Mesa Boogie Rectoverb?

[Bl4cFoxx]

I know I haven't been here in a while, so I hope you guys don't mind if I ask for some help.. But if things go according to plan, my Egnater Tourmaster stack will be sold this Thursday evening, as I need a smaller amp for college this fall. I am a tone freak, as I know most of us are here, and I've been researching amps for a few months now, and now is the time to make my final decision.

There are two main rigs I am debating between, and they are as follows:

Mesa Boogie Rectoverb 50 combo
Egnater Tweaker 15 stack + Line 6 POD HD 500 for preamps and fx

I realize these two set-ups are quite different, but here's my view points on them to maybe make it make more sense to you guys.

Mesa Boogie: I've always wanted a Mesa Recto. I realize this isn't the Dual Recto, and that the majority of the tones I hear are indeed from the Dual, but I can't afford the Recto stack, nor do I have the room to keep it in a college dorm. I also realize that I won't be able to crank it much and achieve the sound that I've come to lust after very often, but I've heard some killer tones even at bedroom levels from this amp via YouTube. I realize the quality from YouTube isn't great and it's compressed and stuff, but I figure that I can get a reasonably close sound. Basically, I will be fulfilling a dream of mine by purchasing the Rectoverb combo.. The only thing I'm worried about is that some people say that Mesa's can be finicky, and that some people can get theirs to sound great, whereas others spend weeks trying to find that "sweet spot" and can't ever seem to find it. With Mesa's being so finicky, I'm worried that I may not be able to coax a killer tone out of it...

Tweaker + POD HD: Small, portable, loud enough to practice with (band situation), and it gets a great base tone even without bypassing the pre-amp. Though I would bypass the pre-amp and use the pre-amp models from the POD to achieve the tones. This is what my favorite band Stryper does, they run the POD through the fx loop of a tube amp for their live tones. (Mesa Dual Rec's and Marshall's) I've seen them live twice with this rig, and it sounds killer. I realize that I'm not going to be using a 4x12 cab or have the power section cranked, but I figure I could get relatively close to the sound I'm trying to achieve with the POD.

Also, remember, I'm more of an 80's hair metal style of guitar player, who loves the Mesa tone, so I'm not looking for the typical scooped tone you'd expect from the Rectifier, but more of a tight and punchy type of tone. And if it helps to know what kind of guitar I'm using, it's a B.C. Rich Mockingbird Special, with a mahogany body and neck, arched maple top, ebony board, with a Duncan Distortion in the bridge, and a Duncan '59 in the neck.

I'm pretty much leaning towards the Mesa for a couple main reasons: 1) it's always been a dream of mine to own some form of Mesa, especially the Recto series, and 2) it's all tube, whereas with the other rig, it would be a SS pre-amp.

Before I made my final decision, I just figured that I'd ask what you guys thought. You guys have way more knowledge than I do, and I just figured I'd see what your opinion was before I made my final purchase. Thanks for any input / help that you may have!

Ohh, and my budget is roughly $1,000 or a little more. I know it's a tight budget for a quality tube amp, but it's all I've got available for the moment. If you've got more suggestions, I'll take them, as I'm in no hurry to make the purchase. I'm more concerned about being happy in the long run than to be worried about being stuck on solid state until I can purchase another amp..

[toneseeker]

Grab the Mesa. :thumbs:
I've never had a problem
getting a good sound out of a Mesa,
even at low volumes.

[Q-Ball]

I must admit I came within $50 of buying a used Rebel not long ago; because I have a friend with a Tweaker & Rebel which both sound bitchin. My friend doesn't have the DB problem that you're going to encounter at school tho. All he's ever wanted is (THE) Mesa sound. But still he buys other brand amps and tries to GET that sound...I don't understand that. :no:

IMHO you will not be at school forever, or constrained volume wise, at that point you'll be second guessing yourself...you should of just bought the Mesa. :doh:

[Bl4cFoxx]

You guys are telling me exactly what I wanted to hear! :thumbs: haha

I've pretty much always wanted the Mesa sound too, and I passed up this same combo when I bought my Tourmaster stack. I also passed up the Rectoverb head with my Egnater cab that I already had. I ended up going with the Tourmaster because I could get a relatively close Marshall sound, and a Mesa-ish sound, so kind of the the best of both worlds for me.

