Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier Solo Head

Dam this thing does it all!

I got the Head and a Les Paul classic the same day. All I can say is WOW!! I also have a Jackson sl1 soloist and the LP blows that thing away I am sad to say. Anyone complaining about this amp needs a new guitar, with the LP this head is GOD!!!

3 days old so I dont know.

I am 39 and have been playing since I was 14. I have owned Peavy, Marshall, and Laney amps over the years and have wanted a Mesa for many years. God I wish I had bought it sooner. What an awesome amp!! Anyone want to buy a Laney AOR 50w head? This amp rules!! Never heard such awesome sounds in my life. It will do anything!

2004 three channel Dual Rec. Like most other high end high gain amplifier reviews, if you are reading this, you probably know most of the features. I play through a 1995 PRS Custom 24, which has the older Dragon I pickups on it. These are a little mellower than the Dragon II's, but the Dual makes up for it. Although it doesn't just jump out at you as the dream amp some people make it out to be, it has to be tweaked. Just a simple change of the Vacuum Rectifier/Silicon Diode can make a world of difference. This amp has a lot of knobs and buttons, and turning them with patience and temperance will help you find the sound your looking for. The Fx loop is extremely workable, the SOLO/OUTPUT feature is nice, and the equalization in all three channels is rather good. The Bold/Spongy switch on the back kicks ass, and adds a lot of feel to the amp. The bias switch is also pretty cool, even though I haven't really used it, as Str 430 6L6's suite me just fine. Another thing I liked was if you feel it's overpowering, removing the two center power tubes cuts the power in half, to 50 watts, allowing you to crank it and get breakup at reasonable volumes. If you want that power section lit, then all four tubes can deliver it, and straight put foot to ass.

I mostly go for newer rock sounds, but not death or nu metal by far. I like a good high gain sound, but not at the sacrifice of my tone. As I said before, I'm using an older PRS Custom 24, and it gets a good variety of sounds. The clean channel, although not a Twin Reverb, sounds pretty decent to my ears. Some people say it sounds compressed, but I think it's because they didn't crank it enough. When you really open up on the clean channel, it becomes warm, and gets more saturation by careful adjustment of the gain. Switching to the pushed mode will put you in a little muddier sound, but if you know which knobs to twist, and which pickups to use in your guitar, then it is very workable. I find channel two to also be very warm, although not quite my style. People don't buy a Dual for its channel two, they want it for what is in channel 3. Although I must say I wasn't just flat out amazed, the third channel of the amp provides more and more great sound as I get to know the amp. The 4X12 oversized Recto cab I'm running it through gives it a lot of low end, but also has a lot of clarity and voice. This amp can't just be maxed out, and I find my best sounds by turning the gain down and letting the power amp do more of the work, and letting the preamp run a little cooler. I think a lot of people miss this about the Dual, you have to let the power section open up to get that great crunch from the speakers beginning to distort. The more you open the amp up though, the more you have to tweak it, and that takes time. Of course, you lose clarity initially when cranking the amp, but its going to sound a lot different with an output of 2 than 7. If you take the time to tailor the EQ and gain at high volumes, you find a true rock disortion with as much gain as you like, low end to spare, and plenty of top end. Although it doesn't straight cut through the mix, I didn't think a mix involved hearing one thing distinctly over another? The Dual provides you with more of a feel than just a shiny, flashy sound. If during a performance, one of the guitarists playing a Dual stopped, you'd immediatley lose that vibration in your chest cavity, and wouldn't know what happened. To me that's what a high gain amp is about, that thump in your chest or balls that makes you know what you're listening to. The Dual provides plenty of it, if you know where to find it.

This amp is built like a damn tank. The only problem I have had with it is blowing the light bulb on the front of the amp. It was a simple fix, and was still under the five year warranty.

The service at Mesa is second to none. On the two occassions I spoke with them, they were friendly, knowledgable, and informative. The five year warranty kicks ass, but I doubt if you have to use it in that time, as Mesa products are all built rock solid.

