Ive decided upon a Mesa Dual Recto

[MetalManiac]

As soon as I can liquidate my Shiva, Ive decided to pick up a Mesa Dual Recto.
I figure its a good starting point to jump headlong into the world of super High Gain, plus they can be found at good prices from time to time around here, and therer is a good market for them should I decided to sell it later.
Ive listened to the Dual Recto clips, and being as how I mostly Noodle all day long anyway, I like the searing lead sound Ive heard on clips.
I guess the dopwnside is that there really isnt much feel /sag to the amp compared to hot rod british amp stuff?
Anyway, I have a question for those in the know about Mesa AMps.

Does the Tremoverb Dual Recto have the same balls/ authroity as the regular Dual Recto, or not?
Also, what other amps have that Dual Rectifier Gain?
MKIV? MKV? Raod King?
Thanks!

 

[JOLLY]

Re: Ive decided upon a Mesa Dual Recto

That's interesting. I never would have thought that you would like the sound of those amps.

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: Ive decided upon a Mesa Dual Recto

I actually just got offered a stright across trade for a JVM410H..not sure how serious the guy is, you know Craigslist..hlf the time its just some guy blowing smoke up your a$$.

 

[alteredbeast]

Re: Ive decided upon a Mesa Dual Recto

tremoverb is the same amp basically just with extras. the Mark IV/V DEF has a different sound, some cats prefer the mark sound, some recto. You will need a tad more time to dial in a sound on the Mark IV/V rather than the recto line. I've had a dual, and triple, both were great amps, but i prefer the not so spongyness of the Mark. In fact someone robbed my first one, my second was in a house fire, but third times a charm now i have my third Mark IV (it's like 30 years old and still stands the test of time). A little more density, less sponge. Don't leave the Mark stone unturned, man.

 

[Agileguy_101]

Re: Ive decided upon a Mesa Dual Recto

The Rectoverb, Tremoverb, and regular Dual Rectifier are all very different amps. I'm not a Mesa guy, so I can't explain how, but I know that the Rectoverb and the Pre-500 dual rec I've played are very different amps. IIRC, the verbs are more classic sounding, a little less of teh br00tz.

I wouldn't get rid of the Shiva, Jerry. The Dual Rec is a bad amp for someone like you.

 

[some_dude]

Re: Ive decided upon a Mesa Dual Recto

Anyway, I have a question for those in the know about Mesa AMps.

Does the Tremoverb Dual Recto have the same balls/ authroity as the regular Dual Recto, or not?

The TVerb is generally warmer and darker than the regular Dual Rectos.

Also, what other amps have that Dual Rectifier Gain?
MKIV? MKV? Raod King?
Thanks!

The ones marked Dual Rectifier.

Marks are a totally different vibe. Rectos utilised a cold clipping stage to create a more aggressive distortion at lower gain levels. The result is more distortion with less compression. It's what creates that thumping rhythm sound. On the other hand a Recto won't sing like a Mark will. A Mark is all cascaded gain stages and can get very compressed while still staying tight, so more articulate for lead tones.

I've been playing Rectos for a long time and "searing" is not how I'd describe their lead tone... That's more how I'd describe a Mark.

 

[alteredbeast]

Re: Ive decided upon a Mesa Dual Recto

Marks are a totally different vibe. Rectos utilised a cold clipping stage to create a more aggressive distortion at lower gain levels. The result is more distortion with less compression. It's what creates that thumping rhythm sound. On the other hand a Recto won't sing like a Mark will. A Mark is all cascaded gain stages and can get very compressed while still staying tight, so more articulate for lead tones.

I've been playing Rectos for a long time and "searing" is not how I'd describe their lead tone... That's more how I'd describe a Mark.

agreed. well put. me no good with words.

 

[Davidandrew]

Re: Ive decided upon a Mesa Dual Recto

If you dont mind what kind of music are you looking to play that a Bogner Shiva cant fit you needs ? Im not a huge fan of bogner amps just didnt really fall in love with the ones I have played but one thing I can say about them is they are a very versatile amp.

I would think the only music a Bogner night not be able to do as good as a mesa is death metal or very lowend metal but even that I haven't played the Bogner enough to say it cant do that.

I could be totally off base but just wondering.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Ive decided upon a Mesa Dual Recto

Am I the only one thinking the "liquidate" part might work out a little too literally?

 

[everdrone]

Re: Ive decided upon a Mesa Dual Recto

I would not be able to answer all your questions of course, but I always liked playing the dual recto diamond plate 100 watt mesa amp. that amp is the classic one that like everyone used in the late nineties and 2000s for the heavy rock and nu-metal. not sure if you are into that type of music, but that amp has been on thousands of albums. I see your ad, Dont trade your full stack uncle Jerr! Keep rockin :beerchug:

 

[JOLLY]

Re: Ive decided upon a Mesa Dual Recto

I actually just got offered a stright across trade for a JVM410H..not sure how serious the guy is, you know Craigslist..hlf the time its just some guy blowing smoke up your a$$.

Get it.

 

[Impulse 101]

Ive decided upon a Mesa Dual Recto

I had one of the early recto heads. It was a crushing amp and surprisingly Marshallesqe, but with more bass. I used el34's in it to bring out some of that character and reduce the low mid bump that Mesa always dials into their amps. Mine was serial #R0296, iirc. Those early ones were killer.

JT

 

[NevermindUs]

Re: Ive decided upon a Mesa Dual Recto

I have a dual recto and I'm waiting on a mark v. Completely different tonalities, but don't let anyone say they're not versatile. Even the dual recto has some real great blues and rock sounds, especially with the tube rectifiers on in spongy mode

 

[papersoul]

Re: Ive decided upon a Mesa Dual Recto

I wouldn't want a Dual Rec as my main amp unless it were modded.
I have a BFG modded Dual Rec that sounds like a cross between Bogner and Marshall and is amazing, but my Bogner Shiva and PWE are my main amps. Also picking up an Electra Dyne that could be a main gig amp for me.

