Mesa Mini Rec? Need Advice on a Possible Purchase

[PY38]

Hello All

Hopefully this will fill some time in between waiting for Majesty pics from Big Poppa.....lol.

I have a chance to get a Mini Rec for a great price, having a 5150 3 50 watt at home.....is there something I may miss out on? I dont gig and Im just a weekend warrior but I love to collect gear.

I will not get rid of the 5150 3, just not sure if anyone here has any advice on the matter....

 

[acwild]

I was just looking at the Mini Rec too and also own a 5150 III. As I'm a big fan of Mesa amps, I wanted the Mini Rec as a lighter replacement for my Mark V. They don't sound the same but I can get them close enough in the same neighborhood for the tunes that we're going to be doing.
I've never been able to play that amp in a quiet environment so I don't know about the mixed reviews on how it handles lower volumes. Some say that it's great, others say that it's loud, and some more say that some of it's best tones come out when it's turned up.
Is there any way for you to take it for a test run first? I'm confident that it'll sound great but since you don't play out I'm just wondering about it's practicality (if volume were truly an issue). Ultimately I passed on the Mini as I got a great deal on a 20th Anniversary Shiva.

 

[Sweat]

Buy it great amp not sure about all the comparison stuff but love mine can tweak it in, sounds great high or low volumes, I like it so much selling all my other amps.

Just make sure to pair it with a cab you like, I will be ordering a custom mini rec cab soon.

 

[Warg Master]

It's a great amp and can do anything! It has the roar and clipping character of the bigger rectifier in a small package. It's a very very good little amp. Great for portability.

 

[PY38]

I gues the real questions is this. My 5150 3 can do high gain at really low volume. This is key....I cant test it at the store vause I cant get a real gauge in a loud crowded store.....so does anyone know if I keep it low volume will it saturate decent or does this thing need to be opened up? I will use my Maxon 808 with it......

 

[Warg Master]

It has plenty gain at low levels, it will mostly be preamp gain, but , personally, that's my favorite kind. Yes, it does high gain very well at lower levels.

 

[Eric O'Reilly]

It sounds like a good amp from demos ive heard, never got to try one myself, more of a marshall guy, and for high gain the 5150 III cannot be beat, even the old 5150s and 6505 5150II 6505+ are incredible, gold standard of the working mans high gain amp, unless you got soldano money? Then your really in biz!lol. The mini rec looks like a great amp, if you can grab one cheap, than I say go for it.

 

[GarMan]

I have played both the 5150 III head you have and the mini rec. Both are great amps, but I like the 5150 III better. It does high gain really, really well. The clean channel was ok as well. All this at low volume.

The Mini Rec sounds great as well, but I was not too impress with the clean tones out of the amp. It's bigger brother is better for that.

If you can get it at a good price, go for it!