Mini Rectifier 25 - 25-watt Tube Head - Silver Diamond Faceplate Review

I'm In Love....

A couple of years ago, I decided to go the Synergy SYN-1 and the company's modules. I think that it is a brilliant system but you really need a power amp to get the best out of the system. I have a EHX Bullet 44 power amp pedal, and while this works, it's a little clunky. BUT always a Boogie fan and decided to get this after thinking about the best way to set up my rig for versatility,… read more sound and convenience. So far, I have tried this bulldog of an amp with my SSH Strat, Danelectro 12-string and my 1976 Les Paul. Truly stunning tones. They're all there -- warm and full cleans to face melting death grind. But my test for an awesome amp has always been getting that in between clean grit sound and the Mini-Rectifier delivers in spades. I recorded a few riffs on a bluesy track that I'm working on and I couldn't believe how jaw dropping the tones were and just listened over and over again to the sweet grind on the track I laid down with the Mini-R. Super minor complaints -- the knobs are not the best at letting you know where you are in terms of EQ settings, gain or volume because of the shine of the chrome and the little indent on them. So you have to get in close and at the right angle to dial in your tones. I also would have preferred the foot switch jack on the back but I get why it's on the front. Another minor complaint is that the standby switch could have been better labeled because at first I though that the standby was engaged when it wasn't and visa-versa. On the "bonus" side, I love the gig bag and the Footswitch itself. Other than getting 3 more Synergy modules, I will have the ultimate guitar tone rig, though I feel that I'm 90% already there. Highly recommended.

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MESA'S BEST SMALL PACKAGE

Got this with the matching 1x12 cab. Wow! My first Boogie as well. I was always turned off the price(and loudness)of all their amps. In the early 2000s its clear that the Rectifiers were the go to amp back then. Practically every band back then used them and defined an era. But then heads started getting smaller thanks to Hughes and Kettner. "Lunchbox" heads were suddenly the norm… read more in no time thanks to Peavey, EVH, Vox and Marshall. Enter the Mini Rec... Never have I found an amp to be so easily adjustable. With a choice of four channels and the ability to use two at a time with the included footswitch and the switching is flawless with little popping. The only thing is the knobs are a little hard to see the setting with just a tiny mark to indicate the setting on chrome grippy knobs. Would be nice to have little pointers. I painted to tiny marks black so now I can readily see the settings. The channels themselves are a trove of tone in each one. I underestimated what EL84 tubes sound like as 6L6s or EL34 sound great in the bigger Rec heads and they can't put such high powered tubes in a head meant for lower wattage. The CLEAN channel is very clean and warm, with no hint of break up very much like a Roland. The PUSHED channel has a slight bit of gain that is gritty perhaps like a Vox. The Vintage channel is all Marshall JCM 800. The MODERN channel is all Boogie with tons of gain. Suck the mids out and you have the classic Rec high gain. Throw on a Tubescreamer for a little boost and to tighten the bass and its hard to put the guitar down. And it mates so well with the Boogie 1x12. The sound projection and punch is so focused. I set it up with 10W settings and toggle between the Clean/Vintage or Pushed/Modern settings. Just need to set volumes with the chosen dirty channel volume set slightly higher. This thing is loud but I set the clean gain at 9 oclock and the dirty channel gain at 12 o'clock. Most of my pedals, modulation, overdrive and Whammy go through the front with reverbs and delay in the loop. Such a simple set up. I was originally going to get the EVH Stealth lunchbox but after trying one I found it flimsy and cheap compared to the Mini Rec. Lastly, I have several small amps for home practice, jamming with friends and small gigs. They are mostly combos so easy to lug around. Orange Rocker 15, Marshall DSL20, Fender Blues Jr, Vox AC10, Roland JC40.The Mini Rec may replace all of them. When you look at all the amps ever produced, large or small, there are really generally four tones. The Mini Rec covers all so well except maybe the Fender Blues Jr. Thats its only downfall.

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A+ Awesome

This is now my 6th Mesa amp, having been thru a Triple Rectifier, Roadster, Mark V, Mark V25, and Badlander previously. All previous amps were great in their own ways, but this little beast is amazing. The tones it is capable of are just about as good as (or close to) the larger Dual or Triple Recs. As small as the PRS MT15 is and as massive as it sounds, this one is pretty… read more close in those same ways, but is even smaller and definitely lighter. When I first took it out of the box, my first thought was: If it put two drops of water on it, will it grow into a full size Dual Rec? All jokes aside, controls are the same, save for the Bold/Spongy, etc switches on the back, as the larger versions. And you can't beat how simple the controls are - I could never get just the right sound out of the 5 band EQ on the Mark Vs - so if you like things on the easier side, this is the amp for you. The Clean channel is surprisingly lovely, with a very warm (but not sterile) character to it, and much warmer than the Mark V mini amps. Even when using hot humbucker pickups, it stays very clean overall. The Lead channels are excellent also. Having been a long time since I had a classic Rectifier amp, I forgot how much I missed that Dual Rec roar. There is definitely a volume jump when switching from Vintage to Modern, but it takes a fraction of a second to compensate with the knobs. If you play through a Two Notes Captor X, you will most likely have to switch between the High and Low levels when switching between Vintage and Modern, but that is hardly a complaint. It also takes boost pedals like a champ, and I would say when using a typical TS9 Tube Screamer it took me all of 15 mins to dial in a sound that sustained well but didn't oversaturate the signal. Two super duper minor complaints would be that the knobs are so shiny that it's sometimes difficult to see where the markings are. I ordered a set of black knobs direct from Mesa Boogie and will change those out so I can see better. The other is that the carrying handle can get crooked when trying to push it into the amp. If you like things all nice and straight, it can sometimes takes some maneuvering to get it level. Regardless, I would highly recommend this amp and even I get to own a full size Dual or Triple Rec in the future, I would keep this amp anyway - it's got its own character that can't be beat.

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Mini mesa

Great little amp, excellent quality and tone. May consider a attenuator if practice is in small room, it's small size is decieveing in it's power this thing gets loud out of the gate...love it.

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8 years now and still incredible

This review was long overdue, but I wanted to put it out there for people considering amps or the new popular digital stuff. I had a lonestar (my first tube amp) get stolen when I lived in Italy, and that was an incredible amp. I fell in love with Mesa ever since. When I got back to the states in 2010, I bought a cheap bugera to get me by cause I was broke. Then the mini rec… read more came out, I watched numerous vids and was sold. I can tell you, I've practiced in bands, and gigged with this 8 years now. I've replaced the tubes three times, and the third I really didn't need to. It's built like a brick, tones for days, I've fell in love with it all over again to lately watching Jamie Humphries (six string alliance) rock it. Hell, I've been using the modern setting for most of 2012-2019 and been really rocking the vintage setting lately (which sounds incredible with my Les Paul). This is really all the amp I will ever need. I'm not a pro, I play in cover bands mostly, and mainly gig in small venues.....when I did gig, I rarely mic'd it, (didn't need to). The amp takes pedals very well. I can really get any tone I need, rock, hard rock, metal, blues. My only complaint, is I wish I could switch between each channel mode (but that's probably asking a lot for an amp this size) I've tried digital stuff, HX stomp and all that, but once you go tube, my ears are just too picky for anything else

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