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NAD! This isn’t a lunchbox sized amp?


Ua D

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Just received a new to me Rectoverb 25 today.  In person years ago it seemed so much smaller than my tremoverb but it’s really only about 2/3 the size and the tverb is a beast   

I’ve Been playing though a Mesa tremoverb quite happily for 20 years.  They might not be everyones cup of tea but they seem to be mine.  Other amps come and go but a Tremoverb has been my main amp since I got one.  I had a combo for six years and traded it for a head  which I’ve rocked since.   That being said it’s an amp that thrives on loud volumes.  With no  loud ass band and COVID I’ve just not fired it up a lot lately.  I play though a modeler a lot to practice and fart around at home, and that’s  fine for the most part to scratch a lot of itches.  It’s hard to beat a great tube sound with a couple of good pedals though.     Since  the latest musical project tends toward much more reasonable volumes, I decided why not purchase a smaller similar version of the amp I like.  I was intrigued by these when they came out originally and I recently sold a bunch of valuable vacuum tubes I’ve had lying around forever so I used that to fund this purchase.  
 

initial impressions

I’m running this into the same 80’s Mesa vertical 2x12 That I use with the Tremoverb.  It has an open back top and ported closed back bottom.   Mine has an Mc90 in the top and an ev12l in the bottom.  Every couple years I get another style/brand of cab and a/b them back and forth and this cab always seems to win.  The VHT fatbottom was a strong contender though.  Together they were great but I don’t care to transport a pair of 2x12s everywhere

Fired it up and I really like channel one.  The clean and pushed modes both sound great.  Easy to get a clean sound with great tube reverb like I like.   The pushed mode is awesome. In pushed mode the treble acts more like a second gain knob.  This is so far my favorite mode.  It sounds glorious and all kinds of great crunch.  Crank up the treble and it starts to get real harmonic with added gain but not overly bright. The presence easily tames this.  I’m already wishing the modes were arranged on the channels differently. I could see me running clean on channel one and the pushed for my second channel if this was a choice.  Oh well.  This mode reminds me more of the vintage gain mode on the Tverb than the mode labeled vintage gain on the rectoverb.  
 

channel 2 and the vintage gain is good but a little stiffer than I’m used to for the same labeled mode on my Tverb.  Initially I’m still leaning towards the pushed mode slightly.  I’m gonna sit down and try to dial channel 2 to match that more.  The modern mode is good but I’d give the edge to my Tverb.  Maybe it’s the big iron and El34 tubes I run.  The volume sweep in the modern mode is just as bad as the tverb with the volume going from talking level at zero to very loud instantly.   I’d say the bottom is a bit tighter on my Tverb than the rectoverb. It’s all good though because this is the mode I use least on my Tverb anymore and expect to use the least on this amp, but it’s there if I want it   

Overall it seems to be what I was hoping for , a bit more tameable version of my tremoverb in a smaller easier to transport package  The pots seem to have a wider sweet spot than the big 2 channel dual recs or Verbs.   It’s easier to dial in very reasonable volumes that sound good in 3 out of 4 modes.  I used to have a rectoverb 50 also and i wasn’t very impressed with it compared to the tverb.  The real test will be once I get my tremoverb back though and I heal up a bit more form the carpal tunnel surgery I had last week.    I need to really put it thought it’s paces.  The tverb is urrently back at Mesa getting serviced, so it’ll have to wait.  

Long story conclusion, I guess I’m a weirdo who likes the mesa rectifier line for all the parts it’s not known for.    At least the ones with a tube driven spring reverb.  
Well maybe, the maverick I had sounded cool on channel one  but in Didn’t care for channel 2 that much.   

bonus it looks baddass on top of the vertical 2x12. Just need to redo the tolex so it matches the cab.  

/beer excuse the run on sentences and rambling.  

2C918626-3633-46F4-96CD-E9DB785F32FA.jpeg

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7 hours ago, Ua D said:

Just received a new to me Rectoverb 25 today.  In person years ago it seemed so much smaller than my tremoverb but it’s really only about 2/3 the size and the tverb is a beast   

I’ve Been playing though a Mesa tremoverb quite happily for 20 years.  They might not be everyones cup of tea but they seem to be mine.  Other amps come and go but a Tremoverb has been my main amp since I got one.  I had a combo for six years and traded it for a head  which I’ve rocked since.   That being said it’s an amp that thrives on loud volumes.  With no  loud ass band and COVID I’ve just not fired it up a lot lately.  I play though a modeler a lot to practice and fart around at home, and that’s  fine for the most part to scratch a lot of itches.  It’s hard to beat a great tube sound with a couple of good pedals though.     Since  the latest musical project tends toward much more reasonable volumes, I decided why not purchase a smaller similar version of the amp I like.  I was intrigued by these when they came out originally and I recently sold a bunch of valuable vacuum tubes I’ve had lying around forever so I used that to fund this purchase.  
 

