Mesa/Boogie Rect-O-Verb II 112 Combo

I've had this amp for about 1.5 Years and I think it is one of the best amps ever to come out of the Mesa factory.
Two Channels: 1) Clean/Pushed 2) Raw/Vintage/Modern.
Gain, Treble, Mid, Bass, Presence, Reverb and a Master Volume independent, for each channel. An "Output" (a true overall master volume) and a Solo level to get the extra db umphh for soloing. A three button foot switch (Channel/Reverb/Solo/). 2 6L6's and several 12AX7's. One easy way to tell a Rect-O-Verb Series II from the original (series I?) is the II has the Reverb knobs on the front of the amp. Additionally, I believe the Raw/Vintage/Modern switch is different on the the original (there isn't a Raw setting).
I wish the reverb on the foot switch had a LED so I can look down to see if it's on. And, I think the decay of the reverb is a little odd, but not a problem.
This amp is VERY versatile, I play everything from Clean Jazz, Rock-A-Billy, Classic Rock, Punk, Modern Punk, a bit of Metal and it covers them all with ease and in a live situation I can dial those sounds in very quickly (necessary when at a gig).
50 Watts of Mesa Power is more than enough to rip your drummer's head off ;-). I think Mesa under rates their wattage claims compared to other amps out there.
I haven't used the effects loop, but it does have one. I use an SKB PS-45 pedal board with all my effects between my guitar and the Amp's input. An A/B so I can use two guitars (one at a time), an EQ to balance the Volume and tone of the two guitars (Strat / PRS) Wah, Phase, Compressor, Chorus, Echo, Tuner.
This is my main gigging amp (my No.#1). I've also recorded with this amp, It's truly amazing.
Another nice feature is you can also run an external speaker cabinet. I often run an 8-ohm external cabinet and also run the internal 8 ohm speaker (using the two 4 ohm output jacks). This allows me to hear everything on my side of the stage and allows the musicians on the other side of the stage to hear me through the cabinet. Or I can use my amp as my monitor (for my guitar ONLY) and the cabinet for everyone else to hear. I can always Mic the amp (or cabinet) when I really need to get the sound out there. For gigs with less than 500 people the amp, by itself, is usually plenty.

As stated above I can cover just about anything I need to sound wise, and it does it VERY well.
Here's were you can make your amp your friend, or your enemy; Tubes, yep, Tubes: A good set of tubes from Mesa or Ruby's high end, TAD's, Electro Harmonics, etc. Use good tubes, it makes all the difference in the world!! Same with Pre-amp tubes. I've tried 12AX7's that I think are too hot for this amp and it's hard to control the distortion. On the other hand I've tried 5751's in place of the 12AX7's to reduce the gain, on this amp, I think it takes a little of the head room away from the clean channel. Stick with good 12AX7's, again from the manufactures I've already listed (or any other high quality manufactures).
The Stock speaker sounds great! Personally, I like the Celestion G12T-75 in there a little more. It tends to give it a little lower lows and higher highs. Again a speaker is something that can make or break an amp's tone.
As for your guitar's tone, if you don't already have them, get good pickups!!! Even a guitar that is not a top of the line guitar can sound good with the right pickups and electronics. Case in point; I have a $150 Epiphone G400 with the hardware replaced and a good set of Seymour Duncan's in it, and it sounds and plays like a $2,000 guitar. A few "guitars heads" laugh when they see me playing it, and ask, "how do you get that tone out of that inexpensive guitar?". Simply put, good equipment makes for good sound!! Pickups are VERY important in the chain of sound. Also, use good cables!
For pickups I use: Pearly Gates Plus & Two Texas Specials on my Strat, On my Warmoth (my No. #1 guitar) I use a Seymour Duncan JB & a Duncan SH-2 Jazz in the neck. In my PRS(s) I use Dragon II's, HFS & Vintage Bass, Santana II's, My Tele has a Jerry Donahue and an Alnico II Pro, My Heritage 535 has Seymour Duncan 59's in it.
This amp is very quiet (if you get noise check your tubes out!!). If I over push my compressor I get a little hissing but that isn't the fault of the amp, it's pushing my levels too high before getting to the amp (this can happen with distortion pedals also).

