Help me decide between a Roadster and ENGL!?

[Anonymous]

Well now that I finally have enough money from working 4 jobs, its time to get a new amp. So I'm stuck between the Roadster head and an ENGL head. Not sure which ENGL is best for me yet, probably between the Powerball and the Invader or Special Edition. I havnt gotten the chance to play any of these amps yet mainly because no one really sells ENGLs and I cant find a Guitar Center near me that has a Roadster, but I'm not buying either one without playing it first....obviously. I play everything from Jazz to Metal but mostly Progressive Metal(Dream Theater, Symphony X, Steve Vai etc.) and I'm looking for a main tone like JP's tone on Train of Thought.
Right now I have a Carvin DC727C and a Fender Mexi Strat with mini humbuckers but I'll mostly be using the Carvin for Prog. I dont use any FX but I'm planning on getting a Boss Gt-8 sometime soon. Also, I'm going to change the pickups in my carvin and replace them with a D-Sonic7 in the bridge and an Air Norton in the neck. I figured this would be the best place to come for advice so can you guys tell me the differenced between the Roadster and the ENGLs? Which amp do you think would be best for me? Oh I almost forgot, theres a 90% chance that I'll be using whichever head I get on top of a Carvin MTS 4X12 slant cab with 2 Vintage30's and 2 G12T-75's in an x format. I'm currently playing through a Marshall AVT20 combo which gives me a pretty decent Prog metal tone with my Carvin but its just not loud enough...and its going, to say the least. Also, could someone give me the dimensions of the Roadster head? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks, Marc

 

[tele_jas]

Well, you're on the "Boogie Board" so chances are you aren't going to get a fair answer........ So, I'll be the first one :wink:

If you've got enough $$$, why not get the Road King II?? It's a Roadster with more tonal options.

From what I hear, the Engl amps are GREAT, but they don't have as nice of a clean channel as the Lonestar (which is pretty much now the Roadster and Road King II cleans). So my vote goes for a Road King II or a Roadster.

I've never played an Engl, but I've heard them when comparing amp clips and the Engl does sound a bit "tighter" but I can't answer that for sure since I have never played one.

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Engls are tighter, and sport a much brighter voicing.

I prefer Mesa, but I also prefer the darker voicing in my amps.

It all depends what you're looking for. They are VERY different amps.

 

[ytse_jam]

i like the heavy rhythms on Train of Thoughts too and i think you'll be fine with a roadster. In my opinion ENGLs are more suited to classic heavy-metal, because their distortion is tight and very saturated, similar to a markIV even if the tone is different. Rectos are unique if you want to obtain that brutal sound imo.

 

[BENNY]

either amp is gonna be great. you have to think about what you want to accomplish with it. only you know. me personally i cannot live with anything less than 3 channels. the cleans on the Roadster and RKII are not even close to being matched on any high gain amp that i have played. not only that but to pay big bucks for and amp that doesn't have tube rectification is something that i wouldn't want to do either. when it comes to leads nothing beats a 50watt amp. with the roadster/RKII you can knock channel 3 down to 50 and still have ch4 thumpin with 46l6's. just my opinion, but that amp better sound really good to pass up on that. the config in your cab is a great one and you should demo both amps on it. have fun hauling that baby to the store.

 

[Anonymous]

Well technicaly I HAVE the money for a RKII, but I'm turning 17 in 4 months so I'll need to buy an suv to put all my gear in Lol. I think/hope the Roadster will suit my needs even though it would be nice to have a RKII. I'm gonna make sure I can play the Roadster before I buy it obviously but I dont know about the ENGL. Theyre so hard to find around here so what I think I'm gonna do is play the Roadster extensively and if I really am unsure about it I'll try to find an ENGL. Do you guys think my plans for my other gear(cab, pickups, gt8) will work well with the Roadster to get what I want? Also, can anyone recommend a flight case for my Roadster? And how can you use the serial number to tell if the amp has gotten the factory defects fixed? And BENNY, are you saying I can have both EL34's AND 6L6's in the Roadster at the same time and use them BOTH? I thought that was the difference between the Road King and the Roadster, that the RK COULD do that but the Roadster couldnt. And I know this is kinda pushing it but I was thinking of ordering the Roadster with chrome Diamond plating instead of black but I dont think I could afford it because it would have to be a custom job lol. How does the Roadster look in person? Thanks again, Marc

 

[BENNY]

you can put el34s in a roadster, but i was refering to the RoadKIng. sorry if i was unclear. i like el34's for lead sounds and i don't have it. roadster is sweet in person. very nice, and i actually like the black diamond plate as well. if you custom order you may be waiting a while. you will be quite happy with a roadster i think.

if you get a roadster you can sell your GT8. you won't need that anymore.

