Roadster questions

[alagow]

I tried out a roadster yesterday. It was very nice. I had some concerns about it though:

The reverb in channels 3 & 4 was really subtle. I could hardly tell it was working. The sales guy said that's the way it's supposed to be. Is this true or could there be a problem with the one I tried out?

It was running through a 2x12 horizontal roadster cab (that was sitting on the floor) and was really bassy, almost too bassy. If the cab was on casters or elevated would it make much difference, or is this just a bass heavy amp?

In general, what happens if you run an amp through say a closed back 2x12 cab and an open back 2x12 cab at the same time. Is this a good idea, possible, insane?? The sales guy said you have to chose between better bass (closed back) or better clean tone(open back), but mixing the two would be a bad idea. Is this true?

 

[jdurso]

I tried out a roadster yesterday. It was very nice. I had some concerns about it though:

The reverb in channels 3 & 4 was really subtle. I could hardly tell it was working. The sales guy said that's the way it's supposed to be. Is this true or could there be a problem with the one I tried out?

It was running through a 2x12 horizontal roadster cab (that was sitting on the floor) and was really bassy, almost too bassy. If the cab was on casters or elevated would it make much difference, or is this just a bass heavy amp?

In general, what happens if you run an amp through say a closed back 2x12 cab and an open back 2x12 cab at the same time. Is this a good idea, possible, insane?? The sales guy said you have to chose between better bass (closed back) or better clean tone(open back), but mixing the two would be a bad idea. Is this true?

The reverb is a little more subtle on channels 3 and 4 but they can still be very noticible if you turn the reverb up in the back on those channels.... to me it sounds more like the reverb added to guitars while mixing in a studio... very natural and doesnt make your tone all sloppy.....

as for combining cabs its a great idea..... i'm going to do the same once i have enough loot for a 2x12 freda cab...... freda's are a little different as they are front vented..... the open back will give your the spread that a closed back lacks but you lose a lot of that volume to the wall or space behind the cab..... with a Freda or similar front vented cab all that volume lost to the back now comes out the front..... their cabs sound a lot bigger than normal 2x12s either closed or open back.... plus they weigh only 35 lbs loaded...... combine that with a 2x12 closed back and you have a beast of a setup..... IMO it would kill any 4x12 out there as you have the spread of a vented cab and the punch of a closed back .... BTW the freda's are still tight and articulate and have a huge bass response which is something closed back cabs can lack

 

[manwithnoname]

Hi Alagow,

I just recently got my Roaster and I hope I can answer some of your questions.

2x12 and Bass:

I have a Road King 2x12 Cab which has both an open and a closed back speaker. The V30 speaker is closed while the C90 is open. Using them together has a great sound, but each one seperately has it's own plusses. The V30 sounds really full and deep on the clean channel (Tweed), and the C90 sounds great with Channels 2 and 3. Channel 4 to me sounds best when mixed between both speakers because you get the deep bass from the V30 and the highs and crunch from the C90.

As to the bass, I currently have my 2x12 lifted on top of another 2x12 (not being used) and the bass is very tight, focused, and punchy. When I have the 2x12 on the floor, there is a lot more thump and vibration on the ground, which can give a flabbier bass sound, but much stronger too. I am considering getting casters on the cab for just this reason. I like the vibration, but also like the punchy sound of the lifted amp.

Subtle Reverb:

As to the reverb, I am not sure what the big thrill is with Reverb on Roadsters. People rave about it saying, "Mesa's best reverb" and other praises. For me, it is almost non-existant in all channels. It is more obvious in the clean channels, but otherwise, I have to turn it off to be able to tell if it was even on. For Channels 3 and 4, it mostly muddies up the sound, so I have it disabled.

Keep in mind that I am playing with Les Pauls with really hot and nice pickups, and maybe the others who love the reverb are playing with Single Coils, Strats, etc. I have played my Les Paul Knockoff with Single Coils (Seymour Duncan Phat Cats) and it is pretty messy on the Roadster, but I can get some really good sounds. Guess it's just not my style.

Hope some of this helps!

P.S. I just added a Tubescreamer TS-9 and an MXR 10-band EQ and they improve the Roadster so much. Not that it needs improvement, it just allows for more fiddling and different sounds. I swear I can use the 10 band EQ and make the Roadster Brit setting actually sound like a Marshall Plexi.

 

[ToneAddictJon]

Combining different cabs really adds depth to the sound scape. I love closed backs and open backs mixed together. I run a 1x12 thiele and a 1x12 open back together or a 2x12 recto and 1x12 thiele/1x12 open (depending on the gig) depending on the sound I'm going for. The rectifier series has an abundance of bass (and all frequencies general), but that gives you the ability to go to extremes when needed. The 2x12's with v30's in them really focus on the bass and high end so you have to watch that even more when dialing them in.

 

[swivs]

im a it curious about the whole eq and overdrive boosting people are doing for thier roadster. They say it tightens up the bottom end well let mme play devils advocate, arent there ways of tweeking settings to do that? or if we add these pedals why not just buy a different amp with tighter bottom? i am interested though what are the best od pedals, i hear alot about the maxon's and tube scramers. :?

 

[manwithnoname]

Hi Swivs,

The Roadster is great without pedals. I just picked up the two to have more control. And with a Tubescreamer, I have 4 perfect sounding channels with 2 distinct sounds at the press of a pedal that doesn't suck a lot of tone out. For me, the Tubescreamer and the EQ allow me to get the sounds I wanted out of other amps such as the Stilletto without changing tubes, or spending $600 more on a Road King.

My only complaint with the Roadster is the Reverb and the popping noise when changing channels. Everything else is great.

 

[domct203]

I don't run my reverb in ch's 3 & 4 above 10:30-11:00 and there is plenty for me. Sure it is more predominent (and lush) with clean tones, but the reverb is there for sure. The thing I like most about the Roadster's reverb is that it is not excessively "springy-sounding". I think it's a warm-voiced reverb for ch's 3 & 4, and a little brighter voiced for ch's 1 & 2.

Has anyone who feels that the reverb is "lost" tried changing V4?

Dom

 

[manwithnoname]

Hi Domct203,

I've never had reverb on a tube amp before, so perhaps my opinion is a bit jaded. All I had in the past with reverb were sub $500 amps (except for the ROV, which I never really used the reverb on) and on most of those, the reverb was totally pronounced and sounded more like an effect layered on top of the guitar sound. With my Roadster, it seems it is part of the sound. Also, my Les Pauls are pretty dark with my settings, so I'm guessing that "muffles" the reverb as well.

Thanks, I will try setting the reverb where you suggested.