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This thing screams "roadworthy"

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• Review

In Front

Although the controls, modes and channels on the new Recto are nothing if not comprehensive, the whole thing is laid out so logically that getting to grips with the amp takes just minutes. What you see is what you get, with no multi-function push-pull controls or other potentially confusing paraphernalia; getting started is an easy, organic experience.

The raison d'etre of the new Dual Rec is, of course, that extra channel. So we now have three: one for medium-gain lead, another with a more high-gain range, plus there's that dedicated clean channel. Each channel also has switchable modes. The lead channels have three each: the first is vintage, the second modern and the third raw. The rhythm channel has just two: clean or pushed.

Although vintage and modern require little explanation other than that modern is fatter and with considerably higher gain, raw and pushed are perhaps not so obvious. Pushed means simply that there's a touch more front-end grunt applied to the channel, like a non-master-volume Marshall or Fender with the wick cranked up. The Mesa brochure describes raw was having "a supersensitive personality that roams effortlessly from almost clean to a fast tracking crunch."

So here we have potential world domination from a single amp – and then there's more. A great feature found on some other Mesas is the solo control. A beautifully simple idea, this control allows you to set a volume level above that of your rhythm tones, then jump on the footswitch for an instantaneous leap in level while maintaining the sound. And this is on any channel, so that's an extraordinary level of flexibility.

Each channel has its own set of six controls, in two banks of three. The top row consists of presence, master and gain, while below deck it's bass middle and treble. This means that no only are all the previous modes, channels and levels available, but you can dial in your personal character, too. You might like clean tones with lots of treble and bass but little middle, while your solo sound is more middle and less treble and bass; now when you change channels that's exactly what you get.

The final control is output, which is the amp's overall master volume. Once you've set your independent channel levels, this will turn them up or down while retaining their comparative volumes. There's an 'on' light for each channel and mini-switches for the mode functions, plus of course power and standby toggles and the Recto's single input socket.

At the back

Some amplifiers' features are all accessed from the front, with little on the back apart from a trailing lead and a socket or two. When the amp in question is a monster such as this, many of its most exciting facets are hidden from everyday view, on the back panel. They're the things you wouldn't want to alter that often, but which could prove useful at different-sized venues, in a recording studios or for a particular change of tone. There's just so much here that we'll give the more important aspects precedence over facilities, which we've reviewed before.