Anyone out there have a chance to side by side test these? I plan on buying a head within the next week but can't decide what to get. I can afford the Mesa Dual rect, but the Peavey price tag is just looking me in the face. Is the sound of a mesa gonna be worth the extra 6-700 bux? I mean, if i buy a peavey, i can also buy some othre gear too with the money I save. I have always wanted a mesa though. Can anyone help me out here???

I dont think you can compare the two. a triple XXX is probably closer.
In my experience Ive played Duals ,I think theyre too muddy.The 5150 Im not crazee about either. but I like the XXX and even better The JSX which IMHOis the best peavey
Now this is my opinion

play them and deciede wich u like the best, someone elses opinioun might not be yours

__________________

ENGL Powerball... Or go for the Peavey. Mesa amps work good for easy as hell nu-metal riffs but if you play technical shit and want a good clean sound, don't get a Mesa amp. Besides, Mesa Boogie amps are overpriced for the quality of the amp you get. I hear the Mesa Mark IV's though are pretty good, but the rectifiers are WAY too muddy.

ii agree with fox.
but im not sure i like the jsx more... maybe i just diddnt know what i was doing, but the xxx souded better to me.

__________________

Also, a Peavey Triple XXX can mimic a Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier and actually sounds better IMHO.

it really depends on the sounds you want.

i find this to be one of those "Bad player blaming the amp" comments. not that i think you're a bad player, i have no idea. but it's one of those comments i could throw a couple cd's at you and you'd shut right the hell up.

i have no problem getting a good sound, distorted or clean. it's all in the playing, and the eq. i'm familiar with how mesa's eqs work. i'm not alone.

mesa amps are well built so i don't see how you can bash them there.

as far as price.... have you seen the competition's prices? marshall, engl, bogner, soldano, framus, splawn, h&k, ect... mesa is right there.

of course peavey keeps it real with lower prices than most others. but a 5150 sounds like a 5150. not an uberschall, not a cobra, not a recto, not a powerball. not better or worse, just different.

if you want a burger, you can have alot of choices from like $.89 and up.... but if you want a $6 restaraunt burger... you have to go to a restaraunt and pay $6 for it. and no that carl's jr./hardees's shit doesnt fucking count.


that's just so dumb it almost belongs in a sig...

the triple XXX mimicing a triple recto? how does it do that?
why a triple recto?
not a dual or single?
does it have a tube rectifier?

i don't see it. i've played a triple x and many a recto... apples and oranges. of course you like the triple x is your opinion, and i realize that. don't get me wrong. but it's the whole bs about the xxx mimicing a recto part. it just sounds like you're one of those guys that bought into the "poor man's recto" propaganda.

__________________

Uhh, no.


That is ludachristly (is that a word?) innacurate... apparently you havent spent enough time with either amps, or maybe you confuse the rec/XXX with something else?



I would chose the Mesa because I think the distortion is much tighter, and it has better gain. I would say they are both good for death metal, but the Mesa is more versatile. It depends on your style of playing....

__________________

i dont know, the 5150 has a bigger and heavier sound, like steve said, the mesa is tighter. both ok amps, but you might shop around more first

__________________

you know what I think

__________________

Speaking of 5150's, really, how good is the clean? Is it decent enuf for some average rhythm? And how tight/heavy/powerful/etc. is the dist. on it, like on the lead channel? Is it good enuf by itself, or would it be a little better with like a Ds-1 boosting it?

If you want a 5150 with a DECENT clean sound, you're gonna need to get it modded...though with some good chorus and maybe a little reverb you can get an ok sound. The distortion, however, is damn heavy and I'd be hard pressed to ever set the distortion over 6.

Yeah, I mean I can undertand the distortion being heavy, but as with many hi-gain tube amps that I've played, none of them have sounded good by itself. You get a rather "looser"/not tight sound.

Not good by itself?What amps are you talking about?

Obviously everyone has their own diff. opinions on what's a good tone, but like Marshalls, some Mesas, etc. Maybe you can get a little better if you'd crank it more, but overall it doesn't sound like anything I'd want, just by plugging in and playing.

