Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier Trem-O-Verb

Tons of bells and whistles, but it's all usable. This was a very well thought out amplifier. This is basically a dual rectifier with the addition of a nice built in tremelo and reverb, and minus that cheesy metal grill thats on the face of the traditional dual rectos.

Ok, I'll be honest here; I've only had this head for a few days and I have yet to find my sound. I KNOW it's there, I just need to be patient and tweak away until I find it. There's a lot of nice sounds in this head, it's just a question of finding what u want. I have this head hooked up to a recto 4x12 and I love it. The distortion is great and I don't have to turn the gain up to 10 in order to get a good heavy sound. Try turning the bass and treble up to about 75%, the midrange at about 20-25% the presence at about 30-40% and the gain somewhere between 50-70%: this is the distorted sound I've been using lately, with my les paul. It sounds heavy and ballsy without being muddy. The clean is actually not so clean, but I can get a nice warm non distorted sound and a nice clean sound by rolling off the volume on my guitar. This is a rock amp, just so you all know. It seems as if thats what it was specifically designed for. I can't imagine a jazz player using this. I play in a modern rock band; with both clean and heavy guitar in it, and this suits me perfectly.

I've owned mesa/boogie stuff in the past and with the exception of my recto 4x12, they seem to break down easier than most other tube amps(I had a Marshall JCM800 that lasted me 10 yrs with no problems at all). We'll have to see with this one, but it seems pretty solid.

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I think this is a very well thought out, very well designed amp. It's expensive as hell, but you really do get what u paid for. The quality of the materials used and the craftsmanship are incredible; as opposed to a marshall for instance. I only wish it came with a more elaborate footswich; one that not only switches channels, but also will activate the tremelo, reverb and effects loop. Other than that, this is the best tube head I've ever owned.

A 5 for features may seem crazy for this amp because it has tons of features, but therein lies the problem. This amp has too many features that are selected in too many ways. From the spongy switch on the back of the amp to the choice of 6L6 tubes or EL34 tubes to bias settings, this amp is perfect for a hard core engineer. For a musician doing regular gigs, this amount of tweakability becomes tiresome. Especially when none of these features make that big a difference to the overall sound of the amp. I just played a JCM 2000 DSL 100 where the notch and deep buttons did way more to effect the sound of the amp than any of the knobs on the Mesa. This amp is WAY too complicated!

I know a lot of people are going to think I'm crazy but I played this amp for 10 years and NEVER was able to get big fat distortion out of it. I tried changing tubes, guitars, P/Us etc and it always sounded flat. I kept thinking, "Where is this amazing Mesa sound I'm supposed to be hearing". I never found it. I used this amp for two years in a band where the other guitarist used a JCM 2000 TSL 100. I constantly got blown out of the water by his amp. The Mesa could never cut through the Marshall sound. The clean sound on this amp sounds nice but lacks the character of a Marshall or VHT clean channel. For the price of Mesa products, this amp was a huge disapointment.

The construction of this amp was beefy and well made, but it picked up radio stations like, well, a radio. I would have times where radio interferance was almost as loud as my guitar signal. Mine was an early 90's model so this may have been addressed since then. Other than that, it was a well built tank made to take abuse.

I had to contact Mesa several times ove the 10 years I had this amp. They were always prompt and helpful and would go out of their way to make business with them a positive experience. It is way too hard to find service like that any more, so kudos to Mesa for standing by their product

Too many gimmicky features and compromised sound keep me from giving this amp a really good rating. It's well built, but at the end of the day your sound is still going to be empty and muddy. Get a VHT or a Marshall. You can't go wrong and your sound will be huge.

2000 model year. This is an extremely versatile amp. The user has the option to switch between a silicon-diode or tube power section. There is also a bold/spongy switch that essentially powers down the amp so that the tubes begin to saturate at lower volume settings. Good for extending tube life and for playing at bedroom levels. Unlike the standard Dual Rectos, the T-Verb comes with reverb and tremelo. Roughly, the T-Verb divides gain settings into four categories Clean/Vintage High Gain on channel one; Blues/Modern High Gain on channel two. There is also the Channel Cloning feature, but I haven't used it enough to comment on it.

