Dual Rectifier Multi-Watt

[kissmyaxe]

I was wondering if anyone had any personal opinions on the new 2010 Dual Rectifier Multi-Watt? The impression I got was that it was essentially a Roadking II, or did someone notice any other differences. Does anyone know if it is any tighter than the original rectifier?

 

[espboogie123]

Wow :? I've heard of people compared the road king to a roadster but never a regular recto to a road king. Only similarities i see are the multi-watt option. Other than that, two different beasts.

 

[ryjan]

Its a 3 channel Roadster.

 

[BostonRedSox]

Hmm, its a 3 channel Roadster, eh? Let's see now -- perhaps one could make that comment, just to merely pass the time away, but looking at the facts ...

If one truly is in search of truth, they will see that the Roadster differs from the Dual Rectifier in that it has:

1) Individual channel assignable reverb.
2) A fourth channel.
3) Channel cloning options.
4) Tweed and Brit voicings, which bring up the midrange voice of the amp and are very Fender/early-British-amp sounding.

Did I also mention the smoother inherent character of the Roadster? Or the increased presence control in channel four for more aggressive passages? Or the channel assignable f/x loop on and off switch? It figures that a guy who is listed as having a Mark IV would write something like this.

I suppose if one doesn't include those differences, then yeah, the Dual Rectifier Multi-Watt is just a "3 channel Roadster." :lol:

 

[domct203]

Its a 3 channel Roadster.

That's as bad as comparing it to the RKII.

The new Rectos lack a Fat, Tweed, or Brit mode in the clean channel, the ability to assign the fx loop on or off per channel, and most important onboard reverb.

Dom

 

[MesaENGR412]

Have you played the new multi-watt? I posted a thread in another section about playing the roadster, mark v and the new rectifier back to back to back. The new rectifier sounded better to me than both the other two. I think Mesa really did their home work when they redesigned this amp. I would agree that it is neither a Roadster nor a Road King II as features are concerned, but if you don't need progressive linkeage or reverb on the head, and don't mind hitting the fx loop button on the footswitch instead of channel specific toggles, then I would say that the new Rectos are like their more toggle happy older siblings. The voicing of the new Recto is actually better to my ears than the Roadsters that I have played through including the one I played through that day side by side, multiple times with the new rectifier. With the revoiced cleans from the lonestar now on this Recto, it is a lot more like the more expensive ones than it used to be. I was pretty set on the Roadster until I played the multi-watt, and since I don't need the extra channel or features on the other head, the sound of the multi-watt made it an easy decision for me. If there were others looking for a new Recto and didn't need the features of the higher priced ones either, I would comfortably say that you can get most of the same sounds out of the new Rectos as you would the others with a little eq adjustments. Channel cloning is also available on these, and one previous three channels, channel two and three have the same modes and the pushed in channel one is now more similar to the raw modes in two and three.

-AJH

 

[ryjan]

Wow. Some people are very sensitive. :lol: Sorry, I'll fix it! Its a "better sounding, less cluttered roadster". Yeah, it figures the guy who owns a Mark IV (and has had a Tri/290, Dual Rec, 5150, and several JCM's) would write something like this. :roll:

 

[BostonRedSox]

You are right MesaENGR412 -- since you played the Roadster back-to-back against the new Dual Rectifier, at a store mind you, you definitely have the authority to say that:

a) Mesa really did their homework when they redesigned this amp.
b) The new rectifier sounded better.

First off, Roadsters and Road Kings, due to their complexity, are tough amps to dial in to. This is admitted by Mesa in the manuals they provide for these amps. It takes time and patience to dial in to these amps, and to understand how to set each channel up correctly to get good sounds. I am not sure a quick trip to the store, and a quick dialing in at anything less than high volumes, could really do the Roadster justice.

Secondly, the Roadster/Road Kings are voiced smoother and darker, but that isn't to say that they don't have a higher midrange quality that many seem to hear with the Dual Rectifiers. Channel four, Brit and Tweed, as expressed in the manuals, all up the midrange and top end significantly.

Thirdly, Mesa does not claim that they revoiced the Dual Rectifiers with the Lonestar cleans. The only person who does that, my friend, is you.

You can like one amp over the other, hate both amps, love them both, etc. Your opinions don't bother me, but what I wrote is not opinion. It is fact based on what Mesa has written about their amps themselves.

"I would comfortably say that you can get most of the same sounds out of the new Rectos as you would the others with a little eq adjustments."