I have been playing for four years, and am quite satisfied with this amp. If it were stolen, I would bag enough groceries to buy another one, just like I did on this one. Although its not an Uberschall or Budda, it's a working man's high gain amp. Not all of us working on minimum wage can afford upwards of $2500 for a head alone, and the Mesa provides reasonable pricing with quality materials. This amp truly is high gain, and works great for contemporary hard rock and metal. If I were to tell Mesa one thing, it would be to work on the clean a little more. But, when you buy a high gain amp, what'd you expect? You truly aren't paying $1500 for a combo, you're paying it for that modern mode in channel three. Overall, I'm extremely pleased with this amp, and hopefully will hang on to it for quite a while.

Great, every thing you could possibly want, I wish other amps had everything so well covered.

I play modern Rock styles. Im not really convinced with these amps, they sound quite buzzy and don't cut through the mix live like other amps like Soldanos and some Marshalls. Also it is THE noisiest amp I have ever had, I really find this quite objectionable. Really nice low end though but otherwise it creates a wall of mush. Ive had good luck in the studio with it for recording solos.

Never had any problems.

I've been playing for 15 years and used many amps. I would not replace this if it got stolen. It would be good to see tha back of it actually. Before you buy check out a Soldano. There was a previous comment about not believing the marketing crap from Mesa Boogie on these amps. I think they are over rated.

Ok well,I had a laney amp ,it was just a 12 inch speaker 100 wat amp,it was ok,but one day i braught my mesa home along with a 4x12 recto oversised slant cab . Well,at first i was tryingto get a good sound,i diddnt really know the amp,So iv just been messing around with it.Well,iv had it for about 4 or 5 months now or something,and..Who ever mochs this amp deserves to be punished ..Like im not even kidding,you have to have a nut sack for a brain to say this amp is shit.Just fuck with the settings for a while . Anyways this thing has 3 channels . Clean . and 2 hi gain channels,but,you can set one of the high gain channels to soft,and the other one to hard,but i use a volume pedal so i only use the orange channel and the clean channel,..uhh..my setting for the orange channel is on vintage,im not a lead guitarist . I play rythm . Im also in a band called MindsEye , I play a ibanez rg7421 GN XL 7 string guitar .And i use a whammy pedal and a wah and soem other shit i dont feel like listing,.But anyways,this amp is very versatile,you can pull off any sound,and it walks over my dads 62 tremolux hehe ^_^,uhh what else,of course its point to point wired and fully tube amp,trust me,you want ballz tone,grab a mesa .

Well,this thing sounds a lot like korn,well,fuck man,this thing can sound like anything if your patient and fiddle with the settings..As i said i use a whammy pedal do get a really chunky low sound,i use the 1OCT^ | 1OCT pedal down mode,the first one,it gives me a chunky ass korn sound,but yeah,this thing screams with ballz.Its uber thick ,and when your playing live it doesnt have a shitty tinny sound that makes peoples ears bleed,this amp is pretty much a god send to your hard rock / blues / Whatever you want player. All the channels are fun to experiment with so give it a try.

Well,i havnt had any problems with it,well,if i hit the top of it lightly i can hear a buzz in one of the tubes or something,i dont think its a big deal though..And i haul this thing around to gigs and stuff,its pretty sturdy feelings,and it comes with amp covers.So,sall good,good shit,if u want,go spend a couple grand and beat the shit out of people / animals or whatever,i bet u anything i holds up

I have no clue,havnt had to call them .

Wellp folks , You want a kick ass ballz to the wall metal / anykidna music amp ??, Well go at least try one if my review doesnt help you,if you want you can add me to msn or mail me at life__is__peachy@hotmail.com . good shit,well,yeah,i give this thing a 10 everywhere,not only cuz i own it,jut because it deserves it,if anyone says this amp sucks,they are jelouse cuz all they got is a marshall or a peavy or someshit,or they dont know how to adjust the settings like us real players hahah,ok,peace out 10

this is a followup review 1 year later...

follow up

It can fall off of the truck and live. I watched this happen 2 days ago!

I am posting a followup review. It has been another year with the amp, and I have found the dream tone! I finally tried the imfamous KT66-HP tubes from groovetubes. Holy crap! Why, didn't I try this before? I was very worried about the bias deal. KT66 tubes need hot bias, and the mesa is not adjustable! They must bias hot anyway. There is no better power supply section than in this amp. Well maybe the RoadKing, but that is one serious upgrade... I now have my mid knob a little lower with the new tubes, but there is the dream tone. Those low-mids that I thought where so liquid before, are even more-so! I tried the Number 4 on the GT tube rating system. This is a more distroted number than I was hoping to get, but is the sound! I can't argue. Try KT66 tubes!!! I would like to try theese in the Mesa 400+ bass amp! Balz.

