I find myself in a Pickle.

[gnarwailnmt]

THE STORY
So back in May I bought a Roadster head. Reasons, Mark IV would have taken until September(which I would have never gotten due to discontinuation) and there was no place around here to play a Krankenstein +.
I like my roadster but can't get it to punch through over my buddies jcm900 slx. gay right? I have to crank my amp up all the way sometimes and I still don't feel loud enough, I also can't find to get enough definition out of the roadster, and last Saturday night at a show, the amp started picking up radio frequencies (pretty sure that was an ungrounded power source) and during the end of our 40~50 min set, the amp sounded really thin and lost most of its balls.

I also got to play a Krankenstein series 1 through a Krankenstien Cab that night and it sounded better than the roadster except for feedback issues.

THE PICKLE.
1) Do I keep my roadster, try different tubes and keep tweaking?
2) Do I sell the roadster, and buy a Krankenstein Plus.
3) Do I do a straight trade, my roadster for an equal condition mark Iv short head?

those my 3 options...HELP!

 

[Machine Gun]

Any amp will pick up radio stations periodically. I've had it happen many times. As far as what amp to get, only you can answer that one I guess. If it's not cutting it for you, try some different amps. Maybe you'd be happier with an el34 based amp.

 

[gnarwailnmt]

that was the re-tubing thing, Ive heard people say only use mesa tubes and people say mesa tubes are propaganda. I was thinking about throwing some 34's in there thanks to the handy bias switch...

 

[Elpelotero]

Marshall = mids. Mesa = scooped.


See where I'm going with this....

 

[fishyfishfish]

You might want to try some El34L's and set the voicing to Modern on the gain channels. The Mid Knob should be your best friend when trying to punch through a loud mix. I would go for the Mark IV before the Krank any day just on re-sale alone. Just a twisted opinion.

 

[xnatex]

Stiletto

 

[label thief]

are you using a tube screamer? every roadster needs a tube screamer imo. :-/

 

[normandk7]

I think you've got a problem with one or more of your preamp tubes...(12ax7). I experienced the same thing with my mark iv and it was always because of a bad preamp tube.
Good luck and i don't try any roadster but i'm Pretty sure that it can really play loud

 

[Moot]

What speakers do you have in there?
Some speakers are more efficient which translates into more volume.
V30's are loud.
Maybe put a boost pedal in front of the power-section? An EQ?

Or trade your Roadster for a Stiletto. Trident. You'll never be lost in the mix again!

 

[loudguitars]

Maybe if everyone turned down a bit, you could hear yourself!!

I have played arena shows (15000+) with a Triaxis and a 20/20 and I play in a 750 seat club every week with a LSC on 50 watt setting.

There is no reason in the world that you can't hear an amp on stage, EXCEPT everyone is too freaking LOUD!!!!

My advice, turn down or get in-ears before you GO DEAF!!!!

 

[woody]

I would also turn down, If you are a musicians then your ears are most valuable to you. Maybe get a good Eq so you could adjust you sound, I can't believe that bar owners let you play that loud. really you turn your volume up all the way!!

 

[ANIMATED SUSPENSION]

My Single Rec is MUCH louder than my bandmate's TSL60 even in Vintage mode. What speaker cab are you using ? Have you tried his guitar through your rig ??

 

[CoG]

Use a tubescreamer-style boost pedal with the roadster. The Recto recipe is to put a boost in the front if you're playing hard rock or metal, and add an EQ in the loop if you are going for a real bass-heavy modern metal sound.

If you're cranked up all the way on the output, my guess is that you've got the loop engaged and turned down quite a bit, and maybe you don't realize it. That would sound pretty thin.

On most rectos if you need to have any of the "gain-y" knobs (gain, treble, channel master, or output) outside of a range between 1030 and 1 o'clock either you're doing something wrong or there's something wrong with a preamp tube.

Radio reception is more likely to be a crappy cable or input jack in your signal chain.

 

[moguelator]

Uberschall!!! :twisted: :evil:

 

[jdurso]

THE STORY
So back in May I bought a Roadster head. Reasons, Mark IV would have taken until September(which I would have never gotten due to discontinuation) and there was no place around here to play a Krankenstein +.
I like my roadster but can't get it to punch through over my buddies jcm900 slx. gay right? I have to crank my amp up all the way sometimes and I still don't feel loud enough, I also can't find to get enough definition out of the roadster, and last Saturday night at a show, the amp started picking up radio frequencies (pretty sure that was an ungrounded power source) and during the end of our 40~50 min set, the amp sounded really thin and lost most of its balls.