I'd go with the recto just because i prefer their sound to the 5150 for most styles, but 5150's can sound killer as hell too (new despised icon FUCK YEAH!)

depends what style you're looking to play

__________________

It's mainly going to be used for black metal. But some chuggy death metal riffs will make their way through the system I'm sure. Thanx for all opinions. Still not quite sure, but still leaning more heavily towards the mesa. What's a realistic number to go in to a Mesa Retailer and try to bargain with? I hear they go for $1699 new, If Could get one closer to $1500 new i would buy it cash brand new.

here in holland mesa's cost a shitload. For a dual rectifier head new you pay 2100 euro's

__________________

guitar center would be your best bet for new prices.... but mesa doesnt allow their dealers to discount. so if you're looking to bargain, it's not going to work on that.

__________________

Buy a two channel Rec off of ebay. Thats what I did, and its fuckin sweet

__________________

ya thats what I planned on doing. Seems to be about 1300 alll together after shipping and insurance. If i could find one new for 15-16, i'd spend the extra money just in case the dude I'm buying it from has dropped the thing er something.

i'd just buy a used recto... honestly. i've heard horror stories about mesa support... my buddy's recto has been gone since like january...... i'm like damn... for that kind of time, i would have thrown like $250 at a local tech and said "fix it by the end of the month!".

i think it's $1300-ish for a new singl recto... $1,600 for a dual, and $1,700 for a triple...

i suggest you get a job at guitar center... you get mesa AT COST!. so basically, a new dual recto is like $950 out the door...

__________________

I bought my triple rec on ebay for about 1500 used from guitar cener...it needed work off the bat. I had to retube the power tubes...so I just went ahead and retubed the whole god damn thing...and a capacitor or something was blown...I don't remember...but my tech fixed it and it is as good as new....now if only my cab was here by now. Still waiting

__________________

haha dumbest post on this forum ever

__________________

I dont think its the DUMBEST. Dumb, for sure, but i dont think dumbest. I agree that it is possible to loosely emulate the recto with the XXX, but "mimic" is definitely not a suitable word.

sure you can adjust the amps to certain settings to get similar tones... but he makes it sound like a line 6 amp or something with a recto mode. the triple x is it's own amp with it's own sound.

__________________

Yea, i guess i agree with that. I personally don't like the XXX very much.... but this thread is about rectos and 5150s

i ve never played the mesa before but i ve played the 5150 and i really didnt like it, far to buzzy and messy if that makes sense

__________________

I never played the 5150. they are kinda rare here in holland. But I did own a dual rectifier for a long time and it sounded awesome. A little loose in the bass but nothing what an eq can't handle. If i ever get a chance I would buy one again.

__________________

i like the palm muteing sound of a 5150 and i like the fuzzy distortion, so my vote is 5150..and you save a shitload of money too compare to a recto.

__________________

What a cunt, shup up homo.

__________________

Marino was so angry he had to repeat himself

__________________

hahah

__________________

And rightfully so

Deleted the first one fucker...

__________________

I used to have a 2-chan dual rec and in my opinion the XXX beats the shit out of it (I now own a XXX). The XXX is much more versitile and actualy has a decent clean tone (unlike the boogie). 5150s are good amps, especialy if you're going for a thick bottom heavy tone.

Deciding between a 5150 and Dual Rec is simply a matter of how much versatility you want. 5150's are great if your into the whole "I only use distortion" crap, and in that case, the 5150 is a great little amp that can be had for little money. Also, the 5150's are easy to mod into something more ferocious or something a little more laid back (depending on your taste). Out of the box, however, a Dual Rec is a great and extremely versatile amp. I test drove one for about an hour and a half and got quite a few usable tones from it. One thing that people tend to do alot with them (and this is why I think people bash them) is leave the rectifier switch on the SS rectifier and not tube one. The tube one didn't give it as much gain (still enough though) as the SS one, but it cleaned up the muddiness.

One thing is for sure though. TRY THEM BOTH OUT. You gotta remember that these are just the OPINIONS of other people. Don't buy anything just because So-and -So said it was Br00t4l or some shit. Check 'em out. And don't limit your options. Try out everything you find in your price range.