SURE, SINGLE-CHANNEL BOUTIQUE SWEETIES are
all well and good, but sometimes you’ve just got to have a three-channel,
150W, triple-rectified all-valve rock monster. Well, look no further.
Review
by Dave Hunter
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, you know you’ve
made it in the amp world when your flagship model starts appearing on the emulations
menus of the leading digital modelling units. Twist the selector knob on
almost any respectable digital combo from Line 6, Johnson and others and you’ll
find a setting marked Recto, US Hi Gain or Rectified right alongside the classic
Plexi, Tweed and Class A selections. Inspired by the Mesa/Boogie Rectifier series
of amps, there’s little doubt that this is a modern high-gain rock sound
that’s forged a genre of its own, even distinct from — if descended
from — the original cascading gain revolution forged by their own Mark
l—lV amps. And with a list of endorsees to rival that of both Marshall
and Fender (combined, where alt.rock and nu-metal are concerned) Mesa/Boogie
has little left to prove.
All in all, quite an achievement — but where
do you go from here? Enter the Triple Rectifier Solo Head: 150W of power
from six 6L6GC or EL34 output valves (plus five 1 2AX7 bottles in the preamp);
three switchable channels with independent EQ, master and gain sections; two
overall master level controls; valve-driven FX loop; rectification switchable
between three 5UG4 valves or solid
state silicon diodes, Spongy/Bold switching... and more. In short, a stunning
package. But Triple Rectifier? What’s
up here?
Not just OTT valve madness (well, not just...), one of
the only simple ways of providing valve rectification in an amp of this wattage
using a conventionally available valve type— without inducing largely unacceptable
degrees of power sag at high volumes — is to employ one rectifier per SOW
or pair of output tubes (see Rectiwhat? sidebar below).
Mesa/Boogie wasn't
the first to design amps with multiple rectifiers: a version of Fender’s
early -’50s
80W tweed Twin used two rectifier valves (though they have also built Twins with
a single valve and solid state rectifiers) and Matchless’s legendary D/C-30
also used an optional pair of valves in this role. But Mesa’s is the only
production guitar amp to throw three into the stew — and actually they
could have called it the ‘Quadruple Rectifier' with the
switchable solid state diodes on board.
Cosmetics are only slightly updated and
instantly recognisable as of the Boogie rock amp family: black enamelled steel
control panel, diamond-plate metal baffle, slotted aluminium grille, semi-smooth
black vinyl covering, thick leather corner protectors. The new models, however,
carry more Tele-like chromed knurled steel knobs throughout: smarter looking,
but somewhat harder to assess their settings at a glance, their narrow ‘locator
crater’ less distinct than the
pointers of their predecessor. Built of sturdy 0.75’ plywood, the cab measures
23.5 x 64.5 x 25cm and, yes, it’s heavy — but a rubberised handle
and good carrying balance make it manageable. In short, another tank-like construction
job from the California builders, which should withstand more than a few road
knocks. Inside it’s equally robust: it’s a PCB job, but the board
is sturdy, with wide tracks, hand-wired flying leads and confidence-inspiring
chassis-mounted output and rectifier valve sockets.
But forget the electronics
and the look for a while, and let’s check out
the features. Which, let’s face it, is where you’ll devote most of
your user attention, however much effort they’ve put in under the bonnet.
The
assembly of control knobs and switches on the front panel (20 of the former)
can appear overwhelming, but it’s easy to tackle once you twig that Mesa’s
approach was mainly to design one good amp channel with Gain, Master, Bass, Mid,
Treble and Presence controls, then duplicate that three times, giving each a
different voicing and further versatility via three independent mode switches.
The head is configured ‘Marshall style’, that is, control panel mounted
in the bottom of the cabinet with valves and transformers pointing upward from
the chassis. For this reason the control sequence runs right-to-left: first comes
the single input, Chl mode switch (Clean/Pushed), indicator light and controls;
Ch2 mode switch (RawNintage/Modern), light and controls; Ch3 mode switch (RawNintage/Modern),
light and controls; Output control (master vol), Solo control (boosted master
vol), Fender-style jewel pilot light, Standby and Power switch. The Solo control
is a great feature Mesa/Boogie have employed for some years now. Understanding
that many players simply want to boost existing levels when solo time comes rather
than switching to an entirely differently voiced channel, the Solo control does
just that —upping your overall volume in whatever channel by a level predetermined
by you.