I also got to play a Krankenstein series 1 through a Krankenstien Cab that night and it sounded better than the roadster except for feedback issues.

THE PICKLE.
1) Do I keep my roadster, try different tubes and keep tweaking?
2) Do I sell the roadster, and buy a Krankenstein Plus.
3) Do I do a straight trade, my roadster for an equal condition mark Iv short head?

those my 3 options...HELP!

first off the ground issues have more to do with the stage your playing on. my buddies old fender will pick up the same radio station at this one gig he always plays but no where else.

as for the recto bashing, before you start spending any money or looking at a new amp there are a couple of things you havent mentioned. What cab are you playing through? what kind of guitar and pickups? and most importantly what are the settings on the amp your currently gigging with?

are mesa's off the bat more scooped then a marshall? yes. will certain eq settings make it not cut or sound thin? yes. is it neccessarily your amp? no... think of your rig as a system. if one part doesnt play well with another you may not get the most of your rig. My roadster has never had a problem cutting or getting a nice tight, low end thump. and thats without using an OD or Eq in the loop, which would be the first things i would recommend.

 

[Geiri]

Dude

try the stilletto deuce or trident w/ 4x12 oversized recto cab.

I've been in the recto realm and to tell you the truth the recto family sounds phenomenal in my opinion. But I always found it to hard to control.

The roadster is one evil mofo of an amp but IMHO it is to much of a recto to be anything else.

The stilletto's are designed to cut through a wall of sound which for example is created with bass and drums.

But some people here have found a love for the roadster, jdurso is one and he seems very happy with it so maby you should pm him and get some advise.

Hope these rantings help, just got out of surgery and am still drowsy from the drugs.

 

[siggy14]

The uber is actually a darker amp then the roadster. What I love about the uber is you dont have to use a pedal, but makes you wonder how he is kicking those preamps into overdrive.

Uberschall!!! :twisted: :evil:

 

[jdurso]

Dude

try the stilletto deuce or trident w/ 4x12 oversized recto cab.

I've been in the recto realm and to tell you the truth the recto family sounds phenomenal in my opinion. But I always found it to hard to control.

The roadster is one evil mofo of an amp but IMHO it is to much of a recto to be anything else.

The stilletto's are designed to cut through a wall of sound which for example is created with bass and drums.

But some people here have found a love for the roadster, jdurso is one and he seems very happy with it so maby you should pm him and get some advise.

Hope these rantings help, just got out of surgery and am still drowsy from the drugs.

good point... the fact is at the end of the day the roadster might not be your amp Gnar. But before you drive yourself nuts and try to unload everything give us some more incite into your setup and i'm sure we can try and make what you have work. We can suggest other amps and accessories all day but that may not be the whole probelm.

 

[jdurso]

The uber is actually a darker amp then the roadster. What I love about the uber is you dont have to use a pedal, but makes you wonder how he is kicking those preamps into overdrive.

Uberschall!!! :twisted: :evil:

hmmm... maybe some sort of pre-preamp ciruitry that acts like an OD? has anyone ever heard or seen that?

 

[gnarwailnmt]

yeah, im diggin the comments. At the beginning of the gig my amp sounded ballsy and crunchy. By itself it never failed to sound awesome, but with the addition of the second guitarist and his 900, I seem to get lost in the mix...Maybe he just doesn't turn down to even things out when we tell him to, I didn't have my amped cranked full at this show but had to once during practice (in loop bypass mode). I'm using a Peavey 412 with Jensen 100's at 8ohms. I do use my effects loop and usually have the volume set at what I think is appropriate, maybe I need to rethink that.
I use a wah, a chorus, a delay and a whammy. I also have a 9 band eq I'm not using but should. When I get back to town I'm going to run my Roadster through his marshall mode four cab and see what that sounds like.
I was also thinking about getting a rocktron hush and a dbx rack compressor.

I'm still kind of thinking about going krankenstein though.

Not sure what to do.