General question about RK & RK II...

[Sickindian]

Hi Im new to this forum so hello You All

My general question is about Road Kings sound -> i like Dream Theater tone but you probably heard that a lot of times ;-), anyway im looking for more wide sounding, more ''meaty'' and deep. Im not really sure what presence does because thats my first tube amp so i dont want to be dissapointed.
To be honest the sounding from latest Petruccis solo album isnt my favourite cause it sounds wery ''dry'' but maybe you can ''colour'' it a bit to have more muddy sustaining sound(or maybe somebody tried to use zakk wyldes overdrive??)

1).I heard that this amp is difficult to get your own sounding and that it takes a lot of time to get your own sound?

2).How much will i pay for new RK II?

3).Is there any known issues with RK II ?

4).Is warranty transferable?( lets say that i want to buy one in US and have valid warranty in UK?)


OH and BTW i use MMJP6 if it helps

Cheers
Adrian

 

[mrd]

The RKII is a rectifier as I'm sure you know, so it can pull off meaty, growling tones just fine. You gotta turn it up a bit, but that's the way tube amps roll.

1) I wouldn't really say it's any more difficult to get your own sound of than any other amp. Most would say it's easier. The fact that it has so many channels and pre-amps and power amps can definitely lengthen the process, but don't let that kinda stuff deter you from buying it. This amp can almost literally do any tone you can possibly imagine, and it can do it very, very well.

2) I paid about $3250 Canadian for the head new about a year and a bit ago. EDIT: That's for the RKII v.2

3) Sometimes when you switch channels, there is a loud pop that comes from the amp. I'm not entirely sure what causes it, but it is kind of annoying. I've seen guys here discuss how to avoid it/what causes it/etc so maybe do a search for it and see what you can come up with. It doesn't even always happen, and it seems like switching from certain channels makes it happen more often.

4) Not sure about warranties. I'd recommend giving Mesa a call up and seeing what they have to say about this. I can't see it being a problem though.

 

[lactose]

My understanding is that Petrucci has switched from RoadKings back to Mark IVs.

The reason to buy the RK is to get four great sounds: clean, tweed / voxy blues, straight ahead rock, and of course the recto stuff.

If I were really picky about the high gain stuff (and I have a right to be when I drop $2500) I really prefer the Mark IV moden metal tones to the RoadKing. But the RK is still nice.

I don't have much problem with the popping if I step on all the channel buttons first before bringing it out of standby.

 

[Sickindian]

2) I paid about $3250 Canadian for the head new about a year and a bit ago. EDIT: That's for the RKII v.2

V.2 - whats the different between V.1>?