Three footswitchable channels would be useful enough in
themselves given the range of variation between Gain and Master juggling, but
Randall Smith and co have nudged the design a step further, largely by radically
altering the response of the Presence circuit in each channel. Ch1 is predisposed
to shimmering clean work (though you can drive it into vintage-style breakup
like any master volume amp), while switching to Pushed spills into crunch; Ch2
is optimised for Vintage mode— with its tone stack voiced accordingly and
its Presence somewhat reined in — and is engineered to excel at juicy breakup
and bluesy overdrive; Ch3 is optimised for the Modern setting, with extremes
of contemporary-styled gain for hot lead, a hyperactive Presence for extra highs,
and a predisposition towards scooped mids.
With these voicings in mind, the three-position Mode switches
on Ch2 and Ch3 offer further tailoring. Raw provides the lowest-gain voice, offering
further ranges of just-distorting clean and softer crunch tones; Vintage is medium-high
gain, liquid and lush — a popular mode in the previous Recto series and
largely preserved in that form on Ch2; and Modern is aggressive, bold and ultra-high
gain, with tight lows and searing highs.
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| Take one down, pass it
around, ninety-nine bottles of tone on the wall...and almost as many connection
options |
Round the back there’s a wealth
of connections and muting options, all well judged and aimed to make life
easy during live, big-stage performance. There’s
a Slave out and level control for linking to further power amps, more speaker
cab connection jacks than you’re ever likely to need, a multi-assignable
FX loop with both Send level and Mix controls, Bias switch for 6L6s OR EL34s,
that tube/diode Rectifier switch, and a ‘Spongy/Bold’ Power switch.
The latter, called a ‘variac switch’ by the Boogie folks, drops internal
voltages more toward vintage amp levels when switched to Spongy, to reduce the
edge and soften the feel of the amp. No: no Dl, no headphone out — what,
are you crazy? The slanted Rectifier Cab matches the head for styling and carries
four 12” Celestion Vintage 30s, ever-popular
rock drivers rated at 60W each and wired together for an 8Q load at 240W total
power handling. Woof. It’s big and it’s heavy, but sturdy recessed
metal side handles and castors make shifting it as easy as can be expected.
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| Each of the three channels
starts from the same template, but subtle changes provide radically different
voices |
Oh,
and there’s a great manual (probably the most informative and authoritative
I’ve ever read accompanying a guitar amp). Not only does it tell you how
to get the most out of the amp's controls, but thorougly explains speaker cab
impedance matching, valve biasing, basic valve principles and types and more.
Good on 'em. SOUNDS
First off, there’s no point playing this amp at low volumes. It sounds
pretty good at levels short of 1/3 on the Output, but not £2000-worth of
great. Crank it up and it’s a different story entirely: the 150W Triple
Rectifier is a fire-breathing, earth-shaking rock behemoth with more than enough
power, drive, and sheer chest-thumping grunt for anything short of Wembley (and
I mean Stadium). But stepping back to the real world, let’s assess the
channels in numerical order, injecting a Les Paul Standard throughout.
Dial up
less-than-deafening levels on Ch1 set to Clean and the sound can first seem rather
disappointing — a tad lacklustre and somewhat less tactile
and pick-attack responsive than you might hope — but it’s unfair
to compare it to the sparkling jangle and edge-of-breakup bite you get from a
one-channel boutique head at the same price, where all the engineering is aimed
firmly at this one goal.
For all that, when rolled up to volume with EQ and presence
adjusted for more high-end shimmer there’s edge, cut, and boatloads of
headroom — and
hey, you’re only switching this one in now and then to give the singer
a chance to be heard, right? it’s not as impressive as the clean tones
the Mesa/Boogie folks have managed in their Maverick and Nomad amps, but more
than serviceable. Also, while Vintage 30s are famed for their throaty rock voice
they’re not a first choice for sparkling clean work, especially in a closed-backed
4x12”, so while compromises inevitably must be made somewhere in an amp
of this type, few will argue that Boogie has made the right choices.
Switch to
Pushed and the gain indeed leaps a level: pick attack bites instantly into a
raunchy growl, and with Gain advanced crunchy rock rhythm settings are a doddle.
Ease up on your picking, or back down the guitar’s volume, and
the Triple Recto slips down a gear to clean-on-the-edge-of-breakup. Nice.
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RectiWhat? The Original AC/DC
|
 |
| Three Big-Bottle 5UG4's take the Triple Recto's AC/DC Duties |
The Mesa/Boogie
people remain ever-willing to hang an entire amp range on the name of an electronic
component, but what is this thing called ‘the rectifier’? Simply
put, in guitar amp terms the rectifier is the unit which converts the AC current
coming out of your wall point to the DC current which the valves and other amp
circuitry like to run on. It can take the form of a tube designed just for the
job, or a string of silicon diodes (solid state rectification). The important
thing to know is that all valve amps have a rectifier of one sort or another,
not just Mesa/Boogie’s Rectifier
series.
