Mesa BAD-Roadking or BAD-Roadster?

[bandit2013]

What if mesa did a Badlander Roadster or Road King? Typical 4 channel design but with an adaptation of the Badlander circuit and one that goes full Recto? That last gain stage in front of the tone stack driver could easily be manipulated into a cold clipper stage using relays or in the BAD mode it would be a typical gain stage. Not sure how that would affect the load line. That last gain stage runs a 100k plate resistor but it measured at 130k.

In other words, two main preamp configurations, one for BAD and the other for Recto with the cold clipper. Add in some reverb and possibly 50W of EL34 power with the progressive linkage and the 50W/100W section with the quad of 6L6GC tubes. Throw in some midi control functions and you get a BAD Road or Bad King. Now for power tube Rectification? Is that even needed? I would use it if available along with the Spongy power mode as that has its unique characteristics.

This could just be a BAD idea. Meaning nobody cares and the Roadster and Road king are relics of the past and should be left to die off.

Some may fee the BAD100 is off compared to the BAD50, Not sure why that is. But dang, the BAD 100 just rips with the STR445 power tubes. Having a blend of the EL34 power along with it would be either interesting or just a bad ideal. Roadster with the progressive linkage = Road King but with a few less features. So say the BAD Road is out and the BAD King is in?

 

[bandit2013]

Yeah, no takers on this subject? I guess it was a BAD idea.

 

[domct203]

I don’t have any personal experience with it, but the Badlander looks to me like it’s more than just it’s sound/tone that sets it apart from the last generation of Rectos, it’s designed as a ‘players’ amp, straightforward 2-channel layout non master volume amp with zero ‘tone frills’ like progressive linkage or recto tracking. The layout is like a step back to the original 2-ch Rectifier layout that started it all. I think that if we start adding all these other features and options it would just muddy up the Badlander’s intent and tone.

And this opinion is coming from someone who had their Roadster modded for tighter response, less sub-harmonic content and more mid/upper midrange that lends itself to that ‘liquid lead’ character LOL. Sounds like I already have a pseudo ’Badster’ on my hands

Dom

 

[bandit2013]

Yeah, that be true. No cold clipper in the amp as it is a hybrid preamp design combining the Mark Lead drive circuit into the front end and driving the tone stack through the DC coupled cathode follower circuit. All that would be done is to mod the last gain stage in front of the tone stack driver to a cold clipper and you get back to black of the Recto sound. If it could be a mod feature so you can go back to a non-cold clipper, I think that would be cool. Actually I have not fully explored all the traces and components surrounding the preamp tubes so I am not fully aware of what is in the amp since I only measured resistance with the power removed. I have to kill that curious cat one of these days, Meow wants to experiment with the circuits and see if the cold clipper would work out. That cat will get me killed one of these days.

 

[Theresa]

This could just be a BAD idea. Meaning nobody cares and the Roadster and Road king are relics of the past and should be left to die off.

LONG LIVE THE ROADKING! May the King reign forever!!

 

[bandit2013]

The basic circuit is there if Mesa wanted to explore the potential to expand on the Badlander.
Configuring the last gain stage in front of the tone stack driver could add more flavors or modes. In other words, you retain the hybrid Badlander character in its original form with the last gain stage as it is, but you would gain two other characteristics if that last gain stage could be altered to a cold clipper. Sure, it will dop the gain but it will bring out some Rectifier character. Not necessary to drop the cold clipper with the 39k, perhaps something between the 10k and 39k. In normal mode you have the mark VII hybrid and in Recto you get more of the Recto voice.

So this would be it, as it was based on my mistake of measuring resistors the first time around. I only did this to find out where the cathode follower circuits were located as I did not want any surprises if I changed preamp tubes sometime down the road.

This is the standard preamp of the Badlander:

This would be the alternate configuration if such was possible. Lower gain but more Recto sounding?

Not sure what that would sound like if the last gain stage was mode configurable. Probably just mud or lacking gain structure. the V1B and V3A would still remain as the Mark lead drive circuit. I did not change the colors to red in the graphic as I do not have the program at home that was used to make it. In some ways you will still be pushing the last gain stage with the asymmetric Mark Lead drive circuit, pushing that into a cold clipper may have ill effect or it may actually sound good. I am sure it is more complex than the simple graphic represented here. I am not trying to correct for my mistake when I first looked at the amp to figure it out. At first I thought this amp had some throwback to the Electra Dyne but without any added silicon to the design. (trying to use a cryptic word for op-amp here). If it is possible without the need of reconnecting the negative feedback circuit like the Modern mode on the Recto or Extreme on the Mark V90, the signal levels on the channels between modes would be more balanced. (assumed). Not sure there is any value to this thread.

 

[bandit2013]

One question, if the amp did have a cold clipper circuit, where would it be, closer to the front or closer to the tone stack driver? Does it really matter?