Roadster - can it get smooth gain tones?

[mikebat]

Hello all,

I am a real newbie to the Mesa world, I always admired from afar, but kept my JCM800 rig.

I need much more flexibility, and I am thinking about a Roadster. It has the flexibility I need, but I am wondering about the drives tones.

I LOVED the Lonestar clean tones, but the driven tones, while great, only went so far. I am looking for a rig that has those Lonestar-esque clean tones, some semi dirty classic rock tones, some heavy driven tones that do not lose the guitar's voice and get buzzy, and the occasional crushing heavy tones.

On teh surface, the Roadster seems to fit the bill, but I am worried that my Strats and Teles will lose their voice, and the drive tones will become nu-metal-ish. (as close as a single coil can get that).

What are your experiences? Can I get that singing, big round tone, with sustain, and definition? I will rarely ever need that scooped EQ tone.

Let me know! I am trying one out tonight and would like you opinions.

Cheers!

 

[ryjan]

You'll fight a Roadster to no end.
You'll post many threads here asking how to change that leopard's spots.
You'll spend hours and many dollars on tubes in a vain effort to get a smooth, sustaining tone.
You'll spend way too much money on OD pedals and EQ pedals.
You'll end up selling it and probably taking a small loss in the process.

Or you can get a Mark V and have the sound that you described.

 

[mikebat]

dang!

Any other opinions, experiences?

 

[ryjan]

I suggest you try one and form your own opinion.
I still say you'd be happiest with a Mark V based on what you said you were looking for in an amp but who knows. A lot of adjectives get thrown around when discussing amps and guitar tone so one man's scoopy nu-metalz tone could be another man's sustaining liquid lead tone.

 

[mikebat]

Gotcha.

I saw plenty of Road King Youtube videos with tones I liked, but none, accept the original Mesa demo video, with Roadsters that I liked.

I will be trying A Roadster in a few hours with my trusty old strat, and I will bring my own ears.

 

[APEMAN]

-

 

[screamingdaisy]

The Recto has a gritty texture to its distortion that can't be dialled out or smoothed out. It's one of the things that gives them their unique sound. If the amp sounds like scooped nu-metal then that's user error, but its strength isn't (imo) soloing.

Marks produce the liquid, singing lead tone with tons of sustain.

 

[elvis]

I find it really interesting how many people try to talk themselves into a Recto when they want Mark tone. I wonder if it's the name recognition, or the extra channel, or what.

Maybe people who are used to Marshall find the Mark a bit too thick and low-end heavy, not enough clarity.

I like the scratchy recto drive tone and dynamics, kind of like the F50 I started out with. I don't use my Studio Pre much, though its lead tone is outrageously good. No question that the Marks have cornered the "liquid" market.

 

[mikebat]

Well, I tried, I liked, I bought.

I played on it for 1 1/2 hours while the owners gf sat in the waiting room.

Love the clean tones, as predicted. The Brit voicing works for semi dirt. BB+ on it sounded pretty good too. Channels 3 and 4 were more of a challenge. I had it set in spongy, thinking I would appreciate the feel. It made the low end undefined, and the neck pickup sounded synthetic and flubby. Flipped it to bold, remove some low end and I really liked what I heard.

At low volumes, It was a bit fizzy, but as I openned it up, that was replaced with a top end that stung, but opened up and rounded the edges.

I think it makes for a nice contrast with my jcm800.

Since I played along at a decent volume to the bands cd (I am filling in for someone) and I bounce around the channels and always found an appropriate tone.

 

[screamingdaisy]

Never really dug Brit mode and have gotten better results from Tweed with the gain quite high.

 

[APEMAN]

-

 

[Given To Fly]

Channel 3/Vintage Mode on the Roadster can get incredibly nice lead tones. Here's a link to John Petrucci's Road King settings. They translate really well to the Roadster and can obviously be adjusted to your liking. http://www.petrucciforum.com/forums/showthread.php?77471-John-s-setting-s-on-the-road-king

 

[bagel_1234]

The smoothest gain will be found using Vintage mode.

Here are some Boss GE-7 EQ settings I used in the loop of a 1999 2 Channel Triple Rectifier. These settings worked equally well on MODERN and VINTAGE modes. Speaker cabs used were Mesa 412 and 212 (Vintage 30). Pickups used were Dimarzio humbuckers or EMG 81s. The newer Roadster might have a slightly different voicing, but it's going to be close. These settings (in my opinion) improved the sound by removing the fizz, emphasizing the upper mids (percussive part of the palm mute), and not allowing the power amp to fart out at band volumes (after mids are cut, it is relatively boosting the lows and the extreme lows need to be cut to keep the power amp sounding tight).

