I finally figured out why I can't get along with a Mesa Recto

MadAsAHatter

MadAsAHatter

Well-known member
For so many years I've wanted to like a Mesa Rectifier, but there was always something that just didn't sound right I couldn't get past. It was where I was shying away from Mesa gear. I have a Mesa Titan bass amp that I love & the subway series sounds great. A Mark series always sounded decent to me too when it was dialed in right. I tried many times to desperately like the Recto, but it never happened and I couldn't figure out why. These amps have been used by so many great bands. I kept thinking it's got to be me, not the amp.

I was watching this video comparing a Mark V and Dual Rectifier a few minutes ago. Around the 2:30 point he was playing some triplet like stuff on the Mark V then switched to the Recto. Right there after many years my brain finally clicked. The Recto is just way too flubby in the low to low-mid range and doesn't agree with my playing style. I've never been able to sit back and truly hear how loose the low end can get and it was very apparent compared to the Mark V.

Not that I don't think the Recto isn't a great amp; it is. It's just not for me. If I ever find myself poking around a Mesa gear in the future I'll be gravitating over towards something else like Mark series

.
 
I'm the same way OP.

There's low mid stuff going on that, even with a boost, that doesn't agree with my playing style.

That's not to say rectos (esp old ones) can't sound fantastic; they certainly can. Just not with me playing it. Has to be someone else's hands.

Also, INB4 "USER ERROR!!!!1@"
 
I definitely prefer the Mark series stuff, but like others have said - try and get an early one and boost it. I've found that rectos are pretty temperamental with tubes and cab/speaker types as well, so you may need to experiment to find the pairing you like.
 
Boosting helps, but first time I used the original 5150, I though man, that's what I've been trying to get a Recto to sound like.

Except the Rev C Recto. That one was like a completely different amp to me than the rest of the reversions.
 
DanTravis62 said:
I'm the same way OP.

There's low mid stuff going on that, even with a boost, that doesn't agree with my playing style.

That's not to say rectos (esp old ones) can't sound fantastic; they certainly can. Just not with me playing it. Has to be someone else's hands.

Also, INB4 "USER ERROR!!!!1@"
Click to expand...

Exactly this. Even boosted there was still something going on that didn't agree with me. It just took me a while to finally figure out what it is. Great amps but not great in my hands.
 
I agree. That sounds pretty similar to my experience. I had a Tremoverb and 'I' could never get it sounding the way I guess I expected it to, even boosted. I'd like to try again but it may just not be for me.
 
I haven't played a recto in years, although I used to gig one in a couple of different bands. It was an older 2 channel revision G that I bought back in '98 or something. They can get pretty flabby in the lows when you start pushing the bass and gain, but this does sound a bit more blown out in this clip.

A couple of things I learned with that amp is it LOVES EMG 81's. I'm a passive guy and still think the 81 was the pickup to beat with that amp when I had it. Also, you can actually do a lot with an eq in the loop even before boosting. I used to put a Furman PQ-3 and later a Boss GE-7 to suck out some to the flubby frequencies, and it worked great. Not surgical tight, but much better than it was. I sometimes found I didn't even need to boost it doing that once I got up to gig/practice volume. When I did boost I used a Boss Metal Zone. This was before I heard about Cannibal Corpse using them w/their Rectos hahaha. That tightened it up further. But again, always have to be easy with the bass and gain. Even then though, they're still a thicker "wall of sound" type of amps and not a super focused and percussive thrash amp. Different tools for different jobs and players. I haven't had a recto in years, but I do want to revisit one again at some point.
 
As i've gotten older i actually now prefer the Rectifier with the right boost over the Mark series i've owned/own. It does take time to dial in either of these incredible amps.
 
I loved the MW Dual boosted with treble near zero and presence/ mids to taste. It has some of the gnarliest low mids ever...disgusting actually. My problem was the sluggish, bouncy attack it still has even when boosted. For DM and a lot of other stuff it's tits. But for thrash just doesn't sound or feel right to me. What a phucking DM beast though. Obituary type sludgy goodness 😋
 
I've had 3 rev F's and a multi watt. Never could get any of them to sound good to me. I kept buying them thinking it would sound better the next time but unfortunately never did. Just not for me.

I had a Roadster and actually preferred it over all the rest. Needed a boost but sounded killer with one.
 
MetalHeadMike said:
I loved the MW Dual boosted with treble near zero and presence/ mids to taste. It has some of the gnarliest low mids ever...disgusting actually. My problem was the sluggish, bouncy attack it still has even when boosted. For DM and a lot of other stuff it's tits. But for thrash just doesn't sound or feel right to me. What a phucking DM beast though. Obituary type sludgy goodness 😋
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Agreed. They'll always have some sag going on even with the tightest boosts, pickups or speakers, no escaping it really, but imo that's part of what is needed to give them their iconic low mid girth and throaty growl. They have still my favorite type of growl of any amp I've heard so far that is unmistakable in flavor, so throaty on the orange channel, particularly on my Rev D version. Excellent for DM like you said and many other styles. The MW's can sound really good to, but the early 2 channel's rev F or earlier are imo something else. My Triple Rev F/C mod, Uber Rev 1 and Beta probably have the thickest low mids of all my stuff

The Badlander is tighter and more modern, but more it's own thing imo
 
DanTravis62 said:
I'm the same way OP.

There's low mid stuff going on that, even with a boost, that doesn't agree with my playing style.

That's not to say rectos (esp old ones) can't sound fantastic; they certainly can. Just not with me playing it. Has to be someone else's hands.

Also, INB4 "USER ERROR!!!!1@"
Click to expand...
There's an inherent sag to them that's inescapable no matter what boost, pickups speakers, etc even on my Rev D, but also what makes them great and unique. Like you said not ideal for your faster stuff, but could maybe be cool to have an amp like that on the slower, sparser sections of your stuff and then bring the Larry in for tighter and faster stuff for nice contrast further highlighting what the Larry excels and just more flavors
 
My Dual Rec Rev F is the only Mesa I've ever liked. I've owned a Dual Rec Rev G, Single Rectifier 50, Dual Rec Multi-watt, and a Badlander 50. Sold them all. This Rev F is the only one that has ever sounded good to me. I've got it set up with JJ EL34's and TAD high grade 7025's in the preamp; green to clean and clone orange to red. Use the presence control on the green channel in the orange channel and you can control the amount of VNFB. Killer amp; sounds like a weird, fun, super hot rodded Marshall/Soldano mix. Love it.
 
Take a Mark V on the extreme mode, dial it in with lots of gain and presence and then turn up the bass until it flubs like crazy. Hit it with a boost and that’s my mark/recto hybrid sound. That’s my favorite Mesa sound right now.
 
I have both a recto and a mark series. Recto is not the amp I go to for tight chugging. It's cool for lots of stuff, but if that tight, palm muted low string chugga chugga stuff is a big part of your playing I could see that not being the amp for you, especially if you're just plugging straight in. With enough work, extreme settings, a pedal or 2 up front, I can get it so it would work if it had to.

I'll also second the post above about the mesa v30's, in a mesa cab are a key part to my enjoyment of mine. Those cabs sound good with anything.
 
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