I think I've bought the wrong amp help please!

[discordance_axis]

I've owned both road kings and I don't think there's much difference between series 1 and 2 in smoothness. Its been some time though since I owned the the series 1. I just remember the channel volumes being less accurate on the series 1 then the series 2. I'd struggle to get a good volume it was either too loud or too soft lol.

That reminds me guys. I did it I traded in the dual rec for a road king 2. Definitely more my sound and no fizziness at all. I need to buy a 2x12 cab but it sounds pretty sweet through my 1x12. Lovin' chan 2 with the tubes set to EL34''s. Chan 4 is just full on gain I love it. I have chan 1 set to a nice pristine sound 4 x 6L6's and chan 2 for my slightly broken up sound. Great for songs like Footloose. I have chan 3 set for a more slight overdriven sound and then chan 4 for the high gain stuff. I'll definitely appreciate the tube configs more when I get my 2x12 cab.

I was quite surprised how big the road king was. Bigger than what i remember. And it weighs a ton but I don't care about that. I must say I can't decide which is better between the mark v and the road king they both have their classic sounds and a simple solution is to own both if you can. In fact I think I'm gonna buy a mark v again next year when I can afford to. To quote a forum member "I see amps as an investment" and I quite agree.

I'm glad you got it sorted and found something you are happy with!

I have accustomed to the same tube config in channel 1 for pristine clean, after initially thinking I'd prefer the 6 tube config. The 4x6L6's are just sweeter imo. I'm still experimenting with channel 2. Channels 3 & 4 I've had no problems to dial and I think are where hours of fun are to be had! I agree, it is bigger than I imagined when I first saw it in person but it is one sweet looking amp! Especially with all the lights on and the tube glow coming through the front chassis vent. Sometimes when it's too late for me to play i'll put it in standby and just look at the thing and it will put a smile on my face. #eyecandy!

 

[paulg2uk]

I've owned both road kings and I don't think there's much difference between series 1 and 2 in smoothness. Its been some time though since I owned the the series 1. I just remember the channel volumes being less accurate on the series 1 then the series 2. I'd struggle to get a good volume it was either too loud or too soft lol.

That reminds me guys. I did it I traded in the dual rec for a road king 2. Definitely more my sound and no fizziness at all. I need to buy a 2x12 cab but it sounds pretty sweet through my 1x12. Lovin' chan 2 with the tubes set to EL34''s. Chan 4 is just full on gain I love it. I have chan 1 set to a nice pristine sound 4 x 6L6's and chan 2 for my slightly broken up sound. Great for songs like Footloose. I have chan 3 set for a more slight overdriven sound and then chan 4 for the high gain stuff. I'll definitely appreciate the tube configs more when I get my 2x12 cab.

I was quite surprised how big the road king was. Bigger than what i remember. And it weighs a ton but I don't care about that. I must say I can't decide which is better between the mark v and the road king they both have their classic sounds and a simple solution is to own both if you can. In fact I think I'm gonna buy a mark v again next year when I can afford to. To quote a forum member "I see amps as an investment" and I quite agree.

I'm glad you got it sorted and found something you are happy with!

I have accustomed to the same tube config in channel 1 for pristine clean, after initially thinking I'd prefer the 6 tube config. The 4x6L6's are just sweeter imo. I'm still experimenting with channel 2. Channels 3 & 4 I've had no problems to dial and I think are where hours of fun are to be had! I agree, it is bigger than I imagined when I first saw it in person but it is one sweet looking amp! Especially with all the lights on and the tube glow coming through the front chassis vent. Sometimes when it's too late for me to play i'll put it in standby and just look at the thing and it will put a smile on my face. #eyecandy!

Lol that's awesome I'm gonna try that myself. I'm actually planning on buying a new 2x12 cab and was gonna go with the a company over here in the UK called Zilla Music. You guys have probably heard of them. They make some awesome cabs. What do you guys think speaker wise I should put in there? I was thinking V30's or Cream backs. Cream backs would be my first choice just to be different. Looking to get my cab made next month so I have a while yet to decide.

