Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier Triple Channel

The rectifiers are made to play hard rock, punk and heavy stuff and are versatile if you know how to use it and how to play guitar. I don't know why there is a third channel on the new ones, maybe to increase the price and make more profit. I think that all you need in a amp is one clean and one lead channel. I don't need bold/spongy switch and all that stuff... The head is enough powerfull to play in a band.

I have a rivera R-100 2*12 combo and the distortion on it sounds bad comparing to the mesa, even at high volumes. I really enjoy the vintage and modern sounds and even the clean channel. This amp is one of the best I have heard in my life. Of course if you put the bass, treble and gain at 10 and scoop the mids it's gonna sound like shit (limp bizkit, 311, etc.) The amp is versatile in that kind of way, you can sound like god and the minute after, if you turn the gain knob at max, you suddenly sound like $1500 of shit.

I used a mesa studio preamp for 5 years and there was a big noise problem at high volume and it was not the tubes so I sold it. The first time I tried a dual rectifier at the music store the amp broke down after ten minute of playing. The tech said it was because of the preamp tubes. He said to me that some rectifiers blow preamp tubes when you put the master knobs at max. So if you want to test a rectifier at the store before you buy it, put the master at max and play for a couple of minutes. Since that day, I don't trust mesa/boogie much.

The web site is OK. don't know about the rest.

If you have enough money to buy the head, a good cab(v30), a nice guitar with good pickups and new tubes every years or less, it means that you are rich or that you really enjoy playing music. I don't see any other reasons why it would be a good investment to by a mesa/boogie dual rectifier triple channel. Sorry for my not too good english.

This head seems very versatile. I can get just about any tone out of it after doing some tweeking. It has got 3 channels all accessible through the supplied footswitch. The first channel is clean with two modes that give you many tone options. The first mode is Clean, and by cranking the gain a bit you get a little bit of dirt, the second mode is Pushed. In this mode you can get some dirt in your tone that has the bite that cuts through by driving the gain a bit.
The second channel has three modes for even more tone options. The first mode is Raw. By doing some good tweaking you can get a very nice bluesy tone with enough dirt to keep in agressive. The second mode is Vintage, which has a little more gain than the previous mode and enough agression, and the third mode is Modern, which has a lot more gain power and sustain, with a very warm and creamy distortion.
The third channel has the same three modes: Raw, Vintage, and Modern. This channel gives you more drive options, and it's more agressive than the previous channel. On the final mode in this channel (Modern), you can achieve a very thick angry sound, with lots of distortion, only you might want to take it easy on the gain since this head's gain potential may push the pre-amp tubes past what they can handle. By having the gain at 5:00 o'clock you can achieve a smooth sustained distortion without having too much mud.
To top it all, this head has a Bias switch that lets you select between 6L6's or EL34's tubes depending on your taste, a rectifier select switch which lets you choose between Vacuum Tubes (normal) or Silicon Diodes (Hi power), which offer more punch. It also comes packed with a power select switch with two modes: Spongy, where you can achieve a nice overdriven tone and Bold, where the tubes run very hot at maximun power to obtain more volume and clean headroom.
The effects loop in this head is very comprehensive and versitale.
It also has 5 speaker inputs: one for 16 ohm's speakers, two for 8 ohm's and two for 4 ohm's. This feature is very nice indeed, and not too many heads have that many speaker input options.
It also comes with a Level Slave control if you want the option to derive an FX send signal to go to other amps for wet sound and a power amp jack if you want to plug an additional power amp.
Overall, this amp has enough power and options features to get you through anything.

I use an Ibanez 6 string Prestige USA Custom with DiMarzio pickups, and an Ibanez RG 7 string also with DiMarzio's. I play all sorts of music styles, and this amp as versitale as it is, it can fit in any style you use it in.
If you want to get brutal distortion out of this amp, you can achieve that on channel 3 at the Modern mode, keeping in mind that it is best not to crank your gain all the way up, it is not really necessary to do so. If you want smooth creamy and distinctive distortion you can achieve that on channel 2 at the Modern or even the Vintage mode.
This head has a variety of tones that you can get out of it to fit many styles.

I haven't had it for very long, but I hear that this amp is very reliable under normal abuse.

Never had to contact Mesa/Boogie directly, but I am planning to do so.

Overall, this amp is a caged beast. You can get monstrous sounds that stomp the planet or very nice warm tones depending on what you want it to do with it. Defenitely a giging amp, not to play in your bedroom with. So far I love everything about it and I doubt I'm going to regret buying it. From the cometic looks to the sound, this head kills....If stolen or lost, it would be hard to afford it again, so I would have to hunt down the bastastard that took it.

