Monday, January 7, 2008

Mesa Boogie Roadster Guitar Amplifier Review

Mesa Boogie Roadster is one of the best amplifiers a person could own. It's a bit pricey but perhaps one of the best investments for a musician. It is priced at approximately $2000 new. We took the liberty to do a brief analysis from various sources about the Mesa Boogie Roadster.

Features: 10
The amp comes with 4 channels, all having independent reverb, gain, volume, bass, mid and treble controls. Each channel comes with a separate control to change the wattage to 100 to 50 along with two versions of Rectification (diode and tube tracking). The amp is very loud and is very suitable for those who do large gigs. The amp also comes with an effects loop, mute button for tuning breaks, and a solo boost selection.

Now talking about the various channels:
1) Three modes, clean, fat and tweed. The clean mode is astounding with nice crisp cleans which defines each note remarkably. Each mode is set in such a way to increase the gain stages in the sound. This amp is not recommended by many Jazz players, as you won't get that soft sound.

2) Clean, fat and British--This is for those who love to play rock Especially "AC/DC". Just use the British mode and turn the gain up to about 10:30 O'clock. The tone comes to a nice and dirty/gritty drive.

3) Raw, vintage and modern-This channel is perfect for playing leads. Sound is somewhat like a heavily overdriven Marshall JCM800.

4) This channel is perfect, the true Recto voicing for the heavy metal riffs. Very define sound and has a nice scooped smoothness to it. So it deserves a 10!

Sound quality: 10
This amp is designed to bring every kind of tones. The tweed mode in channel one combined with a Fender Strat brings a fantastic stinging Texas blues feel. The clean channels also have a lot of options; Fat, Brit, and Tweed which are distinctly different, with amazing "breakup". You no longer need to use an OD pedal. This amp will satisfy every need for most styles played today. Of course the Roadster comes with a spring reverb on board. Another popular comment was the Mesa Boogie Roadster even sounded good at lower volumes.

Reliability: 9
Well when it comes to Mesa Boogie, I guess every thing is reliable and so is this amp. AS long as you have spare tubes and fuses (which is essential to have on hand anyhow) you are fine!
Customer support:
Mesa's phone service is great! Friendly and helpful, usually you get connected to someone immediately. The reason they get a 9 is because a lot of customer emails are not always promptly replied to.

Overall: 10
If you are seeking out the one for all amplifiers, then the Roadster would be a great choice. And is great value for your money. The Mesa Boogie is the "All American Guitar Tube Amp!"

Mesa Boogie Roadster Hands-On Review - Clean

Mesa Boogie Roadster Video Review - Dirty

Mesa Boogie Roadster Review - Metal

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