road king vs. mark iv

[emilio]

i was set on the mark iv but today i heard some clips of the road king and it's like :32: wow. i still have a lot of time before i buy another amp but i hate being torn, and here i am, torn. maybe i shouldn't trip about this now but everytime i stand i find myself on the floor again! help me please, tell me the pros and cons of each.

 

[Virtual Kevorkian]

Re: road king vs. mark iv

Two INCREDIBLY different sounding amps. You need to try one out for yourself and decide!

It's difference between a very versatile Rectifier and a Mark IV.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: road king vs. mark iv

Yup, two different amps for sure. Find a store with both and give yourself a good amount of time to dial them both in, then make your choice.

 

[emilio]

Re: road king vs. mark iv

Two INCREDIBLY different sounding amps. You need to try one out for yourself and decide!

It's difference between a very versatile Rectifier and a Mark IV.

they are different but not incredibly different as you put it, but i do need to listen to the for a good while. i do uderstand one is very versitile and the other has modern and beautiful clean tone capabilities. i just need some pros and cons like: this one is versatile, IMO i only found it to only be able to do this well, and these don't always come out good as they blow out easily. also, i can't find prices anywhere on the net. thanks for the replies!

 

[Virtual Kevorkian]

Re: road king vs. mark iv

No, they're two incredibly, incredibly, incredibly differently voiced amps. No way around that.

The Marks have a more 'classic,' smooth, creamy-midrange voicing, while the Rectos have a much more aggressive, pissed off, 'grating' tone to them.

It's seriously just up to what you prefer. They're both amazing amps, though.

That said, I'd take a Roadster over the Road King - they've sounded better in A/B comparisons to me. Smoother gain structure, bit cleaner sounding overall - closer to the old 2ch Rectifiers.



Just for the sake of hearing how different they are, accurate examples of each, I'd say:

Mark IV: Lamb of God

Recto/RoadKing/Roadster: Nevermore

 

[suislidE03]

Re: road king vs. mark iv

Funny.. every clip i have heard of the road kings sounded like crap. Especially Petrucci.. the Mark 4 I have no problems with though. I would love to own one eventually.

 

[Virtual Kevorkian]

Re: road king vs. mark iv

Funny.. every clip i have heard of the road kings sounded like crap.

I'd guess that part of that would be due to their cost over the normal Rectifier, and since most people don't need all the insane options, they save some cash and get 95% the same tone.

New Behemoth album sounds pretty rad on the guitar front, and I know they used a Roadster and Uberschall for that.

 

[emilio]

Re: road king vs. mark iv

Funny.. every clip i have heard of the road kings sounded like crap. Especially Petrucci.. the Mark 4 I have no problems with though. I would love to own one eventually.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=deGgCuS7tJ4

http://youtube.com/watch?v=J_MGCpAyNnY

 

[emilio]

Re: road king vs. mark iv

No, they're two incredibly, incredibly, incredibly differently voiced amps. No way around that.

The Marks have a more 'classic,' smooth, creamy-midrange voicing, while the Rectos have a much more aggressive, pissed off, 'grating' tone to them.

It's seriously just up to what you prefer. They're both amazing amps, though.

That said, I'd take a Roadster over the Road King - they've sounded better in A/B comparisons to me. Smoother gain structure, bit cleaner sounding overall - closer to the old 2ch Rectifiers.



Just for the sake of hearing how different they are, accurate examples of each, I'd say:

Mark IV: Lamb of God

Recto/RoadKing/Roadster: Nevermore

you sure they can't get close? the contour option on the roadster give or takes the mids, man. those examples you gave me are good no doubt, but i've heard the markiv sound different than that.

 

[Virtual Kevorkian]

Re: road king vs. mark iv

They'll get about as similar as a 5150 will to a Recto, seriously. The vintage mode on the Roadster might do a passable, halfass version of the MKIV, but the MKIV will never get as aggressive or edgy as a Recto. I've tried .

 

[emilio]

Re: road king vs. mark iv

oh, ok. i believe you.

 

[Binnerscot]

Re: road king vs. mark iv

I have both and they are very different, (the Roadster and the Road King are virtually the same amp except the power tube switching - they sound the same with the same settings also)

The cleans are equal quality but slightly different between the Road King and the Mark IV - it depends on the day as far which I like better.

Overall, the Road King has a lot more in the versatility department. Though, it is a glorified and refined Recto, it does a lot more than the Dual/Triple Rec. I have heard comments that the Road King/Roadster sound more like the older two channel Rectos. There is some subtle refinement in the high gain channels that I like a little more than the Duel/Triple Rec, but throw a mic in front of an old two channel, modern DR, or a Road King and I don't even think the "experts" would be able to identify each in a blind listening test.

I am sure you will get arguments both ways, but I really think the Road King eclipses the Mark IV for great, usable tones with a lot of variety. The Mark IV has that unique "Mark" series quality to it (which is great in itself). If that is your thing, the Road King doesn't do that.

As a note to all the "Road King sucks because I don't like Petrucci's RK tones" comments, I have played his sig model guitar with his older custom DiMarzio - I heard the problem, it wasn't the amp. I suspect that is why he went to the Drop Sonic. He has always used just about every Mesa made on the DT recordings...I think Awake has the most Rectifer (DiMarzio Blaze and Steve's Specials) on it for rhythm and/or leads and still plenty of Mark IIC+. I liked his tone less when he moved away from the Steve's Specials and the Blazes, regardless of the amp.

 

[emilio]

Re: road king vs. mark iv

wow, sounds like i need to start playing some of these....