Road King gain problems, almost at the end of my rope.

[Boogiebabies]

The RK 1 is prone to problems like this. It may be a pot, preamp tube or a known issue with the RK1,2 or 3. I would call Mesa first before speculating what the issue is. When buying an amp that was shipped any normal distance, not only do the powet tubes take a beating but the preamp as well. Try swapping some pre's and see if it helps. The schematics on this amp are beyond the competance of most amp techs. It is overwhelming unless you know what you are looking at.

 

[aenigma]

The RK 1 is prone to problems like this. It may be a pot, preamp tube or a known issue with the RK1,2 or 3. I would call Mesa first before speculating what the issue is. When buying an amp that was shipped any normal distance, not only do the powet tubes take a beating but the preamp as well. Try swapping some pre's and see if it helps. The schematics on this amp are beyond the competance of most amp techs. It is overwhelming unless you know what you are looking at.

Yeah I tried swapping preamp tubes with no change.I don't know about it being a pot though, when I crank the gain there isn't much distortion but still quite a bit of noise, like if the pot were to allow it to go higher(11? :lol: ) there would be too much noise.As it is now it just seems like there is alot of gain but no breakup or something.

Oh yeah this should be a newer RK because it is supposedly about 6 months old.

 

[daveythomas]

What is the serial number? I have RK002112 which is 3 months old.

 

[cnumb44]

I sent my LSC to Petaluma and they had it turned around within 2 weeks. It took another 3-5 days to get back, so the total was about 3 weeks. They also called when they were working on it to tell me what they had done. It was actually faster than it would have been if I had taken it to the local authorized repair place. They had quoted me 3 weeks just to get to it.

 

[tele_jas]

My RK combo is sn: 001818 and that is 13 months old and I was told it should go in for the upgrade/fix.

 

[aenigma]

My serial is RK-001715, but it may actually be 6 months old from the store which would explain why it would still be under warranty.Assuming I can find out where he got it so I can get it warrantied.

 

[HappyStrat]

Hey Aenigma, don't give up.............

Awesome thanks for the reply HappyStrat!I am glad there is actually someone else that has the same problem! "Same EXACT problem, hope my problem can help you fix your problem"

It is very interesting the way it is now because every now and then I will go play it and it will seem like there is enough gain and it sounds pretty good and after playing for awhile and liking it I realize I actually don't like the tone and there really isn't much gain. And it goes back and forth like this alot. "Yes, sounds pretty good, then after 15 or so minutes, it slowly gets mushy and is a lot less articulate" When your RK started losing gain did you notice it lacking tone and feeling lifeless too? "Yep, the bass, treble, presence, mids did very little when I did any adjustment. The gain sounded no different from 1 o'clock to 5 o'clock, not articulate very mushy" Because mine doesn't seem to sound very good at all, at least not for their expensive flagship amp. "When the RK is working right, it is everything you ever wanted or expect out of an amplifier. With the RK, I can get Plexi, Soldano, Bogner tones very easily. I know what a RK is supposed to sound like when it is running correctly, I will definitely buy another RK if anything happens to her. Please don't give up, get that warranty issue straightened out with Mesa so they can get it working right for you, it's gotta be a minor glitch."

So UPS picked your amp from the factory to deliver to you or vice versa? "UPS just picked it on Monday and it arrived at the Mesa factory in Petaluma today." If they picked it up from Mesa to deliver to you, how long did it take for them to fix it? "They said it would take 2 weeks to work on and about another week for shipping time, total of 3 weeks. I'm catching up on some acoustic riffs in the meantime. I'll let you know as soon as it arrives and how things turned out, cause I know you are one frustrated camper."

P.S. My Serial # is RK-001741 bought in December 2004.

 

[aenigma]

Awesome thanks for the reply.Yeah knowing that it is definately a problem with the amp and that this isn't just how the amp is makes me feel alot better.Waiting weeks for it to get fixed doesn't but oh well.

My controls seem to work though, I notice the difference when adjusting them and everything at least.But they probably aren't working the same as they are supposed to when working properly.Saying they are mushy sounds like a perfect word to describe it.I can hear the differences but they are pretty minor so it is the same basic tone just more mushy when turning them down(minus bass of course) or brighter/more ear piercing(treble) when turning them up.Also I am curious but do you know what caused this problem, or did they let you know?

One thing I can say is at least I got a Boss BR-1600 16 track recorder on the way I can play with while waiting for the RK!I can also get my Parker's circuit board replaced during that time.Maybe this had to happen to get everything else perfect before enjoying the amp! :lol:

Thanks again for the help!

 

[aenigma]

Oh hey I had a question about the Road King.Has anyone got a nice smooth liquid lead tone like in the bootlegmania video of Glasgow Kiss with the RK?So far I haven't really got close to it but I am wondering if I will be able to after getting it fixed.Assuming I can since Mesa doesn't seem to like answering their phones.

 

[Red Barchetta]

I have great luck getting a tone like that with my Les Paul on channel 3 set for "vintage" with 2 6L6's....once your amp is fixed you will find every tone you have in your head.

I'm assuming the laid back California crew in Petaluma are not answering the phones because of extended Christmas cheer.


RB

 

[tele_jas]

I'm assuming the laid back California crew in Petaluma are not answering the phones because of extended Christmas cheer.

I was told they would be out until after the first of the year... Something like the 9th (I think thats what I heard).

 

[aenigma]

Yeah if you call them a recording comes up saying when they will be closed but I forgot when exactly, 6th or 7th I think.But I was calling before they closed and they still werent answering.Oh well, just more waiting.

 

[jbird]

Hmm, I called on Thursday the 23rd, receptionist answered, asked for tech assistance, right through to a guy named Chris!

 

[aenigma]

Well youre lucky, I only got an answering machine every single time.The day before I left a message but that was pointless.

 

[Red Barchetta]

Patience, Grasshopper....

Once you do get them on the line, their response is excellent. Mesa rocks in more ways than one...



RB

 

[aenigma]

Yeah I had them before that when I got tubes from them.But after that no dice.It didn't even go to the menu, just the recording.I figured they closed early, only jbird got a hold of them.