Roadster tone and popping problems

[lukelastbastion]

I purchased a Roadster and 4x12 Recto Cab around 5 months ago. The first 4 months of using it were good. I was mostly experimenting with trying to get the right sort of tone I was looking for, and was getting pretty close as well. Then the the sound on the amp began to become very muffled and muddy (ie: the notes became very unclear and sort of seemed to be covered in a wall of fuzz). Another probelm I encountered was overly loud popping when switching to channel 3, which i've read seems to be a problem other people also have.

After this happened I took it took it too a guitar shop that did warranty repairs on Mesa's. The amp was "fixed" under warranty and so I was happy. They said they had replaced some tubes and also reworked the channel changing so that the popping should stop. I Assumed that I would all be good and be back to how it was before. However when I bought the amp back home a week or so ago I found I was encountering the exact same problems as before. The tone and overall sound of the amp is still muffled and muddy and it still pops really loudly when changing channels.

Any advice or recommendations in relation to what it might be, or any advice on tone or what I could do in regards to the problems would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Luke

 

[jdurso]

I purchased a Roadster and 4x12 Recto Cab around 5 months ago. The first 4 months of using it were good. I was mostly experimenting with trying to get the right sort of tone I was looking for, and was getting pretty close as well. Then the the sound on the amp began to become very muffled and muddy (ie: the notes became very unclear and sort of seemed to be covered in a wall of fuzz). Another probelm I encountered was overly loud popping when switching to channel 3, which i've read seems to be a problem other people also have.

After this happened I took it took it too a guitar shop that did warranty repairs on Mesa's. The amp was "fixed" under warranty and so I was happy. They said they had replaced some tubes and also reworked the channel changing so that the popping should stop. I Assumed that I would all be good and be back to how it was before. However when I bought the amp back home a week or so ago I found I was encountering the exact same problems as before. The tone and overall sound of the amp is still muffled and muddy and it still pops really loudly when changing channels.

Any advice or recommendations in relation to what it might be, or any advice on tone or what I could do in regards to the problems would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Luke

Luke what tubes did they change? The popping is just inherent in the amp so there is no solution outside of cycling through the channels before coming out of standby.

 

[ixoye777]

My Roadster is also somewhat muffled - only on channels 3 & 4 though. It sounds like someone threw a light blanket over the cab. I have replaced all tubes (preamp, power & rectifier) and it has not changed the muffled feel it has. No idea why that is, just wanted you to know you are not alone!

 

[jdurso]

My Roadster is also somewhat muffled - only on channels 3 & 4 though. It sounds like someone threw a light blanket over the cab. I have replaced all tubes (preamp, power & rectifier) and it has not changed the muffled feel it has. No idea why that is, just wanted you to know you are not alone!

Settings?

 

[ixoye777]

Any and all. Recto or diode, 50 or 100w. Playing around with the presence, mid & treb I can get the sound to come up front somewhat but just overall it sounds a bit muffled to me. When I changed the powertubes from the stock 6L6's to EL34b's it made a huge difference. With the stock tubes it sounded to me like there was a winter sleeping bag over the cab and now with the EL34b's it is more of a light spring blanket.

It may just be the way the Roadster is supposed to sound I have never heard another one to compare.

 

[jdurso]

Any and all. Recto or diode, 50 or 100w. Playing around with the presence, mid & treb I can get the sound to come up front somewhat but just overall it sounds a bit muffled to me. When I changed the powertubes from the stock 6L6's to EL34b's it made a huge difference. With the stock tubes it sounded to me like there was a winter sleeping bag over the cab and now with the EL34b's it is more of a light spring blanket.

It may just be the way the Roadster is supposed to sound I have never heard another one to compare.

It is on the darker side and i find certain cabs can make it sound darker... i've found your smaller cabs (not oversized) tend to balance the darkness a bit better. In any case, it just maybe the darker voicing of the amp.