Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Simon D on April 26, 2008, 06:43:09 PM
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I received my Mesa Roadster on Monday, after waiting for a quite a while for it to come in from the US. Sadly, it's going back to the dealer next Monday.
The reason? I'll hold my hands up here: I $%&#ed up. It's an awesome amplifier, but totally over the top for my needs. Living where I am, it simply cannot be used to even 1/10th of its potential. In my defence, when I ordered it, I was in the process, with a friend, of putting together a gigging band, but that has gone south in the last few weeks due to work committments and other things.
I also thought the 50w mode would allow it to be run harder at lower volumes, but I didn't really have any idea of what sort of volume it would need to be kicking out to sound as good as it should. That level is waaay above anything I could use in a semi-detached house.
I'm gutted about it, and feel like a right pillock, but there's very little I can do, and it's a whole hill of money to pay for something that isn't going to be right for me.
Thankfully, the store I bought it from has a 7 day, no-quibble refund policy and awesome customer service, so returning it is not an issue.
A pic of the departing amp:
(http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q50/sld5150/Roadster.jpg)
So there we have it. If you think I look like a bit of a dumbass right now, just know that I feel like one too.
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Buy a Hotplate! Or similar.
I have a 50w Rockerverb that I play through a 4x12 in my lounge, and with the hotplate I have complete control of it's output.
Ok I know I can't get the full tone potential, but I can get most of it. If you really like the head, look into getting an attenuator!
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I did think about that, but I can't afford to spend any more money right now - i was stretching my budget with it as it was. If I'd had 30 days to change my mind, I mght have done, but it was only seven, and I didn't want to have to try to shift it privately. The calls have been made now, and the courier is coming on Monday.
Thankfully, I didn't throw the boxes out...
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I always get the quiddles when I see that many knobs. The roadster still has twice as many knobs on its back panel as I have on the whole Bogner Shiva. I really like the TinyTerror for that reason, though I sold it :O(
You could get a Rectifier Recording Preamp, what about that?
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You could get a Rectifier Recording Preamp, what about that?
That sounds a little complicated for me. I don't mind loads of different dials and so on, but the idea of a separate pre and power amp, for some reason, doesn't appeal. What are the advantages, hunter?
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You can have the most ellaborate amp in the world - With a 5 watt power amp...
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I also thought the 50w mode would allow it to be run harder at lower volumes, but I didn't really have any idea of what sort of volume it would need to be kicking out to sound as good as it should. That level is waaay above anything I could use in a semi-detached house.
It might be half-power, but 50 watts is still a hell of a lot of power! Not just waaay, but waaaaaaaayyy above household levels.
Sorry to hear it didn't work out, Simon, but I'm glad you can get a full refund without any problems.
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You could get a Rectifier Recording Preamp, what about that?
That sounds a little complicated for me. I don't mind loads of different dials and so on, but the idea of a separate pre and power amp, for some reason, doesn't appeal. What are the advantages, hunter?
Well you could play it through anything, even a monitor system. And I heard some recordings that sounded pretty darn good.
But yeah, just think it's the best way of getting MESA sound without volume. Or you could try a Lonestar.
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I also thought the 50w mode would allow it to be run harder at lower volumes, but I didn't really have any idea of what sort of volume it would need to be kicking out to sound as good as it should. That level is waaay above anything I could use in a semi-detached house.
It might be half-power, but 50 watts is still a hell of a lot of power! Not just waaay, but waaaaaaaayyy above household levels.
Sorry to hear it didn't work out, Simon, but I'm glad you can get a full refund without any problems.
Cheers Philly. I have to confess I was something of a noob when it came to tube amps and power ratings. No longer though.
Oh, and I wish I'd thought to do that with the text sizes, sums it up quite nicely... :wink:
I'm proabably going to have a look at the Lonestar Special in a little while Hunter, a friend of my dad's has one which I've tried in the past - might ask for another go...
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Just get an attenuator. I've gota 120 watt amp with a 4x12 cab in a two bed flat and it's fine.
As for the band, you never know whats around the corner.
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Horse has left the barn on that one I'm afraid Johnny - it's boxed ready for the courier tomorrow morning.
If I'd had a 30-day refund period, I would have given an attenuator a go, but I had to make a quick decision or face having to shift it on the second-hand market.
I'm not giving up though - I'll find something a bit more manageable though, and I'm determined not to bollox it up this time. :roll:
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I'm of the opinion that most guys do not need more than 10-20 watts for home or studio use - and that may still be too much
My Cornell Romany is 10 watts using a 6L6 or EL34 and would make an ideal power section for a valve preamp., but it seems that all amps of that power have hardly any gain or features relying on power amp overdrive (not a bad thing ) but not the same as a Dual rectifier.
I see a huge market for 10w Marshall/Boogie or whatever valve amps using big bottle valves in a single ended design (rather than an EL84 which doesnt sound the same). They would have the same features as a plexi ort channel switching high gain amp but only 10W - ideal for most home players.
Marshall admit that 95% of their 50W and 100W amps never leave a bedroom - dont see why they dont do something like this.
I would rather have a Egnater M4 preamp and a 10W power amp anyday for home use
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Marshall admit that 95% of their 50W and 100W amps never leave a bedroom - dont see why they dont do something like this.