 

[Surgeon]

Re: Ive decided upon a Mesa Dual Recto

Funny, I've been seriously considering one if the price is right...
I've always said they're generic sounding but that's the defining sound of many of the cali-punk bands I've grown-up on... I'm starting to think that no matter how original I like my tone to be, a good recto would nonetheless be a valuable tool and give me tones I'd enjoy, being that it's the kinda tone I've enjoyed for a long time...

 

[Grindspine]

Re: Ive decided upon a Mesa Dual Recto

If you want more feel/sag to the amp, use the tube rectifier instead of the silicone diodes.

The Mark IV and V do NOT have the same gain structure as the Rectifier series amps. Some versions of the Triaxis do have a Rectifier mode on the Lead 2 Red sound (Triaxis 2.0 and 2.0 fat mod). As far as I know, the Road King was based on the [edit] Recto circuit, then expanded greatly in versitility by the power amp mode switching so one can track the power tube type and rectifier type along with the channel switching--for example, one could go from a saggy tube rectifier on a cleaner sound with 6L6 tubes, to a tighter silicone diode rectifier on a high gain sound using both 6L6 and EL34 tubes in conjunction.

To my ears, the Recto's overall distortion sound is a ripping distortion in the low mids. As previously stated, the Mark amps are a bit more compressed and tight, singing on the leads, up to searing on the rhythm distortion.

 

[UberMetalDood]

Re: Ive decided upon a Mesa Dual Recto

Look, I'm a big fan of Mesa Boogie amps. I love the Dual Rectifier. It's an iconic amp, and the people who don't like it, greatly underrate it. There isn't any metal the Dual Rect can't do, but it is very flexible. It has a aggressive edge and a vintage side, but the vintage side still sounds aggressive. You won't really get the soft, sweet blues tones out of it because it has that hi/fi thing going on, but it's a really good amp. That being said, I would warn you about a few things:

First of all, are you talking about the new 2011 rectifiers or the older ones? The newer version has improved and the price comes close to the Shiva too. If you're getting rid of your Shiva for the old version, probably not going to be as satisfying overall. Second thing is the Shiva has one of the most awesome 3-D'ness and softly compressed overdrive that you can find. Although the Dual Rectifier has real nice cleans, the Shiva cleans are a few steps up from even that. When it comes to the responsive, liquid feel for playing just about anything from rhythm to searing solos, the Shiva does just that.

Now the Shiva has a prominent lower mid range which is kind of the Bogner mid range thing I guess. A lot of people don't realize how useful the "shift" button is. It reduces a lot of the low mids and leaves the high mids in tact, so you get something more of a Marshall flavor (but not too similar). If you compare the growl of the two amps, I would say it's kind of like comparing a Harley and some other chopper. Harley Davidson motorcycles have a fine-tuned and specific sound which you can generally tell apart from other motorcycles (I'm not a motorcycle expert ). The Shiva would be the Harley in this case.

When it comes to high gain, the Shiva is no slouch. There is something about the way it handles overdrive that allows it to stay kind of open and not compress too much. You have to learn to live with the shift button engaged all the time on the Shiva, and when you find the harmony between amp gain and pedal gain, you start finding the tones. Do a search for metal audio clips of the Shiva and there are a few real good ones out there. It can go deep into metal territory, but it's more refined than a Recto.

The Shiva also has one of the best FX loops. I use cheap FX and my Line 6 M9 freaking oozes shimmering chorus and ambient reverb through the Shiva. Mesa Boogie has great FX loops too, the older version of the Rectifiers sound a bit more processed to me.

Didn't you just get that Shiva? If so, then with all due respect (and this is coming from one of the biggest gear whores there are), maybe you haven't used the Shiva to it's fullest potential yet. Find a good overdrive and distortion pedal to play through it. Something like a Maxon TBO-9 for overdrive and like an Emma pedal for distortion.

By the way, the Shiva sounds way better than the Rectifier at low volumes. The new version of the rectifier is better at low volumes than the old one. Let me know how it turns out for you dude.

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Ive decided upon a Mesa Dual Recto

I'm very much a BF Fender/Early Marshall guy...I had a Tremoverb head and the 2x12 V30 Recto cab that I special ordered...I sold the setup...Why?

The amp's overall tonality was too dark and didn't cut right for my tastes...I hated the fizzy,angry bees preamp tone...The clean tones(to me)were kinda flat and lifeless..I'm still happy using either my Fender or the Marshall(and the Blue Series Vox head) and some pedals to get the classic rock/blues tones I need...I know you're looking for the higher gain tones and the Recto is made to do that!

- - - Updated - - -

Oddly enough,it was the 6100 blue Marshall head that I wanted at that time,but the one I plugged into at our store had something wrong with it...I had plugged into the Tremoverb combo they had and liked it at the store,but it was a heavy sob,so I ordered the head and the cab instead..I think it was the closed back V30 2x12 cab that I hated?

The preamps of the SLO 100,5150,and the early Recto amps are pretty similar? I always liked the SLO 100! Almost a ripoff copy of Soldano's amp!

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Ive decided upon a Mesa Dual Recto

I Like alot of the Mesa stuff out there today,but too many friggin switches and push/pull crap on their amps...LOL...I Like to be able to plug in and get a good tone w/o all that extra stuff...Sometimes just overkill imo!

 

[CTN]

Re: Ive decided upon a Mesa Dual Recto

Yeah Jer, the Dual Recto is really not your kinda amp.

Get the JVM instead, it'll do awesome high gain, but with a Marshall flavour. JVM's are great amps.