Mesa Boogie Road King combo/head

[Roubster]

I have been looking at all kinds of amps for a while now, especially combos such as the JSX mainly. However I came across the Road King in my OLD magazine, and it looks pretty damn interesting. It looks like you can do anything with this monster with 4 channels and all kinds of knobs to change stuff around. Has anybody used the Road King before, the head or the combo??? I was wondering wether it would be a better choice over the JSX amp, since it seems to have so much more stuff on it for versatility and all kinds of tones. I live in NYC, but for some freakin reason NONE of these things that I am actually interested in, I cant get my hands on it.

 

[mbgreene]

Have you tried Rudy's on 48th St. ? I think they deal mesa-boogie as well as other higher end amps.

 

[Roubster]

Yea I've been there. That's where I got my EBMM Silo from.....well ordered I mean. I know they had a Mark 4 Mesa there, and an f50 or something. I guess I gotta go back and check. However the Mark 4 that they had was like 4K for some reason for a 1x12. That's a little TOO insane for my position. However the road king is gonna cost me a pretty penny too if I decide to get it. I think it runs around 2K for the 2x12? But anyway, we shall see.

 

[blackspy]

That amp looks way too overcomplicated to me. I'd probably do nothing but tweak, I'd forget to play.

 

[Junior]

If I'm not mistaken, the JSX is by far a cheaper amp... It (head) costs about 1000$ here, while the RoadKing would cost about 5000$ ordering...

 

[beej]

Yeah, certainly a big price difference.

Btw, there's a JSX head down the street for me, slightly used, for $795.00 CDN.

 

[Junior]

And IMHO, The Road King has much more features, but I think I'd rather get a JSX, 'cause I really love the sound of Peaveys, and hate Mesa cleans. (Mark II C+, Mark IV etc.) But then again, if you're searching for bone-crushing distortion...

 

[dan desy]

I bought a Road King head back in March 05. It's the last amp I'll ever need.

The versatility and tone of that thing is just so amazing! It's in the Dual Rectifier line, but it's not faitr to compare it to a Recto. No recto even approaches the range that this amp has.

The power amp can use any of 5 tube combos for EACH channel. Those combos are: 2x6L6, 4x6L6, 2xEL34, 2+2 and all 6 tubes. Each of those combos really have their own tone.

In addition to a really nice clean channel (with three distinct voicings), you have two hi-gain channels, which can do pretty much any of the famous Mesa gainy tones - from the Mark series all the way to the the heavy Recto thump.

But the RK's best channel is channel 2 - which can be really clean, but on the Brit setting, it's the best Marshally rhythm sound Mesa has ever put out. Set Channel 2 to 2xEL34 and it's my favorite rhythm sound ever, very dynamic and clear.

The RK is expensive. But it's not in the same league as the JSX.
Also, the combo is really heavy - over 100 lbs! I prefer the head and a nice 2x12 cab (I also have a 1x12 for practice).

 

[Roubster]

Hey thanks for the review on the RK Dan! Sounds like that thing can do anything. So when it comes to playing a lot of lead, does it do a good job? I am basically looking for great versatility and great tone (of course! Arent we all?), playing stuff like Steve Morse, Petrucci, Satriani, Vinnie Moore. I already have an AMAZINGLY AWESOME Music Man Silhouette with some nice DiMarzio Breeds in it. I played it for the first time through a REAL amp, meaning all tube Marshall head. My friend has a NICE set up, which I will post pics of once he sends them to me, WITH his 3K Gibson, 5K custom Fenaneder, and my AWESOME sunburst Silo. It sounded amazing through the Marshall, but not exactly MY sound. It is a nice straight up rock sound that he LOVES to play, like AC/DC, Whitesnake, Malmsteen, Iron Maiden. However I am looking for more progressivness like I wrote a little earlier here.

 

[dan desy]

No problem, man.

The Road King will do all that and then some. And it has some very unique features, like dual effect loops (serial and parallel) that can be assigned to each channel, and the good ol' solo boost (which I love). Hard to go wrong with that beast.

Feel free to ping me with any question.

And good luck in your amp quest!

 

[Roubster]

Thanks again buddy! I think it will most likely be the Road King when I get the money or JSX, but this looks like more like me. I like complexity !

 

[CudBucket]

The Mark IV at Rudy's is not 4k. It's about $2,300 because it's the hardwood cab/wicker deal. You have to play the amps to see what you like best. IMO, the RK, while extremely versatile is just another amp to look at. It's a nice amp but to say the JSX is not in the same league as the RK is just another guy's opinion. I sold my Mark IV to get a JSX and never regretted it. The JSX has cleans equal to the Mark IV so, 'nuff said. More gain on tap than you'd ever need and sounds way better than the RK or Mark IV at moderate volume. It sells for $1,200 so it isn't exactly cheap. Let's face it, Mesa's cost a bit more because you can only get them at so many dealers so the pricing can be controlled. There's no "better deal" at another store so if you want a Mesa, you fork it over. Don't get me wrong. I love Mesas but let's not be gear snobs.

I've got more news for you too. I just added a Carvin V3 along side my JSX. It's a $900 monster that will blow you away. Three channels, MIDI, unreal cleans, thick, hi-gain on par with Engl. Check them out. It's so good it's stupid. You can try Carvin gear for 10 days and return it for a full refund if you don't like them. It's really a great amp.

Dave

 

[dan desy]

Thanks again buddy! I think it will most likely be the Road King when I get the money or JSX, but this looks like more like me. I like complexity !

