My local on line dictionary defines a roadster as “an automobile with an open body that seats two and has a folding fabric top and often a luggage compartment or rumble seat in the rear." In other words, a “roadster” is a stripped down car designed to make the occupants look cool, and Mesa Boogie’s new Dual Rectifier Roadster guitar amplifier does exactly that: it makes the player look extremely cool and it’s a stripped down amp, because the Roadster is a Road King with a lot of the confusing bells and whistles stripped away.

Our pals at Mesa put it this way: “In fact, the Roadster is a Road King without Progressive Linkage™ and other rear panel features that some players fear need a higher education to navigate. The Roadster now offers the plug-and-play minded guitarist a way to enjoy a myriad of footswitchable preamp choices without the power option anxiety.” My guess is that one of two things happened: Road King sales were a little stiff because of the price tag, so they decided to get rid of some features, or more likely, players couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on with all the switches and what not on the amp’s reverse side, so they simplified matters for those of us who aren’t electrical engineers.
Whatever the reasoning, the Roadster is a terrific reincarnation of its elder sibling and is a great, versatile and powerful amp for the serious rock guitarist.

The Roadster is equipped with four independent channels, two rhythm (low gain) and two lead (high gain) with the guts of the machine contained on the front panel. Each channel has independent gain, treble, mid, bass, presence and master volume controls. Each channel also has three different modes with different voicings that are controlled by a toggle switch:

1: Clean/Fat/Tweed
2: Clean/Fat/Brit
3: Raw/Vintage/Modern
4: Raw/Vintage/Modern

An Output control regulates overall volume. The Solo control may be adjusted to provide higher volume for lead solos using the footswitch. There is also an On/Standby Switch and a Bold/Spongy switch. The latter when in “Spongy” reduces the voltage to create a “brown” sound with increased harmonic spread.and an increased ability to create overdrive.

The guts of the amp are in the 4x6L6, 6x12AX7 and 2x5U4G tubes that power this monstrosity. The various switches in the amp permit switching between different combinations for high tonal selectivity. The 6L6’s may be swapped out for EL34’s for a more Brit sound but make sure that you change the bias and are aware that the EL34’s will compromise tube life. Note also that this is one of the differences between the Roadster and the Road King, which came equipped with EL34’s that were controlled by the maze of switches present on the King and absent from the Roadster.

The reverse of the amp contains additional key features. Each channel has a separate Reverb, Diode/Recto, 50/100 Watt, and FX On controls. The reverb sounds great. The Diode switch allows you to select the 5U4G’s or a silicon diode rectifier for tighter punch. This is great for convenience in performance because you can dial up vastly different sounds in advance and select them just by pushing the footswitch. There are also FX/looping jacks and bypass switch, speaker extension inputs, Slave Out, and a footswitch controller jack.

The manual, as is customary with Mesa products, is extremely clear and detailed. Every control on the amp is explained. Suggested amp settings are provided including numerous diagrams. Much time is spent explaining the differences between the different channels and channel switches and makes clear that, for example, “Fat” on one channel is not identical to “Fat” on the other channel.

The bottom line, of course, is how does it sound and is it worth the money? The answer to the first question is: “Great”. Admittedly best suited to rock players who need high gain in their performances, you can dial up a great variety of sounds from blues to clean to rhythm to very high gain lead. The four channels provide extraordinary versatility during performance and the amp is well-suited for recording as well. I wouldn’t buy this if I were a jazz or country player, though. As for the second question, once you’ve decided you want a boutique-type amp like this, it’s tough to go wrong. The real issue for me is whether to buy the Roadster or the more expensive Road King, which will probably cost you an additional $200-$300 for even more versatility. For my money, when you’re talking a cost at this level ($1800-$2000, depending on time, place, and big box store or eBay), I think I’d go with the extra money and get the King, but that’s entirely up to you. No question that this is a fabulous amp and well worth the money.

The amp is available in 1x12 or 2x12 combos or a head. Mesa claims that it has a new closed amp system that creates a 4x12 half-stack sound in a combo. I’ll leave that to the listener to determine (I tried the 2x12, which certainly has plenty of chunk). The combo has casters on the bottom so if you want to push it around and pretend you’re cruising at altitude in Jag XKE, you can do that, too.

Technical Specifications:

Multi-Watt™, Channel Assignable Power Amp (Patent Pending) allows you to assign either 2 or all 4 Power Tubes to each Channel for Power Ratings of 50 or 100 Watts of Class A/B Power via independent 50/100 Watt Power Switches / 4x6L6, 6x12AX7, 2x5U4

Bias Select Switch (6L6/EL34)
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, Bass, Mid, Treble, Presence, All-Tube, Long Spring Reverb, Channel Assignable Dual Rectification (Diode or Tube Tracking – Patent Pending), All-Tube FX Loop with Send Level Control (over all channels when activated)

Output Level Control (over all channels when activated)

Footswitchable Solo Level Control – Patent 6,724,897 (over all channels when activated)

Bold/Spongy “Variac” Switch

True “Hard” Bypass Switch that removes FX Loops, Output Level & Solo Level Controls from signal path

Slave Out w/Level Control

External Switching Jacks for Channels 1, 2, 3, 4, Solo, Reverb, FX Loop & Hundred Watt

7 Button Footswitch (Channel 1, Channel 2, Channel 3, Channel 4, Reverb, FX Loop & Solo)

Slip Cover

Other amp reviews from buffoonery:

Marshall Super 100 JH
Peavey Classic 30 Combo
Crate Power Block
Roland Micro Cube
Mesa 5:25 Express
Mesa Stiletto Ace
Fender Cyber Twin
Line 6 Vetta II Combo
Mesa 5:50 Express
Line 6 Spider III 75
Mesa Lone Star Combo
Vox Valvetronix AD60VT
Mesa Stiletto Deuce
Mesa Triple Rectifier Head
Fender DSP 65
Peavey Triple XXX Head
Fender Super Sonic 1x12 Combo
Hughes and Kettner Switchblade 50 Combo
Fender MH 500 Metalhead
64 Fender Vibroverb Custom Blackface
Mesa Dual Rectifier Roadster
Peavey Penta Head
Peavey JSX Joe Satriani Signature Head
Line 6 Spider II Head
Crate Acoustic CA30
Line 6 Flextone III Plus
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And you may also be interested in a few books such as:

Hugo Pinksterboer – Tipbook Amplifiers and Effects
Ritchie Fliegler – Amps: The Other Half of Rock and Roll
Michael Ross – Getting Great Guitar Sounds: A Non-Technical Approach to Shaping Your Personal Sound





Recommended: Yes