I gotta see to believe...To buy a Rectifier!

[Rami]

Hey guys.

Im a guitarist in a death/thrash metal band here in my hometown. I live in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and I've been playing guitar for almost 11 years now, 5 years with my band Nervecell. I have been using many different amps and effects (both digital and amp gains/distortions) to get my sound. I've used Crate amps, Marshall JCMs and loads of Boss and Zoom pedal effects and I never got the tone that I always dreamed of. I play leads in my band so I really care about the tone.

I have used a Johnson J-Station pre-amp to record the guitar sounds for our demo last year and used the 'Rectifier' amp model and it sounded amazing! Now I'm in love with that tone. And since then I wanted to get a Mesa Boogie Rectifier. Single, Dual or Triple, Im still not sure. Why not? Cos there is no Mesa Boogie dealer in my country, so I never tried one, but from what I've heard about this amp is that it will never fail those who play extreme metal.

I really want to see videos or listen to 'clear' audio samples from any Rectifier amp. I'm really close from buying one (travel to get one or order it online somehow), but its a huge investment so I would love to see someone play that amp. It would be great if anyone can show me or tell me where to find clips.

Thanks alot for your time.

Rami
www.nervecell.net

 

[socialparasite]

Well IMO it nevers sounds the same on a clip like it does in real life. This amp can cover many different metal IMO. I would shoot for single or dual rect. Actually Dual rect will cover you with any gig you do :wink: Idont think you will regret it. I have had mine since August of this year and bought it based on what it sounds like in person. It knocks the socks of any other amp i have heard for metal style guitar but whats nice is you can get other tones as well. Try ebay. Another thing in mind if you ever want to sale it you usually wont have any trouble getting rid of it

 

[G.I.G.]

It sounds like I discovered Mesa's the same way. I have owned Marshalls Crates, etc. and all sorts of processors. When I owned a BOSS GT-6, I was always glued on the "Recto" setting that was emulating a Mesa Dual Rectifier. I figured if I liked that sound on the GT-6, I would love the real thing. Long story short, I went and played one, fell in love with it, bought it, and got rid of all of the processors and other amps I owned.

I know you don't have the luxury of going to a store and trying one, but I would try the eBay rought. If you picked one up off eBay and didn't like it, you could always turn around and get what you paid for it. Chances are you'd be pleased though. I would suggest a triple channel Dual Rectifier if I were you, but do some homework on the Mesa/Boogie site to figure out exactly what you want. I don't have any sound clips, but look at the artist section on the Mesa website. Chances are you currently own a few CD's with artists who use Mesa's.

 

[redmax61]

Hey Rami,

First, Welcome to the Boogie Board!! It's great to have you here.

I've had a Dual Recto for about 4 years now, and I can tell you that they ARE all that. If you got one, you would not be disappointed with it. I've found that mine will do any genre I ask it to do and more.

If you want to check out some of the stuff I'm doing, I've posted my website just below. There, you'll be able to hear my DR in action in a few different ways. All clips use the same amp. For the most part, it's the same setting, just different guitars applied a bit differently. The recording formula was pretty much the same on all of them as well. I just stuck a 57 in front of the grille.

Let me know what you think, and best of luck on your search!

http://members.cox.net/robin.feathers/index.htm

Robin

 

[Rami]

Thank you guys very much for the replies, I really appreciate all what you guys said. Made me feel that its not a "dream" anymore to purchase a Rectifier

socialparasite:

You are right about the amp not sounding the same in any clip, I really wanted to check out some direct videos online, but maybe if I see a video I wont like the sound and will not buy one :wink: I have looked in ebay and I found MANY used and new Rectifiers, but I really gotta learn more, especially on which one to get.

G.I.G.:

Ya man, many people discovered whats a "Recto" via other amps and processors and for me its time to get the real thing. Selling what I have of processors and amps is not a bad idea to pitch in more cash for the Rectifier. And yes, I really cannot try one, unless if someone has it here, and I never saw that. I will consider ebay for sure...
I have been researching on Rectifiers for a good period of time now, and I never passed by a Triple Channel Dual Rectifier...I know that the one with the Triple Channel is the Triple Rectifier...If I'm wrong then whats the difference other than the difference in power/watts? Thanks.

redmax61:

Thanks alot Robin for the link, thats a very good way for me to have a clear idea on what a Rectifier will sound like.

\m/

 

[oyster]

Rami, I just bought my single rec a month ago. I play a variety of music through the Single rec, our band is essentially hard funk rock, but for every style including the metal-like covers we play it kicks ***. It has a distinctive sound (ie. the cleans etc. sound definitely Mesa), but it does the job beautifully.

