Mesa Roadster vs. Mark V

[anewdefguitarist]

Re: Mesa Roadster vs. Mark V

I think the reason that Metallica's guitar tone is so generic sounding is because it's probably the most copied guitar tone in metal.

i also couln't agree more. if you think about it, they sort of spearheaded that scooped-mid sound. and i also couldn't agree more about the slash tone! something about that is just addictive!! i found myself plexi shopping when i play in a hard rock/metal band!! wtf would i do with a PLEXI!??!! lol


i think they key to great tone is finding that formula to get back at even. if you think of warmth as a plus and tightness and coldness as negatives:
les paul + a2p's + marshall + vintage 30 speakers = looks like it would equal pretty close to 0, or even. making it pleasing to the ears, yet you still hear all that grit.

....maybe it will only make sense to me....lol

[SlowGroove]

Re: Mesa Roadster vs. Mark V

I think the black album had the best guitar tones. Master of Puppets is my favourite album, but sometimes I have a hard time listening to it due to the extreme scoop of the guitars.

I think the reason that Metallica's guitar tone is so generic sounding is because it's probably the most copied guitar tone in metal.

Any bands that come to mind ?

I mean, i do ot hear Metallica tones in bands like , As I Lay Dying, In Flames, 3 Inches Of Blood, Still Remains, Avenge 7Fold, Mastodaon, Bring Me The Horizon, or any other current metal band of the week . . . but then again, i do NOT listen to many Metal Mag hyped up bands any ways !


James

[Binnerscot]

Re: Mesa Roadster vs. Mark V

I think the Dual Recto was a response to that style of tone made popular by Metallica.....

...many bands did and still do come to mind.

[some_dude]

Re: Mesa Roadster vs. Mark V

Any bands that come to mind ?

I mean, i do ot hear Metallica tones in bands like , As I Lay Dying, In Flames, 3 Inches Of Blood, Still Remains, Avenge 7Fold, Mastodaon, Bring Me The Horizon, or any other current metal band of the week . . . but then again, i do NOT listen to many Metal Mag hyped up bands any ways !


James

Pretty much any band that uses a modern high gain amp of any manufacturer. Doesn't have to be limted to metal either... lots of modern rock bands have Metallica derivative guitar tones, as do many hardcore and pop punk bands.

Essentially, guitars didn't do the modern high gain chug until James Hetfield plugged into that Mark IIC+ and did it. Heavy guitars crunched. Kill 'Em All crunched. Master of Puppets chugged, as has the majority of rock and metal guitars post black album.

[taxi]

Re: Mesa Roadster vs. Mark V

+1, agree with that review. I've owned a boatload of mesas and the mark V totally captures the mojo of all of the marks from I to IV.

The road king is totally recto, and quite frankly I can't imagine needing four channels of recto. I love recto for what it is, but it is what it is. Whatever that means. The problem for mesa is they can't quite put both in the same amp, and part of the reason is that the power stages are so different. Recto preamp + mark power amp = Nomad, which didn't work out too well.

For a long time I needed both so I used a triaxis, but the recto sound of the triaxis really doesn't sound like a DR, it does its own thing, which is still cool. There are a couple of sounds you can get with the triaxis recto mode that nothing can duplicate.

I need a gazillion sounds live, so I've been using an axe-fx for about a year. The designer was a big mesa user, and he absolutely nails mesa tones. He'll have a mark V in his next big firmware upgrade I'm sure. There are a few subtle things it can't quite nail, and it doesn't totally capture the weirdness of the mesa equalizer, but I can put it next to a mark IV or a triaxis and do a blindfold test on most of the typical clean, crunch, and lead boogie sounds and I really can't tell which one I'm playing thru. And the axe does real recto much better than the triaxis. So if you need mark + recto at this point the axe is really the way to go. But if you want that real recto chugga, you need a very powerful power amp with it.

[James Rock]

Re: Mesa Roadster vs. Mark V

Linkin Park, Puddle Of Mud, P.O.D., Three Doors Down, Creed, Limp Bizkit, Disturbed, Blink 182

Blink 182 is the main reason I'd want a recto and I don't think they sound much like P.O.D and Puddle Of Mudd (both PRS's?) who I really don't like or Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park (bands I liked in their prime but hate their later stuff)

[UberMetalDood]

Re: Mesa Roadster vs. Mark V

I own a Mark v and have owned a Roadster. Both are outstanding in the same ways. Great driven and cleans, great reverb, and versatile. The Roadster is easier to dial in than the Mark v but the Mark v is capable of different amp sounds. The Mark i, iic+, and Mark iv channels are all almost identical to the respective amps.

