Mark IV vs. Roadster

[mdortona]

Need some opinions guys. If you had to choose between a Mark IV and a Roadster, which one would you choose and more importantly WHY? I play primarily classic rock and new country. The biggest question, which does a better Fender Twin. FYI, I had a Lonestar Special and took it back because the dirty channel wasn't what I was looking for. Thanks in advance for your opinions!

 

[Nick_cor]

Hey, i'd say go for the mark IV if you're looking for a classic rock sound. But you shoudl go try them both out for yourself, I like the mark IV better because no matter how saturated you get , it stays tight, unlike the rectos. before you go try them out, print out some settings, the mark IV is a tricky amp specially if you've never dealt with the mark series before

 

[Mr_You]

You should play multiple amps to "find what you're looking for".

These two are so different. The Roadster has Recto lead tone. The Mark series has its own "smoother" lead tone. The Lone Stars are an "improvement" on that classic Mark series lead tone (according to Mesa).

We can only guess what you're looking for. Best way to find out is to see what your favorite guitarists are using and find something that attempts at a similar tone.

I'm going from a Roadster to a Lone Star ("Classic") because primarily I want a killer amp to run 6V6s. The Roadster/Road King are more of a hard/classic rock gain level so I'll probably pick up a used Dual Recto three channel for my hard rock tone (with gain to spare). I also like mid-gain Recto tone for neck position hard blues leads.

 

[ToneAddictJon]

Both are great amps, it's really comes down to which tonalities you want. Their very similar amps, while being very different at the same time. If you can play both, that will give you a better idea than anything we could tell you. And if anyone says the recto can't go tight..... they either haven't played or owned one, or they didn't spend the time with it, or it just wasn't for them. The guitars you play are gonna make a huge difference as well, and the cabs too. The rectos can get amazing high gain rhythms and leads at the same time, where the Mark IV has one high gain channel and one mid gain channel, and the roadster has an extra in between channel. The cleans on both are great so that shouldn't be a deciding factor. Good luck

 

[mdortona]

Thanks for the opinions guys, I appreciate it! I plan to spend some more time demo-ing the Mark IV. One follow-up question for Toneaddict Jon, what type of cab(s) are you running with your Mark IV head? Thanks again!

Matt

 

[ToneAddictJon]

I mainly run my 1x12 thiele with 200 watt EV in it with my MKIV. If I ever needed more speaker coverage I'd run my 2x12 recto cab with it along with the thiele, but I've never been able to turn it up past 3 on the master with the thiele at any gig.

 

[mdortona]

Thanks again, Jon!

Matt

 

[ursinus]

I owned both at the same time for a while. I play jazz, fusion, instrumental rock. For that, the MKIV wins hands down. I sold my Roadster to a fellow forumite.

The ironic thing is that the Roadster's clean sounds were awesome for country twang and straight ahead bebop, but the dirty sounds were that grungy thick fizzy sound that is more appropriate for numetal and dropped tuning chugging. So in the end, I kept the MKIV and got a Stilletto to compliment the MKIV