Gear Curiosities: Mesa Boogie Single Rectifier 50 - Metal's Best Kept Secret! 

Recto fanboy checking in. Stellar vid man!

I just want to say thank you for making this video. I had no idea the single recto existed until seeing this. Now I have one sitting on a 4x12 in my living room, and it's awesome. Thanks again!

I just pulled the trigger on a Recto-verb 50 of a similar vintage thanks to this video. It’s essentially the same amp as the one displayed here, but without the tread plate and with an anemic spring reverb. It’s makes all the Mesa-Boogie old school thrash metal sounds you could ever ask for.

This is exactly what i needed to see/hear. Bought the one i had my eye on before the vid was over! Thanks man🤘🏼

Awesome vid dude! I’ve had a series 2 single recto for 14 years now and I have to agree that it slays!! The FX loop is pretty useless stock but got round it using a reactive load box on the speaker out and then sending the line out signal into whatever post preamp processing is required and it works a treat. As for the rectification options and naming of the various recto models, it’s not so much the number of rectification modes that naming comes from but rather the number of rectifying tubes in place. The Dual recto (100 W) is called Dual because it has 2 rectifying tubes in its power supply section and likewise the Triple (150 W) has 3 rectifying tubes in its power supply section with each rectifying tube handling 50 watts. Interestingly many tube amp manufacturers (e.g. Mike Soldano) won’t use tube rectification because these tubes typically experience a very hard life and require regular replacement. Having the silicon diode only option in the Single recto is no loss whatsoever because the fast attack and reactivity of this mode is the sound most people want for these types of amps. Keep rockin those Singles!!!

I just have to say, this video was my catalyst to purchasing a Single Rec. I absolutely love it. Its been a couple months now and I still go back to this video to see if I learn something new. I do. Thank you and keep it up!

Hey buddy! I have been gigging with an old series 1 single rectifier for the past 3 years. Last week I had a gig where the sound guy messed up the micing and monitoring pretty badly. I was pissed because I had just lugged hundreds of pounds (and thousands of dollars worth) of band gear. That prompted me to look at modeling alternatives, so I could provide a direct FOH and monitor myself. I bought an AX8 a few days ago because of your videos. You're the man! *edited for poor grammar

Finally a great quality video of the Single Rec. great job brother! Love my single rec! Also modded my Loop a few years ago. It's a beast! 👍🏻🤘🏼

Bought my single rec 3 yrs ago. Sounds bad ass. Running a TS9 in the preamp and a MXR 10b EQ In the effects loop. Great walk through video. Thanks

This series of videos is great man. Hope you keep at it. Thanks !

Thx for demo!I've been looking for proper on for a long time thx so much!!!

You and Leon are my favs atm; churning out the nitty gritty goods.

Got goosebumps from the SYL riff at 11:46 Great informative vid btw

Man, your videos are killer. you do a great job switching up your style. Death metal to classic rock and it sounds authentic.

Great video. I own an 80s Fender 1/2 stack, Marshall 1/2 and then purchased a used 2002 Single rectifier. I am still in the learning process of feeling comfortable using the Rec. on stage. A lot of great information. Thanks.

Props on the Strapping young lad riffs! Great video, very in depth!

Extremely informative! Well researched and well delivered! Nice work.

I have a 50 watt single Rectoverb and I could not agree more about the push channel! I have never gotten a decent sound out of it and I never, ever use it. Glad to know it's not just me! Vintage lead has been my favorite channel but after watching this I may give the modern lead more of a chance. I watched this to try to get tips on getting a better sound out of mine and I agree with all of your comments, it definitely needs help, a boost at least. Thanks man, great video.

Apart from having good taste in gear, your taste in riffs is also top notch. Good shit!

sweet vid. nice choice on the rush closer to the heart riff.

Good video. I have mine loaded with Mesa SPAX7 preamp tubes and Mesa 6L6. Version 2 model head. Great amp. I find the Presence control more useful than the Treble control FWIW. Best amp I have for controllable feedback squeals and ringing out. Fantastic at low volume and Godly at high volumes.

I love these amplifiers. It was actually a single rec that turned me on to rectos some eons ago.. I’ve played a dual for the better part of my career but I’ll never forget the single that stole me lol. Great vid. Cheers

It's literally a 3dB difference between 100 watt and 50 watt.... Reference: 10 year amp repair and modifier...

I love my Single Rectifier! I recorded three albums with it. I too, will never get rid of it.

Thanks for the overview / demo Ryan, nice and thorough. Glad to see someone else taking time to go more in depth with some of these products instead of just "chug chug, rawr buy this shit".

This amp reminds me of the connecticut music scene back in the early 2000's... all the best bands had rectifiers and they all especially that tone around 19 minutes brings back memories.

