Mark V or Roadster for my needs

I am putting money down on an amp tomorrow but am having a hard time deciding. I used to own a roadster put recently parted with it. I couldn't get any lead tones out of it that I could bond with. On the other hand for what it is , I really enjoy the amp. Would any pedals help me achieve an outstanding lead tone with the roadster, or should I go with the Mark V? What really draws me to the Mark
V is the options. I am mainly a bedroom guitarist so the option to go from a full sized amp, to a 10 watt bedroom level amp is a great feature. Also the wide array of great tones that can be achieved. Only downside is that it obviously can't achieve the low mids of a rectifier. Looking for some personal opinions here or some advice.

carvinx said:

I am putting money down on an amp tomorrow but am having a hard time deciding. I used to own a roadster put recently parted with it. I couldn't get any lead tones out of it that I could bond with. On the other hand for what it is , I really enjoy the amp. Would any pedals help me achieve an outstanding lead tone with the roadster, or should I go with the Mark V? What really draws me to the Mark
V is the options. I am mainly a bedroom guitarist so the option to go from a full sized amp, to a 10 watt bedroom level amp is a great feature. Also the wide array of great tones that can be achieved. Only downside is that it obviously can't achieve the low mids of a rectifier. Looking for some personal opinions here or some advice.

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Might need a bit more information, as lead is only about 5% of a song I would worry more about your rhythm tone. So give us more details of style of music, where you using an OD to boost the roadster? I get great leads with my RK with a Tube Screamer.

I tend to play the most heaviest styles of music. I use alot of dissonant chords and interval structures as well as heavy riffs. At the same time i do dabble into many different styles and like to try new things. I was not using an overdrive pedal for my roadster and did not realize it would enhance my lead tone. For alot of the more technical riffs and solos, I do prefer a tight tone over the recto tone which in my opinion is not as appealing. Compared to the EVH 5153 I have, it does not stand up to the lead tones I am getting out of it, however I am returning the EVH to either get the roadster again or the Mark V. The shared crunch/clean channel is a total bummer to me and I was rather impulsive for getting it. I'm assuming the Mark could get a similar tight tone that the EVH has, but with it's own twist. Again I am not knocking the Roadster because I do very much enjoy the sheer brutality of the Recto tone. It's really a hard decision because both amps are amazing. The price of the Roadster is certainly more appealing to me than the Mark V, however for my current situation (bedroom playing, in an appartment) the multi watt system of the Mark V is more suitable for my needs. A mini recto/mark are out of the question. This will be my main amp.

I've owned both and they both offer fantastic tones. But I think the question really lies with whether you can get use to not having the low mids you refer to. The Mark V is amazing and lead wise it wins hands down. You don't need a boost to get there. It also tracks amazing fast and therefore is incredibly tight if you want it to be. And as you said, being able to go down to 10 watts is very nice, plus it still sounds good at that level. It's just an incredibly versatile, great sounding amp period. But...it's not a Recto.
Now, with all that said, I don't say any of it to take away from the Roadster. That amp is just as amazing sounding and versatile. It may not be able to hit 10 watts, but it has four channels, not three. It also has that incredible Recto roar. Lead wise, as siggy14 said all you need is a tube screamer in front and you instantly have fantastic sounding leads. It doesn't take much as the Roadster is ALMOST there already. It just needs a very slight boost over the edge. And as an added bonus, it tightens up the amp a bit as well. You can't go wrong really. So...just ask yourself what it most important to you tonally. Hope this helps.

Daxman73 said:

I've owned both and they both offer fantastic tones. But I think the question really lies with whether you can get use to not having the low mids you refer to. The Mark V is amazing and lead wise it wins hands down. You don't need a boost to get there. It also tracks amazing fast and therefore is incredibly tight if you want it to be. And as you said, being able to go down to 10 watts is very nice, plus it still sounds good at that level. It's just an incredibly versatile, great sounding amp period. But...it's not a Recto.
Now, with all that said, I don't say any of it to take away from the Roadster. That amp is just as amazing sounding and versatile. It may not be able to hit 10 watts, but it has four channels, not three. It also has that incredible Recto roar. Lead wise, as siggy14 said all you need is a tube screamer in front and you instantly have fantastic sounding leads. It doesn't take much as the Roadster is ALMOST there already. It just needs a very slight boost over the edge. And as an added bonus, it tightens up the amp a bit as well. You can't go wrong really. So...just ask yourself what it most important to you tonally. Hope this helps.