 

[Anonymous]

Post removed.

 

[BENNY]

well Adam Dukewicz used at Recto on the new killswich Engage, i don't know how much more Brutal you can get. Mark IV is sweet, but he may have a hard time finding a store carrying them.

 

[Anonymous]

Post removed.

 

[BENNY]

it's all good. i just don't want to steer this kid around. he needs to find what he wants. i personally like rectos cause they can do a lot. especially the new roadster. she is sweet. tone is so subject to everyone and it is more than just the amp. guitar, strings, cables, and what i find is speakers. i've had a guy tell me he can't hear any differnce between a c90 and a v30. hey, to each there own. i am just from the opinion that you can get anything you want from any boogie. but the roadster/and i am assuming RKII are the best at getting close to all. channel 3 (on roadster) vintage, tube can get pretty close, not perfect, but close to mark IV leads. Mark IV simul with el34 in outside gets close, not perfect, to recto rythems.

 

[samerics]

Hi, I'll have a go at this one. I currently own a Roadster head and a Stiletto. However, my past amps have included and Engl Sovereign and a Screamer. I have also rehearsed with a Blackmore head, and have demoed both the Powerball and the Savage SE and the SE. I work in a big guitar store!!

Having gigged both the roadster and the Engls extensively, I would go for Boogie any time. Engls are sweet, bright, vocal, and sound great in isolation. However, Boogie gear always, always cuts through a mix more. The Sovereign was crazy loud, and yet my Stiletto and Roadster all have the punch in the midrange that Engl somehow misses. I think it is to do with where the mid frequency is set in the Engl circuitry, a point someone else pointed out on Harmony Central. I have never had anyone say to me after gigs that they preferred my Engl gear, nobody. The SE runs it closer, but still not quite there to my ears. The Powerball has massive, massive gain, far too much to use, but is a little muddy compared with the Boogie, and far less character too.

The Roadster is awesome, and stick with 6l6's too, much rounder, fatter, more bottom end, less edgy and scratchy. Didn't like the Roadster with EL34's at all. Having said that, I loved Stiletto Mk1, just needs work, much more character than Mk2, which is much higher gain.

If you can afford it then to my ears it's a no brainer, but you don't have my ears!

Oh, one last thing, the 3rd and 4th channels are supposed to be identical to a D Rec, but they're not in practice. The Roadster seems warmer and thicker, again to my ears, it's all subjective. It'll still do the Rec sounds, but more sweetness seems to be on tap. And another gem is Channel 1, tweed, with the gain cranked, one of the best vintage overdrives you'll hear, particularly with a strat.

Good luck!

 

[Anonymous]

Awesome guys, thanks a lot. Samerics, what kind of music do you play with all those amps? I think for now I'm definately gonna stick with only one amp because I just cant afford more right now. But would you guys suggest any other cabs aside from the Carvin, but with the same speakers? And BENNY, I dont have the GT8 yet, but I'm going to buy it for the FX, not the amp models...obviously if I'm buying the Roadster Lol.
But refering to my last post I just want to find out the answer to these questions: Do you guys think my plans for my other gear(cab, pickups, gt8) will work well with the Roadster to get what I want? Also, can anyone recommend a flight case for the Roadster? And how can you use the serial number to tell if the amp has gotten the factory defects fixed? And I know the Cleans and Reverb are from the Lone Star on the RKII but are they also that way on the Roadster? Thanks again everyone, Marc

 

[thelordofcheesecake]

Do you guys think my plans for my other gear(cab, pickups, gt8) will work well with the Roadster to get what I want?

Really not sure about the GT8 - it will colour your tone immensely, and will most likely be extremely detrimental to the sound quality of something quite so high end as a Roadster.

