Problem with Road King

[dwbrock]

Just bought a used Road King in an online auction. The serial number is 633. I have no idea about the history of the amp - if mods were made, last time retubed, etc. It was a trade-in to Guitar Center, and so they don't have any of this info.

I can get some decent tones out of the amp, but overall I am not extremely pleased. The worst problem is that when I use the "Purring Blues" setting on Channel 3, and bear down on a chord, it has this cracking/buzzing, busted speaker sound, even at low output, and even then overall sound is definitely not what I'd consider a "purr". My Peavy Classic 30 has a better tone. Also I have heard this same noise at higher output on Channels 1 and 2.

I have tried unplugging the footswitch, selecting different power tube pairs, loop in and out, and even diode vs. tube rectification, and the noise remains. So I figure that it is either a bad preamp tube, or something in the amp circuit itself.

Any suggestions for fixing the poor tone and noise other than trying a full retube?

Thanks!

 

[Red Barchetta]

To me, a full retube with any used amp is a good idea. You don't know if the guy emptied his "spare tube" bag and kept the new tubes he put in for himself.

If that doesn't fix it, the only other thing I can suggest is a trip to your authorized Boogie repair shop. This may save you lots of headaches and trouble. You put out the bucks for an awesome amp...it's your responsibility to keep it in top shape. I own and love the RK. When it's right...you will know sonic heaven.


RB

 

[dwbrock]

Well, retubed pre and power amp with JJ's from Eurotubes and it still sounds like crap to my ears. Can't really even tell the difference. Channel 3 is especially disappointing..weak and ugly.

Oh well, I guess it's time to take in to get it serviced....Arghhh! :x

Maybe that's why the other guy unloaded it

 

[Red Barchetta]

the only problem similar to yours I had was a bad diode. Several of us on here had that problem, but it was readily fixed by Mesa. Turn around is usually pretty quick from a reputable repair shop... you should be ok once you get it back. When the Road King is working like it's supposed to...it is awesome.


RB

 

[brianf]

You mention busted speaker sound!!! Look what was inside my cab!!! I can't believe this got through both celestian and Mesa Q.C.!!!! The whole bottom 3rd of the center cap was unglued and rattling around. I thought my amp had a headroom problem.

 

[dwbrock]

OK, I've been playing around with the amp some more, trying to figure out whether I need to pay the money to get it looked at. I want to get the opinion of you guys out there that love the tone of your RK.

Here's what I tried. I set Channel 3 to those in the Manual for Liquid Solo (including Master), using 2 6L6s, tube rect., Bold. Using an Epiphone Elitist Les Paul on the Lead PU, with volume and tone on 10.
When I try this with Output at 12:00 I get a fairly soft "living room" volume - I can sit right in front of the amp comfortably. The sound to me is a little fuzzy, and definition on the low notes is marginal. Now if I crank the Output up to approach 3:00, I start to get that nicer Mesa buzz saw sound and low notes tighten up. At this setting the volume is a little too loud for the living room, but still tolerable from across the room.

One more thing to note is that when I have the output cranked up this high I get some noticeable amp noise (fuzz) when the volume on the guitar is turned up.

So, my question is - does this sound right? Does it take driving the amp to this level to get the right sound? And do the volume levels sound right? I have a sound meter, so could measure it if it would help to compare. I know that if I cranked my Peavy Clasic 30 up to comparable levels, it would blow me of the room. If this turns out to be true, I think that I will have to use an attenuator to get the level of the output down low enough to rehearse at home, and to mic on stage.

Any help would be appreciated. I really want to love this amp, but right now I just want to throw it out the window. :?

 

[Red Barchetta]

when you refer to the output...are you talking about the main output knob next to the solo knob? If so....geez....there's a problem. Unless your individual channel outputs (master) are set really low, you are not getting the power you should. I use the "liquid solo" setting as a base for my lead sound...the only time I have been able to run the main amp output at 12 o'clock is on a 40 foot outdoor festival stage. If I did that in a small club, I think I'd kill the first 3 rows of patrons.

Also, with your loop system active,(and it must be if you are using the output and solo knobs) you have to be sure the loop 2 send level and ftswch mix is at least at 12 o'clock (in the normal range) This can drastically affect your output if they are too low or too high.


Heres an idea....take some digital photos of your amp...closeup on the control panel to show exactly how you are setting it. I will set my RK the same way and we'll see what's up.

Hopefully that will help.


RB

 

[dwbrock]

Thanks for the reply RB. You hit something this time! My Loop 2 Send and FS mix were set at about 9 o'clock. I moved them up to 12 o'clock and "BAM!" - much better gain/sound with lower Output setting. I've never touched these knobs since I bought it, so this has been my problem with the gain all along. I am not sure that I am getting the exact same gain that you are, but now at about 12 o'clock for the Output, I am getting that "a little uncomfortable to stay in the same room" kind of volume.

The treatment of these two knobs is very subtle in the manual, especially in my case when you are enabling the loop just because you want to enable the overall Output/Solo control, not because you are using any effects. The manual has all of the send/FS controls set at about 1 o'clock. Is this a good setting if you are not actually using effects?

So, this is a major step in the right direction. What still concerns me is this:

1. There is still a noticeable farty, busted speaker sound when using low gain channels, or low gain setting in the high gain channels. It may be present in the higher gain settings, but not noticeable because of the overdrive distortion. I am going to try it with an external cabinet tomorrow to see if it is actually a speaker problem (without, dismantling my amp to inspect the speakers.

2. With all this fussing around, I'm still not sure if I am getting the best/intended tone out of the amp. It sounds very good, but it would be nice to be able to verify it somehow. Is my best bet still to take it in to the service center, especially considering my issue in #1?

3. Am I getting enough power? Although significantly louder with this last adjustment, I couldn't say that I could kill the front row with it.

Thanks again RB!

 

[Red Barchetta]

You are welcome...I'm glad I could help. 1:00 is a good place to set them, even with no fx. If you can do it, a check up with a service center wouldn't hurt.

If you can give me a digital pic of your knob settings, along with a detailed list of what guitar, p-ups, etc...I can try and duplicate your setup.


Let me know.

RB