JP Road King...

[snowman3000]

Seems to me that JP's Road King has a custom Power Transformer.. Picture is not clear enough....Just guessing... What do you think?

JP Road King: http://johnpetrucci.com/images/equipment/tot_rig_back_closeup.jpg

Stock Road King: http://i23.ebayimg.com/02/i/05/4c/96/b1_1.JPG

 

[DOBERMANN]

Yes You are right,Petrucci has a custom power transformer on his road king. I think that his amp has been modded. Probably the choice of a different and surely better power transormer was made to increase the sound quality of the amp. As in Hi-End amplifiers dedicated to music listening , every audiophile knows very well that a good transformer and
good cables can change the amp sound radically . I think this is the reason for what Petrucci has a non standard power transformer.

 

[snowman3000]

Yeah...i know exactly that a 'good' and not 'undersized' transformer would sound better and the amp feel/responsiveness is dramatically increased.. Now i'm beginnig to be a bit disappointed with Mesa Boogie, the Road King is (actually) the masterpiece of the production, it's also very expensive! If i pay 2500 bucks i expect to get at the very least an amp with decent transformers..... :roll:

I'm really wondering if also the output transformer (on JP's Road King) is custom made...


BTW today i went to the Mesa Boogie Hollywood Official Store.. Played a MARK IV with a Recto 4x12. Well now i know that Mark IV is a greeeeeat amp! Today it had a really punchy and deep feel, a lot of gain and a good refined texture...If i have to choose between the amps currently 'on production' i'd absolutly get, without a doubt, a MKIV. :wink: (TWO THUMBS UP!!)

 

[jbird]

So if Petrucci uses something he considers better than Vintage 30's in his cabs, then Mesa sucks because they use Vintage 30's? To each his own. If Petrucci opts to use a different transformer for tonal reasons, so be it, thats his choice, it does'nt mean Mesa Boogie is rippin you off!

 

[DOBERMANN]

I think Mesa is not really expensive . The price is justificated by the quality of his amps,in Petrucci's Road King the power transformer has been replaced,but I think that wasn't necessary,standard Road King transformer is not a crap!!!!!!!!!. Petrucci has a lot of money to waste out by modding amps that sound good without any mod.

 

[Brewski]

This is sort of where it becomes a "Classic vs. Hot Rod" debate. For example, with cars, some purest folks like the stock classic machine and others like them completely rebuilt as a rod from the ground up. Both have their virtues. Each has it's unique vibe. By modding out an amp, it doesn't mean that the original was bad. The owner wanted something different and had the funds to do it. My two cents.

 

[snowman3000]

Well...What can i say.. I'm sure that the Road Kind sounds very good as is, but, if i can afford a better-bigger power transformer that could even make my Road King sounds fatter, bigger, deeper....i would go for it. My 10 cents....one dime.. :wink:

Do you think/know if also the output transformer (on JP's Road King) is custom made?

 

[jbird]

Umm, theres alot of other variables to one's tone than an amps transformers! And I congratulate if your level of playing is so advanced that you feel a transformer will improve your tone. But me, I'll continue to try and develope my tone through my fingers :idea:

 

[DOBERMANN]

Yes Jbird,you're right : the tone is generated by fingers and also by ability , a good guitarist might be able to play without any effect
or modding on his equipment ,but I think that everyone need a particular and personal sound . Probably a power transformer would not change a guitarist playing abilities ,but it could give a better sound,also if
as you have told : there's alot of other variables to one's tone than an amps transformer.

 

[CudBucket]

Just curious. How can you tell they're different transformers? Are you judging on size?

Thanks.

Dave

 

[Boogiebabies]

Looks like a fan beside the PT to me. The first RK's did not have a fan.
Maybe it is an upgrade. It does not look like a PT housing to me either.
The RK 3's have the fan at a certain angle. My RK 4's fan is more angled to blow through all the tubes.

 

[Lewy]

Maybe it's nothing to do with tone and is just a selectable voltage PT for when he plays all over the world?

 

[Grandor]

Seems foolish for him to put in a tranny with selectable AC in a unit, That wuld mean they wuld need to switch every unit.
Most likely he uses a furman voltage regulator of some sort. Probably an AR-1215.

 

[Grandor]

I sent an email to petrucci's tech asking him about it. Hopefully he'll give some insight.

 

[Boogiebabies]

It's an RK 4 with a fan. What you are seeing is 90% of the fan and the rectifier tube is in the way. The other e-bay picture is an RK 3 with an add on or late addition fan. It has to be.

 

[snowman3000]

It's an RK 4 with a fan. What you are seeing is 90% of the fan and the rectifier tube is in the way. The other e-bay picture is an RK 3 with an add on or late addition fan. It has to be.

good to know then...

 

[overture2005]

I think it's the same. the following pics are mine.

on the other hand, when JP toured in Japan last year, he just picked the roadkings in Japan, still sounds good.

 

[Grandor]

Stock tranny guys

 

[snowman3000]

I think it's the same. the following pics are mine.

on the other hand, when JP toured in Japan last year, he just picked the roadkings in Japan, still sounds good.

In fact you're power transf. looks different. Different orientation also.. The one in JP' Road King looks horizontal mounted, stock is vertical mounted.. Maybe i'm not right....... :roll:

 

[mloiaco]

I frequent the JP forums a lot, and I remember Paul saying that John does not modify his RKs. Whether that's true or not, I'd like to add that I have a recent generation RK (serial# in the 2000's), and my tranny looks exactly like the one in the JP pic.

Don't forget that the RK has undergone 3 or 4 major changes (and countless minor changes) since it's inception. One simple example of how the amps vary from one generation to the next is the inclusion and placement of the fan in the newer generation RKs.