Roadking II vs. Mesa Mark V?

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glpg80

glpg80

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I’d like to unload my 6505+ and get either one of these. I can’t decide which and in this economy I can’t justify buying to try. Cost wise they’re about the same.

I like the cleans of the roadking II more, but like the Marshall style crunch of the mark V. High gain wise the mids sit better in the roadking II but I prefer the gain structure of the mark V more.

I’m honestly at a standstill and they’re neck and neck. Anyone have clips to share or anything to add?
 
Make sure the road king is in tip top condition

The infinite mute channel switch relay thing is possibly the most annoying amp "feature" in the history of planet earth
 
For a similar price I’d get a mark iv over a v, but given the coliseum you have and your modded Marshall’s I don’t really see what a mark v really brings to the table. I owned a Mark V for about 4 years though in the past. Haven’t kept up with mark prices though lately admittedly outside iic+’s

The Roadking at least gives you the distinct recto flavor that you don’t have, although I prefer the sound of older Recto’s. Maybe a Rev G or Tremoverb would be worth considering unless you really need the extra flexibility of the Roadking or Roadster. Also, my tech, who is amazing, says that roadsters or roadkings are the most annoying/hard amps to work on if something goes wrong with it. I’m not a tech guy at all, just his words on it
 
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braintheory said:
The Roadking at least gives you the distinct recto flavor that you don’t have, although I prefer the sound of older Recto’s. Maybe a Rev G or Tremoverb would be worth considering unless you really need the extra flexibility of the Roadking or Roadster. Also, my tech, who is amazing, says that roadsters or roadkings are the most annoying/hard amps to work on if something goes wrong with it. I’m not a tech guy at all, just his words on it
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I agree here. Get a rev G, tremo, or multi watt.
 
So tell me again beyond complexity of the roadking II why all of a sudden these are being recommended?

I’ve heard the soundclips of the ones mentioned and I feel like a multi watt is trying to do something my Coli does with the over the top brightness and Mesa high gain sound but with less headroom. I don’t personally see the justification for rev G/F prices given the features the mark V and roadking II provide.

Reason for the V is a great channel switcher platform. Based on clips I don’t really see the desire for the IV, to my ears the IV mode of a V sounds better than a IV?

Are we anticipating IV to do what IIIs have done with shooting up in value?
 
I have all 3 amps.. well a 6505II not plus
Best amp in order of High gain imo
1. 6505II
2. Road King II
3. MarkV

Best amp in order of clean Ch imo

1. Road King II
2. Mark V
3. 6505II

I'd get rid of the MarkV first. Something about the Mark V gives me ear fatigue after a while of playing.
The Road King is great for a studio but would hate to lug that bitch around
 
I had a road king version 1. It left me underwhelmed dude. I think you’re better off just going with a 5. However I have never played a 5 either. My roadking sounded great and the cleans were stellar… but I just couldn’t jive with it.
 
To be honest after Carl talking about the 7…he sold me on it…
 
glpg80 said:
So tell me again beyond complexity of the roadking II why all of a sudden these are being recommended?

I’ve heard the soundclips of the ones mentioned and I feel like a multi watt is trying to do something my Coli does with the over the top brightness and Mesa high gain sound but with less headroom. I don’t personally see the justification for rev G/F prices given the features the mark V and roadking II provide.

Reason for the V is a great channel switcher platform. Based on clips I don’t really see the desire for the IV, to my ears the IV mode of a V sounds better than a IV?

Are we anticipating IV to do what IIIs have done with shooting up in value?
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I find the multi-watt Recto’s to just be the recto flavor rather than being as comparable to the sound of mark amps. I guess the red mode on Recto’s can be more mark-like, but I only use the orange mode. That’s where you get the iconic throaty recto growl that’s not in the cards for marks. The colisuems will definitely win in headroom, no argument or much contest there, but it’s a different tone than the recto orange ch

I’d personally take the amp with better tone and feel over extra features every time, but I guess that just depends on one’s needs

Clips can only show so much. The real mark IV IME is better than the iv mode on the V and I owned a V for about 4 years. If possible it’s best to try the amps out in person, but I understand it’s maybe not feasible

No idea where the IV’s value will go. I try to leave cost and stuff like that out of the discussion and just focus on how they sound. With your coli you may not care as much for the IV anyway, hard to say
 
I have a fellow local gigger that for years used a RK1. He loved it, and all the features that came with it. Until he grabbed a Rev F about 7 years ago. He said the RK sounded like a cheap attempt at a Recto tone, compared to his F. He couldn't believe the difference. I'm not saying there's THAT much difference, but if I'm going Recto, and in your case you have killer Marshalls, and a killer III Coli, I'd pass on the RK and go for a G Recto, MW, or bide your time and find an F or earlier. With your skills you also can EASILY do the G to C mod...for much less $$ than an F or earlier.