I use ESPs all with EMG pickups. I usually play Blues, Jazz, and Modern Rock on this amp. In my opinion, channel one (Clean/Vintage High Gain) could have been slightly brighter. I have to dial in Presence at around 7 or 8. Anything below 6 or 7 is nearly unusable for me. I also dial in the Treble at around 8 or 9. The same is true for the Vintage High Gain setting. This is the closest sound to a Marshall this amp has. With the propper settings this channel can produce the proverbial 'Brown' sound, with warm distortion and slight harmonic overtones. But like I said, this channel should be brighter, in my opinion. Channel two has the Blues and Modern High Gain modes. The Modern High Gain mode provides heavy distortion. The sound is nearly identical to the standard Dual Rectifiers, but maybe a little spongier, creamier, and less harsh. With the Mid and Presence at high settings, the distortion is extremely brutal. At lower Mid settings, the distortion remains thick, but becomes more soft and spongy. That's the best way I know how to describe it. The reverb sounds good, but you won't hear any on the Modern High Gain Setting at bedroom levels. Instead, you'll get a strange, springy sound. The tremelo is adequate, but it should have the ability to go much faster and have more depth, in my opinion. If channel one was a little brigher, I'd give this amp a 9 instead of a 8.

This amp appears to be very well built. I have had no reliability issues with it yet. It just 'feels' like a solid amp every time I turn it on, but I haven't had it long enough to truly rate it's reliability.

I haven't had to deal with Customer Support yet.

Usually when I buy a new amp and take it home, I'm usually only 60-70% satisfied. Overall, I'm 85% satisfied with the T-Verb. You shouuld definately read the manual on how the settings work with this amp. I would buy another one, but they're out of production now, unfortunately. I love the Modern High Gain mode. The tone is scrumptious. I was considering a JCM2000, but the T-Verb was far more versatile. One common complaint is the popping noise when switching between channels. This should have been eliminated. Channel one should have been slightly brighter, also. Other than that, it's a great all-around amp.

Way too many to list and its pretty much been covered

The sound of this amp is very subjective but consider this.....if you find one that sounds bad.........CHANGE THE TUBES !!
I've loved mine for about a year and then after a while i got a Peavey Tripple xxx for the hell of it and actually thought it sounded better, the majik just faded out of it, i even continplated on selling the tremoverb when at the last minuite i changed the pre-amp tubes to the Electro Harmonix 12AX7's.
This is now the sweetest amp you'll ever hear,what a HUGE difference tubes make in this amp, its much louder, smoother and less hissy at high gain settings.........you owe it to yourself to try different tubes.

Very Reliable , just be careful with the rectifier tubes , they touch the top of the chasis on mine, might break if bumped too hard

havent needed it

i've been playing for 14 yrs and own or have owned almost every type of amp /head /cabnet combination,
I've got to tell ya though, the original Marshall Jubilee 2550 (siver aneversary series,50 watts)with NOS Jan/Phillips power tubes is just as loud and crunchy!!!

I rented this amp once for a gig, and bought it the very next day. Best damn amp head in the industry in my opinion. Awesome tone, supurb reverb, crunchy nasty distortion, and crispy clean channel...what else can I say?

I'm using this with a customized BC Rich NJ series Beast, was using a Warlock for a while. This amp screams Heavy Metal. My honest opinion, if you want heavy, you NEED this amp. Crank the volume and the distortion remains 100% intact. I don't even use a pedal anymore, save for my good ol Morley Wah.

Well, I've only owned it a lil over 6 months, but we been gigging hard-core most of that time, no problems yet. I always carry a couple spare tubes and such just in case, but I feel that this amp will survive a while. Most of the time I do go on without a backup, but when I do hehehe I bought another one just in case...yes, I love this amp.

At the moment, the shoppe I bought it from gave me a 2 year warranty. In my spare time I customize amps and guitars, so if I do run into anything I can't fix, then I bother with the manufacturer...but as I said, no problems yet. Rated a 5 since I haven't needed any service yet :)

I think I've said everything good about this amp, and like I said earlier, I love this amp. Therefore, I can't say anything bad about it.
....Just get one already!

Its been covered, nothing special.

Ok Korn lovers, get ready to rock balls!!!!! This is the amp that makes kids think their cool, and old people feel young again. Last week I was jamming with eddie Van Halen, and he looked at me and said man that amp sounds stupid fat my brother. I agree. The sound is thick, smooth, buzzy, treble heavy, bassy, and mid sucky all at the same time. Great amp.

Its broke five times, but don't they all?

Who cares, its a Boogie.

This amp will let you rock balls like never before. Walk don't run to your local Mesa dealer, and demand one now.