 

[YellowJacket]

Rumor has it that zilla cabs are awesome!!!

Hmm. v30 / G12K 100 for heavy tones. v30 / G12T 75 is also good. V30 + G12T 65.

v30.


Also, what about a Mesa cab? Their v30s are different from the stock chinese ones. I guess they have a deal where Celestion sent them some prototypes back in the day and got one that matches their needs. (I realize mesa cabs are highway robbery over in the UK)

Great you got a road king. Sounds like it was the right move.

 

[Chester]

Rumor has it that zilla cabs are awesome!!!

Hmm. v30 / G12K 100 for heavy tones. v30 / G12T 75 is also good. V30 + G12T 65.

v30.


Also, what about a Mesa cab? Their v30s are different from the stock chinese ones. I guess they have a deal where Celestion sent them some prototypes back in the day and got one that matches their needs. (I realize mesa cabs are highway robbery over in the UK)

Great you got a road king. Sounds like it was the right move.

+1 for G12T 75's

Work well for everything from clean to mean - for me, these have been a good option. If you can get a good condition 30th anniversary Marshall cab, or 1936 2X12, you won't pay nosebleed prices in the UK

I avoid Roadster fizz by turning up channel volume and dropping gain, which compresses nicely with good articulation through these cabs

 

[paulg2uk]

Rumor has it that zilla cabs are awesome!!!

Hmm. v30 / G12K 100 for heavy tones. v30 / G12T 75 is also good. V30 + G12T 65.

v30.


Also, what about a Mesa cab? Their v30s are different from the stock chinese ones. I guess they have a deal where Celestion sent them some prototypes back in the day and got one that matches their needs. (I realize mesa cabs are highway robbery over in the UK)

Great you got a road king. Sounds like it was the right move.

+1 for G12T 75's

Work well for everything from clean to mean - for me, these have been a good option. If you can get a good condition 30th anniversary Marshall cab, or 1936 2X12, you won't pay nosebleed prices in the UK

I avoid Roadster fizz by turning up channel volume and dropping gain, which compresses nicely with good articulation through these cabs

Zilla's are pretty decent in price. Paul from Zilla quoted me just over £400 for a fatboy oversized 2x12 loaded with creambacks or v30's and you can choose the tolex, grill and also to have casters on the bottom for an extra £20. Pretty decent I thought considering a boogie cab would cost well over £600 over here in the UK. I'm definitely gonna go for one when I get some cash together. The other good thing is Paul would only want £50 deposit and said it would take only 2 weeks to make for me.

Just one other thing guys. I have a TC G system I've used for years, which FX loop on the road king 2 would be best to put it in?

 

[discordance_axis]

They're both series loops in the RKII so they are the same. I use the first one just because its the er.. first one

 

[pegleg51]

Hi,new here.Have you tried a Blue Angel?Considered a dual rec for some reason.I love Mesa,s,Got a couple .50 cals with black shadow ex,s for an old stereo.Finally got em dialed in.Been through Nomads,Marks,all of em,but have not found anything like this BA.NO FIZZ.I love the thing.It loves pedals and single coil p/u,s and a 5 yr. old can dial it in.

 

[BoogieTom]

Have you thought of the Rectoverb 50, especially series 2? These amps are sleepers in the mesa world. They are not so fuzzy, with a tight rectified sound, very versatile amps, and loud as hell when cranked.

 

[phillygtr]

I bought a Dual Rec (3 chan/multi-watt) a few weeks ago and I'm learning how to dial it in every day. When I brought home I was kind of disappointed in the fizziness, but I've learned that can be an asset (I like that there's "too much" settings on this amp). I had another breakthrough with the amp last night. I bought the new Five Band Graphic EQ and put it in a loop. I don't do the scooped mid thing, I used it to dial in some mids and treak the treble/presence. I was able completely dial out any remaining fizz and add some mids for girth. Between my Eventide Space reverb and the graphic EQ, my rig is complete.

 

[YellowJacket]

No kidding. A guitar amp that has no mids doesn't require less mids!!