I previously played through (and still own) a Line 5 Vetta modelling amp - has 74 unbelievably accurate amp models from Fender to Marshall to Peavey to Bogner and more... and ability to play through two at a time, for some amazing combinations.

Anyhoo, after mixing and matching these various amps like a mad scientist, and using it for recording and gigging over the past 3 years, I realized that my patches had evolved to the point that virtually all of my most used patches had at least one Mesa model.

Much like G.I.G., I figured if I liked the models, I would like the real thing...

I went and tried out a bunch of tube amps from Fender to Marshall to Orange to Mesa just to be sure I was making the right decision, but the single rec stood out as having the right price, versatility and ability to generate "My Tone". Simple and effective.

The first gig I played with it was a couple weeks ago (check out www.thetimecircus.com) and the amp ROCKED.

Dude, Mesa really is ALL THAT...

BTW, I hope my ownership of a modelling amp doesnt disqualify my sense of tone. I can certify without hesitation that the tone I can get on Vetta is incredibly rich.... but there is just something about TUBES that brings it all together isn't there!!!!

 

[G.I.G.]

G.I.G.:

Ya man, many people discovered whats a "Recto" via other amps and processors and for me its time to get the real thing. Selling what I have of processors and amps is not a bad idea to pitch in more cash for the Rectifier. And yes, I really cannot try one, unless if someone has it here, and I never saw that. I will consider ebay for sure...
I have been researching on Rectifiers for a good period of time now, and I never passed by a Triple Channel Dual Rectifier...I know that the one with the Triple Channel is the Triple Rectifier...If I'm wrong then whats the difference other than the difference in power/watts? Thanks.

\m/

I should probably clarify the difference between the dual and triple rectifiers. The only difference between the dual and triple rectifiers is that the dual is 100 watts and the triple is 150 watts. The "dual" and "triple" in the name is refering to how many rectifier tubes the amp has (1 recto tube per 50 watts). Older dual and triple rectifiers, I beleive before the year 2000, had only two channels. The newer ones have three channels, that's what I was refering to. My dual rectifier has three channels. Unless you NEED 150 watts, I would go with the dual. The only reason why I wouldn't recomend the single (even though it has plenty of power) is because it dosn't have three channels and some of the other bells and whistles the dual and triple have. Just depends on what you're looking to accomplish. I'm in a hard rock cover band so I like having three channels for more versitility. But, I have played my two channel, 50 watt rect-o-verb in medium-large sized venues before and I hardly had the volume cracked.

Anyway, that's just a few more things to keep in mind.

 

[tele_jas]

I think it's all been said here already, but I'll back some more of this up.

Several have mentioned that they got turned on to rectifers by amp modelers...... I was just the opposite and hated the simulated rectifiers I heard in my old Digitech pedals, so I avoided the rectifiers like the plague :shock: . Then one day I was sitting at the music store and had tried EVERY amp in the store, except the rectifiers, and had been there for 3 hours. Not one of the amps had the sound I was looking for, and I tried Line 6, Peavey XXX & JSX, Genz Benz, Marshall, and even a few Fenders...... Not one of them made me want to buy them.

So there I was sitting there with my guitar in my lap and a guitar cord in my hand and a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier sitting 6 feet away, so I said "What the hell" and plugged in and turned on..... I was blown away by the tones I heard!! That was the BEST sounding amp I'd ever heard!! I could get any sound out of this amp that I could think of: Super heavy bone crunching sounds, modern metal, NU-metal, Old school metal, 80s hair metal, 70s rock (AC/DC, Zeppelin)... Hell, I even grabbed a Telecaster off the wall and found a perfect country setting :? .

There are basically 5 (6 if you count the rectoverbs) different Rectifiers in the series to choose from, and all have the same basic sounds but some have more options or more channels.
* Single: 50 wats 2 channels. Ch 1 clean and Pushed - Ch2 Vintage, RAW and Modern (rectoverb is the same, but with reverb).
* Dual: 100 wts 3 channels. Ch 1 clean pushed - ch2 & ch3 Vintage, Raw and Modern (channel 3 is voiced more agressivly)
* Triple: 150 wts (same choices as the Dual)
*** There are also older dual and triples that only have 2 channels and some people claim these actually sound better. These older rectiferes also don't have the Raw mode on them, and some don't have the solo boost feature.

