Thinking about trading in my Dual Rectifier Solo 100 for a Rectoverb 25. Thoughts?

[DeadCell]

I've had my Dual Rectifier head for almost two years now. It's a 2004 model with 3 channels. It's paired up with an Orange PPC212 closed back cab.

I really do like the amp, and it's cool owning one of the more iconic (yet infamous) amp heads in the history of rock and metal. But I don't play out, I don't foresee myself playing out anytime soon... so I feel like it's too much amp for me. The most I've turned the volume knob on either gain channel is around 9:00 (and at that point, I can barely stand to stay in the room with it). We all know I won't get to the sweet spot like that.

Recently I discovered the Rectoverb 25, which appears to have the Mini Recto circuit, plus a reverb tank, and their new Fillmore speaker (which I know very little about).

I live about 20-30 minutes away from Humbucker Music (who has multiple RV25's in stock) so I'm thinking about taking my head and cab in to see what they'll give me for it. The head (despite being 12 years old) is in excellent condition with no tears in the tolex and even has the "Made in the USA" sticker still on it. The cab is almost mint, bought new (only flaws are the impressions where the head was sitting on it). I wonder if I could squeak $1300 out of the pair?

Anyone own a Rectoverb 25 and have some opinions?

 

[Red Planet]

I'm guessing the amp is very nice sounding. I think it should pretty much be like the Mini Rectifier head in combo for with Reverb. I owned the Mini Rec and channel two was hard for me to dial in vintage tones but the clean channel was just so good. I dont think you could go wrong, who use 100 watt amps anymore?

 

[DeadCell]

I'm guessing the amp is very nice sounding. I think it should pretty much be like the Mini Rectifier head in combo for with Reverb. I owned the Mini Rec and channel two was hard for me to dial in vintage tones but the clean channel was just so good. I dont think you could go wrong, who use 100 watt amps anymore?

That's a typical Mesa lol. They're a PITA to dial in until you understand how their eq works.

Good to hear that the Mini Rectifier sounds good. I've heard mixed reviews on it. Some say it sounds amazing, others say it sounds tinny and is missing the dynamics of the Dual. But either way, I don't have the capability of opening up the Dual, unless I buy an attenuator. But I don't have $600 laying around to buy a good one.

 

[Red Planet]

That's a typical Mesa lol. They're a PITA to dial in until you understand how their eq works.

Good to hear that the Mini Rectifier sounds good. I've heard mixed reviews on it. Some say it sounds amazing, others say it sounds tinny and is missing the dynamics of the Dual. But either way, I don't have the capability of opening up the Dual, unless I buy an attenuator. But I don't have $600 laying around to buy a good one.

My issue with the Mini Rec was channel two was almost impossible to dial back the amount of gain at it's lowest settings for vintagey typ classic tones. I finally was able to work it out but it took some drastic settings such as, the preamp gain on 7 o'clock , the treble almost all the way off, the presence on about 3, and the master on about 1 o'clock. These are guestimations as I dont remember exactly. Though I have seen guys say channel two doesn't have enough gain, I'm like WTF?

 

[Geeze]

Have you played the Mini with your gear? I'd play them side by side for a true A/B. Forget where the knobs are or how much power you might be 'wasting' - listen to the tone. Then come back in a couple of days and do it AGAIN. As you can tell I'm not in favor of this transaction if you can get them to trade even up. Your amp will always be worth more than the mini on the used market

I've owned a Mini and it is a loud and gainy amp - good for some stuff and meh for others. Hitting the mythical 'sweet' spot without lots of volume violates physics as all three parts - preamp, power and speakers have to be working hard. Contrary to much of the deaf old geezers [I can say that as I am one] opinions on the 'best' or 'sweet' spot amp wise, pedal trickery or attenuation is a much better compromise for lower volume playing than trying to make an amp that might be 6-7db quieter fit your needs. Little amps aren't much quieter, they tend to have less options for headroom or room flexibility.

I've owned 3 - 6 to 18 watt amps, 3 - 12 to 50 watt selectable power amps - all gone. 5 - 50 watt amps remain and most of my use is at low volume. Why? TONE. Wonderful tone at all volumes from whisper to 'holy sh*t dude!'. At low volume physics defying trickery is needed for most of them.

