All in the Family — the ’90s Triple Rectifier Joins the Mesa Party
Few guitar amplifiers have made a more significant impact on heavy guitar tones than Mesa’s original 1990s-era Dual and Triple Rectifier Solo heads. Indeed, the Rectifier series’ sublime melding of aggressive lows, harmonic-rich highs, and meticulously scooped mids redefined what high gain was supposed to sound like. While the modern amps definitely deliver the gut-punching goods, many Recto enthusiasts will tell you there’s something special about the 1990s-era models. This reissued Mesa/Boogie ’90s Triple Rectifier gives Recto aficionados everything they could wish for, including the legendary Orange/Vintage and Modern/Red channels, complete with Channel Cloning. That said, the ’90s Triple Rectifier flaunts a number of modern upgrades, most notably an improved Clean mode. Moreover, in addition to the usual EQ and Gain controls, the ’90s Triple Rectifier includes a Bold/Spongy Power switch, a Rectifier Select switch, and a Bias Switch toggle for custom-tailoring your tone, as well as an effects loop. The Mesa/Boogie ’90s Triple Rectifier enables modern guitarists to wield the ferocious Recto tone that has dominated the high-gain world for the past three decades. Available in limited quantities, these won't last long!
Important Notice for International Customers: Mesa/Boogie products sold by Sweetwater are intended for use within the United States. We are unable to ship any Mesa/Boogie products outside of the US.
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Triple the power, triple the fun
Introduced not long after the Dual Rectifier’s initial release in 1992, the Triple Rectifier included a larger power transformer for a total of 150 watts, an additional pair of power tubes, and a third rectifier tube. In all, this meant more low-end growl and greater headroom for a more immediate picking response. This formula found its way into popular recordings in the mid-to-late ’90s, drawing the attention of thousands of budding guitarists. With such Billboard hits as Korn’s Follow the Leader, Godsmack’s Awake, and Creed’s Human Clay, the Triple Rectifier — and the Rectifier series overall — became the de facto standard for modern high gain going into the 21st century.
Not limited to the nu-metal scene, the Triple Rectifier lent its aggression to thrash metal masterpieces, such as Testament’s The Gathering and a majority of KMFDM’s catalog from the ’90s, including Nihil and Xtort. To quote Günter Schulz of KMFDM and Slick Idiot fame, “And remember: Dual Rectifier is twice the fun but a Triple Rectifier is three times the fun.”
Two channels of old-school Recto tone
Modern Triple Rectifiers saw a number of revisions in the early aughts and again in 2010, such as the addition of a third channel. That said, many longtime Recto aficionados prefer the sound of the original 2-channel model. A meticulous re-creation of the original tube amp head, this reissued Mesa/Boogie ’90s Triple Rectifier houses the 2-channel model’s unmistakable Orange/Vintage and Modern/Red modes, enabling you to harness the famous tones popularized by thrash, nu metal, and post-grunge guitarists back in the ’90s, and continue to inspire all flavors of metal to this day. The ’90s Triple Rectifier also includes Channel Cloning, which allows you to apply the sound of either mode to both channels, and an improved Clean mode, which delivers a crystalline clarity unavailable on the original amp.
An array of tone-shaping features
Despite its relative simplicity, this reissued ’90s Triple Rectifier is one of the most feature-rich tube amp heads we’ve seen at Sweetwater in a while. For starters, you get per-channel 3-band EQ, Master, Presence, and Gain controls. Next, the Bold/Spongy Power switch provides Variac-like functionality, and the Rectifier switch toggles between tube and silicon-diode options. You also get a Bias switch that allows you to swap between 6L6 and EL34 power tubes. Furthermore, a Slave output lets you output the sound of the ’90s Triple Rectifier’s preamp and power amp in a line-level format, ideal for pairing the amplifier with an IR loader. Finally, Effects Loop jacks make pedalboard integration a straightforward affair.
Mesa/Boogie ’90s Triple Rectifier Features:
- A spot-on reissue of the early-’90s Triple Rectifier Solo tube amplifier head with modern tweaks
- Delivers the aggressive lows, harmonic-rich highs, and meticulously scooped mids that redefined high-gain guitar tone
- 2 channels with Orange/Vintage and Modern/Red modes and an improved Clean mode
- Channel Cloning applies the sound of either mode to both channels
- Per-channel 3-band EQ, Master, Presence, and Gain controls
- Bold/Spongy Power switch provides Variac-like functionality
- Rectifier switch toggles between tube and silicon-diode options
- Bias switch allows you to swap between 6L6 and EL34 power tubes
- Slave output outputs the sound of the preamp and power amp in a line-level format — great for IR loaders
- FX loop makes pedalboard integration a straightforward affair
