Compared a Badlander with My Rev F/C Triple Recto

[braintheory]

Compared them the other day. The 2 amps surprisingly seemed to have more differences to me than similarities, but both had good things going for them. The Badlander I tried was only a 50 watt version vs the 150 Triple, so maybe not the best comparison, but both had EL34’s at least. The Badlander was like a million times tighter, faster, more attack, way brighter, more mids, especially upper mids, while my Triple sounded way way bigger, the bottom and low mids was as much more in the Triple as the Badlander was tighter and brighter. The Triple shook and filled the room, hits you in the shins, while the Badlander didn’t do that at all and was a lot thinner in comparison, more laser-like, but also like I said was way more cutting and bright. The Triple had a lot more warmth, girth and more organic both in feel and tone, but that’s to be expected when comparing a new amp to one that’s almost 30 years old. The one thing they both had in common was that distinct Recto growl that I love and I was very happy to hear that all in tact. The Badlander I think actually may have even edged my Triple out in growl. For me the Recto’s throaty growl (like on my triple’s orange channel) is perhaps my favorite growl of any amp I’ve tried. The Badlander also had surprisingly really nice, sparkly cleans

Overall, the Badlander was better than I was expecting and curious now to hear the 100 watt version. I knew it was gonna be tighter than other Recto’s, but didn’t expect it to be as tight as it was. Would be interesting to compare with some of my tighter amps like my Monomyth. I didn’t have a boost with me when comparing them, but I never had as tight of sound with my Triple using any of my many boosts I have. If you want that huge wall of sound thing though that old Recto’s are known for then you’ll probably be very disappointed, but if you love that Recto growl (and how can you not), but wanted everything else to be different so that it can work better for faster, tighter stuff like thrash and with a more modern overall voicing then you may love it. Not sure yet whether I’d want to own or not, but it’s tempting and I was impressed overall, especially since I tend not to like non-vintage amps as much and haven’t really been impressed with any Mesa/Boogie stuff that came out in decades

 

[MetalHeadMike]

Nice comparison! Sounds like a cool amp based on your description.

 

[Emg77]

Thanks for the review. Really interested in the Badlander. Sounds like it's right up my alley. All videos I have seen I could tell it's a tight amp.

 

[braintheory]

Nice comparison! Sounds like a cool amp based on your description.

Yes I’m definitely still thinking about it. I just wish it had a more extended bottom end and more organic feel. Compared to most newer amps I think the feel was actually pretty good, but still a little stiff or sterile compared to my absolute favorite amps. It really didn’t seem to have the sag I associate with the Recto sound, but the growl was all there, which is imo the most essential part and they nailed that

 

[braintheory]

Thanks for the review. Really interested in the Badlander. Sounds like it's right up my alley. All videos I have seen I could tell it's a tight amp.

Yeah I could tell it was tighter from the clips, but in person was a lot more than what I heard in the clips. I liked to have the presence really high on it to bring out even more that addictive tightness and attack it had. Maybe the presence wasn’t dialed in as high in the clips

 

[psychodave]

How did it feel to play? Was the touch sensitivity there? I've never liked how the rectos felt. IF this amp feel like a Mark 3 or 4 it might be up my ally.


I'm sure changing/added a fixed depth circuit to it would add in some big bottom end.... would probably help with feel as well.

 

[braintheory]

How did it feel to play? Was the touch sensitivity there? I've never liked how the rectos felt. IF this amp feel like a Mark 3 or 4 it might be up my ally.


I'm sure changing/added a fixed depth circuit to it would add in some big bottom end.... would probably help with feel as well.

