New Mini Rec. WHAT AN AMP!

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Dave G.

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I know a lot of people on here have been discussing these here recently and i just got mine in the mail the other day, Im pretty sure it may be the first one in Ireland. All i can say is my mind is blown by this amp. I bought the mini as i needed something more portable for those further away gigs to save me lugging the dual around and the mini seems every bit as good if not even MORE versatile.

I play a huge variety of music from glam to hardcore to death and black metal and the mini can pull off all these tones SEEMLESSLY. For those who wonder if this amp still sounds like a recto, believe me it does. It has all the character of its bigger brother and it seems even a bit warmer than my dual. The mids also seem alot more focussed and help keep the mini full sounding while not being too stiff. The vintage mode seems alot smoother too for solo work than the dual which i really like. The modern mode is every bit as agressive as the dual and to my ears has a touch more gain than the dual. Even though it may not have as much low end as the dual it still has PLENTY on tap...more than enough for my needs but most impressively the bass is incredibly tight even without a boost. The amp really sounds ten times bigger than it looks.

The biggest surprise for me was the clean channel. I dont use the clean channel too much but i brought it to a friends today and he plays more blues and funk and he gave it a run thru. Its really sparkely with the presence up above 12 but it never gets too dark! Arpreggiated chords sounded great with the gain just about 12. On the pushed mode though the amp really impresses me. WIth the gain about 12-1 and a fair bit of mids and treble it just has this really musical quaily with a nice purr on the notes that just sounds great for blues solos and some funky chords. Both me and my mate were blown away by how good this mode sounds. It was just so warm and musical to our ears.

Sorry for the lenght of the post but i wanted to give an honest and complete review. The last point id like to make is for people who wonder is the mini loud enough for drummers etc...I reckon its still loud enough to vapourise a drummer. Although i havent played it with a band yet i can barely get it to 8 oclock on the output in my bedroom on 25 watts without it being seriously loud. Even the ten watt setting would probably be loud enough to play most venues.


Anyway thanks for reading this and please let me know what you guys think of the mini and if you have any questions fire them at me!


Dave
 
Congrats Dave on your new Mini!!

I continue to be very impressed with the fantastic variety of sounds achievable in all modes with the 10/25 watt power options. I am most surprised by the awesome clean / semi-clean tones offered in Ch1. Nice clean to moderate break up clean tones are very important to me for the kind of music that I play. Ch2 Vintage and Modern modes are also very nice sounding for the high gain rhythm and solo recto sounds.

I haven't had a chance yet to play it with my band, but there is no doubt in my mind that it can easily provide great tones at rehearsal/gig volumes through my 212 recto cab. Additionally, it offers great tones at low volume levels which are very difficult to achieve from its bigger brothers!! :mrgreen:

I really feel that Mesa hit a home run with this amp design and it is so much fun to play!!
 
I fully agree! Channel one surprised me the most!! They have definately hit a home run this time...

I myself wondered if this was just going to be a small imposter of the goliaths that are the rectos but it really holds its own. Its a high end amp and it sounds like any recto should!! Im very impressed with it.
 
love mine too. I have been cranking the gain on channel 1 pushed mode...sweet buttery tone for days...got to love it....

I cannot get enough. I especially love running my P-90 equiped guitars thru it....OMG!!!!! :mrgreen:
 
Love mine! I gig with it every weekend with a full band. Sounds good!

Check out this new video from Mesa:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j8s_yLSoc0

And this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j8s_yLSoc0
 
Jamming with my recto this morning. I am learning how to record and play. lol

http://www.lightningmp3.com/live/31499-pegagos-jam.mp3

Straight into the amp, delay in the loop, sm57 into my line 6 interface. I also have an RCA NOS preamp tube in V1 and JJ el-84s

The settings on the amp are:

vintage, 10w
gain: 2:00
treble: 12:30
mid: 2:30
bass: 11:30
presence: 11:00
master: 9:00
 
That clip is slick!! thats a great lead tone you have on it!! Ill defo give them settings a try! Im really looking forward to gigging this in the next few weeks! Anymore users out there wanna share their thoughts on it?
 
For whatever reason I can't seem to get a good live tone out of mine. I mean it's OK, but it just isn't a clear articulate chunky tone. I'm running it into a Rectifier 2x12 with V30s. Anytime it's mic'd (usually with a SM57) the output through the PA seems fizzy and thin. There's no fullness to the sound.

I'm using a Gibson Les Paul Standard with it. I have tried many EQ settings and still none are getting me where I want. Can anyone share exactly how they mic their cabinets with this thing? I really need help there.
 
I havent played mine live yet but i sometimes find the same problem with amps when playing live or watching bands. I think it might help to move the mic an inch or two further away from the cab and angle it slightly to get rid of some of the highs.


Im not an expert on mic positioning but i have tried these two things a few times live and in the studio and they worked for me.
 