These discriptions fit all the single, dual and triple recto's.
> The clean can go from sparkling clean to a slightly crunchy overdrive
> The Pused stars at almost clean and goes to what I call 70s rock overdrive like Grand Funk, Bad Company, ect..
> Raw starts where Pushed leaves off and goes to a "less tight" hard rock distortion (AC/DC-ish tones)
> Vintage is by no means a "vintage" tone, it can be pretty brutal and reminds me a lot of Creed
> Modern is a bit more scooped and in your face than the vintage and will knock your combat boots off!

There are 2 more Rectifiers to mention as well. The Tremoverb and Road King.
Tremoverb is basically a Dual rectifier with reverb and tremolo, with a few different options too but the same basic sounds.
100wts
Ch1: Clean & Vintage
Ch2: Blues & Modern
> Clean covers more area than the one above, it can go from sparkling clean to almost the start of the Raw mode.
> Blues is alot like the Raw mode on the newer amps, but not as tight still.
> The Vintage and Modern are about identical to the single, dual and triple recto's.
There is NO solo bost on the tremoverb (or real old dual rectifiers).
There is a switch on the back that lets you run any combintaton of sounds that you want from each channel. You could make channel one clean or Blues and channel 2 Vintage or Modern.

Then there is the Road King, which is the Grand Daddy of all Rectifiers with the most options.
4 channels with most of what the 3 ch dual rectifier has, but it also has a british channel that runs off of el34.. Yes, you can run 6L6's and EL34's together with this amp!! and assign which tubes and how many tubes to each channel. Lots of options. I believe it max's out at 120 wts.

I've had a triple rectifier, a Rectoverb Combo and a Tremoverb and am expecting a tremoverb combo soon.... and the Tremoverb is my favorite but I just need 2 channels and I like old spring reverb.

Thats my input, any rectifier model you choose will give you the aggressivly voiced metal tone you're looking for, it just depends on what other options you want or need.

My fingers are tired, so I'm going to stop typing now.

PS... you can run 6L6's or EL34's with any of the rectifer amps, just the Road King can run both at the same time.

 

[macaddict]

Hey Rami,

First, Welcome to the Boogie Board!! It's great to have you here.

I've had a Dual Recto for about 4 years now, and I can tell you that they ARE all that. If you got one, you would not be disappointed with it. I've found that mine will do any genre I ask it to do and more.

If you want to check out some of the stuff I'm doing, I've posted my website just below. There, you'll be able to hear my DR in action in a few different ways. All clips use the same amp. For the most part, it's the same setting, just different guitars applied a bit differently. The recording formula was pretty much the same on all of them as well. I just stuck a 57 in front of the grille.

Let me know what you think, and best of luck on your search!

http://members.cox.net/robin.feathers/index.htm

Robin

I have to ask, are those real drums or synthetic?

 

[redmax61]

Thanks for asking!

They're pretty much all real. Some of them are loops of patterns that somebody played on an actual set, others are individual samples that were sequenced electronically.

 

[Rami]

oyster:

Thanks for the site, heard the songs, pretty nice sounds. One thing regarding the Vetta, its just as you said, if I will be buying one for example I will only be using it for the 'Recto' amp and of course the other built-in effects, but the only reason why Im not gonna think about this amp is cos its like buying loads of digital processors and amp-modules and adding it to a head! I don't really see the difference here from what I own and buying an amp like the Vetta or Vetta II. A friend back in Canada owns one, and he's into metal, of course he's in love with it, but I found out its not even tube powered, so I totally forgot about it...Getting the real sound is the best option, true that the Vetta got loads of effects and options but Im sure at the end of the day a Rectifier will be the only thing that Im seeking.

G.I.G.:

Thanks for clarifying, it helped alot. Also I've been reading on both Dual and Triple Rectos, in details of course and from what you said it makes sense, and to be honest Im thinking about the Triple cos its only a 100 or 200 bucks difference and I wouldn't mind getting a louder amp at all. As long as there's no major difference (as you said) in the content. My main concern here is the gain. The whole idea of purchasing this amp is get the tightest gain ever.

tele_jas:

Wow man! Thanks for all the info...Your Rectifier story sounds just like when I discovered Marshall down here in my hometown lol. Well let me comment on two amps...The Rectoverb and Road King. They sound amazing, I even read more about them, but I really cannot afford the Road King and the Rectoverb got one option that I can add on my own which is the reverb. Btw is the reverb that good on both amps?? Is it worth depending on their reverbs for the price?

Now I got more questions in mind after what I read...

1. Is there any major difference in the gains that I will get from the Dual or Triple Rectos? This is my main concern in this amp. I really wont be caring about the clean channel as for the Raw/Modern channel (I suppose).

2. What is the best multi-effect rack to plug through the Rectifier? I heard TC Electronic G-Major is the best choice? Any thoughts?

