Holy Crap! I just touched a few Mesa amps!

[Thatbastarddon]

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to stop at Matt’s Music, and peruse the amps...and everything else. Until now, I had no idea just how tiny the Mini Rectifier amps were! Along with the
Mark 5:25...these heads are truly “tiny”! Less than a quarter the size of my Dual Rec!




I’m talking smaller than my Tiny Terror! These things are REALLY small.
I was seriously thinking of trading in my Dual Rec for one of these, but it just doesn’t seem “right”. They’re like.....tiny....like a Vox Nighttrain....
They also had a couple of California Tweeds; the combo, and head/cab versions.
Plus, they had a couple of Fillmores...the 25, and 50, combo amps.
Matt likes to keep the boutique amps in stock, so there were “other” things of interest in stock too. Like a Diezel, some Dr Z, Metroamp etc...
M u s t.... r e s I s t.....

But....Holy Crap!!! The tiny Mesa amps are TINY!!!
(Oh yeah, they have a Mesa 5:35 1x12 combo in stock too...)

 

[Mr Grumpy]

How did they sound?

They are sold as small but 100% of the sound - is this true?

 

[Thatbastarddon]

How did they sound?

They are sold as small but 100% of the sound - is this true?

I wish I was in a position to justify taking the time to pull a good “run through” of the amps I was interested in, but I didn’t want to waste their time at that juncture.(it was a bit of a “drive by”)
I am interested in the 5:25 head, but I’m not into trading my Dual Rec for it. Now that I’ve seen them, I may be interested in trading my Tiny Terror towards the 5:25(or Mini-Rec)...I may go back and investigate further, but I’m happy with my recent Phaez amp acquisition.

 

[Mr Grumpy]

I wish I was in a position to justify taking the time to pull a good “run through” of the amps I was interested in, but I didn’t want to waste their time at that juncture.(it was a bit of a “drive by”)
I am interested in the 5:25 head, but I’m not into trading my Dual Rec for it. Now that I’ve seen them, I may be interested in trading my Tiny Terror towards the 5:25(or Mini-Rec)...I may go back and investigate further, but I’m happy with my recent Phaez amp acquisition.

For some reason, in my mind, the mini-rec is a lot smaller than the mini-5:25 head. Are you saying they are the same size, and that size is a similar one to an Orange Tiny Terror head?

Edit to add, just looked on a local Korean site that sells them and:

Mark V:25


so 8" = 20coms
14" = 36cms
8.75" = 22cms
16.5 ibs = 7.5kg



OK, maybe the 5:25 is a bit bigger.

What would you say are the sound differences? Why would you prefer the 5:25?

 

[Thatbastarddon]

For some reason, in my mind, the mini-rec is a lot smaller than the mini-5:25 head. Are you saying they are the same size, and that size is a similar one to an Orange Tiny Terror head?

Edit to add, just looked on a local Korean site that sells them and:

Mark V:25
View attachment 24919

so 8" = 20coms
14" = 36cms
8.75" = 22cms
16.5 ibs = 7.5kg

View attachment 24920

OK, maybe the 5:25 is a bit bigger.

What would you say are the sound differences? Why would you prefer the 5:25?

I’m saying that both are smaller than I expected.(shockingly so)
I’m more interested in the 5:25 because of the EQ, and flexibility.
I have a Recto, and know how they handle.
I wish that I could give an impression of the sound, but I was just passing by...I may pass by again on Tuesday...and have a little sample.

 

[Tony M.]

They will sound as good as the full size ones.
We're talking about Mesa here.
They don't cut corners.

 

[eSGEe]

Dead sexy this is

 

[Truss_rod]

Wow, those are good looking heads.

 

[eSGEe]

if I win the lottery --- I get one of these

 

[JohnnyGoo]

Yummy

 

[Sp8ctre]

Those little Bastids are Expensive!

 

[Thatbastarddon]

Those little Bastids are Expensive!

Yes they are. Which is why I just don’t feel right trading my Dual Rec in for one...
On one hand, the little ones would get more use. On the other hand, the Dual Rec is an incredible piece of kit...I don’t see how the little ones would compare...yet.

 

[Sp8ctre]

Yes they are. Which is why I just don’t feel right trading my Dual Rec in for one...
On one hand, the little ones would get more use. On the other hand, the Dual Rec is an incredible piece of kit...I don’t see how the little ones would compare...yet.

They stuffed a lot of good stuff in those little boxes. I did see the 5:25 was EL84 based and I don't care for EL84's...

 

[gball]

I have both of them (Mk 5:25 and Mini Rec). The diminutive size is one attribute that really sold me on them: I've owned full-size Mesas, Riveras, Marshalls, and Fenders to name a few, but they are unnecessarily large and heavy so I find the small size is perfect for storage and transport, for switching cabs and in the case of the Mk 5 I can move it anywhere I want easily and use it with headphones through the CabClone.

As for sound, I'm not giving up a thing. They both utilize the exact same preamp circuits as their larger siblings, only difference is the power section, but I also feel that's a step in the right direction as the lower power is really hitting the sweet-spot for me. It's more than enough for gigging and at the same time perfect for jamming/practicing without taking your head off. The Mk 5:25 in particular is world-class in every way, and all things taken together I think it's the ultimate amp at its power level, much better-sounding than the full-size Recto Solo head I used to own.

I actually think they are both incredible bargains at their price points. Really, there is nothing out there that is even comparable to the Mark 5:25 so it's a screaming good deal for what it costs, and if you look at the Mini Rec's real competition (meaning same quality/sound bracket) it's at least $500 less than the nearest competitor.

 

[gball]

They stuffed a lot of good stuff in those little boxes. I did see the 5:25 was EL84 based and I don't care for EL84's...

Try one. I guarantee you if you didn't know it uses '84's you couldn't tell, at any volume level. For the record, I don't like them either and that bias probably prevented me from buying the Mk 5 sooner - but when I finally tried one my jaw hit the floor. The thing moves air like it's sporting big bottles in there.

 

[Thatbastarddon]

They stuffed a lot of good stuff in those little boxes. I did see the 5:25 was EL84 based and I don't care for EL84's...

Exactly. I already have 5 el84 based amps...
I don’t see trading a perfectly good 6L6 amp in for a 6th one.

 

[eSGEe]

well they gotta be lighter than my 50 lb MEsa F30 combo!!!!

 

[Thatbastarddon]

Try one. I guarantee you if you didn't know it uses '84's you couldn't tell, at any volume level. For the record, I don't like them either and that bias probably prevented me from buying the Mk 5 sooner - but when I finally tried one my jaw hit the floor. The thing moves air like it's sporting big bottles in there.

...and that is the reason why I may go back to try it out for myself. I often find myself in agreement with @gball on a lot of topics. I think it would be worth a spin...but I want to try it with one of my guitars.

 

[gball]

...and that is the reason why I may go back to try it out for myself. I often find myself in agreement with @gball on a lot of topics. I think it would be worth a spin...but I want to try it with one of my guitars.

Doesn't hurt to try. Plug it into a 4x12. Looks ridiculous sitting on top of one but the tone will convert you.

 

[Thatbastarddon]

Doesn't hurt to try. Plug it into a 4x12. Looks ridiculous sitting on top of one but the tone will convert you.

Yep. I’m not letting go of the Recto slant 4x12 that I have. If I were to go for either head, it would probably spend a lot of time there.
Maybe I’ll think about ditching the Tiny Terror towards it...maybe a couple of other odds and ends...