When I'm on a gig, I always have a fresh set of Tubes and Fuses with me, but I have never needed them. Note: A wooden cigar box is great to protect your backup tubes while on the road!! There will be that one time when I bang the foot switch into the tubes and break one (or something like that) that I'll need them. Since it's a "Mesa" you don't have to Bias it, just get power tubes that aren't too hot (too much plate voltage) or too cold (low plate voltage causes earlier distortion when the volume gets pushed). And get a matched set!!
I change tubes about every year, that maybe too long for some (I play through this amp once or twice a week). One can hear the highs go away and distortion comes a little earlier (on the clean channel) as tubes wear out, so, you'll know when it's time to change them.
I did get a 40ft cable for the foot switch, which allows me to get further from my amp when I'm playing on a larger stage.

I've called Mesa several times for various items and a rare question or two. They typically call me back within a couple of hours and are very helpful.
I do some of my own work and I have a good friend that can service any amp, so for me this isn't an issue. Hint: Learn to take care of your equipment!!
Get a good 3/8 Ply ATA Road case - With 4 inch locking wheels!! You'll never regret it!! (yeah, that's about $400+ .. is your $1200 amp worth it?)

When I was a growing up and couldn't afford any decent equipment, I dreamed of owning something like this (and a decent guitar that would stay in tune). After a lot of years of hard work and saving $$'s I am finally able to own good quality gear, and it makes a world of difference in my sound.
I would highly recommend this amp. I still love Fender Twins (for clean), but I can get a GREAT warm clean from this Rect-O-Verb as well!!
I've been playing for 36 years (wow! .. it goes fast friends!).
If this amp were lost, stolen or damaged, yeah .. I'd buy it again.
Mesa is top-notch gear, there are other great manufactures out there as well, but Mesa is one of my favorites. Look at how many pros use Mesa Boogie.
I don't believe that any ONE amp can do EVERYTHING, and there are certainly reasons to like other amps for what they do, but this Rect-O-Verb can cover a gig for me with it's versatility like no other amp can.
This isn't a cheap amp, nothing of this quality is.
Remember, don't buy a tube amp and put cheap tubes in it and don't play it through cheap speakers. In the world of guitar amplifiers you get what you pay for (well, some are way over priced, but that's another topic, for another day).
I think the Mesa Boogie Rect-O-Verb !! 112 amplifier, for the money, can cover just about any type of music very well.

I just bought a new one, 4 gigs and I am stunned. Moreover, the band I have been in for 14 years has some player's players (not including me). I rely on their opinion more than my own as they have heard quite a few different rigs. They absolutely loved it!!I play in a rb cover dance band and almost all of us guitarists who play music in public need one really important thing and that is a nice LOUD clean if necessary . An open E or G held untill it decays will tell me more about an amp.. ..the notes are so distinct and slowly decay into the most awsome 'clean harmmonic blossom" I have ever heard and I have owned about 16 amps and have 8 now. The second channel is so versatile from second clean to really the true growl of the 'modern' setting. The Boost pedal is really a nice feature..I use Keely, Fulltone, etc. and get great tones from Santana/Gary Moore to vintage rock and this channel one is all I use. Lately I have tweaked channel 2 for Santana neck position and it is really good.

I play a new PRS HB 2 and an '87 PRS I bought new. I also have a '53 tele my dad bought new and I just had it refretted and pickup rewound by Lindy Fralin and it sounds stunning through this amp with CMATMODS compressor..country to stones...it drops jaws!!
The PRS Hollow Body 2 likes tube amps only IMUO and it is so clean or it will scream and wail cry.. Again this amp is for music only..not metal. Ok to me, an amp that sounds better than anything I have owned gets a 10.

After 6 Boogies I have never had a problem..not one. One has to understand tube amps and their maintenance. If you are old enought to operate a computer then you SHOULD learn to take care of tube amps. I have never taken a backup with boogie gear...tubes and fuses.

I JUST SPOKE WITH MARKUS AT BOOGIE about tubes and he called me back in 2 hours. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN THE "SERIES 2" , THE SOLO, AND ORIGINAL. MOSTLY ON THE GAIN CHANNEL BUT THE AMP IS VOICED a little BETTER IN THE SERIES 2 ACCORDING TO HIM. BIGGETS DIFFERENCE IS THIS ONE TAKES EL34'S WHICH I TRIED AND DID NOT LIKE PERSONALLY

I have owned 5 boogies and they have the best amp support on earth. You will actually talk to a very knowledgable human being if you have an issue or problem..I never have although I have called for tube advice.

