Roadster owners - please give your honest opinion

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Apophis

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Please all Roadster owners give honest opinion about Roadster reliability.

I'm reading this forum all the time and I really want to buy Roadster, it is awesome sounding amo, just like I always wanted. But reading all topics I see many things broken in all Rectifiers, many of them can be fixed by easy tube replace, but sometimes amp stopped responding without any sign of life :)
Is Roadster reliable?? It's almost top line/most expensive Mesa amp and I think it should be.
Living in Poland I have to pay almost 3000$ for Roadster and in that price I just can have all amps expensive in US like Diezel, ENGL etc, but those not my dream sound like Mesa, but when I have to pay such amount of money I need that amp to be reliable as much possible. Also I have read a lot about Rivera amps, where its reliablity is the best in market I thinki, I found none complains about that amp minus broken tubes.

So please share your thoughts
Thanks in advance
 
I hope you can try one before you buy it.

Ive had one that I bought used a yr ago and Ive had no problems with it.

On a tonal note, it is a finicky spikey sounding amp to my ears. It takes a lot of tweaking to get a good tone out of it. It is a very heavy amp, the heaviest combo Ive ever had. I have a few amps at my disposal and lately I havent been using it, but as far as reliability Ive had no issues.

Once again for that kinda money it would be good if you could try one out before you bought it.
 
yeah, I tried one and I'm sure that it's something I just have to have :twisted: I also tried many Engls, Riveras etc, but it's not my pair of shoes 8)

I look for midrange heavy, dark sounding amp, so to my ears Roadster is just perfect. Engls are to bright, yeah Engls are tight as hell, but stiil to bright. Riveras are ok, but bass is beyond my control, also Rivera lacks midrange to my ears, at least frequencies I like.

I really heard a horror stories how Mesa unreliable is, so I ask you :)
 
Mesa makes some of the most reliable equipment I've ever owned. I've had a bunch of different Boogies and I am currently rocking a Roadster 2x12 combo. I've never encountered problems with any of my Boogie gear.
 
yeah, that is awesome, but still even this board is full of topics with all kind of Mesa gear problems, most of them are not Roadster related, but still rectifier series, so maybe there are not so many Roadster users, cause it's almost the most expensive Mesa amp??
 
I've owed two Rectifiers, a Roadster, a Mark IV, and two Stilettos...only had a small problem with one stiletto which Mesa quickly fixed.

All the others have been ROCK solid.

By the way, I'm Polish aswell....live in the US though. Nice to see you on the board! I assume you speak the language?

Eric
 
Apophis said:
yeah, that is awesome, but still even this board is full of topics with all kind of Mesa gear problems, most of them are not Roadster related, but still rectifier series, so maybe there are not so many Roadster users, cause it's almost the most expensive Mesa amp??
Click to expand...

Well consider how many Mesa amps are out there compared to the number of problems that you've read about. Most amp problems are normally tube related and if they are not, Mesa has excellent customer service and they back their products very well. Not many other amp companies are giving you a 5 year transferable warranty!
 
I'm rocking a 2x12 Dual Rec Roadster... and it is a tone monster... only 1 complaint... the weight! :mrgreen:
 
ibanez4life SZ! said:
I've owed two Rectifiers, a Roadster, a Mark IV, and two Stilettos...only had a small problem with one stiletto which Mesa quickly fixed.

All the others have been ROCK solid.

By the way, I'm Polish aswell....live in the US though. Nice to see you on the board! I assume you speak the language?

Eric
Click to expand...

that's awesome :)


LithiumZero said:
Apophis said:
yeah, that is awesome, but still even this board is full of topics with all kind of Mesa gear problems, most of them are not Roadster related, but still rectifier series, so maybe there are not so many Roadster users, cause it's almost the most expensive Mesa amp??
Click to expand...

Well consider how many Mesa amps are out there compared to the number of problems that you've read about. Most amp problems are normally tube related and if they are not, Mesa has excellent customer service and they back their products very well. Not many other amp companies are giving you a 5 year transferable warranty!
Click to expand...

yeah, that\s true, but here in Poland we have ONLY 2 year warranty, nothing more, what really sucks :?
 
Yay now we have a total of 3 Polish guys on the board. In all honesty I wouldn't worry about reliability even with only a 2 year warranty. If anything is going to go wrong its most likely going to show up within that time and if anyone disagrees then by all means correct me. I got a Mark 4 from Eric and the thing is a beast. I've been checking out other amp companies but for the price mesa is where I'll most likely be forever. Splawn is pretty much the only thing catching my eye lately. How much is a Diezel over in Poland ?
 
I have had a number of great amps. A number of these have been mesa boogie. I have yet to own a crappy boogie. Each boogie I have played has fulfilled it's "niche" perfectly. Every boogie does have it's Niche. Take the triple for example. The triple, although sounds like a dual, when you have all 6 tubes just screaming, it's nothing like a screaming dual.

So, you have to really look at what you need to get out of an amp, and try and match an amp up to those needs. Now, that being said, do not shoot for the moon. You have to be realistic in what your expectations are.

So, why did I buy a roadster? Simply because I play in a live cover band. This band does everything from The Marshall Tucker Band, to Collective soul to cream and nickleback. I cannot get away with a 2-channel amp unless I start buying pedals (I hate pedals). The roadster gives me a good clean, a vintage twangy overdrive sound, a over the top modern sound and a great heavy sound. I can coax a ton of great lead sounds out of it too. The tweed and brit sounds are the bread and butter of this amp IMHO. The vintage/modern modes are pretty much your standard recto (3ch) sound. The tween and brit modes give you that in-between brownish/real vintage vibe which is really useful.

