Mesa/Boogie Road King Head

See the Mesa website.
Mine is the 79th one built.
Nice pedal.
Looks great. (mine has a tan grill cover)
More features than I've used so far.
Plenty of power for live playing.
Well written manual.

I use this amp in my studio. It sits on a Boogie 4x12 90w Celestion Black Shadow, slant,half back speaker cab. I mainly use a customised Strat with EMG active pickups, and a Les Paul with Dimarzio's. When looking for an amp for my studio, I was of course looking for great sound, but also versatility. This amp definitlely has both. You really have a lot of tonal possibilities. It has plenty of low end, and can push a lot of air if you want it to. It sounds better as you turn it up, but you don't have to crank it. Low volume distortion sounds fine for practicing. The amp is also very quiet. I'm not crazy about their reverb. It's good, but not like my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. Clean sounds are punchy, not too bright. If you want loud with headroom, just switch to 4 6L6s. If you have it on two 6L6s and crank it in the clean channel, you'll get a nice breaking sound. It has a nice medium crunch sound for rhythm playing. It's got plenty of balls for any style of rock. You'll need to turn it up a little to get decent feedback.
Bottom line: This amp's got all the sounds you may ever need, but you will need to take the time tweaking different settings. It may take you a while to get "that" tone you're looking for, and you can understand that when there are so many variables and options available to you in creating your sound. I've had the amp for five months and I know I've just scratched the surface.

I've had this amp for about 5 months. No problems. This is the 3rd Mesa I've owned. Never had problems do to quality.

Never called them.

This is an amp which taunts you to play it. It draws you to it when you enter the room. It will also ultimately make you play better. You will have to adjust your technique to it. You'll need to be a little more deliberate to bring out the best in it. (and you). I've been playing for 25 years, this is the best amp I've ever owned. It is very expensive, but it is four amps in one. If it were stolen, I might shop around a bit more, but I wouldn't be suprised if I ended up buying another. Some have made the comment that they hate the sound. I really can't understand that. It's ballsy, versitile, sounds great recorded, (stands out in the mix) comes from a reputable company, etc.. I will say that when I tried it out for the first time at New York Professional Guitar Center in Poughkeepsie, I was not blown away by it. But I bought it on the strength of the manufacturer and it's features. You do have to spend time with it, but it's time well spent. The more you use it and become familiar with it, the more you'll love it and appreciate the work and craftsmanship that went into it.

This is the amp I've been waiting for allmost a year.
what a crap....................................................
i own the heartbreaker, mark 2b, both blow the roadking away.
shore it has a lot of features, my wife dishwasher has less.
what are features whit a bad sound?

my basic guitars are prs customs.
this thing sounds like shit in a iron pipeline, all the 4 channels sucks.
It has 4 channels, i give fore every channel 1 point, that makes it 4
in total.

cant tell for this piece of crap, but all other boogies are built like a tank.

never had contact with them.

4 for the sound
8 for the looks

after waiting for a year its a big dissapointment.

This is the amp I've been waiting for. I've owned 17 other Mesa amps
Marshalls, Line 6 and others
The TriAxis was the only other way to get the versatility that I
personally like. 4 preamps 12 modes 5 power amps.This thing is incredible. I have the head and the combo version.
Mesa is so good about making everything extremely user friendly.
They think every little detail through, and build it like a guitar player would, not a computer programmer.

I use Andersons, PRS's Gibsons, and Ibanez guitars. Lexicon rack gear
a digital music corp. switching system for all of my pedals
and this amp sounds absolutely incredible!!! The older Boogies took a lot of tweaking to sound good, but the Rectifiers are impossible to get a bad sound out of, and this one is no exception. From warm or bright cleans to semi-gritty to fat and warm singing leads to massive crushing distorton, this thing does it all in ONE AMP!!!!

Like I mentioned earlier, I've owned 17 Mesa Boogie amps, 19 including the Road Kings. and I've never had any problems. I've just changed a few tubes. and with the Mesa's there's no taking it to a repair station for biasing like other tube amps (Marshall, Fender)
Just plug them in and go!! These amps are built like a tank!!

