New Roadster owner

[imnoshredder]

New here. Received my new Roadster ordered from GC last week (10/3).

Weird things though, was missing the foot controller (box was still 'factory sealed') - it's been ordered supposedly, but I haven't seen it yet.

And, I thought channels 3 & 4 were supposed to be pretty close to the same. Channel 3 is cool, ch 4 is WAY dark using the same settings. Even with bass at 0. Too much low end. Very muddy sounding.
Tried the manual suggestions for ch 4 - not good...

That said, the 2 clean channels are WAY cool. Lots of room to tweak.
And ch 3 seems to be nice DR area.

Also, I bought an Avatar Premier Vintage 2x12 cab (split back) - the over sized one. Freakin' awesome! 1-v30, 1-G12H30. Nice big sound and NO farting low end. 59lbs - easy to move.
$384 + shipping vs $599 (at least) for the MB 2x12.

Waiting to hear back from MB. Anyone have any similiar issues?

 

[digi]

The footswitch should have came in a seperate box along with your roadster. When I recieved my roadster a couple weeks ago the V4 preamp tube was busted but thats about it. I got GC to hook me up with a spare set of MESA tubes. I swapped out V1, V2 and V6 with Telefunky's and love the sound. I play with EMG's (81/85.... but I only use the 81) on ch4 mostly. I can't seem to get a good sound on ch1 or ch2 with my EMG's though. Even with the volume rolled back a bit on my guitar.... Oh well maybe it's just because I suck.

 

[G.I.G.]

And, I thought channels 3 & 4 were supposed to be pretty close to the same. Channel 3 is cool, ch 4 is WAY dark using the same settings. Even with bass at 0. Too much low end. Very muddy sounding.
Tried the manual suggestions for ch 4 - not good...

I agree, channel 4 is pretty boomy. I have a Dual Rec as well, and I tried to set up channel 4 on my Roadster the same as channel 3 on my Dual Rec (which are supposed to be the same or very similar). I have noticed that I have to turn the presence WAY up on channel 4 of the Roadster to get the sound I want out of it. I am hesitant to try the JJ's in there now because of that.

 

[tele_jas]

I don't like ch4 on my Road King for the hard stuff... I like channel 3 vintage. I have channel 4 set up like this and find it very usable:

Mode: Vintage
Gain: 10:30-11:00
Treb: 12:00
Mids: 12:00
bass: 9:30
Pres: 10:30-11:00

And I use it as my "less harder" channel and even boost it with a Tubescreamer for some cool variations of tones.

 

[imnoshredder]

I don't like ch4 on my Road King for the hard stuff... I like channel 3 vintage. I have channel 4 set up like this and find it very usable:

Mode: Vintage
Gain: 10:30-11:00
Treb: 12:00
Mids: 12:00
bass: 9:30
Pres: 10:30-11:00

And I use it as my "less harder" channel and even boost it with a Tubescreamer for some cool variations of tones.

Thanks
I tried those and some similiar settings - definetly closer. What I seem to have settled on is --

Mode - modern (not a big fan of this mode, but seems to work here)
Gain - 9:00 - 10:00
Treb - 1:00
Mids - 12:00
Bass - barely on - to taste
Pres - 11:00
Master - blend to be just a hair louder than ch3

This actually seems pretty fair for some lead work.

I also have a Tube screamer (has a serial # that starts with a 1 - made in 1980 I think), a Keely modded Boss SD-1 and Snarling Dogs Blues Bawls Wah into the front end

Boss DD-5 and CH-3 in the loop

Tuner in the tuner out

All in all, so far this is a MONSTER amp/rig for me. I bought this entire rig including Avatar, without trying any of it out. Pretty scarey. But, right now I am loving it. Now, if they would just get me the foot controller :x


BTW - tele_jas -- is that a Pink Paisley Tele I spy in your avatar?? I have the Pink Paisley Strat!! More for looks than playing tho...
I use a '89 ultra plus Strat w/SD hot rails (used to have lace sensors)

 

[tele_jas]

Yep, that's ole Pinky (a 2004 model)... That's my main guitar. I put Fender Vintage Noiseless pickups in it and I didn't like the stock neck (small frets) so I got a Mighty Mite neck with med-jumbo frets and put that on there and now it plays and sounds like a dream.... a big pink dream.

