Mesa/Boogie Road King Head

this amp has tons of features. all the things you would want on an amp. i play a lot of ac/dc and not the newest kind of rock. you choose from 4 channels. if the features sounded good i would be happier but they suck! i play at big clubs, parties, and tons of other gigs. the power is ok.

i use a jackson with hot rails seymour duncan pickups. it sounds great to me. i play lead guitar and it isn't as good as there other amps. the channels are not that great as i said before and the reverb sucks because it has delay and for an amp which is so EXPENSIVE i would expect a little more. the clean channel is pretty good in high volumes. when you hit the distortion it has a brutal punch to it. when u put reverb on it it cuts down the distortion too much.

i have has this amp for 3 months and it hasn't had many problems. i would use a back up if u are going to play on stage though. first of i wouldn't even use it on stage. the crowd would boo you off. i gave mine to my cousin who is just starting.

i havent ever called them.

i've been playing for about 11 years and i own a marshall jtm 45 plexi. if it broke or got stolen i wouldn't buy it again. i hate mostly the sound of the channels and the reverb but it looks awesome.

Purchased brand new in june 2003. This amp features 4 channels, each with 3 modes, plus an assignable power amp section that enables you to select either EL34's, 6L6's or both and assign your desired combinations to each seperate channel. it also features auto rectifier tracking which calls up the perfect rectifier combo for your selected power amp configuration...either one 5U4, two 5U4's, Silocon Diodes, or all three.
The amp has two FX loops, one series, one parallel, both switchable on each channel, reverb, also switchable, and the option to even assign different cabinets for different channels i.e open back 2X12 for the clean and a closed 4X12 for the dirt....the roadking does so much more as well, too much to list here. Put simply its the most versatile amp i have ever encountered, having used a Hughes and Kettner Triamp amongst others, and the possiblities for tone seem limitless. im a pro musician and also a lead singer, so the versatility matched with the ease of use is a major selling point to me, allowing me to perform without having to think too much about gear!

Im using a Gibson Lucille and a Gibson SG Custom, both stock guitars with Gibson PAF's in them. Im gonna be experimenting with pickups in the coming months, but i do actually like the stock pickups. Im playing original material that i would consider to be rock n roll in the vein of stone temple pilots/foo fighters - if u had to name-check other bands - but its pretty unique stuff. The road king offers the perfect sound for my needs as a ballsy rhythm guitar player. Its loud (130 watts when all 6 poweramp valves are combined) but not too noisy. I do use a rocktron HUSH pedal in the roadkings series FX loop to keep things a little tighter, but thats mostly to do with using the semi-hollow bodied Gibson Lucille. The sounds range from pristine clean to the filthiest death imaginable. Any sound you have in your head is in this baby somewhere. I also own a dual rec, a mark 4 and a triamp, and this roadking sounds better than all of them put together. One tiny niggle is the huge volume differance between the modes on channels 3 and 4. It seems strange that u have to wind the volume up so much for one sound mode and the other bites your head off. it makes me worry a little bit about power tube ware...but that really is the only thing im not mad about. im still gonna give it ful marks though because the tone, irrespective of volume differences, is awsome!

i haven't owned the amp long so i cant really say how reliable it is, but its built like a tank and is fully flight-cased (not included) and with the options of swithing power tubes via the rear panal rocker switch, if some go down, u could just switch to the others. The other Mesa's i own have NEVER given me a problem, so im gonna judge this as i have judged them. Slightly hard on power tube ware, but more or less faultless

Never had to deal with Mesa direct, but the shop i buy all my gear from are official dealers and they have always been super helpful. The full waranty is one year (6 months for tubes) but i dont envisage having to call upon it.

Ive been playing guitar for about 11 years and have used all sorts of gear in that time. I have swapped a 20 unit rack full of stuff for this amp, so i guess that shows just how versatile i consider it to be.(i still have the rack, just saving it for the studio...plus im a gear head and can't bare to part with equipment)Im gonna buy a back up at some point, not that i think i'll need it, but touring at the level i will be in a little while, u gotta have spare everything. Im just using the amp with its footswitch, a rocktron hush pedal and a electro harmonix small clone in the fx loop, and thats my sound. I love it and i comend Mesa for creating another benchmark that the rest of the industry is gonna have to catch up to. It IS and expensive amp...particularly given UK import taxes, and some would argue its overpriced. Personally i dont mind paying for this kind of versatiliy and build quality.

Brand new in 2003, 4 channels, to many features to list. Really all you'd every need.