Well, Rush was an unexpected cover for a Rectifier amp.

I just picked up a mesa rectifier studio preamp im powering in with a freyette ps2. Love it!

nice video, got a dual rec. and i need to use the line out thing tooo, btw i like to use a tubescreamer full on in front of the pushed sounds very nice

This isn’t a brand new video, but my two cents after doing some *serious* research and then buying a series 2 Mesa Single Rectifier Rectoverb 50. Still learning to dial mine in, but I have a bit of an odd use case to start with. The clean/pushed modes are essentially based on a Mark IV preamp. The tonestack is pre the-gain-that-matters. So a lot of attention needs to be paid to it in that particular frame of mind - specifically high mid settings will give a lot more gain in general, more treble will give more of that attack to it, etc. After looking at the schematic, the major difference between the vintage and modern modes is in the power amp voicing. You’re right that the presence changes. Specifically, from vintage to modern it changes from being a standard negative-feedback based control located in the power amp, to being a fourth preamp EQ band. The “raw” mode available on the series 2 models is a mix of the two. I’d need to do a lot more looking at it to figure out exactly how raw works but it’s not exactly my favorite mode anyways (and has less gain than the other amp that I run it in stereo with, so I’m not going to look too hard at it anytime soon.) Oh, and the reason that the presence control is moved to the preamp? *All* negative feedback is removed from the power amp. So the power amp is going to saturate everything a hell of a lot more. One last little interesting tidbit: the channel volumes are so important in general at least in this amp because of the tube-buffered FX loop. High channel volume settings will actually overdrive the tubes of the FX loop, leading to extra saturation and a muddier sound. Thanks for the demo. It helped me make my decision when I bought my single rec. Cheers!

yeah, this is what I am saving up for. Enjoy your single recto :)

what a really good vid . no bs and to the point with a lot of good info. 👌

Bought a Dual Recto recently. Btw, if anyone is considering the Peavey Triple X, I'd say skip it and save up for a Single Recto if you're on a budget. I've played all three now and think the Single Recto is 90 percent there (reminds me of the orange channel alot with its tightness cranked up) and is worth the extra 2-300 dollars used. The Peavey Ultra sounds cool though. Reason I mention that is because the Peavey XXX was kind of marketed as a Recto alternative and it had some harsh frequencies i couldn't stand

Thanks man! This is by far the best and most informative review of the single rec I've seen. I was lucky enough to buy one of these (series 2) a few days ago in mint condition. I am surprised how good these are for low volume use at home. In vintage mode I have channel master at about 9:30 and output at about 8:30 and I'm at a neighbor-friendly 90-95 dB through a 1x12. It seems like the output control really opens up past that point though, which I can't do at home. At first I was going straight into the amp and thought it was ok, but then I stuck my SD-1 in front and holy crap, massive improvement, the tone I was looking for! Right now I'm using a Mesa widebody closed back 1x12 (C90) and it sounds really good. For home use, do you think getting a Mesa 2x12 or 4x12 Recto cab would be a big (tone) improvement, or am I better off with my 1x12 at home? Thanks!

Just bought one of these on Reverb. I currently have a Carvin VT50 (1st version) 50 watt head, A Boss Katana 100w MK II head and a Marshall Vintage Modern 100w (purple) head. I'm a bit excited to see the differences. lol Thanks for the lesson/review

Cool video! Rectos are still my favorite amp of all time. I don't play my Dual as much as I should, its just so damn loud. I need to get a load box for it so I can reamp it in my room and have the master set wherever without blowing out my ears. I do like having the spongy mode and tube rectification mode, but mainly just for fun, like if I think it sounds too edgy at the moment, I'll just flip it to spongy. Regarding Modern vs Vintage modes, Modern mode disconnects the negative feedback loop in the power amp, and changes the presence control into a high-cut filter (since a Presence control varies the high frequency negative feedback, it wouldn't do anything if NFB is disconnected). Lack of negative feedback gives you that big volume boost, and a big low end and high end boost.

YES! This is the amp i use when i have band practice (the drummer bought it a long time ago) coupled with a Bugera 2x12. While its not an oversized cab, it sounds pretty killer Also 22:05 LOVE

Thanks buddy, loved the video! This helped me pick up one :)

My first tube amp, I got rid of it many years ago. I play a Mesa Triple Crown 50 now but I often think about picking one of these up on the used market because I loved it.

These are some of my favorite amps..

I have a older dual modified by voodoo amps it sounds great but I love my redplate copy of a dumble. Mesa in my humble opinion runs there tubes a little to cold. Thanks for the great video

Haha love the honesty on the clean pushed channel

Props for playing The Philosopher!

Great video. Excellent amp.

