RK @ 50 watts -- 'usable' at home?

[RichW]

First off; apologies if this seems a bit of a mind dump, because it is. :lol: Been thinking about this for the past few days and figured I'd check if you guys could help me out with your opinion/knowledge.

After considering to buy a used Mark III, I ditched that idea because I figured I want something with a little more options (channels etc.). Right now my prime two choices are either a new Mark IV, or the new RK II--and the RK II has my preference because I really dig the aggressive and thick recto rhythm tones.

Here is my situation: I'm a student and live right beside the university in a small apartment--the plan is to keep my small Vox practice amp there, so I can have a decent tone on low volume levels. I'd keep the new Mesa amp in my parents' house, since it's bigger and there are no wall-to-wall neighbours, meaning I'd be able to play at volumes a little higher than 'bedroom' levels.

But still, I'd prefer not to play at gig-level volume, obviously. Now, my dad claims he's called Mesa and they told him that the RK was absolutely not suited for at-home use, and the Mark IV was, because you could set the power amp wattage to 30. But then I thought: you can switch the RK to 2x 6L6 or EL34's as well, which would be 50 watts, and the volume difference between 30 and 50 isn't that big. Also, from what I've read, the Mark IV is a bit 'cleaner' in nature, so you'd need to saturate the amp a bit more to get a dirty sound--as well as that the Mark series amps are supposed to be loud.

So I suppose the question would be: what would you recommend? Is the Mark IV really better suited for at home use, or would I be able to get some really sweet distorted tones out of the RK II without crumbling the garage walls? How does the RK sound, using 2x 6L6 or EL34?

I'd try it out for myself, but I have not yet found a store that has either of these amps lying around.

Thanks much in advance!

 

[tele_jas]

When you're talking about volume difference in 30wts vs 50wts you're only talking about 2db difference at the most. The same with 50wt vs 100wt, there's only going to be about 3-5 db difference in the two. I can be playing at 50 wts and switch to 100wts and not really be able to tell the difference in volume at all.

Any tube amp with built in distortion isn't going to sound too good at "bedroom" level, but you can get some decent tones out of it with a little EQ adjustment but you'll have to tweak the EQ when you turn the amp up. On the same note, you don't have to crank a Road King to get it to sound good but I wouldn't be playing it in the next room when they're trying to watch TV.

So as far as the difference in a Mark IV or a RK, there isn't going to be much difference low volume wise in 30wt vs 50wt when the distortion channel comes in to play or even the cleans since they can sound good at a lower volume. With the Road King you can also run it in "spongy" mode which cuts the watts down a little bit more too.

I guess I kind of answered your question too about the RK being able to run at 50wts... yes it can. 2 6L6's is 50wts and 2 EL34's is 60wts (I think that's the break down). The 6L6's are a bit darker and sizzlier with a looser but more low end. The EL34's have a more mid-range bite with less but a tighter low end and the sizzle is gone from the top end, but no matter what tube you're running it's still going to sound like a Rectifier.



Did you ever think that maybe your Dad just wants a Mark IV? :wink:

 

[Elpelotero]

i don't think there'll be any sort of significant volume difference. a power tube is a power is a power tube (tho they impart different tones, but that's a whole other subject) and as thus any power tube needs to be driven loud to sound good. the difference will be so ridiculously minimal that it shouldnt impact what u buy. buy what u want for its sound. one employees opinion shouldnt matter too much, even tho these things are meant for gigging. i use my recto at home at about 930 to 11 oclock and u can hear it outside easily. when i go back to school im screwed! or actually, they're screwed! hahahahah!! :twisted:

 

[kingster911]

I crank my RKII at 50 watts all the time in my room. Seems fine to me. 50 watts is when you're just using one 6L6 or El34, though.