The Mesa Mini Rectifier Twenty-Five!

[Guitarjon]

Love this amp! Picked it up used some months ago. Now I finally took some time to really test this amp and put it through it's paces. First lets get this out of the way: this thing absolutely DOES do the Mesa and Rectifier name justice. A lot of people will say stuff like 'I prefer big bottles', 'EL84's suck' etc. and sure, fair enough, if you like to play super loud on stage I can understand that headroom becomes an issue. But this little sucker is loud and it has plenty of low-end! EL84's definitely aren't as bad as some people like to think

So I tried this amp with all the channels, modes and power settings. The power settings actually change the voicing of the amp. This is explained very well in the manual but for the red channel's modern mode it means that it makes the sound a little bit more gentle, so less fizzy so that it actually sounds much better at lower levels. So the overall eq curve is different, which is a cool feature!

I tried it with 12 different guitars in all sorts of styles, from super clean to 8-string metal. I only used a boost on the 8-string part but honestly, this amp sounds pretty tight for a Recto. Heck, I would say that I prefer this little fellow over my large Dual Rectifier. The small one just doesn't need a lot of work and with all the EQ knobs in the middle it already sounds really balanced.

Who else has one? What do you love (or hate) about it? Do you use it on stage? Which of the power settings do you like to use? Would love to know your thoughts on this amp. Also, if you own one of the bigger ones together with the small one: what do you think of the differences? Do they really matter that much? Perhaps in 10 years most people will use smaller amps. I have a bunch of them and I love them! I also love my big 120/100 watt heads though. Love 'em all!

Here's the demo:

 

[shupe13]

Re: The Mesa Mini Rectifier Twenty-Five!

Nice!

Sent from my REVVLPLUS C3701A using Tapatalk

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: The Mesa Mini Rectifier Twenty-Five!

As always, love your vids! I particularly liked the tones you dialed in with the guitars with EMG's.

I guess what these EL84 amps are best at is recording in a controlled studio environment where you can afford to crank them enough to get the power section working yet can keep them well below under full-band levels so that the EL84's don't sound too much like EL84's, LOL.

I have tried a few EL84 high-gain amps, but my only extensive experience has been with my EVH LBX and my former LBX 2. FWIW, I think those can get a somewhat solid low-end going with the resonance turned up high, but they somewhat struggle, even through a 4x12. And at loud-drummer levels, forget it. The low-end turns too squishy and compressed at first, and then farty.

I personally wished more companies used 6V6's in lunchbox amps instead of EL84's.

 

[Guitarjon]

Re: The Mesa Mini Rectifier Twenty-Five!

As always, love your vids! I particularly liked the tones you dialed in with the guitars with EMG's.

I guess what these EL84 amps are best at is recording in a controlled studio environment where you can afford to crank them enough to get the power section working yet can keep them well below under full-band levels so that the EL84's don't sound too much like EL84's, LOL.

I have tried a few EL84 high-gain amps, but my only extensive experience has been with my EVH LBX and my former LBX 2. FWIW, I think those can get a somewhat solid low-end going with the resonance turned up high, but they somewhat struggle, even through a 4x12. And at loud-drummer levels, forget it. The low-end turns too squishy and compressed at first, and then farty.

I personally wished more companies used 6V6's in lunchbox amps instead of EL84's.

Thanks! About the LBX's: I don't think those are the best EL84 amps out there to be honest but I think that also has to do with the preamp. Don't get me wrong, I like my LBXI but it's definitely one of my less good sounding ones. I still need to try a 6V6 amp as I never have. I wonder what the sonic difference is between those and EL84's.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: The Mesa Mini Rectifier Twenty-Five!

Really?! LOL, I actually kinda like mine better than my 6L6-loaded Krank Rev Jr. I definitely have to try more EL84 amps, then. Which one IYO has the deepest, lowest, most full-size-amp-like bottom-end? Ironball? Mini Recto?

 

[Guitarjon]

Re: The Mesa Mini Rectifier Twenty-Five!

Really?! LOL, I actually kinda like mine better than my 6L6-loaded Krank Rev Jr. I definitely have to try more EL84 amps, then. Which one IYO has the deepest, lowest, most full-size-amp-like bottom-end? Ironball? Mini Recto?

It's hard to give a very accurate response but some of the ones with the biggest low-end are: Hughes & Kettner Grandmeister Deluxe 40 (the resonance control works really well), ENGL Ironball has huge lows and the Recto probably yeah. Some of my other ones also have chunky lows but it also depends on how the amp is voiced so it's not just a poweramp thing. I was really surprised at how huge the GMD40 can sound but it's 40 watts with 4 EL84's so that probably makes a difference I did buy an amptweaker depthfinder a while back, just to dial in some extra low-end when some amps are lacking but I haven't needed to use it yet....

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: The Mesa Mini Rectifier Twenty-Five!

So Jon...Mini Rectifier 25 versus your Mark V:35?

Bill

 

[Guitarjon]

Re: The Mesa Mini Rectifier Twenty-Five!

So Jon...Mini Rectifier 25 versus your Mark V:35?

