Yep, first post, Roadster and tone questions. First, it is not my first Mesa (I have a 5:25 Express), but it is my first "big" Mesa. I came over from the Marsh camp (I have a JCM2000 TSL602, an AVT150H, and had others). So, naturally the tone of those is what I am used to, but I wanted MORE. The Roadster gives me that, but: I have been spending hours dialing in one channel at a time (found good info about this here), Clean channel #1 - seems like it is lacking in volume significantly compared to the other channels (all rear of head settings the same - 50watts) I know the 100watt setting should give more headroom, this is about volume. Second, I find similar tones to what I am after on channel 2, Brit mode - was pretty easy to dial in; but channel 3 is where I am needing help. I want to get 80's "Big Hair Band" tones - think bands like Poison, Bon Jovi, etc, and hair metal bands such as Van Halen, Judas Priest and Motley Crue. Channel 4 has been easier for me to get the Metallica, and other 90's metal/rock band tones. Does anyone have suggested settings for my 80's band tones? I am currently using a 4x12 with both Eminence Texas Heats and Celestion G12-M70's, I have a 2x12 with Texas Heats, and a 2x12 with Eminence Man O Wars (they are close in sound to Celestion GT-75's). Guitars I use, have EMG 81/90 and other active humbuckers. I hope I didn't pick the wrong amp. I was leaning toward a Mark V, then I heard about (and found) a Roadster at a great price IMO and picked it up. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me with this.
Surprise - a noob with a Roadster and tone questions
- Thread starter royslead
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ryjan
Well-known member
Channel 3
Vintage mode
Diode Rectification
P=12:00
B=12:00
M=12:00
T=1:00
G=1:00
The rest is in your fingers.
Vintage mode
Diode Rectification
P=12:00
B=12:00
M=12:00
T=1:00
G=1:00
The rest is in your fingers.
Dino334
Member
For channel 3 and the 80's sound, try in both vintage and modern settings. If you're playing in your room, you can easily get away with scooping the mids a little more. In a live setting boost those mids to cut better in the mix. I've toyed with my roadster head for this sound and found my volume at 10, bass on 1, mid on 10, treble on 1, presence on 11, gain on 3 (think of the numbers like you would on a clock). I rarely actually look at the position of the knobs and get the sounds with my ears. Use the output knob for your overall volume. Also, I had mine on 100w, silicon diode, and loop enabled. I also gave it a little extra hair with a tube screamer pedal in the front, everything at 12 o'clock, and some chorus & delay in the loop.
I have a couple of Roadster heads and they by far are my favorite from Mesa. I've used them for a couple of years now and can achieve anything sound I require. Though truth be told, currently I only use the heads to power my cabs via the effects return for my rack set up. I'm using the fractal axe fx ii xl for all my preamp and effects now. But I do grab my trusty TS-9, g-major (which I throw in the loop), a roadster head and a cabinet whenever I go "jam" with others so I don't have to tear down my rig, and again, I can get **** near any tone desired from this awesome head. Hope this helps.
I have a couple of Roadster heads and they by far are my favorite from Mesa. I've used them for a couple of years now and can achieve anything sound I require. Though truth be told, currently I only use the heads to power my cabs via the effects return for my rack set up. I'm using the fractal axe fx ii xl for all my preamp and effects now. But I do grab my trusty TS-9, g-major (which I throw in the loop), a roadster head and a cabinet whenever I go "jam" with others so I don't have to tear down my rig, and again, I can get **** near any tone desired from this awesome head. Hope this helps.
Thank you both, for the tips. It seems my issue was using far too much gain, turning it down helped quite a bit. The one thing I cannot seem to coax out of this head is having a note sustain into feedback. This is somewhat important that I figure out, because some of the songs we do as a band require it. I would prefer to achieve it without using a pedal (for one thing, I am not sure which would be best), as I find it hard to believe a head of this caliber cannot do so on its own. Any ideas?
Something tells me you would be asking the same question had you gone the Mark V route. It seems to have its own character and trying to get a specific sound may require different preamp tubes or external effects. I am happy with it as it is (tuned to my taste).
I am lurking the Rectifier series as I am waiting for a Roadster to arrive. The more I learn about setting up channels the better. I already have the cook book for setting tone for the Mark Series amps(owned a Mark III for 24 years, Mark IV for 14 so the Mark V was easy territory to some degree, the RA100 is almost a no brainer. I can't wait to explore a different tone experience with the Roadster.
