Mesa Boogie Road King II Head

Mesa Boogie went through and virtually overall hauled the kinks that they had in the series l amplifiers. The improved the range of EQ's for sonic improvements and they restructured the voicing of the amp for over all enhancement. The features are exactly the same as the original and the look of the amp has not changed. Most people who have played both would agree that the series ll is a much improved amp overall.

This is one beast of an amp! This one probably is the flag ship amp that Mesa Boogie carries. This amp is the most versatile amp that they make. It is like the Roadster as far as sound and front panel features. The thing that separates this from the Roadster is the back panel features. You can set up so many variations of tubes combination and biasing that makes it a recording dream amp. For someone who is recording this amp is a pleasure to have in the session. Since sound engineers have so many tracks and options of layering guitar tracks and mixing. Having an amp that will be able to mix and match EL34 and 6L6's in just about any configuration is remarkable. The over all tone and sound you get from this is parallel to the Roadster, except you have even more of a variety of tube options at your disposal.

UTILIZATION

Handbuilt in Petaluma, California

Multi-Watt™ Channel Assignable Power Amp with Progressive Linkage™ (patent 5,559,469) featuring 4x6L6 & 2xEL34, which allows you to select either 2x6L6, 2xEL34, 2x6L6+2xEL34, 4x6L6
or 4x6L6+2xEL34 for Power Ratings of 50, 100 & 120 Watts! / 6x12AX7, 2x5U4

Fixed Bias for Consistent, Maintenance Free Performance

4 Fully Independent Channels with 12 Modes (Channel 1 =Clean, Fat or Tweed™, Channel 2 =Clean, Fat or Brit, Channels 3 & 4=Raw, Vintage High Gain or Modern High Gain)

Each Channel features Independent Gain, Treble, Mid, Bass, Presence, All-Tube Long Spring Reverb, 5 Position Progressive Linkage Power Tube Select (choices listed above), Channel Assignable Dual Rectification with Recto Tracking™ (Diode or Tube Tracking – Patents 5,168,438 & 7,193,458), Speaker Output Select (Speaker Out A, B or A+B), FX Loop 1 and 2 Select (2-Series Loop On/Off Switches per Channel or Footswitch Assignable)

Output Level Control (over all channels when activated)

SOUNDS


I liked keeping it on the diode tracking. It sounded just as awesome with the tube tracking but I felt it needed that extra umph or sizzle in the amp. The thing lives on channel four on the modern mode. I enjoyed this mode the best because it gives that feeling of pure enjoyment when playing. Mesa's are known for their instant gratification.

Run a Les Paul or a humbucker style guitar in front of this amp and you can hear and feel the power it delivers. It has a unique sizzle only found in rectos. The sponge and tight feature is cool when you need to use it in drop tunings then switch it over to the tight side. If you are playing hard rock and need only a half tuning or regular then keep in on sponge. On the sponge setting you will find the amp a bit more forgiving.

OVERALL OPINION

I would but this amp over and over again because the versatility that no other amp on the market can compete with. You have a recording engineer's dream and an active gigging musicians prize possession.

I would recommend this amp to anyone who needs a lot of options from his guitar amp. This amp is so versatile that if I owned a recording studio this is one amp that I would own as a "must have" to complete my studio.

At new they come in at around $2700. That seems to be a fare price for this well built machine. It is going to be high for high school kids but this amp wasn't built for that market. This is a professional guitarist's amplifier.

The main difference with this amp from the previous Roadking's and Roadster's was the improved voicing of the channels. Especially the clean tones. Now the entire amp has been slightly re-voiced to a much high sonic improvement.

This is one beast of an amp! This one probably is the flag ship amp that Mesa Boogie carries. This amp is the most versatile amp that they make. It is like the Roadster as far as sound and front panel features. The thing that separates this from the Roadster is the back panel features. You can set up so many variations of tubes combination and biasing that makes it a recording dream amp. For someone who is recording this amp is a pleasure to have in the session. Since sound engineers have so many tracks and options of layering guitar tracks and mixing. Having an amp that will be able to mix and match EL34 and 6L6's in just about any configuration is remarkable. The over all tone and sound you get from this is parallel to the Roadster, except you have even more of a variety of tube options at your disposal.

UTILIZATION

Handbuilt in Petaluma, California

Multi-Watt™ Channel Assignable Power Amp with Progressive Linkage™ (patent 5,559,469) featuring 4x6L6 & 2xEL34, which allows you to select either 2x6L6, 2xEL34, 2x6L6+2xEL34, 4x6L6
or 4x6L6+2xEL34 for Power Ratings of 50, 100 & 120 Watts! / 6x12AX7, 2x5U4

Fixed Bias for Consistent, Maintenance Free Performance

4 Fully Independent Channels with 12 Modes (Channel 1 =Clean, Fat or Tweed™, Channel 2 =Clean, Fat or Brit, Channels 3 & 4=Raw, Vintage High Gain or Modern High Gain)

Each Channel features Independent Gain, Treble, Mid, Bass, Presence, All-Tube Long Spring Reverb, 5 Position Progressive Linkage Power Tube Select (choices listed above), Channel Assignable Dual Rectification with Recto Tracking™ (Diode or Tube Tracking – Patents 5,168,438 & 7,193,458), Speaker Output Select (Speaker Out A, B or A+B), FX Loop 1 and 2 Select (2-Series Loop On/Off Switches per Channel or Footswitch Assignable)

Output Level Control (over all channels when activated)

SOUNDS

I liked keeping it on the diode tracking. It sounded just as awesome with the tube tracking but I felt it needed that extra umph or sizzle in the amp. The thing live on channel four on the modern mode.

