NAD - Mini Recto

[elvis]

FINALLY got me a rectifier. It's just a wee 'un, but I am very impressed. I tried it in the store an hour ago and left with one in a box. It was way better than I expected, and the size is unbelievable. I thought about a Dual, but that's just never going to be realistic for me. I already have 2 standard recto 1x12 cabs, so I'm ready to rock!

I did notice that the thing has a LOT of noise when the gain is cranked up. Any tips while I go searching thru the posts?

 

[Dave G.]

Congrats on the mini!! I got mine about a month ago and im still loving every second with it! I think its possibly the best rectifier out at the moment. All the tones on it are great. Ive been using it far more than my dual these days and cant wait to gig with it.

The best advice i can give for the noise issue is sometimes on mesa's the less gain the better. The highest i run my gain at is about 1-2 oclock and its silent at this level.

Again the most important thing with the mesa's is read the manual. When you think you know everything in the manual, read it again. Try out some settings and adjust with your ears not your eyes. Then read the manual again lol. Youll be surprised but the more i read it the more times i say "oh i must try that"

Best of luck on the tone search!

 

[elvis]

Thanks for the advice and encouragement. I have always had difficulty dialing tone on Mesa amps, but when I got my Dyne I had no trouble. And when I played the recto today I had no trouble. I think if I want a very particular tone, then I may have to do some homework. But I think Mesa's out-of-box experience is really good on these amps. Now I just need to get mine out of the box tonight!

I do have to admit that I was diming the gain to see what it would do. :shock:

I was also very happy to find that I really liked both the Vintage and Modern modes.

 

[MBJunkie]

Congrats Elvis!!

The Mini Rectifier is a great amp IMO!

I agree with Dave G in that some of the best sounds offered in Ch2 are with the gain set fairly low to medium (say 9 - 1 o'clock)....lower for tighter high gain rhythm and slightly higher for high gain lead. I also love Ch1 of the Mini in both modes for great cleans / slightly distorted cleans and fairly high gain crunch rhythm sounds with the gain high in the pushed mode. The nicest thing about the Mini is that the gain, EQ controls, and power option make a huge difference in sound and feel for all modes of this amp.

Experiment and have fun!

 

[elvis]

I'm finding that it is a bit more tricky than I realized. I set it up at home and got a TERRIBLE tone. I tried some of the sample settings and got much better results. I am definitely not used to the quirks of this amp. Right now it sounds great, and was loud enough to drown out my 12 year old twins

 

[YellowJacket]

These are phenomenal little amps. I may 'downsize' to a mini at some point, but I'm too lazy to sell gear right now. Well, except for all the spare speakers and the spare 1 x 12 I have. I have a Tan Bronco Electradyne 1 x 12 on order so I'm super excited about that!!

I think I'd appreciate the lower volume level of the Mini, definitely far beyond the Dual. It would really be the most functional rig for me to own both an Electra Dyne for big stuff and a Mini for everything else. I'll probably look into it in time...

 

[MBJunkie]

Terrible Tone???

I find the Mini Rec to be very easy to dial in great tones in both modes of each channel.

Don't dime the gain and/or eq knobs......instead....think less is more and increase the channel volume level to allow the power amp to break up for some of the most awesome sounds offered in the amp.

Best of luck and enjoy!! :mrgreen:

 

[elvis]

I don't what the heck I did. I thought I just scooped it. But it sounded super thin. Strangely, I think lowering the bass actually made it less thin. Definitely less gain helps.

It really roars with the master up.

 

[Finnster]

Congrats on your Mini!
Fun amp for sure! I gigged mine the past
2 weeks and I found that in channel 2 on vintage
mode I never turned the gain past 10 o'clock. With
that level of gain and everything else set in the.
range of 11-1 o'clock it slayed!

Now we don't play real heavy stuff....about as heavy
as I need is a Priest or STP/Alice tone. It cuts thru
the mix very well. The clean is prestine too. Pushed
clean is just amazing when controlling breakup
with guitar volume.

Enjoy it!!

 

[MBJunkie]

+1 Finnster
I also achieve some of my best Ch2 vintage sounds with very similar settings as yours!
Ch1 is awesome as well. I find several gain/eq/power setting combinations for a wide variety of great sounds offered in Ch1.

 

[elvis]

Actually couldn't walk past it on the way to work this morning without firing it up and pounding out some rock.

 

[ChrisRocksUSA]

heh heh heh, he said nad

 

[YellowJacket]

Actually couldn't walk past it on the way to work this morning without firing it up and pounding out some rock.

Definitely thinking about this still... 100watts is too much!!! =-o 10 is 90 watts less too much!!

 

[Matt O'Casster]

heh heh heh, he said nad

After a futile google search. I gotta ask, what in the hell does NAD mean?

 

[Neptical]

heh heh heh, he said nad

After a futile google search. I gotta ask, what in the hell does NAD mean?

New Amp Delivery

 

[Matt O'Casster]

heh heh heh, he said nad

After a futile google search. I gotta ask, what in the hell does NAD mean?

New Amp Delivery

Thanks. That was really tweaking my OCD. (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder :mrgreen: )

 

[JW123]

I have a question for you MINI owners, I have an interest in one, but when I look on the MESA site, it looks like the Effects Loop is either off or one, can you turn it off and on or is it just preset? I dont see any send or return controls on it, so its just a set level and you use your effects to set the overall level?

I run my Line 6 Digital Delay in the loop of my triple, I leave it on thru most songs I play and tap the tempo in so when I engage the loop its ready to go, instead of kicking in the effect and then doing a tap dance at the first of a solo.

Thanks in advance, Im just curious

 

[elvis]

There is a switch on the back that can be set to either enable or bypass the loop. Unless you like to reach behind your amp while playing, you need to pick one and stick with it.

 

[MBJunkie]

JW123,

As Elvis said the Mini offers an effects loop that is either set to on or off. There are not any knobs in the mini to change effects levels through the amp. All effects levels would need to be controlled by the "effects unit or stomp boxes" by themselves. While some may feel this to a "limitation" or possibly even an "issue" to what they are used to with effects loops offerings of other Mesa's, I find it to be great for a few reasons as follows:

1. The user needs to set up the effect unit correctly and only the effect unit for the sounds desired......there is no way to screw it up on the amp side because there is not a level knob offered on this amp.
2. This amp sounds good to me with the loop engaged....even when I don't have any effects connected to the loop.
3. This amp seems to be tolerant of accepting a variety of pedals through the loop without significantly "robbing" tone when the effects circuit is engaged.
4. This amp doesn't add any significant "noise" with the "effects toggle engaged" with or without effects connected to the loop.

All this being said.....the effects loop of the Mini is not footswitchable. The footswitch provided is strictly a Ch1 to Ch2 footswitch toggle. IMO I like setting the effects loop to "on" all the time regardless of whether or not I have an effects unit connected to the loop. It seems to add a bit of MOJO even when I don't have any effects connected to the loop. YMMV.

 

[Third Age Amps]

Lowering the Bass setting can definitely make the amp thicker sounding. EQs on guitar amps respond almost like an active EQ. For instance, lowering the Bass RAISES the Midrange slightly. Lowering the Midrange raises the Bass slightly, but also lowers the High-Midrange into the Treble territory.

The EQ is much more responsive than you may think. Many people visualize a graphic EQ when adjusting the TMB on their amps when in actuality, every knob influences the others to a point.

You can really see what's happening by downloading and experimenting with Duncan's Tone Stack Calculator. You can find it here:

http://www.duncanamps.com/tsc/