Getting a Mesa in Five Minutes - NEED ADVICE

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

I'm getting either a Single Rec or a Dual Rec. I've already got a Vox AC30 and Fender Super Reverb for clean and blues. I want something for crunch. Is there a significant difference between the Single's and the Dual's crunch? Can I get away with the Single?

 

[Watroba]

Re: Getting a Mesa in Five Minutes - NEED ADVICE

The single seems to have less gain to me, and might be the better choice for a mild crunch.

I'd get the dual though, seeing as it just generally sounds better IMO. But I'm not an expert on crunch tones. But the dual will deliver better high-gain tones.

 

[Nite_Maresz_25]

Re: Getting a Mesa in Five Minutes - NEED ADVICE

I'd say get the daul for sheer versitilty. You probably know about most of the features on the duals and triples that the singles don't have, so I'll leave those out.
But if you don't need the 3 channels, switchable rectifier, or 100 watts; get the single.

 

[Grandor]

Re: Getting a Mesa in Five Minutes - NEED ADVICE

Personally, Id get a dual.
Headroom, extra channel.

 

[Mr 9finger]

Re: Getting a Mesa in Five Minutes - NEED ADVICE

I'd save money and buy a Rivera.....But that's just me.

 

[FretFire]

Re: Getting a Mesa in Five Minutes - NEED ADVICE

I'd save money and buy a Rivera.....But that's just me.

+1, I had a Rectoverb (Single Rec w/ reverb) and didn't get along with it too well.

 

[vinterland]

Re: Getting a Mesa in Five Minutes - NEED ADVICE

I'm pretty much the opposite of what everyone else has said. The single recto has plenty of gain. I don't like the dual nearly as much as my single. I can get much sweeter and cleaner sounds from it.

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: Getting a Mesa in Five Minutes - NEED ADVICE

Well, the deed is done. I got a Single Rec. In fact, I got it used -- and in mint condition, from what I can tell -- at GC for $950 with no payments and no interest for one year. I'll just throw $100 a month at it till it's payed off. Even sweeter is that this weekend everything in Massachusetts is tax-free.

I played both the Single and the Dual when I got there and didn't notice any significant difference in gain between the two. Since I'm only using the gain channel, I couldn't care less how the clean channel sounds. Fifty watts is ample power for my needs.

Thanks to all who chimed in!

- Keith

 

[FretFire]

Re: Getting a Mesa in Five Minutes - NEED ADVICE

I never had a problem with my single running out of gain, it had PLENTY on tap.

 

[Guitarist]

Re: Getting a Mesa in Five Minutes - NEED ADVICE

Good choice.

 

[Naps]

Re: Getting a Mesa in Five Minutes - NEED ADVICE

Congrats! and welcome to the fold :saeek:

However, I'm predicting that you'll love it for the first week, have a some doubts the next week and then you'll get used to the way it operates and absolutely LOVE it. Let me know in a couple of months. :bigok:

 

[Bones]

Re: Getting a Mesa in Five Minutes - NEED ADVICE

is tax-free.

I love it when the state taxes **** thats used.

 

[some_dude]

Re: Getting a Mesa in Five Minutes - NEED ADVICE

Sweet, and good choice.

I agree with the love-hate-love thing as you learn the EQ. Just make sure you learn how to operate the EQ at gig levels, as it reacts quite differently at different master volume levels.

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Getting a Mesa in Five Minutes - NEED ADVICE

Good choice with the single! I think you get better tone at better volumes, but that's just me.

I have to ask though, have you tried throwing a pedal through your AC-30? I know plenty of people that use it for crunch.

Congrats on the purchase, anyhow

 

[muttonchopsrule]

Re: Getting a Mesa in Five Minutes - NEED ADVICE

nice score

when i had my single, i never had a problem running out of gain. as a matter of fact, i prefered to back the gain down to about 2 o'clock, you'll get plenty of good crunch with a strong body to it without it sounding muddy or loose on the low end. the clean channel on it is actually surprisingly nice too.

see how many tones you can get out of it with all the different modes on it. and if you ever get the chance, try it with EL34's in there...it sounds awesome and it's a whole other world of tones from what's already there with the 6L6's.

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: Getting a Mesa in Five Minutes - NEED ADVICE

I haven't hooked it up yet since my cab is at the rehearsal space and I can't get there till Wednesday, but I have absolutely zero buyer's remorse and don't anticipate any whatsoever. The sound is very thick and ballsy -- just what I want. I can feel that Foo Fighters sound already.

To answer your question, Chris, I use a Crowther Hotcake when I want crunch out of the AC30. It's definitely a different crunch from MESA/Boogie but absolutely has its place. However my main use for the AC30 is for its chiming cleans. I'm a Beatles fanatic and can get that tone in spades.

What I really want now is an A/B/C/Y switch with stereo inputs. I'd like to have input 1 go to either A (Super Reverb), B (AC30) or C (Single Rec) with the option of having input 1 go to A and input 2 go to B in stereo. I suppose Loooper is the place to go for that kind of custom box.

 

[Guitarist]

Re: Getting a Mesa in Five Minutes - NEED ADVICE

I don't know your familiarity with Boogies, but watch that bass control!

 

[Guitarist]

Re: Getting a Mesa in Five Minutes - NEED ADVICE

Oh, and like stated before, the Single has very nice cleans.

Now, it doesn't have to be your #1 go-to clean sound, but if you toy with it for a little bit, I'll guarantee that it gets some play time on Channel One. Seriously, very glassy and bodied tone.

--Not to mention the nice clipping when you flip that PUSHED switch and play with the gain control.

 

[B2D]

Re: Getting a Mesa in Five Minutes - NEED ADVICE

Wow, if I'd seen this earlier I would've offered my Single Rec to you. I took some photos of it today to put it up on ebay and looked it over. I'm planning on selling it because IMO it sounds great, its just not MY sound.

It's just a regular single rec with very minimal cosmetic damage just from being gigged weekly. I had it custom-made in blue with a gold grille in April '04. I have the footswitch, the cabling, head cover, and all the document candy you get when you buy one new. The 5-Year Transferable Warranty is still good, of course and I have the papers to go with that should you need to put that into effect. It's loaded with EL34s but that can be changed with a flick of a switch. It's also been freshly retubed for the sale.

Here's a pic of it when it was brand new, the day I got it.

If you should change your mind and return the GC one, let me know. I'm probbaly gonna put it up on ebay for $1100 and see where that goes.

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: Getting a Mesa in Five Minutes - NEED ADVICE

If you should change your mind and return the GC one, let me know. I'm probbaly gonna put it up on ebay for $1100 and see where that goes.

Thanks, bro, but I was able to snag mine at $950 with an interest-free payment plan. Otherwise I would've seriously considered yours.