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I am going with the Mark V. I may get a Roadster or recto down the line, but just can't pass up on the Mark since it pretty much has it all. After watching some Mark demos last night, I easily made my mind up. For what I need atm, the mark should be more than suffice.

The graphic EQ on the Mark five gives you more options. As for songs being 95% rhythm 5% leads, not the kind of music I play, it is basically the opposite, so maybe that's why they call me markedman!

carvinx said:

Daxman73 said:

I've owned both and they both offer fantastic tones. But I think the question really lies with whether you can get use to not having the low mids you refer to. The Mark V is amazing and lead wise it wins hands down. You don't need a boost to get there. It also tracks amazing fast and therefore is incredibly tight if you want it to be. And as you said, being able to go down to 10 watts is very nice, plus it still sounds good at that level. It's just an incredibly versatile, great sounding amp period. But...it's not a Recto.
Now, with all that said, I don't say any of it to take away from the Roadster. That amp is just as amazing sounding and versatile. It may not be able to hit 10 watts, but it has four channels, not three. It also has that incredible Recto roar. Lead wise, as siggy14 said all you need is a tube screamer in front and you instantly have fantastic sounding leads. It doesn't take much as the Roadster is ALMOST there already. It just needs a very slight boost over the edge. And as an added bonus, it tightens up the amp a bit as well. You can't go wrong really. So...just ask yourself what it most important to you tonally. Hope this helps.

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I am going with the Mark V. I may get a Roadster or recto down the line, but just can't pass up on the Mark since it pretty much has it all. After watching some Mark demos last night, I easily made my mind up. For what I need atm, the mark should be more than suffice.

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Just remember youtube tones and what you get are two different things, for Modern music the Roadster wins hands down.

FYI have you ever thought of going used? You could have the best of both words, a 2 channel recto which you can get used for $800 to $900, sometimes even cheaper if you wait around, and a used Mark IV for about $1k. Those two alone would be cheaper then purchasing one of the others new and if you ask me they both sound better, the Mark V is a great amp, but for the Mark IV tone well the Mark IV just blows it away.

siggy14 said:

carvinx said:

Daxman73 said:

I've owned both and they both offer fantastic tones. But I think the question really lies with whether you can get use to not having the low mids you refer to. The Mark V is amazing and lead wise it wins hands down. You don't need a boost to get there. It also tracks amazing fast and therefore is incredibly tight if you want it to be. And as you said, being able to go down to 10 watts is very nice, plus it still sounds good at that level. It's just an incredibly versatile, great sounding amp period. But...it's not a Recto.
Now, with all that said, I don't say any of it to take away from the Roadster. That amp is just as amazing sounding and versatile. It may not be able to hit 10 watts, but it has four channels, not three. It also has that incredible Recto roar. Lead wise, as siggy14 said all you need is a tube screamer in front and you instantly have fantastic sounding leads. It doesn't take much as the Roadster is ALMOST there already. It just needs a very slight boost over the edge. And as an added bonus, it tightens up the amp a bit as well. You can't go wrong really. So...just ask yourself what it most important to you tonally. Hope this helps.

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I am going with the Mark V. I may get a Roadster or recto down the line, but just can't pass up on the Mark since it pretty much has it all. After watching some Mark demos last night, I easily made my mind up. For what I need atm, the mark should be more than suffice.

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Just remember youtube tones and what you get are two different things, for Modern music the Roadster wins hands down.

FYI have you ever thought of going used? You could have the best of both words, a 2 channel recto which you can get used for $800 to $900, sometimes even cheaper if you wait around, and a used Mark IV for about $1k. Those two alone would be cheaper then purchasing one of the others new and if you ask me they both sound better, the Mark V is a great amp, but for the Mark IV tone well the Mark IV just blows it away.

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Great advice however, I already made a down payment on the Mark V. I owned the Roadster for a year and regret selling it. I don't think I will be disappointed with the Mark V because I do enjoy a tight tone and versatility. The Mark just had everything I wanted (Besides the Recto tone). Also the Demos were raw guitar tone.

I have both. Was after the Roadster first off but came home with a Mark V as it was familiar to me as I had both the Mark III and Mark IV. I eventually deiced to get the Roadster after 2 years of owning the Mark V and I am happy that I did.

They are both great amps but different in many respects. If you miss the Roadster tone, you can almost get there with the CH2 Crunch mode with the gain maxed out. Mark I mode is similar but you need to dial out the bass and kick back on the mids. CH4 extreme is great too for less compressed tone than the Mark IV mode on CH4.

