Is The Roadster For Me?

[Penguin]

I was offered a mint Roadster head for my Lonestar Classic head. I've listened to a few clips online and it sounds good. However, I don't play anything remotely heavy. I'm mainly a Blues/Classic Rock player. Is the Roadster capable of smooth lead tones (Petrucci, Gilmour, Timmons) without a pedal? Would I have to crank the amp to achieve those tones? I'd hate to bother the neighbors even though they deserve it! :mrgreen:

Would I be happy with the trade? Should I just buy a decent boost pedal for my Lonestar Classic? Help! :shock:

 

[thejay]

You can tweak the roadster 1000 different ways but it is if any of them suit you. You should try one if you can. I have used one for 4 years now and I love it. I have seen many on here pick one up and get frustrated by the options, darker tone, etc. I don't have much experience with the LS series so unfortunately I can not advise you there...

 

[ryjan]

The Roadster is THE single most versatile amp I've ever owned. It can go from Lonestar-ish cleans to insane metal and everywhere in between. It definitely sounds best at band volumes but it sounds better at lower volumes than any other Recto I've ever played. Vintage mode on channel 3 and 4 does a very smooth liquid lead and the raw and brit modes are great for classic rock/heavy blues.

 

[talltxguy]

The cleans on the Roadster are amazing...period.

However, I hated it for soloing, which is why I ended up selling it.

 

[ironjose]

it does everything... but i'm thinking about selling it... i love it don't get me wrong... but i need the money... good luck

 

[knotts]

I owned a Lonestar for about 5 years before I picked up a Roadster. The Roadster is my #1 and I use my Lonestar as a backup. The Roadster is amazing for versatility and it has the same clean channel circuitry as the Lonestar. When I played my LSC, I would only use CH1 and use pedals for dirt.

I agree with not being in love with the Roadster for soloing, but with that said, I don't think that my Lonestar is better in that area; most likely equals. If I had to live with only 1 of these two amps, I would pick the Roadster for versatility.

 

[elvis]

Based on hundreds of posts, I would argue that the consensus is that the Marks have cornered the market on lead tone, but the other amps all have great rhythm tones.

I have used a BB Preamp with my MR and Dyne and I get something very close to Mark lead tone. I know going from 0 pedals to 1 is a hassle, but they are very helpful in adding that last piece to the puzzle.

 

[Heritage Softail]

I love Mesa amps... Own a few right now.

I have played a few new and used Roadsters, kinda loved them but not enough to buy. I did what many have done. Got a used Rectifier for chugging and an old MK series for lead and metal.

Some say a Roadster has a darker low mid voicing. It reminds me of my Bogners in that regard. Not saying that is bad or anything like that. I like some dark heavy riffing. Alice in Chains is one of my fav bands and Cantrell said many times he likes to have a darker voiced amp in his rig to mis in with an amp with a more upper mid cutting one. Jerry has undeniable awesome tone.... Rooster and Man in the Box is epic....

If you are more of a guy that will be satisfied with a jack of all trades amp, you may like it. If you want excellence in an area, it may be almost good enough for you. You can always buy used at a current gear price or a tad lower and play it for a while. Not take much of a hit selling it.

If you can swing it, a used Roadster and a used DSL would probably sound awesome mixed. I picked up a used DSL100 head for 600$. Really got it to be my wet amp. After doinking around with it a while, it was really pretty great once I learned how to dial it in, boost it. It has that upper mid grind that compliments my Rectifier thump when I feel like setting all that up. If you are 1 guitar player band it is even better. A Marshall and Recto grind just has that 3D tone of differently voiced amps that crushes. I think that is why you see so many bands with a Recto for one guitarist and a Mark or Marshall for the other.

Good luck on the tone quest.

 

[Chester]

I have both heads. If I had to keep just 1, it would be the Roadster for versatility, feel and it's capacity to run great tone at studio levels. The Master Output is excellent at volume taper - which is just as it should be

I roam "the edge of breakup" ground, and have set all 4 channels to achieve different blues tone and feel. Sustain is excellent for soloing, if set up that way, and the preamp loves being driven from the guitar volume knob. Cleans are almost LSC clean, but I normally set my clean slightly "hairy", so it is not an issue for me

If the Roadster had 10w class A as an additional option, it would be the only amp I would need - but then who ever said you only need 1 amp ... :mrgreen:

 

[joe web]

the roadster is still (after 7 years of using it) my main amp and i did try a lot of different amps during those years.
rectifier-series amps are not famous for having a great solo-sound, and the roadster is a rectifier-series amp....but you can get a great solo tone while using an overdrive pedal in front, to get a more compressed tone for your single notes out of the amp.
petrucci like solo-tone: overdrive (tubescream with drive set to 9 o´clock, tone to 11 - or how you like it, and output at 1-2 o´clock), orange channel in vintage mode and tube-tracking, 50 watts and a delay pedal in the loop, if you like, you can add a bit of reverb from the amp as well.
there you go, this is my main solo-sound and i like it.
don´t turn up the gain too much, because you´ll loose a great rhythm sound on this channel, just add some gain with the overdrive pedal for more sustain and compression.

on my amp, all four channels are set to the same level for rhythm sounds, with the solo knob you can adjust the solo level easily and for more gain and OD pedal is great and it brings out the picking attack very nice and cuts off the unneeded low-end for solos.

 

[Penguin]

Thank you all for the great replies! You guys are great! :mrgreen:

I've had both heads for a week now and I'm still trying to decide which one to keep. Both have their pros and cons. The Lonestar sounds a little warmer and richer. The Roadster is more versatile and the knobs are more responsive. Both amps have their stock tubes although I know the Roadster would benefit from a Tung-Sol 12AX7 in V1.

I've found some decent lead tones without really spending too much time with the Roadster. For reference, I consider this a fairly good lead tone. Mind you, his chops certainly help. I also have no idea how loud his amp was.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8cC1Ahf66c

I'm a bit of a purist so I try to avoid using overdrive pedals. Unfortunately, the tones I'm chasing seem to require them. I love getting all the tones right from the amp. I always bypass the effects loop but I'm going to put my MXR Carbon Copy in there just to see what happens.

Initially, I was going to sell the Roadster because of its little quirks that I mention in the thread below. However, I'm going to give it another chance.
http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=64509

 

[tele_jas]

The Roadster is THE single most versatile amp I've ever owned. It can go from Lonestar-ish cleans to insane metal and everywhere in between. It definitely sounds best at band volumes but it sounds better at lower volumes than any other Recto I've ever played. Vintage mode on channel 3 and 4 does a very smooth liquid lead and the raw and brit modes are great for classic rock/heavy blues.

This...

This was my Favorite Boogie amp I've ever owned. Awesome clean tone, reverb and great blues and classic rock tones.... along with all the normal Rectifier tones.