Roadking or Roadster

[steeldragonjovi]

I'm having a tough debate right now between getting a used Roadking 1 head or a new Roadster 2x12. Any suggestions or opinions to help suade me?

 

[Areola]

I'd say go with the Roadster.

The RK 1 is awesome for me, but there are some completely useless features on it for me. IE. external trigger and FX Loops.

I wish I could my amp so my footswitch activated as follows:
Ch1, Ch2, Ch3, Ch4, Reverb, Phase, Fuzz, Delay, Sustain

 

[metalblitz84]

I have a roak king II and love it. The roadster is pretty much the road king but without the progressive linkage. If you're already spending the money look into the king and see if you would use those added features. You won't be dissapointed!!!

 

[alex1fly]

I got my Roadster thinking that I would never use Progressive Linkage. But really, thats a badass feature. I wish I had a RK now! 6l6s and El34s sound different, yeah, but they also FEEL different... and being able to choose between the two as well as combine them creates a level of versatility that is unmatched by any amp out there. And its not just weird, professional "who cares about what you can do" versatility, its very accessible to any guitarist. I use EL34s in my amp and I think they do wonders for the sound, tightness, crunch, and lead tone. You can't have 4xEL34, but so what? 2xEL34 gives you enough power for most any non-arena venue, and if it doesn't you can just mic the amp (which you should probably do anyways?) I would definitely recommend getting the RK. If the only thing that the Roadster has over the RK is a subjective opinion of "better cleans," then the RK is clearly a winner. Being able to adjust the tone AND feel of the amp with progressive linkage would seriously be awesome. It may seem formidable but man.... go for it. You won't regret it. It will help you dial in more tones, more vibes, taylor channels better to your specific guitars, and more easily get those lead tones and tight crunch that the Recto doesn't give like the MKIV or other amps do.

 

[metalblitz84]

alex1fly.....well put!

 

[phyrexia]

I'd say go with the Roadster.

The RK 1 is awesome for me, but there are some completely useless features on it for me. IE. external trigger and FX Loops.

I wish I could my amp so my footswitch activated as follows:
Ch1, Ch2, Ch3, Ch4, Reverb, Phase, Fuzz, Delay, Sustain

If you want to be able to set up your amp to do that, why don't you utilize the external triggers and fx loops? that's what they're there for.

 

[nathan28]

I have a RKII, but i have never tried a RK1, so i would say depending on if you like the el-34 sound or not, with the roadking you can have it, and you can mix el-34's with 6l6's.

 

[alex1fly]

EL34s make the Recto tone more accessible in my opinion. 6l6s may be the tubes for classic recto, but el34s add crunch and upper mids and tighter bass that sound more like just a guitar into a loud amp than having all sorts of voicing and coloration. I know that the recto still colors the tone even with EL34s, but the el34s make it sound a lot more organic and natural to my ears.

 

[Pablo1234]

Woot on either of them. I have a Road King 2, The clean channels are what made my mind up on it. I had been looking at the LoanStar for quite a while becuss of the killer tones coming out of it, but the Road King 2 had sooooo much more. As for a Road King 1 you would be missing out on the cleans, I would opt for the Roadster in that situation, but in the end I would choose the Loanstar over the roadster myself.

 

[tele_jas]

The cleas alone are worth the Roadster over the Road King (series 1). Even with El34's, the cleans are amazingly good!!

If you like the options of the the Road King, save up and get the series II, it'll be worth it in the end.

 

[alex1fly]

So the Roadster cleans are better than the RK series I cleans but the RK series II cleans are better or equal to the Roadster cleans?

 

[tele_jas]

So the Roadster cleans are better than the RK series I cleans but the RK series II cleans are better or equal to the Roadster cleans?

Exactly!

The RKII cleans and the Roadster cleans are identical (as well as the distorted tones), the only difference is the extra options of the RKII such as tube combining or using one or the other type of tubes for different channels.

Roadster and Road King II are the same preamp.

