May have gotten a minger (advice)

So earlier this week i walked into a local GC and saw a used Rectoverb single rectifier for sale. The price caught my eye as it was a couple hundred less than some I had seen online. I was not that impressed with it at first, so i went home and let it slide. Well for several days it just sat there in the back of my mind and kinda bugged me, so I went back and had another go at it. The GC salesperson was awesome throughout the whole process when i asked that both the pre-amp and power tubes be changed because the amp sounded dull in the highs, very muddy in the lows and had alot of background popping and humming (I was playing on a BFR Petrucci guitar, no chance of noise coming from it) After the tube swap, the amp sounded alot better, so i traded in my old amp and brought home what i thought was a steal of a deal for an amp.

It may be turning around on me.

Once I got it home I noticed something horrible. On anything other than the clean (non pushed) channel, the amp is horribly distorted. no matter how much I roll back the gain the sound always sounds like a fizzy/popping/frothy mix that sounds....terrible. I have to believe it is the speaker that is blown. Given that all the tubes were out, and there are a few blemishes (nothing to major) and the handle stitching is almost all gone I have to think this amp was all used up when it got traded in. I did make a smart choice (hopefully) and opted for a 1 year warranty on it so they should replace the speaker for free (god help them if they don't)

I was wondering if someone with experience could point me in the right direction as to how this amp should sound once a good speaker is put into it. (videos description etc)

This is my first Mesa Amp, I have been lusting for a Mesa for several years, and after some research, the Rectoverb seemed like a good entry into the realm (ultimately I would love a Roadster 212 or Mark V, But baby steps financially haha)

Being a used amp, I would give it a full retube and keep the old tubes as spares. That way you can rule out a tube issue.

fluff191 said:

Being a used amp, I would give it a full retube and keep the old tubes as spares. That way you can rule out a tube issue.

Click to expand...

Tubes have already been swapped.

Oops sorry I missed that. I am not sure if the Rectoverb had the LDR issues like the Tremoverbs?

fluff191 said:

Being a used amp, I would give it a full retube and keep the old tubes as spares. That way you can rule out a tube issue.

Click to expand...

Did you even read the OP's post? :lol:


My advice is to return it for a full refund

RussB said:

fluff191 said:

Being a used amp, I would give it a full retube and keep the old tubes as spares. That way you can rule out a tube issue.

Click to expand...

Did you even read the OP's post? :lol:


My advice is to return it for a full refund

Click to expand...

This :idea:

thatsAgood1jay said:

The GC salesperson was awesome throughout the whole process when i asked that both the pre-amp and power tubes be changed because the amp sounded dull in the highs, very muddy in the lows and had alot of background popping and humming

Click to expand...

I've never experimented with different brands of tubes, and I know that the GC sales staff don't know much about high-end gear, so did you make sure he put Mesa spec tubes in there? Like I said, I'm not a big risk taker, so I don't have much experience in this area, but I would verify this detail before returning something you like.

Take it back quickly. If you can

Yeah i checked all the tubes, they replaced them with the correct Mesa tubes. I had the front grill off and the speaker did not have any clear damage. Although i am not one hundred percent sure what to look for when examining a blown out speaker.


I think at this point I will just take it back for the refund.