Help me decide between a Roadster and ENGL!?

[zackprs]

This amp is built to last a lifetime. Not many products have that kind of life span. My guitar teacher has a tube amp that he made 30 years ago. It works great.
If for some reason you don't want your Mesa anymore, the resell price is really close to the sale price....it doesn't lose it's value.
Why buy a sub par amp and be unhappy with it, then sell it and buy a Mesa later? Buy a Mesa now and SAVE money.
Buying an amp that you like encourages practice because you ENJOY playing. Best of luck!

EDIT- If it's your money that you earned, there isn't a lot they can do to stop you from buying it. Although I wouldn't recomend buying it behind their back, remind them that you worked hard to get your money. Tell them that you learned an important lesson: If you work hard you can get what you want.
Tell them that you will keep this skill when you are working in the work force. Tell them that this experiance helped you build a work ethic that many parents envy in their child.
Be reasonable, kind, and show them the facts, and with time you will probably get what you want.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys. Zackprs...thats pretty much exactly what I told them the first time as well as today, I kind of left out that last part about practicing but I'll be sure to throw that in next time Lol. I'll take as much help as I cant get.

 

[zackprs]

What is really unique about amps, more specifically tube amps, is that they keep their value and often go up in value. They aren't like PC's where they are outdated in 3 months. That tube tone can never go out of style or become outdated.
Another way is to take them into the guitar store and show them the boogie...play through it. Then put a marshall mg (lowest wattage you can find) next to you...dime the bass, put treble and mid to zero. Crank it.
Hopefully, their ears can tell the difference.
That's how I convinced my parents that I should be able to buy my boogie.

 

[Anonymous]

Lol, thats brilliant. Too bad the store near me doesnt have the Roadster and my parents hate going to guitar stores as much as I hate having them there for any other reason than to buy me something Lol. I'll see what I can do about it though, but I'm definately not letting this one go until they realize that theyre making a senseless decision and finally let me buy what I need, because I plan on buying more than just the Boogie at one time. Probably gonna go with the following so hopefully I can get a sweet discount for spending a lot and buying in bulk: Roadster head, Carvin Cab(Not from GC), DiMarzio D-Sonic7 and Air Norton7 for my Carvin, Boss GT-8(Most likely), some replacement hardware for my Epi VeeWee...yes I said VeeWee - long story, along with some other stuff I'll need. So....I'll definately be spending just short of $3000 :shock: .

 

[MesaENGR412]

well Adam Dukewicz used at Recto on the new killswich Engage, i don't know how much more Brutal you can get. .

Heck yesssss!!!! Their new stuff is AMAZING IMO. Do you what all gear he used to get that tight sound? I mean, I know Caparisons with EMG's(right?), but did he use other amps as well, or mainly the DR? Thanks bud. I'm going into the studio tomorrow to record a 4 track demo with my band and was just wondering.......(this isn't the first time, we have 2 full-length cd's, but I know I can get a better tone this time, especially with my Boogie)

And AsIAM, i'd check out the Boss ME-50. It's basically all the stomp boxes in one unit, without the worthless cab and amp simulations...c'mon YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A MESA, YOU WON"T NEED AMP SIMULATIONS... :lol: . Plus, it's a bit cheaper. Good luck man, hope you get what you're looking for.

-AJH

 

[broknstuff]

I mean I'm not going to say that your parents are just talking out of their *** either, but I know where you are coming from. I bought the dual recto because I knew that is what I would be happy with, but it wasn't as big of a difference vs. a similar marshall or peavey (around 1000 or so vs 1500 at the time when I bought it). And the new price wasn't too much more so I figure hell go for the 5 year warranty. I need new tubes, but the amp is a fucking tank, and they have good customer service (for christ sakes, they call you once they get your warranty card, albiet it it may take a few weeks/months, just to "welcome you" to the mesa family). Just like you, it was my own money.

Convince them in the long run it's cheaper. When something gets in your head, like the dream amp, you're always going to think of it and want it. It might make you somewhat disappointed in what you have if it's not "the one", and there's not much sense in buying something you're not going to be happy with. My dad agreed with me on a point, and give them an example with clothes. A cheaper 30 dollar pair of sneakers doesn't do you any good if you don't wear them, in that case you just wasted 30 dollars on uncomfortable shoes instead of spending 65 for your 'favorite pair' (mom might understand that one more...). I know, not exactly the same the difference between 30 bucks and potentially 1,000 but just trying to help you out.

If they're worried about 'what if it gets stolen and you lose all that', get some musicians gear insurance. I have some from this company called Clarion insurance, which caters especially to musicians. My coverage is 250 bucks a year, but it covers a range of I think anywhere between 5 k - 19 k :shock: So there is ample room to expand the rig . Small peace of mind for such a large investment.

I am of the mentality of trying to only buy quality gear, like the poster above said "you only buy quality once". Being young though, (I'm only 20, and a student) this means a long time between purchases which can be very frustrating. But I tell myself in the end it'll be worth it, and so do my ears.