3. What happened to the 2005 prices of all the Mesa products...All Rectos all around $200 extra than the old prices, cabinets too...

Sorry for all the questions guys, but these are questions that I cannot ask anybody else other than on the forum here

 

[tele_jas]

Btw is the reverb that good on both amps?? Is it worth depending on their reverbs for the price?

For the Rectoverb, no.... If you just want a hint of reverb, then these will work but if you like alot of reverb the rectoverb wont cut it. It seems more after the sound instead of surrounding the sound. The Tremoverb on the other hand has great reverb IMO and I can't speak for the Road King as I've never played one.

1. Is there any major difference in the gains that I will get from the Dual or Triple Rectos? This is my main concern in this amp. I really wont be caring about the clean channel as for the Raw/Modern channel (I suppose).

No, it's the same basic gain setup and sounds very close.... I think the Duals sound a bit better and if I had to say one had more gain, I'd say the Dual because of the lower headroom and the chance to push the power tubes harder (but that'd be pretty dang loud). You can also cut the power of a Dual down to 50 watts by pulling 2 power tubes and 1 rectifer tube which would give you more poweramp saturation sooner (and save on tubes).

 

[Rami]

Btw is the reverb that good on both amps?? Is it worth depending on their reverbs for the price?

For the Rectoverb, no.... If you just want a hint of reverb, then these will work but if you like alot of reverb the rectoverb wont cut it. It seems more after the sound instead of surrounding the sound. The Tremoverb on the other hand has great reverb IMO and I can't speak for the Road King as I've never played one.

1. Is there any major difference in the gains that I will get from the Dual or Triple Rectos? This is my main concern in this amp. I really wont be caring about the clean channel as for the Raw/Modern channel (I suppose).

No, it's the same basic gain setup and sounds very close.... I think the Duals sound a bit better and if I had to say one had more gain, I'd say the Dual because of the lower headroom and the chance to push the power tubes harder (but that'd be pretty dang loud). You can also cut the power of a Dual down to 50 watts by pulling 2 power tubes and 1 rectifer tube which would give you more poweramp saturation sooner (and save on tubes).

Regarding reverbs on these amps... I will not consider these amps 'cos really, if I would ever use reverb I will sure use external effects, because I will not be able to limit myself on the amp's reverb...I tried many amps with reverb and I end up using external reverb effects :lol:

Regarding my second question...So your saying that the Dual Rectifier will do a better job than the Triple Rectifier? Just cos I can cut down the power? Btw I know what you mean by cutting down the power...Can you tell me more about the Triple Rectifier's power cutting this time? Will I be able to reduce the power and get the same gain, like what your saying with the Dual?

Thanks alot.

 

[socialparasite]

I honestly dont think anyone needs the power of a 150 wt amp not even if your a rock star. I lucked up on my dual but would have went with either the triple or dual. IT all came down to which one i could get the better deal on. I could not pass up on mine it was only a few months old and the guy had DUI fees to pay so he sold the dual head and 4x12 trad cab for 1700 not bad IMO plus remainder 5 year warrenty. Go with the best deal you can find there are people out there that live in apartments and cant play there amps and will take losses on gear or come upon hard times. As far as the reverb goes i would try out single effects for reverb. The amp is made to rock and the onboard reverb on all the mesa's i have played have not been to my testing but however i rather play with a phaser or delay type vs reverb most of the time. Happy hunting

 

[Boogiebabies]

Al salaam a'alaykum. Try a Road King while your at it. For a few more dollars you can cover the span of 4 different amps. Other than that, I would stick to a 1992 to 1995 Dual rectifier. 1992 Being the preffered version. They are pure mayhem.

 

[tele_jas]

Can you tell me more about the Triple Rectifier's power cutting this time?

I was told by tech support at Boogie that you can't safely reduce the power on a triple recto. I was also told by someone that explained it this way... It has too many tubes and if you pulled out a pair of power tubes it would only be cutting the power by 1/3 and by pulling a pair of rectifier tubes would cut that part down by 1/2 and that doesn't match up and would throw the ohms way off and you would run in to some trouble not at first, but after a few hours of playing you'd start blowing stuff.

Another benefit the Dual has over the triple is it has less tubes to replace when the time comes... Not a big selling point, but that extra $80-$100 can sometimes come in handy, you could probably buy a couple gallons of gas with it :lol:

 

[oyster]

Would these problems not arise when you remove tubes from a dual as well? It seems it would throw off a lot of fixed circuitry, transformer, etc. which were set up to handle a certain load...

