Rectifier Old vs New

Yes, there are huge changes. The new Rectifiers sounds very different from the old two channel versions. The new Rectifiers have many more filters in the preamp so that it's like adding distorsion to your distorsion. It's very muddy and undefined plus the EQ filters doesn't really work like you would expect because everything interacts with everything else. I've listened to both and also got everything confirmed from my guitar tech that has been digging around in both two and three channel rectos. I know there are people who claim they can't hear a difference, but I would think it's just because if you bought a three channel for quite a few bucks you wouldn't be so keen on admitting it sounds like shit... hey.. It's Mesa right ;)

I bought a three channel Recto cause I found one for a great price, but I have spent about 600$ on modifications of the preamps so it's even useable in my opinion. In retrospect, I would've been much better of buying an older Rectifier 'cause now it sounds almost like an old one but a bit more nu-metal to the sound.
 
The older ones are Way better... I have two and they both kick ass.... I had to use a new one for a one off gig and I really couldn't dial it in like the old ones.... it seemed to lack balls and the distortion was different sounding in a bad way....

I had an older triple rect for a while that I liked even better than the duals...
 
What about the Single Recto?

I often used the Dual in the studio. Always with the "non rectifier tube mode" which sounded tighter.
Since the Single Recto does not have Rectifier tubes, it should sound like that, is that right?

Has the Single the same "problems" as the new three channel Retcos?

Thank you very much!
 
Just made a recording where I dialed in the amp in the studio while the cab was miked in the other room. Used a new 3 channel triple rec. At first I was using a 5150 but could not get any bite. I tune down a lot and the high end goes away easily. So I got the triple in there and was able to make it sound a lot more to my liking than the Peavey. It has that treble bite that really cuts through. The 5150 is too smooth at low tunings.

Anyway, when I first plugged it in I thought it was total shit. I called the owner and asked him if it was broken or something. But after carefully dialing it in, I was able to make it really sound good. Yes all the knobs work together like all Mesas. So it can take a long time to dial them in. Then when I was done tracking, I took it over to a cab and played it live just to see what it felt like. And shit, with the same settings it sounded like a monster! Compared with the Peavey it really barked out with a 3D image and the bass has so much more balls and oomph than the Peavey.

So my verdict is that this amp is a killer but is not easy to set up.

Colin
 
My really short answer is that I've owened 8 Dual Recto's, ans I believe the 2 channels, especially those from the '92 - '95 era, to be better. The 3 channels are also nice. I don't like the overdrive quite as much, but you do get a lot more versatility from it. I prefer the better overdrive, which is why I kept a '94 Dual Rectifier ("Blackface" model) and still use it as my primary amp.
 
I know this is a thread about Mesa gear but as the 5150s had a mention..... The 5150, because of the chump that designed has a much topier sound. Designed to work with excessive 2 handed tapping. This is not only down to the head but the voicing of the cab. If you use it with a 5150 cab its not gonna have the best bass response but try it with a Marshall or a triple XXX cab and you get more bottom out of it. 5150 with a marshall is a bit of a classic one but for years Arch Enemy were playing 5150 stacks with celestion drivers to get exactly the same effect. Sorry if im teaching grand ma....
 
TheSweetener said:
Single Rectifier anyone?
Click to expand...

Basically a Dual Rectifier with less headroom. Same rule applies...Series I is better than Series II in my opinion. If you have the money, I much prefer the Dual's. It doesn't make much much sense to me why you would want the Single. Contrary to popular belief, the volume difference between a 50W and 100W tube amp isn't even nearly audible to us. To me, all you really do when you buy the Single is get an amp with less options and less headroom. Some people claim the Single's, Dual's, and Triples all sound different...trust me, it's the same preamp that's in all three.
 
Now that you mention it, I was posting some time ago on guitargeek.com and almost everyone said the following:

BEST MESA: "Single Recto because it has 50 watts thus it sound better, chunkier and more metal"

OK MESA: Dual Recto because it has the versatility although 100 watts it's not really a must"

WORST MESA: Triple Recto because it has way to much power and it has too much headroom and it makes de overdrive suck at lower volumes"

Is this true or something? I really never agreed.
 
DURBANS said:
Now that you mention it, I was posting some time ago on guitargeek.com and almost everyone said the following:

BEST MESA: "Single Recto because it has 50 watts thus it sound better, chunkier and more metal"

OK MESA: Dual Recto because it has the versatility although 100 watts it's not really a must"

WORST MESA: Triple Recto because it has way to much power and it has too much headroom and it makes de overdrive suck at lower volumes"

Is this true or something? I really never agreed.
Click to expand...

Well, tone is completely subjective, but IMO, is disagree wholeheartedly with the above.

People think of 50W and 100W and immediately assume "100 is twice as much as 50, therefore 100W must be twice as loud." This is so not true. The audible difference between 50W and 100W is hardly even perceivable to us. Once you get past 4-5 on the Master Volume, you won't be able to tell which is 50W and 100W. What you will notice is more headroom on the clean channel, as the Single Recto's cleans will distort more quickly.

