Help with Roadster tones

[thebigcheese]

I've had this amp for maybe a year now and I am generally pretty happy with it. It does a lot of things, but there are some sounds I just can't seem to dial in. Right now, I have channel 1 set for cleans on fat mode, channel 2 is supposed to resemble an AC30 with moderate gain for punk and indie stuff, channel 3 is on raw for vintage moderate to heavy drive, and channel 4 is on modern for the occasional modern metal song. I am pretty happy with channel 4 and mostly happy with channel 2, but I can't quite seem to get what I want out of the other two. Here is what I'm looking for:

Channel 1 is supposed to be like a Fender Twin. Super clean, bright but full, and handles all kinds of pedals really well. I will mostly be running single coils through this channel, so I have gravitated toward fat or tweed. Clean never seems full enough, even with humbuckers. But I would like this channel to still not sound like muddy doo doo when I do need to put humbuckers through it, and that is really where I run into problems. In fat mode, I can't quite seem to get the shimmer of a Twin, but I am using a closed back 2x12, so that could have something to do with it. A real Twin just has punch and presence that I can't quite seem to get out of this, plus it will even make humbuckers sound good. This channel drives me nuts.

Channel 3 is supposed to be vintage drive, like a cranked Marshall (but not crazy cranked). I want it to sound different than channel 4. I have it set to be loose at 50 watts with tube rectification, which I think helps smooth it out. Raw mode seems a bit warmer than vintage, which is why I picked it, but Nome of them really seem quite there. I suppose Brit on channel 2 might be the better fit, but I'm already using that for another purpose, so...

Any thoughts?

 

[domct203]

I've had this amp for maybe a year now and I am generally pretty happy with it. It does a lot of things, but there are some sounds I just can't seem to dial in. Right now, I have channel 1 set for cleans on fat mode, channel 2 is supposed to resemble an AC30 with moderate gain for punk and indie stuff, channel 3 is on raw for vintage moderate to heavy drive, and channel 4 is on modern for the occasional modern metal song. I am pretty happy with channel 4 and mostly happy with channel 2, but I can't quite seem to get what I want out of the other two. Here is what I'm looking for:

Channel 1 is supposed to be like a Fender Twin. Super clean, bright but full, and handles all kinds of pedals really well. I will mostly be running single coils through this channel, so I have gravitated toward fat or tweed. Clean never seems full enough, even with humbuckers. But I would like this channel to still not sound like muddy doo doo when I do need to put humbuckers through it, and that is really where I run into problems. In fat mode, I can't quite seem to get the shimmer of a Twin, but I am using a closed back 2x12, so that could have something to do with it. A real Twin just has punch and presence that I can't quite seem to get out of this, plus it will even make humbuckers sound good. This channel drives me nuts.

Channel 3 is supposed to be vintage drive, like a cranked Marshall (but not crazy cranked). I want it to sound different than channel 4. I have it set to be loose at 50 watts with tube rectification, which I think helps smooth it out. Raw mode seems a bit warmer than vintage, which is why I picked it, but Nome of them really seem quite there. I suppose Brit on channel 2 might be the better fit, but I'm already using that for another purpose, so...

Any thoughts?

Welcome to the board

First piece of advise I can give you is to come to terms with the fact that you bought a Rectifier, not a Fender Twin or Marshall. I see so many players buy amp "XX", then spend weeks (or longer) trying to dial in amp "ZZ" tone & end up totally dissapointed, chasing thier "tone" instead of enjoying the amp.

With that said.........

What are your volume levels? The Roadster really comes alive at loud volumes. Also, please post your channel settings.

I've never owned a Fender Twin, so I can not comment there, but I find the Roadster's "Fat" clean has a very full midrange with a nice top end that really cuts through. You are right about the speaker cab, a closed back 2X12 will never sound (or fill a room) like an open back combo, & IMHO V30's are not the best choice for "Twin" cleans.

What mode are you using for your Channel 3 "Vintage Marshall" tones? Raw mode with a boost in the front end would be your best bet, Vintage mode in Ch3 is classic Rectifier "Orange Channel", made to compliment Ch4's Modern mode, not contrast it.

