PRS Archon vs. Mesa Rectifier - Go!

[iR4lf]

Hi guys!

I've been a Mesa Boogie user for years...I owned several Rectifiers (Dual, Triple, Reborn, Mini) and always thought that those amps fit my musical taste the best. I play hard rock like Alter Bridge, Tremonti, Black Stone Cherry...But I always had trouble setting up the Rectifier exactly how I wanted them to be...I had a perfect sound in our rehearsal space, then on stage I had to tweak it again because it sounded completely different...Yeah I know, room etc. But that's not what I mean. I also had problems with getting my sound right at different volume levels. I never liked how the Rectos sound on stage volume...I missed some kind of punch, tightness and always had this fizziness going on. Then I heard the Archon....And was blown away!

I bought it right of the bat and since then I am finally happy with the sound of my amp. In my opinion the Archon sounds like the better version of the Rectifier...Tight as hell, cutting through the mix and a lot of deep bottom end. Just an awesome plug-and-play amp...This is the reason what kept me from selling the amp with regard to the noisy effects loop. And after all those years with my Rectifiers I am just a step away from selling my beloved Rectifiers.

What are your opinions on the Archon compared to a Mesa Rectifier? Have you had a chance to compare them side by side?

Here are my thoughts...I know a lot of people want to know the differences of those amps so I thought let's gather the information

- I like the 3 channel design of the Recto and the different voicings but I always had problems getting the sound right! It was just too much for me. The Archon has only two channels, but the lead channel is an amazing rhythm and lead channel.
- Turning the depth knob and the bright switches of the Archon are like getting different amps, amazing
- The Archon is definitely a player's amp, just plug and play! All set on noon and your good to go.
- The Recto is a pain in the arse regarding the flabbiness, I often had to use a boost to get it tight.
- compared to the Archon, the Recto is very easy to include into a rig...Normal latching type switches for channel switching, not those 5-pin custom cables of the Archon
- In my opinion the Archon sits better in a band situation, also with low tunings.

No you.....Shoot!

 

[geese_com]

Having owned an Archon, Dual Rec Reborn, and a Road King II, I would pick the Archon almost every single time. I owned the Archon and the Road King II at the same time.

Clean channel is one of the best of any high gain amp I have owned and the gain channel is just more refined (to me) than a Rectifier.

Sure the Archon isn't as versatile as a Rectifier (in the sense that you can have multiple sounds just a footswitch press away) but what I liked about the Archon is how easy it is to dial in a great sound. With any Mesa I've owned (including Royal Atlantic, Mark IV, Mark V) I spent way too much time messing with knobs and switches and not enough time playing.

That's my 2 cents.

 

[themike]

Short and sweet, I pick the Archon. Mesa tone is fantastic BUT they were never tight enough for me and I always felt just got buried in the mix compared to the Archon. Also the clean tone on the Archon is unbeatable.

 

[ChrisCst22]

I'm crossing my fingers someone says they like Recto better, only because I just bought a brand new Dual Rec Reborn two weeks ago.

I love the amp, I am super pleased with the sound. It's got me so very close to the sound in my head. Never tried an Archon. Hope I'm not missing out too much!!

 

[László]

I'm crossing my fingers someone says they like Recto better, only because I just bought a brand new Dual Rec Reborn two weeks ago.

I love the amp, I am super pleased with the sound. It's got me so very close to the sound in my head. Never tried an Archon. Hope I'm not missing out too much!!

They're different! Different is good!

 

[aristotle]

I have a Roadster and an Archon. I definitely wouldn't give up my Roadster, but if I could only have one... It'd be the Archon. The Roadster is great. But even though it's more flexible, I like the gain tone of the Archon better than any of the options available on the Roadster, and the Archon clean channel takes the Xotic BB pedal wonderfully, which gets me that nice JTM style tone, and that's all of the flexibility I need. Definitely not suggesting that you ditch the Dual Rec though. If you dig it, a bird in the hand as they say...

 

[László]

I love the Archon and PRS amps in general, so that'd be what I'd put in my own studio, but I also love Mesas and I will say that the Dual Recto has a wonderful tone, especially for layering certain kinds of guitar sounds on recordings.

Not that the Archon doesn't, I just have a lot of experience recording (and gigging) the Mesa stuff.

But as Aristotle says, if you're happy and you know it...why reinvent the wheel?

 

[markintime]

But as Aristotle says, if you're happy and you know it...why reinvent the wheel?

Or, as a former boss of mine used to say, "Don't reinvent the shovel...just dig the d@mn ditch!"