It's been a long time since I've tlked to them. They were very helpful
in telling me how to configure some rack gear so that my TriAxis could control it.Stuff they don't get paid for.

If you desire more than 2 sounds and want an amp that is dependable, this is a great choice. It is expensive, but you get what you pay for. This is an amp that will inspire you to play, and inspire new ideas, and isn't that what it's
all about?

Too many, however, some highlights:
- 4 channels - totally independent from each other
- 3 totally different modes per channel
- 5 tube combinations per channel (progressive linkage)
- Spongy/Bold switch (makes the sound very rich in harmonics even at low volumes)
- 120Watts RMS
- Cabinet switching assignable per channel
- 2 assignable effect loops (per channel)
- 9 button footswitch (no delay when changing channels)
- Auto-rectification (adjusts automatically the preamp tubes depending on the power tubes combination chosen)
- light indicators of channel, tube combination, loops, solo, auto-rectifier

I use it for almost everything: practicing in my bedroom, live shows: small and large stages, rehearsals, home recording (mic'd). I can't use it only in very small places such as my kitchen, bathroom.

I use several top line guitars and some simple ones (Wolfgang Standard, Jem 7VWH, Jem 10th, JS1000, Jackson Soloist, Gibson Les Paul Custom, OLP MM1). The RK sounds MORE THAN PERFECT with any. I play Heavy Metal, Hard Rock and Rock'n'Roll, such as Satriani, Journey, Van Halen, Malmsteen, Dream Theater, Steve Vai, Dio, Ozzy, Gary Moore, Beatles. This "BEAST" is so versatile that does a fantastic job on everything.

This is the sound I've always wanted!! I am so happy!! I don't even need to add a little more drive to it with a pedal or a rack. It has plenty of overdrive on channels 3 and 4. I'll add some delay sometimes, and when necessary, effects like chorus, flanger, phaser... but that's all.

I've had Marshalls, Peavey, Line 6, Crate and Mesa Boogie. The Mesa Road King is by far the best. I think this is the BEST AMP EVER, the ULTIMATE AMP !!!

Clean can be clean even at high volumes or distorted. It is up to you. Distortion is brutal... awesome. I play 1 chord and feel like I'm having an orgasm !! This amp is like having sex with a fantastic beautiful, great in bed woman... who gives me endless orgasm.

I still have some amps and use a Lexicon MPX-G2 with them. The Lexicon sounds good with my stuff, but with the RK I don't need to use its overdrive or its EQ anymore. I may sell the Lexicon.

Looks to be solid like a rock.

Never dealt with them.

Bought new in Oct'02, at Guitar Center, North Carolina. Expensive? Maybe, but worths every cent. I'd pay even more for it. I've been playing for 15 years. If lost or stolen I'll cry, get some money and buy another. I am not from the US, I live in South America. If it get's stolen, I will travel again to the US just to buy another. I sexually LOVE its sound, and its progressive linkage feature with which you can change the amp's sound completely. This is the Real and Perfect thing. There is nothing I dislike about this amp. Actually... I dislike the weight... no major issue though. I wish Mesa Boogie had a Soft Case with casters to make it easier to transport.

see other reviews

I did not buy this amp. I tried it out in the store with my PRS guitar and asked the salesman to set it up to give me a fendery clean sound, ac/dc sound, in between distortion sound and a classic rectifier sound. He then left me to play for a while and I tinkered with all of the settings and could not even get a rectifier sound. I tried a 2x12 model that sounded much better. I can get better rectifier sounds from my johnson millenium

Before buying a new amp I tried bogner uberschall (good clean and heavy distortion but only 2 channels), bogner ecstasy (similar story, could not personally or via salesman get a good sound), engle savage 120 (good clean and super distorted sounds, but other 2 channels so so), peavey XXX (excellent clean and distorted channels and much cheaper), soldano hotrod 50 (totally unimpressed), fender cybertwin (aweful), peavey 5150 (didn't sound as good as my johnson millenium). I wanted to try VHT , engle savage 120 SE and engl powerball , but dealer could never get them in. I went with a Diezel VH4 and it was an easy decision. The only things even worth considering of the ones listed above were the engl, XXX, or uberschall. I just simply could not get a good sound out of the roadking. A roadking 2x12 sounded much better, so maybe it was just this one head.

