Mesa Delema

[souperman]

I have been saving for a new amp for some time now and I can finally afford a decent one but now im stuck in a rut between an amp to purchase.

I play all kinds of music ranging from jazz to metal, so something versatile should be appropriate for me (Mesa Roadster) but I'm not sure to how the distortion can handle metal. I'm aware that many metal bands use the rectifiers but is the Roadster any different from them soundwise? Would having 4 channels over 3 channels compensate the tone at all?

How does the Roadster's lead channel differ from the dual rectifier's?

[dufus]

tough question for someone who doesnt unquestionably know Mesa's..
do you have a chance to try them out somewhere?

im pretty sure ive tried roadster and im almost certain its a great amp. And metal is usually my main concern.

you know. i thought i heard somewhere that all Mesa Pre's are the same... but that cant be true

just get a vol boost/OD pedal to bump up the crunch

[jm417]

I agree with dufus, that's mostly how I see the problem as well. Use another distortion pedal to add crunch if you need it. I'm not a huge fan of Mesa amps but A Dual Rec is next on my list for my home studio. I play on an old marshall JCM 800. My amp is a single channel so I have 2 distortions on my board plus a boost to try to get the most out of it. You just need to find what works best for you. You have to look at it objectively. Maybe you'd be happy with a 2 channel amp with a boost and a distortion in your chain. That combination would give you 7 different combinations of drive sounds. Plus, It may actually end up saving you money.

[Architect]

the roadster has massive amounts of gain on tap, but for a sharp, cutting, defined metal tone, you will need to boost it with an overdrive pedal.

the roadster is essentially just a trip channel dual rectifier with an extra channel, so the lead channels should be virtually identical.

i recommend finding one in your area and trying it out. when you make it clear that you are interested in actually buying an amp, music store employees tend to suddenly become much more cooperative in letting you tryout different combinations of pedals/guitars into the amp that you're looking at.

[superjesus117]

Originally posted by souperman
I have been saving for a new amp for some time now and I can finally afford a decent one but now im stuck in a rut between an amp to purchase.

I play all kinds of music ranging from jazz to metal, so something versatile should be appropriate for me (Mesa Roadster) but I'm not sure to how the distortion can handle metal. I'm aware that many metal bands use the rectifiers but is the Roadster any different from them soundwise? Would having 4 channels over 3 channels compensate the tone at all?

How does the Roadster's lead channel differ from the dual rectifier's?

Well i love Mesa
my brother owns a roadster, and its great
but when buying an amp, worry about a REALLY good clean fist, and add distortion with pedals later if you must, but the GREAT clean is more important

[Ghettometalhead]

The only sonic difference you will hear is that the Roasdster has reverb. Other than that , it is a rec with an extra clean channel. As a hardcore mesa head I say that boost pedals arent nessacary. If you want a solo there is a solo booster on the amp that can be accesed via footswich and the boost has a knob on the front that controls how much boost you want. Actually you might end up needing a compressor or a noise supressor . But honestly any more boosting to that amp is for someone in need of psycological help

[Architect]

Originally posted by superjesus117
but when buying an amp, worry about a REALLY good clean fist, and add distortion with pedals later if you must, but the GREAT clean is more important

also, don't listen to this guy.

distortion pedals will NEVER come close to the sound of tube amp distortion, and you should look for WHATS IMPORTANT TO YOU when shopping for amps.

just because an amp sounds good clean does NOT mean that it will sound good distorted.

[Architect]

Originally posted by Ghettometalhead
As a hardcore mesa head I say that boost pedals arent nessacary. If you want a solo there is a solo booster on the amp that can be accesed via footswich and the boost has a knob on the front that controls how much boost you want.

using a boost pedal in front of an amp is not the same as using the boost built in to the amp, and as a self-proclaimed proud member of the mesa family, you should know that.

the amp's built-in boost is in the power amp section, which means that engaging it will only increase the amp's volume.

the whole purpose of running an overdrive or boost pedal before the amp's input is to increase the amp's gain and tighten up the sound.

because while yes, roadsters do have massive gobs of gain, as you cross into the amp's higher gain settings, the tone gets very fizzy and loose and flabby, none of which are conducive to good metal tones (or good guitar tones in general, for that matter).

setting the roadster's gain to a lower setting (anywhere 12 o'clock, for instance) and running a boost pedal in front of the amp will give a completely different, much more tight, focused tone, with a sharper attack.