Russ

 

[snow and steel]

My opinion;

You'll lose some bass [probably not a bad thing at all] and pick up more of those snarly mids with the EL84 tubes [I love that, but not everyone likes the sound of el84's].

Some more relevant info from one of my previous posts;

I have owned two ROV's and one Mini Rectifier.

My Mesa Mini Rec is hands down the most versatile amp I've ever owned - but it didn't really shine until I got he matching cabinet for it [was previously playing it through a avatar cab which is good, but the mesa cab was better tuned for that head]. They say they are the same amp with just an added reverb on the ROV, but I can hear a difference between the two. Maybe the added reverb changes something? The mini has a very urgent, fast tracking, "in your face" response that the rectoverb lacked even with the reverb all the way off. Maybe there is something about that circuit that drained some tone off? I don't know - but I'm not the only one who has noticed this. Another point of interest/note; While I liked the amps with my Avatar cabinet, the bass tightened up and the mids became more "in your face" once I got the matching Mesa Mini cab. The amp REALLY came alive - Mesa knew what hey were doing when they designed that cab for these amps.

about EQ, gain,a dn dialing in...

In the manual it says "as the gain goes up bass must come down" and that's no joke. The "Modern" is higher gain than the "vintage", and you really need to dial with your ears not your eyes - I literally might have the bass knob at 9 o'clock, while the mids are at 1 o'clock, the treble is at 1-2 o'clock, and the presence at 11 o'clock. In 90% of the cases though I greatly prefer the "Vintage" channel - there I might keep the numbers above the same, but turn the bass up to 11 o'clock [at the most]. The gain knob on either channel I find almost obnoxious past 2 o'clock - beyond that things are so saturated that there is basically no tone at all, just preamp.

Mesa's have always been accused of being "flubby" in the bass dept., but the problem is that most people don't realize that the mesa has active AND interactive tone controls. So they set it up like their favorite Marshall settings and say "this is terrible".

Remember the EQ is interactive on these amps so wild EQ settings don't do what you'd think. Also, the EQ doesn't really control what would be obvious. For example;

Bass is actually LOW bass
Mids are actually low-mids
treble is actually high mids
presence is actually treble

increasing gain will increase treble and bass
increasing treble increases gain, and decreases bass
Adding mids, decreases treble, a little bass and a touch of gain
Gain, Mids and treble are the most active pots, bass and presence are the least

Give that stuff a try and see if any of that does anything for you.

Hope that helps!~

 

[Red Planet]

That's a typical Mesa lol. They're a PITA to dial in until you understand how their eq works.

Good to hear that the Mini Rectifier sounds good. I've heard mixed reviews on it. Some say it sounds amazing, others say it sounds tinny and is missing the dynamics of the Dual. But either way, I don't have the capability of opening up the Dual, unless I buy an attenuator. But I don't have $600 laying around to buy a good one.

Also the clean channel alone was worth the price of admission, hit it with an OCD V3 and make a light speed jump into Nirvana. It sounded that good. I have been eyeballing the V25 and V35 (wonder of the clean channel is as good) but I have fond memories of the Mini Rec. Also I like the image of the Mini Rec on top of the slant 1x12 cab, that just looks cool. The Rectoverb may very well be a nice grab and go rocker rig. Just plan on tweaking channel two for vintage stuff but you can get there.

 

[snow and steel]

 

[MmcGrouty]

I'm not a fan of the mini. I think the larger versions sound substantially better, and the mini isn't exactly a good low volume amp either. I sold my mini after a couple months, and now have a dual rec that I'm much happier with.

 

[Red Planet]

Nice. I am blowing up the gear page as Im down to one electric and its out for refinishing and been getting over back surgery. Sure will be glad when I get to play.

That rig looks awesome!

 

[snow and steel]

Nice. I am blowing up the gear page as Im down to one electric and its out for refinishing and been getting over back surgery. Sure will be glad when I get to play.

That rig looks awesome!

Thanks, I really love it. Its hands down the most versatile amp I've ever owned. Once I figured out how to work the EQ its amazing how many "classic" tones I can cull out of it! I usually just hang a Sennhieser E906 over it, crank the master up to about 11 o'clock and have at it - more than loud enough for any club I've ever played. I've also played a couple outdoor gigs and we just ran it into the PA and it sounded fantastic.

 

[DeadCell]

After seeing these posts, maybe I should really give both a chance first hand. A/Bing them.