Sorry but I do not see how doing this to a Dual rec would somehow be OK yet it would be bad to do in the case of a Triple rec.

Can anyone with some knowledge of power etc. throw some words of wisdom in?

 

[tele_jas]

According to Boogie, it's perfectly OK to run a Dual Rectifier at 50wts by pulling a pair of power tubes and one rectifer tube. When you do that, you would then run your speaker/cab at the next lower ohm setting..... If you were running it in the 16 ohm jack, you would now run it in the 8 ohm jack. I'm no tech person, but I had 2 different Boogie tech guys tell me that it's ok to do that and one said thats how he runs his Tremoverb.

 

[Rami]

I honestly dont think anyone needs the power of a 150 wt amp not even if your a rock star. I lucked up on my dual but would have went with either the triple or dual. IT all came down to which one i could get the better deal on. I could not pass up on mine it was only a few months old and the guy had DUI fees to pay so he sold the dual head and 4x12 trad cab for 1700 not bad IMO plus remainder 5 year warrenty. Go with the best deal you can find there are people out there that live in apartments and cant play there amps and will take losses on gear or come upon hard times. As far as the reverb goes i would try out single effects for reverb. The amp is made to rock and the onboard reverb on all the mesa's i have played have not been to my testing but however i rather play with a phaser or delay type vs reverb most of the time. Happy hunting

A Triple Recto is only a $100 difference than a Dual (as far as I know), so what is the problem of getting the best i.e. most powerful? I do know that 150 watt is FREAKIN' loud and powerful, I already used a 75 watt Crate and a 60 watt Fender and I cant even put it up on volume level on 2 at home, so I can imagine a 150 watt amp...

I will only consider a Dual if it has a major difference (to the better) in tone but for what I read and was told that the Dual and Triple Rectos are exactly the same except for the power.

And I will not be able to get a good deal as for what you are saying, simply cos we don't have a dealer here, and not even close enough in other countries near-by. The nearest dealer is in Italy :lol: and god knows how much a Recto with its cab will cost from there...

Al salaam a'alaykum. Try a Road King while your at it. For a few more dollars you can cover the span of 4 different amps. Other than that, I would stick to a 1992 to 1995 Dual rectifier. 1992 Being the preffered version. They are pure mayhem.

Wa'alykum elsalaam...A Road King is too expensive man, its like $500 or $600 more than the Triple Recto :| I mean I know it got everything, but I actually don't get how will it make a difference for me...As I said I'm considering the highest and tighest gain in the amp, so I will not be interested in experimenting sounds etc...Unless if its better with its gain

One other thing regarding the 1992-1995 Dual Rectos is that I dont think I will ever find out unless used, and Im not planning to get a used amp...Simply cos I have bad experiences with used amps and guitars.

Can you tell me more about the Triple Rectifier's power cutting this time?

I was told by tech support at Boogie that you can't safely reduce the power on a triple recto. I was also told by someone that explained it this way... It has too many tubes and if you pulled out a pair of power tubes it would only be cutting the power by 1/3 and by pulling a pair of rectifier tubes would cut that part down by 1/2 and that doesn't match up and would throw the ohms way off and you would run in to some trouble not at first, but after a few hours of playing you'd start blowing stuff.

Another benefit the Dual has over the triple is it has less tubes to replace when the time comes... Not a big selling point, but that extra $80-$100 can sometimes come in handy, you could probably buy a couple gallons of gas with it :lol:

The only problem here is actually removing the tubes, and I don't think I will have the guts to do so, especially when I know that Im getting an amp with no nearby dealer, you never know what might happen. You are right about the Dual recto having less tubes and that will save on trouble, but again, for sure I wont be removing any tubes what so ever...So now I understood that in both Dual and Triple we cannot have the option of cutting down the power without doing it physically i.e. removing the tubes...That sucks though, I mean on most Peavey combos and on the 5150 head you can control the power usage which is great...Dunno what to say really, all I know now that I gotta play the Rectifier loud now lol.

 

[oyster]

One word for you dude...Roadster.

I am running mine in "spongy" (lower power, I was told about 96v going through the amp rather than about 117v, cutting the power to about 36W when set to regular 50W power setting) along with tube rectification. This is sweet tone. If you want power flexibility, you can also select either 50W or 100W for each channel independently (that's right - you could have channel 2 set at 100W and diode rectification while having channel 3 set at 50W and tube rectification, for example).

Anyway, on the Spongy / 50W/ tube rectification setting I can crank the Output pretty high and I am getting both preamp and power amp saturation. You can't easily do this with a 100W or 150W amp...more power is NOT necessarily better.