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Post by VomHalen on Nov 28, 2005 15:22:31 GMT -5
hi craggin, i saw in your HC sig that you have a mesa road king...how do you like that? how does it compare with the QR?
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Post by craggin on Nov 28, 2005 16:13:16 GMT -5
Hey Splawnfan,
2 very different amps. The Road King is a great amp (Voodoo modded mine)...I'm running 4 SED6L6's in mine and 2 Ruby EL34BSTR's. I can get more gain out of the RK as I don't have a 3rd gear option on my QR...that isn't an issue for me because I usually used the vintage high gain mode on the RK as opposed to the modern high gain. One thing I'll admit, the RK's clean channel is terrific..especially after Trace did his mods. I love the 2 loops of the RK as you can choose to use serial or parallel, and control them from the footswitch.
As for pure tone, the QR is my absolute favorite...ever. The RK can really cover that lower mid "whoomp" pretty nice, but it doesn't really "open" up like the QR does. Somebody talked about the QR "stopping on a dime" in another thread...the RK can't do it as well as the QR, but it can be pretty tight. As for versatility...there is no comparison...the RK is CRAZY versatile, but that is what bugged me. There are sooooooooooo many knobs and switches to a RK that it seemed every gig I played I'd accidentally hit one and have to spend an extra 5 minutes freaking out on stage trying to problem solve what I just did.
I just busted out the RK again this weekend, and truthfully, I really like it...just not as much as my Splawn. I've thought about selling it, but I know that I'll regret it in the future if I do. The Splawn is such a plug & play amp, no settings sound bad where the Road King takes forever to tweak. Once you get "your" sound with it, you're all set.
Feel free to ask me any other specifics...I've had the amp for almost 3 years and I've spent a lot of time experimenting. All in all, I'd say Mesa got it right with that amp.
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Post by VomHalen on Nov 28, 2005 16:17:34 GMT -5
Hey Splawnfan, 2 very different amps. The Road King is a great amp (Voodoo modded mine)...I'm running 4 SED6L6's in mine and 2 Ruby EL34BSTR's. I can get more gain out of the RK as I don't have a 3rd gear option on my QR...that isn't an issue for me because I usually used the vintage high gain mode on the RK as opposed to the modern high gain. One thing I'll admit, the RK's clean channel is terrific..especially after Trace did his mods. I love the 2 loops of the RK as you can choose to use serial or parallel, and control them from the footswitch. As for pure tone, the QR is my absolute favorite...ever. The RK can really cover that lower mid "whoomp" pretty nice, but it doesn't really "open" up like the QR does. Somebody talked about the QR "stopping on a dime" in another thread...the RK can't do it as well as the QR, but it can be pretty tight. As for versatility...there is no comparison...the RK is CRAZY versatile, but that is what bugged me. There are sooooooooooo many knobs and switches to a RK that it seemed every gig I played I'd accidentally hit one and have to spend an extra 5 minutes freaking out on stage trying to problem solve what I just did. I just busted out the RK again this weekend, and truthfully, I really like it...just not as much as my Splawn. I've thought about selling it, but I know that I'll regret it in the future if I do. The Splawn is such a plug & play amp, no settings sound bad where the Road King takes forever to tweak. Once you get "your" sound with it, you're all set. Feel free to ask me any other specifics...I've had the amp for almost 3 years and I've spent a lot of time experimenting. All in all, I'd say Mesa got it right with that amp. i've always wanted to check one out , i wanted to ask ya about all those switches and if they can accidentally be bumped from show to show but it sounds like you answered that for me...i'd still be interested in trying one out... |
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Post by craggin on Nov 28, 2005 16:28:01 GMT -5
Splawnfan,
I have a standard pre-show routine that I had to adopt to check all the switches and levels. If you ever want to check one out, spend some serious time with it as there are so many little nuances to the amp. If you're ever near the Rochester area, let me know...I'd be glad to let you take it for a spin. My other guitarist used to comment that I had it set up to sound very "un-Mesa" like. (Whatever that meant, LOL.)
One big problem with the switches is that if you accidentally hit the wrong one, you will get no sound on that channel. I learned the hard way to take a few extra minutes during soundcheck to run through ALL the channels...even if the sound crew would become impatient...it was just a necessity.
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