Fact is, I do love my Dual Rectifier and it's hard to let go of. I had a moment of GAS that really made me think the ROV 25 would be a better option.

But by the sound of things, I should look into an attenuator (Fryette Power Station most likely). Then ditch my 2X12 Orange cab for a 2X12 Recto cab (which I could probably do an even trade with somebody IF the Recto was mint). Of course, I'd kinda prefer a vertical 2X12.

I won't rule out the Mini/Rectoverb until I try them but it's beginning to sound like my amp might just be the better choice.

 

[Red Planet]

After seeing these posts, maybe I should really give both a chance first hand. A/Bing them.

Fact is, I do love my Dual Rectifier and it's hard to let go of. I had a moment of GAS that really made me think the ROV 25 would be a better option.



But by the sound of things, I should look into an attenuator (Fryette Power Station most likely). Then ditch my 2X12 Orange cab for a 2X12 Recto cab (which I could probably do an even trade with somebody IF the Recto was mint). Of course, I'd kinda prefer a vertical 2X12.

I won't rule out the Mini/Rectoverb until I try them but it's beginning to sound like my amp might just be the better choice.

I think both amps are great amps but very different.

 

[DeadCell]

Noice!

Since we're sharing, here's mine

 

[Red Planet]

OK I can play. Dont have the head any more but still have the cabs. The cabs are old PV PA cabs I converted to guitar cabs.

 

[dave-o]

 

[JunkGear]

I've owned 3 - 6 to 18 watt amps, 3 - 12 to 50 watt selectable power amps - all gone. 5 - 50 watt amps remain and most of my use is at low volume. Why? TONE. Wonderful tone at all volumes from whisper to 'holy sh*t dude!'. At low volume physics defying trickery is needed for most of them.

I've been down the same road, going the small amp route, and have come to the same conclusion; 50 watts is the sweet spot for me. Small amps have their place, and are great if you need to carry them around. But if it's never going to leave your home, stick with the bigger one.

 

[mlj_gear]

I've owned a Rectoverb Series 2 50-watt head and Rectoverb 25 head (briefly). The cleans on the Rectoverb 25 did not do it for me. They are thinner than those on the 50-watter, and have less low end than those on a Deluxe Reverb, etc. Not a lot of headroom, either, really. It's also hard to get nice low/mid gain overdrive tones out of the 25. I no longer have the 50 water either since the reverb broke and I just don't use that much gain that often, but to me, the 50 water could be a good gigging amp and sound good at home, too. I don't see the 25 as being a good gigging amp. They did a nice job with the reverb, though.

Don't get me wrong... I don't think the 25 is awful... It's just not a great amp, IMO. My only channel switcher at the moment is a SuperSonic 22, and I like it a lot better than the Rectoverb 25.

 

[plan-x]

Unlike most here I like my ROV-25 (head). It's perfect for the bedroom as well as the small venue. It's loud enough with a compliment of cabs. I run mine as the master amp in a stereo setup. With it's 4 ohm capability, I can run 2 8ohm cabs off this little power house. I set ch 1 for "Pushed" which gives me some edge and I volume down to clean up. Sounds great, full with no extreme EQ settings. Once again, this head sounds full through cabs. I've got lots of them, 1x12's, 2x12's, and a 4x12. Through a 4x12, it sounds huge.

I use ch 2 in the modern mode. It rocks! Gain set at 1-2:00 for smoking leads and power crunch rhythm. It's a modern classic power rock sound. Think Petrucci when not scooped. I use a timmy for a boost and a Zendrive to push it over the top for some sweet feedback, sustain , harmonics, pinch harmonics, etc. Using my volume gives me a 4 ch amp. So....to the OP, I'd sell off that 100 watt'r and get a ROV-25 head w/reverb. Run it through that 2x12 you got. It should sound better, bigger than a combo. Get another 2x12, and you'll have a "fill the room" rig.

 

[DeadCell]

Thanks for the input everyone. I'll probably still try to play a ROV 25, but approach it more cautiously and not just buy it due to GAS. The simple fact of the matter is, if it's 2:00-ish volume setting can't beat the Dual Rectifier's 9:00-ish volume setting on the gain channel, then it's a no go.

The clean channel is important but not as much as the gain channel. I have a Vox NT15CL at home for the bright & snappy cleans.