Mesa/Boogie Rect-O-Verb 50 Series 2 112 Combo

You know the basic setup of this amp if you've read the other reviews. Mine is a Custom Shop Red Tolex version plus the 1x12 3/4 back extension cabinet, both made in 2003. I play in a Santana tribute band and a band that does SRV, Pink Floyd, LLB, LRB, Steely Dan, etc. and this amp does them all justice.

The modern setting does pretty much suck though. It's too processed sounding. Use an Ibanez TS-7 or something and you'll be happy.

I use this amp live weekly with no problems other than having to replace tubes every now and then.

I don't know who that post was that said this amp totally sucked, he evidently has no ear, no talent and doesn't know a good amp from a Vietnamese manufactured Crappy amp.

The Recto Verb is a fine amp, you just have to have a bit of patience and spend alot of time tweeking the sounds. It's a very sensitive, delicate piece of electronics.

It isn't a plug n play Marshall or Fender like he is evidently used to.

Mesa's are reknowned for the variety of tones/sounds they can achieve, but it doesn't come quickly and each guitar you use will totally change the characteristics of the amps sound.

I use this live now rather then my Mark I because it's lighter and prettier basically. The Mark I actually sounds better, but it has broken down twice in the last year, so it's nearing retirement age. It's had a rough 30+ years on the road!

I use a PRS Santana III, a PRS Santana II (both with PRS Santana III pickups) and a Music Man Silhouette with the HSS and SSS pickup configurations. All of them sound great. I got rid of my Schecter because it sounded like crap through this amp (and my Mark I amp). Do not play a $500 guitar through a $2000 amp and expect it to sound good (and vice versa). That dog don't hunt.

The amp requires time and patience to acquire the proper settings for any given guitar/sound. GREAT clean tone, very crisp, and can rip your head off if you use too much treble. I actually keep the treble on 1-3 depending on the guitar.

Nice crunch from the clean channel when using the "pushed" mode. Great with single coils, fattens my MM up and it literally kills the Strats. For blues this amp ROCKS on the clean/pushed channel with the gain turned up fairly high. Think Stevie Ray or Joe Bonnamassa, etc..

Yes, the distorted channel on modern is "brutal", brutally bad that is. Don't understand why they would make such a fine amp and add that horrible distortion. It's the kind of distortion that people in a garage band of 14 year olds would appreciate.

You're crazy if you don't carry fuses and tubes. I carry 6L6s and EL34s. I use the 6L6s for the "rock" stuff and the EL34s for the Santana sound. The EL34s feedback a little quicker and cleaner than the 6L6s do though they are a little brighter. The extra 12" speaker cabinet is a must and a single 12" doesn't move enough air and sounds a little "thin" by itself.

You're also crazy if you don't carry a backup amp if you're using a tube amp. I carry a Peavy Classic 50 just in case.

OK support though unlike the other posts, I've never had anyone get back to me immediately. It usually takes from 24-72 hours, and a few times I've had to call a couple of times to get a response. Though once they do get back to you they are completely helpful and knowledgable about their products and the solutions.

I've been playing since way before my Mark I (an original issue from the 70's was built. I've been playing Boogies exclusively (except for my Peavey amp I use at practice, it's much lighter!) since about 1976. I wouldn't use anything else live. In all this time I've only had breakdowns 3 times, and I used to gig 6 nights a week, and for the past several years every weekend.

I would definitely replace a stolen amp with another Mesa Boogie.

The bad???? They are HEAVY!!! Put casters on them or use a 2 wheel dolly like I do.

You know by now. Spring reverb, two channels with 2 and three voicings respectively. Full set of dials for both channels, full tone stack, separate master output and solo output.

Can't think of much else I'd ever need.

Playing an american tele, a les paul junior and a hot rod 62 strat. All single coils. The clean is sensational, particularly on the pushed setting, where it ranges from glistening to crunch, depending on settings and your attach. The repsonse on the clean channel in both clear and pushed is sensational, immediate. It responds to your attack and style.

The second channel is great, you have a raw mode, which is a darker version of the pushed clean. It has more mid and bass, less treble. The vintage setting is classic Mesa, anything fromblues to brutality, again settings are the key. I have found that changing the output and master volumes changes the tone response, you need to balance these two. The modern setting is the most touch sensitive awesome channel I have used on a multi voice amp. It can go from genuine clean to the most aggressive musically distorted tone with your guitar tone and volume. This is truly a one channel gig device if you want it to be.

Sound with this amp comes down to patience and process. I have had this for 12 months, gigging every fortnight. In this time I have learnt a lot. The amp can really fatten single coils, without loosing character. Importantly it is VERY quiet when you are not playing a note. The sound is great on it's own, but this is a snesational amp with a band. The sounds are clear and seem to get more character in that setting, it is never filtered out by your band mates amps.

This is what it is about, flexibility, solid sounds, every sound you could ever want.

One point off because the solo button had a dicky diode that would fade after being on for about 20 minutes. In every other way it has never let me down. Rock solid and not looking like taking a turn for the worse any time soon.

Fixed immediately, what can I say. Never had any other issue, and the one I had was easily managed.

Pretty clear I'm happy. Take your time with a Mesa, they get knocked for not being pug and play, or not having 'that' sound. if any amp can cover all grounds, it is a mesa, it comes down to your patience and your right hand skill.

This amp was made in 2002? I have owned it since new I bought it with the matching 1x12 3/4 back cabinet. I play mainly metal/hard rock. This amp is perfect for that style (didn't try to get other sounds out of it, I wouldn't use them) Features are pretty good for a straight forward tube amp - its not a line6 - dial in your dirty channel, dial in your clean, and set your reverb - play guitar! (as a bonus you can set your solo volume, too) I played in a band with another guitar player - the solo button was the reason I looked at this amp. In a Metal band you definitly need volume - this amp can keep up - but don't expect it to have much more head room left when trying to keep up with an ampeg/8x10 bass rig. One problem I have with this amplifier is the dirty/clean switch. When you switch from your dirty channel to clean there is a slight delay. It is minor but, in the middle of a song if you are playing a clean mellow part and you switch dirty to explode into ultra heavy distortion there is a slight delay in the dirty channel "engaging" There is no remedy to this issue and it may not bother everyone. It bothered me to the point that I got a Line6 POD XT live and use it as my preamp through the effects loop - I now use a Diezel model as dirty and Fender twin reverb as clean. I also use a BBE Sonic Stomp (get one! The best $90 upgrade to your rig ever) This has been the best set up I have ever had period - probably the best I have ever heard for the money (I love the diezel VH4 but I cannot afford it)! I realize I am no longer using the preamp section of the boogie, but the amp is amazing - I have tried the line6 on other amps, P.A.'s - the Boogie blows them all away!

