Probably buying a Mesa Badlander 50 head......should I???

vultures said:
As a Mesa fanboy, I hated the Badlander with all of my heart. It's not a true rectifier. It sounds nothing like the old school ones and it sounds nothing like "the modern rectifier!". I ordered one with a custom headshell on announcement and when I eventually got the amp, I sold it less than a few weeks after receiving it. The gain felt like it had no saturation, could not compete with other high gain amps even with a boost. Sounded worse than a 3ch Recto, worse than a Rev G Recto, worse than a Rev F Recto and even worse than a Triple Rec. I've seen that amp change hands a dozen times or more and it's even up for sale right now.

Randall said he had nothing to do with that amp, which makes sense.
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Hmmmm. Damn.

Thanks for sharing that.
 
I love my badlander 50.

It’s somewhere between a Marshall and a recto tone wise, very versatile but it doesn’t sound like any other Mesa. It’s kind of what a lot of folks wanted from the stiletto series, but better all around.

The clean sounds are really good, especially with a little delay/reverb in the loop. I foolishly slept on the clean sounds for the first year I had mine, since I brought it to the band room to crank & chug, where it really shines.
 
cobrahead1030 said:
I love my badlander 50.

It’s somewhere between a Marshall and a recto tone wise, very versatile but it doesn’t sound like any other Mesa. It’s kind of what a lot of folks wanted from the stiletto series, but better all around.

The clean sounds are really good, especially with a little delay/reverb in the loop. I foolishly slept on the clean sounds for the first year I had mine, since I brought it to the band room to crank & chug, where it really shines.
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Awesome!!!
 
cobrahead1030 said:
It’s kind of what a lot of folks wanted from the stiletto series, but better all around.
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I would disagree with that in a big way. They got the Stiletto right with the Stage II. All that amp needs is slightly more low end and it's a top tier EL34 rock/metal amp.
 
skoora said:
I would disagree with that in a big way. They got the Stiletto right with the Stage II. All that amp needs is slightly more low end and it's a top tier EL34 rock/metal amp.
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I have heard good stuff about the stiletto mark ll. The stiletto l gets bagged for being bright.

I want something a diffrrent lane than Marshall, Badlander might scratch that itch.
 
I have the Badlander 50 watt combo. Crunch channel maxed with a Maxon 808 boost is killer. Clean channel is great as well. Definitely not the traditional Recto sound though. I’d say more of a fusion of Marshall and Recto.
 
Series2 singles and rectoverbs can still be had for good prices. For recording and/or home use they are perfect, and so easy to access all the tube slots for comparing/rolling.
 
67mike said:
I have a bunch of Marshall amps, sold off my Mesa amps.

Now I stupidly am gassing for a Recto flavor amp.

I am afraid my Silver Jubilee will cover the Badlander's territory and might even steal its lunch???
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Will it make you happy? What about a trem-o-verb, recto-verb, multiwatt? Why not uberschall its Bogner’s take on what a recto should be… JP2C? So many options… hope this helps 😍🤣
 
67mike said:
I have heard good stuff about the stiletto mark ll. The stiletto l gets bagged for being bright.

I want something a diffrrent lane than Marshall, Badlander might scratch that itch.
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It is bright (both versions) but at low volume you just EQ accordingly. When you turn it up, the EQ evens out into more regular positions. The big difference is that the Liquid gain setting was garbage on Stage I and it vastly improved on Stage II. That being said, I don’t think it’s the right choice because it’s very Marshall like to where I don’t think you’ll get the variety you would want.
I think you said the Badlander would have a return window? If so I would stop guessing and just go for it. You’ll know in 10-20 minutes of hearing it with your guitars and cabs if it’s a winner.
 
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skoora said:
Badlander sounds nothing like a recto. Not really like a good Marshall either. I find it to be this inbetween amp that satisfies little for me. The best I can say about them is they work. Functional rock with zero personality.

Are you on a budget? A Single Rec might satisfy that urge.
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ive not played one, but this is kind of what i hear in every clip, nothing really bad per se but nothing at all spectacular either, but thats kind of the case with all the non-flagship mesa amps for me.
 
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