Road King II Series II Questions...

[Jmango]

Hey Folks,

I am somewhat curious about the RKII vII Head.

I currently have an LSC 10/50/100 head and a Stiletto Stage II Deuce head. I LOVE the Stiletto as that thing has awesome tone. I also love the LSC. The clean channel is unfugginbelievable... An amp that I once owned and loved (I am a jackass for selling it) is a Tremoverb head.

SOOOOO... The the specific questions I have about the RKIIvII are:

1. Can it get the "Stiletto" tone using the EL34 progressive linkage? If so, or not, how close?
2. How close to the Lone Star cleans and reverb does the RKII come? Close or exact?
3. DOES IT POP WHEN CHANGING THE CHANNELS AND DOES IT REQUIRE THE PEDAL BOARD TAP DANCE TO AVOID THE POP?
4. Any other thoughts you RK folks can give someone that is interested?

Thanks in advance for any input and feedback you guys can provide.

 

[primerib]

1. Can it get the "Stiletto" tone using the EL34 progressive linkage? If so, or not, how close?
2. How close to the Lone Star cleans and reverb does the RKII come? Close or exact?
3. DOES IT POP WHEN CHANGING THE CHANNELS AND DOES IT REQUIRE THE PEDAL BOARD TAP DANCE TO AVOID THE POP?
4. Any other thoughts you RK folks can give someone that is interested?

1) you can near the Stiletto tone. IMO, the RKII preamp sections are voice slightly different
2) to my ears they are the same cleans
3) no popping when switching channels on the RKII (but my Triple rect and Single rect do pop. go figure)
4) yes, the most important thought: play one first to see if its right for you. if you don't like a sound on 1 channel, just flip a switch and/or turn a dial on the back and its a different beast on that channel. pretty cool IMO

 

[Jmango]

That sounds awesome. I cannot imagine this amp not doing it all.

Anyone out there know how close this amp gets to the TOV gain sound? I loved that recto.

 

[gumbymage]

That sounds awesome. I cannot imagine this amp not doing it all.

Anyone out there know how close this amp gets to the TOV gain sound? I loved that recto.

I have to tell ya. I own a Stiletto Deuce II and a Road King II and the first one I'd part with would be the Road King.

Look, I actually like the Marshall tone and the Stiletto get pretty close. The RK cannot really duplicate it, even though the RK is killer sounding. The RK is just darker. I also love the tube selection for each channel and having TWO loops. Very nice. It's just that the toneis sometimes good, but sometimes it's not so great.


Rob

 

[Jmango]

That sounds awesome. I cannot imagine this amp not doing it all.

Anyone out there know how close this amp gets to the TOV gain sound? I loved that recto.

I have to tell ya. I own a Stiletto Deuce II and a Road King II and the first one I'd part with would be the Road King.

Look, I actually like the Marshall tone and the Stiletto get pretty close. The RK cannot really duplicate it, even though the RK is killer sounding. The RK is just darker. I also love the tube selection for each channel and having TWO loops. Very nice. It's just that the toneis sometimes good, but sometimes it's not so great.


Rob

Hey Rob,

Why would you part with the RK first? See, my sig doesn't tell all. I have a DC-5, a Deuce II, and LSC head, and am getting a RKIIvII. I am looking towards the RK to get rid of the Deuce, LCS and DC and have the quintessential Swiss Army Amp. I do love the Stiletto so I am curious as to how different or similar the RK EL34 /Brit tone is.

Thanks for the response!

-Jerry

 

[scottkahn]

No pops when changing channels on my RK II.

You will not get the Stiletto sound from the EL-34 configuration. It's just a different sound.

You WILL nail the sound of the Lone Star cleans, and you also get the reverb unit from the Lone Star.

Here's a very in-depth review of the RK II (it covers the RK IIv2 and Roadster, too):

http://www.musicplayers.com/reviews/guitars/2006/0906_MesaBoogieRoadKing.php

Scott

 

[Jmango]

Thanks Scott.

I bought one, brought it home, played the **** out of it and realized that I am really leaning towards the el34 sound.

I returned it and am keeping my Stiletto Deuce II. I think I will pick up a Tremoverb to satisfy my rectifier needs.

It was a great amp, but there WAS popping going from channel 4 to 3 and the reverb drop during channel switch is just not tolerable for a 2800 amp IMO.

If I got it used for ~2k, it would be great as the amp is killer and has some great tones. I just cannot for the life of me figure out why the company that engineered progressive linkage cannot figure out how to keep a reverb engaged during a channel switch gracefully.

I know some of you out there are going to say, this is necessary because of blah blah blah - but it is NOT. I have and have owned PLENTY of Mesa amps that do NOT do this.

 

[scottkahn]

The popping may have been because of extreme setting differences between the channels, like either going from 2x6L6 on Ch 3 to 2xEL34 on CH 4, and also the voicing toggles. Like I said, at least based on my settings, I don't get a popping sound on the switching, though I feel like I DID experience that based on various settings back when I was first learning to use the amp.

But the Stiletto Deuce II is great for the EL-34 player.

And if you wanted a half-stack, my senior guitar editor Derek is getting ready to sell his Tremoverb head and matching Boogie 412 cabinet (black with the black/gold grill cloth) in pristine condition. Talk to me privately if you want me to investigate that for you. He wants more channels than two .

Scott

 

[desertcj]

Did you try a boost pedal in front of channel 2 in brit mode on the road king?