History of the Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Amplifier 

I like these history lessons. Subbed

Great work dude. Saw your 5150 breakdown and subbed, good to see there are some others 👌🏻

This was great, Lucas - very helpful! Thanks for putting it together. Cheers!

The video on dual rectifiers I've been looking for! Thanks!

Man I can't wait to see what other amp(or gear) history in general you can come up with!

My understanding is that the Rectifier series were set up to address some of the shortcomings of the Mark Series and the original prototypes used a Mark Series head and modified it until it was all but unrecognizable. Honorable Rectifier member, the V-Twin pre-amps. These were stand alone pre-amps and were designed by one of the founders of Budda amps. The V-Twin had several iterations including a rack mounted version and a lower price point version called the Bottle Rocket. Budda would continue to make a version of the Bottle Rocket but it appears to be discontinued. I owned a V-Twin and it had a very Rectifier sound to it and for a while I ran it into a Mark Series combo amp. I liked the clean setting because you could either use it as a boost or as a very high quality compressor. The highest gain setting or "red" had a crazy amount of distortion but the "blue" (similar to the "push") wasn't to my liking. One of the great things about the V-Twin was you could use it to go direct into a mixing board and John McLaughlin used one for years.

Keep up the good work. I know it's not easy doing all this research. Glad someone did.

Corrections: Blue Angel Used 6V6’s and four EL-84’s, NOT EL34s and 6L6s. Progressive Linkage™ power section allows you to switch between or combine 2x6V6 & 4xEL84 for 15, 33, or 38 Watts, of Pure Class A Power / 5x12AX7, 1x5AR4 Breakdown of tubes in the rectos: Single Recto, 50 watt, 2 power tubes, no rectifier tubes. It is a Single Recto as it has only one rectifier option, Silicon Diode. Dual Recto, 100 watt, 4 power tubes, 2 rectifier tubes. Named Dual Rectifier since you have the choice of Silicon Diode or Tube Rectifier. Triple Recto, 150 watt, 6 power tubes, 3 rectifier tubes. I assume named Triple Recto because it has 3 rectifier tubes, but IMHO it should have been called a Dual Rectifier Coliseum as it still only has 2 rectifier options, Silicon Diode or Tube Rectifier. - Josh Bowles in the Mesa/boogie fan club on facebook. the first 500 Rectos were Revs C to E. I believe the A&B were the first prototypes that were never released to the public. Also I think the Triple Rec was released during the mid phase of the Rev F. - 90s punk rock covers Rackifiers seem to have been made starting in 1992 with the Rev F. models. Confirmed by Alex Marini.

Love your history series!!!

ahh i love my triple rectifier! Great video man really interesting to learn more about my favorite amps out there!

I have15 heads. Mesa, Marshall, Orange, Peavey. Gotta say that my Single Rec Version 2 with 6L6's really surprises my elite guitar playing friends. They want to hate it due to the Nickleback styling but they are won over almost immediately by the killer tone.

Love your content. Thank you for upload.

Darn it, Lucas! You convinced me to track down a used Multi Watt Dual Rec, and now I'm awaiting delivery. It's coming with EL34s, but I'll probably get a set of 6L6s too. Hoping it's as versatile as they say.

Nice series. I’m glad someone is giving high gain history the recognition it deserves.

Hi Lucas. I came across your video researching my own amp. You said you were interested to hear what we have or like. I own a 1997 (built October 1997 by Mike Bendinelli) Rev. G two-channel Triple Rec. It still has all the original tubes. Although there are no issues with my current tubes, aside from age, I'm planning to change everything, a complete overhaul, but still keep the original set (preamp, power, and rectifiers). I play 80's metal/shred/thrash/progressive as well as blues. I'm thinking to go to the EL34's which is why I've been doing research to learn more about the difference in the sound between the 6L6's and the EL's. That's how I found this video. I also have the original cab that was purchased with it, an original 4x12 recto slant top (open back upper half/closed-back lower half) with the expanded metal grill. It's loaded with its original Black Shadow EVM12L's. I'll be more than glad to share pictures of everything and talk with you more if you are interested, just send me a friend request on facebook ( facebook.com/jay.martello.9 ). Hope to hear back from you.

Great summary, I've heard the SLO story before. I will say thou, Dual rectifiers have the most horrendous cleans in the business, but the single rectifiers actually have nice cleans and the gain is less bassy

Picked up a mint condition Tremoverb a few weeks ago. Absolutely crushing tone.