I think this is a 1999 model? if you're reading this, you probably are familiar with the features, so I'm not gonna spend hours listing them. At first, this head looks extremely versatile. However, after playing it for a while, you'll realize that the clean is mediocre at best (which hurts the feature score). i know some of you only play with distortion - yeah, great. i write a lot of stuff with chill picking for the verse, and then hardcore distortion for the choruses, stuff like that. So, I want to have a clean sound that sounds pretty good. I mean, I'll deal with the Dual Rec clean, I didn't buy it for its clean sound. That's why I'm gonna end up getting a Whirlwind AB/Y switcher and running a fender twin reverb for clean stuff. Ok, also, when you switch distortion modes, I've found that I have to do a lot of readjusting with the eq - which is not cool. my band just started gigging, and i don't want to have to run over to my amp and re-adjust it after every song - give me a break.

I've been playing guitar for about 12 years, i started pretty early, and am in college now. First off - don't spend hours and hours reading reviews - go out and play this amp . . . loud (please don't play it on "2" at Guitar Center). ALso, I think the 2 channel dual rec sounds better than the 3 channel. The 3 channel is more versatile, but I think the 2 channel one sounds a little thicker. that's just me, though. i use three guitars. Main guitar - 2000 Gibson Les Paul Studio - (498T in brdige). For more hardcore songs, I use another Les Paul Studio with the EMG 81/85 setup, which is pretty cool, but these blow for clean. I really like the 81 though, its worth a shot if you play all out metal/hardcore/whatever. Third, i've got a strat lying around (emphasis on lying around . . . ), that I only use for recording really clean stuff. I play through a 4x12 mesa Recto cab (the oversized one), and have a Sonic Maximizer in the effects loop. Ok, I think this head sounds pretty impressive for heavy distortion, but that's all I use it for. I don't really like the mellower, vintage/orange/whatever settings. Its my opinion that Dual Rectifiers are only really good for intense, heavy distortion. I'm sorry, I really think this amp compromised on its clean and "vintage" distortion sounds. I just don't find them that usable - and for 1,500 new, come on (i guess that's the price for a 3 channel, but still). I got mine used for 900, so I was happy. I gave this amp a 7 because I'm really happy with the modern/red distortion mode. I run a Sonic Maximizer in the loop, and the distortion is huge, thick, etc. Before this amp I had a Single Rectifier and a DSL 100. There basically wasn't any clean - the clean broke up wayyyyyyy too early. again, rectifiers suck for clean, so whatever. Also, I wasn't impressed with any of the distortion sounds. maybe I got a bad unit, i don't know. One of my good friends gave me a really, really good deal on a DSL 100 (got it for 300), which was a good amp at first. But, it had a shared eq for clean and distortion. again, this made the clean suck, but i'm mostly focused on distortion. THe distortion started out pretty good, but suddenly it got really harsh/trebly (the whole ice-picks in the ears thing). that sucked. I never took this amp in to get it checked out, I just got the 2 channel Dual Rec, and now at least i have a good heavy distorted sound. I'm still not totally happy though - that's why I gave it a 7. In my opinion, it sounds good on one setting, which is the setting i need, so i'm pretty happy. Still, for the money, it should do more. There's no way this amp deserves a 10, no way in hell. I mean, if you want a really good amp (that deserves a 9/10), get a Bogner Uberschall. I played one once - unbelievable, I can't describe it. But, these are at least 2,500. Can't someone build a versatile, good sounding hard rock amp that costs 1,000? Marshall Mode 4's don't count, they are a disaster. Hey, maybe you should get a Mode 4 if you're a "nu-metal" player. nu-metal . . . uh, right . . . . . is nu-metal another name for commercial rap/rock stuff? Like Saliva, Click, Click, Boom - one of the worst songs ever written, besides Creed stuff. ok, these guys do have record deals, and I don't yet, but still, these guys can't be serious.

its been fine so far, my first gig with it should be within a month, so we'll see what happens. I'm gonna lose it if this thing goes dead, and I have to plug in the DSL 100.

