RK II V1 vs RK II V2

Road King II V1 vs Road King II V2

Does anyone know the difference?

I just found out yesterday that there are 2 versions for the RK Series 2.

:!:

Like gm said, the only difference is that they've given you a tuner out and mute in place of the external triggers. I have an RKII v. 1. I prefer having the external switches. Most folks have a pedal or two that have tuner outs. I don't need a tuner out on a $2700 head.

guitarmaster said:

Bruceta, you're surely the guy who posted this video on youtube :


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEWA1Cscbmw


My compliments, you're a real good guitar player (Road King sounds better "live" than in a video), but are you one of the guitarists from the heavy/power metal band Vodu ??????

The Final Conflict
Seeds Of Destruction
No Way EP
Endless Trip




Now the differences between RKII V.1 and RK II V.2 :


You can read this review :

http://www.musicplayers.com/reviews/guitars/2006/0906_MesaBoogieRoadKing.php


Mesa added a Mute/Tuner output in v.2 and removed the External trigger jack of v.1 .They also revoiced some of the channels when they switched from Series I to the Series II. Series II has a much better clean and brit modes.

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guitarmaster,
Thank you very much for the precise answer and I do appreciate your compliments!
And yes, I am one of Vodu guitar players. Our website, www.voduband.com has just been released but unfortunately the English version of the site is under construction.

If you have interest, you can download a new (2007) Demo recording of the band here: http://www.voduband.com/media.asp

Thank you very much again for all the help and for your nice comment!

I love Mesa Road King and I am seriously considering getting a RK Series II.


CudBucket,
Thank you very much for the help!

:!:

If you read my in-depth review of the Road King II, it highlights all the differences between the version I and II, and also the differences with the Roadster:

http://www.musicplayers.com/reviews/guitars/2006/0906_MesaBoogieRoadKing.php

Scott

scottkahn said:

If you read my in-depth review of the Road King II, it highlights all the differences between the version I and II, and also the differences with the Roadster:

http://www.musicplayers.com/reviews/guitars/2006/0906_MesaBoogieRoadKing.php

Scott

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Scott,
Very good article! Congrats!

Thank you very much for making me aware of it.

My pleasure. The RK II is definitely the ruler of the Boogie universe in my mind.

guitarmaster, scottkahn,

I could not resist. Mine is ordered!

Thank you again guys!

You will truly be amazed by the amp.

And if you find yourself tired of the heavy recto tone, flip the SAG switch on the rear, change a couple of the other settings, and transform the Road King II into a vintage monster. It's really the most versatile all-tube amp ever made.

What are you going to use for speakers? Remember, it can do cabinet switching on a per channel basis, so one cool thing to do is get a 2x12 closed back and a 2x12 open back, or maybe one cab with V30s and another with G12T75 speakers and use them alone, or together (like a 4x12) on different channels.

I would download the manual now from the Boogie website and start reading it. There is so much to the amp, and there's a ton of great advice in the manual, but it can't be digested in one sitting. Start now, and when your amp arrives, you'll have a good idea how you want to start messing with it.

Scott

+1 on the SAG/50Watt 'Spongy' setting!! I haven't really dialed in the BOLD 100Watt mode yet because I'm so thrilled with the sounds I get on 50W.

yeah, spongy mode is like an entirely different, gorgeous sounding amp... and the character is significantly different. If only there were a way to provide spongy/bold switching on a per-channel basis. THAT would be even more incredible, but then I'd need a few more channels... 4 just isn't enough with this amp .

So I am digging up this ancient thread!
I had a RK I, but I sold it because it was a very early one and strange behaving sometimes. It sounded great thou. I have been thinking about RK II, but apart from the clean channels:

Is the build and reliability on RK II that much better than RK I ?

I read somewhere that the circuit board was updated.
You know, in theory I could stumble upon a mint, "babied" RK I for say 1500$ or a gigged and bit neglected RK II for over one grand more...
Reliability is what I look for.

norskmetall said:

So I am digging up this ancient thread!
I had a RK I, but I sold it because it was a very early one and strange behaving sometimes. It sounded great thou. I have been thinking about RK II, but apart from the clean channels:

Is the build and reliability on RK II that much better than RK I ?

I read somewhere that the circuit board was updated.
You know, in theory I could stumble upon a mint, "babied" RK I for say 1500$ or a gigged and bit neglected RK II for over one grand more...
Reliability is what I look for.

Click to expand...

The early RK I's did have issues that were addressed in recalls, after that they were solid work horses and reliable as any other Mesa. I still currently own my RK I and besides the reverb dyeing I have never had any other issues with it.

I believe the RK II's are just as reliable but I have not played one or know anyone that owns one so I cant tell you much on them.

Suddenly I had good luck and managed to grab a mint RKII at a very nice price!
thanks for your help!

Unfortunately, resale value on the RKII is not as much as you would expect. The main reason is because you can get a Roadster for around $1500 and this drives the RKII price down. On the other hand, that makes it super affordable to get a used RKII around $1600-1800. I bought mine brand new, custom tolex and diamondplate and I think the technology on there is worth the $2750 entry fee. Not too many companies make an amp with such complexity and diversity in such a nice package. In fact, there still isn't anything like it. Plus, the Tweed mode is my favorite clean sound of all time. I love the option of using EL34's too! The RKII reminds me of a Tremoverb (had one and sold it when I found out that my RKII sounded essentially the same).

Unfortunately, resale value on the RKII is not as much as you would expect. The main reason is because you can get a Roadster for around $1500 and this drives the RKII price down. On the other hand, that makes it super affordable to get a used RKII around $1600-1800. I bought mine brand new, custom tolex and diamondplate and I think the technology on there is worth the $2750 entry fee. Not too many companies make an amp with such complexity and diversity in such a nice package. In fact, there still isn't anything like it. Plus, the Tweed mode is my favorite clean sound of all time. I love the option of using EL34's too! The RKII reminds me of a Tremoverb (had one and sold it when I found out that my RKII sounded essentially the same).