Mesa Roadster - what's the word?

[stormin]

Hey y'all - I'm contemplating getting rid of my Soldano and my 3ch Dual Rec for an updated rig. Had some questions about the Roadster:

Can you get a good lead tone on it without a pedal (unlike my Dual Rec)? Other likes, dislikes? I like the concept of a fourth channel, reverb, and more voicings, but I don't want to take the plunge if the Roadster is just more of the same Dual Rec tone wise.

Thanks,

Stormin!

 

[Daxman73]

I've owned all three amps (DR, RK 1 and RS) and to answer your question yes you can get a great lead tone from it...And rabies is right, it all depends on settings, guitars, tubes and feel/technique...You can't go wrong with the Roadster nor the Road King for that matter.

 

[stormin]

I'd recommend the Mark IV.

Thanks for the though, but I owned a Mark IVa for about 7 years, and it's actually the reason I got my Soldano. I tried Thiel's, 4x12's SimulClass - the whole 9 yards with it. Unlike my Mark I, I could never get my Mark IV to deliver the tones I wanted. It was never crunchy enough, heavy enough, or consistent enough. The Soldano really works well for this stuff - but I think the aggressiveness of my Dual works better for the "hard rock" my band does. I'm just thinking that the Roadster is more of a good thing.

Stormin!

 

[Living_justice]

what mark 4 did you have storm, doesnt sound like a mark 4, they more heavyer than rectos, mind you i have the b version.

 

[mesanomad100]

well the roadster's Ive tried are all great,can produce your recto tone(obviously)has better cleans IMHO,I do like the cleans on my dual rec. depends on your rig,If you can sell your current amps,get a roadster,and try hunt down an old MKIII for a decent price or even a DECENT priced MKIIc+,hahaha,these amps are really great but costly,the good point is you could sell them on for a profit Im sure,Then with your two mesa's switch between them and ohhh what a setup.....this is what I would do but then again I love the dual rec tone and I play everything from jazz-metal and classical with my DR


Its your choice depends what your lookin for really we can only give our opinions...at the end of the day a RKII would be your best choice,amazing cleans,and a wide range of drive channels with its progressive linkage



Euan

 

[stormin]

what mark 4 did you have storm, doesnt sound like a mark 4, they more heavyer than rectos, mind you i have the b version.

it was a Mark IV - A combo with an EVM. Tried tubes, different modes, different cabs - just never got heavy enough for me. The best I could get was a Skynyrd, ZZ Top, AC/DC thing (which was killer by the way). The Soldano gives me the gain I need, but it can't touch the bottom end and punch that my Recto can.

 

[tele_jas]

Absolutely one of the best amps Mesa has ever put out!!!! The Dual recto tone and some of the best cleans I've ever heard in a multi channel amp!!

I've got some clips on my site at: www.guitartest.moonfruit.com

I'm acutally selling mine due to needing a different style of amp for now, not because it a bad amp. This has been my favorite Mesa amp I've ever owned (and I've had 5 or 6 of them).

 

[sec34gtr]

Which Soldano do you have? I have a Soldano Decatone head and a Roadster head. Both are awesome. I'll never sell my Soldano, ever. I play in a metal band and with the other guitarist's 2 Ch Dual and my Soldano, the sound is huge.

I love my Roadster, but the Soldano totally destroys it in all ways except for versatility and low end.

If you're happy with the overall tone of the Soldano but need some more low end, you could try a good EQ to add some in. Or depending on which model you have, you could have Soldano add the depth mod to your amp. You could also have it modded for KT output tubes.

I run my Deca through 2 Boogie Recto Straight 4x12's. I run the bass at 11, and the depth at about 6 or so. I also run the master ridiculously loud so I can get the power tubes cookin'. It's got more than enough low end to be heavy as hell, but still allows the bass guitar and kick drum to do their things.

Don't sell the Soldano. Buy a Roadster or RKII and you'll have the best of everything. Running the Soldano with the Boogie sounds huge!

 

[stormin]

Which Soldano do you have? I have a Soldano Decatone head and a Roadster head. Both are awesome. I'll never sell my Soldano, ever. I play in a metal band and with the other guitarist's 2 Ch Dual and my Soldano, the sound is huge.

I also have a Decatone. The only 2 issues I have with the Soldano is that the clean channel is pretty lacking, and it doesn't have the bottom end thump I need. I run my Decatone thru an old Mesa metal-grille 4x12 with EV's on the bottom and MC90's on the top.

Stormin

 

[Storm]

The word? Awesome! That's on of the many that come to mind. Try one out and give it a good cranking.

Ciao ...