My current "rig" consists of a Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier (2000 model) that channels pure volume into two 2x12 Mesa cabs (closed-back). I've also played through Crate and Marshall amps, and am fortunate enough to also own a Mesa Triaxis/Simul-class 2:90 combo. I've decided, though, that guitar racks, while superior, are bulky and difficult to transport and maintain. Solo heads are much easier.

The Triple Recto head is one of the most amazing heads I have ever heard. I was enticed into buying one when I wandered into Mesa/Boogie's Hollywood store intent on getting my hands on one of Mesa's Dual Rectifiers. Of course, these amps being insanely popular, they had none, but they did have some Triple Recto's for a very decent price. There is actually no difference in the inherent wiring and sound between the Dual and Triple Rectos. The Dual Recto is a 100W head, while the Triple Recto packs a whopping 150W (and to be honest, a measly 50 watts would have done it for me). Some say that because of the extra wattage, there is a heavier bass thump. I really have no idea, since I haven't played through a Dual Recto to compare, but I couldn't beat the deal I was offered and happily brought home a Triple Rectifier.

This thing is built like a tank, and probably weighs about twice as much as one. It's equipped with five 12AX7 preamp tubes, SIX 6L6 GC power tubes (holy shit, I just jizzed in my pants!), and three rectifier tubes (5U4Gs). Because of this head's tendency to destroy small villages and crush heads, I actually removed two of the 6L6s in order to bring down the wattage so I could play in my house without disturbing the San Andreas fault. One day, though, I hope to play a venue large enough to handle six 6L6s wide open.

This amp kicks major ass. Though it has three channels, I find myself only using the Green and Orange channels. I'll break into the Red channel occasionally, but the Orange and Green suit me just fine: Green for clean, Orange for very very very dirty. Play the Orange channel in Modern mode and you have pure aggression streaming from your cabs. This amp really roars; it's really difficult to explain unless you hear one in person. I'm not going to upload any audio samples because it wouldn't even come close to doing the amp justice. This thing has the throaty growl of something really big with lots of sharp teeth about to pounce on you. It brings tears to my eyes (whether it's due to pure joy or the fact that my ears are bleeding is another story). It is awesome. In a perfect world, everyone would have one.

Mesa/Boogie is the temple of tone. The sound tends to be more complex, combining lots of harmonics and bottom end. To me, Marshall amps can sound a bit too crispy and thin sometimes, whereas Boogie's just leap right out and maul you. I do have to admit that like everyone says, it takes more time to find the tone you want on a Mesa amp than a Marshall. They can also be a bit finicky in that not "any" setting sounds good; you really have to be gentle and make subtle adjustments. However, I love tweaking the heck out of things and would rather by gently nudging knobs than blindly turning them. Marshall amps really can be cool, but I'm a huge fan of Randall Smith and Mesa Engineering.

My speaker cabs are equipped with two 12" Celestion Vintage 30W speakers each (four in total), and sit serenely in Mesa's closed-back Recto-cabinet designs. For effects, I stuck a Rocktron Intellifex into the Triple Recto's FX loop. I use Digital Music Corp.'s Ground Control for total MIDI control, and currently use an Axess Electronics CFX4 to interface it with the Triple Rectifier.

Check out my photo gallery to see pictures of it and some of my other crap!

- my guitars -
- my rig -
- all my equipment -