from mark iv to road king 2

hello all,

short story, i sold my mark iv and i was going to buy a used road king 2, hoping to get a better clean, crunch and heavy rhythm tone.(Seem to fit my style a little more anyway) My only worries now is more of a well know problem, one thats been discuss probably way too much, but still I'm going to ask this question again.

-When playing live with a road king, is there a problem with the pop sound while switching channel? Is it noticeable at gig volume? Cause so far its probably the only thing thats keeping me from buying the road king.

Thanks

nault.jama said:

hello all,

short story, i sold my mark iv and i was going to buy a used road king 2, hoping to get a better clean, crunch and heavy rhythm tone.(Seem to fit my style a little more anyway) My only worries now is more of a well know problem, one thats been discuss probably way too much, but still I'm going to ask this question again.

-When playing live with a road king, is there a problem with the pop sound while switching channel? Is it noticeable at gig volume? Cause so far its probably the only thing thats keeping me from buying the road king.

Thanks

Click to expand...

I own a Roadster (a RKII without Progressive Linkage or cab switching), and have been gigging it steady for almost 10 years now. As long as I do the 'footswitch shuffle' right before playing I have no popping at all at gig volume (at bedroom volume the amp almost always 'pops').

Footswitch Shuffle:
1) While the amp is still in standby, cycle through all the channels twice, ending on the orange channel.
2) Take the amp out of standby while still on the orange channel, and cycle through the channels once again.
3) Amp should now switch without popping at gig volumes.

For my Roadster I switch 1-2-3-4-3-1-2-3-4-3, out of standby, 1-2-3-4.

HTH,
Dom

The pop thing is something I will be able to live with I guess, even though its a bit frustrating.

Now is there any of you who regret buying the roadking/roadster because of that?

Out of curiosity, how many of you would do the switch from mark iv to road king if say, your playing mostly modern rock alternative. Sometime old school rock. No metal. Couple of songs like morning star (viny moore) and some andy Timmons stuff. but mostly modern rock. I haven't tried out the roadking yet , and I will only be able to do so once I sell the mark (who is in theory already sold for 1500) What im trying to say is I can still back from all of this and keep the IV. **** I just don't want to regret...lol

The main reason I want to do the trade is that im looking for a lot of versatility at my feet. The roadking seem to offer that and then more. The mark is very versatile as well but not so much at your feet, with its limited channel 2.

Also, how would a roadking do to cover Disturbed tone? Disturbed is one thing we are starting to play more and more...

nault.jama said:

The pop thing is something I will be able to live with I guess, even though its a bit frustrating.

Now is there any of you who regret buying the roadking/roadster because of that?

Out of curiosity, how many of you would do the switch from mark iv to road king if say, your playing mostly modern rock alternative. Sometime old school rock. No metal. Couple of songs like morning star (viny moore) and some andy Timmons stuff. but mostly modern rock. I haven't tried out the roadking yet , and I will only be able to do so once I sell the mark (who is in theory already sold for 1500) What im trying to say is I can still back from all of this and keep the IV. **** I just don't want to regret...lol

The main reason I want to do the trade is that im looking for a lot of versatility at my feet. The roadking seem to offer that and then more. The mark is very versatile as well but not so much at your feet, with its limited channel 2.

Click to expand...

Well, don't fear about the popping, not a big deal really (have a Roadster and with the tap dance previously mentioned 0 problems at any level).

Regarding tone... give yourself a treat and watch some YT videos, there are plenty. If you like the vibe, go for it, if you don't, don't even bother. The amp is the most versatile Mesa has ever produced.

Things I don't like about mine...

- Soloing is not it's strength (usually fixed with a boost).
- Not the best amp for low (bedroom type) volumes, neither the worst.
- Fizz (you will get used to it in most cases).

Everything else is golden... Love mine!

Two points from a RKII owner...

Channel switch popping: yes, sometimes you get those pops even after the 'tap dance'. Especially when you're using EL34s on one channel and 6L6s on the other. This is obviously different from a Roadster since you cannot do that on a Roadster. I know some players hit the mute switch on a Road King before switching channels but that is not always feasible, at least in the middle of a song.

Fizz: The key to defeating fizz is in your volume knobs. All of them. the channel Masters, the Output knob, even the FX loop volume knob. Certain combinations of these knobs produce significantly more (or less) fizz than the others. Find the combination that works for you. Also, if you crank Presence and Treble, that tends to underline and emphasize fizz, if present in your sound - so turn them down a bit.
Sometimes simply increasing your overall volume helps, but that is not a given. I have experienced cases where the fizz became apparent only at band volume.