I use PRS and Charvel. I play all styles (or try to!) from 50's to current. Amp is quiet except for high gain settings which is normal. Amps sounds range from pretty clean to pretty brutal. I really wanted this amp to work for me, but I tweaked and tweaked and nothing really blew me away. This amp MUST be cranked to get any presence and cut. I mean CRANKED! Not practical for me. Also I could'nt dial out that annoying rectified buzz when distorted. I didn't mind that sound (we do play some Creed) but I wanted to get rid of it for most of my sounds. Channel 1's clean was good but not great. I used the 4 6L6's for clean to get maximum headroom. Sound is clean but not real rich, you know, like a .....Fender Twin. I know, you've heard that before! Sorry. But they do sound nice. Not a bad channel. Channel 2 is pretty good for clean and overdrive (think Vox) and had a very musical midrange thickness to it. I set it to "Brit" and used the EL34 by themselves. Good natural breakup, no buzz on this one. My favorite. Channel 3 was my next favorite. Still, it didn't blow me away but it was good for rhythm and the best for lead in my humble opinion. The rhythm overdrive was good, but here's where that buzz starts creeping in. It's not overtones or richness, just buzz. If you go light on the drive on this channel it's good, just not smooth. In fact, I ran it with the drive dial barely on and it was close but not quite there. You can't seem to get what you'd think should be between Channel 2 and 3. Marshall. (sorry again) A light breakup with warmth AND cut. Leads sound pretty good with the drive on 12:00 and the treble at 2:00 for cut. Take the presence to 9:00 to smooth out the sound. Use the EL34's again, or mix them with the 26L6's. It will fatten the sound but loosen the top end with the 6L6's a little. (that buzz) At low drive settings, (12:00 and under) the channel is very musical. Channel four. This one was the famous Creed, Limp Bizkit sound you hear a lot these days. It's good for that, and I do like it, but not all the time. You can get a good lead sound, but it takes patients. When I got the sustain I wanted, the buzz started to creep (Creed) in. Very annoying and frustrating. I used the EL34's (again) by themselves to get a more even breakup to the sound. When mixed with the 6L6's you get more bass but it becomes very splattered on the high end. I truly hated the 6L6's by themselves when the amp was distorted. When at the highest (3:00) gain settings using the 6L6's, the massive amount of overtones will smooth it out somewhat but by then your Tremonti again. Not a bad thing, just limited. If you rethink the way it's layed out it can be useful. Mesa's intention seemed to be like this: Channel 1 - clean, 2 - crunch, 3 - overdrive, 4 - lead. For me this amp would have worked if I could get more out of channel 2. Then 3 could be my lead and 4 would be Tremonti. For 3 grand I couldn't make that compromise.

Mesa has a good repution but this amp has a lot of features that could break. In between all my tweaking that my band endured the reverb quit intermittantly, and a couple of times when I went to channel 4 for a lead it was gone! Pretty embarassing. Remember, the reverb is supposed to delay a couple seconds before you hear it. That's normal on this amp. But it isn't supposed to go away!

One call and no call back. They forgot I guess. From what I heard this is rare but it happened to me. I took the amp back so I didn't follow up.

I've been playing for 25 years. Just like a lot of players I'm always looking for "my" sound. For me it's somewhere between a Marshall JCM 800 and the older Mesa like 70's sound of Santana. Like I said, I thought this was the most amazing amp I've ever seen, and I really wanted it to work for me. Maybe the whole rectified thing is the problem - I thought ALL amps have rectifiers to convert the current though? I swear, ALL of the Mesa line that are "rectifiers" (and I've played all of them) sound way to harsh for the medium volumes that I use. Maybe I'm expecting to much from tube amps at lower volumes. But the problem really wasn't volume, just cut. The sounds seems to come from the back of the amp. If you can give my some insight on this I would really appreciate it. The only amp by Mesa that I have'nt tried is the Mark IV. I'm hoping that it's voiced differently but not drastically.

I'm very critical...see my previous reviews

Around 20 gigs and not an issue yet...

Guys at Hollywood store are great.

As a heavy user of the Road King, I gotta tell ya the the thing with the reverb is not something I can even hear at stage volumes (clubs). I think my biggest complaint is the 8 - 16 Ohm speaker output...I'm only guessing, but I think it is fixed at 8 Ohms and when I plug my 16 Ohm cab in it seems like I'm not getting full power...which would be the case if the tranny is fixed at 8 on that output.