I played drums for 10 years in my youth through college and guitar for 35 off and on..mostly on for the last 15. I would buy another asap. I REALLY played a lot of amps this time and to my ears the PRS HB2 and tele sounded better WITH RECTOVERB2 than even botique amps....AND YES i PLAYED THEM TOO.

TONE TIP...IMUO
I WOULD SUGGETS INVESTING IN AT LEAST ONE GREAT AMP. IT AMAZES ME HOW SO MANY GUITAR PLAYERS HAVE $5,000+ IN GUITARS AND RUN THEM THROUGH A $400 AMP. COME ON GUYS..JUST STAND UP TO THE WIFE OR SELL A GUITAR AND GET A DECENT AMP FOR YOUR GUITARS IF NOT YOURSELF!

...Boogies have a very interactive EQ and patience and time is required to dial your tone in. I have found with humbuckers that I zero the mids as they are mid heavy anyway...and almost zero the lows for cover/danse music we play.

I bought this amp used on ebay for 850, so in essence, i stole it. It was immaculate. This is the earlier model of the amp i'm assuming, as it is missing the raw channel found on the newer models. It has 2 channels, with 2 switches that scoop and boost different eq spreads on each channel. Mine does not have the tube rectifier and uses silicon diodes for rectification. Considering the fact i don't use many effects, the effects loop seems to just sit there most of the time. The reverb was a nice touch. The solo boost is nice as it provides for a more saturated tone. The speaker is a celestion black shadow 90, which i find to be quite responsive, similar to that of a vintage 30. 50 watts tube, but when i sent it into the tech shop (never know what your getting off ebay) i told him to adjust the bias a little hotter, so my wattage is a little lower, but still more than enough for anything. An eq like several of the other mesas would have perfected it. I'll give it a 9

I'm using an Ibanez IC400 with an X2N in the bridge, and an Evolution in the neck, and an ESP Eclipse 2 with a JB in the bridge, and a 59 in the neck. Both guitars have locking tuners and gotoh tunematic bridges. The iceman has .013 - .062 guage strings on it, and is tuned a step down. The ESP has .10 - .052 guage strings and is tuned to standard. I play mainly progressive, alternative, death, melodic death metal, doom, and some hardcore stuff. I'm also a fan of 90's grunge and alternative. I also dabble with the clean tones for jazzier and mellower songs. In a nutshell, this amp can do pretty much anything, if your patient with the knobs and such.

With the iceman and the super hot X2N, i can get death metal tones on the clean pushed channel, with the gain around 2 o clock, and a decent amount of tube saturation. Using the Evo. neck i can get vai-esque tones with ease. All this on the clean pushed. Rolling back the volume on the X2N or the Evo gives me the ability to get 80's metal tones, or a classic rock crunch. On the clean channel, i get nice even breakup on the clean at around half of the amps total output, but thats due to the fact i adjusted for a hotter bias, and the super hot X2N. Using the evo neck i can get super clear, clean, crisp clean tones. Coil tapping the X2N gives me strat tones. I can easily get anything from Hendrix to Clapton on the clean channel, using just the coil taps and volume knobs on my guitar. The clean channel is super versatile.

Using the more mild mannered JB and 59 on the clean i can get much more convincing classic rock and new country tones from the pushed and clean channels. Using the 59 and some reverb i can pull off Pink Floyd tones with a mid bump in the clean pushed channel. Using the JB i can get ACDC crunch (without the EL34's!) without trying.

Now for the beast of a channel inconspicuously called Channel 2. The distortion channel has all the ability to get ANY tone possible, anything, Opeth, Tool, Paul Gilbert, Vai, early to late Soad, Meshuggah, Nile, Dark Funeral, Nevermore, etc, any metal tone you've ever heard can be achieved using this amp, and the proper pickups/guitar.

Using the Iceman with the the vintage channel i can achieve a stoner metal sound with the volume on the X2N cranked. Adjusting it correctly, and providing for the correct tuning, Kyuss tones lay at my finger tips. The low end put out by the 12inch speaker is amazing. Using the Evo neck i can get a more classic rock lead tone, and with the volume pushed back, a fusion type bluesy lead tone. On the modern channel is where i use the least gain, mainly because it has more than enough to spare, and as i'm mostly in a live setting, the less gain you need to use, the better. I can get Nile death metal tones out of it, or any death metal tones in general.

