New Roadster

[jesserides2005]

I picked up one of the new Roadsters yesterday at my local boogie dealer & so far I must say that I'm really impressed with it. I've owned a few Dual Rectos in the past & I never warmed up to them enough to keep them. In fact, even after months of playing with them and trying to dial in different tones, I'd have to say that in the end, I really couldn't stand them. I've been a Mark series fan since the mid-eighties, and for the last few years have been using a triaxis rack set-up and a Stiletto. My favorite type of guitar tone is along the lines of non-boogie users i.e. EVH, Neal Schon,Robben Ford etc. Some of my favorite non-boogie amplifiers are boutique lines such as Fuchs, DR Z, Mojave, and Diezel. In fact, I was all set to bite the sticker shock bullet and order a Herbert Head when I decided to take the Roadster for a test drive.

Rather than continue to be long winded lets just say that the new Roadster has the exact tone that I was looking for in the Dual Rectos I'd owned. The Roadster is still 100% "Rectumfrier" type tone, but seems to have a more buttery midrange and warmness to compliment the fizzy sound of the rectifier-type distortion. I don't really know how to explain it other than to say that this new Roadster series has made a Recto Lover out of this "Old School Tone" one-time Recto Hater. My favorite sounds so far are the "Tweed Howl" from Channel 1 & believe it or not, the "Modern" on Channel 4. Go Figure????????????

P.S.

I'm still going to order a Herbert, I just have to wait longer to save up again now! Boogies are great & I've used them for decades, but there's something about the Diezel's I've played that gives me that giddy kid at christmas feeling just like when I switched from Marshall's to Boogie's back in the 80's.

P.S.S.

I actually prefer the "Look" of the Roadster over the DR's. Like tone, it's all a matter of taste.

peace all,
-d

 

[jesserides2005]

I've had Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS) for about ten years now, but over the last year I believe I've stumbled onto a cure:

I call it:

"PRACTICE"


peace again,
-d

 

[scolli]

Congrats! Did you get the combo or the head? Which cabinet are you using? I picked up a roadster head a few weeks ago (my first mesa) and it is a great amp. I'm have both a 2x12 and a 4x12 recto std cabs (I don't need both...trying to decide which one keep). What i'm finding is the ch3/4 vint/modern settings in the manual just have overwhelming bass so i find myself dialing out most of it (8-9 o'clock) and adding more treble/presence. The tone from the these settings seems "muffled" in my opinion. I'm wondering if a different cab might offer a more balanced tone. Also, when I cranked this thing, I loose the smoothness and it becomes harsh (hit a low note hard and you get "Braaap"). To me, the amp sounds better at lower volumes. The Brit mode also seems to loose its cruchyness at high volume. Any suggestions, what has been your experience?

thanks

 

[xscottx9]

I had some serious muffle too .. but it was my guitar. The Roadster is very sensative to pickup typles. I also have a Marshall DSL50, and DSL100 .. neither of the Marshalls are as finicky .. My Les Paul with Burstbuckers is just plain Muddy on Channel 3 and 4, ..but my Les Paul with EMG's just RIPS!!! The Burstbuckers sound better in channel 1 and 2 .. so I am kind of at a loss ..

 

[Finnster]

I had some serious muffle too .. but it was my guitar. The Roadster is very sensative to pickup typles. I also have a Marshall DSL50, and DSL100 .. neither of the Marshalls are as finicky .. My Les Paul with Burstbuckers is just plain Muddy on Channel 3 and 4, ..but my Les Paul with EMG's just RIPS!!! The Burstbuckers sound better in channel 1 and 2 .. so I am kind of at a loss ..

Same experience with the bustbuckers....My Explorer with the 500t's rock throught the mesa...as well as my emg LP Custom. I also have an 1992 LP Standard..those stock pick-ups scream through the mesa. BTW, I have the combo 2X12

 

[jesserides2005]

I'm using historic LP's with 57's & Burstbuckers & they sound great with the Roadster. So far I've dialed the amp in with a Boogie 4x12 Standard, a Marshall 1960B 4x12, a Boogie Widebody 1x12 open back, and a Boogie Thiele 1x12 cab. The best sound to my ears has been with the Marshall running at 16ohms. The Boogie's sounded a little more brittle believe it or not. As far as settings go, I don't match the samples in the manual, I've just dialed them all in according to what sounds good to my ears depending on the room & stage.

BTW, mine is the head version.

-d

 

[xscottx9]

jedderides2005: Everything but High Gain sounds good with the Burstbuckers. It just when you go past 1:00 on the gain does it start to get muddy. .. I am running the Roadster into a Marshall 4x12 with V30's, and a Mesa recto 2x12/v30's .

 

[jesserides2005]

xscottx9: The highest I set any of the gains on my amp is at about 3 o'clock and I'm not finding that the amp gets muddy or farty sounding at all with the burstbuckers. It could just be different taste's though. For instance, I've never liked high output pickups or active pickups such as EMG's, etc. They sound muddy to me in almost everything? I've always liked the sound of the low to medium output humbuckers that have that woody sound of the guitar. Then again, it might also be the vintage 30's in your cabs. I really didn't care much for the sound of the Roadster in my Boogie 4x12 with the V30's. The 75 watt celestions in the stock Marshall 1960B made this amp come to life for me. My Stiletto is much the same way actually. The Marshall is a lot warmer than the Boogie cab for that amp too. In fact, the only rig that sounds better in the Boogie cab is the triaxis & 50/50. I'm not sure why, but that's my take on it.

I don't know about the rest of you Roadster owner's, but the only mode I really can't stand is the Brit mode. I've yet to find a setting that doesn't sound like crap.

-d

 

[xscottx9]

it does not get farty. Just muddy, muffled.

Yes, Brit mode is poopy ..