As a Mesa owner myself, I feel compelled to add my two cents. A couple of reviews down is one by "Phil", and he sounds like a very unhappy tyre kicker in terms of the low reverb level/reverb switching delay on the Road King he test drove.

I'll share what a Mesa support tech told me in response to my question about the reverb delay:

"Reverb cutting out for a couple seconds is normal. It has to do with the muting mechanisms in the amp (LDR's). They bring the reverb in slowly so there is no 'backwash' of reverb that can be less than pleasant to the ears."

In terms of low reverb level - most, if not all Mesa amps are like this. If you don't like it, there's an easy solution: don't use it, or don't buy it in the first place. Mesa reverb is very subtle and beautiful. If you need more reverb, buy a pedal/rack/Fender amp.

Updated from my last review

Was using a Marshall 4-by with G12T-75 speakers and decided that was not right for Mesa stuff...Bought a Legacy 4by with the Vintage 30s and it made a big difference....the grain is gone and the sound is fatter. Rock and Metal sounds improved big-time for my ears.

Not sure yet...8 gigs so far with no problem.

Expensive but worth it. Check out my band, 303, (www.303rocks.com) if you live in SoCal to hear the Road King first hand...It is the type of amp that takes time to learn and use...definitely worth it and an amp that could be your last if you put the time in

just played a road king head at the guitar center. a brand new one that was just put on the floor. i was drawn to the road king because of its versatility, 4 channels, reverb. feature-wise its packed... but it has its flaws. but for general features that it HAS it gets a perfect 10

its got all the settings i would ever need for playing live and studio work. it got me wanting to sell my coveted 94 tripple... till i played with it

i played my parker fly deluxe through the amp. i played with both the magnetic and piezo pickups. and the piezo pickups easily distort the input of the amp it sounds like. i have to turn the piezos way down so it doesnt distort.

it fits my style punk/rock/emo/metal stuff...

i can get a ton of sounds out of it, and it has the brutal distortion ive come to expect out of my tripple rectifier. but in this category came the deal breaker for me. i REALLY REALLY wanted reverb on the clean channels. it HAS reverb but it sounds really weak, and when you switch between channels, it takes 3 or 4 seconds before the reverb kicks in. how boogie let something this major slip by is beyond me because it sounds HORRIBLE going from full-on distortion to a clean, then the reverb kicking in late AND weak on top of that. blah. with reverb on 10, you cant even tell its there on the dirty channels.

this rating is based on my knowledge of the tripple rectifier. a 5 being what im used to... and anything else above and beyond that is added to with the road king. in this case it gets a mere 6 because the reverb is completely useless to me with the switching lag.

the only thing really improved over the tripple rectifier is more channels and the novelty of cab switching

the first road kind head i ever played MANY MANY months ago blew fuses like crazy. i blew two fuses at the guitar center while testing the amp on two occasions. i wasnt even up very loud. i heard that they recalled some of the early road kings due to some of these problems. my father repairs amps for a living and he told me that the volume and tone pots that mesa uses now are HORRIBLE compared to the older ones.

so if i ever DID get this amp i would have to play it in extreme circumstances for the guitar center 30 day return period to make sure it doesnt have problems.

but from what i hear, the problem with the fuse blowing is now fixed but the cheap-o pots... come on.

the only thing that keeps this rating at an 8 is that the cab/output/rectifier switching on this amp is SEAMLESS. the guy at the guitar center didnt have the footswitch hooked up so i had to switch it by hand on the back. i though "the switching probably lags on the tubes and cab switching and they dont want people to tell until they buy it"... but i got the footswitch and that all switched perfectly in time. its a shame about the reverb though.

never dealt with boogie.

ive been playing for 11 years, own a mesa tripple rectifier, two marshall 4x12s, 3 parker flys, ESP horizons, tons of pedals. this amp would have enhanced my range of sounds in a nice way. i could have switched between cabs with the channels, but like i said, the crap reverb sound and switching killed it for me. if youre going to do something, do it right. the reverb seems tacked-on and half-assed.

but if boogie ever made ANOTHER version with THICK (im talking fender/surf-level) reverb, id pretty much be sold. but right now the moderately attractive ability to have 4 channels is the only thing it has going for it, and thats just not enough for me to sell my hard-to-find chrome chassis rectifier AND shell out 2500 for a new one, or TRY to find an older one and hope it doesnt have the fuse blowing problem.

This is my first foray into the world of user reviews!! the reason?
This monster amp has successfully yanked me away from my beloved '85 JMC800!

