Which recto for me?

[CerpinVolta]

Ok guys. I had a Mark IV for a while loved it but eventually decided to give something else a try. I have a Rockerberb 50 right now and just picked up a 6505+ recently but I'm also looking to maybe trade the rockerverb for a recto or sell it to fund a recto purchase. The roadster has really caught my eye and I've heard some great clips that really have me jonesing for one. I'm looking to get tones similar to The Devil Wears Prada, Killswitch, As I Lay Dying, Parkway Drive, Within The Ruins, and other bands like these. I know the 6505 can hit some of those tones but lets face it I have recto GAS bad :mrgreen: So should I go with the Roadster? Or will a cheaper older recto get me what I'm looking for? Single? Dual? Triple? I do love the Roadsters cleans tho too. I got to play one but unfortunately it was a combo otherwise I may have pounced on it. Anyways anyone have any suggestions?

 

[droptrd]

Well, this depends on how important the "clean ch" is to you. The RK II and roadster have the better clean ch. People rag on the solo head cleans. They are a little on the lifeless side, but workable. They arent as bad as people make them out to be. Now for the High Gain ch's... The 2 ch rectos will slay the RK's and Roadsters tone wise IMO. The RK and Roadster have super versatility but you sacrafice some tone. The 3ch rectos are def the worst IMO.

I must warn you though being a former mark turned recto guy myself, you might get frustrated and the lack of thick lead tone and tightness.

 

[Silverwulf]

...I, but I've been recording it for months now and have been consistently frustrated by a certain fizz at 6k that's impossible to banish. Then I realized that I hear it in pretty much all clips of 2 ch. Rectos (where the gain is high enough for modern metal anyway) through Recto cabs, the most notable example being Nevermore's "This Godless Endeavor"...

You might be hearing the Krank tracks. Those rhythms were 50/50 Recto and Krank, and that's exactly how I'd characterize the Krank.

 

[wildrat666]

The Roadster is a good choice. very good tones clean- modern high gain. u can easily get those killswitch tones with a roadster with a boost/overdrive.

Ive got a roadster and a channel rev d and they both are great for death metal grind hyper metal.
i use a maxon od 808 with both amps or a boss heavy metal pedal for serious cannibal corpse tone

 

[CerpinVolta]

Well the gain side of things is more important then the clean sometimes I just like to have it all . We're play in distortion 90% of the time with some clean passages here and there. I'm not too worried about the lead tone as I'm more the rhythm player in the band I'm in. Plus I've heard plenty of guys getting great lead tones out of their rectos. I'll be running a maxon OD808 in front of it to tighten it up.

Clean tone aside is there anything the roadster can do that I couldn't get from another for cheaper?

 

[KH Guitar Freak]

Tone wise, I reckon that the neither the Roadster nor the two channel Rectos are better in the distortion department, just different. But for cleans, the Roadster is definitely what you want to get. Personally, I say go for the Roadster if you can afford it...

 

[Nitrobattery]

Well the gain side of things is more important then the clean sometimes I just like to have it all . We're play in distortion 90% of the time with some clean passages here and there. I'm not too worried about the lead tone as I'm more the rhythm player in the band I'm in. Plus I've heard plenty of guys getting great lead tones out of their rectos. I'll be running a maxon OD808 in front of it to tighten it up.

Clean tone aside is there anything the roadster can do that I couldn't get from another for cheaper?

I called Mesa and asked them whether the two lead channels on the Roadster were the same as on the 3 ch. Dual Rec, and he said the Dual Rec is voiced slightly brighter/more shrill than the Roadster; enough of a difference that I definitely wanna try both!

And FWIW, the cleans may be incredible on the Roadster, but I too play distorted 95% of the time, and the cleans on my 2 ch. Dual are PLENTY good enough for me! (and I've heard they're even better on the 3 channels)

$50 says you eBay the Dual Rec and buy a Roadster 8)

 

[jdurso]

Well the gain side of things is more important then the clean sometimes I just like to have it all . We're play in distortion 90% of the time with some clean passages here and there. I'm not too worried about the lead tone as I'm more the rhythm player in the band I'm in. Plus I've heard plenty of guys getting great lead tones out of their rectos. I'll be running a maxon OD808 in front of it to tighten it up.

Clean tone aside is there anything the roadster can do that I couldn't get from another for cheaper?

More power options and just more tones... the tweed setting on channel 1 with an OD infront can get heavy and just gives you a different type of heavy to work with. The Roadster is also smoother and with the right boost is Killswitch Engage central... or at least mine is :twisted:

Seriously though the power and tube options on each channel make it worth it to go to the Roadster. Plus having a great clean channel just incase you ever want to experiment is always nice to have.

 

[jdurso]

More power options and just more tones... the tweed setting on channel 1 with an OD infront can get heavy and just gives you a different type of heavy to work with. The Roadster is also smoother and with the right boost is Killswitch Engage central... or at least mine is :twisted:

Seriously though the power and tube options on each channel make it worth it to go to the Roadster. Plus having a great clean channel just incase you ever want to experiment is always nice to have.

Actually, I think you're thinking of the Road King, as far as I know the Roadster doesn't have any tube option on each channel? (just the 4 vs. 2 power tubes, aka 100 watt vs. 50 watt)

Diode vs Rectifier tubes.... its one or the other with a regular Recto whereas on the Roadster you can select the type per channel. You dont know how clutch that is until you have the option in your amp.

 

[jdurso]

Diode vs Rectifier tubes.... its one or the other with a regular Recto whereas on the Roadster you can select the type per channel. You dont know how clutch that is until you have the option in your amp.

Ah right, I bet that'd be fun to experiment with (especially between channels 3 and 4, since they can apparently be dialed in to sound really similar)

Exactly... its an amazing flexibilty to have. Also I like Diodes on my super clean cleans in Channel 1 but like the sag for a bluesier sounding channel 2.

 

[fluff191]

I am thinking of getting a Roadster. I really like the options of my 3 Channel Recto, but man the clean channel from the Lonestar would be amazing.

 

[jdurso]

I am thinking of getting a Roadster. I really like the options of my 3 Channel Recto, but man the clean channel from the Lonestar would be amazing.

keep in mind its not identical to the Lonestar... although it has the Lonestar circuit, everything else in the amp is quite different which plays into some of the differences. But its still an amazing clean.

 

[fluff191]

Well that and my Dual Recto seems to be really brightly-voiced as well. Isn't the Roadster a little darker sounding?

 

[fluff191]

Well that and my Dual Recto seems to be really brightly-voiced as well. Isn't the Roadster a little darker sounding?

Distortion-wise at least, yup, that's what I heard from a Mesa rep (actually, the guy who did that video demo of the standard Dual Rec recently)

Good. Thats what I want then. It would be perfect if I could dial out some of those pesky high frequencies.

 

[jdurso]

Well that and my Dual Recto seems to be really brightly-voiced as well. Isn't the Roadster a little darker sounding?

Distortion-wise at least, yup, that's what I heard from a Mesa rep (actually, the guy who did that video demo of the standard Dual Rec recently)

Yeah it is darker... and also smoother. You can always eq more treble in if need be. Much more versitile in my opinion... tone wise as well as the different options you have. Throw a brighter OD infront of a Roadster and it can tear down the walls and get just as aggressive as the regular DR.