The sound quality is amazing. I cannot stop using this amp - I have another rig - Line6 HD147 going through a Marshall 2X12. The line6 is nice but it is no match for the Boogie. The Rect o verb is a very quiet amp, band members frequently comment on how quiet it is. I did notice when I was using the clean channel (without the podxt) there was some undesireable distortion/ break up when trying to keep up with a metal band. Maybe no big deal for someone who isn't trying to keep up loud bass and drum volumes. The dirty channel is awesome! It is 100% Recto high gain heaven.

The only time the amp ever disappointed me is after rehearsing with it a minimum twice a week for 5 years it started to loose some of its sound quality (I forgot I was playing a tube amp for a moment). I replaced the tubes and POW! Game on! So keep in mind and extra set of tubes is a handy thing to have.

Mesa Boogie is a top notch company - they take care of their customers!

This is a great amp if I could afford two of them I would use my Line6 POD to run them in stereo (I get wood just thinking about it) I have been playing guitar for 22 years I have owned and played lots of gear, I currently have a LP standard, LP studio, SG Gothic, PRS Tremonti SE (modified with the expensive version's pickups and pots) a Charvel Model 4 (bought new in 1987) and a MIM Players Deluxe Stratocaster (Doesn't everyone have to have a strat?) I mostly play my Standard and my PRS. THis is not the best amp money can buy but it is a great amp!

I'm not sure about the review prior to this one, while I agree Bogner and Fender make great amps I have found the Series 2 Rect-O-Verb to be reliable and excellent sounding (with a few tweaks).
My amp is a 2005 (I believe). The clean is warm like a fender and I can get just about any amount of gain I want. Two independent channels and the overall EQ make this amp able to get just about any tone. Each channel has a switch (1)Clean, RAW, or 2)Vintage, Modern, High Gain) to further tweak the tone. I found this amp sounds better with either a Celestion G75-12T or a Jensen C12N which warms it up a little more. I also prefer the Ruby Select 12AX7's in preamp section of this amp to the Mesa stock 12ax7, I find the gain is more dynamic and rounded.
50 Watts of Mesa power is more than enough to cover even an outdoor concert (mic'ed optional).
The Solo button is a really nice feature to give you that extra db boost when you want to come out front for a lead part.
The Reverb has a funny decay, but it doesn't really affect the overall sound.

I use several different guitars, Teles, Strats, PRS, Gibsons, Heritage, Gretsch, several Warmoth custom builts.
I play everything from Classic Rock, Blues, Jazz, Metal, this amp covers it just fine.
This is a VERY quiet amp and as excellent switch buffering to keep it quiet.
I can get clean, southern crunch, smooth Santana-ish gain to heavy metal gain. I don't know what more you could want from one amp.

Mesa's are built like tanks and easy to work on. No biasing necessary. Easy to repair if ever needed. Great design, bullet proof.
Just don't put in tubes that are at the real top or bottom end of the 6L6 Spectrum and you'll be fine. Power tubes and preamp tubes DO make a difference. You need to find what works for you. This is true in most amps! Don't spend good money for an amp and cheap out on tubes (low grade tubes can ruin your amp and your sound). Find what works for you! Mesa Power tubes are just fine. I also like Ruby's and TAD's.
Mesa internal parts are high quality and the engineers took the time to match things up correctly. So, there really isn't a need to modify things unless you're really picky. OK, the LDR's on some other models were problem prone, but they have since fixed that with mechanical relays.
My experience has taught me MOST (not all) tube amps can be dialed in with the right tubes, speaker(s) and sometimes resistor change(s) and/or capacitor change(s). I would NOT recommend this work to anyone inexperienced (a high voltage shocks could be deadly!!), a qualified technician can help get the most out of your amp.
If you have the right amp, a good technician can easily help you get the tone(s) you're looking for. Of course modifications would void the Warranty!!

These guys are tops, I've called for suggestions on fine tuning the amp, A longer footswitch cable etc. Never a problem, always helpful and knowledgeable. Expect a call back as opposed to an immediate answer. Clearly state your need(s) and don't waste their time with information already covered in the manuals. In other words get to the point, ask an intelligent question and they will call you back as soon as they can and will show you what good service is all about.

I have really grown to appreciate my Rect-O-verb.
I also had a Mark IV, great amp, hard to fine tune in a live setting though. I also have a Nomad 100, Fender Twin (pro-tube series), Marshall 4210 JCM800 and roughly 10 guitars. I've been playing for 35 years. This is really my number one amp for gigs. If it were lost or stolen I'd buy it again.
The only thing I hate about it is the weight, but I have it in a 5/8" ply road case with 4" urethane locking casters on it.

