Those with a Mesa Mini Rectifier..... clean headroom?

....how loud will it stay clean on channel 1 before it starts to break up? Is it loud enough to hold up with a moderate to heavy-hitting drummer in a basement practice space? We play loud, but the not stupid, ears ringing for days loud.

Here's the deal..... I currently have an Express 5:50 that's plenty loud (and that I'm very happy with)..... but I'm worried about my knee that's been giving me problems lately along the flight of stairs going to his basement. We don't play out, and right now there's only 2 of us jamming every month or so. I have an old 2/12 cabinet already down there that his daughter is using so I don't have to worry about carrying a cabinet down there every time we get together. Most of what we play is fairly heavy but we do quite a few things that are very clean. We both grew up playing metal but we've mostly moved away from the super high gain stuff....but we still like to pull it out every once in a while (hence the Mini Rec).

It's a lot of money to drop on an amp (especially since I already have one that can do everything I need it to do) but my bad knee has really got me thinking about the weight.

I know the Mini can get plenty loud on channel 2 and still hold together great but I can't seem to find a rough estimate on how loud it'll get on the clean channel before it starts to break up.

Thanks!!

Everyones definition of loud is different and I don't want to scare you away from the MR as it may well work out perfectly for you. Another member here recently found that the MR didn't have enough head room for him and decided to move it on. For others its fine. If you did get the MR and it wasn't enough you could always use it at home and just leave the 5:50 with your friend.

I'd also consider buying a used head and leaving it with your 2x12 cab so you don't have to carry it. Some good choices could be a single or dual Rec or perhaps even another 5:50 if you really love the Express.

I love my Mini Rec, but I think pristine cleans behind a heavy hitting drummer is a losing proposition. I occasionally jam with some friends as a blues/rock four piece, and I find I need to go no higher than 1/3 up on either channel (25w mode), but the cleanest I go for still has a good dose of grit to it. I use it in my cover band, too, but that is half acoustic, and the percussion is all hand or electronic.

This does all depend on what you consider a heavy hitting drummer, though. My primary band plays thrash, and our drummer tries to cave in his snare and punch holes through his kicks. That alone would be enough to give someone hearing damage. It may be that your perception is off, since cymbals really seem to swallow everything in a small space. What does the amp sound like when you're about ten feet back from it? Perhaps you need to put your cab up on one of those combo amp stands, which elevates it and kicks it back a bit, so you can more properly hear yourself. I find that even with a 2x12 turned vertically, it can still be hard to hear your amp.

If you have an old 2x12 there, can you leave an amp there, too? At the price a used Dual goes for these days, that might be the better bet.

I've gigged with my Mini Rec three times and found the clean channel holds up well with my band (so far). Our band does not play super loud, especially at the smaller clubs/bars...where volume is kept reasonable anyway. I've been using Pushed mode lately becuase of the variety of tones (clean to slightly dirty) I can get by just using the pickup selector. At this weekends gig, I started out with Ch 1 volume at about 12:00, but ended up backing it off to around 10-11:00, because it was too loud. I was using my 2x12 horizontal Recto cab.

Thanks!! I'm going to pick one up and see how it handles everything. I really dig the Express but I've never been 100% happy with the dirty channels. Very close, but not quite.
Plus, I played with a closed back 4/12 for most of my playing days and I miss the punch of a closed back cabinet. I think the Mini and the 1/12 Mesa cabinet will satisfy my needs.
I guess we'll see.

Release said:

I really dig the Express but I've never been 100% happy with the dirty channels. Very close, but not quite.

Click to expand...

I know what you mean...I felt the same about channel 2 on my F-50 combo. That's kinda why I deciced to get the Mini-Rec. I've also been using my 1x12 Compact Widebody cabinet with the Mini Rec and it sounds very good...almost as good as the 2x12! I'm curious what the Mini Rec 1x12 cabinet sounds like?

Tonight I did a side by side test of the F-50 against the Mini (both on channel 2) and took turns plugging each amp into the same 1x12 cab for fair comparision. Bottom line....F-50 is now FOR SALE.

Ive gigged my mini several times now and i find the clean channel holds up quite well. The last two gigs i did with it it competed with my dual rec and a marshall at the other gig and could be heard over both and still stayed clean. If a little breakup occurs id just lower the guitar volume slightly. But mine stayed perfectly clean with the volume over half way with emgs.