Bill

It will definitely be made at some point! I have so many videos that I want to make though since I have a bunch of Marshalls that haven't really been featured etc. So many comparisons to do also.

 

[B2D]

Re: The Mesa Mini Rectifier Twenty-Five!

I have one of these - it's the Rectoverb 25 version which is voiced a little differently and of course has reverb. I put it through an Orange 2x12.

I do wish it was a 3-channel amp, I'd like a 5w mode, and a cab emulated XLR DI out on the back. That said, this thing is so much fun. It's as much firepower as I'll need for most gigs, and it's one of the few 'small' amps that really does cop a big-amp vibe. I love the sustain and the controllability of it. It takes pedals well too. It's a keeper.

 

[GuitarGuy503]

Re: The Mesa Mini Rectifier Twenty-Five!

I have one of these - it's the Rectoverb 25 version which is voiced a little differently and of course has reverb. I put it through an Orange 2x12.

I do wish it was a 3-channel amp, I'd like a 5w mode, and a cab emulated XLR DI out on the back. That said, this thing is so much fun. It's as much firepower as I'll need for most gigs, and it's one of the few 'small' amps that really does cop a big-amp vibe. I love the sustain and the controllability of it. It takes pedals well too. It's a keeper.

View attachment 102478

I actually recall Mesa saying other than looks and reverb it is the same exact amp as the mini rectifier.

 

[Guitarjon]

Re: The Mesa Mini Rectifier Twenty-Five!

I have one of these - it's the Rectoverb 25 version which is voiced a little differently and of course has reverb. I put it through an Orange 2x12.

I do wish it was a 3-channel amp, I'd like a 5w mode, and a cab emulated XLR DI out on the back. That said, this thing is so much fun. It's as much firepower as I'll need for most gigs, and it's one of the few 'small' amps that really does cop a big-amp vibe. I love the sustain and the controllability of it. It takes pedals well too. It's a keeper.

View attachment 102478

That looks great! I assume you're running the 8ohm output into the 16ohm cab?

 

[B2D]

Re: The Mesa Mini Rectifier Twenty-Five!

I actually recall Mesa saying other than looks and reverb it is the same exact amp as the mini rectifier.

Really! I could have sworn they sounded different. I was testing used examples so maybe it was a difference in tubes or caps. Well that makes sense... I'm good with it.

That looks great! I assume you're running the 8ohm output into the 16ohm cab?

Yep. I would have preferred 8 into 8 but this is fine and if I ever want to go back to using a 16ohm marshall I'm set.

 

[GuitarGuy503]

Re: The Mesa Mini Rectifier Twenty-Five!

Yep. I would have preferred 8 into 8 but this is fine and if I ever want to go back to using a 16ohm marshall I'm set.

Do you have any significant volume drop with the mismatch?

 

[Demanic]

Re: The Mesa Mini Rectifier Twenty-Five!

I can only imagine that 25 watts through an efficient 1x12 or 2x12 (or 10's for that matter) in a small room, would sound just fine and keep up with a sane drummer.

 

[GuitarGuy503]

Re: The Mesa Mini Rectifier Twenty-Five!

I can only imagine that 25 watts through an efficient 1x12 or 2x12 (or 10's for that matter) in a small room, would sound just fine and keep up with a sane drummer.

I'd like to add a Fryette Power Station to my rig and use it in place of the BadCat. Could get a little extra out of the Mini Rectifier if you ever needed to. The Fryette is a tube driven unit vs the BadCat which is solid state.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: The Mesa Mini Rectifier Twenty-Five!

I actually recall Mesa saying other than looks and reverb it is the same exact amp as the mini rectifier.

Well, the reverb does add an extra tube to the circuit. The Rectoverb also has a choke and the Mini Rec doesn't.

 

[B2D]

Re: The Mesa Mini Rectifier Twenty-Five!

Do you have any significant volume drop with the mismatch?

I recall reading that matched settings and lower Ω ratings are somewhat louder and bassier, but I haven't tested this against an 8Ω 2x12. I would assume it's not more than a few dB.

 

[Guitarjon]

Re: The Mesa Mini Rectifier Twenty-Five!

Well, the reverb does add an extra tube to the circuit. The Rectover also has a choke and the Mini Rec doesn't.

What does a choke do for the sound of an amp? I'm not very tech-savvy so I have no idea what that is haha. Of course I've heard that term flying around a couple times....

 

[jeremy]

Re: The Mesa Mini Rectifier Twenty-Five!

chokes are filters that are used to smooth out ripples in the power supply

 

[Diego]

Re: The Mesa Mini Rectifier Twenty-Five!

I can only imagine that 25 watts through an efficient 1x12 or 2x12 (or 10's for that matter) in a small room, would sound just fine and keep up with a sane drummer.

I've had to turn down my Tweaker with a band in the past, but I can get the power tubes working nicely.
Using a closed back 2x12 with a V30 and a K100 speaker, which are efficient but not the most efficient speakers out there either.
Mind you, I understand I don't have a 100W monster so I really focus my tone in the right frequencies rather than aim for a massive wall of Recto tone or something.