I Purchased this amplifier NEW From a source close to the Mesa-Boogie Factory in Petaluma California in the last week.My 1st order of Buisness is to address the individuals who have seen my previous posts regarding the amplifiers I own/use and my Impressions/Experiences of past Mesa-Boogie Products.I have been a NON-Boogie Fan in the past based on my experiences and scenarios of useage regarding the DUAL RECTIFIER 2 channel amplifier of which I Owned for several weeks and then discarded due to bad Impressions,and circumstances while playing Live and in the studio.I was Less than impressed with the "OLD" DUAL RECTIFIER in terms of Versatility,Headroom,Clarity,and "UNIQUE TONE".
This is NOT the case with the NEW "3 Channel DUAL RECTIFIER".I was using a BOGNER 101-B 3 channel head(I own three of them as well as the Fish Preamp)with a Boss GE-7 EQ to achieve an "Agressive" EQ Curve with the pedal in the BOGNER loop and trying to emulate a Bone Crusing/Heavy type of Bottom end along with a drastic reduction of annoying 800K and 1.6 K Frequencies attributed to the inherent voicing in the BOGNER.The NEW MESA-BOOGIE 3 channel DUAL RECTIFIER Needs NO External EQ to achieve the Voicing I Need for 3 sets of Metallica Covers in the tribute Band I NOW play with and was using Bogners to play live through with the boss GE-7 EQ.In all honesty I would have to say that the MESA RECTIFIER is More than Adequate,and quite honestly very refined and Well Suited to the More Agressive types of Metal I play(MORE so than the VHT Pitbull w/optional EQ which I have previously Owned/used/compared,(AND SOLD) and reviewed right here compared to a 2 channel MESA RECTIFIER-which was No Way NEAR The amp the 3 Channel DUAL RECTIFIER is,and in fact is a TOTALLY Different,and Unique Amplifier as compared to its 2 channel ancestors.As you might know by now the New RECTIFIER is a True 3 channel amplifier with Channel Switching,SOLO Mode,FX Loop Switching,and Independant EQ(Gain,Treble,Bass,Middle,Master,and Presence)Per Channel.Both channels 2 and 3 have 3 Modes each-Raw:(early type vintage growl with lotsa Harmonic Nuances-but can be Sweet and chimey in a sort of subtle type of "Deep" way according to the settings on the gain and EQ)Vintage:High Gain with touch sensitivity and EQ Curves that emulate warm but "Thick" types of overdrive based on the type of pick-ups and attack you use.The Vintage type tones in the 2nd and 3rd channels are Very warm and refined-as opposed to the early 2 channel Rectifier which was kinda lame and un-inspiring in the "Feel" dept to me.The 2nd Channel in the Vintage mode has lots of character and Feel.I Compare the 2nd Rectifier channel in the Vintage Mode to the Bogner second channel with the boost engaged.(but the Mesa has alot more EQ "Movement" in the knobs as compared to the Bogner which has Little hearable quality in the agressive frequencies I Like) and the Mesa has a "TON" More Gain and Thickness to it as compared to the Bogner in the same type of settings.Just "MORE" on the side of Big,bad,BOLD thickness with the MESA.The "Modern" settings in Channels 2 and 3 of the Rectifier 3 channel head are strictly for the METAL,and HARD/HEAVY Type Players.You can Lose yourself in the 3rd channel in the Modern voicing mode...it gets really hairy and HEAVY.I was very surprised to hear and "Feel" the difference in the way the MESA absolutely KILLED The VHT Pitbull in the agressive EQ Voicing and gain scenarios.The VHT has NO Tone as compared to the New 3 Channel Rectifiers.now...to top it all off......the Mesa has a SOLO mode(footswitchable like all the channels and the FX Loop)and the SOLO mode has a Master Volume too(Output) so you can tailor the SOLO boost to taste and then Fine tune the volume level(output) in accordance with the overall level of the channels.The Loop functions are also assignable to Independant channel

