Advice for my first Mesa please.

Im looking for a entry level Mesa. I'd like To be able to play rock harder rock grunge and Metallica style metal. I won't be playing death/thrash metal. I won't be playing out. I don't want to have to use tons of pedals.
What fits bill? Recto verb 25?
Thx for any input.

TA-15

You should try a few amps if possible before you decide, let your own ears guide you.

Simple answer:
Get to a Mesa dealer and demo, demo, demo in a quiet room until your fingernails are worn down. Mesas can be tricky to dial in, especially if you're not familiar with them, so read up on each amp before you plug in. A bad set-up can really undermine your exploration! You'll know when you find one that speaks to you, one that feels comfortable and right.

You'll get plenty of opinions here, but only you know what sounds and feels right to you. Youtube videos will give you some sense of each amps sonic character, but the sound quality isn't very good, nor will it necessarily translate into playability for you. When I'm feeling "restless" with my tone, I'll check the Guitar Center used gear for something interesting. It's a great comfort knowing you can demo the amp for a month, playing with YOUR gear, in your applications, and return it if not pleased. Patience yields big dividends when looking for a tube amp that meets your needs...

I don't know how familiar you are with tube amps, but they can be double-edged swords. They can reward you with moments of pure bliss, and the tone and feel can be easily tweaked with different tubes. They can also be finicky and temperamental as they employ early 20th century vacuum tube technologies. Point being, be prepared to read and learn a lot about them if you want to "maximize" your tone quest. This board is populated by some very VERY knowledgeable people who have decades of experience with tube amps in general, and Mesas in particular. Don't be afraid to use the Search feature as the archives are rich with information and opinions. Good luck and welcome!


Personal preference/Not-so-simple answer:
I've owned several different Mesas and demo'd many, but I'm a Mark series guy at heart, owning a "Holy Grail" Mark IIC+. But, I just snagged a DC-3 for $525, never having played a DC before, and I'm totally blown away. Honestly, this amp recreates in my ears the sounds in my head, and inspires me to go further. It has a very natural feel and is pretty forgiving...but that's just me. The Dual Calibers are forgotten gems from the 90s. With two truly independent channels and a graphic eq, it's hard to find a Mesa with a broader tone palette, especially for the price. It's all there: country, jazz, rock-n-roll, hard and classic rock, metal...and it's pretty easy to dial in, which is important for newbies. They come in two basic flavors: EL84 (20 or 35 watts) or 6L6 based (50 or 100 watts).

The rhythm channel goes from crystal clean to Black Face vintage clean to a nice post-early break-up bluesy sound. The Gain control is very useable, as is the Presence control. The Lead channel can get raucous very quickly (above 3), and may be too saturated and compressed for some, but it's easily tamed with proper preamp tube selections. If you are so inclined, the tube assigments make it easy to "roll" preamp tubes: influence the gain and tone of the separate channels with different style preamp tubes. It might not have the laser focus of a Mark, but it covers a lot of ground very well and can get very heavy. They enjoy Mesa durability and they are bloody bargains!

If I were in your shoes I'd snag a minty single rec or rectoverb 50w.

They are easy to find used in new condition (series2) for $700ish.

Seems to be a mass unloading (relatively speaking) of these models ever since the new multi-watts rectos and the new mini versions were introduced.(sure as hell not selling mine though :mrgreen: !!!)

50w is plenty of power for hard-rock/classic-metal, plus they are good simple amps to start out on and cover a very wide range of styles well.

Also, they take mesa's 6L6 or el34 tubes at the flick of a switch, which is almost like two great amps in one right there.

They have the raw and vintage gain modes as well that are perfect for mid-gain organic hard-rock crunch.

IMO, 50w(6L6/EL34) > 25w(little-tubes) even for home practice playing volume.
Just has more feel and thump.


Having said all that, I'd still really love a recto-verb 25 combo for a travel amp, or one of the newer express combos would work.
Being able to switch down to super-low watts is the only way you could play one in a motel/hotel without the cops attending the "show".

Thx for the input! Would the rectoverb 50 be too loud to practice at home? Is a dc 5 easy to dial in?
I'm definitely looking for ease of use to get some nice tones as I'm a beginnner.

The 50w rectifiers are very loud if needed, but they can be run with the volumes very low for practice.
If you want a tube amp that can actually be opened up a bit in the home, then you'd need one of the mini or express models that can be switched down to super-low watts (like 5/10w).
Even 10w can be very loud, but you'll have much more ease in adjusting the volumes at lower levels.
The downside of that is that a 25w amp (switchable to 25/15/10/5 or whatever) just won't ever produce the low-end thud or the high-end clarity of a full size 50/100w beast.

I'm a death/thrash/black-metal guy, so maybe that's why I prefer a big amp turned down low as opposed to a small amp turned up.
Actually I like a big amp turned up midway the most, but that's not really going to sound or work very well in the average home setting.

Would a subway rocket be a good choice?

If you like lead playing, I would steer away from Rectifier based amps. They are awesome chugging amps. Killer. A crappy boost pedal makes them insane.

They often have a great clean channel.

For a lead player the Mark series amps are often the magic bullet. A MKIV is a liquid lead type amp. Great dark evil type crunch Mesa is famous for. If you find a MKIII, pay attention to what "stripe" it is.

I have had a single red head, Mark V, and sold them. What is left is a Rectoverb combo. Great riffing tone and pedals into the clean channel to taste, still not a Mark Series amp.

The Mark series amp I have is a MKIIC. It has the tone that reminds me of what the Marshall amp modding guys were trying to get. It is the real deal. The modes in the MKV do not, do not... Get the MKIIC. Don't believe the hype. Had one and sold it.

DC amps are good too.

The only one that I would stay away from the the Son of Boogie and .22 Caliber amps. They are ok, just not like a MKII, MKIV.

Opinions are unique. So I'm sure others think differently. Check out some YT vids of the mighty MKIV. Just a smoking lead guitar amp....

Good luck on the tone quest!

Heritage Softail said:

Get the MKIIC. Don't believe the hype.

Click to expand...

When a newbie is looking for an entry level Mesa for playing grunge, you can rely on our board for a recommendation to get the Holy Grail of Marks... :lol:

Now I feel stupid for even thinking of suggesting the obvious, like a Rectoverb, Mini-Rec or a used 2-channel Dual...

Thx for all the input .
I ended up with a great deal on a tremoverb . I know way overkill but I don't have to be married to it forever unless I want to...