This is how I use my Roadster:
Ch1 FAT (100W Diode rectifier) for my Clean tones.
Ch2 FAT (50W tube rectifier) with alot more gain for my "Dirty" Cleans. I use the volume knob on the guitar alot in this channel.
Ch3 VINTAGE (100W Diodes) for my Lead/Solo tone.
Ch4 MODERN (100W Diodes) for my high-gain Rhythm tones.

I hope this helps,
Dom

 

[LithiumZero]

I run mine the same way Dom does except I use Tweed for channel 1. I set the gain at about 9:30 (using a pretty hot humbucker) and it stays clean. Treble 12:00, Mid 10:00, Bass 12:00 and presence 10:00.

 

[thebigcheese]

I'm running a Music Man Luke 3 HH into the head into the Recto 2x12 cabinet. So I know part of the problem is probably that the pickups in that guitar aren't terribly bright and have lots of mids, but having said that... here are my settings:

Ch. 1: Fat, 100w, diode (I go back and forth on that one), gain at 10:30, treble at 10:30, mid at 12, bass at 10, presence at 1.
Ch. 2: Brit, 100w, tube rectos, gain at 2:30, treble at 12:30, mid at 11:45, bass at 12:30, presence at 12:15.
Ch. 3: Raw, 50w, tube rectos, gain at 2:30, treble at 2, mid at 1, bass at 10, presence at 11.
Ch. 4: Modern, 100w, diode, gain at 2:30, treble at 7:30, mid at 2:30, bass at 8:30, presence at 1.

I won't say that ch. 1 sounds bad by any means, it just feels like it's missing that extra magic. And ch. 3 is just missing... something. I can't quite put my finger on it, but a general warmth is what it feels like is missing. I generally try to run the channel volumes below noon so as not to fry the phase inverter tube, which I have done twice. I could look into new power tubes, too. I'm still running the stock ones, so a nice set of Groove Tubes or something might bring back some of the magic. I have a quartet rated at 6 that just seemed to kill everything good about the amp and turn it mushy, though I don't think they are the nicer ones, so it could just be that...

 

[LithiumZero]

If you are running RAW mode in Channel 3 and are using that much gain why not use modern or vintage with lower gain setting. I find that RAW sounds a lot like the modern mode with lower gain but is a little looser.

 

[thebigcheese]

If you are running RAW mode in Channel 3 and are using that much gain why not use modern or vintage with lower gain setting. I find that RAW sounds a lot like the modern mode with lower gain but is a little looser.

Vintage didn't seem as warm and modern is too bassy, even with it set as low as I have it on channel 4. Even with that much gain, it's still less than the others, which is what I want.

 

[ryjan]

Maybe you should try out a different amp.
It took me 5 minutes to dial in all four of my Roadster's channels and there isn't any magic settings that change the tone or nature of this amp. It simply is it's own rendition of a Dual Rectifier, not a collection of four different amps like some people think.

 

[domct203]

Have you ever tried a graphic EQ with the amp? It might help you get that "something" that is lacking. I used to use an MXR 6-band out front until I found the right p'ups. Maybe a treble boost will get that "shimmer" you're looking for, or use it to fill out your single coil tone & turn it off when using humbuckers.

Also, IMO a good boost pedal out front goes a long way in Raw mode.

Dom

 

[thebigcheese]

Have you ever tried a graphic EQ with the amp? It might help you get that "something" that is lacking. I used to use an MXR 6-band out front until I found the right p'ups. Maybe a treble boost will get that "shimmer" you're looking for, or use it to fill out your single coil tone & turn it off when using humbuckers.

Also, IMO a good boost pedal out front goes a long way in Raw mode.

Dom

I brought my guitar to work today to plug into some other amps. The humbucker mellowness is just the guitar, not the amp's fault, so that is what it is, I guess. I'll just focus on the split coil sounds then. My problem is that when I need to switch channels during a song I don't want to have to also hit a pedal each time I change...

 

[screamingdaisy]

Channel 1 is supposed to be like a Fender Twin. Super clean, bright but full, and handles all kinds of pedals really well.