Using the ESP on the vintage channel is basically taking the clean pushed channel, and hot rodding it to the max. On either pickup, the generations of different rock tones are at my hands, with convincing blues tones as well. The modern channel i find seems to rely less upon what guitar its in, the higher the gain goes. This is awesome if you like the inherent Recto tone, but encase you absolutely love your guitars tone acoustically, the modern channel will compensate with a lowering of gain.

Not to mention the fact even with the loss of power with the hotter bias, and only one 12in speaker, i can get over the drummer, singer, and bassist, with about half the output and channel volume to spare.

I've never had any trouble with it, probably because i had it serviced as soon as i got it.

Never dealt with them, but the authorized servicing station people were very friendly (hell i'm paying them, they better be friendly). I got my amp back in a perfect piece

I've been playing 2 years of electric guitar, but have been playing 6 years of classical guitar and 3 years of cello and violin. Considering the fact i only make about 700 bucks a month and i'm only 17, i'd probably end up trying out something else, like a Framus Cobra or a Mark IV, but i would definatly end up buying another one of these if i had the cash. The only thing i hate about it is it weighs a ton! I wish it had come with casters too! I spent 2 hours screwing them in by hand.

This amp has a lot of really smart stuff happening. The solo boost, for example, is very transparent. Doesn't appear to add or subtract any gain, just a straight forward volume boost. I also like that no matter what level I have my master volume set at, all I have to do is match the lead boost knob to the same position as the master and I have the perfect lead boost to cut through the band mix.
The effects loop works great for me as all I'm using in it is a dbx eq, (I wish this model had a built in eq like other Mesa models), which gives the Rectoverb just a little more sizzle and pick attack. There's a knob on the back of the amp that allows you to dial in the amount of effect you want in the signal. It's really important however that any effects placed in the loop operate at line level or else they won't work at all (use rack effects instead of most stomp boxes). This may be a reason for some of the reviews that berate the fuctionallity of this effects loop. Get that part right and the effects loop is really nice. My only complaint about this amps features are the knobs themselves. Little gold indicater marks on chrome knobs with no level markings of any kind on the face, make it extremely difficult read your settings. Especially on a semi-dark stage or in a dimly lit bar. It's a cool look but HIGHLY impractical and somewhat annoying. So get out the grease pencil. If not for this I would've given a 10 for features.

No problems here. From sparkling, chimey cleans, all the way to blisting amounts of gain and everything in between, this amp flat-out excels. I use the pushed setting for channel 1 and the modern gain setting for channel 2. Between these two settings and a little tweaking on my guitar volume knob I can cover it all. This amp is extremely versital and gets along great with single coils or humbuckers but the latter are preferred by my ears. My other amps are an '01 Vox ac15 RI and an '82 made in England 800 series Marshall. I can easily cover both with the Rectoverb.

So far so good but I've only had it for about 3 months so the jury's still out.

Mesa amps, at first, can be a bit daunting for single channel amp/stompbox guys like myself. I called the Mesa techs once or twice a day for the first couple of weeks with some stupid and some not-so-stupid questions and they were kind, courteous, and very helpful every single time. Really pleasant people.

I've been playing for over 30 years. I've played in several bands and my current group plays pop-rock/punk. Along with the above mentioned amps I have an 89 Fender strat plus, a 61 Gibson SG RI, a Carruthers custom tele, and a Warmoth custom Jazzmaster. My pedalboard setup is: Fultone Delux Clyde wah>Analogman Beano boost(rangemaster clone)>Pete Cornish NB2>P2>G2>SS2>Black Box Quicksilver delay. However, the wah pedal is the only one I use with my Mesa. I also live in Chigago and played the exact same amp the previous reviewer purchased but I decided to wait for GC to get a black one. He got a nice deal great amp as you'll rarely see anything Mesa makes at a marked-down price.

Purchased New at CG in Chicago, this was a blowout item that was special ordered in a cream colored tolex. Not the prettiest looking amp, so it sat for months. GC put it on sale at $1056, which is $420 less than the normal selling price...so it's mine. 2 channels, 5 modes, adjustable solo boost for each channel, 1 Celestion 90 watt speaker, 6L6 tubes, parallel FX loop. I play blues, classic rock, and alternative.