 

[vchizzle]

I'm crossing my fingers someone says they like Recto better, only because I just bought a brand new Dual Rec Reborn two weeks ago.

I love the amp, I am super pleased with the sound. It's got me so very close to the sound in my head. Never tried an Archon. Hope I'm not missing out too much!!

I certainly wouldn't be losing any sleep - you sound super happy! That can be a dangerous game, that GAS thing.

Hi guys!

I've been a Mesa Boogie user for years...I owned several Rectifiers (Dual, Triple, Reborn, Mini) and always thought that those amps fit my musical taste the best. I play hard rock like Alter Bridge, Tremonti, Black Stone Cherry...But I always had trouble setting up the Rectifier exactly how I wanted them to be...I had a perfect sound in our rehearsal space, then on stage I had to tweak it again because it sounded completely different...Yeah I know, room etc. But that's not what I mean. I also had problems with getting my sound right at different volume levels. I never liked how the Rectos sound on stage volume...I missed some kind of punch, tightness and always had this fizziness going on. Then I heard the Archon....And was blown away!

I bought it right of the bat and since then I am finally happy with the sound of my amp. In my opinion the Archon sounds like the better version of the Rectifier...Tight as hell, cutting through the mix and a lot of deep bottom end. Just an awesome plug-and-play amp...This is the reason what kept me from selling the amp with regard to the noisy effects loop. And after all those years with my Rectifiers I am just a step away from selling my beloved Rectifiers.

What are your opinions on the Archon compared to a Mesa Rectifier? Have you had a chance to compare them side by side?

Here are my thoughts...I know a lot of people want to know the differences of those amps so I thought let's gather the information

- I like the 3 channel design of the Recto and the different voicings but I always had problems getting the sound right! It was just too much for me. The Archon has only two channels, but the lead channel is an amazing rhythm and lead channel.
- Turning the depth knob and the bright switches of the Archon are like getting different amps, amazing
- The Archon is definitely a player's amp, just plug and play! All set on noon and your good to go.
- The Recto is a pain in the arse regarding the flabbiness, I often had to use a boost to get it tight.
- compared to the Archon, the Recto is very easy to include into a rig...Normal latching type switches for channel switching, not those 5-pin custom cables of the Archon
- In my opinion the Archon sits better in a band situation, also with low tunings.

No you.....Shoot!

Haven't played side by side(though I've played the combo 25's back to back). I agree with most of what you said. I don't know if I'd say flabby, but I'd go looser. That can be a good or bad thing, depending on what ya want. There was a time I wanted ungodly tight, so then I might've said flabby. I find the Archon really tight but still organic, where it doesn't sound sterile or clinical....which is a tricky, fine line sometimes.

 

[shinksma]

I'm crossing my fingers someone says they like Recto better, only because I just bought a brand new Dual Rec Reborn two weeks ago.

I love the amp, I am super pleased with the sound. It's got me so very close to the sound in my head. Never tried an Archon. Hope I'm not missing out too much!!

They're different! Different is good!

Yes, exactly!

(I had started a reply, but got distracted (could easily happen again before I'm done), so I'll re-create my response, hopefully more coherently...)

The whole point of different manufacturers and different models is to create something that is not the same, because maybe what one person finds perfect is not quite there for someone else.

I have played neither a Recto nor an Archon (but I'm changing that very shortly...hint hint), but I would bet there are aspects to each that allows one to get certain sounds the other cannot quite nail, and yet there are probably many settings (different for each model, of course) that result in nearly-identical results.

Marshall, Orange, Hi-Watt, Vox, Mesa/Boogie, PRS etc all exist and produce a variety of amps because there is demand for a variety of flavors. However, almost all of them cover similar territories to at least one other model by some other manufacturer, so that we can get "that sound" when we need it, and then change things up to get something else.

The PRS HX/DA apparently is modeled after specific Marshall sounds of certain Messrs Hendrix and Allman (just learned that yesterday - always wondered at the mysterious HX/DA name...duh). But I bet it also covers territory a Marshall might not get into.

So yeah, different is good!

 

[claythomas]

I have played Dual Rec's for 10 years. Never had any issues with them. I have even tried out various tube combinations, and have settled on 5881's. I play hard rock, metal, and various classic rock utilizing all 3 channels. Now with all that, I recommend putting in new tubes before you make any decision.

 

[ChrisCst22]

I certainly wouldn't be losing any sleep - you sound super happy! That can be a dangerous game, that GAS thing.