 

[Anonymous]

Hmm, well I'll definately try it out before I buy it if I can. What I forgot to ask in my last post was this: How should I connect the Roadster with the Carvin cab, according to the ohms? I really have no idea how that works so if someone could explain it to me that would help a lot. And does anyone know the dimensions of the Roadster head?

 

[samerics]

Awesome guys, thanks a lot. Samerics, what kind of music do you play with all those amps? I think for now I'm definately gonna stick with only one amp because I just cant afford more right now. But would you guys suggest any other cabs aside from the Carvin, but with the same speakers? And BENNY, I dont have the GT8 yet, but I'm going to buy it for the FX, not the amp models...obviously if I'm buying the Roadster Lol.
But refering to my last post I just want to find out the answer to these questions: Do you guys think my plans for my other gear(cab, pickups, gt8) will work well with the Roadster to get what I want? Also, can anyone recommend a flight case for the Roadster? And how can you use the serial number to tell if the amp has gotten the factory defects fixed? And I know the Cleans and Reverb are from the Lone Star on the RKII but are they also that way on the Roadster? Thanks again everyone, Marc

Hi, your cab sounds ideal actually, good mixture. I'm not a huge fan of the Rec cabs, being a bit scooped. I currently use a Marshall 1960a, which is no great shakes, but sounds fine til you really push it. The cleans are from the RKII acording to the uk distributor. And they should all have been modded, because the ones we had were recalled. Mine was already new spec.

As for music, I play in two bands, one playing anything from old school punk, to the Who, Foo Fighters, Green Day, and it covers all bases. The other band is a rock blues band, and it covers them too on chan 1 tweed and channel 3 vintage. It really is that good, just don't expect to find it's sweet spots straight away, typical boogie. And if you work on the boogie manuals for your sounds, always add a little mid, these guys are a bit too scoop crazy for me!

Oh, and use individual stomps, not the GT8. Cheers!

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Lol. Why shouldn't I use the GT8...isnt it True Bypass? And if someone could fill me in on all the other questions I have I would greatly appreciate it, considering there important things to know if I'm gonna buy this amp. Thanks, Marc

 

[zackprs]

I love my roadster.
I get a great clean tone out of it on channel 1, buuuuuut Channel 4 is where the fun starts. It sounds so great...When I plugged into my Roadster for the first time, I got the sound that I had been hearing in my head for some time.
I've had my Roadster for 4 months now. I've set channel 2 for a crunchy distortion while channel 3 is set for a liquid lead tone.

 

[Anonymous]

Thats pretty much exactly how I plan to use my Roadster Lol. Well NOW is where I need the REAL advice from you guys...and this is REALLY urgent. My parents "discussed" me getting the Roadster and spending THAT much money when I still need to buy a car but not until like...June at the latest. They "dont feel that I need to be spending that much money on an amp like that right now because I'm not in a steady regular band and I'm not playing a lot of shows and blah blah blah we're really gay and dont care that you know exactly what your doing when it comes to this stuff." Basically thats what they said. Of course they dont understand because they wouldnt. Theyre not in my position so they dont see how important it is to me.
And as a matter of fact I AM in a steady regular band right now and the only reason we're playing a lot of shows right now is because we dont have a bassist or singer. But its a Progressive Metal band so those things are kind of hard to find around here. They dont understand that I'm always researching gear and equipment so I can learn about whats best for me to buy considering I want to be a serious touring musician for the rest of my life. They cant just trust my judgement that I know exactly what I'm doing and that I wouldnt want to piss away almost $3000 of my OWN money, which I worked my *** off for the past couple years to get, if I didnt KNOW it was exactly the right thing for me to do. SO...that said, what should I tell them to re-assure them that buying this amp right now is the right thing to do, because I'm gonna try and "discuss" it with them again, because I'm not letting this go. My Marshall is just about dead and I need a new amp, so I'm not gonna buy another amp thats not as good as the Mesa only to have to sell it later for less money than I paid for it only to buy the Mesa "when it IS the right time for me to buy it" because thats what my dad suggested I do, cuz hes an idiot. Basically I'm REALLY pissed off right now if you couldnt tell because I just got done yelling at my mom because they had such a STUPID reason for not letting my do this....which is always the case just about 99% of the time. Thanks...AGAIN, Marc

 

[lockbody]

Tell your parents:

"You only buy quality once."


I'm 41 and have blown too much money on sub-par amps.