Well folks, this is it. My new Roadster 2x12 combo arived at GC today. My last question befor pick up is this? What's going to happen when I a/b it with a lonestar classic? Can I really dial in those fantistic lonestar tones on a the roadster? How do you do it? I really want to believe I can get lonestar cleans AND recto thunder out of one amp. I don't want to fool myself either. Any opinions?
Roadster Cleans
- Thread starter stash49
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Yes it is true. Roadster cleans are the same as one of the Lonestar amps...however it is either Classic or Special Lonestar, I can not remember which one. One of the Lonestar amps is Class A, I think it is the OTHER one that the Roadster cleans are from.
Yeh, the special is the el84 class A, but it's the Lonestar classic that really kills me, especially with a good overdrive. I have heard that they are the same-I've read the reverb is the same. I am going to do a very detailed side by side examination. I will post the results.
I have the Roadster head and Roadster cab. I used to have the Lone Star Special. The roadster has great cleans, but it has V30 speakers instead of C90s. I've heard several people say they're the same cleans as the Classic, I'd like someone with both to chime in.
cant play pool with a rop
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I agree they are not the exact same as the Lonestar.I've got the Roadster head and A/Bed it with the Lonestar and definately noticed a difference.The reverb was'nt quite as lush as the Lonestars either.The cleans are really good on the Roadster .I felt the cleans were less harsh and more organic on the Lonestar.In a band setting the cleans work seamless on my Roadster its only when I'm playing alone that I notice it.I'll tell ya its a great amp in the mix.
I have the RK II, which has the LSC Cleans...supposedly the Roadster is a stripped down RK II. Maybe in the strip down they also stipped the LSC cleans from the Roadster, because I have both the LSC 2x12 anf the RK II...
and can say that with your eyes closed, you cannot tell the difference between the amps. You'd only notice a difference possibly in a recording where the guitars would be isolated from everything else and you listen carefully.
RK II cleans = 95 - 97% LSC cleans
Alot of that may have to do with the fact that:
1. Both amps are open back combos
2. Both amps have the same speakers
Whereas the Roadster is a closed back with V30s.
and can say that with your eyes closed, you cannot tell the difference between the amps. You'd only notice a difference possibly in a recording where the guitars would be isolated from everything else and you listen carefully.
RK II cleans = 95 - 97% LSC cleans
Alot of that may have to do with the fact that:
1. Both amps are open back combos
2. Both amps have the same speakers
Whereas the Roadster is a closed back with V30s.
to be honest.. i dont like my roadster cleans,
the way mesa should have done it, either have the "fat" or the "clean" to be JUST clean, and have it disengage the gain knob.
you cant get the crystal clean tone from it.. you need to run the channel volume way up, about half way up, and all the distortion channels are at about 9:00, just to get them at an equal volume. i run the gain way down, and it still gets a distorted alittle bit
my distortion channels, i have in 50watt mode, and the clean is in 100watt, to give it more headroom, and it still breaks up
the way mesa should have done it, either have the "fat" or the "clean" to be JUST clean, and have it disengage the gain knob.
you cant get the crystal clean tone from it.. you need to run the channel volume way up, about half way up, and all the distortion channels are at about 9:00, just to get them at an equal volume. i run the gain way down, and it still gets a distorted alittle bit
my distortion channels, i have in 50watt mode, and the clean is in 100watt, to give it more headroom, and it still breaks up
Outstanding insights. Certainly the cabinentry and speakers are a diference that make a diference. It may well be that on stage that difference is negligable. I plan putting my c-90s in-I've always like those speakers alot.
I hear what you're saying, I use the same method for cleans. However I still like the cleans, I'm thinking about getting 3/4 back or LS 2X12 with c90s to stack on my roadster cab.krypton said:to be honest.. i dont like my roadster cleans,
the way mesa should have done it, either have the "fat" or the "clean" to be JUST clean, and have it disengage the gain knob.
you cant get the crystal clean tone from it.. you need to run the channel volume way up, about half way up, and all the distortion channels are at about 9:00, just to get them at an equal volume. i run the gain way down, and it still gets a distorted alittle bit
my distortion channels, i have in 50watt mode, and the clean is in 100watt, to give it more headroom, and it still breaks up
ursinus
Well-known member
krypton said:to be honest.. i dont like my roadster cleans,
the way mesa should have done it, either have the "fat" or the "clean" to be JUST clean, and have it disengage the gain knob.
you cant get the crystal clean tone from it.. you need to run the channel volume way up, about half way up, and all the distortion channels are at about 9:00, just to get them at an equal volume. i run the gain way down, and it still gets a distorted alittle bit
my distortion channels, i have in 50watt mode, and the clean is in 100watt, to give it more headroom, and it still breaks up
I hear you too. I have the Roadster and love the vibe of the cleans. It is true that they break up if you are in the rectifier mode, but if you are in the diode mode at 100wts, you should have massive amounts of head room. Ironically, my MKIV wide body combo with its 1x12 open back seems to have more headroom and volume before break-up than my 2x12 Closed back Roadster combo. I did A/B my Roadster with the Lone Star Classic at my local dealer (Rockit Music in Brea, CA) before I bought it and I could not tell the difference in tone or break-up characteristics. The reason I bought the Roadster was for the Recto tones in 3,4. My MKIV already covers well the LSC lead tones. Also, don't be concerned about turning up your master volume high and keeping the gain low. That is the way they were designed to be run.
