Recto, Mark IV or Road king?

[Bullen]

Hello everyone! This is my first post on this great forum.

I gonna buy a new amp this summer. I have sold most of my amps, and I currently own a 2 ch Dual recto and a rack with a Quad preamp/2:90. But I might be selling those too. I was thinking of either getting a new Mark IV head or a new recto (3ch, for versatility), but then I started dreaming about a Road King head. So what do you guys think?

I have heard that there is a sound (ch3 and 4) difference between the normal recto´s and the road king.
Is this true? If so what difference?
I like my recto, but sometimes it feels a bit too nice. I think I would like the more aggressive nature of these newer versions.

I owned a Merk IV a few years ago (that I was stupid enough to sell), so I know what they sound like.

Any help or advice would be great!

 

[no soul]

Well if getting a new amp means getting rid of your Recto, I wouldnt do it.

Yes there is a sound difference between the 2 and 3 channel ones. I wouldnt even go so far as to say the 3 channel models are more agressive, just a bit more harsh, and not in a musical way. I play modern metal, so its not like having an agressive sound is something Im against.

The roadking is kinda neat, and definitely gives you a lot to play with, but I dont find it THAT incredibly removed from the regular recto line, but it is definitely its own beast.

You owned a MkIV, so Im not going to bother telling you how nice those are.

If you are going for a change though, I think I would reconsider the MkIV. Its cheaper and just more practical yet still very versatile.

 

[tele_jas]

I'm in kind of the same boat...... I've had a triple Rectifier (3 ch head) and I wan't the extra options the RK offers... So, I think I'm going to save up a little gig money each weekend and maybe by the end of the summer have enough set back to put in with my Triple to get a Road King. I don't think there isn't anything out there right now that can touch the RK as far as options while keeping the tone real. I like the fact you can choose which tubes to run (6L6, EL34 or both) on each channel and even cut down your output so you get more natural tube breakup (if you like that). Not to mention the 4 channels with a solo boost, you could go from Country to Insane Metal tones and everything in between with just those 4 channels, and don't for the Reverb. Yeah, I'd go for the RK for sure, I know I am later this year.

that was my $.02 worth.

 

[Bullen]

I think I have narrowed it down to either a Mark IV head or the RK head.
If I buy the mark IV I will keep my old recto. But if I buy the RK I will sell all my other amps ( guess I have to, it costs about 4000$ here in Sweden.

 

[overture2005]

Hi Bullen,

I own three mesa heads now, the mark4, the roadking and the 3ch dual recto. That's my 2 cents.
Yes, you are right. There is a sound difference between the 3ch dual recto and the roadking. The roadking's ch1 clean has more headroom and dynamic than the dual recto. It's amazing, from the tweed bluesy tone(i can't nail SRV & Scott Henderson tone maybe due to my guitars) to the fat warm jazz tone(just perfect for jazz). The ch2's brit mode delivers
a warm, fat, velvet overdriven sound. I can nail Calos Santana's Supernatural & Shaman tone with my prs and hermida zendrive.
The roadking's ch3 and ch4 sound more agressive than the dual recto and has more low end and less mids than the dual recto. Somebody said that the roadking's distortion sounds harsh. I think it's depends on what cab you use and how you run the roadking's power section. Its distortion sounds kinda harsh if you use a 2x12 cab or run with only two power tubes of the roadking. In this case, you need to lower the treble and the presence of the roadking to get rid of harsh. If you go with a 4x12 or run with four, six power tubes of the roadking, it just slay! sounds warm, thick, agressive.

I think your 2ch dual recto sounds really great. If I were you, I would keep the 2ch dual recto, because I prefer its warm and smooth liquid lead.

 

[Mesaman]

Can anybody please tell me the virtues of owning a MARK IV? Is it the versatility of having 3 channels? Does it have really great high gain? How does the clean channel sound? Are they as clean as a vintage Fender amp? Is it one of Mesa's most flexible amps in terms of sounds attainable? Please respond.

 

[chris_bechtel]

There are a lot of things to love about the Mk IV. It all depends on what you need from it and what you're playing style is. I love mine for a ton of reasons. I consider it my Modern Vintage amp. It does cleans very well. It does the mid and low gain stuff really well. It does hi gain sounds very well.

It's not going to give you the modern Nu Metal scoop like the Rectos well.

I've always thought the Mk IV was a really cool civilized hi gain amp. It get a ton of gain but still retains a lot of tone. The notes ring clear, and it's very articuate. You can also get some of the sweetest liquid, sexy, smooth, violin like lead sounds out of it.

If I could only own one amp it would be the Mk IV. It does so many things well. And I don't mean like modeler well. I mean it really does country, blues, metal, rock, whatever.

It is a tweaker's amp though. The eq is very sensitive and small changes have big effect.

 

[jonny25000]

has anyone got any sound/video clips of the road king?

 

[no soul]

Can anybody please tell me the virtues of owning a MARK IV? Is it the versatility of having 3 channels? Does it have really great high gain? How does the clean channel sound? Are they as clean as a vintage Fender amp? Is it one of Mesa's most flexible amps in terms of sounds attainable? Please respond.

You pretty much nailed it all on the head. The high gain is WONDERFUL on this amp. Metal is no problem at all. Hell, I think its better for metal than Rectos. And the cleans are certainly some of Mesas best, better than any recto anyway.