If you have the MXR 10 Band EQ, you will have to make adjustments because the frequencies don't match up. But you will get the idea based on these Boss GE-7 settings.

100__ -2 db
200__ 0 db
400__ -10 db
800__ -5 db
1.6__ -1 db
3.2__ 0 db
6.4__ -2 or -3 db
MASTER LEVEL OF EQ__ +2 or +3 db

100 is cut to keep power amp from farting out.
400 must always be cut 2 times as much as 800. Adjust these 2 frequencies to taste. My suggested settings will get a very scooped and heavy sound. If you want less heavy, go with -6 db for 400 and -3 db for 800.
6.4 is cut to remove some of that Rectifier fizz.
Master is boosted to give the same relative volume when EQ pedal is engaged and disengaged. Adjust until the volume difference is acceptable.

When I played in a cover band, I would engage these EQ settings for riffs and disengage the EQ settings for soloing.

Knobs on the amp were something like this, but I can't remember exactly. (Keep in mind the knobs are interactive, so the setting for the TREBLE KNOB will affect the center frequencies of the BASS and MID knobs)
TREBLE__ adjust until the MID KNOB's center frequency sounds like it can get a heavy scooped sound.
MID__ 12 or 1 o'clock.
BASS__ somewhere between 11 and 2 o'clock.
PRESENCE __ adjust to taste after everything else is fine tuned.

The Rectifier amps sound pretty good with either EL34s or 6L6s. So try both out for fun.

Enjoy your roadster!!
It's a great amp.

 

[joe web]

Never really dug Brit mode and have gotten better results from Tweed with the gain quite high.

the same here, never felt in love with the brit mode but got those nice ac/dc crunch tone with tweed mode gain set high.
since this day, my yellow channel set to fat-mode is my clean sound.
orange set to vintage mode with tube-tracking for good rock sounds and
red channel modern on diode for metal sounds.

 

[mikebat]

Played live this weekend and my tones were great. Other guitar player went thru an Orange Rockerverb, and we complimented each other well. I lent my amp to an openning act, he changed my ch1 from Fat to Clean. While changing over back to my signal chain, I forgot to flip back to Fat, and...it was a bit "plinky" for my tastes when I needed it, but...it cut through the mix.

Ch2 in Brit, gain maxed, was my plexi type strumming dirt. Added a wah for another tune, and boosted for accents and fills. Great ring and singing tone.

Ch3 in vintage with gain at 7 was chug rhythm, and I stepped on solo for a boost. With a 2x12 v30 cab, I could generate great sustain, and bleed into nice feedback.

Ch4 was a safety net gain channel...I did not need it that night.

Using a all single coil Strat all night, master at around 4 1/2. We were a 7 piece, including sax. An eclectic rock set, with funk, stright ahead rock and some chugging heaviness, sometimes in one song! I needed versatility, and i got it without ever stepping on a compressor, overdrive or boost besides what the amp comes with.

I traded improv lines with the sax all night, very free flow and in the groove. Great stuff.

I am happy with the Roadsters performance and more time with the amp allow me to refine my tones that much more.

 

[mikebat]

Btw, I found the knobs impossible to read from more than an inch away on stage. As well, with a 2x12 cab, the amp is low tothe ground, for a 6'2" hombre like me I added a stripe on green masking tape across the front panel, indicating each knob with one letter. (I.e. B for bass)..I addede a thin stripe to each knob so I could actually read each knob without a flashlight.

The amp looks great (bronco white head, red cab) but as far as being stage friendly...those knobs leave much to be desired.

 

[screamingdaisy]

Nice. I don't know too many people using a Recto with an all single coil Strat.

I don't know about others but I tend to move the knobs without looking at the actual value... Once you have a feel for the amp you just kind've turn things by instinct.

 

[LithiumZero]

exactly!!! The best thing you can do with any Mesa amp is to dial in by ear and not eye.

 

[knotts]

I use an all single coil strat as well. Oddly enough, I find that Brit mode on channel 2 has some of the best sounds. My strat is a little dark sounding and sometimes lacks sustain which I think is the pickups on the guitar. With a little OD on CH2 it's got a nice singing lead sounds. Without the OD I get some gritty rhythm.

Glad you're enjoying the amp mikebat.

 

[ikhor]

green masking tape

thanks for the tip