Tell me about the Mesa Road King...

[53Crëw]

If you've worked with one of these before, what are your thoughts on it?

People generally say that the Roadster is the same as the Road King without the progressive linkage for tube switching and that they sound the same. is that true? I'm a bit skeptical about that.

How would you summarize the difference between series 1 and 2? I believe the RK2 has improved cleans and two series loops instead of series/parallel... Anything else?

Thanks in advance.

 

[53Crëw]

Oh yeah, and how does the voicing of the Road King compare with the Dual Rectifier solo head?

Cheers.

 

[exoslime]

I had a RKII for some years, was a brilliant amp, the RKII is the only one that has the Channelcircuits from the Mesa Boogie Lonestar for Channel 1 and 2, which were magnificient on cleans and crunch. Roadster and RKI dont have those. which is one of the main difference for me in kind of tone as Cleans and Crunch were most important, or even more important than the Distortion Channels for me

Cant comment on your other question about voicing and other sound differences as i havnt done any 1:1 comparision.

 

[BLUElightCory]

I'm a big fan of the Road King v.2. High gain tones are very similar to the Dual Rec, but a bit more refined, with a little less of the ugly/brutal character that the Dual Rec has (for better or worse). Clean/crunch tones are worlds better than the older Dual Recs (though the newest Rectos might give them a run for their money, I haven't directly compared them).

I haven't directly compared the Road King to the Roadster, but I always though the Roadster was a bit dark/tubby sounding, which I've never though about the Road King v.2. For what it's worth.

 

[Jaymz]

It is true.

 

[guitarfishbay]

I had a RKII for some years, was a brilliant amp, the RKII is the only one that has the Channelcircuits from the Mesa Boogie Lonestar for Channel 1 and 2, which were magnificient on cleans and crunch. Roadster and RKI dont have those. which is one of the main difference for me in kind of tone as Cleans and Crunch were most important, or even more important than the Distortion Channels for me

Cant comment on your other question about voicing and other sound differences as i havnt done any 1:1 comparision.

As far as I was aware the Roadster does have the Lonestar cleans.

Here is a source - http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=30176

The Roadster and RKII share the same pre-amp circuit.

I do think the power amps are different though, and not just because of the tube options. I couldn't confirm that for sure however, just repeating what I've heard in the past.

I have experience with a Roadster but have never played a Road King 2 to compare, those things are very rare in the UK and cost a fuck load. £3199 new http://www.coda-music.com/mesa-boogie-road-king-head-p-651.html

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

If you've worked with one of these before, what are your thoughts on it?

It's a fucking beast! Amazing amp, great versatility and brutal tone. It has "hairy balls". I like it much much better than the Single, Dual or Triple Rectifiers I've used. And the possibility to switch the tubes on the fly is an amazing feature extremely useful. Don't get one if you plan on moving it often though (like rehearsing, or touring) as this is by far the heaviest amp I've used in terms of weight, I think it's something like 25kg for the head, a total back breaker.

 

[Clark Kent]

The Roadking/Roadster is darker than a regular Rectifier. Not flubbier. The presence is just less fizzy and IMO better.

F.ex. take a listen to this track:


That's a Roadking I through Mesa Traditional cabinet. IMO probably one of the best guitar tones out there. IIRC they used an SM57 and an MD421 for that guitar sound.

 

[amarshism]

Must buy road king this year!

 

[53Crëw]

Thanks for the comments. Sounds like a winner. I'd actually welcome the slightly less aggressive/less nasty tone on CH3 and 4, as I find the Dual Rectos can be a bit too aggressive sounding for some of the more mellow stuff I do.