I am Using the Following Guitars(as always):USA Custom Shop Jacksons-
King Vees,RR-1s,RR Originals,Korina King Vees,San Dimas Charvels,and PRS McCartys,and a Few Gibson Vee's (Historic 58 korinas)and My Favorite"Knock Around Gigging guitars":Epiphone Korina 58 Flying vee Replicas with all gibson hardware and Electronics.The MESA 3 Channel RECTIFIER suits the Very Defineable and Distinctive Music I'm playing Now to a "T".I'm in a METALLICA tribute band that asked me to purchase the MESA 3 Channel RECTIFIER(I auditioned w/a BOGNER and They LOVED the tones) to cover all our gigs from Now thru the end of September 2001 so I agreed ,and I'm very happy with the tone that it produces for this type of Metal which I play and LOVE.i use Seymour Duncan JBs in ALL of my Custom Shop USA Jacksons,but my Gibsons,Epiphones,and Charvels share a Mix of 498,and 500 t Gibson p/ups,Dimarzios,and a Few PAF re-issues.(both Duncan and Gibson historic/Seth Lovers).The Rectifier can and will generate a little bit of noise if you "Goose" the gain past 2 O'Clock...but there is ABSOLUTELY NO NEED to RUN the GAIN on this NEW 3 Channel Rectifier past 12 O'Clock or 1 at the MOST.if you engage the "SOLO" on either channel 2 or 3 in the Modern Mode with gain past 1'Oclock YOU need to Buy a Boss Metal Zone and a Marshall JCM-800.Sell the Recto to ME so I can use 2 More Cabinets.The MESA 3 Channel RECTO is THE high Gain champion as far as all the other amps go(Hey Diezel are you listening...?You Got nothing...NOTHING on the 3 Channel MESA RECTO) .
the MESA Has an INSANE amount of Gain and Thick Overdrive/Overtones to fulfill the Entire "Spinal Tap' Fantasys and MORE....Really people...this Gain Monster has alot of tonally Diverse and WICKED Tonal possibilities on tap for even the Most Over the TOP type of Metal and other brands/categories of music too!This amp CAN and WILL run the gamut from Glassy type Clean/mellow Chordal washings with definition to the Way Over the top type of ROCK/METAL that there is to play.I found alot of Elusive types of "Middle" ground tones in this lil puppy.....I was trying to really stretch the imagination of myself as far as voicings go(even though I'm a Heavy Metal Player) and I Found the Mesa to really shine in all scenarios that I was able to Play(mind you I AM NOT The best type of clean-pop type of player...but the MESA Really performed Better Than ME)so I Feel its a Great amplifier.The Distortion(to cover the question on the review roster) is "WAY OUTTA the STRATOSPHERE"but can be refined and Gnarly if Coaxed into the mellower range by way of EQ,Gain,voicing mode and Pick Attack.really impressive and a Nice Amp to Play/Own.

I have seen Several Mesa Boogie Amps "BLOW-UP" rather spectacularly in my time playing out(and I gig regularly)and I have seen more than Several DOZENS Just keep on pumping out through the Millenium gig after gig with just a regular tube change and sum "TLC"...so it all equates to your Treatment/Maintenance/Preventitive considerations/and common sense.I Have owned a few in the past that were built like a "Brick Shit-House"....pound em alot-Hard and they Perform flawlwessly.i Change the TUBES REGULARLY,LET EM WARM UP BEFORE USE,AND COOL DOWN BEFORE PACKIN EM UP IN THE RACK/ROAD CASES,AND i KEEP EM "IN TUNE"....treat em Kind and use sensible preventative Maintenance on a regular basis."PPPPPP" Proper Preperation Prevents Piss Poor Performance!I have Used mine VERY Hard and at 1/2 Volume for the past 11 days and it is holding up superbly,and sounds Better day after Day.This weekend I have 4 Gigs in a row to "Test It"(Thurs,Fri,Sat,Sun)...so I'm prepared with extra fuses,tubes,and Everything else...PPPPPP People...it Worx..!

Never dealt with Them....HOPE I Never have to...I Heard they are Great.....but BOGNER RULES The Public Relations,Customer Service,Answer the Phone,help You OUT,get you parts,Service your amp,SHIP the Same day,technical answers,listen to your inquiry,and EVERYTHING Department.BOGNER is the Example ALL These manufacturers oughtta Follow as a RULE...!I've seen the Mesa-Boogie repair network,and I Hope I Never need it.The warranty is for a Lousy Year as opposed to BOGNER(Lifetime for the original Owner-and I've seen and heard em extend that to 2nd and 3rd hand owners as well-See...REINHOLD BOGNER Is THE MAN)Hey Randall Smith...I hope yer reading this Dude.And I DONT buy the fixed Bisa Deal as you guys state(Mesa)...so I'm gonna Need ALOT of convincing.