By the way, even though the amp has a lot of knobs, and many features, it remains the easiest amp I've diaedl in. Getting a great sound out of it was really easy. And then, you can tweak from there.

 

[Roubster]

Thanks for the input guys, I got a lot of good info on ALL the amps I was looking at. ALL 3 were mentioned, thanks to Cud! I was looking into the Carvin V3 which definatly does look interesting, but I dont think they make a combo of that. Would getting a head and maybe a 2x12 cab be a better solution in a long run??? Not sure about it yet, but the RK, JSX, and V3 are on my list right now, and I hope I can try some of em out. I DID try the JSX head and it sounded awesome, but did not have enough time playing with it. Anyway, we shall see how it goes, cheers!

 

[CudBucket]

I don't get combos because of the flexibility you get from a head and pairing it with any cab you want. I even think heads and 2x12 cabs are easier to move around than combos.

 

[edensdad]

I wanted to share my experience that not all Mesa/Boogie amps sound good. I owned a 50 Caliber head with a 4x12 with EV spealers in the late 1980's that I loved. That thing was bone crushing and had tone for days. No other guitar player with other amps could keep up - My rig always overpowered them with volume and clarity.

In 1992, I got caught up in the "rack" frenzy that everyone was getting into and sold it and bought a bunch of digital rack junk - big mistake.

I also had a .22 caliber 1x12 combo, which was great - not the 50, but great.

Now I have a Nomad 55 4x10 that I've owned for a few years. I bought it sight unseen without playing one, based on the reputation and my positive experience with Mesa. It sounds great clean, but the vintage and modern (high gain) channels sound muddy, congested and too bassy. I'm selling it next week on ebay. For now I have a Cube 60 since I don't gig anymore.

I really like the sound of the Dual Rectifier, especially the sound John Petrucci had on Dream Theater's 6 Degrees of Inner Turbulence disc. I might get one of those instead. He uses the Road Kings now for the last two albums, and I don't like his sound as much as the older tone - too harsh.

>^..^<

 

[freeman]

Totally agree with dan desy! I own a roadking head, a 3-ch dual recto head, a mark4 head and a caa od100 sh/se head. I tried tons of "great" channel switchers like diezels, bogners etc etc.. So far the roadking and the caa od100 are my top two amps. I can get decent blackface clean through the ch1 with 4X6L6 of the roadking, not as good as the od100's ch1, but it's damn good enough for its price(2500 USD plus tax here). Like dan desy said, the ch2 sounds amazing, on the brit mode it's the best marshally rhythm sound mesa has ever put out. The ch3 & the ch4 sounds like the dual recto, but the roadking delivers more bites, dynamic, and low-ends than the 3 channel dual recto IMO. The roadking can also bring you into the Mark terrain, but if you prefer Mark's dirt tone just go for a Mark4, you know what I mean. If you're pretty into the dual recto's gainy tone and have enough budget, I'd recommend the roadking head. To match it with some dark side tone cabs like my z-best 212, it's a monster!

 

[Random Hero]

I really like the sound of the Dual Rectifier, especially the sound John Petrucci had on Dream Theater's 6 Degrees of Inner Turbulence disc. I might get one of those instead. He uses the Road Kings now for the last two albums, and I don't like his sound as much as the older tone - too harsh.

>^..^<

JP only used the Dual Rectifier on "The Glass Prison" I believe, on 6 Degrees, and it was his Mark IIC+ heads for the rest.

However, the tone he gets on The Glass Prison is fantastic, so I have to agree.

I use a Dual Rectifier/Rectifer 412 myself, and I really love it. Got a G-Major in the loop, Behringer FCB1010 controlling it all. I really love the tones availible.

 

[edensdad]

JP only used the Dual Rectifier on "The Glass Prison" I believe, on 6 Degrees, and it was his Mark IIC+ heads for the rest.

However, the tone he gets on The Glass Prison is fantastic, so I have to agree.

I use a Dual Rectifier/Rectifer 412 myself, and I really love it. Got a G-Major in the loop, Behringer FCB1010 controlling it all. I really love the tones availible.

I can't remember where I read it - no biggie. What I read was that he used that Mark IIC rack from the beginning, switched to a Recto for Scenes from a Memory & 6 Degrees, then switched to the Road King. I really love his sound on everything before Train of Thought. The funny thing is that's become one of my favorite discs of his, and I don't really like his tone.

I just figure the harsh sound he gets now is due to his new amp/rack, because I have a JP6 and it sounds great with the Cube & my buddies Marshall JCM800.

>^..^<

 

[Random Hero]

I can't remember where I read it - no biggie. What I read was that he used that Mark IIC rack from the beginning, switched to a Recto for Scenes from a Memory & 6 Degrees, then switched to the Road King. I really love his sound on everything before Train of Thought. The funny thing is that's become one of my favorite discs of his, and I don't really like his tone.

I just figure the harsh sound he gets now is due to his new amp/rack, because I have a JP6 and it sounds great with the Cube & my buddies Marshall JCM800.

>^..^<

He used Triaxis in the early years, along with some Dual Recto, up until Scenes I believe, when he switched to Mark IIC+ and Racktifiers. I think the Tri was still in the rack and he possibly used it for cleans. Six Degrees was Recto for Glass Prison and Mark IIC+, then it was Road King for Train of Thought. Octavarium was Road King for distortion and Lonestar for cleans.

I actually really dig his tone nowadays.