I had a Road King Series 2, could never get a good sound out of it except, you guessed it, the Recto sound. I sold it. To be fair, I have heard other folks get a myriad of wonderful sounds from Rectos so it may have just been too much amp for me. Digging these amp history lessons as well. Subbed.

I currently have a weird hybrid Rev F/G Recto that sounds insane, but my fav will always be the Tremoverb. The Mini Rectoverbs are also great and actually sound a little different than the regular Mini.

Great video! I’m a tremoverb player my self I have 3 of them. My only complaint is that they breakdown and are hard to get fixed.

Great video.. i have a black face 3 chn 100 solo.. great sounding amp.. not sure what year it is..

I realized we all know and love Rectos for crushing rock and metal tones. I will freely admit that their clean tones do not compete with vintage Fenders (having played them for at least 20 years). However, I've seen them used and other genres and I have heard stories of them being used in studio situations outside of what we normally associate with their primary purpose. Something that bears noting is that the Tremoverb was geared toward an expanded audience beyond Rock and Metal. I once saw the legendary Otis Rush playing at Blues Excetra in Chicago with a horn section that was monstrous. His Tremoverb was going through a 4x12 and was still able to cut through at least four horns. He also did use the tremolo on his sound. There's also a video of Lee Rittenour out here on RU-vid playing jazz at a large concert venue and he's using the clean channel (presumably) on a armor-faced Triple Rectifier. It surprised the hell out of me when I saw it on stage but I'm sure he spent quite a bit of time dialing in the tone that he wanted. I also don't see a mic in front of the cab which says to me that he's probably pushing it as hard as he can without too much break up. Seems kind of contradictory what we use these amps for, but speaks to their versatility nonetheless.

I have a DR multiwatt that I picked up brand new in 2011. Such an amazing amp. I can't see owning anything else.

Clear as mud. Thanks

Great video dude ! I'm a great fan of mesa amplifiers, I've got a dual rectifier 3 channels head bought in 2014, the distortion is crushing but the cleans are weak maybe the TC-100 is the solution for the future don't know

I own the triple rec three channel with el34 sounds great boosted I recently upgraded to the Mesa jp2c mark and you should do the history of the mark series from Mesa boogie

Great video.

Can we get more videos like this? How about a history of the JCM series, the Plexis, etc.

Awesome! I wanna hear the history of the Mark series.

I had a very early 1997ish dual rectifier. great amp.

Great stuff man

Just to add, I have a series 1 Rectoverb, and I believe the rectifier is solid state only, not switchable like some of the other models. Cleans are amazing. Also, mine is a single recto solo, not a dual. I think they all are. Theyre all 50 watts if I remember correctly. Also, the manual says you CAN run EL34s, but they don't recommend it because they're less reliable.

nobody ever addresses what single, dual, and triple actually means. it has to do with how many watts a single rectifier tube is capable of turning ac into dc. this explanation is very basic, and can change from many variables, but the basic rundown is this- a single can handle 50 watts, dual 100 watts, triple 150 watts. it has nothing to do with how many channels the amp has. this is part of the reason you can choose the diode, as opposed to tubes, which in theory can handle as many watts as you throw at it, but the dynamics are different because it is a single ended solution. me, i like the diode, as it keeps the amp at a more level state, thru the channels. snobs will only use the tube rectifier, because they believe it is more dynamic. your mileage may vary. i can count how many people think it has to do with how many channels the amp runs. your amplifier takes in ac current thru the input transformer, but the circuits run on dc, and that is what a rectifier does. it is then converted back to ac power by the output transformer to drive the speakers. this is why we must match impedance, to the output. this is also why in so many "holy grail" amps, it is the transformers that people chase after, not necessarily the circuit itself.

Thank you!

I have a Rev. C #0187 and it’s sounds sick AF....But I would say my 1995 Tremoverb has a bigger darker sound that I love.

Quite helpful actually, bravo!

Brilliant, just brilliant!

Thanks for sharing, very informative! It deserves a Wiki page :P

I’m desperately trying to identify a multi watt Triple Rect I may buy. It has a steel colored metal grill like most, but where the diamond plate would be there’s a leathery kind of cover.. it’s got clean/pushed and raw/modern. I’d appreciate the help!!

I laughed hard when you said " slow 100 " Because inside I'm 9. Great knowledge.

We used to call em Rectum-friers because we thought they had the heaviest sound.

Multi watt Dual Rectifier for sure! I love mine.

So what revision of the 2 ch dual recs would you say the Tremoverb would be compared to? Also do the Tremoverbs have different revisions or only cosmetic changes?