2003? Not versatile...decent clean.

before I start, i want to say i have been playing for 17 years and own 3 mesa boogies and 2 marshalls and a hugheskettner

Raw sounds like a boss ds-1 with dying power
vintage sounds like a line 6 with more ****
modern is the worst distortion ever. take a line 6 and add a fuzz pedal, then crank the treble. this amp has no solo voicing.

features suck. and it doesnt even have a rectifier tube its a solidstate rectify design. call mesa.

i have a les paul a strat a g&l a peavey and a musicman petrucci.

i play lead guitar and heavy rhythm guitar.
not suitable for any leads, duh.
rhythm sucks, metal tones suck, get a marshall or bogner or anything else but thios. clean sucks after half volume. cheesy and thin distortion, this amp is embarrasing.

i had to replace my first one a week after i bought it. since then its been ok.

good

playng 15 years and own about 7 high end guitars, none under 2000 dollars. i have a mesa dual rectifier (awesome) a mark IV (best lead tone a fender deluxe a vetta 2 and a bogner metrolpolis.
this is by far the worst amp of them all. i actually had to pull out my spider amp to practice last night because this thing is ****! i even had it checked at mesa boogie to make sure it was working right and they said this amp is built to have high treble and massive gain and its not about the tone.

i think everyone else has this category pretty much covered. this amp can cover a lot of different sounds, but does take a little time to get to know it intimately.which is why i've given it a couple months of hardcore use before posting a review.but i will say that it would be better if they would sort out the fx loop issues.another thing i don't understand,is in the manual, in the gain control segment,it says not to turn it up past 2.30.
so why bother having 5.00. on the dial? pretty minor really,but these are pricey amplifiers.BTW, if you're a 90lb wimp,you better get something else.these amps are constructed like tanks and weigh a wee bit.but thats how i like them.at least you know they're gonna last.

i've been playing guitar off and on for 20+ years. i've had a lot of different amplifiers, amongst which were quite a few marshalls.
my current main guitar is an epiphone les paul copy constructed of mahogany body, flamed maple top,mahogany neck, and rosewood fretboard.
i've had a set of kerry king emg pup's installed that have a 20decibel booster switch, and with this amp, i'm in distortion heaven.
i like playing heavy distorted genres mostly,and with this set up i've never been so satisfied. even without any pedals,just the guitar and amp.when you want cleaner sounds,it's all there if you take a little time to tweak a bit.
but if you're after specific sound,know what you're getting before you buy. ie:if you want a fender sound,get a freekin fender,and stop blaming these amps for your ignorance.there's no one product that does eveything perfectly.so look (and listen) before you leap.

I got this Combo second hand (two years old) at a price i could have brought some other brands new. a local tech checked it out for me and said it's sweet as.i'm the third owner,so i'll give it a ten because i know it's been round the clock a couple of times and it's still running sweetly

haven't used any.

the only reason i gave this amp a 9 is because of the fx loop issues mentioned in prior reviews. but over all i love this amp to death.i'll never own another marshall again cause this thing beats the poop out of them. would i buy another? you better believe it!!! if someone stole it, i would crawl across broken glass to get it back,then beat him repeatedly over the head with it's hefty weight.all the time knowing no damage will be done to the amp cause it's built like a tank.

The amp is a 2006 series 2 rectoverb combo. Has 2 channels, channel one has clean and pushed. Channel 2 has raw,vintage and modern. It comes with a footswitch for channel selection, reverb and solo. It has a parrallel effect loop. The amp also has the capability to switch between 6l6 power tube or el34 power tube,,,no biasing necessary.Sweet.

The ROV can go from super clean to all out brutal distortion to everything in between. It took me a week or two to find the best settings for me.
The amps full of great tones. Plenty of power for me at 50 watts.
One reason I bought the amp is because it sounds great at low volumes also. The amp is large enough for 2x12 speakers but comes with only one,,,dont let that fool you. It sounds great. Believe it or not for a high gain amp I find the amp very quiet. I have added a few pedals to my rig including some overdrive pedals I use on top of my amps gain and I still have no need for a noise suppressor. I play a custom les paul and a telecaster with stacked buckers and both sound awsome. The amp suits me well for the music I play,,thats anything from the blues through rock to metal but never mess with the 7 string dark death metal stuff although the amp could certainly handle it. Theres a lot of gain on tap here and have found since I bought the amp that my needs for gain has fallen a bit. Seldom do I ever go over the half mark in any channel/mode.Hell its a boogie rectifier,,,what did I expect?
I also eventually bought a 2x12 recto cab to lay my combo on and using the 3 speakers I have now,,,WOW,,,unbelievable,,that deep chugga,chugga is great,,so much fuller sounding. But you dont need the ext. cab to make it sound good. I like the fullness of more than one speaker.
Almost forgot,,the one thing I wish the amp had better is the reverb. I just wish the verb was more lush and in your face if you want it like that. Its not horrible but its not fendery either. I would give the verb 6 or 7 of 10.

I think I could easily depend on the amp for a gig although I dont gig ever. Its usually stationary in a corner of my basement and once in a while sees the back seat of my car to visit a friends place.
Ive never had any problems with the amp. SOLID.

There has been a few times since I bought this amp including a previous boogie f50 that I spoke with mesa because the tubes that came with it rattled. The filaments in the tubes rattled and I could only hear the rattling while playing quietly in the basement but it bugged the hell out of me. I spoke with mesa and both times I had new tubes at my door in about 10 days. NICE. Both times the new tubes took care of the problem. I bought both amps at guitar center and I believe they get abused a bit by those teens you see all over the place. Anyways I have full trust in mesa and im very glad I went with one of their amps. They come with a 5 year warranty.I cannot forsee any problems with this amp in the future.Well Made

If it was stolen I would probably buy it again. I have a hard time deciding on amps and bought and returned no less than 7 amps before finally settling on this one...Before I settled on this amp I purchased and returned a peavey classic 50,marshall solid state 2x12?
peavey valveking 2x12,fender frontman 2x12,boogie f-50, B52 AT100 2x12,marshall tsl-602. I liked this the best because, of the other amps, none could give me the distortion the ROV could without a pedal except the b52 maybe. I dont always play with massive gain and the ROV out did all the other amps in all departments besides maybe the classic 50 in the blues department,,also a nice amp. The ROV was the most expensive of the lot other than the marshall tsl-602 and it wouldnt take long to see why. Again I thought the classic 50 came in second at craftsmanship.. Now that I think of it I believe the boogies and the classic 50 were the only ones made in the U.S.A.

