MESA combo Amp decision: TC-50 vs Rectoverb 25 vs Badlander 50 vs Mark V 35

[Caveman89]

Yup, another one of those threads (please don't kill me). Anyway, how you doin' guys?

So, I'm in the market for a new MESA combo amp, the reason?, I travel a lot and soon, I'll be moving to another country so I need portability without losing that MESA tone that I love. Sadly, every MESA dealer around my area don't have any MESA amps in stock at the store so I'm forced to drive (a lot) and find some amps to try nearby, or go the "Buy Online" route which would be the most effective. That being said, I wan't to read you all on what is your advice in terms of what would be the perfect MESA combo for my current needs.

My current main and only amp is a 3ch Dual Rectifier Head (Non-Multiwatt) which I just adore, the tone is perfect for what I play (that would be 90's inspired alternative and hard rock, lots of Drop D stuff and so on...) But it has to go for sale soon since I'm moving to another country, so a Head + Cab setup is no option, I need a combo, and I want a MESA combo, I just love MESA stuff, I've had everything from Marshalls, to Fenders, Riveras, but MESA its just where I live tonally, period.

As I said before, I play mainly 90's inspired Alternative and Hard Rock with ocasional Classic Rock tunes and some clean ambient stuff. So, understanding this, I want to be able to cover the following needs with this new "combo amp":

- I play a lot with my CU22 and McCarty volume knobs, so I need something with great dynamics and touch sensitivity.
- I will have only one amp. So I need Versatility without giving up on tone.
- Though I love the Recto tone, I'm open to try new alternatives that would get me close to it and what not.
- It has to be a combo and it has to be a MESA Boogie amp.
- I need Reliability. How's MESA's new amps build quality nowadays? (Badlander 50, TC-50)
- I love my Recto, but I hate it's fx loop. I want something with a great loop for my delays and modulation pedals.
- I don't care for the CabClone, but its defo' a plus.

The models I've selected are the following:

MESA Triple Crowne 50 Combo
MESA Rectifier Badlander 50 Combo
MESA Rectoverb 25 Combo
MESA Mark V 35 Combo


Let the games begin...

 

[WEDGE]

Look Love the Mark stuff. Did not like my TC 50, could not get a tone I liked. I actually have a guitar I bought from Peach guitars and they used a TC50 for the YouTube demo and it sounded horrible. I trusted that a Knaggs shouldn’t sound horrible and I was right. It kills with every amp I play it through.

 

[strat63]

I've had the Mark V 35 combo, Rectoverb 25 combo and still own the TC-50 combo. Unlike Wedge, I can find a ton of sounds in it that I find usable. The only hiccup for me has been the loop. Mine adds some low end when engaged. The MIDI capabilities have turned out to be quite useful. It also has the best master volume of any tube amp I can remember.

The other 2 just didn't work out for me. I might also suggest checking out a Fillmore combo. I love the cleans and the mid gain tones. Everything I've tried in the loop has worked. I'm a big fan of the 25 watt combo.

Here's a bad picture of the TC-50. You may want to note just how big the foot switch is. The MIDI controller I use for it is much smaller.

 

[Chester]

Long time Mesa player here, before I found "my" sound in Carol Anns. I second the option of a Fillmore, which provides the versatility I would want. I had a love/hate relationship with my MKV, but loved the Stiletto and Lonestars I owned, and on paper, the Fillmore touches those bases in a 2 CH package. I have yet to try on live though

 

[Simon Says]

I own Fillmore for almost 2 years now. I was shuffling amps a lot prior to getting Fillmore head. This amp is my comfort zone and does everything from amazing cleans trough crunches up to high gains if properly boosted. I have used mine with EP Booster but recently got two Chase Tone Secret preamps which made this already decent amp even better. Reaction to pick attack is amazing. Its a vintage voiced amp but with strong Mesa DNA so it's perfect to be do-it-all.

I used to have a stash of amps, Rockerverb for high gains, AD30 for chime, Rivera for edge of breakup... Fillmore fusioned them all into one box. Can't speak highly enough about this amp and I have no plans to let it go

 

[bodia]

I've had the Mark V 35 combo, Rectoverb 25 combo and still own the TC-50 combo. Unlike Wedge, I can find a ton of sounds in it that I find usable. The only hiccup for me has been the loop. Mine adds some low end when engaged. The MIDI capabilities have turned out to be quite useful. It also has the best master volume of any tube amp I can remember.

The other 2 just didn't work out for me. I might also suggest checking out a Fillmore combo. I love the cleans and the mid gain tones. Everything I've tried in the loop has worked. I'm a big fan of the 25 watt combo.

Here's a bad picture of the TC-50. You may want to note just how big the foot switch is. The MIDI controller I use for it is much smaller.