I am lurking the Rectifier series as I am waiting for a Roadster to arrive. The more I learn about setting up channels the better. I already have the cook book for setting tone for the Mark Series amps(owned a Mark III for 24 years, Mark IV for 14 so the Mark V was easy territory to some degree, the RA100 is almost a no brainer. I can't wait to explore a different tone experience with the Roadster.
Oh, I like the Roadster a lot, and have been working with it quite a bit lately. It is my first Rectifer series amp, been playing a Marshall TSL for a while (which is also not a very intuitive amp to dial in, but I did figure it out fairly quick). The Roadster has so many options available, there should not be a tone I cannot achieve (that I desire). I'm getting most of my channels set the way I want, thanks to some of the hints and help, but I STILL cannot make note sing into controlled feedback. I find it quite easy to do on my 5:25 Express, just not on the Roadster. I kind of wonder if this is a tube issue - either a characteristic of the stock type tubes or due to wear. I guess if I have to push it with a pedal, I'll do so, but I really think it should happen with just the amp.
So, does anyone have ideas about notes sustaining into feedback? I can't get it to happen on this amp, without crazy volume. Is this indicative of a pending tube failure or wear? It surprises me, how QUIET this amp is when I am not playing. I can leave my guitar on a stand, plugged in, ready to go without the amp on standby at pretty moderate volume, and it's dead quiet, like noise gate maxed quiet, until I actually play or bump the strings, then it seems normal. - is it?
Something I have discovered with my RA100 which has a similar power section minus the rectifiers. Try it in 50W mode, you will get more power tube saturation and less headroom. Come to think of it, I did find it hard to get into a controlled feed back in 100W mode. I even found similar issue with the Mark V but I was able to figure that out.
I will find out sooner or later on the Roadster, of course I had to order the one with the jute face and vent. Still not in stock yet at sweetwater, they have the diamond face plate version in stock. I will wait.
Sorry I can't help you discover the secret behind the Roadster. But with my other amps, I found it also matters what guitar I am using too, some are harder to get into that singing note that lasts forever.
I will find out sooner or later on the Roadster, of course I had to order the one with the jute face and vent. Still not in stock yet at sweetwater, they have the diamond face plate version in stock. I will wait.
Sorry I can't help you discover the secret behind the Roadster. But with my other amps, I found it also matters what guitar I am using too, some are harder to get into that singing note that lasts forever.
I know it not always make sense to use some pedals when we bought an almost boutique amp... But I dont think this is completely true.
The pedals were made to help us achieving the tone we have in our heads and there is plenty of famous/good tone guitarists who rely on them constantly! If you want your notes to sustain like Gilmour or Santana, its an all conjunction of equipment.
If you run a subtle (and good) overdrive in front, it will help a lot - in a clean channel or rolling down the gain and using it with an overdrive channel. A Compressor will help with the sustain. A Delay will give consistence. A Reverb, space and ambience.
Of course you dont need to use all of them but thre's nothing wrong with using pedals for our purpose.
If you make some research on the pedalboards of well known artists you will see some pedalboards full of little helpers. The Xotic Ep Booster, for example, not just a booster - its more than that and it will give that extra juice. Just to give you a example, when I want that endless sustain I hit my Big Muff and Delay and that's it. A little reverb will help - you wont need a compressor with the Muff, it compresses the sound by itself a lot. If you dont want tap-dance, get a looper or a MIDI device!
Running away from the stomp boxes, and in my case, a tung-sol in the V1 socket helped giving attack, sustain and violin-like sound in the lead department. And less fuzz and better bass response.
The choice of pickups will also have a great influence on the overall sound. Same as the cabinet and speakers.
Just dont expect to get That tone you have in your head or in your favourite CD with "just" an amp... even a good one. The tone - your perfect tone - is a lifetime quest and is always evolving.
Hope this helps.
Good luck.
The pedals were made to help us achieving the tone we have in our heads and there is plenty of famous/good tone guitarists who rely on them constantly! If you want your notes to sustain like Gilmour or Santana, its an all conjunction of equipment.
If you run a subtle (and good) overdrive in front, it will help a lot - in a clean channel or rolling down the gain and using it with an overdrive channel. A Compressor will help with the sustain. A Delay will give consistence. A Reverb, space and ambience.
Of course you dont need to use all of them but thre's nothing wrong with using pedals for our purpose.
If you make some research on the pedalboards of well known artists you will see some pedalboards full of little helpers. The Xotic Ep Booster, for example, not just a booster - its more than that and it will give that extra juice. Just to give you a example, when I want that endless sustain I hit my Big Muff and Delay and that's it. A little reverb will help - you wont need a compressor with the Muff, it compresses the sound by itself a lot. If you dont want tap-dance, get a looper or a MIDI device!