As for the Triples, they sound just fine. At lower volumes, the Rectifier's suck in general. That's the case with most all tube amps. In order to get the tone you desire, you need to get the Master up to around 10-11 o'clock. That's when you'll notice the difference. I find that the sweet spot for me has always been with the Channel and Master both around 10-12 o'clock.

So like I said before...by buying a Sinfle Recto, to me...all you're doing is basically buying an amp with less versaility and less headroom. And even though you're wrong, if you really insist that the amp sounds better at 50W, then just pull two power tubes from the Dual Recto and run it at 50W if you like...:)
 
I have owned 2- 93 two channels...now I have 1 two channel and 1 three channel. The 3 sounds just as good to my ears ( and has a way better clean channel) and is a much more flexible amp for live use. The 2 channel seems to have a smoother distortion and still sounds great. If I had to own only one it would be the three channel..You can dial it in to sound close to the two but it has an edgier prescence that I like....
 
t-rave said:
I have owned 2- 93 two channels...now I have 1 two channel and 1 three channel. The 3 sounds just as good to my ears ( and has a way better clean channel) and is a much more flexible amp for live use. The 2 channel seems to have a smoother distortion and still sounds great. If I had to own only one it would be the three channel..You can dial it in to sound close to the two but it has an edgier prescence that I like....
Click to expand...

Yeah, you do have more flexibility with the 3 Channel, but I do prefer the sound of the 2 Channel's. The 3 Channel's sound good, don't get me wrong...but they're more hit and miss sound wise when it comes to tone. If you want the extra channel, you won't go wrong with the 3 Channel. If you don't need it, though, I'd prefer the 2 Channel.

Also, I wanted to clarify my post above...I started reading and realized that I should have explained the 50W/100W a little better. The power an amp has and the volume it pushes are not linear in nature. For example, if you have an object that weighs 50 lbs and one that weighs 100lbs...then your 100lbs object will weight twice as much. That's linear. However, sound is not the same. Sound (and the amps) are based logarithmically. With this in mind, a 100W Mesa Dual Rectifier is only 3db louder than a 50W Mesa Single Rectifier, and 3db is nearly inaudible to us. What you will notice is the clean channel on the Single Recto distort quicker. In order to have an amp that was twice as loud as the Mesa Single Recto, you'd have to have a Mesa Rectifier that was 10X the power...hence, you'd have to have a Mesa Rectifier that was 500W in order to be twice as loud as the 50W Mesa Single Rectifier!

So again, with the Dual and Triple Recto's...you're not getting amps that 2X and 3X as loud...you're simply getting amps that are a handful of db's louder (which is nearly inaudible to us) and more headroom to work with.
 
Is there a particular reason to choose a Triple Rec? Besides a little or equal headroom as the Dual in the clean channel... is there anyother reason? Mine, as silly as it sounds, is because I like the fact that it has lot's of tubes... LOL! For real, by the way.
 
DURBANS said:
Is there a particular reason to choose a Triple Rec? Besides a little or equal headroom as the Dual in the clean channel... is there anyother reason? Mine, as silly as it sounds, is because I like the fact that it has lot's of tubes... LOL! For real, by the way.
Click to expand...

LOL...Well, you will have more headroom on the clean channel, so if you're going to be doing a lot of clean chording at higher volumes, the extra headroom could be nice. There won't be much of an audible difference in overall volume. The tubes that you use in the amp will make much more difference in sound as opposed to whether you're using a Dual or Triple...:)
 
DURBANS said:
having more poweramp tubes changes tone in some way?
Click to expand...

In theory, yes...more power tubes will give more headroom, and in the end, the 6L6's will color the sound less and give you a more pure signal from the preamp. Having 50W and only 2 power tubes, you won't have as much headroom and the 6L6's will color the sound slightly more because they'll be pushed harder. But as described before, the difference is really inaudible when we're talking about 50W-150W.

Oh, and I was referring to the type of power tubes earlier...Sovtek's,Svetlana's, etc...:)
 
Yeah, generally 50 watt heads let you tap into the sound of the overdriven power amp section at a lower volume than 100 watt heads. So its weather or not you like that sound. It can help leads sound fatter but it can muddy up a rythym tone as well. I usually prefer to keep the power amp section running colder and to me this sounds better. If I was playing blues, I would probably want a 50 watt head. But then you also have to consider that the speakers start to break up at louder volumes so you have to determine how this plays into the whole thing. Its a matter of experimentation with different heads and cabinets at different volume levels to find out what you need for your application. If there is no way to do all these experiments, just buy a 100 watt head forget about it.

Also in recording, 3db is 50% louder isnt it? The reason you cant hear the volume difference in the amps is because you will never turn up an amp to where its current is fully tapped. What happens is that the 50 watt head just starts to distort the power amp section and you hear a difference in tone, not volume.

Colin
 
vile_ator said:
It can help leads sound fatter but it can muddy up a rythym tone as well. I usually prefer to keep the power amp section running colder and to me this sounds better. If I was playing blues, I would probably want a 50 watt head.
Colin
Click to expand...

Yeah man! That' absolutely right. The "Play an tube amp loud" comes from a different time with different music. (Still right for many things though)
If everybody here is using Tube Screamers to get the rhythm sound tighter, you should not crank your power amp too much!
 
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