It definitely felt quite different from my Rev C/F Triple. I think it would be closer in feel to a mark iii or mark iv (probably more so a IV), but still different. Like I said it has that more modern amp feel, not vintage. I remember the JP2C and Mark V feeling similar, but has been years now since I last played those amps. I will say also that I wasn’t crazy about it for playing leads, but still decent I guess. I see it as being more for riff heavy stuff rather than a lead or shred amp. For that get a c+ or other Mark amp imo

Yeah a depth would probably be perfect for this amp, especially to be able to fine tune its low end, but I still don’t think it would ever match the low mids or lows or girth of my Triple rev C/F. Maybe the 100 version would also be better in that regard

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

 

[psychodave]

It definitely felt quite different from my Rev C/F Triple. I think it would be closer in feel to a mark iii or mark iv (probably more so a IV), but still different. Like I said it has that more modern amp feel, not vintage. I remember the JP2C and Mark V feeling similar, but has been years now since I last played those amps. I will say also that I wasn’t crazy about it for playing leads, but still decent I guess. I see it as being more for riff heavy stuff rather than a lead or shred amp. For that get a c+ or other Mark amp imo

Yeah a depth would probably be perfect for this amp, especially to be able to fine tune its low end, but I still don’t think it would ever match the low mids or lows or girth of my Triple rev C/F. Maybe the 100 version would also be better in that regard

I like that it has a good feel.

You'd be surprised how easy it is to add useable bottom end in an amp. No joke, I can make my little JCA20 have as much bottom end as a 5150 or Uber. I'm sure Mike B could give up a mod or two to add some in.

 

[Exo-metal]

Tried a depth on my IIC+/++ Coliseum and took it out. The Coliseum destroys any amp made after the ++ mod period.

 

[braintheory]

I like that it has a good feel.

You'd be surprised how easy it is to add useable bottom end in an amp. No joke, I can make my little JCA20 have as much bottom end as a 5150 or Uber. I'm sure Mike B could give up a mod or two to add some in.

I think the Badlander’s feel is good for a newer amp, but imo not on the level of my c+, coliseum’s or Purpleface. Those to me have the best feel of all my amps (at least for high gain applications)

If I get a Badlander in the future and see it as keeper worthy, I’ll definitely give Mike B a call about that. I actually have some amps that could very much use a depth, but I’d just be worried about that hurting resale value if I ever were to part with them

 

[Beyond Black]

Great comparison! Since I’ve got a Rev G/C Triple (with E34L’s) your in depth review hit home for me. I’m definitely curious about trying a 100 in the future.

 

[Smash]

I would be cool with trying it. I heard your review and got excited, then i listened to reza's clip and thought it sounded terrible
I usually like his clips. But, in the end I will just have to play one and see.

 

[Spaceboy]

Thanks for the report! This is going to be my next amp. The more first-hand comments I see, the more it sounds like Mesa finally made a Rectifier for my tastes. I always love older Rectifiers in other capable hands, but the feel and sound was never there for me. I always felt like I was fighting the amp, too much low-end, a boost being required to have midrange presence, way too much high-end sheen that needs a low-pass filter, and that lack of immediacy you get with Mark and some other Mesa amps. I'm having to recover a little bit from the holidays, but plan on grabbing a 100w rack in the near future.

 

[braintheory]

I would be cool with trying it. I heard your review and got excited, then i listened to reza's clip and thought it sounded terrible
I usually like his clips. But, in the end I will just have to play one and see.

Hm I actually thought that was one of his better sounding clips, but it can be hard to tell from clips

 

[Smash]

Yeah. We all have different tastes. I loved his Bogner Twin jet clip. I bought one. Loved it. So I trust his clips. Not trying to rag on him. Just don't think I would care for the amp.

 

[braintheory]

Yeah. We all have different tastes. I loved his Bogner Twin jet clip. I bought one. Loved it. So I trust his clips. Not trying to rag on him. Just don't think I would care for the amp.

I didn't care for the Twin Jet in person nor in Reza's clip, but I do agree that his clips have been helpful for me too despite a lot guys complaining about them. I can see where they're coming from since his clips can have this somewhat harsh quality to them, but still you can hear way more in them than in iPhone or other lower quality clips on YouTube (which haven't been that useful for me) and he keeps things pretty consistent from clip to clip, so I can get past the qualities some complain about