That's just crazy, isn't it?! :o
I guess we've just all grown up seeing those walls of amps and cabs (many of them dummies, ironically :roll: ) at gigs and think that's what we "need". It's amazing that only now are a few manufacturers starting to produce low-power amps for home use. Why did it take so long?
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...solution....buy a BIGGER house!!!my wife actually thinks we bought our house to live in..(its my studio,warehouse,rehearsal space,etc...sssshhhh...!!) :)
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Did you mean something like this feline? http://www.ax84.com/october.html The club version in particular. I know it is single ended lol, but it seems quite a good little studio amp. :twisted:
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...solution....buy a BIGGER house!!!my wife actually thinks we bought our house to live in..(its my studio,warehouse,rehearsal space,etc...sssshhhh...!!) :)
But....but.....those things ARE living!
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I'm of the opinion that most guys do not need more than 10-20 watts for home or studio use - and that may still be too much
My Cornell Romany is 10 watts using a 6L6 or EL34 and would make an ideal power section for a valve preamp., but it seems that all amps of that power have hardly any gain or features relying on power amp overdrive (not a bad thing ) but not the same as a Dual rectifier.
I see a huge market for 10w Marshall/Boogie or whatever valve amps using big bottle valves in a single ended design (rather than an EL84 which doesnt sound the same). They would have the same features as a plexi ort channel switching high gain amp but only 10W - ideal for most home players.
Marshall admit that 95% of their 50W and 100W amps never leave a bedroom - dont see why they dont do something like this.
I would rather have a Egnater M4 preamp and a 10W power amp anyday for home use
agreed. if i could have got a 20-30 watt amp with the tones and features of my engl, i'd have done so.
maybe even less wattage, but when you're spending big money you like to know that it might handle gigs too, just in case you ever get a band...
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My Vox AD30VT is usually set down to somewhere near 3 or 4 Watts. I had it on 30 Watts for a blast and it shook the house, scared the cat and the neighbours neighbour could hear it. Wouldn't mind if I wasn't a 10 thumbed tone deaf muppett and it sounded good, ut it's just badly played noise.
Right bugger about the amp mate, but lives and learns. At least it only looks like pride that got a dent and not your wallet, so no real harm done.
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I'm sure that some power valves handle low volumes MUCH better than others.
My Engl Savage has 6550s & while it is capable of truly staggering volume, it also handles bedroom levels really well - I guess this shouldn't be surprising as 6550s are also used in "high end" hi-fi amps.
Sorry to hear that the Mesa didn't work out for you. Slightly surprised as my recto actually sounds rather good with the volume around 2. Still, at least you haven't taken a financial hit (aside from travel/delivery costs...)
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Did you mean something like this feline? http://www.ax84.com/october.html The club version in particular. I know it is single ended lol, but it seems quite a good little studio amp. :twisted:
I am totally into the single ended design idea
Means you can swap power valves if you want a different sound
My Cornell Romany will take an EL34/6L6/6550 or pretty much any tube with an octal base of that size
I just want a stereo valve power amp built the same - maybe with that London Power scaling built in - wonderful!
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I know engl do a preamp with a solid state 2x 1.5 power amp in it, I have no idea if it's any good or what kind of tones you can get out of it though
anyone tried one, I think it was called a tube preamp E530
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Right bugger about the amp mate, but lives and learns. At least it only looks like pride that got a dent and not your wallet, so no real harm done.
That's pretty much my philosophy on it too - I can deal with the pride thing, but if it'd cost me substantial cash, it would really have stung. However, much more care wil be taken next time round. :wink:
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I meant to say the october wasn't single ended, sorry. But here's a single ended power amp, not stereo though http://www.ax84.com/corepoweramps.html (under 20W_SE: AX84 20W Single-Ended Poweramp Files)
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wwow bummer1
my next amp will either be a roadster head or a mark IV head.
I know what you mean though, I currently have a Rectoverb head and a JSX head.
the JSX sounds great at low volumes.
If I don't run my Rectoverb thru a hotplate, on modern mode it's literally
"un -usable" in my house. Mesa amps are ridiculously loud.
My Rectoverb is only 50 watts and it completely dwarfs my JSX volume wise (nad my JSX is rated at 120 watts).
My JSX sounds great though so I keep her around. :guitar4:
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My V6-20 is similar to the October.
I'm thinking of doing a cathode biased version with Pentode/Triode switching which will be about 10 watts.
I'm also working on a practise amp that usese a 12AU7 for the output stage and produces 1-2 watts. When I've built these before I've found that's the ideal power level for home use!
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wwow bummer1
my next amp will either be a roadster head or a mark IV head.
. :guitar4:
-you will love the IV-I had one for a few years..awesome versatility,esp. if you are giggn'!
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keep looking at that.....the ax one
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To those who have Roadsters:
Do you not feel that the roadster's distortion sounds really really bassy but somehow tinny/compressed at the same time?
I didn't like that at all i way prefer the Mark style distortion! But the price threw me off so i eventually went for the F-50 which is a great amp! The distortion is midway between recto and the mark styles... And the clean channel is amazing...
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great to hear,hhcave!!!!