GJgo
Well-known member
..I can stop buying Mesas now!
I have owned a ridiculous number of Marks & Rectifiers and have played most of them in bands. Until these RIs came out my #1 by a mile was my IIB+ KRG, with an honorable mention going to the IVb. (These two amps are more similar than you'd think in terms of frequencies.) Whether I'm in my 1 guitar thrash metal band or my 2 guitar hard rock band where the other guy is playing a 2205, none of the myriad of Marks or Rectos I've had could really come close to how these two sat in the mix. I never felt like the mids were quite right.
Enter these two reissues- TLDR, Mesa killed it- and I'm an OG snob.
The DR RI is IMO the Recto GOAT and possibly the new #1 Mesa I've played live. I'll have to A/B it with the IIB+ to see if it gets dethroned! The mids are so good here where most other Rectos just disappear in a mix especially if they're paired up with a british voiced amp. The RI is also one of only two amps (with the other being the SLO 100) that on stage in a big room don't lose all their gain & chug. Last night we had the amps set to around 90 dB on stage mic'd up and through the PA (running about 95 dB in the room) and even at such a low volume it was still chugging HARD, and greasy as hell.. The feel under the fingers of this 90s RI is like no other recto but the early Rev Cs. As far as voicing unlike the MultiWatt that's voiced like the Rev F, this 90s RI I don't think is voiced like any one rev- to me it's just the optimization of what a Recto should sound like.
The HRG RI I don't think is the greatest Mark ever made- however- I think it's the best IIC+ I've used live by a mile. Like with the DR RI the mids are improved and in a place where for the first time I feel like it's naturally cutting the mix how I'd like it to. It's easy to hear. That said, like with most other amps it does still lose gain & chug in a big room. The OG IIC+ and IIIs have these weird mids that go from disappeared to boxy honk in the mix because to my ear where the frequency sits just isn't in the right spot. Problem solved in the HRG RI- you can use a lot more of the sliders.
Try them live if you can!!
I have owned a ridiculous number of Marks & Rectifiers and have played most of them in bands. Until these RIs came out my #1 by a mile was my IIB+ KRG, with an honorable mention going to the IVb. (These two amps are more similar than you'd think in terms of frequencies.) Whether I'm in my 1 guitar thrash metal band or my 2 guitar hard rock band where the other guy is playing a 2205, none of the myriad of Marks or Rectos I've had could really come close to how these two sat in the mix. I never felt like the mids were quite right.
Enter these two reissues- TLDR, Mesa killed it- and I'm an OG snob.
The DR RI is IMO the Recto GOAT and possibly the new #1 Mesa I've played live. I'll have to A/B it with the IIB+ to see if it gets dethroned! The mids are so good here where most other Rectos just disappear in a mix especially if they're paired up with a british voiced amp. The RI is also one of only two amps (with the other being the SLO 100) that on stage in a big room don't lose all their gain & chug. Last night we had the amps set to around 90 dB on stage mic'd up and through the PA (running about 95 dB in the room) and even at such a low volume it was still chugging HARD, and greasy as hell.. The feel under the fingers of this 90s RI is like no other recto but the early Rev Cs. As far as voicing unlike the MultiWatt that's voiced like the Rev F, this 90s RI I don't think is voiced like any one rev- to me it's just the optimization of what a Recto should sound like.
The HRG RI I don't think is the greatest Mark ever made- however- I think it's the best IIC+ I've used live by a mile. Like with the DR RI the mids are improved and in a place where for the first time I feel like it's naturally cutting the mix how I'd like it to. It's easy to hear. That said, like with most other amps it does still lose gain & chug in a big room. The OG IIC+ and IIIs have these weird mids that go from disappeared to boxy honk in the mix because to my ear where the frequency sits just isn't in the right spot. Problem solved in the HRG RI- you can use a lot more of the sliders.
Try them live if you can!!
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I've got a GEQ in the loop that works perfectly for a solo volume bump.
