Interesting...Mesa Rectifier Revisions Myths?

[angelspade]

I am considering a Mesa Roadster that is available locally pretty cheap, and a friend send me this video as I have heard that they are both darker and a bit looser than others in the Recto series...Thought some of you guys might find this comparison and analysis interesting:

 

[EOengineer]

Those don’t sound identical to me. There are differences both spectrally and in the character of the saturation.

 

[angelspade]

Those don’t sound identical to me. There are differences both spectrally and in the character of the saturation.

Agree...Not identical by any stretch...But more similar than I would have thought.

 

[Rackman]

They're sufficiently identical that I would be against anyone being able to consistently identify them blind.

Which reminds me I should run down a Triple Multi-Watt before they become hard to find.

 

[Racerxrated]

Small differences to some, are huge differences to others. That's really what all this gear whoring comes down to. To some, a Marshall AVT sounds the same as a 1972 Superlead. They're all still Marshalls, in the end. Same upper mid centric tone.

To me, the 4 G Rectos I had sounded kinda bland when compared to the 2 F Triples....which then paled a bit to the mighty C Dual that was the king of all things Recto until I bought the 90s RI Triple.

If one thinks all Rectos can be dialed in to sound the same, great...more power to them. All they need to do is find the cheapest one available, and they're set.

 

[VonBonfire]

To some, a Marshall AVT sounds the same as a 1972 Superlead.

 

[vultures]

Tolerances of caps, resistors, pots.. Different power tubes, different preamp tubes.. Old/bad caps vs new caps.. And they aren't dialed in at the exact settings. I've had Rev G's that sounded better than Rev F's. I had modern Multiwatt's that sounded better than Rev F/G. I've had Triples that sounded great. I've had a Roadking that sounded better than all of them. They were all great for rock and heavy metal straight up. They all needed a boost for death metal or modern tones. They all sounded better than the Shitlander. Mesa amps are all over the place with consistency that it's fitting Gibson bought them. Just like you have to try out 10 Les Pauls to find a good one, you have to try out 10 Rectos to find a good one.

 

[Rackman]

Small differences to some, are huge differences to others.

This assumes the people proclaiming the difference can hear it blind. If they can't, the difference is in the eyes not the ears. And if there's one thing we should learn from the hi fi world it's the the difference is often in the eyes.

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

This assumes the people proclaiming the difference can hear it blind. If they can't, the difference is in the eyes not the ears. And if there's one thing we should learn from the hi fi world it's the the difference is often in the eyes.

This is true to a certain degree. But when I go to amp fests, it is generally not the amps I think I will like that are great. A lot of times it is the amps I don't even want to try that end up kicking major ass.

When you get to play multiple amps back to back, all the myths go away. Memory of amps can be strong, but when you put them back to back, there is no color

 

[jasonP]

I think telling say a 3-5% difference from amp to amp and how the different amps feel is not going to come across in an ultra compressed YouTube video like they would in the room, playing them.

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

I think telling say a 3-5% difference from amp to amp and how the different amps feel is not going to come across in an ultra compressed YouTube video like they would in the room, playing them.

You will never get the true experience. But some people are better at capturing an amp's essence than others. I have had success capturing amps sometimes, and sometimes it comes out completely different. I usually only share the ones that show what I am hearing in the room. But a lot of guys don't give a shit about giving an accurate representation and just post eq the shit out of it

 

[angelspade]

Small differences to some, are huge differences to others. That's really what all this gear whoring comes down to. To some, a Marshall AVT sounds the same as a 1972 Superlead. They're all still Marshalls, in the end. Same upper mid centric tone.


Point taken...but do you think there is equivalency here? I would say that maybe the difference between a JCM800 2203 vs a 2205 may be a more analogous.

 

[Beyond Black]

You will never get the true experience. But some people are better at capturing an amp's essence than others. I have had success capturing amps sometimes, and sometimes it comes out completely different. I usually only share the ones that show what I am hearing in the room. But a lot of guys don't give a shit about giving an accurate representation and just post eq the shit out of it

Or soak tf out of it with a ton of reverb and delay….

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

Or soak tf out of it with a ton of reverb and delay….

Yes. That shit is wild

 

[DanTravis62]

Please don't buy the roadster unless you are an experienced tech with loads of free time and money.

Ask me how I know

 

[Beyond Black]

Tolerances of caps, resistors, pots.. Different power tubes, different preamp tubes.. Old/bad caps vs new caps.. And they aren't dialed in at the exact settings. I've had Rev G's that sounded better than Rev F's. I had modern Multiwatt's that sounded better than Rev F/G. I've had Triples that sounded great. I've had a Roadking that sounded better than all of them. They were all great for rock and heavy metal straight up. They all needed a boost for death metal or modern tones. They all sounded better than the Shitlander. Mesa amps are all over the place with consistency that it's fitting Gibson bought them. Just like you have to try out 10 Les Pauls to find a good one, you have to try out 10 Rectos to find a good one.

I agree that Rectos can vary quite a bit, but unlike LPs, I’ve never played a dog.
I’ve had everything from the three channel Dual to the Rev C, and they’ve all been very good to great.
If a Recto’s a dog, my money’s on shit tubes or it’s an old two channel in dire need of servicing.

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

I agree that Rectos can vary quite a bit, but unlike LPs, I’ve never played a dog.
I’ve had everything from the three channel Dual to the Rev C, and they’ve all been very good to great.
If a Recto’s a dog, my money’s on shit tubes or it’s an old two channel in dire need of servicing.

I played the reissue back to back with an old pawn shop 700 dolllar special. The pawn shop won. It was special. But both were keepers

 

[Beyond Black]

I played the reissue back to back with an old pawn shop 700 dolllar special. The pawn shop won. It was special. But both were keepers

The lowly three channel Dual that I had was a vicious beast.
The Dual RI that I now have is my undisputed favorite, Mesa knocked it out of the park.

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

The lowly three channel Dual that I had was a vicious beast.
The Dual RI that I now have is my undisputed favorite, Mesa knocked it out of the park.

I almost bought one after playing it. Amazing amp

 

[Nitrobattery]

The lowly three channel Dual that I had was a vicious beast.
The Dual RI that I now have is my undisputed favorite, Mesa knocked it out of the park.

Even more than our old Rev C? The vintage high gain mode of the orange channel still haunts my dreams.