Mesa/Boogie has brought another ‘90s tube amp classic back for a limited time only, as the legendary Triple Rectifier Solo returns in a black-out finish – and, as per the original, it packs enough firepower to give the sound engineer a nervous breakdown.
In the conversation surrounding the best amps for metal, the Triple Rectifier Solo was always the nuclear option.
In the parlance of 1990s pop-cultural discussion, it was the one with 150-watts… The one that had a half-dozen 6L6 power tubes. The one that curiously was not quite as popular as the era-defining Dual Rectifier, and yet was often preferred for its extra headroom, super-tight low end and capacity to really make a fist of your power chords.
Like, “Could it be any louder?”
Well, no, but loudness wasn’t its USP. Those who have A/B’d the Dual and Triple Rectos have reported that the difference isn’t necessarily in overall dB (sound engineers, you can come back into the room now), but just in how that extra muscle shapes and sculpts the sound.
“Following the excitement around last year’s Chrome edition of the 90s Dual and Triple Rectifier Solo Heads, we wanted to honor one of the most iconic Custom Dress options in our history with a limited run of stealth-inspired ‘blackout’ Triple Rectifiers,” says West.
If you are unfamiliar with how those look, then please take a moment to look at the pictures. Mesa/Boogie is as good as its word here. The Triple Rectifier does look menacing in that stealth/blackout finish, with the black diamond grille plate, the black knurled metal dials, and the red jewel lamp looking much like the eye of the T-800 Terminator.
“Back in the ‘90s, these upscale, blacked-out models dominated stages behind some of the biggest names in rock,” continues West. “Today, finding one on the pre-owned market usually means heavy wear from years of touring – so this is a rare chance to own one in pristine, brand-new condition.”
Under the hood – well, not so much under but on show – you will find a six-pack of 6L6s, a trio of 5U4GB rectifier tubes, plus five 12AX7 preamp tubes. That’s a lot of glass.
And there are a lot of features, with Mesa/Boogie once more serving up an amplifier that offered all kinds of ways to EQ your tone (or nuke your midrange if you were '90s metal). It lets you switch between silicon diode or tube rectification.
You can run it “Bold” or run it “Spongy” via the ‘Variac power’ switch. It supports all your wet/dry/wet pro live rig dreams with an effects loop. There is an abundance of speaker outputs and pro features.
And this is the thing. The Triple Rectifier is a lot of guitar amp. Its formidable capabilities for handling low-end, high-gain electric guitar sounds made it a natural fit for nu-metal (but let’s not hold that against it). The pro player who tunes down or uses a seven-string could get a lot of joy from it.
West says they’re limited but there are no details as to how limited. If you’ve got the dough – $3,699/£3,799 – get ‘em while their hot.
“These amps are for players who dream of owning a true icon,” says West. “The Triple Rectifier remains one of the most sonically and stylistically impactful amps we’ve ever created, and revisiting it in this beloved Custom Dress option is inspiring for us.
“It reflects our design, where instruments look as impressive as they sound and sound as impressive as they look. That’s exactly what these limited-run Triple Rectifiers deliver.”
For more details, head over to Mesa/Boogie.
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