Roadster can get pretty good crunch...

[aly44]

This is how I achieved pretty good crunch from my Roadster:

Brit mode, Spongy, Diodes, 100 watts, EL 34s

Master @ 9 o'clock

Presence @ 1:30

Bass @ 2 - 3 o'clock

Mid @ 11 o'clock

Treble @ 1:30

Gain @ 12 - 3 o'clock

If anyone knows of any other ways to use the amps EQ to achieve some good crunch, please share. I like using the Brit mode, because you can still retain a lot of clarity and articulation in your crunch rhythms, while rolling up to bass (very responsive in this mode) to your liking.

Let me know what you think.

 

[aly44]

I should also point out that I have the loop engaged. I like this crunch more than anything I've found in channel 1. In the Tweed mode, everything still sounds too gainy and muddy, nor is there the tightness necessary to qualify (at least by my standards) as "good crunch." Similarly, channels 3 and 4 also seem too gainy and too boomy to get some good crunchy rhythms.

Anyways, I just thought I'd share some of my finding with other Roadster owners. I know this amp can be a bit of a pain to dial into at times. I have lately been experimenting a lot with channel 3 raw settings, and I think I am getting some pretty good '80s (Van Halen-ish) tones from it. I think if I add an external EQ to further push the mids, I'll have something wicked close -- at the moment it sounds like Van Halen with a Dual Rec flavor. Maybe I'll add the Way Huge Pork Loin pedal to it as well, to take away some of the slight harshness that is still slightly there -- although, with an EQ and an MXR Flanger, I bet that would compress the sound just enough to soften the fizz.

Any EQ pedal suggestions? I have pretty much always been anti-EQ pedals -- I have always tried to let the amp natural characteristics shine, and employing those tones to my writing. I am contemplating using an EQ because I am so close to getting a completely different tone than I previously thought possible.

Anyways...

 

[KH Guitar Freak]

Crank the treble and gain... :mrgreen:

 

[b0nkersx]

Crank the treble and gain... :mrgreen:

I crank everything and turn off the presence. Really awesome sound. It can do tight rhythm and shred lead. It sounds pretty Van Halenish in spongy with diode rectification. I have the loop bypassed, though.

 

[KH Guitar Freak]

Crank the treble and gain... :mrgreen:

I crank everything and turn off the presence. Really awesome sound. It can do tight rhythm and shred lead. It sounds pretty Van Halenish in spongy with diode rectification. I have the loop bypassed, though.

Pretty similar, but I didn't go to that extreme with the presence, bass, and mids... :lol: