Road King and Roadster "darkness"

EVHalen · Jul 27, 2009

After reading a lot of reviews, everyone says that a Roadster is a darker sounding amp than a dual/triple recto. Does this mean that the Road King is also a darker sounding amp? Just curious... because of all the things I've read, nobody has mentioned the Road King having that quality.

siggy14 · Jul 27, 2009

Might want to be more specific, I can tell you the Roadking V1 is not dark at all and more mid's then a normal rectifier, however I have not played a Roadking V2 so cant tell you that.

EVHalen · Jul 27, 2009

siggy14 said:
Might want to be more specific, I can tell you the Roadking V1 is not dark at all and more mid's then a normal rectifier, however I have not played a Roadking V2 so cant tell you that.

How more specific? I'm talking about a version 2, if that helps.

b0nkersx · Jul 27, 2009

I can't really compare to a Roadster, as I have never gotten the chance to become intimate with one, but I like the way my Road King (version 2) sounds more than a standard Dual/Triple recto. Keep in mind, though, that the sound is a lot more tweakable with different power tube options and different speaker cabinet options if you happen to have more than one cab. For example, I've been running 2x6L6 and 2xEL34 for my regular high gain tone, and it sounds different than a Dual, which runs 4x6L6 all the time. I'm not positive on 4x6L6 in a RK2 vs a DR, though. I've never done a side by side comparison of that specific scenario.

fjk1138 · Jul 27, 2009

b0nkersx said:
I can't really compare to a Roadster, as I have never gotten the chance to become intimate with one, but I like the way my Road King (version 2) sounds more than a standard Dual/Triple recto.

Agreed 100%. I spent almost an hour with a Road King II and a Roadster one day. I love both, but the Roadster was cheaper and a bit simpler to use (and I got it new out of the box). Both are darker than the Dual/Triple Rec (by this I mean: darker = smoother, IMHO), but the clean channels are better also. You definitely have more cab options with the RK as listed above.

So, from the Roadster side of the world, the distortion channels on are not as brittle as a Dual or Triple (I love those also, don't get me wrong) and you have a more leeway with the presence and treble controls than you do on a Dual or Triple.

Overall, I would say that all 4 channels are to my liking on the Roadster and I find it very versatile. On the TR (again, while a great amp) I basically favored CH 2 (loud pop and all) because it was the smoothest and most dynamic for me.