Most "presence" controls are in the feedback tap that pipes a portion of the post-OT speaker signal back before the phase inverter. So most presence/resonance/master volumes on amps will be "after" FX loops. Edit also the modern switch switches out the TMB stack and shorts the vintage's presence, and the presence knob does something different... that I can't recall.

Great videos! I heard some Devin Townsend riffage in there..

Love the Rush and Death references! I think this would be the MESA head I'd choose.

I bought a brand new series 2 in 2003 for $1300 at Atlanta Discount Music.Still got it. I've got it boosted with a precision drive to tighten it up and it sounds awesome.Im just about to order a Revv Generator 120 mk2.Cant wait!

So happy to hear fly by night there

22:06 “ALL IN THE NAME OF LOVE” lol. Great informative video dude, I’ve been debating on a rectifier or a mark v for some time now. Finding it painful to choose.

Just picked up a clean one for $900 USD. Can barely wait for work to be over so I can crank it through two Marshall 4x12 cabs. Gonna be a rocking weekend!

I own a series 1 Single solo. its a very early series 1. best tube amp I have ever owned.

Came for the tones and stayed for the riffage 🤘 SYL, Death and that killer AAL inner assassins riff

Closer to the heart is very good to test clean guitar, I just noticed.

Subbed man, killer vid!

Just picked up an absolute steal on a rectoverb 50 combo, basically a single recto solo with a spring reverb, 3/4 back and a black shadow speaker, for $450. Had to make a nearly 6 hour drive to pick it up, but man it was worth it. Even just a 1x12 combo with the volume about 1/3 up was almost too much in a 3 car garage with the doors open. Absolute monster, so glad I pulled the trigger on it. Now I just need a mark iv or a dual caliber to get in stereo and tear down the house lol

the pushed clean on my dual rec sounds great!

Just pulled the trigger on a 50 watt rect o verb version 2 combo . 2-Channels, bad ass clean, bad ass distortion, AND a reverb . I can’t lie I wanted the dual but after owning a mesa boogie maverick (4x10) in the past, I am content with the rectoverb combo. It is perfect !

My dual rec doesnt do the helicopter sound, but when using efx loop, it is EXTREMELY lower in sound volume and more prone to noise. Any idea why? It also pops really loud going channel to channel.

I've thought about purchasing one of these but think a 5153 would be a little bit better for me. Great videos.

Massive bonus points for Fly by Night

Had this amp. Was very happy I got rid of it. A Dual is can be found for only like a 100 bucks more, used. Basically, one ok channel in my opinion. Your criticisms were right on point.

I thought the solid state rectifier were better for metal and such, where as the tube rec was more of a laggy sound good for cleans and light over drive.

Pushed works for two things: congested mid packed Neck single coil SRV type shit, and congested mid packed 70s santana lead tone with neck humbucker.

I have one version 2 but it has the same layout that the version 1 has, with the foot pedal jack in the front. All other version 2 I have seen come with it in the back. Got it brand new in 2003.

I always have my clean channel in pushed. Really low gain, edge of break up only though. Gives nice mids compared to sterile clean mode. I have version 2 though. It works good for me

The biggest surprise for me was an American dropping "bollocks" without irony. Great work!

Interestingly the pushed mode on my single rec doesnt sound anything like that. It's a series 2 so maybe that has something to do with it. Even used the channel with a bass guitar on an album. Sounded killer with a boost pedal.

There was one of these at the local 'everything' store that had been in their for over a year 849.99 firm...they got a 2x12 mesa cab in for 499.99...i decided i'd see what he could do on both. 1135+tax (which ended up being 1226) i bought it to flip...but ended up keeping it. I think i'm going to take it to KSR and have him do his mesa mod on it. I'm really happy with it. I keep all the controls at around noon and boost the front, and i think it sounds good. Then i was watching an Ola recto vid and he said he keeps them at noon as well, so i felt a little better about my tonal decisions. I feel like i got a pretty good deal, especially when i look for single recs and 2x12's online. O and it's serial #00136...so it'd be like the 123rd one made. Not that it matters, but i thought that was cool.

You make me feel better about having ordered a Single Rectifier. My goal was Double or Triple. I hope the tube rectification isn't a tone-breaker for me.

Personally, I've always found the key to dialing mine in is volume. The sound changes dramatically throughout the range of those pots imo. On mine there are individual channel and a global master. Both of which effect the tone big.

I liked the pushed tone lol

Great review. I bought a single rectifier after i saw your review. It sounds great. I have a doubt . Can i change channels using the midi jack of the boss es-5 ??

slave di, on mark iv, I can use to recording to a Scarlett 2i2 and after put the impulse response???

Hi igot cuestion..Can i swap 6l6 tubes for 5u4gb bottle coke tubes on mi single rectifier head????

Nice vid man. Any idea how to date these beasts? I happen to own one, but have no idea when it was built. Found a website which states this model was only produced between Nov. 1998 and Apr. 2001, not sure if it's accurate though...