I should know because I have played all of them. The mark iv mode is totally cool and my favorite on channel 3. The mark V has a mode called Extreme and its not like any Mesa I heard before. Its very tight and focused with lots of bass and low mids.
The Roadster is equally good. I especially like the Brit channel. I would love to have a Roadster head to go with my Mark v combo. If they made a Roadster with the same dimensions of a Mark v then I would probably choose the roadster only because of the Brit channel. The Mark v has a better clean channel in my opinion.

Both amps can use el34's and I have used el34's in both as well. With el34's the Mark v has an even better clean channel, a great crunch channel and the Extreme mode comes alive. EL34's ignite a spark in the Roadster's Brit channel and makes it as usable as any British style amp out there. Writing this makes me g.a.s. for a Roadster.

[lex666]

Re: Mesa Roadster vs. Mark V

Thanks alot for your replies and sharing your exerpeinces.

Thanks to all who posted a review.

I'd like to keep this thread going until my Mark V arrives, so if anyone would like to share more experiences, reviews, thoughts, etc. please do so.

Regarding the Metallica tone, while I agree their tone was highly copied, I don't recall anyone who sounds like them. The Metallica tone has remained very distinct to my ears.

[anewdefguitarist]

Re: Mesa Roadster vs. Mark V

i was in the boat of 'hating' a recto - BEFORE i played one. id 'heard' them on recordings and thought, nah, its too smooth and ....pretty. i liked the rawness of the 6505 and old marshall plexi's. then i played a single recto.

it was as raw and unpretty as i wanted!! im going with the people who said it had a lot to do with the producers and what not rather than the actual amp.

[Petrovsk Mizinski]

Re: Mesa Roadster vs. Mark V

i was in the boat of 'hating' a recto - BEFORE i played one. id 'heard' them on recordings and thought, nah, its too smooth and ....pretty. i liked the rawness of the 6505 and old marshall plexi's. then i played a single recto.

it was as raw and unpretty as i wanted!! im going with the people who said it had a lot to do with the producers and what not rather than the actual amp.

You have to understand what mix engineers do is make sure stuff works in the mix.
By their very nature, Rectos have a lot of top end fizz.
Some of this is good, but the very higher up stuff generally needs to be dialed out in the mix to avoid colliding with the air of the vocals and perception of cymbals.
It also has the benefit of making a guitar tone seem to be thicker, because you are hearing more of the mids and less treble

[sbecker67]

Re: Mesa Roadster vs. Mark V

.. IF i can get the "correct" cab to go w it, and some serious ((( loose ))) sounding speakers !..

I don't know about the Mark's, but the Road King has the ability to assign either one of two cabs, or both, by channel. I expect the Roadster would have the same feature. This can really expand your tonal options

[Metalman_666]

Re: Mesa Roadster vs. Mark V

The Recto tone has never been anything I would associate with smooth or pretty... maybe smooth sometimes but always rude, grinding, crunchy and raw. The problem with those amps is that people hear tones they like on the radio and then duplicate the same growl, without realizing they could get a different/better sound out of the same amp. THEN there's the players that buy a Triple Recto head and use a pedal for their metal distortion...

The Mark series has a great alternative flavour from the Recto series. Arguably a more vintage palette, but a great one with hellish crunch and fat, soaring lead tones that send a chill up my spine.

To Lex666, glad to see you pulled the trigger on a Mark V. I have yet to give one a test drive, but no matter how awesome it is (hopefully) I'll still be happy enough with my Mark IV. I had a chance to crank it last night in a jam with some friends and goddamn, I don't think I'll ever want to buy another amp again.

[Koreth]

Re: Mesa Roadster vs. Mark V

Recto preamp + mark power amp = Nomad, which didn't work out too well.

Not Really. Looking at the schematics for a Mark IV, Recto, and Nomad, the Nomad's preamp circuit is more of a mutant JCM preamp circuit than anything else It doesn't have enough gain stages to be a Recto preamp, much less a Mark preamp or anything else. The power amp isn't anything close to a Mark design, lacking the whole simulclass and Triode setup. The Nomad's power amp is more akin to something between SLO100 and a Recto.

Either way, the Nomad really isn't going to sound much like either a Mark or a Recto. I've tried.

[jhale667]

Re: Mesa Roadster vs. Mark V

For me, I've just never heard/played a Recto that made me say "I wanna trade in my Mark III for one of these!" It just wasn't even close...

[UberMetalDood]

Re: Mesa Roadster vs. Mark V

Thanks alot for your replies and sharing your exerpeinces.

Thanks to all who posted a review.

I'd like to keep this thread going until my Mark V arrives, so if anyone would like to share more experiences, reviews, thoughts, etc. please do so.

Regarding the Metallica tone, while I agree their tone was highly copied, I don't recall anyone who sounds like them. The Metallica tone has remained very distinct to my ears.

"Extreme" mode on the Mark v is instant Metallica. Hint: use the presets instead of the sliders to quickly dial in typical scooped Metallica and Megadeth tone.