NAD Mesa Rectifier Solo 50W Head

[Old Punker]

Fuck yes!

dude read the manual that my best advise, mesa its way different than marshall , they love to have of options on their amps.

i feel that you might need a booster pedal to tight up thats one of the main keys with them.

enjoy my friend

@The Dose of Harmony you're right I was testing it out yesterday with my P90 equipped guitar and it went from sounding good to great when I put my SD-1 in front of it (on boost). I may check out a TS9 soon since many recommend a tube screamer.

Yes, I do need to read the manual - I got really confused with the parallel FX loop and the FX Mix knob. I'm also thrown off by the extra 'Output' volume control, but I noticed pretty quickly that I can get a great heavy crunch tone on Vintage mode at a really low volume (<90 dB). I had the channel master at 10:00, gain at 11:00 and output around 8:30 and it sounded like a cranked amp except at conversation volume! Normally a 50W amp with a MV at 8:30 would be very loud. Must be because I'm essentially running two MV's in series? I did notice that once I started to move the Output master past 8:30 it seemed to increase in volume more quickly.

When I test a new amp I work my way up from the lower gain modes. I have a little routine maintenance to do on my Les Paul and after that I'll check out the high gain side of this amp.

 

[Old Punker]

I had a Rectoverb and a 2ch Dual Rec. I preferred recto cabs that are loaded with Mesa V30's

I will certainly have to try one of those out...

 

[Old Punker]

4x12 with v30’s all the way .

With all of the V30 recommendations I will definitely have to check into those. I thought of a 4x12 right away because every time I see a Rectifier, it's sitting on top of one. The only problem for me is a 4x12 may be a little too big in my music room, which is getting more crowded after buying new gear since the pandemic started!

I will probably only be using this amp at home, do you think a 4x12 might be overkill for home use, since I need to be reasonable about volume? I also may not enjoy getting a Mesa 4x12 down a steep set of stairs, don't they weigh about 100lbs?

 

[Ufoscorpion]

With all of the V30 recommendations I will definitely have to check into those. I thought of a 4x12 right away because every time I see a Rectifier, it's sitting on top of one. The only problem for me is a 4x12 may be a little too big in my music room, which is getting more crowded after buying new gear since the pandemic started!

I will probably only be using this amp at home, do you think a 4x12 might be overkill for home use, since I need to be reasonable about volume? I also may not enjoy getting a Mesa 4x12 down a steep set of stairs, don't they weigh about 100lbs?

My studio/man cave is small but the footprint of a 4x12 is the same as a 2x12 I just removed one of my 2x12’s when I got my 4x12 this week . 4x12’s just sound so good it’s worth the hassle of moving around if needed on occasion in my opinion. I can’t see me taking mine out anywhere anytime soon .

 

[Old Punker]

My studio/man cave is small but the footprint of a 4x12 is the same as a 2x12 I just removed one of my 2x12’s when I got my 4x12 this week . 4x12’s just sound so good it’s worth the hassle of moving around if needed on occasion in my opinion. I can’t see me taking mine out anywhere anytime soon .

I may actually go for the Mesa 4x12 but I will have to wait a little while before I bring up the topic, since my wife is the only one earning money right now and we've had some significant expenses come up recently. Right now I have 1x12's (open and closed back), 2x12 (closed back), and even a little 1x10 (closed back) for really low volume. I could sell a surplus cab to free up space and a little cash. My Rectifier would look pretty good sitting on top of a 4x12, and maybe a little less good sitting on top of a horizontal 2x12, which is sitting on a table.

I've looked at the local online marketplaces and a Mesa 4x12 sells for about $950 as compared to a 2x12 for $700 CDN.

I know 4x12's sound good but I guess what I'm really curious about is would a 4x12 Recto cab sound better at low home-friendly volume as compared to a 2x12? I'm talking levels around 90 dB.

 

[The Dose of Harmony]

@The Dose of Harmony you're right I was testing it out yesterday with my P90 equipped guitar and it went from sounding good to great when I put my SD-1 in front of it (on boost). I may check out a TS9 soon since many recommend a tube screamer.

Yes, I do need to read the manual - I got really confused with the parallel FX loop and the FX Mix knob. I'm also thrown off by the extra 'Output' volume control, but I noticed pretty quickly that I can get a great heavy crunch tone on Vintage mode at a really low volume (<90 dB). I had the channel master at 10:00, gain at 11:00 and output around 8:30 and it sounded like a cranked amp except at conversation volume! Normally a 50W amp with a MV at 8:30 would be very loud. Must be because I'm essentially running two MV's in series? I did notice that once I started to move the Output master past 8:30 it seemed to increase in volume more quickly.

When I test a new amp I work my way up from the lower gain modes. I have a little routine maintenance to do on my Les Paul and after that I'll check out the high gain side of this amp.

For sure Tube screamers work great i got to a point that ordered the JHS bonsai that has built in 9 tube screamers man it works like a champ!

 

[Matthews Guitars]

Very nice! Congratulations! There are people (myself included) who think the single rectos sound better than the duals or triples. I'd like to score a single recto for myself, someday.

