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In your opinion (assuming that you played both), which one did you like better and why?
I had owned F50 and it was fantastic. Warm, rich and glassy ... I consider it as a good sounding medium gain amp ... not mordern high gain type of amp though.
I've never tried Rectoverb (ROV) which is about $350 more expensive than F50. I guess ROV has more gain (enough to cover tight metal) with more functions.
Tell me your exprience, not your immagination. Thanks.
PS. let me remind you once again that this thread is about ROT vs F50

dont mesa rectifier amps tend to get a semi-flabby raunchier high gain tone compared to other high gain amps?


Originally Posted by Quencho092dont mesa rectifier amps tend to get a semi-flabby raunchier high gain tone compared to other high gain amps?

My Rectoverb doesn't get flabby on me in high gain settings. It doesn't have quite as much gain on tap as a Dual or Triple Rec, sounds much warmer to me, and has good chunk to it. I play mostly blues and classic rock and can very easily get great tones for those styles, as well as metal tones (think early early Metallica). I can get some pretty nice fusion-esque tones as well with some tweaking. These amps are all about finding sweet spots, you have to sit and mess with the knobs a bit. But with a bit of patience you can get some great tones.

I haven't played an F50 so I can't compare the two, I just wanted to point out that the single recs don't seem to suffer from the harsh/farty issues people usually associate with Rectumfriers.

In all honesty. I do not care for the rectifiers whatsoever. All recto's I have played (two singles, a dual, a rectoverb and two tremoverbs) did not compare to the F-50 I played.
Some great guys get some great tones out of their rectos, however they are pro's with more outboard gear than i can care to mention.
The F-50 I tried was easy to dial in a great metal tone and sweet clean.

Dont just take my word for it, get as many opinions as you can. I may have just tried ones with bad tubes etc, bad setups...
Check the boogie board in my sig.


Originally Posted by GrandorIn all honesty. I do not care for the rectifiers whatsoever. All recto's I have played (two singles, a dual, a rectoverb and two tremoverbs) did not compare to the F-50 I played.
Some great guys get some great tones out of their rectos, however they are pro's with more outboard gear than i can care to mention.
The F-50 I tried was easy to dial in a great metal tone and sweet clean.

Dont just take my word for it, get as many opinions as you can. I may have just tried ones with bad tubes etc, bad setups...
Check the boogie board in my sig.

I'm a 39 year old guy with tastes that generally run more in line with '70's fusion to '80's metal tone, and I can get them fairly easily with my Rectoverb. For the record, my use of outboard gear consists of a Line 6 DL4, a VoodooLab SuperFuzz, and a Japanese SD-1. I also use an original Mark II.

As far as I'm concerned, the F series amps are more like a stripped-down Mark IV amp, which ain't a bad thing. They have had some reliability issues, but I'll let you search the reviews for those. I chose to go with a Rectoverb because I trust their build quality and design more, and because I found one that had quot;that vibequot;. I also think that the resell value will be better, but that's far down my list of reasons.

I personally have never played the F-50's but I own a Rect-O-Verb and can't seem to dial in a good clean tone. The clean on the Rectifiers just seems so dry, dull, and lifeless to me. I'd look into perhaps a Marshall DSL, which I feel has got the best of both worlds tonewise in one amp. Its got a great clean channel and great distortion IMO. Don't get me wrong I love the Distortion my MESA has but the clean channel just has never cut it for me. I was at GC a few months ago and plugged into a DSL with a Gibson Les Paul and got pretty much everything I could ever want in one amp. The DSL truely satisfied me tonewise. I've actually considered selling my MESA Rect-O-Verb head so I can buy a Marshall DSL head for its cleans and buy a MESA V-Twin Distortion Pedal to run through the DSL for the MESA distortion I really like. If I could have the Marshall DSL Clean tone and the Mesa Distortion I'd be in heaven.... Seriously.... Basically what I'm saying is I wouldn't limit your options to the F-50 and the Rect-O-Verb If I were you..... I'd give a Marshall DSL a try.


Originally Posted by GuitarGuy503

Basically what I'm saying is I wouldn't limit your options to the F-50 and the Rect-O-Verb If I were you..... I'd give a Marshall DSL a try.

Id give a mark IV a try!

Cause I love mine!

I have an F50 and have played through the rectoverb as well as a dual and triple rec.

The rectoverb is def smoother and less quot;fartyquot; than the duals/trips. But it still has some of that annoying (to me) top end MESA fizz, the F-50 has much less.

I think you'd be hard pressed to beat the F-50s clean channel, regardless of manufacturer...The Gain channel is extremely versatile as well... just require ssome fiddling to get it where you want it.

As someone else said the F-50 is kind of a bare bones MK series...with the contour option that can get it quot;recto-ishquot;. BUT you can also dial out the quot;rectoquot; on the contour channel if you just want the extra gain and bite. Also, MK series IMO don't come anywhere close to the F series for cleans and slight overdrive sounds (IMO, the F-50 is best amp I've heard in this category)

I personally would not take a rectoverb for my F50. I don't like tube rectifiers (I know you can turn them off), and I don't like that fizz which I just cannot seem to dial out of any of the rectifier series amps I've tried. The F50 is a smoother amp that does several things VERY very well.. The recto seems much more limited, IMO.

About the only thing I yearn for w/ my F50 is LESS volume, and switchable bias for EL34s.