Hint, for the Roadster, add a 5-band EQ in the loop. A compressor/sustain pedal on the front end will also help.

siggy14 said:

carvinx said:

Daxman73 said:

I've owned both and they both offer fantastic tones. But I think the question really lies with whether you can get use to not having the low mids you refer to. The Mark V is amazing and lead wise it wins hands down. You don't need a boost to get there. It also tracks amazing fast and therefore is incredibly tight if you want it to be. And as you said, being able to go down to 10 watts is very nice, plus it still sounds good at that level. It's just an incredibly versatile, great sounding amp period. But...it's not a Recto.
Now, with all that said, I don't say any of it to take away from the Roadster. That amp is just as amazing sounding and versatile. It may not be able to hit 10 watts, but it has four channels, not three. It also has that incredible Recto roar. Lead wise, as siggy14 said all you need is a tube screamer in front and you instantly have fantastic sounding leads. It doesn't take much as the Roadster is ALMOST there already. It just needs a very slight boost over the edge. And as an added bonus, it tightens up the amp a bit as well. You can't go wrong really. So...just ask yourself what it most important to you tonally. Hope this helps.

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I am going with the Mark V. I may get a Roadster or recto down the line, but just can't pass up on the Mark since it pretty much has it all. After watching some Mark demos last night, I easily made my mind up. For what I need atm, the mark should be more than suffice.

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Just remember youtube tones and what you get are two different things, for Modern music the Roadster wins hands down.

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Mesa would benefit from doing some new Roadster and Road King II demo video's. At least that way people will be comparing "apple to apples" with the recording quality of the Mark Series. Right now, its more like "apples to :shock: !"

I am sure this is a day late and a dollar short but I will add more comment anyway.

Recently I ran a comparison between my Mark V combo and my Roadster head. I wanted to see if I could get the same characteristic of the Mark V combo CH3 MKIV and Extreme with the Roadster. Yes you can and it is hard to tell the difference.

If you have a Roadster and want some singing lead similar to that of the Mark V, you will need to specific pedals, one in the FX loop and the other at the front end of the amp.

I would personally recommend the Mesa 5 band EQ used in the FX loop. You would not believe how well this works. It will not be a dramatic alteration but will provide a very close preamp equalization that the Mark V. For the front end you need a relatively transparent compressor with boost capability. So my second recommendation would be for the Strymon OB.1. Compression set high, boost level close to mid point and the output at the same but lower than the boost. The boost has three characteristics Treble, mid or flat. This will allow you to enhance the tone of the boost on top of the compression.

Another tip, it helps to have a Tung Sol in V1. CH3 of the roadster will get you there. For Mark IV voice of the mark V, use the modern setting of CH3, silicon diode rectification and your choice of 50W or 100W. To be similar to the extreme voice, just switch the CH3 to Vintage and boost the channel volume. Dead ringer for a Mark V.

bandit2013 said:

CH3 of the roadster will get you there. For Mark IV voice of the mark V, use the modern setting of CH3, silicon diode rectification and your choice of 50W or 100W. To be similar to the extreme voice, just switch the CH3 to Vintage and boost the channel volume. Dead ringer for a Mark V.

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I noticed the same thing while I was A/Bing my amps last year. I sent an email to Doug West about it and he confirmed that, although the circuits for Vintage mode and the Mark lead channels are radically different architectures, they are sonically very similar.

Here's some of the clips I did if people are interested https://soundcloud.com/dlpasco/sets/still-of-the-night-tone

Nicely done!

Question, did you use the pentode or triode for the Mark V IIC+ mode. That version sounded much closer to the real deal. Also preferred the RoadKing Vintage too. Mark V IV mode was good but did not take me back to the actual song. Mark III just a bit different in tone. Not sure what Whitesnake used rig wise but the Mark C IIC+ or the RoadKing had me convinced. Now I have to see if I still have the album.

bandit2013 said:

Nicely done!

Question, did you use the pentode or triode for the Mark V IIC+ mode. That version sounded much closer to the real deal. Also preferred the RoadKing Vintage too. Mark V IV mode was good but did not take me back to the actual song. Mark III just a bit different in tone. Not sure what Whitesnake used rig wise but the Mark C IIC+ or the RoadKing had me convinced. Now I have to see if I still have the album.

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I was using triode.

Ironically, Whitesnake used a set of Mark III Colis in stereo.

I found Mark III and the RK Vintage to be the closest sonically, which was what prompted me to reach out to Doug about it in the first place.