Mesa's take on Fender is typically off the blackface era. They design the amps to break up and add a bit of grit to the cleans rather than stay perfectly clean with the massive shimmering headroom of later twins.

Channel 3 is supposed to be vintage drive, like a cranked Marshall (but not crazy cranked).

Vintage mode is nothing like a cranked Marshall. The original Rectos had two modes... modern and vintage... each a different flavour of the Recto sound. Raw mode is a Recto that's been stripped back in gain and compression.

Rectos sound like Rectos. While they can be dialled in to accomplish a wide variety of sounds, feels, and dynamics, they're always going to have that Recto flavour to them.

 

[thebigcheese]

Right, but what I was saying is that what I am trying to accomplish with channel 3 is a vintage drive sound. So any pointers you have for that are appreciated.

 

[screamingdaisy]

Right, but what I was saying is that what I am trying to accomplish with channel 3 is a vintage drive sound. So any pointers you have for that are appreciated.

Not much to say.... raw mode with the gain dialled back and EQ to taste. Tube rectifier if you want a bit more smear and diode if you want a bit more clarity. You're kind of limited on your options here. Channels 3 and 4 are designed to clip aggressively and that style of clipping will be present regardless of how you dial in the channel.

Personally, I use channel 1 on tweed/tube rectified with the gain turned up fairly high for a more vintage drive sound.

 

[LithiumZero]

Personally, I use channel 1 on tweed/tube rectified with the gain turned up fairly high for a more vintage drive sound.

absolutely. There are some really great drive sounds in tweed mode.

 

[jbird]

Ch.1 Tweed, slight break-up, sort of clean lead channel, or light rhythm channel.
Ch.2 Fat Clean, pure clean chime.
Ch.3 Modern, lead channel, slightly louder than Ch.4 (F/X Loop Hard Bypassed!).
Ch.4 Modern, heavy rhythm.
All 100 watt.
All silicon diode rectified (I might have Ch.1 tube?).

 

[thebigcheese]

Personally, I use channel 1 on tweed/tube rectified with the gain turned up fairly high for a more vintage drive sound.

absolutely. There are some really great drive sounds in tweed mode.

I started playing around with that in place of Brit. You weren't lying. I have to crank the gain way up (still very little.gain with single coils, but it's enough), but hot **** it sounds good. I have it purposely loose with recto tracking, so I'll have to figure out how to balance that when I do the occasional palm mutes to keep those tight, but I dig it. Thanks!

 

[thebigcheese]

Personally, I use channel 1 on tweed/tube rectified with the gain turned up fairly high for a more vintage drive sound.

absolutely. There are some really great drive sounds in tweed mode.

I started playing around with that in place of Brit. You weren't lying. I have to crank the gain way up (still very little.gain with single coils, but it's enough), but hot **** it sounds good. I have it purposely loose with recto tracking, so I'll have to figure out how to balance that when I do the occasional palm mutes to keep those tight, but I dig it. Thanks!

 

[ryjan]

Personally, I use channel 1 on tweed/tube rectified with the gain turned up fairly high for a more vintage drive sound.

absolutely. There are some really great drive sounds in tweed mode.

I started playing around with that in place of Brit. You weren't lying. I have to crank the gain way up (still very little.gain with single coils, but it's enough), but hot **** it sounds good. I have it purposely loose with recto tracking, so I'll have to figure out how to balance that when I do the occasional palm mutes to keep those tight, but I dig it. Thanks!

I just tried that out too and I really dig it. Tweed mode with a higher gain setting is WAYYYY thicker than Brit mode.

 

[screamingdaisy]

Ch.1 Tweed, slight break-up, sort of clean lead channel, or light rhythm channel.
Ch.2 Fat Clean, pure clean chime.
Ch.3 Modern, lead channel, slightly louder than Ch.4 (F/X Loop Hard Bypassed!).
Ch.4 Modern, heavy rhythm.
All 100 watt.
All silicon diode rectified (I might have Ch.1 tube?).

Ch1 - Tweed
Ch2 - Fat
Ch3 - Raw
Ch4 - Vintage
All 100w, all tube rectified

I use the variac at low to moderate volumes.

fwiw