Mesa boogie Roadster. Gain problem?

[blackvice]

Hi i recently bought a mesa boogie roadster head. I have "problem" with the gain in channel 4 on the modern mode. I need to turn up the gain to 4 o clock to get a really good "lamb of god" type of distorion. Is this normal? I mean it's almost all the way up! Ithe tubes are one year old. All stock tubes. Can that be the problem? playing with a schecter c-7 special with emg 81 and 85 into the amp without any type of boost pedal to a Harley benton cab with vintage 30's

I wonder if this is normal? I like the distorsion i get but i think it's wierd i need to turn up almost all the may :/

Sorry for bad english

 

[Justin_Blackened]

What volume are you running? Maybe back off a bit on the gain and pump the volume to get some of the power section pumping.

 

[budda]

You dont need the gain that high at all. The amp does not have a problem in this case.

 

[blackvice]

You dont need the gain that high at all. The amp does not have a problem in this case.

But that's the problem! I need to even if the master output is at 11 o'clock and channel master at 12 o'clock. If i have the gain at like 2 o'clock i only get a av/dc type of distorion.

 

[Manhell]

Well I will tell you a tip that I found in my road king that is the same pre amp as the roadster.

So this amps have a special thing going on in the Ch3 and Ch4 that they look like they don't have a lot of gain, and they actually do not compared to a 5150 for ex.

So the thing is, as you role up the treble knob in this channels the gain also looks like it goes amp because of the saturation of the pre amp, so maybe you are using your treble to low and your bass to high.

Try this an see what you think.

Good luck

 

[jbab]

Also, it may sound dumb but make sure your channel is on modern or at least vintage

 

[155]

Well I will tell you a tip that I found in my road king that is the same pre amp as the roadster.

So this amps have a special thing going on in the Ch3 and Ch4 that they look like they don't have a lot of gain, and they actually do not compared to a 5150 for ex.

So the thing is, as you role up the treble knob in this channels the gain also looks like it goes amp because of the saturation of the pre amp, so maybe you are using your treble to low and your bass to high.

Try this an see what you think.

Good luck

this..

 

[viesczy]

Well I will tell you a tip that I found in my road king that is the same pre amp as the roadster.

So this amps have a special thing going on in the Ch3 and Ch4 that they look like they don't have a lot of gain, and they actually do not compared to a 5150 for ex.

So the thing is, as you role up the treble knob in this channels the gain also looks like it goes amp because of the saturation of the pre amp, so maybe you are using your treble to low and your bass to high.

Try this an see what you think.

Good luck

Great point! I have a Road King II as well and Manhell is a trillion percent correct, the EQ section has as much to do with how we hear the gain as just cranking the knobs.

From the Roadster manual:

TREBLE control ( in all four channels of your Roadster ) is the most powerful of the rotary controls and is next in line only to the GAIN control as a shaping tool. Because it is first in the signal path of the tone controls
- and from here the Middle and Bass receive their signal - it is by far the dominant tone control. For this reason the setting of the TREBLE control is very important for equal representation of the three frequency regions to appear at their respective controls. Like most of the controls on your Roadster, there is an optimum region of the TREBLE control where ample top end is mixed in and yet enough signal is still passed on to the MIDDLE and BASS controls.

&

Your Roadster was designed to provide amazing gain and tone at less than extreme settings removing the need for you to crank everything all the way up. If you are not able to achieve the sound you want at sensible settings on any or all of the controls, your problem may lie elsewhere in the signal chain, i.e. pick-ups, cabinetry, processing etc. Keep in mind you can always call on one of our product specialist Monday through Thursday and seek some advice should you fi nd yourself struggling to get the sound you want.

Derek

 

[Given To Fly]

From one Roadster owner to another. Read this, its enlightening.

http://www.mesaboogie.com/manuals/Roadster.pdf

 

[Rook]

I read the Roadster manual cover to cover a couple of times, good read.

It's more than what's being made out here. To get the punch and tight aggression with the Roadster you have to try to keep the gain around half, which to most metallers is painful because they feel like they need more gain. If you start there, have your treble about 2oclock, mid around half way and bass to taste you can start to get some really tight sounds, they just aren't compressed and saturated like a Mark series.

I also used Channel 4 Vintage a lot to get more mids and less fizz, it was my favourite setting on that amp by miles.