I think HERMAN was made in 2006. HERMAN is very versitile. He rips out everything i can think of. I play everything from sweet little pretties to melt your face off molten metal. So there. He has two channels with different voicings per channel.(I mean how many sounds do you need, man?) He's pretty. He has a footswitch with channel select, reverb, and the best button ever, SOLO!!!!! That is sooo rad. A solo button. What more could you ask for?!! He has 50 watts of tear your face off power!!! Plenty loud enough for the auditoriums i'm playing.

I already told you, rip your face off man!!! His clean is pristine. His dirt is golden brown. And his solo mode is rocks. I dont play my clean very loud so no problems there, but i have never heard him fart. SUPERBRUTALDISTORTION! My guitar, GG, has a chrometop tone zone in the bridge position, and a chrometop norton in the neck. So, anybody that knows anything about tone knows where i'm coming from.
Everything suits me fine. Herman knows how to please me.

Herman has never let me down,
END OF STORY!

never dealt much with, but i've always heard good things.

i've been playing for 10 years straight, 20 off and on. i've come to the conclusion that in HERMAN'S world, i'm his rip god. if He were stolen id report it and prosecute the theif. He will never be lost because he stays with me at all times while on trips. i love time with HERMAN and i hate time away from HERMAN. compared to all the other amps, HERMAN is the best fit for me. if there were anything else i wish it had, it would be more time with me.
in conclusion i would like to add that HERMAN, a Mesa/Boogie Rectoverb, was an excellent buy for me. I give it an overall rating of 9 because, as much as i love HERMAN, nothing is perfect.

Please see review 07/01/06

Please see review 07/01/06

Had to give some continuation to my earlier review. The amp was returned with a friendly email telling me everything was all okay and that the amp sounded fantastic. Opened the box up plugged it in and the damn thing is still bust, not working in any way, shape or form, oh apart from the fact that the power light comes on. Mmmmm, ?1500 for a nicely glowing red light, money well spent. Anyhow, really did think I might get some positive action this time, nope, just someone telling me everyone was on holiday and I'd have to send it back again for them to look at. Please oh please if anyone from Mesa is reading this, help me out, this is surely not good customer service.

It's only just better than the reliability.

2005 Mesa/Boogie Rectoverb Combo Series II. 1x12 50 Watt combo. This is an amazingly versatile amp. I've had it for about a year. It's 2 channel (clean & distorion) with 5 settings, class A/B all-tube amp with 2 6L6's & 5 12AX7 preamp tubes. Each channel has gain, treble, midrange, bass, reverb, presence, master volume & standby. Clean has: Clean & Pushed & Distortion has: Raw, Vintage & Modern. Has a Celestion "Black Shadow" speaker & a footswitch which switches channels, reverb and also a solo booster. A switch on the back that allows you to change from 6L6's to EL34's. Footswitch has channel switch, reverb and also a solo booster. Has a slave out & a parallel effects loop.

There are some incredible tones to be found in this Rectoverb combo. It can go from really sizzling metal (It's a Rectifier!) to fantastic cleans. I play a lot of 80's metal & hard rock/blues as well as super clean blues. As of today, I am using a PRS, an Gibson ES335, & a Tele with a variety of pickups. I find the Raw & Vintage works best for me for distortion, although I do use the Modern channel as well. The Pushed clean channel allows a warm, smooth tube breakup. The regular clean setting is very, very sweet. Just take some time with it and you will find great tones. I'm still finding new sounds a year after I bought it. This amp has tremendous headroom, due in part to the oversized cab & 3/4 enclosed back. One thing I think is important, if you are seriously looking at a Rectoverb combo, make sure it's the Series II, because it has the "Raw" setting, the older Rectoverbs don't have it & you will probably want that channel. As mentioned in some of the other reviews, this amp is quite loud, rated at 50 watts but it easily handles medium sized venues without working too hard. I use it at home as well, which works fine at lower levels, however the volume is very touch sensitive.

I'ts been through a year of playing live and recording. The Rectoverb hasn't let me down at all. I don't bring a backup amp. I bring tubes. Power tubes & preamp tubes, fuses & small set of common sense equipment for shows.

Not too much contact really, called them a couple times over the years & when I was looking at the Rectoverb combo, they have been very helpful. Other than that it has a 5 year warranty.

I've been playing for 20 plus years now. I am familiar with many amps. Some of the other amps I looked at were other Mesa's, Fenders, Vox, Carr, Marshall, Bogner etc. Anyway, I am familiar with Mesa's stuff from the 80's & 90's & have for the most part, liked thier amps. I am a working musician who is constantly looking for great tone, and this Rectoverb combo really delivers. It took me a good six months of playing every amp I could, trying to find one that would do what I wanted. It wasn't cheap, but to me it's been worth every penny. One thing that should have been addressed, is that it's a pretty heavy amp & has no casters, not sure why they didn't include them. This can be a pain. Either buying a set of castors or an Amp case will solve this problem. If it was lost, damaged or stolen, I'd definately replace it with another Rectoverb.

Loads of features and settings and all give a great variation on sounds. I can get most of what I want out of this amp although I still haven't got that elusive perfect sound, but it's got enough features to suit most styles.

I play mostly classic rock style with the occasional blues edge and it can give me what i want, from clean fender to marshall rock. I mainly play three guitars through the amp; a Gibson Les Paul Custom, Gibson SG standard and a Paul Reed Smith McCarty and it copes nicely with all of them, although the custom and McCarty can be a little muffled, so I think it is probably better suited to the more metal or thrash players.

Bought one brand new and it broke after less than 3 months of mainly bedroom use. Had it repaired by Westside (the UK distributors and it broke again within 3 weeks. They gave me a brand new one (supposedly) and it to broke after about 3 months. So 2 brand new Rectoverbs both knackered within 3 months and not even 10 gigs between them. I'm not talking faulty valves but major faults. I would never play this amp without a backup and I would never willingly buy one again. Mesa Boogie, one of the most expensive range of amps on the market and they can't even last a few months. I've had a Marshall stack that is now over 30 years old and the only thing that has ever been remotely faulty is the guitar lead input socket and that took about 25 years to go and a few minutes, pence or cents to put right.