never talked to them, sorry

Overall, this amp kicks ass for thick, heavy, super saturated distortion. But, if you want over the top distortion - use EMG 81's. The Gibson 498T has more detail, but obviously less output. I really like playing lots of palm muting, heavy stuff. So, the modern channel is pretty good for me. But, I wasn't impressed with the mellower distortion settings. I've had this amp for over 6 months, and play every day. I've spent a lot of time tweaking it. I hate it when people on this site go into Guitar Center, play an amp on "1", then write a full blown negative review. I also hate it when people say stuff like, "this amp can nail it all! Cream, Stevie Ray, Hendrix, its all there! 10!". come on. Anyway, if you are only looking for all out distortion, try this amp out. Uh, if someone stole this, I would track the guy down, and then would probably get shot. Would I risk my life for this amp? are you kidding me? maybe someday, if I get signed, I can get that Uberschall. that's it for this review, good luck.

1994 Mesa Engineering Dual Rectifier. Two channels, three modes (clean, vintage high gain, mordern high gain), channel cloning, paralleled effects loop w/master volume control, slave out, bias switch (6l6 or el34), rectifier select (vaccuum tubes or silicon diodes) This amp is more evolved than most other amps that I have seen, and the tone from it os wonderful! Since Mesa amps are fixed bias, there is no bias pot inside the amp. I've heard that installing one will make this beauty sound even better.

This is one truly remarkable amp. Very versatile. I've never played through an amp that can range like this one can. If you're into rock or metal, this is your baby! I run a Charvel series 4 into the DR and a Mesa Rectifier 4x12 and it sounds like a dream. The clean sounds real bluesy, and with a little twist of the gain knob, a subtle clip is in the mix. Sounds like older 70's rock. Flip the switch to high gain, and you're screaming out some 80's metal. The red channel's distortion becomes even more brutal yet. There could be more usable low end, since turning the bass up past 2 'o clock turns the mix muddy, but it still thumps. If you clone the orange channel to modern, the bass gets deep, but then you don't have a clean. It's something that I can live with though. These amps sound totally different in different places. I guess it depends on the voltage to the wall plug, and the atmosphere.

I'd like to have another as a backup, since you just never know about anything. Sure, it's been good so far, but who's to say that it wouldn't take a shit during a gig? This is my first Mesa amp, and I don't know how they act when subjected to high volumes for extended times. I guess I'll find out soon enough....

Never had to deal with them, but heard they are good about things.

Very good overall. If it was stolen, God please have mercy on whoever stole it, because I wouldn't. That's my baby you're messing with. I love that this head is so easy to use, but I don't like that it doesn't have reverb. That's what the recto-verb is for, right? Compared to other amps...I like Marshalls, but they lack the punch that the DR's have. The only other amp that even comes close to that sound is a Hughes and Kettner Triamp, but not many people I know have $3K to drop on a head.

Ya know....I see a lot of douchebags below bitching about this amp. Guys with their "Tom Anderson Drop Top" guitars expecting to hear a fucking choir say "AHHH" when they turn the power on. Get real fuck. This amp is a balls to the wall wail-on-the-top-of-your-stack amp. Not your grandpa's amp with angelic clean tones. This was made for one thing only.....balls to the wall rock and roll. If you can't handle that, then go get your Grandpa's 67 Fender Blackface and sit around playing with yourself and leave the rest of the rock world alone you idiots.

I use a variety of guitars with my two channel recto. Mainly a Les Paul Custom and a PRS. The Modern channel is just f-ing killer!!! Whoever said this thing sucks is a fucking moron who must play thru a 10 watt Fender practice amp. Grow some balls and step up to the real deal. The clean isn't for you sissies who thing that a twang is a guitar sound. This is nu-rock clean. Everything about this amp says nu-rock. Not Elton John you fairies. Would you go into a store looking at something that has diamond plating on it and think..."I wonder if i can sound like Eric Clapton on that amp?"

Never had a problem with it. I've had it for years and never did anything but change tubes. I see some people below bitching about how cheap these are made. These are point to point wired with some pc boards in them. That's not cheap there you fucks.....
Point to point wiring takes time. Just because these don't cost $10000 and two years to get, because the guy who makes them is a fat ass who works on it only when he wants to, doesn't mean that it's a peice of shit. There is such a demand for these that Yeah, they do get mass produced, but come one and get with it. If You were Randall Smith what would you do? The same thing asshole!

