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King Loudness « True Metal Machine »
Published on 08/09/11 at 16:49The Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier is a 100w tube amplifier that is named so because of it's dual rectifier tubes. Otherwise, it features three channels (green, orange and red) that each have their own selectable modes for both power consumption (100w vs 50w) and different tonal characteristics (clean channel has a standard clean mode as well as a "pushed" or broken up clean, and each of the drive channels feature raw, vintage and modern voicings of gain. To top it off there is a wonderful effects loop as well as a bold/spongy power switch, an onboard solo boost, and each channel is switchable between diode and tube tracking. Definitely a good set of features and nothing less than I expect from Mesa.
UTILIZATION
The amp (like most Mesa products) looks quite complex at first glance, but if we dissect the front panel, it shows how easy and intuitively the amp's structure is laid out. As stated before, each channel has two small switches to toggle between wattage selection, as well as another to toggle between the modes or voicings of each channel. Each channel has its own identical layout of controls (gain, volume, bass, middle, treble, and presence) and these are key in adjusting the sound. The only other controls on the front panel are output (sort of like an overall master volume) as well as a level control for the onboard solo booster. I haven't really gotten into using the various diode/tube tracking switches as much so I can't comment on those, but I can state that the back panel basically consists of those, a slave out, speaker outputs for 4, 8, or 16 ohms, the bold/spongy power switch, 1/4" jacks for effects loop switching, as well as the send/return jacks and level controls for the effects loop.
In short, it can take a while to figure out like many Mesa amps, but once it is figured out it is quite a breeze.
SOUNDS
I've used this amp with various Gibson Les Pauls and my trusty Parker Fly Deluxe. The clean channel is surprisingly good for such a high gain based amp.
Clean mode delivers a nice punchy clean tone that reminds me a lot of the Framus Cobra's clean channel (not warm enough to sound similar to a Fender/VOX) but not so sterile that it's unusable. The pushed clean is similar, except it adds more gain to push the sound into breakup earlier.
Channel two is my favourite on this amp. The Raw mode reminds me of a slightly fuller sounding Marshall JMP, as it's still fairly low on the gain totem pole. Vintage mode is very much like a modified Marshall JMP/800 with more gain on tap, and the Modern mode is starting to really get into the uber high gain metal territory that you would expect from this amp.
Channel three is laid out like channel two and is basically the same thing, but with more gain and saturation. It works very well for chug type metal riffs and really modern sustaining leads when the midrange is turned up, but for general rock/hard rock type stuff I definitely prefer the voicing and gain structure of channel two.
It's a fairly scooped sounding amp I find, heavier in the lows and with a fizzy top end that has to be tamed at higher volumes (IE: I found myself turning the treble and presence almost off when the amp was really given juice) but all in all I was impressed with the range of tones that a seemingly "metal only" amp would offer. Channel two reminded me a lot of the Marshall type tones I know and love but it still went into the higher gain territory that I expected from this amp without issue.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I can see why this amplifier has sold thousands over the years and been seen around the world... it's a great sounding metal amplifier that has enough great and usable features for a gigging musician. While I wouldn't RECOMMEND it for things like rock/hard rock per se... it certainly does a decent enough job with those sorts of tones on channel two and on lower gain settings on channel three. I'm more of a Mesa Mark series guy so the Recto is a bit of a departure for me... but I definitely dig it. Go check one out today!
UTILIZATION
The amp (like most Mesa products) looks quite complex at first glance, but if we dissect the front panel, it shows how easy and intuitively the amp's structure is laid out. As stated before, each channel has two small switches to toggle between wattage selection, as well as another to toggle between the modes or voicings of each channel. Each channel has its own identical layout of controls (gain, volume, bass, middle, treble, and presence) and these are key in adjusting the sound. The only other controls on the front panel are output (sort of like an overall master volume) as well as a level control for the onboard solo booster. I haven't really gotten into using the various diode/tube tracking switches as much so I can't comment on those, but I can state that the back panel basically consists of those, a slave out, speaker outputs for 4, 8, or 16 ohms, the bold/spongy power switch, 1/4" jacks for effects loop switching, as well as the send/return jacks and level controls for the effects loop.
In short, it can take a while to figure out like many Mesa amps, but once it is figured out it is quite a breeze.
SOUNDS
I've used this amp with various Gibson Les Pauls and my trusty Parker Fly Deluxe. The clean channel is surprisingly good for such a high gain based amp.
Clean mode delivers a nice punchy clean tone that reminds me a lot of the Framus Cobra's clean channel (not warm enough to sound similar to a Fender/VOX) but not so sterile that it's unusable. The pushed clean is similar, except it adds more gain to push the sound into breakup earlier.
Channel two is my favourite on this amp. The Raw mode reminds me of a slightly fuller sounding Marshall JMP, as it's still fairly low on the gain totem pole. Vintage mode is very much like a modified Marshall JMP/800 with more gain on tap, and the Modern mode is starting to really get into the uber high gain metal territory that you would expect from this amp.
Channel three is laid out like channel two and is basically the same thing, but with more gain and saturation. It works very well for chug type metal riffs and really modern sustaining leads when the midrange is turned up, but for general rock/hard rock type stuff I definitely prefer the voicing and gain structure of channel two.
It's a fairly scooped sounding amp I find, heavier in the lows and with a fizzy top end that has to be tamed at higher volumes (IE: I found myself turning the treble and presence almost off when the amp was really given juice) but all in all I was impressed with the range of tones that a seemingly "metal only" amp would offer. Channel two reminded me a lot of the Marshall type tones I know and love but it still went into the higher gain territory that I expected from this amp without issue.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I can see why this amplifier has sold thousands over the years and been seen around the world... it's a great sounding metal amplifier that has enough great and usable features for a gigging musician. While I wouldn't RECOMMEND it for things like rock/hard rock per se... it certainly does a decent enough job with those sorts of tones on channel two and on lower gain settings on channel three. I'm more of a Mesa Mark series guy so the Recto is a bit of a departure for me... but I definitely dig it. Go check one out today!