I have a Rectoverb and I almost got an F-50 instead...I absolutely adore my Rectoverb and it gets EVERYtone I've ever wanted...my clean channel has a lot of sparkle when I adjust the treble and presence knobs just right, but it's the sound I'm going for. I'll probably pickup an F-50 at some point, but right now, I don't need another amp because my Rectoverb does everything I need. I love it....it nails the marshall tone better than my 1971 marshall JMP head did...that's saying something

I'm not exactly a sucker for low-middle gain and that's what I found the F-50 to do best. When I play through a Rectoverb, it's a completely different experience. Much fatter distortion and much more useable in my taste.

The one thing that really pisses me off is when people label them before they give them a fair shot. You'd be surprised at how versatile it really is. Just because it can hit the high gain mark on the spot, doesn't mean it can't do the others. I'm constantly pleasured at how you can roll off the gain and presence and get extremely sweet tones for a more classical drift.

My choice: Rectoverb.

Oh yes, and the cleans are the best I've ever heard from a quot;high gain amplifierquot;.

I've never played the f50 but the rectoverb has the best cleans I've probably ever heard from a high gain amp. I like mine its very versitile. I wouldn't mind having an ENGL though. But its a loud as hell combo that I don't need to drag a big cabinet around with. My combo easily sounds like a 2x12 or more even though its only a 1x12. Put it in front of a microphone and you'll be turning down the bass and prescence as it will sound huge and you'll have people wondering where the 4x12 cab is. As far as gain is concerned its more smooth than the duals and triples... kind of a vintage/modern high gain.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and exprience!

As far as gain is concerned its more smooth than the duals and triples... kind of a vintage/modern high gain.

Really? I've always heard that all the rectos had crappy cleans so i let a couple go by that were selling for around 800 for some combos. I have heard that the mark ivs are more versatile all around (and I was loving the distortion (i know its numetalist but who cares) of chevelle and apparently he uses a mark iv) Problem is that I haven't been able to find one for under 1200 bucks.

Do the rectos have good cleans? any clips? What is the difference between the Recto, Rectoverb, and Tremoverb?


Originally Posted by StrykeBackDo the rectos have good cleans? any clips? What is the difference between the Recto, Rectoverb, and Tremoverb?

Yes.

No.

Recto is short for Rectifier which, in this case, defines the entire model line.

Rectoverb is the 50W Single Rectifier with reverb built in.

Tremoverb is the 100W Dual Rectifier with tremolo and reverb built in.

well that was rather short and to the point

Can anybody compare for me a rectoverb vs a mark iv?

Is 800 for a rectoverb series 2 a good price used?

My issue mainly is that I love playign with a lot of styles, from the chevelle or nickelback mesa distortion tone, to linkin park, to bluesier Santana or los lonely boys, to even U2 and coldplay. I know I'm looking for a be all end all amp and I won't be affording a 4 grand deizel anytime soon.


Originally Posted by GuitaristOh yes, and the cleans are the best I've ever heard from a quot;high gain amplifierquot;.

1

The reverb especially gives it some real depth and flavor that I found the solo 50, not to mention duals and triples, lacking.Originally Posted by GuitarGuy503I personally have never played the F-50's but I own a Rect-O-Verb and can't seem to dial in a good clean tone. The clean on the Rectifiers just seems so dry, dull, and lifeless to me.

At first, I would have agreed. But once I sat down for a LONG time and adjust each knob meticulously, I found an excellent clean channel, just amazing. I don't want to say Fender clean, but it's pretty damn nice. Like FretFire said, these knobs are really sensitive, and you really have to take your time adjusting each one. If you go online to the Mesa website, you can look at user manuals with pretty helpful demos. They aren't perfect, but they are a start.

Rectoverb all the WAY!

ps - its LOUD!

i got a rectoverb series 2 combo off ebay about 2 weeks ago for $800. i am very happy with it. didnt take too long for me to dial in a nice clean on the clean channel. i'm still tweaking the drive channel to find the sweet spot, but overall, it sounds awesome. i dont max out the gain at all, using mostly vintage mode on the drive channel with alot of mids. can get some pretty good classic rock tones with it. i never played the f-50 though, so i have no comments on it.


Originally Posted by StrykeBackReally? I've always heard that all the rectos had crappy cleans so i let a couple go by that were selling for around 800 for some combos. I have heard that the mark ivs are more versatile all around (and I was loving the distortion (i know its numetalist but who cares) of chevelle and apparently he uses a mark iv) Problem is that I haven't been able to find one for under 1200 bucks.

Do the rectos have good cleans? any clips? What is the difference between the Recto, Rectoverb, and Tremoverb?

now we're talking rectoverbs here they have emaculate cleans... some people buy them just for that. The Duals and Triples aren't as good in terms of clean and correct me if I'm wrong but they don't have a reverb channel which the rectoverb does and it sounds awesome as well. I've never messed around with the marks but I would go out on a limb and say the rectoverb is easily mesas most versitile especially compared to the nomads and heartbreaker. 800 is a good deal for them I bought mine new for 1300 they are built like a tank and heavy.

I'm getting away from the original question, so I apologize in advance.

In my opinion, the Mark IV is the pinnacle of Boogie achievement. Damn near any tone that you can think of is in there somewhere, you just have to find it. Cascading gain is a wonderful thing when it comes to versatility, but it requires you to spend time learning where each knob is in the chain and how each one reacts to changes in the knobs that came before it. This is true in any Boogie, but it's accentuated in the Mark IV.

As for the clean tone, I was surprised to read that Lindsey Buckingham (not one of my favorites, personally) is using a Dual specifically for it's clean tone.