Already covered elsewhere; take time to go over the manual, it's time well spent!

I'm using '70 Les Paul Custom, '79 Anniversary Custom, 2002 Les Paul Std, 1995 Les Paul Classic, '86 Fender Strat, '78 Hamer Sunburst,
Ibanez RG760 w/ EMG's. All sound awesome!!

Mesa Boogie has a solid reputation; don't expect any problems.

So far so good; no need to reach them yet! :)

I've been playing for 27+ years; owned lots of gear; this by far is
the best amp i've ever played through. Well worth the $$; if you play
covers.. do yourself a favor and consider this pup!! you'll need good lowerback strength; it ain't light!!

Features covered well before me...The fact is, if you play in a regular gigging cover band and play styles from funk to Metal..this amp will cover the bases...I needed one head that could give me Clean, Keith Overdrive, Angus Rock and Eddie Metal. This amp does it for me..it gives me the gain structures I need...

I needed 4 footswitchable sounds...here they are rated.

1. CH1: Clean: Endless possibilities...awesome tones...pushes air nicely..I think I'll never be in need of a clean tone..this one is a 10!

2. CH2: WOW: GREAT CHANNEL..I get everything from a killer SRV tone to a Stones overdrive..and that's what I needed this channel for...anything that needs overdrive with absolute clarity and depth...another 10 for this channel

3. CH3. Rock: I'm struggling with this channel but getting close o finding the sound I hear in my head..I need that Highway to Hell/Can't Get Enough/Too Hot Too Handle Rock tone here...It can be very grainy w/o punch if you get crazy withthe presence and treble. I know the sound is there..I just haven't nailed it yet. 8

4. CH4. Lead/Metal...This cannel get's it done..but needs some tweaking to get rid of recto buzz and find the sweet spot. 9

So 37/4...Overall sound rating ~ 9

No question here...awesome

If you live in SoCal area..check out my band, 303 (www.303rocks.com), to hear the tone first hand...It's luscious...I get nothing but praise about the tone of the Road King...I'm a nut-ball when it comes to my tone and will spend whatever time is needed to get what I want from this beast..Like I said the cleand and overdrive are really perfect..the rock and metal will take time to dial in.

I wont elaborate since others have already in this review section. Features I like:
4 channels with seperate tube combinations on each channel, 2 effect loops, and you can assign the effect loop to stay on one certain channels, etc. This can come in handy. There is a boost function for lead solos... this is very cool, no more relying on the sound man or if you don't have a sound man stooping down to turn your amp up on leads! (I've done that before). This alone makes it the most versatile amp for playing out I have ever used. You can assign different speaker cabs for different channels, which is very cool. Say for example if you wanted to use an open back 2x12 on clean and then a 4x12 or 2x12 closed back on the two dirty channels... it works flawlessly. I have grown to like the clean and distorted both through the 2x12 closed back though... easiler than carrying around multiple cabs. I have tried different cabs with this unit, and it's just magic with the 2x12 or 4x12 cab.

Extremely Versatile. This is not a modeling amp. It sounds like a Road King, which I like... it's different, but totally awesome. You can nail the Dual Rect sound identically. I use it with a 2x12 Dual Rec. cab which matches my setup perfectly. I like the straight into the amp sound, but when I need effects I use one effect loop with a Korg A3. One of the best things I love about this effects loop is when you crank the amp the input levels don't change to the A3... on most effect loops when you crank the amp it's time to re-adjust all the levels, etc. Because it's a dual rec, you can't really pull the Mark IV sound out of it... this amp is much meaner, in ways I really like it to be, especially low end. The clean sound is awesome also, it took me a while to get use to adjusting it to keep up with the distortion channel, but I now have it mastered. The sounds are endless.

I would give it a 100 for now, I have had Mesa products in the past with no problems. I had a Mark IV 1992 version with the tube sockets handwritten on the chassis... it had the original tubes and sounded awesome when I sold it last year. (Sold it to get the Road King of course!)

I have never had to deal with Customer Support.

I have been playing for over 10 years and I have never used a amp of this status. If this amp was stolen, I probably wouldn't be able to afford another one.. that's why there is insurance on it! I love everything about it, the only thing I will hate probably is when I replace all the tubes in it! "What's in your wallet!?" I compared this to a pletora of other amps, but none had the features I wanted with the plug into the amp sound quality, and I'm not into modeling amps at all right now... maybe when their better. Write me if you have any questions, I would even be willing to send sound clips if needed.