Have a Roadster Combo on its way!

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NeveSSL

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Can't wait!

I've owned a recto 4x12 about 10 years ago (Good grief... has it really been that long ago!?) and have just purchased a Roadster combo. I'd prefer the head, but got a great deal on this one and if I like the way it sounds enough, may even sell my Bogner 2x12.

I've been reading through the manual (it amazes me how complex this amp is) and watching every YouTube video I can. Decided to join this forum since I'm sure I'll have some questions best answered here.

I'll post up some pics once it arrives. Should be shipping out today... I suspect I'll have it on Monday or Tuesday most likely. Maybe Friday if I'm lucky, but I'm not counting on it.

Tips and advice are much appreciated! Right now I'm planning on plugging in, setting the controls to noon, and going from there for each channel and mode once it arrives.

The one question I do have, now that I think about it, is are there any particular pedals you guys are using in front of the Roadster that it really likes for any particular sounds? Thinking about picking up a Maxon 808 to use. I've also got a Crunch Box, but I suspect it will be sold after I get this amp. :)

Brandon
 
Pedals: Mesa Tone Burst, Grid Slammer, and Flux Drive. I use all 3 and stack them. A good compression pedal is a good thing to have. All pedals are subjective based on taste and amp, but in this case we have the same amp. I really like those pedals shaped to taste. The tone burst is basically and always on pedal for me on any channel of the amp and its eq settings are very useful when switching to different types of guitars without having to do much tweaking on the amp itself.

Experiment with rectifier vs diode as well as 50 vs 100 watts. You can really fine tune your sound with those switches and the preamp switches on each channel.
 
Awesome. Thanks, cave man.

I also scored an Amp Gizmo with the Mesa Roadster cable for $50 today! Pretty stoked about that, especially since this one doesn't have a footswitch... Lol

Brandon
 
Welcome to Roadster family :)
This amp is very versatile but... very NON-user friendly. Read the manual CAREFULLY and FIRST try Mesa suggested settings.
I suggest a good compressor pedal (eg. Carl Martin) for clean sounds.
 
Thanks, I will! I am hoping to maybe find some blank face plates to make a record of different settings I like, too. Hmmm... I wish I was a developer... that would be a cool app.

Brandon
 
Thanks! I am very excited. My wife is actually excited, too. Haha!

I was one of the kids around 2000 that all of his favorite bands were using a rectifier, so this is something I've wanted for a long time. I'm glad I'm finally getting the opportunity to grab one. And I'm really glad its the Roadster, too. Perfect amp for what I want to do... covers a LOT of ground really well. It's a little bit like my old Hughes and Kettner Triamp, which was also a wonderful amp, but it's more flexible. It comes in tomorrow.

Brandon
 
Same here NeveSSL. I turned 18 in the year 2000 when these amps where in their prime, and got hooked forever on the sound. Something about how it sounds like it's shredding the air into pieces when going full bore. (Not that it's the only thing it's good for). I use mine for playing along with my favorite songs from that era, but also use it regularly for playing at church, so it is a very versatile amp. Enjoy yours!
 
I have one and only one pre-requisite with this amp, go though the manual. Definitely use the recommended settings to start with as they are very helpful. I have been a Mark amp guy since 1989 and played through only Mark series amps (III, IV, and V) before I got my Roadster. Controls are not as intuitive as I thought but the amp is not all that hard to dial in. Having a good understanding of how each channel interacts with its tone controls and gain characteristics.

My favorite: CH1 in Tweed. So that is what it is supposed to sound like. Of course CH1 or CH2 Fat mod is good too. However on my dark side of the tone fence, I live in CH4 Modern most of the time (hint, a lower gain setting will brighten up the amp at higher volume levels). Note that the Modern, vintage and raw has an effect on the volume of the channel so adjust the master for the channel to compensate. This is one awesome amp. I have the head version.

Note: If you like to tube roll, there are two tube positions that have cathode follower circuits V3 and V5 so you are limited what you can used there. Mesa tubes will be great and will last a long time.

Enjoy your new amp when you get it.
 
Thanks, Bandit! I've gone through it a little bit. Need to really spend time in each channel. I've been traveling for work and family both lately and haven't been able to spend asuch time with it as I want. Should be able to spend some time with it soon, though. Thanks for the post!

Brandon
 
NeveSSL said:
Awesome. Thanks, cave man.

I also scored an Amp Gizmo with the Mesa Roadster cable for $50 today! Pretty stoked about that, especially since this one doesn't have a footswitch... Lol

Brandon

No footswitch? Did it come with the casters at least? If you decide to keep the amp you may still be able to get one though mesa customer service.
 
Yeah, it did come with the casters. I could have ordered one through Mesa, but as I mentioned earlier, I ended up getting an Amp Gizmo and Mesa cable for cheap and then also got a Ground Control Pro for cheap, so I was using those. :)

I sold it last night, though. :( I just like the Marshall a lot better, I'm sad to say.

Brandon
 
Yeah I saw your other post on that. As is the case with any guitar amp, they may not fit your desires. Over the years I had fount that one amp will not satisfy all desires. I have a few that are similar and some different. I have two amps that are not Mesa products, one is my Bass rig and the other is a Carvin practice amp I keep at a friends house so I do not have to carry the dang thing all time.

I did go out searching for a JVM410 to play though as I always wanted to try one out. The nearest guitar shop or music store that would even carry that amp is 100 mile drive. I generally do not go shopping for gear much in stores anymore. When it comes to amps, that is something that needs to be tried out in person with one of your own personal guitars if needed. NC on the east coast seems to be the same old story...."we do not carry those particular models. we can special order one for you if you are wiling to buy it" To me that is a no-sale comment. If they do not want to carry the good stuff why should I return? Unfortunately the GC within a 2 hour drive are satellite stores and do not have the ideal stuff. They carry Marshall as to a few other places but they are generally the low end products. Typical thought why did I move here again? Oh yeah... it was the job, I need that...
 
Haha! Yeah, when I played through the JVM, everything changed. It had the sounds I was trying to get out of the Roadster without even trying.

Funny you mention NC... It's on our list of possibilities for when we are done in Middle TN, but we are looking at the Western coast of the state. ;)

Brandon
 
Yeah, there is more life on the west side of NC. On the East side it is mostly farm land, only benefit is I am closer to the beach than I am to any huge city..... and the hurricanes when they come but far enough inland to be able to survive most landfalls onto NC without having to evacuate. Raleigh is the closest city that at least has a Guitar Center and Sam ash. Nothing else. :cry: It is not totally a loss, there are a few other places that may still be open for business but may require advanced notice or reservation to enter or they do not have hours open on weekends. Weird, huh? Where I used to live I was less than 45 minutes from any guitar shop or large music center. Now I have to drive a minimum of 100 miles to the closest satellite GC that has nothing of interest, seems like more used gear than anything, same with Sam Ash. The plus side to that, I picked up a mint (practically new) Kiesel (aka Carvin) DC600 with acoustic saddles on a Floyd Rose bridge that was way to hard to walk away from. Holly crap is that guitar amazing

Nashville TN is probably a better place of opportunity. At least there is growth in that part of the state. Where I am at it is all recession and lack of supporting companies to grow the local economy. Perhaps the West side of the Carolinas may be more thriving.... I have been in Asheville, definitely more civilization there. Where I am at seems like the entire region is in poverty. Too bad too.
 
Yeah, we are looking just west of Asheville. Maybe Waynesville, somewhere around there. It seems to be a fairly thriving area, just like Nashville is. Our property values have skyrocketed over the last 3 years. Our city councilman told us there are 50 people a day moving to Nashville. Craziness.

Brandon
 
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