ibanez4life SZ!
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Hey guys!
I've got a little tone story / advice for my fellow Roadster and Rectifier owners.
First of all, my Roadster has Tung Sol EL-34Bs in the poweramp, and a Tung Sol 12AX7 in V1. I run it into a Mills 4x12 with V30s.
My time with the Roadster has been a great, yet frustrating one. It is the most versatile amp I've ever played. ALL the tones are the best I've ever gotten except for the high gain ones. For me, the Roadster is significantly darker than most other rectifiers, and I've struggled with that. To compensate for this, I've always hit the front end of the amp with a Maxon OD808.
More recently, I grabbed a Bogner Uberschall, and it was really refreshing to get an aggressive and tight tone without any pedals. The amp was REALLY brutal...I felt like it put my Roadster to shame.
Two weeks later, I sat down with the two amps, and for the first time in a long time, I went back to tweak my Roadster. I ran straight in....no boost this time...I figured I was going to fail hard, as I usually got nothing but flub without the boost. I then tried something that I usually don't with Rectifiers, and simple pushed the gain higher than I ever have...3:00.
WOW! The amp completely woke up. Tight, aggressive, and FAT like I've never heard before, and this is all without a boost!!!! You have NO idea how happy I am with my tones right now. Some of this HAS to be due to my Mills Acoustics cab, as I'm running gain and bass at 3:00 with the PERFECT tone...I'm not sure a regular cab would handle this. Funny thing is, it put the Uberschall to complete shame.
So, my Mesa reigns supreme. The Roadster made the Uberschall sounds compressed and hollow. Funny, because after the first week of owning both amps, I thought the Roadster was going to go.
Now that I think of it, it makes sense....the Roadster is a darker smoother rectifier. To achieve this, they have less treble and gain in the tone stack. By pushing the gain and treble a little harder than usual, I have the perfect balance of the aggressive regular rectifier sounds, and the smoother more pleasant gain that the Roadster has become known for.
****So, my advice to Roadster owners****
-Push the gain harder on your high gain channels. My Roadster REALLY puts out at these settings....I'm a little in awe to be honest...I didn't know a rectifier could be this tight yet pleasant without a boost?
-Forget what you know about setting a regular rectifier. Use your ears, and not your prior knowledge on these amps. The more I own it, the more I realize that this amp likes REALLY unconventional settings.
-Mess with it. It's been a year since I bought it, and I FINALLY got this amp right. Mesa made no mistakes on this model...every channel has gold in it.
Enjoy!
Eric
I've got a little tone story / advice for my fellow Roadster and Rectifier owners.
First of all, my Roadster has Tung Sol EL-34Bs in the poweramp, and a Tung Sol 12AX7 in V1. I run it into a Mills 4x12 with V30s.
My time with the Roadster has been a great, yet frustrating one. It is the most versatile amp I've ever played. ALL the tones are the best I've ever gotten except for the high gain ones. For me, the Roadster is significantly darker than most other rectifiers, and I've struggled with that. To compensate for this, I've always hit the front end of the amp with a Maxon OD808.
More recently, I grabbed a Bogner Uberschall, and it was really refreshing to get an aggressive and tight tone without any pedals. The amp was REALLY brutal...I felt like it put my Roadster to shame.
Two weeks later, I sat down with the two amps, and for the first time in a long time, I went back to tweak my Roadster. I ran straight in....no boost this time...I figured I was going to fail hard, as I usually got nothing but flub without the boost. I then tried something that I usually don't with Rectifiers, and simple pushed the gain higher than I ever have...3:00.
WOW! The amp completely woke up. Tight, aggressive, and FAT like I've never heard before, and this is all without a boost!!!! You have NO idea how happy I am with my tones right now. Some of this HAS to be due to my Mills Acoustics cab, as I'm running gain and bass at 3:00 with the PERFECT tone...I'm not sure a regular cab would handle this. Funny thing is, it put the Uberschall to complete shame.
So, my Mesa reigns supreme. The Roadster made the Uberschall sounds compressed and hollow. Funny, because after the first week of owning both amps, I thought the Roadster was going to go.
Now that I think of it, it makes sense....the Roadster is a darker smoother rectifier. To achieve this, they have less treble and gain in the tone stack. By pushing the gain and treble a little harder than usual, I have the perfect balance of the aggressive regular rectifier sounds, and the smoother more pleasant gain that the Roadster has become known for.
****So, my advice to Roadster owners****
-Push the gain harder on your high gain channels. My Roadster REALLY puts out at these settings....I'm a little in awe to be honest...I didn't know a rectifier could be this tight yet pleasant without a boost?
-Forget what you know about setting a regular rectifier. Use your ears, and not your prior knowledge on these amps. The more I own it, the more I realize that this amp likes REALLY unconventional settings.
-Mess with it. It's been a year since I bought it, and I FINALLY got this amp right. Mesa made no mistakes on this model...every channel has gold in it.
Enjoy!
Eric