I use this with an American Strat w/ a Duncan Pearly Gates Humbucker, but also have a couple of Anderson Guitars. I also have owned and used some of the best amps and guitars the world, i.e. various Bogners ( my fav is the 6L6 Shiva Head with reverb and the volume boost mod), Soldano's and vintage Marshalls and Fenders, Top Hat. Two Rock, Egnater, and a host of others. Although this is not my favorite amp ( afore mentioned Shiva is )this amp is an outstanding value even at the $1475 selling price. It is well thought out in design, sounds killer, is versatile, and just screams! After playing with it I can get it to sound sao close to my favorite rig that the difference is almost insignificant to the average listener.

Built like a tank

They are busy, because so many people buy their amps..almost like buying a Marshall...but when they do return your call, they are very attentive and knowledgable. Pretty good.

Great tone, well built, great value for dollars.

I love this amp, suits me perfectly, features are great, but I have aleady reviewed this amp, this is about the sound!

I was playing this amp at a show, and my other guitarist uses a XXX stack. We play more modern rock by the way, and we were both miked, but still his amp was obviously more powerful. After the show though guys from the band after us came up and were asking me if my amp was 100 watts or a 2x12! They were quite amazed to find out that my "little" 50 watt 1x12 combo was so much more prominent out front. They also commented on the great sound that it puts out, saying how much more it cut through the mix and how much richer and warmer it sounded out front. Of course it dosent have the bass of a half stack but for what it is it sounds AMAZING!

2004 Series II Combo
50 watt, all tube
2 Channels with Independent Reverb per Channel
5 modes: Clean, Pushed, Raw, Vintage, Modern modes
3/4 Open back design with Celestion Black Shadow 90 Speaker
3 button footswitch with Solo Boost control
For more details on features check other reviews or www.mesaboogie.com
All the features that I value in an amp are here so I give it a 9, a third channel would've made it a 10 in my book.

I am using this amp with the following guitars: Edwards/ESP Les Paul Custom (with Seymour Duncan Distortion humbucker set); ESP EXP custom with dual EMG 81's; Fender Standard Tele with SD Quarter Pound Rhythm(neck) and little '59 bridge. My style is classic rock, classic metal, grunge, modern rock, punk (basically riff heavy 70's, 80's, 90's rock with a blues flavor to it.) This amp suits all of these styles easily. I play mostly at moderate to medium high volume in a large home studio room, with the occasional bar gig here and there. The amp can be a little noisy on the gain channel, but its not unbearable. I recommend what another user suggested--use a quality power strip to plug into and back off your guitar's volume a tad and it will clean up nicely. I've been able to find usable tones out of all five modes. Clean is a dark sounding, fat clean that can be brightened nicely with the presence control. A little low on headroom, but I prefer a little bit of top end grit anyway. Not the best clean ever, but surely not the worst. The reverb on this channel is key as it addes a dimension that you don't find on any of the other rectifier amps. The PUSHED mode is awesome with the gain around 1-2 o'clock. I can nail early AC/DC tone with this channel (think of the opening riff of It's a Long Way To The Top If you Wanna Rock n' Roll on the High Voltage album). The RAW mode is also useful, it covers most of the PUSHED channel, but has more gain on tap and a brighter sound. I use this channel for Guns N Roses rhythm type power chord stuff. VINTAGE is my favorite channel--it offers a wide range of gain that is VERY responsive to your guitars volume control. I can remain in this channel and get dirty/clean all the way to metallica style gain just by manipulating the guitar volume. Very creamy, sustainful, and slightly dark sounding. Perfect. The MODERN channel is the mode I use least. Its a bit too much for my tastes, but probably would suit modern metal players perfectly. Very aggressive, razor sharp attack and cut. I use this channel for the occasional drop-D tunes like Tool. Low tuned chords ring with complete clarity.

My only negatives on the sound quality are the lack of headroom in the clean channel

Have had the amp for 1 year now, with absolutely no problems. This amp is extremely well built, and you can tell by its heft. A pain in the ass to carry (especially with the useless handle on top), so I put on casters.

