[Tsetse]

Originally Posted by SirJackdeFuzz

The band (UNSANE) in post #14 uses a Dual Recto, and they sound pretty good to me, YMMV

Hi SirJackdeFuzz, sorry for posting so late, but I didn't notice your reply earlier.
With regards to the Dual Rectifier: I didn't say it's a bad amp, it's just that I didn't like it anymore. If you happen to like really gainy sounds, go for it, it's in my opinion a lot better than most other high-gain amps. I just had a hard time finding my tone with it as my taste in music changed from metal, hardcore etc. to some "mellower" music styles. It's not easy to get good "hairy" clean / slight OD sounds from that amp. It's basically either absolutely clean (but with a lot less volume than the distorted sounds, which is a real problem, the clean sounds just aren't loud enough for live situations) or full-out gain.
For metal and heavier rock styles it's still a landmark amp for me, it cuts through anything with ease and is built like the proverbial tank. I've had it for half of my life and only had to switch tubes twice with absolutely no other repairs or maintenance on the way. That's pretty impressive for an amp that even fell from its 4x12" cab to the ground twice and got used and abused in lots of live situations, not to mention it being stored in mostly cold, damp rooms when not seeing action. So it's pretty much indestructible and I'm still a fan of Mesa products in general because of my experience with that thing.

As far as i know he does not use an external boost, but i think he might stomp on the amps boost footswitch.

Ok, my Recto was one of the first ones built, it had only two channels, not three like the new ones (only a switch on the backside to get some clean sounds out of it), but it definitely didn't have a boost function on its own. I don't think the new ones have a boost function either.

Why do you feel that an unboosted Tele does not sound as good as a boosted one ?

The Recto has one problem (that can be easily cured): Flabby bottom end, especially when using the Recto 4x12" cab, which is oversized (it really is huge combared to a standard Marshall 4x12"). Most people use a Tube Screamer in front of the amp because the TS takes away some low frequencies and gets the bass end sorted out. When I compare my LP to my Tele sound-wise, my Tele has a LOT more low end and this tends to get ugly if you don't boost / EQ in front of the amp.
One other thing to consider: I've always felt the Recto NEEDS high output pickups or it just won't sound tight (hard to explain, really). The best guitar sounds I've had from that amp were with my LP (when it still had the hot ceramic pups) or, even better, with my old Ibanez fitted with EMG humbuckers and an on-board boost function. Using that guitar, you can forget about the Tube Screamer, as the huge amount of output from the guitar puts the amp in line. More output = less dynamics, smaller frequency bandwidth. The Recto likes that a lot.

Seeing that you are from Germany, what can you tell me about the German made Fame Bulldozer ?
Isn't is based on a Mesa Recto type of tone ?

Sorry, I can't help you with that, never tried one and also never saw someone playing those amps either. I basically just know they exist and not much else .