Roadster questions

[Nazgul666]

I always played Marshalls like the DSL and JVM. But I always liked the recorded tones of 6L6 amps, especially Petrucci and Metallica etc. So last week I pulled the trigger on a Mark III Blue Stripe with graphic eq. It was cool for a couple of days becasue I had never played a Mark before bit I just can't get it to sound like I want. So today I was roaming around Guitar Center and plugged into a Roadster combo. I set everything to about 12 and I absolutely love the way it sounded. It was deep and full and it actually sounded tighter than I thought it would from hearing everyone talk about how loose and flubby rectifiers are.

To me, the lead sound was head and shoulders above the Mark. So here is my dilemma. If I am going to jump in to the dual rec, does it make sense to drop 2k on a brand new Roadster. Should I look for a used one? SHould I wait for the 2010?

By the way, reverb is important to me.

Thanks for your help.

Mike

 

[Spewnz]

the reverb on the roadster is really nice...do you need 4 channels? if not somthing like a rectoverb might do ya....but if you do get a roadster it will be worth it, its a fantastic amp and it will do almost anything you need it to.

 

[jtroska]

I'm not familiar with the Mark III. I do have a Roadster, though.

I was originally going for the Mark V about a year ago when the ads started announcing its release. It looked cool on paper, but as I thought about its channel layout more deeply, it seemed like more of a studio amp than a gigging amp. And I really needed a gigging amp.

So I drove the sales guy nuts and tested everything they had repeatedly. The Roadster seemed to be laid out the best for my particular needs.

I'm surprised by all the "How do I tighten up the Rectifier / get more gain?" threads. I can't get the gain up past 2'clock without it sounding over-done.

The Roadster head is only about $200 more than the regular Dual Rectifier. For me, it's well worth it because I really like the Tweed and Brit modes. And I'm playing live so four channels is a big help. You're saying you want reverb, too, and that's not in the standard Dual Rectifier. Some people seem to only use the Modern mode so then the Roadster is overkill.

I opted for the head for more speaker cabinet options down the road. If you want a combo, just try picking it up and making sure you're ok withy the weight. It's friggin heavy.

The warrantee is 5 years and transferrable. So if you get a used one that's under 5 years old, you'll still be covered. Personally, I'd be weary of getting one that wasn't covered by any warrantee. Tube amps are fragile.

 

[davidfloyd]

New or used is up to you. You can save up about $500-$600 buying used, the warranty is transferrable for 5 years, so that's not a bad way to go. I bought mine brand new, but probably partially because I was there and it was easy to drop it on the plastic and then not think about it.

I've had similar experiences with the Mark series vs. the Roadster. And the Roadster is certainly a different beast from the rectos. Honeymoon period hasn't ended and I think of myself as very picky and I'm going on year 2. Wrote extensively about it at my site.

Just beware the combo if you go that direction. It's HEAVY. I went for a head/cab to split the weight.

David

 

[thejay]

The Roadster is a great amp and you can always swap out the 6L6s for some EL34s (an advantage of a RK is to use both at the same time). Solid amp and covers a ton of territory and has good reverb though I do not think it is as nice as the verb on my Laney. As far as being "flubby" - I don't think so; really depends on your entire rig and how you tweak it. Personally the amp has tons of balls and will blow the ears off anything!

 

[KH Guitar Freak]

I've found the reverb on my Roadster heaps better than my Lionheart's, but that's just me...

 

[Rocker]

Hi,

I've been playing with a Roadster for about three years and I can't say enough great things about it. It's truly fur different amps in one chassis. One of the best clean sounds I've ever experienced on Ch1, great thick British slightly pushed sound on Ch2, outstanding classic rock/metal Ch3, and over the top modern in-your-face distortion on Ch4. I suspect that there may be less than stellar opinions about the Roadster out there because Mesa puts garbage pre-amp tubes in them from the factory. I wasted a lot of time struggling with the tone until one of the pre-amp tubes finally gave up the ghost, and I replaced all of the 12AX7's. What a freakin difference! I'd recommend immediately trashing the OEM 12AX's and getting NOS for V1 and V2. In V1, Mullards (long or short plate are not much different) seem to generate the very best clean sound, and Telefunken long smooth plates are also excellent with balanced strong 2-dimensional sound across the gain range, but lack a bit of the depth and character of the Mullards. Old RCA long black plate D-getters (late fifties vintage) are my favorite, though -- they've got most of the clean tone that Mullards provide (kind of tough to tell the difference really), with a much better (hotter, smoother) distortion tone. The long black plate square-getter RCA version is also very strong with great distortion and superior bass response, but are pretty much devoid of clean tone (great for metal).

V2 is best fitted with a hi gain/output tube like a RFT, RCA long Black Plate square getter, or Telefunken long smooth plate. The rest (V3-V6) are OK with current production tubes.

FWIW, I believe that the Roadster is one of the most versatile and high-quality amps currently available.

....and did I mention how big the balls on your guitar can be with a Seymour Duncan Alternate 8 bridge humbucker in it? (But that's a whole different thread........lol)

Craig

 

[thejay]

I've found the reverb on my Roadster heaps better than my Lionheart's, but that's just me...

I crank the verb on the Laney, I set the Roadster verb some time ago and really haven't messed with it since though I do not seem to use it much in general. The Laney is more of plug and play amp for me, great sound though, and the original speakers were swapped out for some Celestions.