The shop where I bought it were okay but had no Mesa experts so had to sent it awy to the distributor for repair, but only after taking 3 weeks to send me new valves to try out (which never cured the fault) the distributors were very helpful and stayed in touch and at first replaced the amp with a new one (so they said). The 2nd one that broke I thought would prompt a little more urgency, ie "would you like a refund" or some such offer, but no they just asked for it back to have a look at, so I guess if and when they repair it I'll be stuck with an obscenely overpriced amp that is liable to break at any time. I have to add that all the US Mesa customer service would do or say is to contact the UK ditributors and gave me the impression that hey they've made the sale so lets not give a stuff about the customer so for the reasons I've just given I would give Westside Distribution an 8 and Mesa Boogie USA 1. So if you ever read this Westside the scre is for the head office in the USA and not you.

Been playing many a good year, had some dodgy guitars, usually cheap and some rubbish amps, but nothing compares to the unreliability of this mega expensive so called boutique piece of rubbish amp called Mesa Boogie Rectoverb series 2. Alsmost bought a Marshall Mode 4 for #600 less and by god I wish I had. I tried Engl, Peavey,Marshall, Vox, Laney, Fender, Orange and quite a few others, and this really did sound the best although it also cost the most, but do you know what I bet your average $99 crate would last longer and be more reliable.....So overall it gets a 3.

I got this Rectoverb Combo new almost a year ago, so I'm over the "I'ts brand new WOW" factor. However, the quality of tones still amaze me. It is a professional grade Class A/B All-Tube amp, 1x12 50 watt, with a Celestion C90 Black Shadow speaker. 2 channel amp with Clean: "Clean & Pushed" & Distortion: "Raw, Vintage & Modern". Also includes Gain, Treble, Midrange, Bass, Reverb, Presence, & Master volume & Standby. It also has the capability to switch from 6L6's to EL34's with a switch on the back of the amp. Literally tons of headroom in this amp as well. The footswitch is very useful, has channel switching, reverb & a solo boost. If you've ever played any Rectifier you know a little bit of what to expect on the distortion end - but what sets the Rectoverb apart is it adds some unbelievable vintage tones & cleans as well.

I currently play a PRS McCarty, a '71 Tele & a Gibson Standard w/57 Classic pups, also have used a Gibson Les Paul Standard & American Strat w/Texas Specials. The Rectoverb has handled all of them quite nicely. It is amazing to me that you can go from vicious Metal to Eagles type stuff, toss in a bit of Jazz/Fusion & come back with a Clapton or SRV blues number without flinching. I haven't seen many amps that can do that well, but the Rectoverb does an excellent job. The distortion channel settings work perfectly from a serious Metal crunch to Clasic rock & Soulful blues. It does require some fiddling around until you find the "Sweet spots". The clean channel will produce a Fender/Vox sparkling type of clean. I have to admit I was shocked at the sweet clean tones, I had heard & read a bit about it, but honestly didn't expect it to be as good as it is. I mostly play the 6L6's, but often switch over to the EL34's, which drastically changes the tones. Very much like having two different amps. Also of note is that Celestion C90 Black Shadow, which is really a fantastic speaker.

So far, I haven't had any troubles with the Rectoverb at all. Just typical maintenance, changing tubes when needed, keeping the amp clean etc. I have depended on it for about a year, and it hasn't let me down. I always carry a set of extra set of tubes just in case, along with fuses & preamp tubes.

I called Mesa Customer Support & got my questions answered pretty quickly. Other than that, I haven't dealt with them.

I've played for 22 years, and have played & owned a ton of different amps, a Marshall JCM800, Bogner, a Dr.Z, numerous old & new Fenders etc. Some have been very good amps like the Marshall for instance, some were one trick ponies, others have been dogs that required constant attention. This is my first Mesa Boogie, although I had played different recifiers before, this one really seemed to stick out. My feeling about the Mesa Rectoverb Combo is that it is a great amp for a working musician. It's not a boutique type amp, although Mesa does offer lots of fancy stuff, colors & grills etc. I went with the black. It's simply a great amp that is fun to work with. If it was lost or stolen, I would definately replace ASAP. I hope this is not coming off as giving the Rectoverb too much praise, but when you find a piece of equipment that is really doing the job what's the point in bashing it for no reason?

this amp has many great features that i personally love. It has two channels. Clean consists of a switch that you can switch from clean to pushed. The dirty channel consists of raw/vintage/modern. i usually use modern for high gain crunchy distortion. This amp is very diverse, If you mess with the settings you can make alot of different types of tones. Consisting of the mars volta type "Orange Amps" to chiodos heavey distortion "Engl Amps".

I run a Fender American Ash Telecaster(single coil pickups) Gibson SG Standard(Humbuckers) and a PRS McCarty Soapbar( Seymour Duncan P-90) through this amp. They all provide a unique type of tone and style that i use on a daily basis depending on what music i want to play. This amp is not that noisey even with the single coils and soapbars. If you're a consiterable distance away it should sound grand. The distortion is amazing, very crunchy and hard. Lots of head room but can be washed out on some occasions. Thats why there's a solo button on the footswitch(great feature). Suits my styles very well

This is where i ran into some problems. Everything on this amp has been perfect and flawless except for the Effects Loop. If you are a delay freak like me, this amp is going to drive you up a wall. Many problems with this feature. I have a boss dd-20 twin delay pedal which i love. The only feature on this pedal that doesnt drive the rect-o-verb nuts is the analog delay setting. reverse/dual/modulate/twist settings are out the window. Once you stop on the delay the amps starts making a sound known as "motorboating" sounds like the amp is about to explode in your face. I know this isnt the pedal because i have plugged many delay pedals into this amp including the boss dd-6 and it has done the same thing. Once i plugged the dd-20 into my fender hotrod deluxe it was perfect. Too bad the hotrod distortion is horrible. So i am pretty much stuck in a rut. If the effects loop on my rect-o-verb cant be fixed i think ill consider trading it in for money and saving up for an Orange Rockerverb 50 head(my favorite amp head). If it can be fixed i'll definitley keep this amp it is a very very nice rig.

