corym1117 said:
After experimenting with modes/watts/rectification I settled on...
Channel 3 modern
-presence 11:30
-bass 11:45
-mid 12:00
-treble 12:00
-gain 3:00
Channel 4 Vintage
-presence 2:45
-bass 1:30
-mid 11:00
-treble 2:30
-gain 3:30
Both channels 100watt, silicon diode, bold power.
Amp is a 2007 model. Pre amp tubes are original. Power amp tubes are original but I replaced two of them with new ones provided by the seller to see if they made a difference. I am playing a custom built singlecut guitar (alder body, maple neck) with Vintage hot-wound pickups from Stew-Mac. Using a 2x12 horizontal Recto cabinet.
I don’t want to use an OD in front because I would then have to hit two buttons just to go to clean. I feel like an amp with this good of a reputation shouldn’t need an OD for it to produce brutal in-your-face distortion that isn’t all messy and chaotic.
There is no squealing or humming normally associated with bad tubes so I don’t suspect that to be the problem.
On another note, I had my friend over today and he brought over his ENGL Powerball. That thing walked all over the Roadster. It sounded massive but still very clear and articulate.
Thanks for the help so far…
As Blackman said try switch to channel 4 modern, channel 3 vintage. Channel 4 has extra bass and gain built into it and i find the vintage voicing a little sensitive to both bass and gain so having extra of it doesnt really help. Also for both channels note where your presence is... i find the presence over 11 o clock on a high gain channel makes the fizz in the amp come out. I also find the stock preamp tubes by Mesa are fizz central... since i changed over to NOS tubes i havent had an once of fizz. Now that may not be the answer for everyone but for me it took what little fizz (in comparison to a regular DR) the Roadster had and reduced it to a nice sizzle, which Mesa is known for. Also consider lower the gain and master, and using the output knob to get the amp to its sweet spot. The way i approach all rectos is keep the preamp on the cleaner side and get a little more of the power amp cooking to get really brutal yet articulate tones.
As far as the OD goes I do hear in terms of creating a sutuation of having to do multiple switches to get to your clean, but in terms of getting the right tone YOU want, if an OD is necassary, I say go for it or you may need to chalk it up to not having the right amp. I look at an OD as a tool... i use both a linear clean boost and an OD set up as a clean boost. This allows me to drive the preamp harder and at the same time run the amp cleaner. This effect gets more compression and adds more mids to your tone, which for a Recto is a great thing as they are voiced more scooped and unless your running your amp super loud, lack the preamp compression that smooths out the whole amp. The result is a super clear, super brutal tone with the right amount of saturation. I also get more complex harmonics and a tightening in the low end. At the same time it takes my 4 channel amp into an 8+ channel amp which for some is overkill but for me is necassary. Out of Channel 4 modern, i get some sweet Metallica/Coheed and Cambria like rhythms and with the OD on I go straight to a super tight, super brutal KSE type tone. On channel 3 it gets me some nice ACDC crunch all the way to a creamy lead type tone. In my experience I haven't found any one amp that des everything I need, but with a few boosts and the right eq settings on the amp I basically get any tone I want. So dont necassarily look at an OD as compensating for a lack of something.... look at it as a tool you use for a very specific purpose to achieve a very specific tone. They can be your best friend... but with out a switching system (like my RJM Rg-16) it creates that pedal dancing situation.
As far as comparing your Roadster to a Powerball... those are very differently voiced amps. I think what your liking from the ENGL is their very compressed sound which lacks any of the sizzle Mesa's are known for. Also the ENGLs have more mids and lack the low end depth the Rectos have. They also have less gain at your finger tips and in general are voiced very very different. So as you can see right off the bat your talking very very different amps. I for one find ENGLs a little lacking in character and can cover poor playing very well... and thats not taking a shot at you, but more the character of the amps compression. It adds a little blanketed buffer room for making mistakes sound "right" where as a Recto and even more so a Mark IV, tend to make you play better IME. As tempermental as Mesa's can be, when your on the amp rewards you. Hence why an OD (which creates more compression in the preamp) make a Recto more forgiving.
Another thing which i previously mentioned you may want to consider is changing up the tubes in the preamp. I have come not to like the stock Mesa 12ax7s, but only after taking the dive into NOS tubes. With my current preamp configuration, I get the warmth and character the stock tubes seemed to kill with fizz and too little mids. The Roadster is exceptional at taking the character of a specific tube in a specific preamp slot, and overall changing the eq response of the amp. For instance adding a tube with tons of headroom and the right character in the high end can eliminate fizz and really get you a high gain thats bright but not ice picky. Also a tube with strong upper mids and more character can bring out tones in your Roadster you never knew were possible. I could go on and on but the point i'm trying to make is the Roadster provides a great foundation for takingt he character of quality tubes and giving you a new tonal palette.
Last thing i want to hit on is your cab selection. I'm not saying you have the wrong cab or a lesser cab, but your cab along with your preamp tubes and your guitar can make the biggest difference in shaping the tone of your amp. It all depends on what your going for though. I've been through amny cabs with the Roadster and with each one you can bring out different parts of the Roadster character depending on how the cab is voiced. Thus far the best match I've found is my Mills cab but all the cabs along the way have shown me why your cab selection can be just as important as your amp selection.
If I were you i would do three things... try reducing the gain and master on your high gain channels and use your output to get the amp to its sweet spot. That should make the amp sound clearer, more aggressive and more articulate. Two, try running the amp on hard bypass (its a switch in the back). This will kill the fx loop and a lot of us found it makes the amp easier to find the right tones. Three, if one and two still dont get you what your looking for then i would go out and play a whole bunch of amps until you find the one that fits you. The Roadster and Mesa's in general arent for everyone's liking... it may just be not being the right amp for you and the application you need it for. BTW, what type of music do you play?
