My first tube amp - mesa rectoverb 50

[thetruthguy]

Just got a Mesa Single Rectifier Rect-o-verb 50 from eBay. Any tube gurus out there want to give me the dos and don'ts of this amp? I'm using it with a vertical rectifier 2x12 cabinet (Celestion vintage 30s). The guy I bought it from said it never left the house and the tubes had very little use. After looking it over, I'm pretty sure that's true. The tubes look great, and other than being a bit dusty, the whole amp is in very good condition. I've never owned a tube amp and haven't the slightest idea what I need to do to maintain it, check for damage, etc. I did download the user's manual for this amp from the Mesa site. Seems pretty cut and dry, the amp doesn't need to be biased, the tubes seem pretty easy to replace, etc. I've turned it on and checked all the switches and knobs. Everything seems to be working fine. I haven't had a chance to fire it up, yet, because I'm currently without a guitar (one of the many waiting on the DK2LE). So, any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

--Dan

[Chuckracer]

Re: My first tube amp - mesa rectoverb 50

Really not a whole lot to know. The most improtant thing is to turn the amp on, but leave it on standby for a couple minutes while the tubes warm up, then hit it.
Turn it off with the standby first. This way it is already on standby when you next power it up.
Also, avoid moving or shocking a hot tube amp. The tubes are fragile when hot.
The tubes will degrade slowly, so you may not notice how they are going downhill and needing replacment, so figure every six months or so if using it a lot.

Thats a nice head...I had one and it was my favorite of all the Rectos I had...with the exception of a couple of low number custom colored Duals.

Enjoy!!

[Dreamland_Rebel]

Re: My first tube amp - mesa rectoverb 50

don't ever turn it on without the speakers plugged in!!!!!!!

other than that - its a mule!

[thetruthguy]

Re: My first tube amp - mesa rectoverb 50

Okay, I won't ... but why not turn it on without the speakers plugged in??? Will that damage it?

Thanks.

--Dan

[ckeer]

Re: My first tube amp - mesa rectoverb 50

Congrats on the recto. As to your question, yes, it will damage it. Maybe someone can give the technical reason, but the power in the head needs to go somewhere (like to a speaker). Without being plugged into a speaker, you can fry your amp. I've read quite a few stories of people forgetting it wasn't plugged in and damaging their amps.

[jwoods986]

Re: My first tube amp - mesa rectoverb 50

Congrats. I have a Single Recto 50 and Mesa 1x12 cab but I wish it had the verb built in. It is a great amp, I love it. Good clean and kick-ass distortion!! And the solo button is a nice feature.
BTW - I might be replacing the tubes soon, it has the original ones (6L6s I believe). Does anyone have (or had) a Single Recto that they replaced the tubes with something other than 6L6s and what were the results?

[jazzman]

Re: My first tube amp - mesa rectoverb 50

Yeah, it can damage the transformers.

[thetruthguy]

Re: My first tube amp - mesa rectoverb 50

Thanks for the replies. I got a chance to check it out with a Charvel Model A I won off of eBay. OMG ... the guitar screams! I've never played through a tube amp and have only had experience with solid state and digital modeling amps. I now realize what all the fuss is about. Even at really low volumes, it has great distortion.

Another question - I've always heard tube amps last a long time. How true is that about the Recto? Can I expect it to last awhile, or can tube amps have malfunctions like modeling amps?

[Boxcar Willie 84]

Re: My first tube amp - mesa rectoverb 50

As long as you let them warm up and cool off like Chuck said, they should last for a while. Of course there are bad tubes out there, but in general you shouldn't have too many problems as long as you take care of it. Great amp by the way!

[jazzman]

Re: My first tube amp - mesa rectoverb 50

Now that you've discovered tubes, You can try different brands of the same tube. Many will sound different. (as long as the plates inside look different) You can change the sound of your amp just by using different tubes.

This could be the beginning of your journey to the hell of finding great tone. Eventually, you'll be a nutcase like me and try pieces of shrink wrap around your preamp tubes to cut down on microphonics!

[jwoods986]

Re: My first tube amp - mesa rectoverb 50

truthguy - mine was my first tube amp also. I felt the same way, I understood why people rave about tube amps and it rocks even at low volume.
Jazzman - I messed up my earlier question about changing tubes. I asked about changing the type (which you can't do) and I meant to ask if anyone had tried different brands in the Single Recto and what were the results? Thanks.

[kmanick]

Re: My first tube amp - mesa rectoverb 50

John try JJ's. got to eurotubes.com and see what he has for your specific amp. I put these into my marshall combo and they made a huge diffrence. click the shop online links and follow to your specific amp. he sells matched sets, is very quick to ship and will answer email questions really quickly.
great experience using this guys site

[jwoods986]

Re: My first tube amp - mesa rectoverb 50

Thanks Nick. I'll check that out when the time comes for changing them. Also, approximately how much does it cost to get a head re-tubed? I think the Single Recto (can't look now I'm at work) only has 2 tubes and I've read it doesn't need to be "biased".

[Boxcar Willie 84]

Re: My first tube amp - mesa rectoverb 50

It's only got two power amp tubes, and it doesn't have to be biased as long as you replace them with the same model in a Mesa tube. If you get GTs or JJs or Electro-Harmonix or something then you'll have to get it biased. However if you replace the preamp tubes, you won't have to get it biased.

[Twisteramps]

Re: My first tube amp - mesa rectoverb 50

Might want to take it to a tech and have the power tubes rebiased if you use mesa tubes or not. Mesa is notorious for biasing the tubes very cold from the factory to make the tubes last longer. This also can make the amp not sound as good as it could.

Pete