Good job.

Holdsworth's tone with that amp was incredible.

Good stuff, love rectifiers. A couple of things to note, the first 500 Rectos were Revs C to E. I believe the A&B were the first prototypes that were never released to the public. Also I think the Triple Rec was released during the mid phase of the Rev F. Cheers 🍻

The heartbreaker was a 25th anniversary tribute amp to the Mark I. one side was basically a Mark I while second channel was more British inspired. Most mark based amps still have dual rectification.

Mark Tremonti alone is enough reason to reissue Revision F Triple Rec. He has used that amp throughout most of his career. And that's why it's my favorite. I want one bad. I caught AB in Las Vegas in February 2020 and did Mark's clinic. When he took us on-stage for the rig rundown, he had a Dual Rectifier Revision F. No idea why the switch. You can go all over RU-vid and see rig rundown videos from every single tour he's ever done, and he's always had the Triple. Now all of a sudden, he switched to Dual. Wish I knew why

i have a bunch of amps but still love my trem-o-verb

My only experience with a recto is with the first 3ch version and it's a nice amp. But if I was to choose one to buy it would be the Reborn for the functionality or RevF/RevG for the tones. I love how much of a massive sound you can get from these amps, Rammstein and Tremonti come to mind. Great video! Hope you can make one of these about Bogner someday.

So up until the Rev G and 3 Ch(non multi) you were mentioning how the cleans got abit better with each rev, but then for Rev G and the 3 Ch you said the cleans were nothing to write home about. Did you just mean in general like with most dual rec's or did the cleans actually get worse again in some peoples opinions? Im not trying to open up the debate whether DR cleans are good or not, Im just clarifying what you meant in the timeline. Thanks for this!

MESA / Engineering: yoink! Mike Soldano: "yoink!?"

I've had 5 of them because they have something i love but I fall out of love with them within a few months after I buy or trade for it. I had an early one it might of been an r 500, had a three channel one of some sort, defitnatley had a rev g, had a 50 watt rectoverb , and the other ones I didn't really care about the revisions. At the end of the day for me I just prefer a single channel amp that responds well with a volume knob and pedals, not saying the rec can't do that i just don't need all the options. I do wish I would've kept that possible r 500 I sold it when I was young to aquire something else, but if this guy is correct then the obvious choice here for me is the tremoverb that's the one I would like best

Early tube rectification does indeed have sagg. The modern tube rectifiers used in today's amps are fast response and basically react very close to a diode. Most sagg people feel is placebo. The option to choose diode or tube rectification is also due to increased reliability. If your tube rectifier fails, you can still operate the amp on diodes.

Single rectifier (head) is in two versions and 3 channel rectifier (head) is also in the triple version 150W

I'm pretty sure the first 500 Dual Recto's were only revision C and D on the boards. There were no A or B rev. board DR's originally that were sold that I know of. I personally own DR serial # RO220(rev.C) and DR serial # RO414(rev. D) and I did own DR serial # RO075(rev. C) The 75th one made! but have since sold it.

I prefer the Single Rectifier. Tighter sounding to me and easier to push the Power Tubes

Good vid. I’m looking at a single rectifier. I don’t understand all the diode gets not ect ect. I just want that good distortion sound.. doesn’t need to be loud for a band. Does the single have tubes? Is the dual rectifier better to buy? What series? They are practically the same price.

The amp we refer to as the 'DR' is actually called the "Solo' Dual Rectifiers were a range of amps.

I have one Rev G Triple Rectifier. It's hard to describe how monstruous it sounds. Looks awesome with his 9 big tubes glowing. Winters were never the same after i bought it hahahaha God save the Rectos! lml

have you ever played a early 3ch recto?

Can anyone help me? I have a Single Rectifier/ 50 . In wich Timeline is the Single one Home? Has anyone like me one of the single's and how do you like them?

Afaik Rev D went up to R-0505. After that Revision E went to about R-0580 (I owened R-0545 which was an E). Rev E is closer to C and D than to F I‘ve been told, so the pre-500 sound actually goes up to about R-0580. Another thing to mention is, that Rev C-F have a serial loop and a small frontplate logo.

Some of my favorite metal rock punk and emo tones come out of these i want one so bad

I love my Mesa Nomad 100!