Is the signal worth getting to go straight through or just go with dual for almost same price?

I totally passed on a Single Rec -$1150 in 2000 while looking for Dual Rec -$1400. Everywhere was sold out of the Duals so I passed. I do regret it as I would still have it!

Hey man. Do you know if you can run a boost in the effects loop as a "attenuator"? I run the full size TC Electronic spark pedal in the effects loop of my amp and run the volume on the pedal low and the master volume on my amp at about 9-12 o'clock and was hoping it would work similarly? I've been getting amazing tone out of my PRS MT15 and EVH 5150iii. Thanks for your time and great videos.

I'm thinking in buy the Dual Rectifier (Single don't have 16Ohm out) to pair with my Fender Strat SSS. I'm looking for a punchy and ballsy highgain sound without to many trebles. I have a Silver Jubilee and love with gibsons buts is too much fizzy with my Fender. What do you think about Dual Rec + Strat?

Sorry for the dumb question, but hence the loop helicopter problem, could u run the pedals from the input? For example a noise gate and a boost? could i even run an attenuator through the Fx Loop?, i´m a noob, been using plugin´s but am interested in getting one of these single rec´s.

I have a series 1 & 2 series 2 single rec. 50. Each one is different some Way, Just a little. The series 1 head is killer heavy nice mids killer low end great for anything clean or heavy.. Then one series 2 is almost equal to that slightly little less mids but if u get the sweet spot u can't even tell the difference.. Then my other series 2 it has more low end. the mids are way less with to much low end.. Again with the sweet spot u can tell a little differentiates between all 3 but playing live u really can't..the single rec. 50 are killer heads i highly recommend them.. Im just saying each one has it's own sound.. Just like any other head or amp.. Nice video, totally underrated amp head...

Would i get the helicopter issue if i use something like a Boss MS3 in 4 cable method?

Amazing vid. Does the series 2 still have the same helicopter noise issue (certain pedals in the effects loop), as the series 1?

Hey mate, great video :) can you please just explain again the way you use the slave mode? Do you get the signal from the Slave output straight in to the interface or do you use anything in between? Cheers.

You say you prefer the Super Overdrive (SD-1) to the Tube Screamer for the lead channel, how do you set your SD-1?

Lol... love how you came back from the pushed mode demo...

R.I.P Chuck Schuldiner, legendary band Death.

Does the parallel effects loop work okay with reverbs and delays? Looking at picking up one of these used.

On pushed, use a single coil neck (5) or 4th position going directly into a tube screamer with zero drive and then into a compressor. All low gain.

Yeah man I love Mesa. I have a 2x12 50/100watt Dual Rec. Roadster Combo. I will never need another amp

Some Marshall's get an out of phase affect when you use the parallel loop. I have never been able to find a reason why its needed. Serial is where its at. About the Rectifier tube, I have never heard anyone ever use it when playing metal.

Despite its shortcomings, the Single Rectifier still has a spot in the evolution from modded Marshall's, or the Mesa MK3s (used to own one). I think Mike Fortin does mods on all sorts of amps. I wonder what he would do with something like the Single Rectifier 🤔

Awesome. What’s your tube screamer settings there for the heavy stuff?

The mod was super easy on my dual rec. All I had to do was clip one wire, skip all that other junk. Took me longer pulling the head out of the shell than the actual mod. Haha but it made a world of difference.

Never get into recto world until grind pedal comes. Such a huge improvement! What do you think about engl amp? Savage, special ed. Etc..

I’ve never loved recto’s. They’re ok but i still prefer the focused sound of the mark series.

I watched this video twice before I bought my single rec a couple months ago. You provided some awsome details and basically helped me pull the trigger on the purchase. It’s identical to yours. Absolutely love it!! I have a question about the slave out recording aspect. Roughly, what’s your setup for slave into daw? Do you run any fx pedals in the chain or power amp emulation in the daw? And yes, I have the speaker out safely loaded with my two notes reload while slaving. Lol. I have reaper daw, ownhammer heavy hitters 1 & 2. Sorry for the long message btw. I’ve messed around with it into my daw but can never get as good as a result as I do with just the normal output....which is killer on its own! Maybe a future video idea?? Lol

Glass Casket - Desperate Man's Diaries is another album that utilizes a single rectifier

In this era, most don't even know how damn loud a 25W tube amp can really be. I had a Krank Rev Jr Pro and it was hearing damage loud, only lacking head room and the speaker drive of a larger transformer. 50 watt amps are great for me because they have a nice compression to them at volume that is a little less than a 100w. most kids playing and talking about head room in their basement just don't get it. No tube amp sounds good at 0.5/10 when your parents will yell at you when it goes to 0.75.....