My Tremoverb was bought trough the mail (to avoid New York City's 8.5% sales tax) in 2000, so I suppose it was made the same year. I paid 1,600$ and later ordered a Calzone case (another 300$). Ouch. When the head arrived, the rectifier tubes were broken. Glass all over the place. The Dealer, Washington DC based, sent two more up, no questions asked. Nice. I play pos-punk rock, loud, but elaborate, and being a les paul user my whole life, I figured that the Tremoverb would cover the guitar textures I would need. Though I hate the later Mark III and IV's, I am a Boogie fan, especially the Rectifier series, which I would more than often rent out for gigs from New York Rental shops. When I read about the Tremoverb, I thought that it would be the amp for me, (though the tremolo wouldn't be that useful), but I would only find out almost a year later. You see, I got the Tremoverb and plugged it in my kitchen to a white 80's Marshall 4 X 12 and found it very noisy. Well with all the kitchen appliances... Then, a day later I shipped it down to Brazil, where I would be touring and eventually moving, but it took me 10 months and the price of another head to get it out of customs... Ouch. Ouch. Ouch! Finally, almost a year later I could try it out. AMAZING!!! I nuked my pedalboard (Boss GT-2) and played straight (I'll go into that later). All I use is an old Boss OD-1 as a solo boost. It really is phenomenal! And beautiful... the leather covering is really a classic touch. Though, like everyone else on this page, I would like to have access to the other two modes live via footswitch, but seem like the folks at Mesa have taken care of that with their new Road King amp.

I use a Silverburst 1981 les paul custom, stock. In a live setting, and I play loud, the amp is a little noisy, that background tube noise that I have experienced before with Boogies, but when you have 12 tubes running at full throttle, it is the least you can expect. But once the band steps in, it's gone. Not an issue. In the studio, nothing that a gate can't handle. I use both channels on their "up" modes and one piece of advice, read the manual. The EQ of this amp is so subtle that you might overlook it. The bass and mid change depending on where you roll off the treble. Amazing. I use the treble on both channels to a minimum, and she still sparkles. It's natural compression is amazing, kind of like a Vox with balls, and I never heard an amp with this amount of bass. Okay, now the complaints. My head for a strange reason has no ground switch, as opposed to it's manual. Strange. Since I am in Brazil, sometimes that can be an issue with the local AC line, but so far so good. The pots don't really inform you their status, do they? There is a slight, but annoying db drop when the tremolo kicks in, so use of it live only happens in quiet sections. I have a footswitch available, but I hardly use it. And the loop... I had a really hard time optimizing it with the impedance/output of my multi effects unit... I eventually gave up giving way to my boss OD-1 for a solo boost in the second channel. But then again, I couldn't get the loop to sound a tad louder (with the pedal on and engaged) without adding unwanted noise and feed back. (even with a chorus pedal there is a slight loss of gain...) So I had to route my whole system coming out of a shure wireless system to the pedal in front of me, adding almost forty feet of cable! If the loop worked correctly, a nice in-out with a boost to what ever I patched in it, all I would have between my les paul and the tremoverb would be 1 meter of cable in total (guitar to wireless transmiter and reciever to head). But I have to have the OD-1 pedal in front of me. I will tweak some more to deal with this, but it is REALLY pissing me off... Any advice?

I would definetly use it on a gig without a backup, but just in case I have a Seymour Duncan Convertible head as a back up. Strange choice, eh? I travel with an extra rectifier tube, two 6L6's and two 12ax7's. Plus a fuse here and there. Oh, my reverb konked out. Just an obtusive hum comes in when I turn up the volume. Obviously a short. I have to get it fixed. But I am not complaining. This is the best amp reverb I have heard in my life, and I grew up on old fender amps. Amazing sound. Really, they really outdid themselves with this amp.

The authorized dealer sent me two extra rectifier tubes no questions asked. Warranty is one year standard.

I compared this head to other amps and nothing even comes close. Even my Seymour Duncan (also with twelve tubes) sounds dull when compared to the Tremoverb. (I even compared it to the Amp Farm Pro Tools plug in... not a bad simulation, but nothing like the real thing moving air... )Power chords just keep on ringing. Complex chords shimmer and maintain definition when played with higher gain. The natural tube compression reminds me of a Vox, but this amp has so much power, really, nothing comes close. I am a happy man. Wish list? A few db boost switch, a loop that actually worked (I still haven't given up), the other two modes footswichable... But you know something? Even if this amp had only one channel, I'd be really happy. My les paul never sounded so good live, and I have been playing it for 20 years now. I guess that says it all...

I believe this is a 1994 Tremoverb. This amp has 2 channels, each channel having 2 modes. I play anything from funk to classic rock to rock to metal and this thing does it all! It is fully controllable and has footswtich capabilities for the reverb, tremolo, channel switching and mode switching within the channels. It has an effects loop and can slave out.

