Roadster wiped the floor with the Roadking!!

[eshithead]

I got a new roadster last week, after getting home I decided to go for it all and upgrade to the roadking, I figured same amp with the progressive linkage and cab switching should be even better right???

I went to my dealer and exchanged it and brought home the RK without testing it, after and hour with the RK I took it straight back and got my roadster back.

I found the RK to be lacking all of the articulation and picking dynamics of the roadster, and the 6l6 mode of the RK definitely was lacking in tone vs the roadster.

My dealer thought I was wacked, anyone else notice this????

 

[Fixxer6671]

YES, that is why I am so high on the roadster. To meet it was superior to my RK I, and the RK II I demo'd right next to it.

As in my previous post, this is the best dual boogie has put out on a LONG time....

 

[MusicManJP6]

Man, I'm getting more and more excited about the arrival of my Roadster head tomorrow with every positive post I read about it! Thanks for amping me up even more about my recent gear acquisition!

 

[fireonhigh]

seems to be another case of "less is more",, ,moreless :lol:! congrats on the new amp.i need to go hear this amp!!!

 

[Storm]

It's good to know that I'm not missing out on anything having the Roadster then. I'll still have to give it a blast with the loop bypassed to see what all the fuss is about, even though I do use if for time based FX.

Ciao ...

 

[Fixxer6671]

Let us know when you do it :twisted:

 

[MusicManJP6]

Man, there seems to be a big difference b/w FX loop on and off. I've got several pedals running through the loop, but at the end of the loop, I've got a BBE Sonic Stomp and it seems to help retain some of the original tone that gets lost, believe it or not! The clean channel actually distorts with the FX loop engaged, so I switched the FX loop off for the clean channel and on for the rest (using the switches on the back). I hope I don't need any FX in clean!

 

[rizboog]

its your imagination. here it is from boogie: "In fact the Roadster is the Roadking but one that's been stripped down to it's more essential features." Now, with all due respect, who should i believe? good luck with either one!

 

[123thefirst]

+1

What you're experiencing is either a cabinet difference (one reason to go with a head) or a volume difference or even a configuration difference (Spongy/Bold/Diode/Rectifier/2 6L6/4 6L6).

Curiously I find with my Road King that it sounds noticably better without the Effects Loop/Master Volume override switch on. Even with the Effects Out pot at 12:00 it sounds hotter than with the effect loop bypassed.

 

[eshithead]

What you're experiencing is either a cabinet difference (one reason to go with a head) or a volume difference or even a configuration difference (Spongy/Bold/Diode/Rectifier/2 6L6/4 6L6).

Curiously I find with my Road King that it sounds noticeably better without the Effects Loop/Master Volume override switch on. Even with the Effects Out pot at 12:00 it sounds hotter than with the effect loop bypassed.

Not true, I ran both head at my studio sames cabs same EQ same power and tube setting. They both had the same tone, but the roadster had a definite sound advantage on dynamics and pick attack.

Don't feel bad the road king is a fine amp, I would have been happy with a RK if I hadn't heard the roadster first.

 

[123thefirst]

No, there's something you're missing... Could have been a slightly older RK with different pre amp tubes. Did you verify that all of the configurable options were the same? That sounds exactly like the difference you get between the Spongy and Bold settings.

 

[2britz]

Would tend to agree with your dealer and Mesa on this one. Short of mythical "mojo fairy dust" there is no technical reason for your observation to be factual. It is true for you when you are playing so that is all that matters. Just don't be surprised that most of us don't hear the same.

For that matter my RK2 sounds different to my ears on some days than others with no changes in settings, placement, or connected gear. And that is without my 3 year old cranking on the knobs, but most of the time she just dimes the volume :shock:

I think the King owners and the 'Ster owners can all agree that the platform is a tone machine. Rather than fighting amongst ourselves, let's pick on the Mark IV crowd - LOL

 

[MusicManJP6]

I used to be in the Mark IV crowd, so I guess I am a traitor! I think the Roadster has more USABLE versatility than the Mark. That is just my .02 though... As far as tightness, there are some differences, but it is not as much difference as some people like to make it out to be. The thiele cabs I use seem to keep it pretty tight with their tuned ports, but I'd love to hear a 2x12 recto cab with the thieles...

 

[eshithead]

Again, ther was a very big difference, ALL of the settings were identical, EQ power tubes, recto, and bold/ spongy.

It was a RKII and I was used my tubes in both amp, meaning I pulled all the stock tubes and put the SAME tubes in both amps.

Again don't feel bad if you are stuck with a road king it's a fine amp, just not as good as the roadster.