2001
I've never seen an amp this versatile, (nor a head this heavy.)
Four channels x 3 three voicings each. Channel switching, effects loops, speaker output selector and more! i can't think of a feature they left out except maybe a Vulcan mind meld system to autmatially read my mind's tonal thoughts and automatically flip the right switchces and adjust the numerous knobs.
I use this amp whereever because I'm attaching a THD Hotplate to permit me to control volume.

I use different guitars and have not found one that the RoadKing can't handle. Like I said, it's vesatile. While it has a Mesa nameplate, it offers so much more in tonal variety thanks to the multiple voicing personalities on each channel. If you cna;'t find the tone you're looking for, you must be pluggin in an accordion.

Only had it a short time, btu so far, so good. It's built like a tank and everything looks to be realiable. i think you have to judge Mesa products to be consistently excellent.

No experience. That's GOOD.

I have avoided Mesa Rectifiers because of the singularity of the Mesa tone. My first Mesa was the Blue Angel because that was Mesa's first amp to branch off into other areas. I love that amp, and the Road King explores other avenues. If you appreciate true tube tone, but wished for a choice of tone from a singel amp, you can't go wrong with either amp, but the Road King will give you the power you need to play live in any venue. Why does it rate the highest value score at this price? Awe-inspiring sounds and versatility you can't get from any other tube amp make it a fantastic value.

Too numerous to cover, but here's the key: You CHOOSE:
- From five different combinations of 6L6 and EL34 tubes,
- From three different "shadings" for each of the four channels. That's just the beginning of the choices, but no tube amp offers more flexibility (period).

Let's see, so far, 6 reviews list 9's or 10's and one lists a "1"?? Maybe the store where the unhappy reviewer tried it out forgot to install the rectifier tubes or something. It's an aberration. Here's another 10, and there's a good reason seven out of 8 reviewers are providing glowing reports: each of the multitudinous individual tones in this amp is as good as, if not better than, any tone available today from the famous giants or the boutique amp makers, and no other tube-amp company offers this range of great tones in one unit. However, I think Mesa holds a double-edge sword with their Road King-modelling-amp-comparison marketing. Yes, if a guitarist wants to cover a lot of tonal ground, the modelling amp has been the only choice, and the Road King changes that with a better-sounding alternative. But there isn't a "Marshall" patch or a "Fender" patch inside the Road King. And, anyone looking for that will be disappointed. What there are are simply more wonderful and usable choices of cleans, browns,crunch, blues, rock and metal than you'll find in any other tube amp. Plus, it's definitely not modelling hi-fi sounding: it's in your face and real. I too own other Mesa amps and others -- new and old. If I could set them all up at a show, I would. Each offers a distinctive personality. But, the Road King has multiple personalities, and you'll want to get to know all of them. Mesa did a great job with this amp!

With multiple Mesa amps under my belt, I can attest to their amps' reliability.

I've never had an issue to use customer service.

I'm a long-time player -- measured in decades, not years. I have owned and still own many guitars and amps. This is a great era to play -- guitar and amp quality is better than ever by more and more companies. Yet, thre are only a few standouts who have proven, over the long-term, to deliver excellent products across their ENTIRE line, not just their Custom Shop offerings: That's why I own PRS, Anderson, THD, Dr. Z, Victoria and Mesa products. There are other companies,and I'll have fun finding out about them. Meanwhile, the Road King adds to the Mesa legacy for excellence. Yes, it's expensive, but it does something no other tube amp does...and it sets the standard for the rest of industry. If you need its inherent flexibility, this is a "Fantastic Value".