I havent delt with Mesa too much. From what i'v heard they are very dependable but dont take my word for it

I have been playing for about 2 and half years. Yeah i know you're probably thinking "what the hell does this kid know about guitars and amps if he has only been playing for 2 1/2 years?" Guitar is pretty much my life. i play every day as much as i can. Its all i do. My current invetory is the PRS McCarty soapbar, Gibson SG Standard,Fender Telecaster,00028ec(eric clapton) martin, OM8V Larrivee. Mesa Boogie Recto-o-verb, Fender Hotrod Deluxe, Mesa Boogie recto slant cab(oversized), boss dd-20 giga delay. I have been fortunate enough to have a father that has the same passion i do about guitars/amps/ and music. Collecting guitars/amps is a hobby of my father and I which is something most kids dont have the oppurtunity to experience. So I am very greatful for all te things that i have. But if there was one thing i wish i had, it would be the Orange Rockerverb 50. I played this head at the guitar expo in Pennsylvania and was absolutey blown away. Considering i played this amp with a extremely dumb guitar called a warrior this thing sounded unreal. The 3 spring reverb which is tube driven was the most clear chimey reverbs i have ever played with. Ths distortion was very crunchy and had tons of headroom. The clean channel was amazing. I dont mean to get off on a tangant sense i'm suppost to be reviewing the mesa but this Orange amp is my all time favorite amp head and will continue to be until i play something that blows me away more.

This is an update to the review I left right below. I love this amp, but I wanted the FX Loop to be a serial loop instead of parrallel. The other night I got ambitious and pulled the chasis out of my combo and started tracing the FX loop connections. I was able to convert the loop over by changing only three wire connections. Now I love this amp more than ever. I can put anything in the loop now and I don't get any weird feedback or anything. It's great. I would not consider this a design flaw in the amp. Parrallel has it's perks and may work perfectly for many people, but I personally, for my setup, prefer a serial FX loop. If you want directions on how to convert your amp over, email me at mr_fender@hotmail.com

Amp still sound as fantastic as it did before. This mod does not affect the sound of your amp at all. Now, the FX devices you plug into the loop, that is another story. For that I STRONGLY suggest true bypass. This will keep your great boogie tone completely untouched when your loop effects are off. If you don't have true bypass effects, get or build a true bypass box for the whole loop. These amps use no-connect shorting jacks for the effects loop, so your amp will still work exactly the same when there is nothing plugged into the FX loop jacks. The only thing this mod does is remove the dry mixed sound from the effects loop signal path. That's it. If you were crafty, you could put in a switch to go from serial to parrallel configurations also.

Still going strong. No problems at all.

Mesa/Boogie is great. These guys will go out of their way to make sure you are happy with your amp.

This is the best amp I have ever used. After converting the loop to serial, I love it more than ever now. It sounded awesome before and still sounds just as awesome, but the serial loop just makes my life a bit easier. For full details on the sound and features of this amp, check out my first review below.

All-tube 50 watts, 1x12" Celestion Black Shadow speaker, 2 channels, parallel fx loop, 5 modes (clean, pushed, raw, vintage, and modern)... you know the rest. If you don't, go to www.mesaboogie.com and find all the details. Very versitile amp. Plenty of features, yet still very straight forward and simple to use. Like most Boogies, its 50 watt rating seems pretty modest. This puppy can really scream, yet still sounds remarkably good at low volumes as well. It's got everything I need. I do wish the fx loop was serial and not parallel. It can be a pain, but I hear it can be rewired to serial quite easily. This is definitely a top notch professional grade instrument that is very well made.

I'm playing a Fender strat with a bridge humbucker into a custom built pedalboard (all true bypass) in front of the amp, and have a Boss DD-20 Giga delay in the FX loop. This amp sounds fantastic. It is replacing a TriAxis / 2:90 rack setup that I got tired of lugging arround. It covers all of the same tones, and is a lot less to haul arround. In fact, to my ears, the Rectoverb sounds a bit more lively and responsive than my rack setup did. Just seems more alive; it's hard to explain. My rack setup sounded more "processed" and flat compared to this amp. Here's my breakdown:

Channel 1 Clean: This one is your traditional "clean" sound. Quite rich and chimey. You could say "Fender" like cleans. It has plenty of clean headroom, yet can still be driven hard to get a great old school overdriven sound. Everything from 80's cleans to SRV grit.

Channel 1 Pushed: This one sounds more like a "Marshall" type clean to me. A bit "Plexi" like - More throaty and lots of upper midrange. Set low it's clean and spanky, but dial up the gain for a great crunchy lead sound that is very tight and responsive. I find my Hendrix and Stones and even old school AC/DC type sounds in here.

Channel 2 Raw: This one continues right up the Gain stairway. Raw is a lot like Channel 1 Pushed, but with more low midrange and girth and less highs. It's very ballsy and fat. This is a very "Classic Rock" guitar sound. Think old school Rush and Def Leppard. It's a very ballanced and responsive sound, great for rhythm riffs and power chords. Lots of fun.

Channel 2 Vintage: This is the real Recto sound that most people fall in love with. Very ballanced and smooth. Great for leads and heavy riffing. Enough gain to kill small animals (be warned). This one covers your hard rock and metal needs: think Metallica, Ozzy, Dream Theater, etc.

Channel 2 Modern: The name says it all here. This one covers the modern wave of hard rock and metal, even the dreaded "Nu-Metal" sound. If Vintage can kill small animals, Modern can easily take out a medium sized dog or even a small child. Be careful with this one. Obscene amounts of gain here. IMO anything past 2:00 on the gain knob is just way too much. Modern is VERY touch sensitive and tight for those speed metal runs. This one is FAT. A lot of highs and a lot of lows. Yet back off the gain and it cleans up quite well.

Don't let this box you in. The channels and modes all overlap and offer a huge variety of sounds. The EQ's on both channels are very powerful. Those with brighter sounding guitars, like my strat, will want to back off those highs, or else expect an earache. This amp covers it all for me. From Country to Blues to Rock to Metal, it's all in there somewhere.