I have had the Triaxes/2:90, Roadster, 50 Cal, a DC3, and now a Rev G dual Rec. The Triaxes was way to complicated, The roadster sounded like a Dual Rec buried in a puddle of mud and never got what I was after with it. I liked the 50 Cal but hated that you couldn't get good metal tones and still have a clean channel (traded it for an Egnator Tweeker 88, love that amp), the DC 3 didn't have enough snuff and I love my Rev G I just got recently. Put a Boss EQ pedal in the FX loop and have exactly what I wanted from that amp. I miss the 50 cal though. :(

I have a mesa boogie dual rectifier 100w head but it is not multi watt....do you now anything about this model?

Do the Mark series!!!

Big Shedders were not out in 1992. It took till 95-96 where it became an issue. Dream Theater, Vai, Satch and many others never had issues.

Hey Lucas, I love your videos man!! How much different is the Roadking 1 vs 2 ? ... The RK2 .. yes has the LONE STAR channel 1 and 2 better cleans and reverbs... but RK1 Channels 3 and 4 has more gain and a tighter tone than RK2. RK1 is more aggressive and has more gain than RK2. John petrucci with Dream Theater record Train of Thought, Octavarium and solo album Suspended Animation with Roadking 1 😍

Duel rectifier trim-O-verb 100w head paired with a 4X12 mesa cab

My biggest regret was selljng my rev G I had one that i used in my ban for nearly a year and used tp get alot pf compliments when i played live The second guitarist had a 3 channel dual wpuld have been a 2005-2006 When we recorded our cd my 2 channel was used for tracking both our guitars as it sounded better I was in a guitar shop and came across a secondhand road king with the machine quad the one with the half open back and half closed back for $4200 aud, which was crazy considering the road king head retailed for $7990aud at tge time and the cab was about $2500 So i quickly sold my 2 channel for $2000 and the marshall 1960a quad i had for $500 and put cash on top for the raod king set It never sounded the same i was never 100% happy with the sound I didnt hate it but when playing live i could never get the perfect sound

Does anyone remember who the first famous band was to start using Dual Rectifiers? The only one from the top of my head was Soundgarden in 1994 for the Superunknown album. I would say by 1996 everyone started using them. I remember Bush was touring Sixteen stone and switched over to them mid tour thats how popular they were. By the late 90's they replaced Marshall as the go to amp for touring bands.

Take a shot every time Lucas says "Dual Rectifier"...

The term Verb added to the Recto just means reverb added to that amp , head or combo... Very simple explanation When Trem is added it means Tremolo and Reverb are added to the head or combo , also very simple explanation

The racktifiers were the best sounding ones I used to have one I really regret selling it

I own a "Racktifier" made in 1992, it's a rev F. So when you say the Racktifier came in 1995, you are wrong.

Dude, check out Yerasov Bulldozer. Guys said it sounds like true old Mesa.

Rectifier has very good cleans. Anyone who says otherwise just can't dial it in.

"The Truth?! You can't handle the Truth!" - the Joker -1988

If you are into guns specifically AK's you are well aware of a guy named Mischaco. This guy is the Misha of guitar amps.

The room you're recording in has a lot of echo. Doesn't sound great. Great content though!

Mesa Boogie amps with scooped mids sound aggressive af that's why I want a triple rectifier to play Thrash Metal.

I'd like the Road King 2

Where story about stolen soldano preamp

I thought the RoadKing V came out in 2006

please subtitules !

RED IS RADDD

Show, brother. Together as one. cAlL mY gUyS nOW foR a 🇨🇦fREe rAIDS shadow🦵legEND❌

Multiwatt best rectifier !!

teach me god

I love Mesa boogie,but the recto pre-amp section is 100% Soldano SLO super lead.They stole the design from Mike.They just use a crappy power section compared to the SLO.You can even find vids on here where Mike Soldano talks about it.Just wished rectos weren't so damn muddy.I can't stand mine unless I boost the hell out of the front of it.Then it's a beast

Oh goodness not the slow 100

It was EL 84 not 34

look up the talk with Soldano saying they basically ripped off his schematic, its practically identical but with a weak ass power amp

Great video! You sound like Ben Shapiro!

@rectofiles

Rev A and B were prototypes and were never released. Triples started at Rev F to my understanding - there were no C/D/E Triples. The cleans on the 2 channel solos are just the overdrive channel attenuated, which is why they suck. There are roughly 2000-2300 Rev Fs and about 12,000 Rev Gs The 3 channels yave an actual clean channel but it's not great. It wasn't until the Roadster/Road King that Rectifiers got good clean and the clean channel from that ended up on the multiwatts.

Had a Tremoverb back in the day, I like my Soldano SLO about a million times more.....

S L O 100 not slow