I use a 2001 Fender American Strat with a Seymour Duncan Custom Pickup in the bridge and a S.D. Screamin' Demon in the neck. I play a lot of rock, blues, and metal and this thing handles it all!!! The tone is undescribable. Very professional. I can tweak this thing to get just about any tone I want, from funky spank to heavy crunch. The tremolo effect is soooo rich and the reverb is beautiful! One problem, there is a level of aggression that the amp can't seem to go past. Im not sure if it is my pickups or my amp settings, but I would like just a bit more on the metal side. I am considering buying a TriAxis preamp to get the most aggressive sound out of this thing possible. If anyone has a suggestion for me, my e-mail is jeff-c@netzero.net.

Ive had it for 2 months and no problems. i would definitely use it on a gig with no backup if I had too. When I bought the amp off E-bay it had a bad tube and bad reverb tank wire, but I shipped it to Mesa and they fixed it. I give it a 5 because of the short time i have owned it.

When I called to report my broken amp, it was after business hours but they called me first thing in the morning. The customer service guy Tim walked me through different troubleshooting methods to help avoid the expensive alternative of having to ship the amp back to the factory. I must have been on the phone with him for 45 min trying to fix my amp. Unfortunately my amp was pretty broken so i had to ship it. I got it back in 2 weeks but they forgot to put my old power tubes in the box. I was pissed at first but they mailed me free brand new ones within two days! All in all they went through my amp with a fine tooth comb and made it brand new again for $120 bucks, and, on top of that, refunded me my shipping costs because of the hassle with the tubes. Pretty kick ass.

I give this amp an 8 overall in terms of sturdiness, reliability, and sound. If I had to do it again, I would probably buy a Mesa power amp and a Tri Axis preamp. That seems to be the thing to do for my style of playing.

If you don't already know, read the entries below. If you want more, you probably enjoy digital music and shouldn't own a valve masterpiece.

I play mainly original music in a variety of styles. The clean channel is by no means "clean," but if you want true clean and this kind of insane distortion/gain without effects, you need two amps or some digital mumbo-jumbo. From jazz and blues to Slayer shredding, this amp covers the gap. It does feedback quite a bit more than my past amps (Marshall, Ampeg, and yucky solid state stuff I won't mention). I play a strat, a 335 and an SG, and they are all totally different with this amp. I have gotten nothing but compliments on this thing at gigs. It does take some tweaking to get "your sound" ... and you can even make it sound like total shit if you're so inclined. Unlike the Marshalls I've owned, this thing actaully responds to minor adjustments. Crazy concept. Bottom line: it is great amp for hard rock/metal tones and makes a nice juicy blues amp, too.

I've gigged with it and had it about 6 months with no trouble. I trust it...

When I was driving all over hell playing different amps and calling various companies to ask questions, etc., Mesa was extremely helpful and returned calls within a few hours at the most. That was impressive.

I've been playing for about 17 years. I really love this amp and would buy another Dual Rectifier if this one was stolen or blew up. I looked at a lot of amps in the $1k -$2k range and this blew everything away. I also noticed it wasn't nearly as nice sounding through my old Marshall 4x12. I played through the Mesa 4x12 in the store and loved it, so I dropped the additional cash and I'm extremely glad I did. This rig is worth every penny.

IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL INFO.

Please read this if you think the Recto sounds weak.

For some reason Mesa/Boogie ships most of their amps with Chinese or Sovtek tubes. Although these tubes are used on many amplifiers and by tube vendors (such as Groove Tubes, Ruby and Mesa/Boogie) they are far from the best available. But if you are ceriously thinking about buying a good tube amplifier you should also fit your amp with quality tubes. Otherwise what's the point of having such an amp?. I guess that Mesa/Boogie supplies their amps with Chinese or Sovtek tubes to keep the cost price of the amps lower. But in my opinion I think they should supply amps of this price range with better tubes.

Then the question comes, what are better tubes?. Well simple: Svetlana. These are the only currently produced tubes that sound really good and are able to sonicly match with NOS tubes such as Philips and RCA. And they cost a lot less then NOS tubes.

So if you want the best sounding Recto available, be smart and retube your amp with matched Svetlana 6L6GC tubes. The difference is HUGE. The sound is a lot more powerfull, tighter, better projected bass, etc. If in your opinion the amp is too noisy on high gain settings, it might be worth the money to buy the gain selected Tesla/JJ tubes they offer for twice the price of stock 12ax7 tubes.

If you do not want to buy tubes selected by Mesa/Boogie, then I suggest you take a look at www.watfordvalves.com or look into Lord Valve (....yeah I know). Especially the watfordvalves site is really worth a visit, because they have a detailed explanation of the tubes they can supply you with.

You have not heard the Rectifier untill you've placed some REAL good valves in them.

For more and other info, you can visit my website: www.vanhelden.demon.nl/gear