The RK seems to pack a TON of great features but the overall tone isn't quite as good as a MW, G or earlier...
 
Racerxrated said:
I have a fellow local gigger that for years used a RK1. He loved it, and all the features that came with it. Until he grabbed a Rev F about 7 years ago. He said the RK sounded like a cheap attempt at a Recto tone, compared to his F. He couldn't believe the difference. I'm not saying there's THAT much difference, but if I'm going Recto, and in your case you have killer Marshalls, and a killer III Coli, I'd pass on the RK and go for a G Recto, MW, or bide your time and find an F or earlier. With your skills you also can EASILY do the G to C mod...for much less $$ than an F or earlier.

The RK seems to pack a TON of great features but the overall tone isn't quite as good as a MW, G or earlier...
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Yes, saves more time imo to just get the better version from the get go and often times also lose less when/if selling
 
This is making more sense now.

I have research to do on G to C or F to C mods and also what iron was used.

If I go earlier Mesa, what years or models were chrome chassis?

Correct I’ve worked really hard to round things out Marshall style (Laney GH100S), modded Marshall (Bogner, Marshall’s), mark series, and I don’t play my 5150ii that much anymore with the others in the stable. I’m also just over it tonally - I’ve had that amp since 2005 and recapped the filters once already, just want something different.
 
glpg80 said:
This is making more sense now.

I have research to do on G to C or F to C mods and also what iron was used.

If I go earlier Mesa, what years or models were chrome chassis?

Correct I’ve worked really hard to round things out Marshall style (Laney GH100S), modded Marshall (Bogner, Marshall’s), mark series, and I don’t play my 5150ii that much anymore with the others in the stable. I’m also just over it tonally - I’ve had that amp since 2005 and recapped the filters once already, just want something different.
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You can find chrome chassis G Rectos that were made up till the G changed to the 3 channels; which is late 90s/early 2K I think? The G to C mods are on the Boogie Board; I'll see if I can find them and post a link. If I can do them (I did 5 of the 7 things; 2 were changing resistors and the board is so cramped I didn't feel comfortable lol) you clearly can. The transformers changed during the F production but many feel that is a bunk theory since they sound similar from F to F, before and after the change.
 
Racerxrated said:
I have a fellow local gigger that for years used a RK1. He loved it, and all the features that came with it. Until he grabbed a Rev F about 7 years ago. He said the RK sounded like a cheap attempt at a Recto tone, compared to his F. He couldn't believe the difference. I'm not saying there's THAT much difference, but if I'm going Recto, and in your case you have killer Marshalls, and a killer III Coli, I'd pass on the RK and go for a G Recto, MW, or bide your time and find an F or earlier. With your skills you also can EASILY do the G to C mod...for much less $$ than an F or earlier.

The RK seems to pack a TON of great features but the overall tone isn't quite as good as a MW, G or earlier...
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All of this!!!!


Plus I honestly just think the mark V is a boxy mess and you have dang near pinnacle of the mark series. IMO.
 
I have owned several mesas. Roadster, rectoverb, triple rectifier three channel revision G, mark III++ red strip, mark v, Mesa dual recto revision G modded to C by Mesa, multiwatt triple and a mesa mark Vii. The mark VII is a solid choice if you can go that route over the V. I prefer it by a good bit. Out of all the rectifiers my favorite was the revision G/modded to revision C but the multiwatt triple is also very good with the added benefit of a great clean channel.
 
glpg80 said:
This is making more sense now.

I have research to do on G to C or F to C mods and also what iron was used.

If I go earlier Mesa, what years or models were chrome chassis?

Correct I’ve worked really hard to round things out Marshall style (Laney GH100S), modded Marshall (Bogner, Marshall’s), mark series, and I don’t play my 5150ii that much anymore with the others in the stable. I’m also just over it tonally - I’ve had that amp since 2005 and recapped the filters once already, just want something different.
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Here's the link to the G to C mods.......

https://boogieforum.com/threads/want-pre500-tone-heres-how-to-get-it.58838/page-13
 
Unless you're going to actually use all the crazy features of the RK, I'd suggest the Roadster, instead.
 
My opinion is kinda like the above ones. I don’t think you’d be happy at all with the mark or Marshall tones out of the V given you have a way better mark and a way better Marshall already. The road king would be different enough, and fill the space between the two. Only downside is the RK uses about a thousand tubes but your probably use to that by now.
 
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