After reading reviews, the reverb is a lot better than I expected. It's not as smooth as the Fender Tube Reverb, but still adds that touch of depth and sweetness that only a good tube driven spring reverb can. Look out Dick Dale!

One of the most suprising aspects of this fine amp is the lack of noise. Even on high gain settings, it is still remarkably quiet. It is MUCH quieter than my TriAxis/2:90 setup was. I love it.

At first I was worried that this amp would not be able to offer me all of the sounds I had from my TriAxis, but I've had this amp for a couple of months now and not once have I missed my old setup. This is a fantastic sounding amplifier. It's so responsive and harmonically lush. It just feels good to play. I'm extremely satisfied with it.

Bought it used. Previous ownder had no problems with it, and so far I've had none either. I trust the Boogie reputation. I had my old TriAxis / 2:90 setup (also bought used) for over 3 years and I never had one day of trouble with it. If you take care of your equipment and don't buy junk, it will last you a very long time. I've said it once and I'll say it again: You get what you pay for.

I've called them a few times for some general info in the past, and they were always very helpful and nice to me. Never had to send anything for repair, so I can't comment on that.

I've been playing for about 8 years now. I've had my fair share of gear, and this is by far one of the best pieces of musical equipment I have ever purchased. I tried a whole bunch of amps before deciding on this one, too many to list. This is one of the few products that I've found lived up to its reputation. The only thing I'd change is making the fx loop serial instead of parallel. Other than that, I'm extremly satisfied with it and would highly recommend anyone interested to go out and try one for yourself.

I love this amp.
You know what the set up is. I agree with the first dude, cut back the highs a bit and don't go crazy with the presence like you might with a marshall or a fender, it's actually reccomended you put the presence at about a quarter in the manual to prolong tube life and give you a wider fatter sound, on the clean channel cutting back the presence gives you a more oldschool 65' twin sound, not as deep, but as close as i've herd any non-fender come to that clean haven that is '60s fender blackfaces.

if you wanna hear this amp in action you can check out my band's record at www.homebymidnight.com

This amp can dial any tone. Another idea however, is to run an "isobar" (which is one of those computer powerstrips) it won't affect the tone or anything, but it will cut out alot of yout noise, especially the good old 60 cycle hum on the distorted channel. it'll still be there, but alot quieter. this helps in the studio and on stage, but still, nothing cuts out a hum when you're not playing except your volume pedal/knob...just roll it down and you'll be hum free. without any help, this thing hums up a storm...but i kinda like it, it's a real beast, and your job as the player is to tame it. if it didn't have this hot sound it would be hard to pull our feedback and guitar rumble for effect, (if you know what you're doing, it's very easy to get the nice feedback or rumble you want out of this beast, yet it's also easy to control.) I use the amp with my 1996 Fender 50th anniversary Fat Strat and my 1969 Gibson Les Paul Custom as well as tons of other guitars. It actually sounds pretty sweet with an acoutsic electric (clean ofcourse). The Fender gets the best feedback over my Gibson. I use alot of different pedals and rack effects but the tones of this amp without any effects are so good i've stopped using any distortion pedals or anything like that cause this amp just blows them out of the water and they become obsolete. also when recording with this or any amp, if you've got good software, it's always best to superimpose all your effects. just go clean and distorted, the computer will do the rest better than any stomp box or rack unit you've got. as far as micing this amp, live...sm57 or E609 riget at the center of the speaker...don't mess with weird mic placements live. in the studio i prefer the E609 over the sm57 but both do the job, when i record, i use both and i use an akg 414 in the room and a D112 at the back of the speaker. It is 4 tracks but nothing compares to the quality i can score from this setup. amp sounds best in a smallish room, about 10 ft by 10 ft is as big as i would go...also, if you've got the option, use tube mic preamps on all the mics. if you've only got solid state preamps i wouldn't even bother, they sound crappy...just go direct with the mics if you haven't got tube preamps. tube is freeking awesome. nothing compares to tube. i guess i'm a purist but it's sweet...

Haven't had a problem at all...i gig without a backup constantly. it is tube, obviously, so if you keep them in good shape i wouldn't expect any problems. comes with a nice slip cover too. i'm thinking about buying a case for it cause i gig alot, but they're like $200...maybe if i find a used one. it's definately worthwile if you gig as much as i do... if you'r considering a case or something, just think how nice it would be to wheel this 80 pound moster around rather than carry it. I've seen tons of mesa's with ripped off handles. carry it from the sides, i actually find it best to use a hand truck if available otherwise i just carry it between 2 people. with 2 people it feels light, alont it's a monster. The best way to get it around is still a case, i woudn't want to put casters on it cause i wouldn't want to drill holes in it, but if you do get casters, make sure they lock.

Never had a problem but about a weeks after i sent in my warranty card i got a phone call just touching base and wondering how i liekd it and letting me know if there was anything i needed to clal a certain number and ask for a certain dude. i like that. that made me feel pretty comfortable about it.

Exceptional amplifier. But it's expensive... i'd buy it again if i had to... I'm only a 16 year old kid, but i have been playing since is way 4 years old, so i know as much as any of the geezers out there. This amp rocks. If i needed something with more channels or options, i'd stay with Mesa and get a different model, but mesa is definately the way to go.

if you wanna hear this amp in action you can check out my band's record at www.homebymidnight.com peace.

2002
i play a lot of rock, but this amp can be used for just about anything (REMEMBER all you that like a more rock sound, turn those highs all the way down, MESA has really weird highs!) 2 modes of clean channels, and 3 modes of distortion, anything from bluesy to metal! 2 footswitchable channels with external switching!, i use this amp in my studio, but also play it with bands and the distortion on it is great for recording or live, thats the reason i bought it!, the only thing i wish it had was 1 more footswitchable channel.and when switching between clean and dirty there's a momentary delay, if you dont time your swites right you'll notice, and its all tube, 50 watts, so it cranks!