After watching some demos on a JVM combo, and the Rectoverb, I realized that after only one video of the Marshall, it's not what I'm looking for at this time. On top of that, I'd rather have a Splawn instead of a Marshall, any day. So saying that, my dream rig would be a Splawn Quick Rod, and a Rectifier in stereo. If I get the Rectoverb now, I can get get one half of my dream rig out of the way.. Sorry about that, I just got thinking out loud...haha

As of right now, I am really leaning towards the Mesa for a couple of reasons. It's a more portable version of one of my dream amps, and compared to the other rig, it's cheaper. Plus, I will finally have the Mesa sound that I've always wanted. And with the extra cash I'll have, I can buy an ATA case to keep it protected for when I go off to college this fall. It just seems like the safest bet to me at this time.

Thanks guys! I really appreciate the help so far! :thumbs:

[wfojon]

:notworthy Boogie :thumbs: You can't go wrong, if for some unknown reason you don't like it at least you will always get your money back - they hold their value and for good reason. :icon_bigg
My RoadKing is in the Rectifier family and so is the Rectoverb, you'll be able to get most any Mesa tone you want out of them...only thing is 50 watts of Mesa will be loud no matter what. :icon_eek: :icon_bigg I can knock my RK down to one power tube which is about 10 watts, sweet. :thumbs:

[Q-Ball]

+1 on that Quick Rod! :headbangd

[Bl4cFoxx]

At least I know I'm part of a forum where the members have great ears for tone.. :thumbs:

n' I thought I remembered you having some kind of Mesa Jon, I was hoping I'd hear from you in this thread.

And chances are, I'd prolly pull a power tube and knock down the wattage even more, which I realize will still be insanely loud. I know it's possible on other amps, so I can't see it being a problem here, but I don't know much on that topic altogether, so if it is possible on this amp, then I'd have someone experienced do it for me. I don't wanna risk doing damage to an amp..haha

[toneseeker]

I'm in the "want the Marshall sound" camp,
but there is ALWAYS room for the Mesa roar! :thumbs:

[wfojon]

:thumbs: Boogie will do Marshall, the RK has both EL34's and 6L6's and you can even mix them or run them together. It just takes some tweaking and running the right cab.

[Bl4cFoxx]

For anyone who cares, I shall have a NGD coming soon.. :thumbs:

[wfojon]

:eusa_thin So after this you are getting a different guitar? Or do you mean NAD. :icon_bigg I suppose you could mean new gear day but I like to be precise....:icon_redf
:bitch-slap: Just shut up stupid...

[Bl4cFoxx]

Okay fine, more specifically, NAD. haha Should be here sometime this week..

To be honest, I just found it awkward to be saying that I'd have a NAD, being singular and all, so I thought I'd just stick with NGD..:icon_lol:

That was a poor attempt at humor, please forgive me... :eusa_whis haha

[toneseeker]

:thumbs: Boogie will do Marshall, the RK has both EL34's and 6L6's and you can even mix them or run them together. It just takes some tweaking and running the right cab.

Nice! How's the Stilleto?
Those look interesting. Not really in the market, but it's always good to have some info.

[lonewolfsx]

I know I'm a bit late to this party, but I've been fine using my 100-watt TSL on a 1x12 Egnater cab (Celestion G12H30... sounds better than my V-30's 4x12 actually.. at least at lower volumes.)

Be warned though, the Rectoverb is awesome but it's HUGE for a 1x12. It's almost 2x12 sized, the tweaker setup with a 1x12 extension would be far smaller. Go with a the two part setup, plus combo amps lose value more quickly and aren't as portable (surprisingly).

Also TS, those Stilettos are AWESOME. Obviously has a bit of mesa high gain flavor, but does marshall tones very well and with far more gain on top than my "high gain" TSL (not really that high gain...). It's a shame they discontinued them, the new RA-100 is in a similar vein but I didn't like that amp nearly as much. Too muddy and loses articulation... which surprised me for a Mesa. I even went back to the store with my own guitars to make sure it wasn't something I was playing there.

If I ever sell my TSL (not sure if I want too.. it has something about it no other amp does. It's easy to hang on to notes for some reason.. if that makes sense.) I'm hunting for either a gold-panel Stiletto Ace or a VHT Pittbull ST or CL. Those amps are better at Marshall than my own Marshall.. plus I get modern tones as well.

I'll never sell my Deluxe Reverb though. That thing is killer.