 

[richb]

All you hear about the RKI is that the cleans aren't all that..(are those people who say that even own a RKI?)
Guess what,I have a RKI head and the cleans are all that,depending on how you dial in your 1st and 2nd channels the progressive linkage is key!!!
It's that simple(just takes spending time with it)
RKI for life!
Richb
www.myspace.com/richbrymer

 

[tele_jas]

I went from a RK I to a Roadster, so I do know first hand which one has the better cleans...... That doesn't meant the RK 1 cleans are *bad* but the Roadster and RK II cleans are better. They are based around the Lonestar classic clean (ala Fender) tones. The only thing I liked better on the series 1 RK was the Brit mode, more usable gain IMO.

 

[richb]

I went from a RK I to a Roadster, so I do know first hand which one has the better cleans...... That doesn't meant the RK 1 cleans are *bad* but the Roadster and RK II cleans are better. They are based around the Lonestar classic clean (ala Fender) tones. The only thing I liked better on the series 1 RK was the Brit mode, more usable gain IMO.

Isn't that like kind of going backwards?
Don't you miss the progressive linkage?
I'll tell you I have a Brian Moore with a push/pull vol and tone and when I use ch I i'll pull out my tone knob and throw the selector switch in the middle of both humbuckers(SD) and the cleans are just AMAZING!!!So I believe alot has to do with your guitar and the way you play on the neck to really bring out the cleaner tones.
Richb

 

[siggy14]

My buddy Dave (noodles on this board) did the same thing, actualy I have his old roadking head and he now has a roadster.

Honestly him and I both agree, as you can tell a difference between the cleans, it is not big enough to make me want to dump the RK for a RKII or roadster.

Differences between the roadkings, on RKII a little better clean, the britt channel has more gain and it seems, at least on the roadsters that channel 3 and 4 was revoiced a little more to sound like the dual/triple rec's where on the original roadking head they were more of a mix between a dual and a tremoverb. At least that is what Dave says but i take his word as he played the RKI for over a year in his band and now plays the roadster all the time. One of these days I have to get the RK back over there and go head to head with the roadster.

I went from a RK I to a Roadster, so I do know first hand which one has the better cleans...... That doesn't meant the RK 1 cleans are *bad* but the Roadster and RK II cleans are better. They are based around the Lonestar classic clean (ala Fender) tones. The only thing I liked better on the series 1 RK was the Brit mode, more usable gain IMO.

 

[richb]

My buddy Dave (noodles on this board) did the same thing, actualy I have his old roadking head and he now has a roadster.

Honestly him and I both agree, as you can tell a difference between the cleans, it is not big enough to make me want to dump the RK for a RKII or roadster.

Differences between the roadkings, on RKII a little better clean, the britt channel has more gain and it seems, at least on the roadsters that channel 3 and 4 was revoiced a little more to sound like the dual/triple rec's where on the original roadking head they were more of a mix between a dual and a tremoverb. At least that is what Dave says but i take his word as he played the RKI for over a year in his band and now plays the roadster all the time. One of these days I have to get the RK back over there and go head to head with the roadster.

I went from a RK I to a Roadster, so I do know first hand which one has the better cleans...... That doesn't meant the RK 1 cleans are *bad* but the Roadster and RK II cleans are better. They are based around the Lonestar classic clean (ala Fender) tones. The only thing I liked better on the series 1 RK was the Brit mode, more usable gain IMO.

To each his own.
For me as far as Mesa goes I took my time to played alot of different models.My friend,John Petrucci Said I can't go wrong with the RKI so thats what I brought.
I really like the fact that you can mix match the tubes between all 4 channels.
I must admit when I first played one I thought that there was way too many swiches and knobs for me to handle and I was looking at the head as a whole unit(and that was the problem)I don't look at the head as a whole unit I look at it one channel at a time and that reduced my fear about all the switches etc...
I'm happy with the cleans like I wrote in a earlier reply.
How much more clean do I want this amp to be??
Richb
www.myspace.com/richbrymer

 

[domct203]

They are both the same pre-amp voicing, buy whichever fits your musical needs AND budget.

If money is not a concern get a brand new RKII.

Otherwise do like I did and take that same $$$ and get a brand new Roadster AND G-Major (or other toy).

Dom

 

[123thefirst]

In addition to a RK II, I have the Recto Pre which is essentially a 2 channel RK I. The cleans are actually very, very good. The cabinet will most likely make more difference than the preamp. A RK I with an open back cabinet will probably have sweeter cleans than the Roadster closed back combo.

 

[dennq45]

RKII for sure.