I got quite a bit of flack from some of the guys on this board when I first got it, but I think they were just jealous

 

[Platypus]

Don't listen to the haters tele, it's got class

 

[Xspider FingersX]

pink will always be rock and roll. I have a bubble gum pink metallic strat myself!

 

[imnoshredder]

Boy, I'm thinking I was really wrong about this amp. After the initial 'new' wore off, and I started to try to get the sounds I need -- they just aren't in there.
Worst of all, chs 3 & 4 just suck. Sounds way bassy and if you try to add treb or pres it gets REAL fizzy.
Ch 4 is just usless to me.
I play in a couple cover bands doing everything from Sublime, Blink and other 90's type pop (?) rock to a female fronted band doing Alanis to Evanescence.
Chs 1 & 2 aren't horrible, but not great either.
I have tweaked this non stop for a week. Every way possible. Going to call MB tomorrow and see if there's anything else to try.
Unfortunately, the GC I ordered this from called it a "special order" and the 30 day return doesn't apply :evil:

So, if anyone out there wants a Roadster and not the 3-4 month wait, I have a 2 week old one I may be parting with.
That said, is there any Boogie amp that would get me more "classic rock" type tones?

 

[Platypus]

Boy, I'm thinking I was really wrong about this amp. After the initial 'new' wore off, and I started to try to get the sounds I need -- they just aren't in there.
Worst of all, chs 3 & 4 just suck. Sounds way bassy and if you try to add treb or pres it gets REAL fizzy.
Ch 4 is just usless to me.
I play in a couple cover bands doing everything from Sublime, Blink and other 90's type pop (?) rock to a female fronted band doing Alanis to Evanescence.
Chs 1 & 2 aren't horrible, but not great either.
I have tweaked this non stop for a week. Every way possible. Going to call MB tomorrow and see if there's anything else to try.
Unfortunately, the GC I ordered this from called it a "special order" and the 30 day return doesn't apply :evil:

So, if anyone out there wants a Roadster and not the 3-4 month wait, I have a 2 week old one I may be parting with.
That said, is there any Boogie amp that would get me more "classic rock" type tones?

Don't give up on it just yet. I'm still finding tones in my rectifier 2+ years after owning it.

It seems frustrating at first but read the manual over and over and figure out how the tone stack works. The controls are unlike most other amps you've probably played.

For 'classic rock' tones you're looking at a Stiletto or a Lonestar. I just ordered a Stiletto Ace myself for vintage/classic rock tones. You should EASILY be able to get all the tones you mentioned out of the Roadster though.. just be patient and give it more time.

Hopefully some roadster owners can chime in and give you some settings to try.

 

[soundpurist]

Boy, I'm thinking I was really wrong about this amp. After the initial 'new' wore off, and I started to try to get the sounds I need -- they just aren't in there.
Worst of all, chs 3 & 4 just suck. Sounds way bassy and if you try to add treb or pres it gets REAL fizzy.
Ch 4 is just usless to me.
I play in a couple cover bands doing everything from Sublime, Blink and other 90's type pop (?) rock to a female fronted band doing Alanis to Evanescence.
Chs 1 & 2 aren't horrible, but not great either.
I have tweaked this non stop for a week. Every way possible. Going to call MB tomorrow and see if there's anything else to try.
Unfortunately, the GC I ordered this from called it a "special order" and the 30 day return doesn't apply :evil:

So, if anyone out there wants a Roadster and not the 3-4 month wait, I have a 2 week old one I may be parting with.
That said, is there any Boogie amp that would get me more "classic rock" type tones?

Don't give up on it just yet. I'm still finding tones in my rectifier 2+ years after owning it.

It seems frustrating at first but read the manual over and over and figure out how the tone stack works. The controls are unlike most other amps you've probably played.

