NAD! Mesa/Boogie Mini Rectifier Review

Take a look at this photo to see why I took it apart.



If you look closely at the wire in the middle (all black one) you'll see a nick in the wire. Well this wire is right next to a chassis screw which looks to be a little too long and so when the case was attached it made contact with the screw. So, when I got it home and plugged it in and hit the power switch the lights went out! Needless to say, I was s---ing bricks.

I had decided to hand carry this thing back from Austin because I was scared to let the airline destroy it. This amp never left my site so I thought my ginger care would surely prevent such mishap. Fortunately the mini has a nice slow-blo fuse and it did exactly what it was supposed to do. I called Mesa the next day and told them what had happened and they said to open it up and look for this. They originally suggested that the power tube might have blown but since I didn't switch it out of standby they immediately suggested this. I suppose it is possible all the rattle in overhead caused the wire to run against the screw, or it was just pinched after the top was added, either way I'm sure they will shorten that screw in the next revision. BTW, Mesa has great technical support. I got them on the phone and had a solution in less than 5 minutes.

Ch0jin said:

Yeah I tried out the H&K Tubemeister and it blew me away. Even the (to my tastes) tacky "Look at me I'm all blue and glowing" design is forgotten once you get stuck into the gain channel. The power to burst eardrums in a lunchbox package i can carry under one arm? WINNER!

If the Mesa sounds even better, I'd have a VERY hard time not dropping one the credit card.

I'm assuming the Mesa does the 18/5/1 watt thing and has a loop too?

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This thing gets very loud! When I was checking it out at Music Makers we were playing it 10-11 and it was crazy loud out of the matched mini-1x12 cabinet.

As for the red leds, they are pretty subtle especially when it's not completely dark like this photo.


You should really give the Mini Rectifier a try, it really is a very versatile amp.

FrankenFretter said:

Nice! Hey, if you're out of room for amphs in your apartment, you can drop that Mark V off at my place. Just sayin'!

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I still have room, that is why I bought 'mini,' it's the only thing that will fit! :dude

Dude, congrats! That is one wicked amph!

Musicmakers has been around Austin forever. I bought my Charvel there years ago.

bcdon said:

Take a look at this photo to see why I took it apart..

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Dude, as a former repair guy, that shot freaks me out! If that's a mains wire, that layout should never have made it past initial testing. Combine mains power shorted to the chassis with a crappy house (venue) wiring job and boom. You're dead.

Kinda tarnished my impression of Mesa a bit I have to admit.

(and do I win a prize for spotting the new Lamb of God CD cover in the shot?)

Congrats don. May I rock out with it next time I'm in Vancouver?

Ch0jin said:

Dude, as a former repair guy, that shot freaks me out! If that's a mains wire, that layout should never have made it past initial testing. Combine mains power shorted to the chassis with a crappy house (venue) wiring job and boom. You're dead.

Kinda tarnished my impression of Mesa a bit I have to admit.

(and do I win a prize for spotting the new Lamb of God CD cover in the shot?)

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I understand but I think this was just a fluke. I spoke to the guys and they test it at least four times before going to shipping which is all done before the lid is attached. Like I said, I did have this in the overhead bin rattling around for 8 hours of flight so that might have done it. Also, I don't think there is a shock hazard as the fuse handles this. If you look at the photo the wires are right above the fuse holder. This thing is built like a tank just like my Mark V. I wouldn't let one odd-off thing dissuade me... these are hand built after all, and even if they weren't something like this can always happen. Besides, the fuse is there precisely for this reason. It did its job and did it well.

Good eye spotting the Lamb of God CD.. I didn't intentionally place this in the shot, it just happened to be on my desk. :dude

Robert said:

Congrats don. May I rock out with it next time I'm in Vancouver?

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Absolutely!! Can't wait to see you next year. :dude

bcdon said:

IAlso, I don't think there is a shock hazard as the fuse handles this. If you look at the photo the wires are right above the fuse holder. This thing is built like a tank just like my Mark V. I wouldn't let one odd-off thing dissuade me... these are hand built after all, and even if they weren't something like this can always happen. Besides, the fuse is there precisely for this reason. It did its job and did it well.

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As follow up, I just spoke to the techs at Mesa Boogie there is no chance of shock because of the fuse. The tech I spoke to today again said he hadn't heard of this happening before so I really think this was a fluke. That said, I think I am going to open it back up this weekend and trim the screw and double secure my fix.

Scored a mint condition Mesa 2x12 rectifier cabinet on Craigslist last night. It sounds awesome!

Perfect match! Wow, that's in beautiful shape!

duhvoodooman said:

Perfect match! Wow, that's in beautiful shape!

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Yeah, the only marks on it are from drywall paint that I haven't got all out yet. This 2x12 has great low ends...palm muted notes sounds amazing. I've only played it at 10 Watts at low volumes but it's the sound I wanted. I'm going to crank it next and see what happens. :dude

You know, with the width of that cab you could probably run dual mini recto's side by side on top of that cab. One for each speaker. oke

Nice to see the El Cap in the shot too. Even after having it for ages now it still blows me away when I use it.

Ch0jin said:

You know, with the width of that cab you could probably run dual mini recto's side by side on top of that cab. One for each speaker. oke

Nice to see the El Cap in the shot too. Even after having it for ages now it still blows me away when I use it.

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Now that is a great idea and I'm sure my neighbours would agree too! Yes, I love that El Capistan although I have not tried it with the mini yet. I'll do that next as I know it will sound great. When I purchased the mini, the dealer put a MXR Carbon Copy delay in the loop on the mini and it sounded awesome... so I know El Capistan will really shine. :dude