I will add my 2 cents for what it is worth. I too was in that boat, looking for a great quality amp that can perform well outside of the metal mayhem.
I did have a Mark IV but that just did not get any attention after getting the Mark V. The Mark IV was traded in for some audio equipment to supplement the electronic drum set. The Mark V I thought would be the all around performer. Has nice range of cleans, crunch and compressed high gain but lacked what I needed for classic rock and blues. I took a stab at the Royal Atlantic 100 sight unseen and am very pleased with this amp far more than my other amps for blues, classic rock, and some hard rock. I have tried it with 6L6GC and it sounded good but prefer the EL34's which complement the V30 cabinet. My last Mesa amp purchase was the Roadster. It will perform well on most styles of guitar but seems best at the heavy than the other but can perform well with blues and jazz style. The Roadster and Mark V are quite versatile amps but for the style or character of music you mentioned, the RA100 would be one amp to consider over the rest. In the past 2 years, I have been focusing on forms of expression with the guitar and the RA100 seems to be the best avenue for that form of playing. I can do the same with the other amps but the tone and character of the RA100 in its clean mode is unsurpassed by any of the other amps I have owned. It can get into the Metal arena but will require a bit of OD to get there (depends on what tubes you are using in the power amp). I have also been experimenting with the power soak feature as well as it will alter the tone of the amp to some degree. It can be a valuable tool to use for a different type of character you cannot get with the other Mesa amps. It may be only a two channel amp (both channel preamps are isolated from each other which means you can tailor the tone of the hi/lo gain channel without sacrificing the clean channel character). There is more versatility associated with the RA than what meets the eye by only looking at the front panel. The other options would be LoneStar and or the retired ED (similar to the RA but yet different). If you can find one to try out, I highly recommend the RA100. I have tried an ED, nice but wanted the features of the RA100. I have not tried the LoneStar, but I would give it a try if the RA is not what you are looking for.
I did have a Mark IV but that just did not get any attention after getting the Mark V. The Mark IV was traded in for some audio equipment to supplement the electronic drum set. The Mark V I thought would be the all around performer. Has nice range of cleans, crunch and compressed high gain but lacked what I needed for classic rock and blues. I took a stab at the Royal Atlantic 100 sight unseen and am very pleased with this amp far more than my other amps for blues, classic rock, and some hard rock. I have tried it with 6L6GC and it sounded good but prefer the EL34's which complement the V30 cabinet. My last Mesa amp purchase was the Roadster. It will perform well on most styles of guitar but seems best at the heavy than the other but can perform well with blues and jazz style. The Roadster and Mark V are quite versatile amps but for the style or character of music you mentioned, the RA100 would be one amp to consider over the rest. In the past 2 years, I have been focusing on forms of expression with the guitar and the RA100 seems to be the best avenue for that form of playing. I can do the same with the other amps but the tone and character of the RA100 in its clean mode is unsurpassed by any of the other amps I have owned. It can get into the Metal arena but will require a bit of OD to get there (depends on what tubes you are using in the power amp). I have also been experimenting with the power soak feature as well as it will alter the tone of the amp to some degree. It can be a valuable tool to use for a different type of character you cannot get with the other Mesa amps. It may be only a two channel amp (both channel preamps are isolated from each other which means you can tailor the tone of the hi/lo gain channel without sacrificing the clean channel character). There is more versatility associated with the RA than what meets the eye by only looking at the front panel. The other options would be LoneStar and or the retired ED (similar to the RA but yet different). If you can find one to try out, I highly recommend the RA100. I have tried an ED, nice but wanted the features of the RA100. I have not tried the LoneStar, but I would give it a try if the RA is not what you are looking for.