Love that Soldano!

 

[Caveman89]

Thanks your comments guys!, all great.

Well, I've narrowed my search down to the TC-50 combo and the ROV25 Head + 112 Cab. TC-50 combos are sold out everywhere... so I'm left with the ROV25 option, I would really love to have more wattage on tap though... some of you have mention the Filmore combo, how does this one compare to the ROV25?, would it get me close to that Recto feel?, thanks again!

 

[strat63]

Thanks your comments guys!, all great.

Well, I've narrowed my search down to the TC-50 combo and the ROV25 Head + 112 Cab. TC-50 combos are sold out everywhere... so I'm left with the ROV25 option, I would really love to have more wattage on tap though... some of you have mention the Filmore combo, how does this one compare to the ROV25?, would it get me close to that Recto feel?, thanks again!

The gain in the Fillmore is quite different to the Recto and I prefer the clean by a fair amount. It's way more on the Fender side of things. I picture it as nice Deluxe Reverb with a great 2nd channel. The channels are identical with 3 modes on each so it's pretty versatile while still being easy to dial in.

The TC-50 comes stock with EL34 tubes. The clean tone is less sparkly but it sure does crunch and high gain well. The reality is I don't know if you can go wrong with any of the options you're considering.

Because everyone seems to like pictures, here's one of my Fillmore and my favorite Boogie. No PRS in the picture so sorry about that.

Some of you have too many guitars. I have an amp problem. Maybe someday I'll take a group photo but I don't like moving them.

 

[Chester]

@strat63 .. your wicker Filly 25 looks the business! It's certainly on my small list of "want" amps, so when one comes up ...

 

[Em7]

A lot younger guitarists assume that Recto = Mesa sound. However, the signature Mesa sound is the Mark series and derivatives, which sound noting like a Recto. It is almost comical how many younger guitarists buy a Mark series or Mark series-derived amp and then attempt to do the drop-tuned, obese bumble bee in a jar tone thing. It just does not work with a Mark series amp. The closest one is going to get is the eighties Thrash metal tone made popular Thrash metal bands playing 50 Caliber amps with the graphic EQ set to the "V" shape. However, the amp does not have that low, loose crunch that the Recto possesses, which is the result of another happy accident at Mesa. It the result of what is known as capacitive coupling between two traces on opposite sides of the board. Another big difference for the Recto is that unlike the Mark series and Mark series-derivatives, it is not a derivative of the Fender AB763 circuit (the circuit found in blackface Deluxe Reverbs, Twin Reverbs, and Super Reverbs). Like Marshalls, the Recto circuit is based on the Fender 5F6A Tweed Bassman. Nothing sounds like a Recto, but a real Recto. The Rectoverb 25 is a nice amp, but it is not a real Recto, not from a circuit design and layout point of view.

 

[Fro]

…the Recto circuit is based on the Soldano.

I did a little edit to your quote here

 

[László]

Internet recommendations are so hard to go by. Everyone's got their own idea, not only of which amps sound best - even when playing in the same genre, we set up our amps in highly individual ways, and have different ideas about the tones that work best for that genre.

If the Recto you have is perfect, seems as though you might be disappointed with an amp that isn't a Recto.

Mesa says their Badlander is based on their Recto models, though it uses different output tubes than most Rectos (EL34s).

I've got a couple of Mesas, though I've had a bunch over the years. Currently, one of them is a 212 100 Watt Lone Star combo. It's so heavy that I find it very difficult to move around (I think it weighs close to 100 pounds, which, yeah, is nuts); I doubt I'd buy another combo.

If you think you're going to be dragging your amp from place to place, the weight of a combo is something to consider. I'd rather carry a head and cab separately and make two trips to the car, to make things easier in my back. YMMV.

I've also got a 50W Fillmore head, but as someone else said, it's different from a Recto. I like both of my Mesas quite a lot, though my PRS single-channel amps are my favorites. Horses for courses!

 

[Em7]

I did a little edit to your quote here

The Soldano SLO is derived from Marshall amp designs, which, in turn, are derived from the 5F6-A Tweed Bassman. However, the Recto is more of a return to the basics than the SLO in that it also a employs the dual 5U4B rectifier power supply design first used in the Tweed Twin. Trust me, there really only three basic circuit topologies being used by the major amp manufacturers, they are: 5F6-A, AB763, and Vox TB (with honorable mention given to Hiwatt). All modern tube amp circuits are just reworked versions of these circuits with tweaks and/or additional gain stages. The 5F6-A circuit is the ancestor of basically all hard rock and metal amps. That is an uncontested fact. I have been working on amps since 1976 and my father worked with tube-type electronics back in the 50s. There are no real revolutionary tube guitar amp circuits being built today. They are all based on 50s and 60s circuit designs.