been Playing for 14 years...these two things on either side of My Head are NOT Glued on...i know how to use em.If My Amp were "LOST" i'd Kick myself in the groin Violently for being a Pinhead that was more pre-occupied with the "Big Hair"-Fishnet Tank-Top and Tight Mini Skirt crowd instead of watchin My gear like a Real Smart dude would do.If Anyone Stupid enough would try to steal it.....I would circumvent Them in the midst of the "Attempted" thievery and Shove My Colt .45 Stainless combat Commander Auto loading pistol into thier Eyebrows.God Made Man....Sam Colt Made them Equal.I compared My Mesa-Boogie 3 Channel Rectifier with My Bogner 101-b Ecstacy Heads,My Bradshaw 3+ and 3+SE preamps,My Egnater IE-4 Preamp,My Bogner Fish preamps...and It (the MESA) Filled the niche that I needed for a Really Agressive head with "METAL" Type of Inherant Girth,Grind,Definiton,Distortion,Versatility,and ability to get dramatic EQ Variances and Scenarios without the need for external EQ from Processors,Pedals,and other insane types of tone sucking devices.
I wish it came with 3 Blonde Chicks in mini-Skirts,5"heels, with "Poofy" hair and ample cleavage to carry it for me,but I have it in a calzone shock case for 3 amplifier heads(sandwiched between my Bogners) so the gals got it easy...they can just roll the shock case to the stage for me while I get a beer......Peace out to all My "High Gain" Friends,and aquantices here on Harmony central.God Bless Y'all !

Just got the Dual Rectifier 3 Chan. over the weekend. One clean, two dirty. Plus it has a "Solo" boost feature. Paid $1500.

You can dial in a sweet Vintage Tone or go with the Modern Hi Gain option. The Modern option will melt the paint off the walls. Pure sonic bliss. My favorite tone is the Vintage. It's the warmest thing I have ever heard. Tons of power.

I'm using a Marshall 4 x 12 box.

Listen to me, this is the greatest, fucking guitar amp ever made. I've owned them all, Marshall, Fender, Vox. This Boogie is the king.

THIS IS THE BEST SOUNDING AMP I HAVE EVER HEARD. CASE CLOSED.

More tone options than you can imagine. You CAN'T get a bad sound out of this thing.

No Comment. It's new, not applicable.

Not Applicable.

This amp is worth every penny. You will never need another amp. This monster does it all at any volume.

If I had this thing when I was younger, I would be famous now.

Be sure to use a 4 x 12 box with this to get fat bottem.

has an adequate amount of features for a modern amp. I was choosing between this amp and a Marshall JCM2000 TSL122. It has plenty of power for sure, but as far cutting through a mix, don't think so.

I will start out by saying that I eventually chose the Marshall over this amp after hours of playing with various guitars. The Mesa does have a better than average distortion, but it is not very distinctive in the way that Mark IV's are. It also does not cut through in a mix, believe me, I've played with guys who have them, but the Marshall does. I played my plexi against this guy's mesa, and the plexi ate it alive (contrary to a previous reviewer's comments). The mesa has too much compression in the mids in the gain department. And to beat it all, the clean channel is like pee-wee herman on a hunger strike. My general consensus is that if an amp can't cut it clean, then nothing can save it.

It's an all right amp, too much money. Mesa makes better amps than this one.

This amp is plenty versatile.

Clean is decent, other sounds are good, distortion is freakin' incredible. I don't know what the two dumbasses below (the one who preferred a Marshall Plexi, and the one who thought a Dual Rec would sound good to him when he hates Creed and Incubus--what fucking morons) are even doing, submitting such idiotic reviews. This amp is awesome, but obviously it suits certain styles of music. If you don't like distortion that can kill people, but like gay lighter-distortion crap, obviously you won't like this thing.

I've never seen anything go wrong with one of these.

I haven't contacted them.

If you like lots of distortion, and are pissed off at other amps for not having enough gain (Marshall, etc), then this is your amp. Fantastic, powerfual tone. Did a recording with this and a Carvin amp--geez, the Carvin sounded horribly thin and weak by comparison. The Mesa sounded incredible.

this amp cost me $1550.00 because i ordered a tan grille which was a $150 extra charge but it was worth it. There are a ton of great sounding amps out there but not all have as many features. This amp gets a ten because for a tube amp it has a ton of features that most other tube amps dont have. the three channel dual rec is new and are just being shipped out now. I have played a ton of other amps for about the same price or a little more or less but this was the best for me. I have also tried a one channel jcm 800 which sounded great and was in great shape but it did not have the features this amp does. another amp that i would also give a 10 in this category would be the hughes and kettner triamp which has 3 amps built in for a total of 6 channels. the reason that i got the dual rec was that the sound fit my style more.

the dual rec has 3 channels and 8 modes.
the first channel is clean or pushed.
the other two are modern, vintage, or raw with the difference in the presence controls
each channel has a master vol, bass, treb, mid, gain, and presence

the amp also has the bold or spongy switch in the back which changes the sound and the wattage from 100 to 75. there is a direct slave out which can be put directly into a board to record which i would suggest that there be a cab emulator before going to the board if you were to do this. there is also the bias switch which allows you to change from 6l6 to el34 tubes without biasing the amp.. there is an effects loop. the footswitch has 5 buttons to control all this

