The best Mesa amp for metal !!!!!

What do you guys like and why?

2 Ch dual/triple rectos, they just sound mean and evil :twisted:
They have this growl and wicked overtone that I haven't heard other amps do, and they sound great while downtuning :mrgreen:

MR. It's the cute little amp that'll bite them when they try to pet it :twisted:

I like Marks. Anything IIB or later will get you some killer metal tones.

Dual Rectifier : Red Channel Modern Hi Gain setting.

Yes, you could included Road King or Roadster ...

A fellow member on another board that builds guitar amplifiers and he said some of the Dual Rectifier's mystique (Red Channel, Modern Hi Gain) was due to cascading gains (like typical Boogie) with added diode distortion. Now is "diode gain" are in the Mark Vs?

+1 to MR,

That amp is just too good, forget the size, it's killer !

The 50 caliber has a real "Metal" preamp voicing. I loved its sound but didn't get to play it too loud

Either a Mark or a Rec... 2 different styles though. To overly simplify it, do you prefer Metallica's tone (Mark) or Tool's tone (Rec)?

There is no diode distortion in the Rec or any mesa boogie amp.

RR said:

Dual Rectifier : Red Channel Modern Hi Gain setting.

Yes, you could included Road King or Roadster ...

A fellow member on another board that builds guitar amplifiers and he said some of the Dual Rectifier's mystique (Red Channel, Modern Hi Gain) was due to cascading gains (like typical Boogie) with added diode distortion. Now is "diode gain" are in the Mark Vs?

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RR said:

Dual Rectifier : Red Channel Modern Hi Gain setting.

Yes, you could included Road King or Roadster ...

A fellow member on another board that builds guitar amplifiers and he said some of the Dual Rectifier's mystique (Red Channel, Modern Hi Gain) was due to cascading gains (like typical Boogie) with added diode distortion. Now is "diode gain" are in the Mark Vs?

Click to expand...

It's not diode distortion.

Rectifiers have a cold clipping circuit, which is still tube based. Cold clipping is harsher and more aggressive... which gives the signal a more distorted sound at lower gain levels. The end result is that you can get more distortion with less compression, thus the Rectos aggressive breakup and punchy/percussive response vs the Mark's smoother and more saturated sound.


As for "best"... do you like apples or oranges? For fast, articulate playing that includes a lot of single note riff work I prefer a Mark. For massive sounding riffs with a lot of palm muted chugging I prefer a Recto.

A Mark smokes a Recto for lead guitar. It's not even a competition.

A Mark smokes a Recto for lead guitar. It's not even a competition.

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YES!

Thanks screamingdaisy for clearing it up. I got the terminology wrong.

What's ironic, I kind of lost interest in Boogie after the Mark IIs. I thought the Mark III was too preamp saturated for me. Then one day I said: "I need that Solodano, modified Marshall tone, I want over top saturation. Thus => Dual Rectifier, well Trem-o-Verb.

... and what's even more ironic, playing the Orange vintage hi-gain or Red Channel Blues Mode spongey, tube rectifier switch, I observed "There's something 'vintagey' about the tube rectifier mode."

Anyway, carry on.

screamingdaisy said:

As for "best"... do you like apples or oranges? For fast, articulate playing that includes a lot of single note riff work I prefer a Mark. For massive sounding riffs with a lot of palm muted chugging I prefer a Recto.

A Mark smokes a Recto for lead guitar. It's not even a competition.

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Fuk yeh, what he said.

Mark IV - best lead tone I've ever heard.

any mesa with modern channel !!! :evil: :mrgreen:

Metallica did ok with the Mark series amps. Just sayin...

I had a Mk V and a Single Rec Series II. The rec did leads if you switched to lower amp gain and used a dirt box. Pure Rec lead style tone did not do it for me. The stereo rig with Rec balance tilted for chug and mk v tilt for leads was my fav.

Guess it depends on if you play more leads or chug riffs. I like lead and think it is great fun to solo, but a great riff punches you in the chest an carries the song.

For one amp, I would go Rec used cheap and a dirt pedal.

Good luck on your tone quest.

Heritage Softail said:

Metallica did ok with the Mark series amps. Just sayin...

I had a Mk V and a Single Rec Series II. The rec did leads if you switched to lower amp gain and used a dirt box. Pure Rec lead style tone did not do it for me. The stereo rig with Rec balance tilted for chug and mk v tilt for leads was my fav.

Guess it depends on if you play more leads or chug riffs. I like lead and think it is great fun to solo, but a great riff punches you in the chest an carries the song.

For one amp, I would go Rec used cheap and a dirt pedal.

Good luck on your tone quest.

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i'd say a decent OD... coz i was trying a Ds-1 yesterday and it sucked the amp's output... just saying

Mark V.

I was playing on my friend's Mark V last night (with a Jackson) and I was absolutely amazed how fat and simultaneously tight it can sound. The lead tone is phenomenal, NEVER EVER felt anything like it. If I was playing primarily metal I would pick this amp over anything else available.

Everyone has different tastes but in my opinion the Mark III can't be beat (I have a simul class green stripe)

I recently got to play with a Mark V for a few days and in my opinion it's not as aggressive sounding as a green stripe. It sounds tamer to my ears. Don't get me wrong, it's still an amazing amp. I just think the Mark III has a better lead sound

I was going to buy a Mark V but was persuaded to get a Mark III instead. I don't regret the decision

Val666 said:

Everyone has different tastes but in my opinion the Mark III can't be beat (I have a simul class green stripe)

I recently got to play with a Mark V for a few days and in my opinion it's not as aggressive sounding as a green stripe. It sounds tamer to my ears. Don't get me wrong, it's still an amazing amp. I just think the Mark III has a better lead sound

I was going to buy a Mark V but was persuaded to get a Mark III instead. I don't regret the decision

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Mark III green was the only amp that got me kicking the wall while jamming metal riffs. Goat lord heavy.

+1 to this guy's comment. sold them both and miss the III more (V has excellent cleans for a EL34 amp).

and yes, rectos can be used for leads, i saw fishbone live last friday and he did it.

For leads, a MK IV/V. For rhythm, a Recto.

The MK's have a very focused tone that sounds great for soloing. However, the Recto's sound more crushing for rhythms to my ears.