Received my Road King 3 weeks ago - it's really great!
4 different channels in 3 modes on 5 combinations of powertubes on two different sets of cabinets - any sound is possible!!! The headroom in any of the 4 channels is more than anyone needs. It has very much attack and is really loud.

I use Strat-, ES335- and Paula-Types. Any sound comes authentic with absolutely no noise or hum. The two clean channels cover any sound from absolutely clean over fat, tweed and british. The 2 Lead-Channel suit every taste - from Vintage Blues to naughty Modern High Gain sounds.

Just 3 weeks ist quite short measurement ;-) But since I use another Mk-III and a Mk-IV and they never let me down.

The legal warranty is 2 years. Anything was in quit good shape at my local dealer and my registration via email to Mesa was reanswered short but very quickly.

This is the best amp I've played in 23 years - no doubt.

Go to mesaboogie.com - too much for me to type. 4 channels X 3 modes each X 5 power tube combinations X 2 switchable effects loops.... you do the math. I'd like to give it a "12"

I use a Les Paul and an Ibanez RG. Both sound f#@%in' killer. All stlyes covered with ease. Country, blues, jazz, funk, bebop, classic rock, punk, ska, thrash, black metal.... good lord.
Very quiet at high gain high volume in a small rehersal space. Louder than my drummer.
The clean channel will distort if you want it to or you can crank it and stay clean. High gain produces totally sick death metal. I love it.
The only effects I normally use are a wah pedal and a Furman parametric eq.
One and only drawback is a pretty weak reverb which i don't use much anyway.
This amp has a unique character and a voice of its own that I fell in love with. While it's not a modeling amp it totally nails that Malcom Young rawk tone night after night.
I wonder if the guy who said this thing sucks smokes crack. Not to put anybody down but I fail to understand how anybody couldn't like this amp. The sound is awesome and I don't drop that word lightly.

This is the only amp I take with me to gigs and rehersals. I've had it for like 8 months without any problems.
If you plan on hauling one of these around be prepared for some lifting - 65 lbs! Thats a pretty heavy head.

Haven't had to deal with anybody yet.

I've been playing for 10 years and I own quite a bit of gear. This amp is taking the place of my tired old and abused Peavy Triumph 60 which is a killer amp but needs to be retired respectfully before it just dies.
I shopped around for years looking for the amp that made angels sing from the skies and screamed "take me home." 5150's, Marshalls, Bogners, Fenders, even other Mesa amps. None of them had exactly what I wanted. This is the one for me. Overall I give it a 9 because it cost so much. It was worth it though.

This is a brand new "custom" head. I ordered it with the "gold" grill plate(interwoven black and tan). I've been shopping for a new gtr. head after selling my Dual Recto Rkmt. a year ago. I checked out the Bogner line and though they too make great amps, the Road King is in a league by itself. It's a 4 channel amp with "no" shared knobs and features galore. Just read the product lit if your not familiar with it.

I use a Tom Anderson Koa Drop Top w/Floyd with H/S/S pickup configuration. I play funk, r n b, blues, pop and metal. It nails them all. I also own 2-4x12 Recto cabs and 1-2x12 Recto(which I'm using 1/2 backed for "clean" tones. They finally delivered a great clean channel! And as always, QUIET, even at extreme gain levels.

It's a Boogie. This is THE touring/gigging amp, period. I've owned Boogies since the Mk III back in the 80's. They're built solid. All things American should be built this well.

Phone support as always is A1. They always call back. And the same lady's been answering the phone as far back as I can remember.

I've been a player since 1979. I'm also a studio owner. If my RK got stolen I would definately buy another(insurance folks!!!).

In summary, this is a great amp and will no doubt achieve "classic" status at some point. In this world of amp emulators, there's still nothing like the real thing. This is it. A "true" recording out would have been really nice but that's what a nice ribbon mic is for.

Road King is a great sounding amp/s loaded with tons of features, all which add to the amp's versatility. It doesn't sound like other amps but it really doesn't need to. If your looking for a certain sound of another amp make, then get that amp(no brainer) but you'll probably want the RK for all it's other sounds too.

Enjoy!