Cleans on Roadster

[guitardog]

Hey hey, I am looking at picking up a roadster head here in the next couple of months. I love the versatility that the amp offers, but haven't had much time to mess with channels 1 and 2. I was curious, how do the cleans on either of these channels compare to say that of a Fender 65 Twin reverb. I have the twin and love it for its clean tone. But I would be willing to sacrifice it to get the mesa if it was possible to get tone anywhere close to that. I would love to keep both, and maybe at the time Ill be shelling out the cash to get the roadster, maybe I wont have to sell it, but right now, it looks as if I will. Thanks for your input.

 

[tele_jas]

The Roadster has one of the best clean tones Mesa has ever has out. I really liked this amp, mainly for the cleans. I have a few clips posted at www.guitartest.moonfruit.com (on the Roadster page) if you want to hear them in action. They are pretty "Fenderish" IMO, but with EL34's they can even have a bit of chime to them while keeping the warmth (but loosing a bit of bottom end).

Yes, I did get rid of mine only because I was needing more of an AC30 voiced amp, but with more "umph"..... the Boogie just didn't do it there. I also didn't need the distortion as much as I needed the cleans, so after a LONG and HARD decision, the Roadster had to go..... but if I were to get another Boogie today for cleans and distortion, it'd be the Roadster or Road King II.

Just my $.02 worth.

 

[ursinus]

I owned a Roadster too, and the only reason I kept mine for a while was the cleans. I think the cleans on the Roadster/RKII are the best Mesa have ever put out, but I did not care for the Recto Distortion. So in the end, I kept my MKIV and make the best out of it for cleans (which are still great btw)....

 

[guitardog]

clean guitar is an important part of my sound. I would classify my playing as sort of roots rock/blues rock. Would I be better off getting a lonestar? or would the roadster meet my needs? I would love to get both eventually but can only pull off one at a time considering a college student. I am looking to get a multi channel amp because I am not a huge fane of the drive sounds that I am getting from pedals into the twin reverb.

 

[Crikey]

I owned a Roadster too, and the only reason I kept mine for a while was the cleans. I think the cleans on the Roadster/RKII are the best Mesa have ever put out, but I did not care for the Recto Distortion. So in the end, I kept my MKIV and make the best out of it for cleans (which are still great btw)....

How much better do you think the distortions are on the MKIV compared to the Roadster.

 

[ursinus]

I found that the MKIV is tighter and smoother. The recto is looser, a little more fizzy but with more gain available. So for me, I prefer the MKIV, since i play more rock/fusion/jazz.

 

[Russ]

I owned a Roadster too, and the only reason I kept mine for a while was the cleans. I think the cleans on the Roadster/RKII are the best Mesa have ever put out, but I did not care for the Recto Distortion. So in the end, I kept my MKIV and make the best out of it for cleans (which are still great btw)....

How much better do you think the distortions are on the MKIV compared to the Roadster.

The two distortions are different. You just have to hear them both to understand. It is in the voicing.