For 'classic rock' tones you're looking at a Stiletto or a Lonestar. I just ordered a Stiletto Ace myself for vintage/classic rock tones. You should EASILY be able to get all the tones you mentioned out of the Roadster though.. just be patient and give it more time.

Hopefully some roadster owners can chime in and give you some settings to try.

So right! I just tried the stiletto ace combo today! That is niiice! I'm suprised, usually I prefer the head to the combo for every kind of amp but that one deserve consideration. Very versatile and good especially for classic rock! Anyway, both are very good. If I had money i would buy a stiletto ace combo.

 

[francric]

Swap out your 6L6's for EL84's.............

 

[parsky1]

Turn your presence up on channel four. I got one heck of a sweet sound out of it with the presence at 3:00 on my RKII. I got it set with EL34s, set to modern and I get a great somewhat marshallish tone with that smooth almost liquid like mesa distortion.

 

[matty]

like platypus said "don't give up"

I was feeling a lot the same after a couple of weeks with my roadster.
funny that sometimes it would sounds great and sometimes I would think that there was something wrong with it. I've come to realize that this is probably alot more amp than I'll ever need and with that comes a lot more tweaking. It sure isn't the easiest beast to tame but I'm very close to breaking it (not literally..but who knows)

I'm investing in a Hotplate as this monster is happiest when pushed...alot.
I'm also experimenting with some tube changes based on a few comparisons here on this site, mainly the fuzzy gain issue ...I have one Rectifier tube that rattles like an SOB. Doesn't seem to affect the sound but I'm thinking af trying the Mesa Dual Rec 6V6 - GZ34 - High gain pre option from Eurotubes, and maybe some EL34's to try out as well. Seems like a cheaper alternative than to part ways so early.

 

[Nazgul666]

You guys that have the Roadster. Are you new to Mesa or are you coming from a Dual Rec? If you had a dual rec, did you have the same issues?

I'm new to Mesa and in love with the Dual Rec. I'm just wondering if the same issues apply.

 

[imnoshredder]

Swap out your 6L6's for EL84's.............

Do you mean EL34's?

 

[imnoshredder]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Unfortunately, I've tweaked every knob in every combination. No real changes.

No matter how I tweak, there is always too much bottom on chs 3 & esp 4.

I guess I didn't realize the "Rectifier" heritage involved. I do not really like that type of sound. However, when I read the ads and downloaded the manual, I seemed it was more than a rectifier amp. Guess I should've done more research, but GC didn't stock them and I thought I had a handle on it. I know the manual back and forward. Know what every knob and switch should do.
Guess I could try different guitars, but I don't want to buy a guitar for my amp.
I have a Peavey Triple XX 112 (backup amp) that honestly sounds way better (to my ears) on the crunch and ultra channels. It's my backup for a reason. I wasn't satisfied with it completely. However, when I dial in more treble, I get more treble. On the Roadster I get either nothing or more fizz. Same with the presence.

I may see if MB will send me some 34s....seems they would be inherently more top end fizzy....****!!!

My guess is I'll have a Roadster for sale shortly...****!!!! :evil:

 

[Platypus]

Fair enough, I guess we all have different definitions of tone... like to me the XXX you mentioned is nothing but lifeless fuzz

Good luck, I doubt you'll have a problem selling it off.

 

[Dawg Fan]

Dude, I would push back on GC. I would call the 800 number and ***** about it. They are a Mesa dealer, so techncally your item is not a special order. I could see if you went crazy with options like hardwood etc.

If worse comes to worse, see if they will let you exchange it for something else. Maybe you could get a Mark IV or a Stiletto?

 

[francric]

Dude, I would push back on GC. I would call the 800 number and ***** about it. They are a Mesa dealer, so techncally your item is not a special order. I could see if you went crazy with options like hardwood etc.

If worse comes to worse, see if they will let you exchange it for something else. Maybe you could get a Mark IV or a Stiletto?

If you had to give them say 20% to get it for you then it is a special order because it was not in stock. That doesn't mean you can't try but you might lose the 20% down. You might be able to exchange it.