Talked to Mesa while I was shopping for the amp and for extension cabs, they were professional and nice. I haven't had a bad experience or any warranty issues so I haven't dealt with them regarding an unpleasant situation. However, thier reputation is great, for what its worth.

Been playing for 12 years, and been searching for the most versatile combo amp for ME and I think I've found it. I would definitely replace if if lost/stolen. I love the versatility and the tones of this amp. I wish I had a bit more clean headroom, but that's about it. I compared this with a Mesa F-100 head, which is also an INCREDIBLE amp. I chose the rectoverb because I preferred the tones on the gain channel and the versatility of the different modes.

It's your basic amp features with the added boogie "umph" you get when you buy a Boogie. It's a 2 channel amp with gain, bass, mids, treb and presence on both channels so you have lots of EQ options. On channel on you get 2 different "modes" to select from; clean or pushed (more on those later) and on channel 2 you have 3 modes to choose from; Raw, Vintage, and Modern (more on those later too). Lots of features for a 1x12 amp, plus reverb and an FX loop.

I'll give this a 10 because it's the best amp I've ever played and owned, period!! I have a Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifer and was looking for a smaller combo amp but still keeping basically the same tones and this is what I came up with and I'm MORE than happy I got this amp!

Channel 1:

* Clean: You can get anywhere from sparkly clean to a natural tube breakup that you would get on any old Fender amp if you turned the volume up all the way, but you dont have to crank the volume up that far on this, just adjust the gain knob. I keep the gain about in the middle to give it just a hint of breakup and it sounds good for slow and/or clean rock stuff like 3 Doors Down, Creed, Nirvana, Hendrix and sounds great on country stuff like Keith Urban and Brad Paisley (can nail the country tones great!!).

* Pushed: Picks up where the clean leaves off, imagine a 1965 Fender Deluxe with an Ibanez Tubescreamer that goes to 11 and that's what you can get. Great semi distorted sounds and great bluesy tones - also sounds great on classic rock stuff.

Channel 2:

* Raw: Picks up where Pushed leaves off..... A nice nasty dirty channel that can do the blues great and then turn around and do AC/DC or G-n-R stuff with the gain up a bit more.

* Vintage: This is my FAVORITE channel here.... It's called Vintage but there is nothing vintage about this setting, it can be as brutal as you want it to be, or as smooth too. This is my main distortion for everything from Poison, Bon Jovi to Creed, Puddle of Mudd to Metallica and KoRn. My settings: Gain 3:00 - 4:00 * Bass 11:00 * Mids 11:00 * Treble 11:00 * Presence 10:30 * Reverb 9:00 * Master about 12:00. This is the sound I was looking for when I started looking. To be honest, if I had this amp before my Triple Rectifier I probably wouldn't have the Triple Rectifier. You can get the same sounds out of this 1x12 combo that you can out of this 150wt monster and it only takes 1 minute to set up compared to about 15 minutes to set up a half stack with an FX processor. I still plan on using my Triple, but it's going to be a really hard decision on which amp to grab when I go to the closet from now on.

Whoever says 50wts isn't loud enough for a LOUD rock band hasn't heard a Rectoverb. I'd put this up against my bandmates 120 watt amp any day. I was actually asked to turn down the other night at a gig.

It's a Boogie... It was shipped to me and it had came loose in shipping and was bounced all over the place and only broke a couple of tubes and dented the wooden frame in one spot. Doesn't rattle at all when I crank the heck out of it, and the quality of the materials on and in this amp are 110% top grade. All amp companies should look at a boogie when building their amps. The only issues would probably be a tube, but thats not an amp thing just a tube amp thing.

Mesa has the BEST CS of any company, I wrote that in my Triple Recto review too. I have had every call returned and every question answered even though I'm not the original owner. They even played "ask the tech" when I was looking at different amps. Great company, I'd buy a boogie again just for the support.

Rocktron is pretty good for CS if anyone is curious.

I avoided boogies like they were the plague at first because I didn't want to be like all the "ne-metal" players, but now I see why they use these..... Not necessairly for the distortion, but for the all around sound quality. I tried 12-14 different amps (Tube, Solid state and Modeling) in the last 2 years before I tried a Boogie, save yourself the problems I had and try a Boogie first and your search will be over. I now own 2 Mesa Boogie amps and will probalby get another one someday, but I'm happy with what I have right now. I have a feeling the Rectoverb II is the amp that will be in my family for a long long time, kind of like my Dads old Fender Deluxe that is now mine.... I hope someday to pass this amp to my son (currently only 3 years old), or just let him borrow it (or make him buy his own)!! Heck, I may still be palying loud rock -n-roll when I'm 60 just like Ozzy!