In the end though, I think family unity and a healthy relationship is a bit more important than an amp. Make sure other cheaper alternatives don't suite your needs equally well before dismissing them (maybe a peavy XXX or 5150). I still like mesa's more, but some feel the opposite.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks MesaENGR412, I'll definately check that out, cuz your right....who needs amp simulation when you have a Mesa?!?!?! It actually might come in handy sometimes, if im playing a small gig....I dont need to lug my half stack around Lol. We'll see

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks broknstuff, I definately plan on getting insurance for everything but my parents said all that stuff might be covered under the Home Owners insurance so if its not I'll definately pay for insurance. It's not that theyre worried about it being stolen or any of that, its more that they "dont understand why I need it NOW, as apposed to later, because I'm not in a steady regular band playing a lot of shows at the moment" is how they put it. But I AM in a steady regular band but we're not playing shows because we dont have a bassist/singer but this is the band that I wanna go somewhere with because its the best band I've been in and its headed in the right direction. I tried explaining to them that its gonna cost the same amount of money in 6 months or a year as it does now but then my mom said "what if they come out with something better." I told her how the Roadster seems like everything I'll ever need in an amp and that theres always gonna be something new and better, but I'm not waiting for that because I need a new amp NOW. So I'll try again later, cuz I'm running out of time. Theyre going away monday to florida for a week so I really dont wanna wait til they get back...when I could just order everything NOW and have it shipping to me while theyre gone. Thanks again

 

[broknstuff]

The gear insurance is good if your playing shows out a lot, because home owners insurance usually won't cover it if your stuff gets stolen or damaged say while at a gig, or in transit. While I'm at home my stuff could be under home owners, but since I'm at college and play shows here and there it's nice knowing I'm covered. Even if say my guitar gets damaged while traveling in the plane cargo. And the coverage is world wide. The only time it's not covered is pretty much if you leave your gear in your car over night and it's not there the next day. (If you are loading your gear in and out to a gig though, and someone steals it, then it is covered).

Good luck, but keep in mind if they don't have it in it might take a while to order it. Good point about 'what if something better' comes out since there will always be new things coming out.

Another angle would be to really work at finding a bassist/singer that works well for you guys. I'm guessing you're trying, but once you have that you will have a full band and then that knocks down the argument of "wait till you have a full band". Are you looking for one person to do both or for 2 people to fill in those spots? I'm not saying this to be sarcastic or cut you down, but it's kinda of hard to say "yeah we have a band but we don't have a bassist and a singer". Especially since if the music has vocals, it's pretty much an essential part of the band. You can say we're starting up all we need is to find the right singer... that might help your argument out a bit more.

I hope I'm not just playing devil's advocate and feeding the thought that this is what you need and you should get it over getting a car or whatever else you need to do with your money. Take the time to think it through, it's a big chunk of change. If a used dual recto will suit your needs just as well, you could save a huge chunk of change (unless of course, in the long run, you're still going to be craving the roadster and it's 4 channels and won't stop until you get it...)

 

[Anonymous]

Alright well my parents left for Florida this morning so I fought for a while in the past couple days and the way it was left off as of last night was as follows: I have to go play the amp while theyre away to make sure its exactly what I need/want. Then they offered for me to call them...and MAYBE they would try to order it from down in Florida...but thats not happening because I want to BE THERE when its ordered, and I want to do the ordering because I'll be ordering more than just the head. So, unfortunately I have to wait until they come home saturday to do anything more than that but I guess its worth the wait. So I'm gonna push to go to Guitar Center with them on sunday and hopefully I can order the cab from Carvin on the following Monday because theyre closed on the weekends. So, I guess the next time I'll be reporting back here is after I play the Roadster. Also, my mom wanted to know all the warranty info, so could someone please fill me in on that? Thanks, Marc

 

[zackprs]

Ok warrenty is

5 year tranferable warrenty
5 years for parts and labor
3 years on speakers
6 months on tubes (Most amp manufacturers don't even have a warrenty on the tubes)

Good Luck!!!!

 

[Tuna141]

Marc,

Here's what I can offer for advice: 1. Be sure to really check out the amp before you buy. Although, on paper the amp seems like it's everything you want in an amp, it may not live up to expectations. Before you spend that hard earned cash on an expensive amp, make usre it's really what you want. If not, you'lll take a big cash hit if you don't like it and have to sell it. If you buy from GC, I believe they have a 30day return policy, so that's worth considering. Also, make sure you try the amp in a band situation and with your own guitar- some amps sound great alone, but get lost in a band setting. I've also found that some amp/guitar combinations work well together and other don't - even if both are top of the line equipment.

2. My second bit of advice is to consider buying used. Tone is so subjective and, as you know, many players turn-over gear quite frequently for various reasons (usually not because the equipment is bad, but because it just doesn't give them what they are looking for). If you buy used, you can usually recoup all of your money if you decide the amp isn't for you. If you buy new and have to sell, then you'll almost always lose money.

Anyway, that's what I can offer for advice. Regardless of what you decide to do, best of luck with your new purchases.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys, much appreciated. Gonna try and go to GC either today or tomorrow so....I dont know, should be interesting. Anyone else?

 

[zackprs]

Marc,
Also, make sure you try the amp in a band situation and with your own guitar- some amps sound great alone, but get lost in a band setting.

I'm in a band. I've gigged with my Roadster 5 times now. I've had people come up to me complimenting my tone. That made me very happy:-D
It cuts through the mix very well. It is a very good gigging amp.

BUT, this amp weighs a lot. I'm pretty strong but this amp is really really heavy. Thank god that mesa put two handles on the sides so that 2 people can carry it. With 2 people it isn't too bad.

 

[Anonymous]

Well I guess its a good thing I'm not buying the combo, I'm buying the head. So instead I get to carry the Carvin 4x12 Lol. Probably gonna go play it tomorrow if I can.

 

[Anonymous]

Alright, well no luck yet. This is what sucks about being 4 months away from being able to drive by myself. I havnt gotten to GC yet because my friend thats supposed to drive me can never pick a day that he can go. So HOPEFULLY, we're going either tomorrow or saturday. ANYWAY, can you guys give me some settings that I should use to try the Roadster out? Preferably John Petrucci-ish settings but I'll take anything from a warm, thick Clean to a thick Distortion. Hopefully this well get my whole Roadster-trying-experience to go a little quicker. Thanks, Marc

 

[Anonymous]

Please? Lol. Still no luck unfortunately... :?