Newbie - Roadster v Road King II

[garfunkel]

Greetings people.

I'm new to this forum and I am contemplating buying a Mesa and I'm tossing up between a Roadster or a Road King II head with a 2x12 cab to suit whichever head I end up getting. Obviously there are some big differences in price and also the Roadster doesn't have progessive linkage etc. But in terms of versatility and range of tones how do they compare? I live in Aus so it's difficult to convince a store to get one of each from the importer on the off chance I might buy them and the importer is a 4 hour drive away. Before I make that trip I was just hoping people can give me some info or words of advice on either or both of these amps.

Thanks for all your help in advance.
Craig

 

[domct203]

IMO if you can afford the RoadKing II get it. I love my Roadster, but I wish I could switch to EL34 on the fly too.

Dom

 

[jdurso]

IMO if you can afford the RoadKing II get it. I love my Roadster, but I wish I could switch to EL34 on the fly too.

Dom

agreed... both amps more or less sound the same as long as your comparing just the 6l6s. getting the roadking will not only give you some more bells and whistles (love the cab switching) but also more tonal options as you can switch and blend 6l6s with el34s.

 

[chriz_batman]

I was in the exact same situation as you, i couldn't decide between the roadster and the road king 2. At first i was convinced that the roadster would be the best choice but since i had the extra cash i went with the Road King. Plus it has even more features. IMO the rk 2 is worth the extra cash

 

[Machine Gun]

I love my RKII, glad I got it. But if I'm not mistaken, and you Roadster owners can chime in, I think you can run 4 EL34's in the Roadster whereas the RK has just 2 plus the 4 6L6's. So I guess if you are more of an EL34 guy, it is something to think about. Still voiced like a recto on channel 3 and 4 any way you slice it.

 

[mrd]

Get a RKII man! You won't be disappointed, it's worth the cash. The amp will grow with you if you are a relatively new player, and if you are an experienced dude, it will amaze you with it's on-tap tonal varieties. Coupled with a boost up front and a good quality EQ in the loop, you can achieve just about any tone imaginably. You can even tread near Mark territory if you know what you're doing. Don't let others tell you it's too loose, too bassy, not liquid enough, whatever... it's all in there man... just know that each knob serves a purpose and they are all inter-connected. Take the time to learn the amp, and it will please you surely!

 

[jdurso]

I love my RKII, glad I got it. But if I'm not mistaken, and you Roadster owners can chime in, I think you can run 4 EL34's in the Roadster whereas the RK has just 2 plus the 4 6L6's. So I guess if you are more of an EL34 guy, it is something to think about. Still voiced like a recto on channel 3 and 4 any way you slice it.

right but we only get a choice of one or the other not both. we can't really mix and match but hell thats why you pay the extra $$$ for the RK. they both sound the same as long as your comparing each amp using the same tubes.

 

[garfunkel]

Thank you all for your responses. It seems the overwhelming concensus is to cough up the extra $$$ and go for the RKII. It was the choice that I was leaning to, but thought if I can get everything the RK does minus a couple of thing then I would go for the Roadster. But.. the last thing I want to do is buy the roadster and regret I didn't go the whole hog and buy the RKII.

Even from what MRD has said that you CAN get Mark tones out of this baby as well. That was my only concern, but if it gets pretty close to a Mark tone along with everything else that it is capable of producing tonal wise, it looks like I've got some more saving to do.... =)

Is the Road King 2 x 12 cabinet worth while also? It sounds great with one closed back and one open back speaker. In theory anyway, how does it sound in the real world?

 

[Laskyman]

IMHO- you cant go wrong with either. If $$$ isnt a challenge, RKII is a no brainer. But, really, you cant go wrong...

Laskyman

 

[MrBoggles]

if you can afford a rk2 why a 2x12 cab?
go for glory and get a 4x12 you know you want to...

 

[Robusto]

if you can afford a rk2 why a 2x12 cab?
go for glory and get a 4x12 you know you want to...

you are the kind of friend every guitar gear junky needs!!!

I would recommend the 4x12 as well btw, esp for the rkII