 

[Manhell]

Yup that's true, I got my Road King again recently due to technical problems and I am experimenting again.
the 4th channel seems a bit less gainy and more tight than the 3rd, and that's also du to the amazing range of the presence on ch4. but now I'm really affraid that my RK goes kaput again so everything that looks strange give me an heart attack .

I have to be patient and dial in for some time until I get my sound, you should do the same, and if in the end you still lack some gain just get a tube screamer in front of it, but first try to get the most out of it, it is a very versatile amp.

Good luck

 

[blackvice]

Thank you for all responses! I've tried everything but i need to turn the gain knob up all the way to get any type of Death metal distortion :/ I've been watching Ola Englunds video when he's testing a Roadster, but it looks like he only got the gain knob at noon to 2 o'clock :/

New preamp tubes ?

 

[Manhell]

hmm... no, leave the tubes alone, they are probably mesa tubes that have a lot of gain to themselves.

now if you are used to use a lot of gain my advice is this, either you turn your treble up, or you use a tube screamer, or you get used to play with lesser gain, because most of the tones we hear are not that gainy, simply the guy that's playing can play with the low gain very well.

well built amps tend to be more difficult to play than other so just take your time an learn how to play with it

 

[Given To Fly]

But that's the problem! I need to even if the master output is at 11 o'clock and channel master at 12 o'clock. If i have the gain at like 2 o'clock i only get a av/dc type of distorion.

Try bringing the Master Output down and while raising the Channel Output. Then raise and lower the gain in tiny increments (millimeters). Around 2 o'clock is a sweet spot on the gain control so you may be just below it.

Mesa's are weird amps to dial in. What other amps have you played/heard that gave you the sound you want? I'm not suggesting you give up on the Roadster, I would just like to know what amps you are used to.

 

[imaginary]

Hey BlackVice. I own a roadster. I switched my tubes out for sovteks. HUGE difference. It was just being a pussy with those old tubes in it. So... Big expense, but my only regret is not doing it sooner. It sounded nice, just wasn't aggressive. It basically wouldn't do a metal tone until I got new tubes. Usually when you buy a new head, the seller has no idea (or is lying) about how old the tubes are, so I replace as soon as funds allow. Good luck

I bought sovteks because they are the cheapest available where I live.

 

[Manhell]

Hey BlackVice. I own a roadster. I switched my tubes out for sovteks. HUGE difference. It was just being a pussy with those old tubes in it. So... Big expense, but my only regret is not doing it sooner. It sounded nice, just wasn't aggressive. It basically wouldn't do a metal tone until I got new tubes. Usually when you buy a new head, the seller has no idea (or is lying) about how old the tubes are, so I replace as soon as funds allow. Good luck

I bought sovteks because they are the cheapest available where I live.

That's not so much like that, usually mesa amps are really careful with what tubes come in their amps, they match them and give them the mesa label, actually I think they already are sovtek so the difference you heard was from old tubes to new tubes probably.

So that's why I say to our friend here that instead of going and spend money there's a lot of stuff he can do before

on another subject that's also important, we need to know what pickups he is using, yesterday I was comparing the 2 RG2228 we have and one has Bareknuckle aftermaths and mine a Cold sweat and a VHII and the gain betwin the cold sweat and the aftermath was really different so you should try with another guitar and pickups to see if the "problem" you think you have keeps on going.

 

[markoramius]

Definitely agree about really understanding the manual. Also check The Boogie Board for some sample amp settings. They really helped me with some settings for my DC-5. With Mesa you have to eq with your ears, not your eyes. You may have to set the controls differently than you expect to get a tone you like. It's in there -and you just have to find it.

 

[BenSolace]

I think most Mesa Rectifier designs need a boost in front for that saturated death metal style distortion. Most pros that use or have used them have some sort of boost in front for their distortion tone e.g. Cannibal Corpse, Devin Townsend, KSE etc.

When I owned a Roadster a few years ago, no matter the volume, I always needed a boost for high gain rhythms and leads, as the amp is not very compressed on it's own (or at least mine wasn't!). I liked channel 3 on vintage mode best, with the "spongy" setting.

Personally, I think the Roadster is the best sounding version of the Rectifier model currently available, so don't give up!

 

[viesczy]

well built amps tend to be more difficult to play than other so just take your time an learn how to play with it

Truer words were never spoken.

A quality amp shows you for what you are... a great player with a tin ear, a terrible player with a tin ear, or a great player with a great ear.

Derek