razorbeams
New member
My buddy needs some cash and has offered me his Mesa Dual Rectifier head for $1000 used. Would you do this? I do like the amp sound. Just trying to figure if this is a good deal.
Sonixx
New member
Maybe... Maybe not.
Year?
Channels?
Year?
Channels?
razorbeams
New member
100-watt, 3-channel Tube Amplifier Head
Not exactly not sure what year. I'd say it's not older than 5 yrs old. It has been kept in real good condition.
Not exactly not sure what year. I'd say it's not older than 5 yrs old. It has been kept in real good condition.
Sonixx
New member
IMO $1000US is a fair price for a 3Ch Dual Rectifier assuming it's in excellent working order.
EL34 or 6l6 power tubes?
EL34 or 6l6 power tubes?
razorbeams
New member
That's a good question. I think it has the same stock tubes that it had when bought new. Not sure what they would be...
DrewPeterson7
Sage of the Order
Agreed, $1k is very reasonable if he's kept it in good shape.
If they're the original tubes, they're almost certainly 6L6s, and if it's "several years but probably less than 5" old, then you're due for a power tube change, if he's been playing it even moderately frequently. Depending on what you go with you're probably looking another $100 or so for new tubes, but even that isn't too unreasonable for a clean Dual Recto head.
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punkrocker
New member
Don't get the three channel version its fizzy and sounds like shit. Get the older, 2ch model its wayyyyyy better. Unless of course you want to sound like slipknot. Then by all means get the three channel.
Sonixx
New member
I'd say fizz management is in the player's hands.
I own a 3ch and fizz has never been an issue. Maybe our fizz definitions are different. I find my 3ch to be a very versatile amp.
An amp newb may want to stay away though.
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punkrocker
New member
@Sonixx
Hmm have you played on a 2ch before by chance? I don't have a ton of experience with the 3ch so I'm just speaking from what I hear playing on some of the 3ch ones at guitar center and comparing my 2ch one. So again just my experience...
Hmm have you played on a 2ch before by chance? I don't have a ton of experience with the 3ch so I'm just speaking from what I hear playing on some of the 3ch ones at guitar center and comparing my 2ch one. So again just my experience...
lpdeluxe
The Precision Bass Guy
The seller's not offering him a choice. It's three or none.
If you've played through it and like it, that's worth a lot more than an anonymous generalization. I agree with DrewPeterson7. You sure won't get a new one for that. I did a quick search and that amounts to around half price.
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Sonixx
New member
yes... while I don't own one I've had access to several over many years. I'm not suggesting a 2ch is not god's gift to metal but I'm just taking exception to your over generalization that a 3ch is fizzy and sounds like shit. nothing more.
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punkrocker
New member
@Sonixx
Fair enough. I don't mean to over generalize that has just been my own personal experience and may not reflect how others feel about the amp and its variations.
@lpdeluxe
Yeah I understand its 3 or nothing. I'm just giving my advice that I would wait for a 2ch version to pop up on craigslist or ebay. I got my for 1k but I had to wait a few months. And yes I agree if he likes it then by all means he should get it but in my personal experience 3ch's are very fizzy compared to 2ch's.
Fair enough. I don't mean to over generalize that has just been my own personal experience and may not reflect how others feel about the amp and its variations.
@lpdeluxe
Yeah I understand its 3 or nothing. I'm just giving my advice that I would wait for a 2ch version to pop up on craigslist or ebay. I got my for 1k but I had to wait a few months. And yes I agree if he likes it then by all means he should get it but in my personal experience 3ch's are very fizzy compared to 2ch's.
DrewPeterson7
Sage of the Order
Gotta agree with Sonixx here. Trying to judge ANY Recto based on a few minutes of Guitar Center jamming is probably a lost cause simply because you really need to push the things to hear what they're capable of, but I've played my share of Rectos (including, somehow, Recto # 00005, which a friend of a friend owns and loaned my buddy to track leads on an album with), and honestly, the biggest difference between the 2-channels and the 3's is the more aggressive presence knob on the third channel. If you set them up with identical presence settings, yes, the third will tend to sound fizzier, but if you roll back the presence a bit to compensate for the fact that the same point in the knob's range isn't actually the same amount of presence in the circuit, you get most of the way there. They're not identical, sure (especially that very early Rev C I played with a different transformer - man, that thing was cool, more of a Soldano than a Mesa, really) but unless you're talking one of the very early ones (the first 500 are generally supposed to be the ones to look for, but even then it's kind of a risk since the transformer was notoriously prone to blowing up), most of the difference between a 2 and a 3 is in that knob, and as far as I'm concerned the third channel is worth the difference.
That said, when I was screwing around with #0005, I was mostly there to buy the guy's Roadster, and even after an hour or so of going back and forth between the two, hands down I preferred the newer Roadster to the #0005. Sure, the early one was more collectible, but I really just preferred the darker sounding Roadster.
EDIT - also, it's worth noting that this buddy of mine and the other guitarist in his band (who are both Mesa endorsees, as well as quite a bit older than me and as such have played more Mesas by a wide margin than me both agree that while the poweramp is a little tighter in the low end on the 2-Channel Duals compared to the 3's, the 3-channel Triples absolutely smoke the 2's and are tighter by a fair amount than even the 2-channel Duals. That's a LOT of wattage, but I have to say Mike's rig is absolutely punishing on the low end life - it's like getting punched in the gut. Tight, punchy, and very "forward" in the mix somehow.