Very friendly. Some of the best customer support I've ever dealt with.

Killer....
I've played...gigged with...jammed on...tried out almost every amp you can think of. Fender, Peavey 5150's(yuk) Crate, Marshall, and this blows everything away. Don't get me wrong, every amp has it's place with a certain crowd, and I'm not putting any amp down here. It's just that Mesa kicks ass compared to everything else.

I have traced this Dual Recto back to at least 1995, possibly a 1994 model, which are supposed to be the best sounding Rectos made. It is the 2 channel version with a much better distortion than the newer three channel models. 2 channels, parallel fx loop, master volume, 3 band eq, channel cloning (kicks a$$) sloid state or tube rectifier, diamond plate front panel. The only thing I wish this had is another channel so that I could run a clean, dirty, and a full blown distortion without having to flip switches in the middle of a gig. But I already had a three channel head, and I sold it. They suk. The fx loop rocks, since you can have an effect on channel one (say for instance, a chorus pedal for a super tight clean sound.) and when you switch to channel two, it bypasses the pedal ( so your distortion doesn't have the effects on it.). You can aslo footswitch the fx loop whenever you want to. Another thing is that I would like a two button pedal, instead of having to buy one for channel selection, and another for the fx loops. I'm thinking of a moddification to make a two button switch work. (Email me for details).

I'm running a Samick Artist series guitar thru the head right now ( yeah i know,not the best guitar, but hey - it works!) with stock pickups (hot- by the way). I have JJ Electronic E34L's installed in the power section, and this thing ROCKS!!!I'm running it thru a Recto Cab that I had customized with 2 Celestion Vintage 30's and 2 Mesa Black Shadow Custom 90's. The distortion is downright killer, and smooth, yet creamy. Good for the nu-metal or newer alt-rock. (nickelback, linkin park, etc.) I tried Mesa STR 420's, and some Mesa STR 430's in it, but the JJ E34L's have a bite that the 6L6's don't have. The clean channel suffers all the way around ( I have a solid state Earth head out of the 70's that sounds much better on clean.), but still sounds good. Kinda Middy, but the e34l's take care of that a little.
The amp is kinda noisy when turned up, but not as noisy as others. I had a Crate Blue Voodoo 120 that was WAY noisier than the Recto. As long as you can deal with some white noise when you're not playing, you'll be fine with it.
I've messed around with this head trying to play about every kind of music, and it will do them all. AC/DC to Limp Bizkit, and everything between. Jazz, blues (killer for some blues!!!) and even a country twang. I love this amp!!!

VERY dependable. When I got it, the original tubes were still in it, and they were at least 7 years old. It still sounded good, but new tubes brought it back to life. I crank 'er up often, and have not had and problems with it so far.

Mesa's customer support is great! I needed a manual for the amp, and I got one the next week. No questions asked. Everytime I called them they were busy, but they always returned my call within the hour.

I've played for ten years, and always dreamed about the tone that I get from this monster. If this puppy was ever stolen, I would track it down and break the thief's kneecaps with a baseball bat. Marshall's don't come close to the sound that Mesa's have. Unique....very unique. I've seen some amps out there with tons of features that no one will ever use, and this isn't one of them. Just the good features.

very basic features. effects loop, slave out. speaker outs.. 2 channel independant masters, bias switchs and rectifier switches.

i love this amp. i use 6550 tube insted of the 6l6 and el34. even tho i do like the thing with el34 its just not the right sound all the time. i use a EH pre amp tube in V1 and chinese in the rest. i have tried GTs, JJs, sovteks, and Ehs work for me. getting some telefunkens and mullards to try :)

the vintage high gain channel is a fucking gem.. it is amazing. i can get soo many tones out of it.. the modren channel is good for one thing.. metal mayhem. if this amp only had the vintage channel i would still have it.. if it only had the modren.. i would have most likliy passed it by and gotten a soldano avenger or SLO

i use EMG loaded gibsons. going thru a wah pedal and 2 boost pedals(ds-1, ts-9)

its been great for me. when i got it the fx loop was fucked.. still is.. tubes were old but whatever i like to hgave spare tubes everywhere.

i would love another one but i am not limiting my amps to DRs.. i would like amps from most other companies.