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Hatsubai « Tight and powerful »
Published on 03/30/11 at 08:19The Mesa/Boogie Single Recitifer is the 50 watt version of the famous Rectifier line that Mesa offers. However, just because it's a 50 watt amp doesn't mean it's a slouch. In fact, this is one of the tighter amps in the Mesa series. It features two channels with independent EQs and voicing switches, a solo boost, EL34/6L6 switch, parallel effects loop and a slave out feature.
UTILIZATION
Despite this being a 50 watter and missing the tube rectifier switch, this amp breathes fire. It's loud enough for any situation out there and will bury the hardest hitting drummer. The voicing switches help make this amp fairly versatile, too. The solo boost is probably the coolest feature on this amp; I really wish I had one on my rackmount rectifier. The loop, however, is bad. It can never get fully wet (fully serial or however you want to describe it). It's always like around 90%. That's probably the biggest drawback about this amp, utilization wise.
SOUNDS
The thing sounds so pissed off that it's ridiculous. Personally, I always throw an overdrive in front of rectifiers to really tighten things up. Once you do that, it can play any kind of metal you can think of. Although this is primarily a metal amp, it can do some decent cleans with the help of the voicing switches. Lead tones are decent, but I wish they'd be a bit more chewy. Midgain on this is sometimes hit or miss, depending on what you're going for.
OVERALL OPINION
The amp is a great amp for those looking for a metal tone, especially once it's boosted. If the Dual Rectifier is too much money, this is an awesome alternative. It has enough power to play on stage with the hardest hitting drummer, has a pretty good amount of features and is pretty cheap on the used market. Just be aware that the effects loop is kinda finicky when it comes to certain effects.
UTILIZATION
Despite this being a 50 watter and missing the tube rectifier switch, this amp breathes fire. It's loud enough for any situation out there and will bury the hardest hitting drummer. The voicing switches help make this amp fairly versatile, too. The solo boost is probably the coolest feature on this amp; I really wish I had one on my rackmount rectifier. The loop, however, is bad. It can never get fully wet (fully serial or however you want to describe it). It's always like around 90%. That's probably the biggest drawback about this amp, utilization wise.
SOUNDS
The thing sounds so pissed off that it's ridiculous. Personally, I always throw an overdrive in front of rectifiers to really tighten things up. Once you do that, it can play any kind of metal you can think of. Although this is primarily a metal amp, it can do some decent cleans with the help of the voicing switches. Lead tones are decent, but I wish they'd be a bit more chewy. Midgain on this is sometimes hit or miss, depending on what you're going for.
OVERALL OPINION
The amp is a great amp for those looking for a metal tone, especially once it's boosted. If the Dual Rectifier is too much money, this is an awesome alternative. It has enough power to play on stage with the hardest hitting drummer, has a pretty good amount of features and is pretty cheap on the used market. Just be aware that the effects loop is kinda finicky when it comes to certain effects.