initial impressions

I’m running this into the same 80’s Mesa vertical 2x12 That I use with the Tremoverb.  It has an open back top and ported closed back bottom.   Mine has an Mc90 in the top and an ev12l in the bottom.  Every couple years I get another style/brand of cab and a/b them back and forth and this cab always seems to win.  The VHT fatbottom was a strong contender though.  Together they were great but I don’t care to transport a pair of 2x12s everywhere

Fired it up and I really like channel one.  The clean and pushed modes both sound great.  Easy to get a clean sound with great tube reverb like I like.   The pushed mode is awesome. In pushed mode the treble acts more like a second gain knob.  This is so far my favorite mode.  It sounds glorious and all kinds of great crunch.  Crank up the treble and it starts to get real harmonic with added gain but not overly bright. The presence easily tames this.  I’m already wishing the modes were arranged on the channels differently. I could see me running clean on channel one and the pushed for my second channel if this was a choice.  Oh well.  This mode reminds me more of the vintage gain mode on the Tverb than the mode labeled vintage gain on the rectoverb.  
 

channel 2 and the vintage gain is good but a little stiffer than I’m used to for the same labeled mode on my Tverb.  Initially I’m still leaning towards the pushed mode slightly.  I’m gonna sit down and try to dial channel 2 to match that more.  The modern mode is good but I’d give the edge to my Tverb.  Maybe it’s the big iron and El34 tubes I run.  The volume sweep in the modern mode is just as bad as the tverb with the volume going from talking level at zero to very loud instantly.   I’d say the bottom is a bit tighter on my Tverb than the rectoverb. It’s all good though because this is the mode I use least on my Tverb anymore and expect to use the least on this amp, but it’s there if I want it   

Overall it seems to be what I was hoping for , a bit more tameable version of my tremoverb in a smaller easier to transport package  The pots seem to have a wider sweet spot than the big 2 channel dual recs or Verbs.   It’s easier to dial in very reasonable volumes that sound good in 3 out of 4 modes.  I used to have a rectoverb 50 also and i wasn’t very impressed with it compared to the tverb.  The real test will be once I get my tremoverb back though and I heal up a bit more form the carpal tunnel surgery I had last week.    I need to really put it thought it’s paces.  The tverb is urrently back at Mesa getting serviced, so it’ll have to wait.  

Long story conclusion, I guess I’m a weirdo who likes the mesa rectifier line for all the parts it’s not known for.    At least the ones with a tube driven spring reverb.  
Well maybe, the maverick I had sounded cool on channel one  but in Didn’t care for channel 2 that much.   

bonus it looks baddass on top of the vertical 2x12. Just need to redo the tolex so it matches the cab.  

/beer excuse the run on sentences and rambling.  

2C918626-3633-46F4-96CD-E9DB785F32FA.jpeg

Sounds awesome. Congrats!

If you’re gonna re-Tolex, go nuts. Pink snakeskin!

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1 hour ago, Travis said:

Sounds awesome. Congrats!

If you’re gonna re-Tolex, go nuts. Pink snakeskin!

I did the tremoverb and 2x12 in wine Taurus about 10 years. I’m either gonna match those or redo all 3.  The fact that surf green tolex is now available changes things though.  

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58 minutes ago, Ua D said:

I did the tremoverb and 2x12 in wine Taurus about 10 years. I’m either gonna match those or redo all 3.  The fact that surf green tolex is now available changes things though.  

Eh..?  Eh...?

 

CBB36446-B4D8-4A00-99C0-FA8DA47643C6.jpeg

AFB72B3B-BD54-439B-9398-7E8016192CBF.jpeg

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In my early rocking days I found a 4x12 Marshall (I think it was branded mitchell) copy listed at very reasonable price in the Nickle ads.   At 16 I didn’t have the money for it but my buddy did.  When we arrived to check it we realized the reason for the  cheap price.  It had the black Tolex painted in zebra.    The deal was done anyways and and a can of army green paint later you had to be very close up to see the old zebra pattern.  My friend still rocks that cab to this day.  
 

 

 

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After vetting this all weekend I’ve come to a conclusion.  This amp is cool,  But it is just too damn similar to my current amp and the advantages in volume differences are minimal.  Maybe I just need some kind of reactive load speaker emulator with the big amp.   
 

this might be the quickest I’ve flipped a piece of gear.  See for sale section.  
🤪

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4 minutes ago, Ua D said:

After vetting this all weekend I’ve come to a conclusion.  This amp is cool,  But it is just too damn similar to my current amp and the advantages in volume differences are minimal.  Maybe I just need some kind of reactive load speaker emulator with the big amp.   
 

this might be the quickest I’ve flipped a piece of gear.  See for sale section.  
🤪

It might sell faster if it was covered in pink snakeskin...  😜

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