I think this amp sounds great. the difference between each channel is huge. i still cant get an unusable sound from any channel or any mode. one of the main reasons that i chose this over the triamp was that i thought the second amp in the triamp stunk and that the 3rd amp didnt sound much different between channels. channel b on the 3rd amp was just like channel a but it was a little louder and with some more distortion.

the guitars that i use with this amp are a parker fly deluxe, a fender 90's tele thinline semi hollow, a washburn steve stevens model, and a washburn bt-8

i play everything from old guns and roses, to punk, to metal like pantera, i also play a little older stuff like zepplin and claptons new stuff. this amp works for me with all of the stuff i have played through it

the amp can get noisy if you put the gain all the way up but if you read the manual it tells you that the amp was made so that the gain didnt have to be all the way up. that would make sense on how to not get noise

i havent played the clean channel enough to get it loud enought to distort but it sounds good where i play it which is like half way. the clean channel does distort on the pushed setting.
if you really crank this amp it might have the heaviest distortion i have ever heard

the reason that i only give it a 9 is because there are tons of amps out there that i havent ever tried because they are rare or they are too much money. this amp is a 10 as compared to all the amps that i have tried so far. others also said that this amp is just for metal. it does do metal well but that is not all that it is good for.

I would gig without a backup with no problem. i am going to get some extra tubes just in case plus i want to try it with el34's in it so ill probably get a new set of tubes of el34s and 6l6s
other than that it is too new so i cant really say although they do have a great reputation

the company was a huge help. i called with a question and left a message. they called back in 20 mins. the also sent me a manual to read up on the amp before i got it which took about a week for me to get after i asked for it. they were very nice and took the time to answer all my questions perfectly

I have been playing for 5 years. i have owned all the guitars listed above plus two acoustics. i have also owned a pod pro, fender hot rod deville 2x12 and a trace elliot solid state amp

this is by far the best amp i have played to date in my opinion. you owe it to yourself to try it out or even a different mesa. they arent for everyone but you should really try them out. the other amps that were competeing against this for me is the triamp and a mesa nomad 100. they were both great too so i suggest trying them out.


this is just for me to write stupid crap in these next sentences. i dont understand why people say that amps stink. i was in the music store the other day and heard a guy playing out of a 20 watt crate and he sounded great. not every amp is the same and that is because not every guitarist is the same. i like this amp and i dont like new marshalls but i dont go call marshalls crap and give them a 1 or 2 rating. i wish people would write honest reviews instead of crap. dont just say why you dont like an amp explain so people can understand its good and bad qualities. i dont like marshalls. they have a great and unique sound. tons of bands that i listen to like them . in my opinion the new marshalls dont have the full warmth of the jcm800 or earlier marshalls. if i had to rate a jcm2000 i would give it a 7 because it is a great amp just not for me.

This is the most recent Dual Recto. Has the footswitchable channels etc. 3 separate channels with 3 settings each + several eq's for each setting. Has serious FX loop features & a cool solo feature.
I had no problem with the features of this amp. It was an obviously well-made amp.

Here it comes...
Everyone from the dealers who sold it to reviewers in mags said it was the greatest thing since popcorn. Well, I gotta tell ya, If you don't play rhythm guitar in a metal band, you will have no use for this amp. Open chords totally lose thier sweet sound thru this thing. Forget about playing leads that have any beef to them. It's weird how this sucker has a very fat barre chord sound yet loses it's punch everywhere else. All the urban-metal-rap bands that the kids like these days play these things so they are in great demand. When I took mine back, the guys at Mars Music thought I was nuts. I promptly got my $1400 back and walked out with a Marshall Plexi that knocks the Mesa's dick in the dirt as far as tone goes for a meager $799.
This amp was not for me but I'm sure it's perfect for plyers who's main concern is distortion and volume. Very noisy at times.

It seems like this amp was very well made.

Good grade for quality worksmanship. Bad grade for poor sound

ESP MH-100 with EMG 81 & 85
Amazing sound with no noise. A Megadeth,Deftones,Metalica sound.

This amp is a armored tank and is very heavy. It is just waiting to unleash some shredded attacks!!

Never had to deal with Mesa Boogie.

Only had amp for a week,just came out[3 channel].If it was stolen, I would kill the S.O.B!!!The only thing about the amp that I don't like is the chord going to the footswitch.It is the the round PIN connectors which doesn't seem to stay in place for some reason.