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Line of guitar amplifiers made by Mesa/Boogie From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Mesa/Boogie Rectifier series is a line of guitar amplifiers made by California-based manufacturer Mesa/Boogie. Introduced in 1992, the line's first model was the Dual Rectifier, which is often described as the definitive amp of rock music in the 1990s for its widespread use across multiple rock genres in the decade after its release.[1][2][3] The Dual Rectifier, alongside its more powerful sibling the Triple Rectifier, is characterized by its "raw, aggressive bass-heavy" tone,[4] as well as its industrial aesthetic, and its success led to Mesa/Boogie releasing an extensive line of Rectifier-branded amps.[2]
Hard rock and metal guitarists increasingly sought heavier tones by the late 1980s, and many guitar techs, like Michael Soldano and Reinhold Bogner, turned from modifying amps to building their own boutique models to satisfy demand. Faced with this increasing competition, Mesa/Boogie began developing a new, higher-gain model of their own in 1989, dubbed the "Dual Rectifier" in reference to its use of both tube and silicon diode power amp rectification.[2] Compared to the brand's earlier Fender-inspired designs, the Dual Rectifier was intended to produce a more "modified British" voicing in an intentional move to change the brand's identity.[5] Mesa/Boogie first created two distinct prototypes, known as Revisions A and B, before settling on the Revision C circuit for the Dual Rectifier's debut.[2][3] Mesa/Boogie founder Randall Smith stated that he and the amp's other designers took inspiration from the local Bay Area hot rod scene, especially what Smith observed to be the "harmonics" of pushed V8 engines at a garage next door to the company's headquarters.[6] Smith later described the amp's circuit as "revolutionary," noting that, unlike most other amp models, the Dual Rectifier was not based on an earlier amp design.[7]
Upon its launch in February 1992, Mesa/Boogie initially feared they had brought the Dual Rectifier to market too late, as its initially intended market—hair metal—had been suddenly overtaken in popularity by genres like grunge and punk. In response, Mesa/Boogie updated the amp's circuit multiple times through 1994, resulting in Revisions D through G, as well as the introduction of the Triple Rectifier, which did not have three rectifiers, but rather increased the model's wattage from 100 to 150.[2] Revision G solidified the amp's signature sound and remained in production until 2000.[2] Guitarists across a wide swath of rock genres quickly adopted the Rectifiers, including artists in grunge (Alice in Chains, Soundgarden), alternative (Foo Fighters, Bush), punk (Bad Religion, Blink-182, Sublime), and metal (Metallica, Tool, Rammstein). The Rectifiers became especially associated with the burgeoning nu metal genre and bands like Korn, Limp Bizkit, and Linkin Park,[1][2] as the amps' prominent low-end was ideal for handling the down-tuned and seven-string guitars characteristic of nu metal.[8] In 2000, Mesa/Boogie switched from the original two-channel Rectifier designs to three-channel versions,[2] which remained in production until early 2010, when they were superseded by the current Multi-Watt models.[9]
From 1993 until 2004, the Rectifiers represented over half of Mesa/Boogie's entire business, greatly exceeding the company's expectations.[2][3] Given its widespread use among rock guitarists in the 1990s, the Dual Rectifier is often described as the definitive amp of the decade in that genre,[1][2] while Music Radar wrote that it is arguably the most important high-gain guitar amp of all time.
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The Dual Rectifier's popularity led Mesa/Boogie to develop a large family of Rectifier products.[2] Iterations include the Single Rectifier, Trem-O-Verb, Rect-O-Verb, Maverick, Road King, Roadster, and Badlander models.[2][10] In 2025, Mesa/Boogie released the "90s Dual Rectifier," a reissue of the model based on the specs of the amp's original production run.[3]
The Dual Rectifier was Mesa/Boogie's take on a big, monster-metal [amp] head.
It was intended to look threatening compared to the brand's earlier Mark series amps, and to that end featured a diamond-patterned tread plate as a front panel, with metal knobs and black leatherette covering.[7] Premier Guitar described the Rectifier's aesthetic as "tough-guy industrial."[11] To further differentiate the Rectifier from the company's previous offerings, Mesa/Boogie did not use their traditional, "friendly" Boogie logo, choosing to instead badge the new amp and cabinets as MESA Engineering, which had always been the official company name.[5]
The original Dual Rectifier model had 100 watts of output, with five 12AX7 preamp tubes, a pair of 5U4 rectifier tubes, and four 6L6 power tubes. It had two channels: Orange, with "Clean" and "Vintage" modes, and Red, with "Modern" mode. The amp also had the ability to swap "Vintage" and "Modern" modes between the two channels via a "Channel Style Select" switch.[6] The amp's use of both tube and silicon diode power amp rectification provided players a choice of modern, tight, fast attack (diode) or a smoother, vintage-style attack and sag (tube) via a "Rectifier Select" switch.[2] Other features included a "Bias Select" switch for changing between the stock 6L6 and EL34 power amp tubes and a "Bold/Spongy" variac switch. Early production models (from 1992 to 1994) had a series effects loop and then a parallel effects loop starting with Revision G in 1994.[2] Revision G became the most widely used version, with Guitar World describing its massive, tight low end, throaty mids and super-saturated gain
as the Dual Rectifier's signature sound.[2] The three-channel Dual and Triple Rectifiers introduced in 2000 added a Green channel for dedicated cleans, as many players had requested, as well as new voicings: "Raw," "Vintage," and "Modern" (on the Orange and Red channels) and "Clean" and "Pushed" (Green channel).[12] These models were replaced in 2010 with new Multi-Watt editions, which introduced power attenuation to the series by allowing players to reduce any channel's output to 50 watts.[13]
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