mesa dual rec serial num 9000's what board revision?

[vic]

worth buying? any difference between these and earlier duals soundwise?

 

[Elpelotero]

that's a revision G. read the thread rectifier lineage for more info.

in short, it will sound good, so if it's a good price, go for it.

 

[clutch71]

I have a G and even with a possible problem w/ the gain circuit, cranked it sounded awesome. It's in the shop now. I have played rev C, D, and F and found G to my liking over the newer 3 Ch.

I'd say if the rectifier sound is what you like you won't be disappointed.

 

[Silverwulf]

You can't go wrong with a 2 channel Recto in general.

 

[vic]

what is the difference between f and g and why did you like the g over the other ones?. since i live in aus any 2 channel recto is hard to find esp the old ones are going for nearly 3000

 

[Silverwulf]

what is the difference between f and g and why did you like the g over the other ones?. since i live in aus any 2 channel recto is hard to find esp the old ones are going for nearly 3000

You can dial in virtually identical heavy tones on a Rev G as you can any pre-500 model, but you'll have a much improved clean channel on the G. I've owned and compared 2 channel models from very early pre-500 models all the way up to the last year or two of production for the series, and I can confidently say I think the pre-500 model is the most over hyped Mesa ever made (followed closely by the Mark IIC+).

Once some amps are no longer made, they take on this mythical status and I honestly think people start hearing things they "want" to hear and judge with their eyes instead of their ears. The same thing happened with the Marshall JCM 800's and the fabled "vertical input 81-82 models".

 

[Elpelotero]

what is the difference between f and g and why did you like the g over the other ones?. since i live in aus any 2 channel recto is hard to find esp the old ones are going for nearly 3000

You can dial in virtually identical heavy tones on a Rev G as you can any pre-500 model, but you'll have a much improved clean channel on the G. I've owned and compared 2 channel models from very early pre-500 models all the way up to the last year or two of production for the series, and I can confidently say I think the pre-500 model is the most over hyped Mesa ever made (followed closely by the Mark IIC+).

Once some amps are no longer made, they take on this mythical status and I honestly think people start hearing things they "want" to hear and judge with their eyes instead of their ears. The same thing happened with the Marshall JCM 800's and the fabled "vertical input 81-82 models".

you are certainly the minority. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion though. I just can't comprehend how you find a C+ overhyped or a regular run of the mill recto equal to a pre500? not trying to start anything. i just really can't comprehend it.

 

[Silverwulf]

you are certainly the minority. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion though. I just can't comprehend how you find a C+ overhyped or a regular run of the mill recto equal to a pre500? not trying to start anything. i just really can't comprehend it.

I know I'm in the minority on that one. I said "I think most people judge with their eyes instead of their ears"...:lol:

The pre-500 is overhyped to me. What does everyone find special about it, other than it has a worse clean channel? I've tried countless Rectos, and my experience has been that with a few turns of the knobs, all the Rev's have identical dirty channels for the most part. The cleans were always the best on G. I called up to talk with Mike B and others, expressed my findings, and was basically told they agreed with everything I said and my observations were on par with theirs. Said if they had to have a 2 channel Recto, they'd also rather have a later model because of the "non-existent" clean channel on the earlier models. Considering the 2 channels were no longer made at this point, I can rest assured their comments weren't made to sell me a product.

The IIC+ is another overhyped amp. Don't mistake me saying it's overhyped in that it's not a good amp. I'm saying it's overhyped, like the pre-500 Rectos, in comparison to the other Mesa products available. The IIC+ and III are so similar. And the IV takes that even a step further with more options.

I guess I don't understand the need to drop $2K on a pre-500 Recto when a few knob turns will yield virtually identical results on a Rev G...and the cleans are a lot better...all for half the price. That is why is overhyped. People are paying for the luxury of having a little plate on the chassis that reads between 1-500, not a drastically different sounding amp. 99.9% of people you ever played in front of wouldn't know if you were playing with R0001 or the very last 2 channel ever made. And if you stacked up a copy of every Recto revision in front of me, I guarantee you could dial in your desired tone on the pre-500, and then I could dial in all the other heads to the point where you couldn't tell them apart. Now, the 2 channel vs. the 3 channels is another story...but there's very minimal differences among the 2 channel revisions.

Same goes with the Marks...dial in the IIC+ to your desired sound and I could dial in a Mark III (any stripe) or Mark IV to where no one could even pick out which was which anymore. So, pay twice as much on the used market for it? No reason to unless you want it to collect. Why not put out half the money and have 3 channels with separate EQ, countless more switching options, etc (Mark IV)?

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I know my opinion isn't going to be the popular one and it never will be. We're what...15+ years since the production of the original JCM 800's stopped and people still put the 81-82 vertical input models up on a pedestal? Again, just my opinions.

 

[vic]

silverwulf i do agree with your opinion of the mark series ive heard a iic+ and with a properly dialed iv theres not a lot of difference in it.anyway quick question what number was the last 2 chan dual ever made?

 

[Johnson]

+1 Elpelotero! I prefer the tone of my Pre500 to the tone of the revision G's that I have played. However, I agree that at the end of the day they are both rectifiers...just like at the end of the day a IIC+ and a III purple stripe are both mark series amps. All of these amps in question were designed by an outstanding company, so they all are going to sound amazing. But then again, my bias is in my signature 8) Silverwulf, its good to see some other people from Maryland on the board!

 

[Elpelotero]

I could get my C and D to sound very close, if not 99.9% the same. The mystique about the C+ also has a lot to do with the feel of the amp when you are playing it. It may sound similar to untrained ears in the audience, but the feel of the amp and the creamy texture is what in my opinion makes it valuable.

i was lucky to pay half the market price for each of my pieces though.

 

[Silverwulf]

I could get my C and D to sound very close, if not 99.9% the same. The mystique about the C+ also has a lot to do with the feel of the amp when you are playing it. It may sound similar to untrained ears in the audience, but the feel of the amp and the creamy texture is what in my opinion makes it valuable.

i was lucky to pay half the market price for each of my pieces though.

They do have an interesting feel to them. I was lucky to grab my old IIC+ for $1199 back in the day. It's a great amp, but I needed a little more for practical use on stage. I just couldn't justify keeping it when I needed more gear at that time and I could dial in my Mark IV I owned at the same time to sound virtually identical, plus have more options, etc. If I wasn't in a band or didn't play out, I wouldn't have cared as much. But, it just wasn't practical for me when I could dial them so close and 99.9% of people in the audience wouldn't even know the difference if you explained it to them...not to mention what gets lost in translation once the FOH guy gets a hold of you...:lol:

Hey Johnson...where are you located in MD? You play in a band around here?

 

[Johnson]

Silverwulf, I live in Baltimore County. I play in a band called TbR(www.myspace.com/TbR). How about you? Have you played in any bands in the area?