 

[ricksdisconnected]

HNAD punk. Mesa rocks

 

[Old Punker]

Very nice! Congratulations! There are people (myself included) who think the single rectos sound better than the duals or triples. I'd like to score a single recto for myself, someday.

Thanks! So far this sounds like a killer amp. Not as 'spongy' as the duals and still has a huge low end thump.

 

[Old Punker]

HNAD punk. Mesa rocks

Thanks man! This one definitely sounds a lot meaner than my 50W Express and it gets great heavy crunch tones at low volume, whereas the Express has to be turned up a bit to really sound good. I'll still keep the Express because it sounds a lot different than the Rectifier.

 

[ricksdisconnected]

I'll still keep the Express because it sounds a lot different than the Rectifier.

and quite possibly the last of the real Mesa amps too.

 

[Old Punker]

and quite possibly the last of the real Mesa amps too.

That's a scary thought now with the Gibson takeover.

Both of mine are from 2007, I think. At least they were both originally purchased then, Mesa doesn't seem to put dates on them. And they don't even make a single recto anymore, just something called a 'Badlander', which seems like a different beast altogether.

I used to buy all my gear new, back when I had a regular job...now I've discovered that you can get way more bang for the buck on the used market. I got my Recto for $1,250 whereas a new Badmander 50W costs $3,050 and I definitely prefer my Rectifier over that!

 

[Matthews Guitars]

There are those who swear that a properly set up Single Recto can get very much into modded Marshall territory. And that's a good thing!

 

[Old Punker]

There are those who swear that a properly set up Single Recto can get very much into modded Marshall territory. And that's a good thing!

I believe it, and no mods required here! I haven't got past the Vintage mode yet, because I'm loving it with my P90 guitar. This amp is a very aggressive beast! I'm looking forward to when I plug in my Les Paul and try out the Modern mode.

I think I'm starting to get this parallel FX loop thing figured out. It's kind of reverse thinking from what I'm used to. When I read that I need to keep the Mix control on the low end of the dial and I lowered it, it raised my overall volume quite a bit and improved the tone (which was already really nice). I'm doing the Clash thing right now ala Mick Jones, who used Mesa Mark series. This Recto actually makes my single coil guitar sound a lot bigger.

 

[jwoods986]

Congrats! In 2003-2004 I was playing in a cover band and had a single Recto head with the Mesa 1x12 widebody cab and loved it! I left the band and sold the amp, which I regretted very quickly (especially since it sounded great at low volumes in the house, so I didn't really need to sell it). Anyway, got another one a year or two later but paired with a Avatar 4x12 w/ V30s and it was not the same! So I would just stay with your Mesa 1x12. Unless you don't like the sound.

 

[Old Punker]

Congrats! In 2003-2004 I was playing in a cover band and had a single Recto head with the Mesa 1x12 widebody cab and loved it! I left the band and sold the amp, which I regretted very quickly (especially since it sounded great at low volumes in the house, so I didn't really need to sell it). Anyway, got another one a year or two later but paired with a Avatar 4x12 w/ V30s and it was not the same! So I would just stay with your Mesa 1x12. Unless you don't like the sound.

Thanks @jwoods986, it's good to get feedback from someone who's had both! So far I'm loving the sound of my Recto with my Widebody cab. You may have saved me some money! I'm also finding that this amp sounds amazing at low volume (85-90 dB), more so than any other amp I've had.

Do you use the FX loop on yours? At first I had the Mix knob around back set to about 75% but then I read the manual and they said to keep it low and turn up your effects. So I rolled the Mix back to about 30-40%, but I had to crank the Blend on my reverb pedal to 100% to have a reasonable amount of reverb? Does that sound right? I liked the amp's tone even better after I did this, but it seems a little strange to me.

What style of music was your cover band playing?

 

[Vinsanitizer]

For me there was nothing like the experience of standing in front of one of those into a V30 cab. I had two of them (and two Rectoverb II's), and they ripped out my spine from the bottom-up and sliced my face off around the entire perimeter. I'm afraid they were just too darn loud.

 

[jwoods986]

Thanks @jwoods986, it's good to get feedback from someone who's had both! So far I'm loving the sound of my Recto with my Widebody cab. You may have saved me some money! I'm also finding that this amp sounds amazing at low volume (85-90 dB), more so than any other amp I've had.

Do you use the FX loop on yours? At first I had the Mix knob around back set to about 75% but then I read the manual and they said to keep it low and turn up your effects. So I rolled the Mix back to about 30-40%, but I had to crank the Blend on my reverb pedal to 100% to have a reasonable amount of reverb? Does that sound right? I liked the amp's tone even better after I did this, but it seems a little strange to me.

What style of music was your cover band playing?

Hey, sorry for the late response, just seeing this. I don't have the amp anymore, sold it years ago. Didn't use any effects with either Recto I had, so can't comment on the loop.

We played common covers, but from a pretty good variety of bands/decades - What I Like About You, 8675309 (Jenny), Margaritaville, My Own Worst Enemy, Jumpin' Jack Flash, Plush, Basket Case, etc.