Anyone had a rectoverb

[Ripcom]

Need some feedback from anyone who has had a single rectifier Boogie Rectoverb combo.

[Dan O]

i had one, traded it for something else...and wish i never did!

i thought it was awesome! i'm an EL-34 type of guy, and mine had EL-34's in it, so i thought it was especially sweet.

One thing about this amp...it's really loud! Although it's only a 1X12, dont let it fool you! Give it a try sometime, it's definately an awesome amp!

[angeldust]

I had one and although I liked the sound - it kept falling apart on me like crazy. Could've been a bad one, or bad luck - however after the 3rd repair in 2 months, she had to go. I didn't abuse it or anything - just kind of crappy. Just my 2 pennies.

[Baba]

I had the head for a bit, and I've had some pretty extensive testing with the combo. One of the best combos out there, IMO.

Do you have any specifics you'd like to know about it?

[Gil Hegwood]

I had one for several years, and I was very impressed with it. The clean channel was good for chime and grind when the gain was up past one o'clock, and the vintage gain channel had a very Marshall-like quality to it, but with a great deal more gain on tap than an old Super Lead. I only parted with the amp because I needed some cash to buy my first house. The only real drawback to the amp is its tremendous weight - I had mine in a flight case, and it must have come to about 130lbs.

The other guitarist in my band currently has a Rect-O-Verb combo, and it sounds great with his tele. He has no problem keeping up with my JCM 800 halfstack.

[Hanky]

Not bashing Mesa here, but I had to trade mine. To my ears the clean channel was fantastic, very tubie (if thats a word) sounding, W/ plenty of headroom. The distortions are where this amp lost me. I tried for three months to get a sound out of it that wasn't grainy and buzzy sounding. To my ears the amp sounded very metallic. After countless hours, and several tube changes I just couldn't make it happen. I feel it was not the amps fault, but mine because I didn't do my homework before I bought the amp. I got caught up in the whole Mesa mystique.

[Peter C]

I have the 1st generation head and cab version (not a lot lighter unless you've got wheels!)

I like it a lot. Some tube changes (would love to have the 2nd generation with the chance to swap to EL-34's) have helped smooth out the sound, and layering some effects from my GT-5 help for when I need it *not* to sound like a Mesa.

There is a lot of tweaking to be had, but once you find it, it's good!

[Jose]

My main amp is a 2001 rectoverb II. I have EL-34's on it and sounds great. That is one nice thing that you can experiment with tubes. There is plenty of sounds to play around from clean to metal and in between.

[Mcclassic]

I have also one of the first series, so far mine is good but I haven't jig yet with it, I like the clean and the semi-distorted sound but in the high end it was a little muddy, so I read in harmony central and the mesa boggie forum that with the BBE sonic maximizer, the sound would be more tight, so I bougth one and the sound is much much better, tight, focused, etc, I like much better my amp with that thing.

[Ripcom]

Thanks guys.

Haven't got the cash yet but it doesn't hurt to ask. I like to do some homework.

[zerolight]

at low volumes its high gain tones are fizzy and buzzy. but at higher volumes, say practicing with a band, it has the best amp tone I've ever had. amazing high gain tones at the right volume. unfortunately I spend most of my time with it at low volume levels, so eventually sold it as I used my POD XT more. if i were in a band, the rectoverb would never have left.

[Phil_B]

Zerolight got it right - with ANY Mesa, you have to turn it up to get a good distortion sound. I have had many Mesa amps through the years, and this one fact runs true though all of them.

I have always thought the Rectoverb, despite having the worst name of any amp in rock history, was one of Mesa's better sounding amps. It was the first one I recall hearing that had a truly exceptional clean.

I am not a big fan of the "Modern" setting on the lead channel, but that's just me. If I were to buy another Mesa today, it would either be the Rectoverb (or single rec head), or the F30.

Good Luck!

-Phil_B