HUGE sound as well, pretty close to the 4x12 except maybe a little less low end response, but not much. It sounds much better than many other 4x12 cabinets (i.e. Marshall, Crate, Randall, etc.)

I must say, this amp does many differnt styles of music very well. I love the clean channel on it, even though some people hate it. It has a really full, rich, and deep tone with my setting. It's not as sparkley or as trebley sounding as Fenders, but I really don't like the Fender clean sound that much. I prefere something with a deep, rich tone like the Dual Recto. Channel two is my favorite. The Raw mode is great for blues. You can get a great B.B. King type distortion with the gain turned down some, and you can also do a Stevie Ray Vaughn lead style with the gain turned up. The Vintage setting sounds alot like a Marshall. Great for anything from southern rock to Aerosmith. The Modern setting is the best. Very heavy distortion with lots of bass response. I got sounds ranging from the entire Metallica catalog all the way up to newer gourps like Korn and Godsmack. If you want a good distortion tone, this amp has the absolute best out there. I haven't really had a chance to play around with Channel 3 yet since I don't actually have the amp yet, but I'll post another review when I actually buy the thing. It seems to be a little more sensitive and difficult to tweak, at least more so than the other channels. I really didn't think this amp was that hard to get a good sound out of. I would start out looking for a certain sound, but then I would get side tracked because I would get something completely unexpected that sounded great. This amp is very versitle in that respect. It has more power than I could ever use. Did I mention is was extremely loud? I know it's expensive, but if you love playing and you can get the money, I would highly recomment this amp.

Can't say yet.

Also can't say yet.

I've been playing guitar for about 8-9 years. I've owned Marshall all my life and I play through a Les Paul. I finally got tired of the Marshall sound, so I decided to try out the Dual Rectifier from Mesa. It is an amazing amp. Tons of distortion with great tone along with a great clean channel make this the best amp I have ever played. I've tried out all kinds of amps in the past severl months, but I keep coming back to the Dual Recto. It just sounds so much better than anything else out there. I play all kinds of music ranging from country to southern rock to blues to metal. It covers them all pretty well, except maybe not so much the country ( not twangy). The footswitch if very helpful. I can't think of anything I don't like about this amp. If you save up your money, do yourself a favor and get this amp. Especially if you love heavy music.

Completely agree with the previous post.

Randall Smith, Mr. Mesa-Boogie, if you're reading this, the prices over here in Europe are a rip-off.

Here in Switzerland this amp costs about 4500.00 swissfrancs, this is about 2800 $$$ or 5700 german mark.
What the hell are you thinking. I like your amps, but I'm not Bill Gates or a millionaire.

Besides, the distribution company doesn't have them in stock and told me that soon the prices will even increase. This is ridiculous. Even if I would, I couldn't afford this amp.

If you take a Marshall TSL, over here they sell for about 1200 - 1300 $$, more or less the same as in the states, maybe a little cheaper.

If I look at the posts in Harmony-Central, the new Dual Recto is about 1500 $ in the US. So why the hell does it cost more than twice as much over here? Do you ship your amps First Class with American Airlines or what?
I really don't get it.

Features are pretty much covered in the other reviews. I like the "Spongy" switch very much, because this is a very powerful sound tool. The solo volume switch on the floorboard is also very good for playing solos. Great for me. I love the floorboard. Excellent and very stable. Pretty much space between the single switches on the floorboard compared to these childrens' floorboards from the Nomad series. I have rather large feet, so it is important for me. Many, many features. For that big money, they could have invested in an ADDITIONAL serial effects loop, for example for noise gates...

First of all let me say that I bought the 2-channel Recto last year. And I am very happy with this amp, because it sounds great. But no big versatility. That's why I bought first the DIEZEL VH4 and then 4 months ago the 3channel Recto. But when I tested the amp in the shop, I didnt bring my old Recto. The new Recto is kind of heavy sounding (and that's the way it should be). But this is toooo heavy sounding for me. Unfortunately I have not compared my old and the new Recto in the shop. I would never have bought this new 3channel Recto. Even with subtle tweaking I couldnt dial out this harsh sounding shred without loosing too much of other frequencies.
And please keep in mind that one Recto can sound pretty different from another Recto!!! I have swapped this Dual Recto with a Triple Recto from a friend. This beast was a bit louder, but not so harsh and trebly sounding. Believe me. I AB-tested the two amps. Ok, back to the Dual Recto with 3 channels. Pretty funky and good clean channel with a large amount of attack for clean solo parts. Nice. Well, the distortion is even more than the distortion on the old Rectos. Unlike the old 2channel Rectos, this 3ch Recto gives you extra gain and distortion even beyond 3 o'clock on the gain knob. But as I said, too harsh and trebly. Very brutal distortion. To my surprise the Red channel on this baby was VERY quite. Very little noise. But this is the trade-off for not having a natural feedback like on many Marshalls. It is very hard to describe for me, but the feedback frequency (from the strings, not that loud whistle from the pickup) with the 3ch Recto is very low. Instead of a singing feedback I will get this hum-like very deep and low end growl. Sounds like a huge bear is roaring. The raw mode: I am missing the treble in this mode abit.

This amp is NOT suited for playing at home, since it sounds crap at low volumes. Way too unbalanced, no mids, just treble and sub-bass. Boom, shred, boom, shred.

A word about the effects loop. Why the hell does the volume of the dry signal decreases, when I switch on the loop??? On the Diezel for example, the parallel effect signal (the wet signal) is only added to the overall sound, therefore the dry signal does not decrease in volume. Thats the way it should be. I mainly play a Mexico Strat (HSS) with a Jeff Beck Trembucker.

Never had a problem myself. When I swapped this amp with a friend for his Triple Recto, he found himself burning the fuse a few times. Played the amp just a few times with the band.

There are very nice guys working for the German Boogie import & sales office. I think these guys have a good understanding about the over-prized amps they are selling in Germany. Didnt have a single problem with the amp, so I cannot really rate the support. They were always very helpful to me. Currently the warranty is I guess 6 months. That is a bit short, but will be changed in Euro-land starting 2002. But that doesnt