Enough to please me. Good reverb, great channel switching capability with a solo boost. Extremely versatile w/separate eq for each channel. Ch.1 has clean & pushed so you can go from crystal clean to great blues grit ( can be used as a slightly overdriven rhythm channel). Ch. 2 is gain heaven w/raw, vintage & modern. If you can't find an overdriven tone to suit your needs w/this amp go get a lobotomy. Effects loop, line out & ext. cab outs. This is a working mans amp made for gigging not playing in your bedroom.

I mainly use a Les Paul Custom but sometimes throw in my ES 335. The amp sounds great, I can't imagine not being able to get good tone. I've played a Marshall head w/a 4x12 & a Budda SD 30 but neither one can stand up to the Mesa. I use the clean for certain Rhythmic things & sometimes use the pushed for bluesy soloing. I mainly play rock ranging from Allmans to Kansas & ZZ Top. This amp nails it. We played an outdoor festival last weekend & my tone was incredible. Great string articulation, punchy or smooth rhythm, singing sizzling leads. This is not a noisy amp at all it's just a great amp for a great price.

I've been playing it since I got in December. No problems so far.

This is where Mesa really won my loyalty. My wife bought this amp for me as a Christmas present. She bought it at a local music store that had been an authorized dealer at one time. They no longer are but they still had this amp & I kept going in & playing it. When I took it to practice I realized the store had given me the wrong pedal so I went back & they said they couldn't find it but would contact Mesa to get me one. Well I gave them 2 stinkin months & they said that obviously Mesa was not going to send one. I called Mesa & spoke w/Mike Wolf who sent me a new pedal & cable & expidited the order so I would get in time for an upcoming gig. That's service!

I own a Marshall 50 watt head, a Budda SD 30, 3 small Gibson amps & a small Peavey. Been playing 20 years. I would definitely buy it again if lost or stolen but it would be hard to replace since it's got this cool blue suede covering & has a Celestion Vintage 30 instead of the stock 90 they generally come with. I don't give 10's but this is definitely an extremely versatile great sounding amp.

1993 model. Bought new. Been playing 30 years, I do British 60s and 60s rock, and Clapton to Dire Straits. The amp has two channels, with excellent "solo" switching to lift your volume as and when you need it. As is normal with Mesa, the reverb might as well not be there and the effects loop doesnt work. I go straight through the front with stomp boxes, and all is well. The effects loop oscillates like buggery with chorus and delay and it is a pain to get a happy medium with the "mix" knob.

Mines a custom shop strat with noiseless pickups. This amp suits my style of music very well. Tonally this is a superior beast to the Mark iv Boogie, which put me off Mesa for many years, the tone is rich and warm, but cuts through the mix and is excellent for dialling in just the right amount of "grit" without losing tonal definition. The overdrive channel is very good, but as is usual with mesa amps, you have to spend time to get the sound and minimise the background noise. For me a 30 watt version would have been good, cos this beastie is loud, and you have to give it some welly for the amps character to come across.

I bought this amp to replace a Fender 65 twin reissue, a Marshall TSL122 and a Fender Prosonic, all of which I had reliability problems with. Every button on this amp feels like it will last a hundred years. Compared to non boutique amps, this is over engineered, but thank God for that. It reminds me of how amps used to be made. If it fell out of the back of a Transit van at 80mph, the road surface would need replacing, but the amp would work. Heavy, solid, quality. Just sort out the reverb and the effects loop please.

I had a Mark iv that I thought had broke down in the middle of a tour. Mesa sent a guy out to the theatre who replaced all the valves, and offered other models to carry on with if I wanted them. This probably isnt the norm, but I was impressed!

Been playing 30 years. If it got pinched, I would probably get another, after trying a Cornford and the Mesa Road King combo. I love the amps sound, but dont like the reverb and effects loop, which spoil a great amp. If I had to change it,I would like this amp, with the flexibility of dual channel working effects loops and built in digital delay/reverb (check out the old Pearce G2R combo). Oh, and some bloody castors!