Yeah, I am happy. I was borrowing an older 3 channel Dual Recto for a while, and hated it at first. Then it began to grow on me. After hours and hours of googling and reading about the revised Rectos, or "Reborns" as they're called, I decided to buy one sight unseen from across the country and have it shipped. Instantly liked what I was getting out of it far more than the older one.

 

[László]

The PRS HX/DA apparently is modeled after specific Marshall sounds of certain Messrs Hendrix and Allman (just learned that yesterday - always wondered at the mysterious HX/DA name...duh). But I bet it also covers territory a Marshall might not get into.

What PRS did, as I understand it, was get their hands on the actual Plexi Superbass that Duane Allman used for "Live at the Fillmore" and nail that sucker's tone. (The Allman Brothers Band uses PRS amps).

Then for good measure, realizing that the parts to make a Superlead like a Hendrix amp weren't all that different, they got their hands on an Eric Johnson Plexi and did the same thing.

I've been around since the 60s, and I swear that the HX/DA is the best two vintage Marshall style amps ever made, period, bar none. Moreover, built into the amp are two gain controls, one for bass, one for lead, that you can blend the way that things were blended with a jumper cable back in the day, only with the HXDA no jumper cable is needed. You can also go partway between HX and DA and vary the switches for your own sound. The amp kills.

It certainly covers territory that no current Marshall does, and it cleans up better than any current Marshall I've heard. Blending the gain controls gives you yet another thing, and the vintage Marshalls also didn't come with master volume controls. On the other hand, it's not a metal amp unless you push it with a fuzz or gainy OD.

The HXDA has a pillowy feel that you can really dig into, it's like sinking a spoon into a delicious thick caramel fudge. The amp just gives in the most musical way. And for me, it's the best amp I've ever owned or played, including a number of very high end amps that set me back a lot more dough. It's also a very quiet amp. Notes come out of an inky blackness. It has cut, but it can be smooth if you dial it in for that. It can be bright or dark. It just does everything incredibly well.

 

[0defects13]

Didn't play both side by side. I own a Mesa 3 channel triple and a mini. I only played an archon for about 15 minutes and through a crate cab (yuck). It still sounded great. I was very impressed by the PRS Archon.

 

[Chester]

The HXDA has a pillowy feel that you can really dig into, it's like sinking a spoon into a delicious thick caramel fudge. The amp just gives in the most musical way. It's also a very quiet amp. Notes come out of an inky blackness. It has cut, but it can be smooth if you dial it in for that. It can be bright or dark. It just does everything incredibly well.

THIS is why I want one

 

[tabl10s]

Doesn't anyone love a Paul's? Where do they rank in the line-up?

 

[bodia]

What PRS did, as I understand it, was get their hands on the actual Plexi Superbass that Duane Allman used for "Live at the Fillmore" and nail that sucker's tone. (The Allman Brothers Band uses PRS amps).

Then for good measure, realizing that the parts to make a Superlead like a Hendrix amp weren't all that different, they got their hands on an Eric Johnson Plexi and did the same thing.

I've been around since the 60s, and I swear that the HX/DA is the best two vintage Marshall style amps ever made, period, bar none. Moreover, built into the amp are two gain controls, one for bass, one for lead, that you can blend the way that things were blended with a jumper cable back in the day, only with the HXDA no jumper cable is needed. You can also go partway between HX and DA and vary the switches for your own sound. The amp kills.

It certainly covers territory that no current Marshall does, and it cleans up better than any current Marshall I've heard. Blending the gain controls gives you yet another thing, and the vintage Marshalls also didn't come with master volume controls. On the other hand, it's not a metal amp unless you push it with a fuzz or gainy OD.

The HXDA has a pillowy feel that you can really dig into, it's like sinking a spoon into a delicious thick caramel fudge. The amp just gives in the most musical way. And for me, it's the best amp I've ever owned or played, including a number of very high end amps that set me back a lot more dough. It's also a very quiet amp. Notes come out of an inky blackness. It has cut, but it can be smooth if you dial it in for that. It can be bright or dark. It just does everything incredibly well.

Gack! :bawling: Damn you and your clever wordsmithery! I LOVE caramel fudge. Now I wanna unload the Mark V

 

[László]

Gack! :bawling: Damn you and your clever wordsmithery! I LOVE caramel fudge. Now I wanna unload the Mark V

It'd be nice to have both. The Mark V is a really fine amp, too.

 

[bodia]

It'd be nice to have both. The Mark V is a really fine amp, too.

Hmmm....I could have my cake, and eat it too....slathered in caramel fudge