When I first bought the amp, I spent most of my time in channel 3 vintage. Then I moved to Channel 4. It was a whole month before I started exploring channel 1 and 2. When I did get into these channels and the different modes, I was truly shocked at the real diversity of this amp.

I guess if you are into brutal distortion, you may not be that impressed with the roadster. If you feel that the 3ch rectos have a "flabby or Loose" bottom end, or lack tightness and definition, you might not be impressed with the roadster. If you use it for the reasons it was built, you will be in awe of it's ability. Not only does it truly deserve the recto badge, but it's also a totally different amp, if you know what I mean.

BTW, I have no clue why people think this amp is loose and flabby... LOL... I guess there expectations are a bit off?? Maybe they listen to albums and wonder how they get that heavily processed sound?
 
keep in mind you see lots of "issue" posts because when things are working properly, you're most likely NOT going to post to ask for help. I have had my Roadster for 2+ years and has never had any issues at all.
 
katsumura78 said:
Yay now we have a total of 3 Polish guys on the board. In all honesty I wouldn't worry about reliability even with only a 2 year warranty. If anything is going to go wrong its most likely going to show up within that time and if anyone disagrees then by all means correct me. I got a Mark 4 from Eric and the thing is a beast. I've been checking out other amp companies but for the price mesa is where I'll most likely be forever. Splawn is pretty much the only thing catching my eye lately. How much is a Diezel over in Poland ?
Click to expand...

wow, only 3 of us :)
and I also consider Mesa Mark IV as my possible choice, but Roadster is much more versatile I think.
You asked about Diezel in Poland. The most expensive Diezel cost the same as Roadking, everything below VH4S is less expensive, priced like a Roadster. But I don't like Diezel sound, yeah it's hi-fi like, but to bright for my taste


pokerrules47 said:
I have had a number of great amps. A number of these have been mesa boogie. I have yet to own a crappy boogie. Each boogie I have played has fulfilled it's "niche" perfectly. Every boogie does have it's Niche. Take the triple for example. The triple, although sounds like a dual, when you have all 6 tubes just screaming, it's nothing like a screaming dual.

So, you have to really look at what you need to get out of an amp, and try and match an amp up to those needs. Now, that being said, do not shoot for the moon. You have to be realistic in what your expectations are.

So, why did I buy a roadster? Simply because I play in a live cover band. This band does everything from The Marshall Tucker Band, to Collective soul to cream and nickleback. I cannot get away with a 2-channel amp unless I start buying pedals (I hate pedals). The roadster gives me a good clean, a vintage twangy overdrive sound, a over the top modern sound and a great heavy sound. I can coax a ton of great lead sounds out of it too. The tweed and brit sounds are the bread and butter of this amp IMHO. The vintage/modern modes are pretty much your standard recto (3ch) sound. The tween and brit modes give you that in-between brownish/real vintage vibe which is really useful.

When I first bought the amp, I spent most of my time in channel 3 vintage. Then I moved to Channel 4. It was a whole month before I started exploring channel 1 and 2. When I did get into these channels and the different modes, I was truly shocked at the real diversity of this amp.

I guess if you are into brutal distortion, you may not be that impressed with the roadster. If you feel that the 3ch rectos have a "flabby or Loose" bottom end, or lack tightness and definition, you might not be impressed with the roadster. If you use it for the reasons it was built, you will be in awe of it's ability. Not only does it truly deserve the recto badge, but it's also a totally different amp, if you know what I mean.

BTW, I have no clue why people think this amp is loose and flabby... LOL... I guess there expectations are a bit off?? Maybe they listen to albums and wonder how they get that heavily processed sound?
Click to expand...

Thanks for tips :)
I'm not into brutal distortion at all, I don't play tight rhythm guitar only (for that ENGL is better imo), mainly I'm lead player, my style is based the most on sweep picking and quick runs, something like mix of Malmsteen and Petrucci, but I prefer liquid/dark/smooth type of distortion in my solos.
That's why I started to consider Mark IV as an option, cause if I'm more lead that rhythm player maybe it will be even better option??
 
cause if I'm more lead that rhythm player maybe it will be even better option??
Click to expand...

For lead playing, a Mark or Stiletto is the way to go, but very nice lead tones can be coaxed out of a Roadster. You will want to look into a boost and EQ as well IMHO.
 
I have had mine for a year and I am quite happy with it. I have the 4x12 recto cab (slant) and for the record it isn't flubby/muddy. Although I don't over saturate my tone with gain...hint. I also have a 4ohm cab that I find sounds a little better with this amp.

Be advised though...This amp requires allot tweaking to get 'your' tone. If you are into plug and play, I would say get yourself a Stiletto (sp?). Once you get your Eq they way you like it, write it down, those pots move easily.
 
Thanks for the tip :)
But Stiletto is not my sound at all, it's to my ears more Marshall sounding and I just hate Marshall sound :)
 
I've owned both a Mark IV and a Roadster which I still have. The Mark IV is a lead players wet dream! If you're primarily a lead guitarist then I would recommend the Mark over the Roadster.
 
I've had mine over a yr and a half and I love it. I've noticed some volume issues sometimes but I just the tubes warm up a bit longer - no issue. Sounds fantastic too! Best amp I have ever owned.
 

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