Lower wattage vintage classics from Vox, Fender, Marshall and
others generally fed from valve rectifiers, while later, more powerful designs
usually employ ‘stiffer’ diode
rectification which translates the AC voltage input into a higher DC voltage
output than the valve jobs can manage. But while higher voltages at the output
valves means — all else being equal — greater volume and more headroom,
many players relish the soft touch, easy feel and compression-like ‘sag’ that
a valve rectifier provides as its output dips momentarily while trying to keep
up with sudden power surges. Amps of otherwise identical design can sound and
respond slightly differently according to the type of rectifier fitted — so,
never ones to miss an opportunity for user fine-tuning, Mesa/Boogie give the
player the opportunity to choose for him or herself. Plus ça tweak! |
Set
Ch2 to the Boogie-recommended Vintage mode, wheel Gain and Volume to about 6/10
each for advanced snarl, and it’s instant lead honey: sweet, juicy,
harmonically rounded and extremely touch sensitive. You can see why the designers
are proud of this voice. It’s only ‘vintage’ in the sense of
their own heritage, really — a Mark 1 just short of full-on (unless they’re
thinking tweed Bassman floored with a Tube Screamer on max drive and volume) —this
sound lets you slide from heavy, chunking power chordage to fluid soloing with
the thwack of a pick, and maybe a slight twiddle of your volume control. And,
though subtler than elsewhere, Presence helps you roll the tone from smooth and
warm to more cutting with grittier highs.
On to Ch3 set to Modern: big, fat, ballsy,
tight in the bottom but with scorching highs too. There’s great harmonic
content here, thrown readily on display in willing, musical feedback or pinched-harmonic
picking, and despite high-saturation gain levels and some seductive compression
it’s never short of slicing
edge. This is a truly menacing channel, adjustable from awesome scooped thrash-metal
grind to rasping alt.rock assault to stunning contemporary shred tones with only
some thoughtful attention to EQ settings.
Raw mode on either Ch1 or 2 is looser,
significantly lower powered and generally less appealing, but shake the utter
joyousness of these previous voices from your head, fiddle with it a while, and
useful further settings do emerge. In some ways, Boogie under-sells the notion
of Ch2 set to Modern and Ch3 set to Vintage — both
of which produce further subtle variations on the above, which would be celebrated
as ‘great core tones’ in many other amps.
With tube rectification
(‘Normal’) switched in, there’s just enough give in the attack
for a compelling, more-ish playability. It’s not overly soft, and nothing
like the major sag of a well-worn single-rectifier vintage amp played hard; just
right. Switch to diodes (‘High Power’) and there’s a touch
more power, edge and headroom in the sound, but not majorly so. The Spongy/Bold
switch takes the same principle to another degree, altering both playing feel
and output volume. Between the two, I’d be very surprised if you couldn’t
find a responsiveness to suit just about every player and style in the rock arena.
Throughout, the single Recto cab belts the bombardment with full confidence,
only ever hinting at ever-so-slightly disagreeable rumble with Output maxed and
low-string disonance applied (and if you need this sort of level, you’ll
probably go for the full stack anyway).
Finally, there’s a little noise when footswitching
to Channel 2, particularly at lower to medium volumes, though strangely not always:
possibly a little voltage builds up at the relay in some situations but not others.
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VERDICT
|
What a fire-breathing
slab of rock hardware the Triple Recto is! Just to stand before this amp cranked
to near arena levels and whack out a few grinding power chords will instantly
transport any believer to a higher power. Some people will continue to poo-poo
Mesa/Boogie for trying to do too much in one amp, and in some ways there is a
sense of overkill here — in features more than in
raw power — but a tank-like, stage-ready 150W head with three instantly
accessible sounds and many more there for
the fiddling has got to appeal to a lot of pro, semi-pro or just volume loving
guitarists. No, it doesn’t do AC3O or Twin Reverb-like sparkling clean,
but that’s not the objective. For overdrive tones covering the whole gamut
of rock styles, however, you’d have to look a long way to beat this.
Seriously,
though, if you’re playing clubs, halls or even theatre-sized
venues you probably don’t need this much power - the 100W Dual Recto will
suit most needs, and it boasts the same features. But if you need your volume
levels earth-shifting and bowel-Iiquifying, sidle fearfully this way. |
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