[helly]

Originally posted by Architect
using a boost pedal in front of an amp is not the same as using the boost built in to the amp, and as a self-proclaimed proud member of the mesa family, you should know that.

the amp's built-in boost is in the power amp section, which means that engaging it will only increase the amp's volume.

the whole purpose of running an overdrive or boost pedal before the amp's input is to increase the amp's gain and tighten up the sound.

because while yes, roadsters do have massive gobs of gain, as you cross into the amp's higher gain settings, the tone gets very fizzy and loose and flabby, none of which are conducive to good metal tones (or good guitar tones in general, for that matter).

setting the roadster's gain to a lower setting (anywhere 12 o'clock, for instance) and running a boost pedal in front of the amp will give a completely different, much more tight, focused tone, with a sharper attack.

QF-MFin-T... this is the only way to get real proper metal tones out of a Recto.

[Braunz0]

Originally posted by Architect
also, don't listen to this guy.

distortion pedals will NEVER come close to the sound of tube amp distortion, and you should look for WHATS IMPORTANT TO YOU when shopping for amps.

just because an amp sounds good clean does NOT mean that it will sound good distorted.

I beg to differ, sir. I STRONGLY beg to differ. Not that I'm saying pedals are always better, but that is certainly NOT the case.

[Architect]

Originally posted by Braunz0
I beg to differ, sir. I STRONGLY beg to differ. Not that I'm saying pedals are always better, but that is certainly NOT the case.

for the record, note that i did not say tube amp distortion was better. i just said that a pedal will never come close to sounding the same.


my main purpose in wording that comment in the way that i did was to stress the point that the original poster shouldn't go out there and throw down a bunch of cash on an original blackface twin reverb and then put a distortion pedal in front of it and expect it to sound like a roadster.

perhaps i was too vague in the way that i phrased my original comment.

[superjesus117]

Originally posted by Architect
also, don't listen to this guy.

distortion pedals will NEVER come close to the sound of tube amp distortion, and you should look for WHATS IMPORTANT TO YOU when shopping for amps.

just because an amp sounds good clean does NOT mean that it will sound good distorted.

A clean tone is more important, you can get almost any distortion later, hell you could slave out to a mesa like James Hetfield used to do, sure, a tube amp distortion is a great thing to have, but not at the expensive of a really good clean
thats is the first thing i look at when trying amps, the clean tones.

[Supergrunged]

It's all the Mesa Rectifier tone, yes, it's the same preamp. As far as a pedal that comes close, you can look into the V-Twin, but they're quite fun to try and find, it is pretty close tube sound, with an accual tube preamp.

The mesa distortion does get kindof flubby, and I end up having to boost the front end to get a nice thick distortion that doesn't loose definition. Plus, I also need to cut over a 5150. If you're playing in a 2 guitarist band, I wouldn't reccomend a recto if you want to cut.

The roadsters are great head, I know they're quite finicky on what they stick the mesa name to, but to be honest, try it out thoroughly before buying one, most mesas have an entire pamplet of options to help you get the sound you want.

I stick to the 2 channel duel rec because it's all I need, I don't need a huge footswitch, but find what works for you, the problem is, not everything can come in one box, so you may be sacrificing one thing for another. Mesas are great players amp, but they take a lot of tweaking, look into one, and see what you think, great amp, but not for everyone.

[Alexi(god)Laiho]

If you play like I do, then the clean channel will never be used.

also pedal dist. doesnt feel the same.
i tend to find it much thinner and, to me, much harder to play. Its less saturated souding.

[Architect]

Originally posted by superjesus117
A clean tone is more important, you can get almost any distortion later, hell you could slave out to a mesa like James Hetfield used to do, sure, a tube amp distortion is a great thing to have, but not at the expensive of a really good clean
thats is the first thing i look at when trying amps, the clean tones.

dude, its obvious that you don't know what the **** you're talking about. just let it go.

like Alexi(god)Laiho said, some players never bother switching to the clean channel in the first place. some people just aren't concerned with clean tones at all. i have an amp that i use strictly for clean (fender twin) and an amp that i use strictly for distortion (mesa dual rec). I didn't buy the mesa because it sounded good clean. i bought it because it sounded good distorted, and that was what i was looking for in an amp at the time.

when amp shopping, people should look for what is important to THEM in an amp. If someone is looking for an amp with great distortion, i don't give a **** how great it sounds clean. if the distortion is sub-par, thats that.

by saying blanket statements like "clean is more important than distortion," and "only buy an amp that sounds good clean," you run the risk of influencing people to buy something that they don't want/need.