 

[123thefirst]

For that matter my RK2 sounds different to my ears on some days than others with no changes in settings, placement, or connected gear.

I find that too. Small changes sometimes seem to produce a huge difference. And there are so many sounds, it's hard to know exactly what to expect of the amp. It really helps if you want a more objective viewpoint to mike the amp and listen to it through headphones - and record the variations to be able to fairly compare them. I think the amp sounds even more impressive recorded. It sounds far tighter and more defined close-miked than you hear across the room.

 

[MusicManJP6]

I'm hoping to record some clips of the Roadster this weekend. I'll post any good clips I capture...

 

[siggy14]

Some true and some false statements in these posts.

First off no way would the roadking and roadster sound exactly the same. The roadking has more electronics which means more resistance in the circuits which will change tone a little.

Not to mention I can almost bet my house that the roadkings use a different output transformer, they would need a different one for the pure fact that you can add in two extra tubes into the mix. This different transformer will also change tone a little bit.

With that being said, I have a kick *** Series 1 roadking, placed up against other roadkings it has blown most of them away and have owned three others. Sometimes you just get a great sounding amp, but once again all amps will be slightly different.

Reason for this, say you have a 220K resister, well most manafactures will allow up to a 10% tolorance, with mesa I can bet they arent allowing more then a 5%. With that being said, take a preamp circuit, a resister in one amp can have a slightly different tolorance then a resister in another amp, this will make both amps sound slightly different.

Reason why people like military parts in amps like soldano, is US government usually allows alot smaller of a tolorance then most companies.

NOw the true statements, yes an amp can sound different one day to the next, and yes you could even plug one in right after another and it would still sound different. A slight voltage drop alone could cause an amp to sound different.

Also true, people hear different things, some people prefer a certain tone over others, that is why we have different amps with people likeing the different amps. One man's garbage is another mans treasure!

its your imagination. here it is from boogie: "In fact the Roadster is the Roadking but one that's been stripped down to it's more essential features." Now, with all due respect, who should i believe? good luck with either one!

+1

What you're experiencing is either a cabinet difference (one reason to go with a head) or a volume difference or even a configuration difference (Spongy/Bold/Diode/Rectifier/2 6L6/4 6L6).

Curiously I find with my Road King that it sounds noticably better without the Effects Loop/Master Volume override switch on. Even with the Effects Out pot at 12:00 it sounds hotter than with the effect loop bypassed.

Would tend to agree with your dealer and Mesa on this one. Short of mythical "mojo fairy dust" there is no technical reason for your observation to be factual. It is true for you when you are playing so that is all that matters. Just don't be surprised that most of us don't hear the same.

For that matter my RK2 sounds different to my ears on some days than others with no changes in settings, placement, or connected gear. And that is without my 3 year old cranking on the knobs, but most of the time she just dimes the volume :shock:

I think the King owners and the 'Ster owners can all agree that the platform is a tone machine. Rather than fighting amongst ourselves, let's pick on the Mark IV crowd - LOL

 

[2britz]

Again, ther was a very big difference, ALL of the settings were identical, EQ power tubes, recto, and bold/ spongy.

It was a RKII and I was used my tubes in both amp, meaning I pulled all the stock tubes and put the SAME tubes in both amps.

Again don't feel bad if you are stuck with a road king it's a fine amp, just not as good as the roadster.

While I am busy being stuck with my RK, did you know that one the first and most obvious signs of buyers' remorse is to disparage the other options you considered purchasing? Basic consumer behavior...but don't feel bad about being stuck with the RoadKing light, while it may be less filling it does taste great (sarcasm)

That was a fairly thorough and scientific comparison you did, but you missed the most important variable in all tonal variations...did you comsume the same amount of muse-evoking vice of your choice? LOL

 

[eshithead]

While I am busy being stuck with my RK, did you know that one the first and most obvious signs of buyers' remorse is to disparage the other options you considered purchasing? Basic consumer behavior...but don't feel bad about being stuck with the RoadKing light, while it may be less filling it does taste great (sarcasm)

That was a fairly thorough and scientific comparison you did, but you missed the most important variable in all tonal variations...did you comsume the same amount of muse-evoking vice of your choice? LOL

Roadking lite is correct the RK is a heavy *******!! Between that and the recto 2x12 I carried back and forth up 3 flights of stairs I was crapping blood all night.

But I am loving my roadster lit or not.

 

[nathan28]

Sorry to be a troll or whatever geeks call ppl these days, but this is another stupid post!!!!!! Mine is better than your **** stopped for me a long time ago. Just plug up and rock, all mesa amps sound great!!