Not true my friend, I doubt you will be able to get Tweed or Brit sounds out of the newer Dual Rectifiers. If you could, then Mesa would've plainly written a mode on those amps called Tweed or Brit. This of course, is speculation, but considering these modes are very popular on the Roadster/Mark V (Tweed) amps I would figure to believe that Mesa would just mention it on the Dual Rectifiers.

Honestly, this isn't supposed to sound cold, although I realize that it does. The misinformation that I read on these forums, disguised as "facts" is what creates false hype.

 

[espboogie123]

Wow. Some people are very sensitive. :lol: Sorry, I'll fix it! Its a "better sounding, less cluttered roadster". Yeah, it figures the guy who owns a Mark IV (and has had a Tri/290, Dual Rec, 5150, and several JCM's) would write something like this. :roll:

Some people get capped for less :lol:

 

[ryjan]

I also forgot to mention that I compulsively go to my local Boogie dealer and play the snot out of the Roadster, Dual Rec Reborn, Mark V about every other week. The Roadster and Dual of course have differences besides the 4th channel. I was stating that besides the minor circuit tweaks it seems that they gave the Dual Recs more of the Roadster options. So now you can take channel 2 out of the Roadster and you pretty much have the Dual Reborn.

 

[MesaENGR412]

http://m.premierguitar.com/Magazine...010_Multi_Watt_Dual_Rectifier_Amp_Review.aspx

Channel One first paragraph, second or third sentence i believe. New clean is based on lonestar and mark series according to Doug West or something along those lines. I knew I wasn't making it up. And to find this link, you have to go no further than Mesa's home page. So, I would guess they endorse the statements in it like that one.

And I have the read the manuals on all three amps, and for the two channel dual as well. (the rest area page is pretty funny). I know how Rectos work, even before I get them or try them out.

I'm not claiming these three mentioned to be the same amp by any means, I am just saying that with the new features they are now a lot closer to the roadster/road king than the ones before. Yes, you are getting more features for more money for the 4 channel heads, but now it is not as neccessary for someone who might not need it all to deem it necessary to fork the extra cash to get a Roadster. I didn't claim my experience to be fact, it was just my ear turned into an opinion through type and rhetoric. Cranked amps in a store in a sound proof room with my personal guitar plugged in and no one around, set to how I have my own rectifier set, with the same tubes (Mesa pre and power, diode, bold) is going to sound the same as cranked at home or at practice or on stage. To me, the new multi-watt just sounds more refined. It gave me the SAME feeling that I had when I played the Roadster for the first time comparing it to the old 3 channel. Only this time the Roadster was the old, the multi-watt was the new and improved. Tweed and Brit modes might be nice, but i would never use them, so why bother for my purposes.

Neither amp is inferior, and based on facts, I.e. a spec sheet, the Roadster is more flexible and has more features, but, when it comes down to what is needed for people that play one genre or aren't a session player or in cover bands, the flexibility thing might not be more appealing than the tone. Yes there is hype about a lot of things, but my ears did the talking that day for me. It is always about the user, and whoever is searching for their sound should always try the amp in question out for themselves. To each is ultimately his own. Mesa did a great job with the Roadster, and, I can't help but wonder if a 2.0 version is in the works.

-AJH

 

[fluff191]

I think all of you guys should hug in front of a mirror for a half hour. :lol:

 

[MesaENGR412]

:mrgreen: :lol:

 

[YellowJacket]

The Recto Reborn heads are fantastic! Just sayin'!

 

[konstantine RK]

awesome thread

 

[GuitarGuy503]

Eventhough, the Roadster and 2010 Reborns are both part of the Rectifier familty they are undoubtedly different types of rectifiers. I find the 2010 Multi Watts to be more aggressive/in your face sounding as to where the Roadsters are smoother/more flexible sounding. While I agree that the 2010 Rects are more versatile than ever, I still consider them to be more of rock and metal based rig because they are so aggressive sounding, lack reverb, etc. I would say that if you play a wide variety of music the Roadster without a doubt would be a better choice. On the other hand, if you strictly play rock and metal with occassional blues the 2010 Reborn would undoubtedly be the best choice. Ideally I'd own both but can't afford to.

 

[GuitarGuy503]

In regards to the price difference between the two, theres only a $200 difference. Let's face it, if you can afford a Mesa Boogie at all, an additional $200 bucks probably isn't going to break the bank. With that being said, the price difference of these two amps is so minimal that it shouldn't be a very big factor in which one to buy.