Im using a 52 fender telecaster reissue with texas special pickups, plenty of low end even for a guitar with single coils! the overall sounds of this amp are very crisp, you can dial in whatever sound you desire at any volume and it comes across just as you want it with very little noise interference!, just dont turn the highs up or it'll sound spongy.

no problems yet! except the effects loop doesnt work very well on this one, i'm a bit of an amp tech, its probably just bad jacks, but still, you would figure mesa would put better jacks in their stuff.

havent had to deal with

ive been playing 8 years, i just got rid of a fender twin 2x12 to get this amp, if it were lost , stolen or otherwise molestered i would get another one somehow!, i love the overall sound of this thing, wish the footswitching was a little different, but oh well and i wish mesa took more time with their input jacks and switching, but oother than that, good job, glad to see they at least upgraded it from the v.1 that everyone has problems with.

2003 mesa boogie rect-o-verb 50 series 2.
The rectoverb is a 50 watt 2 channel, single input 1 x 12 combo. Features include gain, treble, midrange, bass, reverb, presence, and Master volume. There is an output knob as well so you may match your two channels then bring the overall volume of both up together. There is an effects loop on the rear of the amp. Each channel has independent controls and they are identical per channel as I described above. I play in an rock-electronica group that mixes music like Chemical Brothers, Prodigy, and Fluke, with Jimi Hendrix, Smashing Pumpkins, and U2...
This amp has all the features one would need for general "plug and play" styles, on stage or recording. The Mark IV for example has tons more features like direct recording options, speaker mute, power attenuation, and knobs that push and pull to do all kinds of fancy stuff. The rectoverb is more simple in comparison. I play this amp on stage and in recording sessions and I'll tell you that all the other reviews are correct... For 50 watts, it sounds like it could have 80 - 100 watts under the hood. It's very powerful, in that it provides plenty of headroom. Turning the volume knob from down to up provides a smooth increase in volume that won't make your tone go from thin quiet to cranked in 1/3 of a turn like some amps. It's very loud. I'm sure it will compete in a band situation where Marshall 100 watt amps are involved. I'll give it a 6 for features. This does not mean it is less versitile than an amp with more features. I would get lost with more features anyway. The Mark IV would be a 9. Way too musch stuff for me.

I play a PRS Santana SE and strats through several effects. My chain is this: Guitar -> Boss tu-2 tuner -> Jim Dunlop wah -> Robert Keely TS-9 Tubescreemer -> Danelectro DanEcho delay -> Electro-Harmonics holy grail Reverb -> Amp
Also, I play a Guild DV-52 acoustic with a Humbucker rare earth soundhole pick up through Pro-co Rat distortion pedal into a relatively clean channel. (think Ben Harper on Will To Live).
OK so.. This amp is designed to provide every possible inch of territory from brittle clean to high gain saturation (insanity) and it divys up the spectrum with Five Modes. They are as such:
Channel 1
Clean
Pushed
Channel 2
Raw
vintage
Modern

THE CLEAN MODE provides a "fender-ish" chime that can be pushed into overdrive using the gain knob or cranking the output to full like old amps. It's fairly dry, it doesn't have the "3-D" chime of a blackface fender. It can't.. There is no way. Overdrive circuits with Gain knobs don't provide the same tone dynamics as clean master volume amps like the fender. However, there is nothing to complain about with this clean channel. The tone is better than the fender deville series I have played. Better than Marshall clean, and not as rich as My Orange AD 30r. So there you go! The low end this amp provides is why I bought it. It is a warm amp with darker characteristics. Sweet clean channels are typically bright(Vox, Fender, etc..)

THE PUSHED MODE is like a clean amp turned up to provide tube saturation. This mode is fuller with more dynamic harmonic content. It's bluesy.. Fuller. The pick dynamics are pretty good too. You can dial in a dirtier sound here, and pick softly or turn down the volume to get clean notes. Pick harder, or dime the volume and you are back to nice warm overdrive. This Mode is my rhythm channel. I use pick dynamics and volmume to clean it up, then crank it to get really Killer Crunch. Think Pearl Jam, Southern Rock sounds, cleaner Soundgarden sounds, but rich midrange smooth and present highs(nothing harsh) and amazing lowend.




THE RAW MODE this channel is a little more midrangey than the pushed mode like some bass comes out of the tone but it provides crunch. Marshall tones live here, or fully cranked Fenders. My Orange is designed for this sound and no... the Rectoverb will not create the chimmey, complex crunch that the Orange will. Some people feel the Orange sounds better than vintage Marshall. However... the lowend and warmth of this Recto are so much more rich in my ear. Think Everclear on Sparkle and Fade, Heroin Girl, Santa Monica. Lotta southern rock sounds here too.

THE VINTAGE MODE This is pure old school Mesa Boogie. Carlos Santana, Bush, Early Verve( yes! Nick McCabe played a mesa Mark III)
This is a darker channel than the Raw Mode and Way fuller with rich Harmonic Overdrive. This is High-Medium gain or Low-high gain. This is my lead channel. It's darker so you can dial in mids and Highs which are harder to dial out then to dial in.

THE MODERN MODE
This is The Modern Recto sound! Massive high gain, with low end and ridiculous pick dynamics. Total touch sensitivity and floor rattling tonefull High Gain. I have played Peavey 5150 60 watt combos. Yes the gain is insane and more intense on a peavey, it is also laser sharp and less full and tonefull than the Rectoverb. And that folks is 5 pre amp tubes vs. 6. The Peavey is high gain mecca, and yes, to one dimensional for me. The recto sounds more balanced. Metal guys seem to prefer the Peavey. I like the Mesa because I can come home to a cleaner sound when I want.

Overall this is a modern sounding amp with tons of lowend and power, Good tone, not vintage or boutique good, but great tone for the entire gain spectrum that it covers.

Good so far! Had it a month.

No Idea, I would go to an amp tech anyway if possible, if not, you have to bug big companies for days or weeks to get help.

Great amp for live sound with huge versatility and power. Volume is plenty, tone is good, very good. This amp excels at Medium to high gain levels, and performs very well in saturated to overdriven levels. The clean is the only weak spot and it;s not that weak.