Running away from the stomp boxes, and in my case, a tung-sol in the V1 socket helped giving attack, sustain and violin-like sound in the lead department. And less fuzz and better bass response.
The choice of pickups will also have a great influence on the overall sound. Same as the cabinet and speakers.
Just dont expect to get That tone you have in your head or in your favourite CD with "just" an amp... even a good one. The tone - your perfect tone - is a lifetime quest and is always evolving.
Hope this helps.
Good luck.
YellowJacket
Well-known member
Why buy a roadster and try to use it for 80s big hair tones?
Has anyone tried boosting channel 2 brit mode? That would be my first approach since channel 3 and 4 really do that modern low mid voiced thing.
Has anyone tried boosting channel 2 brit mode? That would be my first approach since channel 3 and 4 really do that modern low mid voiced thing.
boss4 said:
Oh, it helps, and I have been messing with various overdrives in front, and the EP Booster. Using a pedal, I can achieve what I am after. I was just hoping that an amp
Ike this would not need that. Guitars I am using have active pickups, one of which has EMG 81/89 combo - this should sing on its own.
YellowJacket said:
First off, why not? These amps could not have been made solely for the purpose of down tuned chugging or ice picky, can full of bees metal tones. They are far too versatile for that. If I am mistaken on this amp's abilities, then I will go back to my Marshall. I already have the hair band tone sorted as mentioned above, it's the controlled feedback I want, without the use of a pedal that I am seeking.
YellowJacket
Well-known member
That's great you got a tone you wanted out of the Roadster, they are versatile. Personally, I fought with my Recto for years trying to get a certain sound out of it. Speakers, speaker cabs, guitars, pickups, tubes... Eventually I thought "Why am I wasting so much money on this?" and I ended up getting a different amp to get those exact tones. I still have the Recto and I use it for what it does best.
(Why try and get Strat tones out of a Les Paul, just get a Strat)
(Why try and get Strat tones out of a Les Paul, just get a Strat)
I have my channel three knobs set at 11 - 11 - 12 - 1 - 3 - 2 (o'clock), spongy, 50 watt, Raw and it works pretty well for that kind of "hot marshall" type tones.
I use the second channel for brighter/lighter gain on the Brit setting with the gain turned way up. That one is more like 10-9-5-3-1-3 (o'clock)
If you don't like the voicing on channel 3, try running channel 4 for your 80's tone. It's a lot brighter than channel three and you should be able to find what you want somewhere in the "raw" world on that channel. Channel 3 will do the uber-heavy stuff well, you will just have to crank the presence a lot higher to match what you currently have on channel 4.
I use the second channel for brighter/lighter gain on the Brit setting with the gain turned way up. That one is more like 10-9-5-3-1-3 (o'clock)
If you don't like the voicing on channel 3, try running channel 4 for your 80's tone. It's a lot brighter than channel three and you should be able to find what you want somewhere in the "raw" world on that channel. Channel 3 will do the uber-heavy stuff well, you will just have to crank the presence a lot higher to match what you currently have on channel 4.
Chadd said:
I think some of you are missing my current point ( thanks for the setting tips anyways). The voicing and tones are no longer much of an issue. It is an issue trying to get controlled feedback, singing sustain out of this amp on any channel. I am at the point where I feel a tube change has become mandatory before anything else.
YellowJacket
Well-known member
Tung Sol in V1. My recto was sounding absolutely CRUSHING at rehearsal today. It was wonderful!
Yes, there is such a thing as too much guitar gear even if most here won't admit it. I have two tube amps, a 1 x 12, a 2 x 12, and 3 fairly different electric guitars. I have tonnes of tones to keep me entertained, which is a good thing!
Yes, there is such a thing as too much guitar gear even if most here won't admit it. I have two tube amps, a 1 x 12, a 2 x 12, and 3 fairly different electric guitars. I have tonnes of tones to keep me entertained, which is a good thing!
I tried swapping some tubes around in mine but came back to the Mesa branded Chinese tubes in the cathode follower positions with Mesa Russians in the other positions. It did not like the Russians in the follower positions, huge drop in volume with the Russians there. With those tubes I have no problems at all getting feedback or long sustain with any of my (medium output) humbucker equipped guitars on channels 3 or 4.royslead said:
Some of the preamp tubes I tried:
Sovtek, EH, Tung Sol, old Phillips, JJ, Mesa