Run a Les Paul or a humbucker style guitar in front of this amp and you can hear and feel the power it delivers. It has a unique sizzle only found in rectos. The sponge and tight feature is cool when you need to use it in drop tunings then switch it over to the tight side. If you are playing hard rock and need only a half tuning or regular then keep in on sponge. On the sponge setting you will find the amp a bit more forgiving.

OVERALL OPINION

I would recommend this amp to anyone who needs a lot of options from his guitar amp. This amp is so versatile that if I owned a recording studio this is one amp that I would own as a "must have" to complete my studio.

At new they come in at around $2700. That seems to be a fare price for this well built machine. It is going to be high for high school kids but this amp wasn't built for that market. This is a professional guitarist's amplifier.

The Road King II is basically a product that was made thanks in part to Petrucci's Lonestar and Road King setup he used during the Train of Thought tour. The biggest issue with the old Road King was that the clean was somewhat bland. However, they added the Lonestar clean channel to this amp, and it really shines now. Aside from the Lonestar circuit in channels one and two, this amp is pretty much the same.

UTILIZATION

Mesa did a great job at laying everything out. At first, it looks like a lot, but everything is clearly labeled and logical when it comes to utilization. The manual on this is amazing, just like all the Mesa manuals out there. It describes how to dial it in, what controls do what, where the sweet spots are, and so on. There are reports of some channel popping, so keep that in mind when using this amp.

SOUNDS

The amp is ridiculously awesome. The clean tones are absolutely superb, midgain tones are nice and lead tones are amazing. Boosting this amp takes it into a new dimension as well. It is versatile enough to do any style out there from jazz to metal, although I have a feeling the people who buy this will lean towards the rock/metal aspects of music. The coolest feature is easily the tube selection. It adds so much versatility to this amp that it's almost mind blowing. They really outdid themselves with this amp, and the much needed clean channel improvements take this amp to a new dimension.

OVERALL OPINION

If you're looking for an extremely versatile four channel amp that can do nearly any genre, I recommend checking this thing out. While the controls might be a bit hard to get used to for first timers, it should be pretty easy to get a good tone out of this thing. If you already have the original Road King and don't care that much about the clean channels, I say hang onto it. If you gotta have that Lonestar clean channel, however, this is the amp to get.

The Road King is part of Series 2 Series Dual Rectifier Mesa Boogie in a revolution for the High Gain. It's a real little jewel. Power amplifiers and speakers assignable 12 patterns in 4 independent channels ... a monster!

This amp head has 5 assignable power amps (back of the head), with a total of 6 lamps:
For amplification of 50W: 2x6L6 or 2xEL34
For a 100W amplifier: 4x6L6 or 2x6L6 + 2xEL34
For a 120W amplifier, total lamp (4x6L6 2xEL34 +)

Lamps pre-amplification: 5x12AX7
Lamps rectifier: 2x5U4

Total lights in the Beast: 13!

It has 4 independent channels, gain settings, EQ and presence are on the front. In each channel, there is a choice between three different modes:
Channel 1: Clean, Fat or Tweed
Channel 2: Clean, Fat or Brit
Channel 3 and 4: Raw, Vintage High Gain or Modern High Gain

Total patterns: 12!

Each channel has a reverb effect, adjustable rear.
There is next to a selector Rectifier (diode or lamp silicones).
Two effects loops / O Jack (Loop1 and Loop2).
Selector "Variac" Bold / Spongy.
Selector Pentode / Triode for EL34.
Slave output with level control.

There was also a selector speaker output (A, B or A + B).
This switch is useful if you have the speakers that come with specially designed for this series, namely the Road King 2x12 4x12''and''. The speakers on the left (A) actually have a vintage sound, and those on the right (B) a modern sound.

We have two main outputs and Master Solo, thereby giving a boost ... the volume for solos.

To manage all these people, there is in addition to the "KingKontroller," which is a foot controller to 9 buttons (Channel 1, Channel 2, Channel 3, Channel 4, external trigger (External Trigger), Reverb, Loop of effects 1, effects loop 2, and Solo).

Sun & Weight: 25.5 Kgs, 265 x 705 x 295 mm.

UTILIZATION

The configuration is not so simple at first glance, because many of these settings as lights, speakers. But you get used to it quickly!
One could spend years to address this monster with all its possibilities.
It is clear that the Road King is primarily used in concert, the use of this head has good power to tear ours again (at least it off the eardrum ).
It's still nice to set the amp to 50W.

SOUNDS

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OVERALL OPINION

YYYYYYEEESSSSSSSS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!