Thank you Dave.

I found that I get less fizz now that my v30s are broken in and with the tube changes.

On that recording I had the sm57 dead center of the cone but slanted a little bit. Also, those are not the same settings I use when I jam with my band. Normally I have the gain at around 10:30 and use my maxon to get more compression and make my leads cut through. The more I crank the master I also have to lower the bass to around 9:00. I also lower presence to about 8:30 or 9:00. I felt I had to turn it up a bit after slanted the sm57. Also noticed that to get a good singing lead, the mid knob needs to be pass noon.

In a live situation, I use the channel one for clean, channel two in vintage or modern with gain around 10:00 for tight rhythm sound and then turn on the maxon for leads.

I am still experimenting with the amp and I've had it since October. I had my mark iii figured out to the tee before I got rid of it to get the mini recto. I feel like I'm almost there with this one.

I love this amp. So much fun to play on.
 
I feel the same way about the speakers. Once they are broken in they tend to lose alot of their fizz and stiffness.

I actually find myself not needing a boost with the mini whereas it never left my rig with the dual. Im still in shock at how loud the mini can get and how close it gets to its bigger brothers.


After playing it again today for another solid day i have found even more tones that i like in both channels. At the moment i have channel one set to a sparkly clean tone with no breakup and channel two set to an over the top death metal tone. Ive been exploring the amp with no pedals or boosts since i got it but i think ill throw a few pedals in the mix tomorrow just to see what i can conjure up!
 
Mini Rec is incredible. I thought I had a great set up pairing the Mini-Rec with my TA-15 and an amp selector, but I find myself only using the Mini-Rec. Other than the "tweed" sound. The Mini-Rec seems to be able to produce any tone of the TA, and obviously more (Modern setting at 25 watts absolutely killls).
 
Rockguitar2000,

You might want to experiment with the Ch2 gain set between 9:30 and 11:30 if you haven't already done so. I find this gain region in Ch2 excellent for crisp and tight tracking for high gain rhythm work, while also offering surprisingly nice sustain for great lead work....especially in 25W mode at rehearsal/gig volumes. I haven't gigged or even rehearsed with my Mini through my 212 recto cab yet, but feel that I have a pretty good ear for how these lower gain Ch2 settings would sound live. Give it a try....it might work for you.
 
Here is another I clip of me jamming on my mini recto. Sorry for the sloppy playing...

http://www.lightningmp3.com/live/file.php?id=30413

This time I used the pushed mode in channel 1. Again, straight into the amp with a mild delay in the loop. This amp is much fun to play!

Settings were:

Pushed mode, 10w
Gain: 3:00
Treble: 2:00
Mid: 2:00
Bass: 10:00
Presence: 11:00
Master: don't recall :(
 
pegagos said:
Here is another I clip of me jamming on my mini recto. Sorry for the sloppy playing...

http://www.lightningmp3.com/live/file.php?id=30413

This time I used the pushed mode in channel 1. Again, straight into the amp with a mild delay in the loop. This amp is much fun to play!

Settings were:

Pushed mode, 10w
Gain: 3:00
Treble: 2:00
Mid: 2:00
Bass: 10:00
Presence: 11:00
Master: don't recall :(

**** that is a JUICY and expressive lead tone you have dialed in there.

I don't think your playing is incredibly sloppy. If you want to smooth it out, work on phrasing and spice some of your lines with vibrato. You'd be surprised how much this will 'mature' your sound and it is quite a simple trick to learn.
 
YellowJacket said:
pegagos said:
Here is another I clip of me jamming on my mini recto. Sorry for the sloppy playing...

http://www.lightningmp3.com/live/file.php?id=30413

This time I used the pushed mode in channel 1. Again, straight into the amp with a mild delay in the loop. This amp is much fun to play!

Settings were:

Pushed mode, 10w
Gain: 3:00
Treble: 2:00
Mid: 2:00
Bass: 10:00
Presence: 11:00
Master: don't recall :(

**** that is a JUICY and expressive lead tone you have dialed in there.

I don't think your playing is incredibly sloppy. If you want to smooth it out, work on phrasing and spice some of your lines with vibrato. You'd be surprised how much this will 'mature' your sound and it is quite a simple trick to learn.

Thanks for the compliment in tone and tip on the playing. I feel that the mini recto is an expressive amp on its own. Like the op said: WHAT AN AMP!
 
Here is a track I am working on. Unlike the other tracks I posted, I recorded everything in this track. I used a Yamaha dd-55 electronic drums to trigger ezdrummer plugin in Reaper, recorded the funky rhythm tracks 2 of them for stereo effect, the leads, and used a pitch shift to emulate a bass guitar. lol. I am trying to make this into a full song that my band can jam on.

I used my mini recto again for all guitar work. I really like the clean channel on this amp.

http://www.lightningmp3.com/live/file.php?id=30435

Enjoy
 

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