Mesa/Boogie MultiWatt Dual Rectifier 100W head
104 Guitarist April 2010
£2,329
Guitar amps
and Pushed, the other two
channels now have three-
position switches offering
Vintage and Modern settings,
plus a new Raw mode. There’s
an overall master volume
control and a footswitchable
second master volume, which
can be preset for a level boost
when soloing.
The rear panel is crammed
with extra features: there’s a
slave out with variable level,
five speaker jacks and a pair of
send/returns for the Dual Rec’s
series effects loop. This highly
versatile loop can now be
switched in or out from the
footswitch and assigned to any
or all of the amp’s three
channels. Over to the right is
the valve tracking feature,
which gives the Dual Rectifier
its name – again this is now
channel assignable, with three
small toggle switches to preset
the power stage rectifier circuit
for each channel to either solid-
state or valve rectification. This
dramatically alters the way the
amp responds: solid-state gives
a fast attack with more
emphasis, while valve
rectification slows and
squashes the initial attack.
Other features include
external switching jacks for use
with suitable stage boards and
switchable bias between the
amp’s stock 6L6 output valves
and EL34s. There’s also a
dedicated tuner output, a Bold/
Spongy switch that varies the
overall voltage inside the amp,
and a manual channel-
changing switch for use when
the supplied foot controller isn’t
plugged in. The controller
selects channels, switches the
effects loop and solo functions
and also has a mute function,
which cuts the sound but leaves
the tuner output active. We’re
not sure that having a mute
switch on a foot controller is a
good idea – obviously the last
thing you’d want is to stand on it
just as you wind up for that big
solo. We’d feel happier if the
mute LED was ultra-bright red
instead of easy-to-miss yellow
and flashed, like the Rude Solo
light Mackie uses on some of its
desks, to make it obvious that
you aren’t in performance
mode. But it says something
when that’s all we can find to
moan about on an amp laden
with so many features.
Overall, the Dual Rectifier
exudes an aura of pro-standard
efficiency, built to handle any
situation with power to spare
and everything you could
possibly need from a modern
multi-channel guitar head.
Sounds
It’s anyone’s guess how many
gold and platinum albums have
been recorded using a Dual
Rectifier, but it’s a pretty
substantial number. When you
plug in and hear what one can
do for the first time, you’re very
quickly left in no doubt as to
why this is one of the world’s
top rock amps.
Channel one’s clean sounds
are perfectly formed, with a
sweet high-end, rich open mids
and tight bass that’s
reminiscent of the best
‘blackface’ Fenders. The
Pushed mode is ideal for blues
and modern country and has
plenty of range in the elusive
‘just beginning to overdrive’
area. It can be as sweet or
aggressive as you like.
Channel two delivers
devastating crunch and
medium gain sounds that track
fast enough to cover anything
from Texas blues to thrash. The
The Dual Rectifi er exudes an aura of pro-standard
effi ciency, built to handle any situation with power to
spare and everything you need from a modern multi-
channel guitar head
The mode switches vary each channel’s tone dramatically
GIT327.rev_mesa 104 25/2/10 8:21:9 am