 

[vitor gracie]

I would like to chime in here about the Roadster vs. New Rectos. I owned a Roadster for about a year and a half. I also owned a Lonestar for over a year and recently did a show with a brand new Recto Reborn. The sound company doing the show still had the plastic power tube cover things on. The bought the amp to fulfill our writer (which has my amp requirements as a Dual Rectifier) The Recto the had took a poop before our gig so they bought a new one for me to use. (how nice of them :lol: )

My first impression is that, yes, the new Recto Reborn amps do sound more aggressive in a way then my Roadster. I can't quite put my finger on it. I really don't think they have the same exact voicing in the dirty channels. I don't have a preference between the two (Recto vs. Roadster), as far as which sounded better then the other. When you are very loud, and miced, I seriously doubt that you can actually distinguish the differences if you have a proper sound system running and the rest of the band onstage is cranked in the monitors. You CERTAINLY can not tell in the audience if it's a Roadster or a New Recto with out looking in my opinion. If your jamming in a garage, maybe... in a music store, sure...i guess you can tell the difference. I can see that...but I don't do that sort of thing these days.

My thought on the two are this, choose which suits your needs. The one that's better then the other is the one that meets your needs. Some guys just don't need 4 friggin channels and reverb and all the other modes a Roadster offers. Some guys feel limited by three channels and I gotta tell you, I have never heard of ANYONE disliking the Brit mode on channel two of the Roadster. I think thats the only mode that channel really needs.

Lastly, this buisness about the Recto's (ANY Recto) having the Lonestar's cleans... let me just tell you this; playing an amp in a store is NOT gigging in a professional environment. Rectos may have similar circuts in the preamp somewhere that may remotly resemble the Lonestar's clean channel, but I can tell you they sond nothing at all alike. Not even a little bit. Saying a Roadster sounds anything in the clean similar to a Lonestar is like saying a Crate solid state practice amp can get the crunch of an Ubershall! :lol: That's not directed at anyone's comments, I just tend to read that a lot when people talk about the cleans of the newer Rectos. I know Mesa did something in the cleans to resemble some magical signal path of the Lonestar,...but they really don't sound anything a like at all. The power section of a Recto, frequency curve of the presence on the clean channel of a Recto and gain are just WAY different sounding. Nothing alike to me at all.

So again, I'm not trying to start a fight, just giving my experience as a guy who uses them for work on stage often. If I could put '96 Trem-O-Verb on our writer and actually get it for shows...I would. But I know better. No sound company is going to provide an amp like that for me for shows.

Just my thoughts.

...can't we all just get a long? lol

 

[YellowJacket]

Are you saying recto clean sounds as bad as solid state distortion? If so, thems fightin' words =-p

If you want a fender clean and marshall dirt, buy a fender and a marshall. If you want lonestar clean and recto dirt, buy a lonestar and a recto. Simple. I thought the reborn heads had a pretty snazzy clean but whatever, different strokes for different folks. Just think, if you are playing a mesa you have better gear than 90% of guitarists out there. I don't want to take my 2 channel Dual and my Gibson Les Paul for granted.

(Although my dream rig would be to get an American strat or equivalent and run that with my Les Paul with my Dual and an Electra Dyne AB'd. THAT would rule ALL!!)

 

[papersoul]

Have you played the new multi-watt? I posted a thread in another section about playing the roadster, mark v and the new rectifier back to back to back. The new rectifier sounded better to me than both the other two. I think Mesa really did their home work when they redesigned this amp. I would agree that it is neither a Roadster nor a Road King II as features are concerned, but if you don't need progressive linkeage or reverb on the head, and don't mind hitting the fx loop button on the footswitch instead of channel specific toggles, then I would say that the new Rectos are like their more toggle happy older siblings. The voicing of the new Recto is actually better to my ears than the Roadsters that I have played through including the one I played through that day side by side, multiple times with the new rectifier. With the revoiced cleans from the lonestar now on this Recto, it is a lot more like the more expensive ones than it used to be. I was pretty set on the Roadster until I played the multi-watt, and since I don't need the extra channel or features on the other head, the sound of the multi-watt made it an easy decision for me. If there were others looking for a new Recto and didn't need the features of the higher priced ones either, I would comfortably say that you can get most of the same sounds out of the new Rectos as you would the others with a little eq adjustments. Channel cloning is also available on these, and one previous three channels, channel two and three have the same modes and the pushed in channel one is now more similar to the raw modes in two and three.

-AJH

+1!!!!!!!!!!! Very smooth and beautiful sounding amp. The new Rectos are very smooth........I don't need reverb and I like that for once I can get a great lead tone from a Rectifier!