I should have mentioned it in my previous post. I got it straight from Mesa. The board on the Roadster is different, hence close but not exact. I am not sure about the Roadking but I also think it's board is different too. So it's close but not exact to the Lonestar cleans. The Roadking owners need to contact Mesa and ask. It makes sense to me not to make them exact. Why have different amps then. Just make one. The cleans on the roadster are nice and satisfy my needs. If the clean channel was more important to me then I would have bought a Lonestar.
I don't think it would have been necessary to call Mesa to figure out that the boards are not exact....
Let's see the LSC is a 2 channel amp occupyng and entire chasis.
The Rk II & Roadsters are 4 channel amps......Logic would suggest that somethings would need to be left out in order to fit it all on one chasis.
I have both the RK II and LSC, the LSC Cleans are a bit smoother. However, in the music mix, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference..
There's also a little more bounce in the cleans of the LSC, the reverb a bit more lush. But like I said, once you start adding effects, a bass, drums, etc...you cannot tell the difference 8)
Let's see the LSC is a 2 channel amp occupyng and entire chasis.
The Rk II & Roadsters are 4 channel amps......Logic would suggest that somethings would need to be left out in order to fit it all on one chasis.
I have both the RK II and LSC, the LSC Cleans are a bit smoother. However, in the music mix, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference..
There's also a little more bounce in the cleans of the LSC, the reverb a bit more lush. But like I said, once you start adding effects, a bass, drums, etc...you cannot tell the difference 8)
ursinus said:krypton said:to be honest.. i dont like my roadster cleans,
the way mesa should have done it, either have the "fat" or the "clean" to be JUST clean, and have it disengage the gain knob.
you cant get the crystal clean tone from it.. you need to run the channel volume way up, about half way up, and all the distortion channels are at about 9:00, just to get them at an equal volume. i run the gain way down, and it still gets a distorted alittle bit
my distortion channels, i have in 50watt mode, and the clean is in 100watt, to give it more headroom, and it still breaks up
I hear you too. I have the Roadster and love the vibe of the cleans. It is true that they break up if you are in the rectifier mode, but if you are in the diode mode at 100wts, you should have massive amounts of head room. Ironically, my MKIV wide body combo with its 1x12 open back seems to have more headroom and volume before break-up than my 2x12 Closed back Roadster combo. I did A/B my Roadster with the Lone Star Classic at my local dealer (Rockit Music in Brea, CA) before I bought it and I could not tell the difference in tone or break-up characteristics. The reason I bought the Roadster was for the Recto tones in 3,4. My MKIV already covers well the LSC lead tones. Also, don't be concerned about turning up your master volume high and keeping the gain low. That is the way they were designed to be run.
i gotta try puting into diode mode, that didnt even cross my mind. hopefully its not in diode, if it is then im not going to be that happy :lol:
Well, I just got back from GC, and no matter how hard I tried, I could not even come close to a clean sound even in the same league as the LSC. I left pretty dissalusioned with the roadster 2x12 combo. The cleans were ok for me, but nothing to get excited about-they lacked the crisp, tight richness of the LSC, and were absolutely poor when compared to the LSS. (Don't try this if want to really like like your Roadster cleans. Bottom line I did not take it home, but I still might. I spent an hour in the loud room at GC-I wanted to love the amp, I left liking some of it a lot, but not channel 1 or 2 much, so whats the point? I can get three and four from my old rec.
Sucks it didn't work for you. I can't say it does match the LSS I had for cleans, but there's so much more it DOES do that I like mine. The sum buck has about a million toggle switches and knobs to adjust to get the sounds you want, maybe there's something you missed.stash49 said:
The more I ponder this thing, the more I think an open back cab with C90s might worth trying, that's a big difference from the Classic and Special.
It's futile to directly compare the Roadster and LSC; their basic cabinets are totally different and one has V30s the other C90s
And we are surprised they don't sound the same.:shock:
Like I stated before, with my RK II 2x12 combo, you'd be hard pressed to differentiate the cleans on it from the LSC (Which I also have).
And we are surprised they don't sound the same.:shock:
Like I stated before, with my RK II 2x12 combo, you'd be hard pressed to differentiate the cleans on it from the LSC (Which I also have).
Jazzgear-I want to believe that, and I'm telling my man at GC to keep the Roadster and order me the C-90 open back 2x12 Road King II. What's another $500 at this point? If I know what I want, and if it's out there to get, I gotta have it!
JAZZGEAR said:
Well if you go by what is said on the boogie web page:
Improved Channel 1 & 2 now features CLEAN and FAT from our acclaimed LoneStar® - our best clean ever - along with incredible new TWEED and BRIT modes. These two channels alone make a mighty amplifier. This is what they say about the Roadking.
This all-tube thoroughbred shares a class with only one other amplifier - and that position is held by its brother – the mighty Road King™. In fact, the Roadster is a Road King without Progressive Linkage™ and other rear panel features that some players fear need a higher education to navigate. The Roadster now offers the plug-and-play minded guitarist a way to enjoy a myriad of footswitchable preamp choices without the power option anxiety. This is what they say about the Roadster.
One can see why somebody might make the assumption that the Roasdster has the LS cleans. If they wanted to give the Roadster and Roadking the same clean they could but it doesn't make sense from a marketing/manufacturing perspective. It's appealing to a broad spectrum of consumers.
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