 

[Geetarhed]

I've owned both road kings and I don't think there's much difference between series 1 and 2 in smoothness. Its been some time though since I owned the the series 1. I just remember the channel volumes being less accurate on the series 1 then the series 2. I'd struggle to get a good volume it was either too loud or too soft lol.

That reminds me guys. I did it I traded in the dual rec for a road king 2. Definitely more my sound and no fizziness at all. I need to buy a 2x12 cab but it sounds pretty sweet through my 1x12. Lovin' chan 2 with the tubes set to EL34''s. Chan 4 is just full on gain I love it. I have chan 1 set to a nice pristine sound 4 x 6L6's and chan 2 for my slightly broken up sound. Great for songs like Footloose. I have chan 3 set for a more slight overdriven sound and then chan 4 for the high gain stuff. I'll definitely appreciate the tube configs more when I get my 2x12 cab.

I was quite surprised how big the road king was. Bigger than what i remember. And it weighs a ton but I don't care about that. I must say I can't decide which is better between the mark v and the road king they both have their classic sounds and a simple solution is to own both if you can. In fact I think I'm gonna buy a mark v again next year when I can afford to. To quote a forum member "I see amps as an investment" and I quite agree.

I'm glad you got it sorted and found something you are happy with!

I have accustomed to the same tube config in channel 1 for pristine clean, after initially thinking I'd prefer the 6 tube config. The 4x6L6's are just sweeter imo. I'm still experimenting with channel 2. Channels 3 & 4 I've had no problems to dial and I think are where hours of fun are to be had! I agree, it is bigger than I imagined when I first saw it in person but it is one sweet looking amp! Especially with all the lights on and the tube glow coming through the front chassis vent. Sometimes when it's too late for me to play i'll put it in standby and just look at the thing and it will put a smile on my face. #eyecandy!

Lol that's awesome I'm gonna try that myself. I'm actually planning on buying a new 2x12 cab and was gonna go with the a company over here in the UK called Zilla Music. You guys have probably heard of them. They make some awesome cabs. What do you guys think speaker wise I should put in there? I was thinking V30's or Cream backs. Cream backs would be my first choice just to be different. Looking to get my cab made next month so I have a while yet to decide.

Yes was just about to get rid of my Road King series 1 and stick with my Mesa Express 5.25 1x12inch V30 spkr and Strat. Well bugga, I fiddled with my RK1 and got some fab clean tones from Channel 1 and despite the distortion on the Mesa express being preferable to my ears, finally found some great tones on the RK - heavy as **** but still a great amp! These things take some fiddling and the tone controls vary things quite a bit than on most amps. They do sound their best at higher volume levels too. eg. Mk2C
Not worth selling if you have one to buy the RK2!

 

[vick1000]

Turn gain down, turn presence down, turn mids up, and use a boost for saturation.

 

[peterdenny]

Im a bit late in replying but if I were you I would do a Road King 2 hands down. I own the 2x12 combo version w C90s and a separate 2x12 cab with the V30s. I love the amp but I regret the cab. I wish I had ordered mine with creambacks but oh well. Mesa btw if you order new will put any speaker you want in a cab or amp if you are willing to wait a little bit. That is a huge plus. Also the biggest different I understand between version 1 and 2 is the fx loop and I suggest sticking to the newer one as the older one was reputed to have a lot of issues. I also suspect if you are in a cover band you probably use some pedal board like a g-system or similar through the fx loop so that probably matters a lot. I did try the roadster and to me it was just ok but the progressive linkage and different tube options and speaker selections on each channel of the Road King make it a superior amp. I got mine used mint for $1500 US. To me that was a steal and I got it via guitar center used dept so I could return it. They even shipped it free UPS so I dont know that they made any money on it. The fact that you can mix and match wattage, tubes and speakers for EACH channel I think would give you the most versatility as you basically have 4 different amps in one. I run 2 clean channels and 2 dirty channels, each with different power tubes and settings. Its simply put fucking awesome. Hope that helps. Peter