whats a good mesa for me?

[blackwolf929]

well, im in the market for a new amp, i was thinking mesa, i dont want any cabs or nothing. i need combo that sounds good and gets loud when needed. i need tight aggressive distortion that will remain clear even at louder volumes. i was thinking maybe a dual rec combo. any advice or input is greatly appreciated. thanks!

 

[MetalMatt]

...i need tight aggressive distortion...

That is Mark territory my friend, you might want to look at the Mark IV. If you don't need it super tight than a dual rec would be good as long as you have an OD/clean boost in front and/or a EQ in the loops.

I'm not sure about this because I never owned one... But If you like the recto aggressiveness, with a tight lowend maybe a DC series amp might be a good choice.

 

[clutch71]

Have you tried an Ace or Duece?

Single Rec head and cab or Rectoverb combo are nice. El 34's and a decent OD will get you a "tighter" rectifier sound but it will still be a rectifier. I don't mean that in a bad way.

Out of curiosity why a combo?

 

[blackwolf929]

Have you tried an Ace or Duece?

Single Rec head and cab or Rectoverb combo are nice. El 34's and a decent OD will get you a "tighter" rectifier sound but it will still be a rectifier. I don't mean that in a bad way.

Out of curiosity why a combo?

because, at the moment i dont need ALL that power, plus im space limited. and no i have not tried the ace or duece.

 

[clutch71]

Have you tried an Ace or Duece?

Single Rec head and cab or Rectoverb combo are nice. El 34's and a decent OD will get you a "tighter" rectifier sound but it will still be a rectifier. I don't mean that in a bad way.

Out of curiosity why a combo?

because, at the moment i dont need ALL that power, plus im space limited. and no i have not tried the ace or duece.

Combos aren't going to be lacking in "power." I'd avoid anything then that's 100w and try to stay below 50w. The express may be the way to go as far as new stuff go. Their is the F-30 but I haven't played one of those.

I wasn't that wild abour the Nomad series but you van still find them.

 

[Newysurfer]

Have you tried an Ace or Duece?

Single Rec head and cab or Rectoverb combo are nice. El 34's and a decent OD will get you a "tighter" rectifier sound but it will still be a rectifier. I don't mean that in a bad way.

Out of curiosity why a combo?

because, at the moment i dont need ALL that power, plus im space limited. and no i have not tried the ace or duece.

Combos aren't going to be lacking in "power." I'd avoid anything then that's 100w and try to stay below 50w. The express may be the way to go as far as new stuff go. Their is the F-30 but I haven't played one of those.

I wasn't that wild abour the Nomad series but you van still find them.

The Express is a great amp but can't do Recto type distortion unassisted. For 50w combo's test out an F-50 or a Mk IV

 

[robrocks]

The Express is a great amp but can't do Recto type distortion unassisted. For 50w combo's test out an F-50 or a Mk IV

Hello,

Newbie here but I was told by Mesa that the Express 5:50 could replicate the Dual Rectifier sound. I called them about 2 weeks ago asking about a good home amp that could still deliver the DR sound and he recommended the Express 5:50. Just throwing that out there.

Rob

 

[clutch71]

Mesa mentions in the literature "Higher Contour settings, especially in Crunch and Burn, take you into Recto™ turf, tight, huge and menacing. "

They're a great amp but the DR's seem to be the flag ship amp, and if you ask Mesa a question in reference to one like does the Express sound like a Recto? They say yes. Everytime.

IMO they should say, "No, get a RectoSeries amp. Oh, yeah the Single Rec is a Recto and it is about the same price as the Express."

 

[VCuomo]

I bought an Express 5:50 (2X12 combo) a couple of months ago - it's a great amp and from what you described you want I think it will do very nicely. If you're near a Guitar Center, call 'em up and see if they carry the 5:50 (some GC stores carry Mesa, some don't) - if they do, go take one for a test drive!

 

[Newysurfer]

The Express is a great amp but can't do Recto type distortion unassisted. For 50w combo's test out an F-50 or a Mk IV

Hello,

Newbie here but I was told by Mesa that the Express 5:50 could replicate the Dual Rectifier sound. I called them about 2 weeks ago asking about a good home amp that could still deliver the DR sound and he recommended the Express 5:50. Just throwing that out there.

Rob

Well this issue has been discussed many times on this forum and everyone who has an Express, or played one, agrees it doesn't go into Recto territory unassisted - no matter how you tweak the amp or whatever guitars are used.

We're also aware Mesa Corp are claiming different and that's clearly "total bollocks". Nothing unusual about that. You believe anything any company states at your own risk IMHO.

I've swapped tubes to get higher gain tones. That helped a fair bit. I use a closed cab, plus use guitars with both Humbuckers and SS PUP's and the 5:50 definitely will not do Metallica tones, Nu-metal or any other type of metal tones and doesn't get real close to what most people call Recto territory. Mesa are full of ****.

The Express will do a wide range of heavy distortion rock tones up to the hard rock level. Think Nirvana, Pearl Jam, AC/DCish. It does that just great like any Mesa except the Lonestar series.

If you want to go into Recto or metal territory you got 2 options

1) buy another amp
2) do what almost everyone else does and use a pedal or MFX.

Where the Express really shines is that it's clean channel is soooo great that it takes pedals and MFX's incredibly well. It's got a series loop, it's super versatile, it's very small, light weight, has the 5 or 50w option and is very cheap for a Mesa.

I personally don't see its lack of Recto type tones a drawback. It's superlative from clean, blues thru overdrive to hard rock and if you want metal put a pedal on it. That's a much better option than having a specialist high gain amp and then trying to get some great clean tones out of it. Pedals won't help you for that. Do you know any rock or blues player who never uses a pedal or MFX.

Have you ever heard another amp that has all the advantages of the Express - plus can do metal

Nope !! - that's cause no-one can make one

 

[mrmax]

Get a DC 10 combo & thank me later. :wink:

 

[Steve P]

+1 to Newysurfer's description of the Express series.

Great amps, but don't expect really high-gain sounds out of it unassisted.