This thing is really quite good. I picked it up from a dude in Hamilton and gave it a bit of TLC such as cleaning out all the pots and sockets due to crackling and general background hiss I couldn't really live with, and also changed out 3/5 preamp tubes for ones I know to be good. That instantly made the amp clearer, louder, more present and with a noticeable reduction in any noise. It's a really quiet amp now.
I made the faceplate for it yesterday... as much as I understand the grille plate stuff is part of the recto legend, it's not my thing. The metal grille is attached to the chassis via some (very strong) double sided tape and, with enough persuasion, it pops off. I used a long flat screwdriver and pried it off, then used it as a template for the replacement.
And here's a gutshot taken while I was cleaning out the pots. I know Mesa stuff is divisive but I'm still happy they use full size components, wired pots, and a reasonably sensible layout.
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It also has red LEDs inside that light up when you power it on. Why? Why not.
Overall, I'm really impressed. It's convincingly rectifier for sure, but actually covers way more sonic ground than the 100w dual rec on which it sits. The EQ knobs have more sweep and range, the presence covers way more ground from treble cutting to piercing and there's a few interesting little things about it that I'm coming to appreciate: for example, the mid control on CH1. For the first half it's a mid control as we all know it, then it begins to add gain into the upper mids for that very AC/DC Marshall sound, a lot of snarl, and if you juice the gain as well you're very much into Slash's Snakepit sort of territory. It's in the manual so it's not just my ears, and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to cover that sort of tone, which is normally a blind spot in the recto range.
CH2 is vintage and modern modes. The modern mode is that massive recto chug sound. I don't visit there very often and spend most of my time on vintage mode on the Dual Rec. It's a lot spongier, softer, with some sag to it that I quite enjoy. The Mini has that too, but is a fundamentally brighter sound. Not to the point of shrill but anyone who has used a DR on vintage mode will know it's a very dark sounding channel. That issue is fixed.
Anyway, I'm waffling. Suffice to say, a 25w/10w amp that sounds this good, packed with this amount of tones, is this small and can be carried with one hand is a tremendous feat. I like it.
