I'm just getting back into metal after 30 years in other styles and ran across a steal of a deal on a used Mesa Dual Rec Road King series 1. Just wanted to get the opinion of folks on the forum of whether this will be capable of a nice heavy sound. Thanks in advance for any insight.
Yeah, that thing will slay for metal. The Roadster and Road King are a little darker than a Dual or Triple, but are still pretty devastating.
The Series 2 is probably a little more in demand than the Series 1, but if I recall right most of the changes in that amp were related to the clean channel, maybe the Brit mode, and the FX loop. The high gain channels should be pretty similar.
I have the same amp, and I used it on stage with my band many times. I liked that I could run Ch4/Modern/4x6L6 for a cutting, biting rhythm tone, and then Ch3/Modern/2xEL34 for a gainy, saturated lead tone. I never ran the other two channels, really :lol:
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EDIT: in fact, there it is, right there, in my avatar...
Oh right, it's a COMBO. Yeah, those bastards are HEAVY. Still, if you're not gigging right away and it won't be moving much, it'll be a great score :yesway:
yeah that is a concern. Probably won't move much for a while but to make decisions more complicated I now also have a lead on a 100W all tube Dual Rectifier head unit that is in alligator skin trim.
I have a series 1 RK. It's perfect for metal. The dual is also great for metal.
I've owned 2 Road Kings, a triple rec, and have used and recorded several different dual and triple recto models. The only one I continue own is the Road King. The only other one I'd consider at this point is a 90s 2 channel recto, but I've never felt the need for one with the RK. As 7DT said, the 2 6L6 + 2 EL34 mode on the RK red channel is really great.
Hey guys. I wanted to thank you all for your input. I'll be seeing the roadking tonight which is close to my house. If I'm happy with the condition/sound and am able to load it into my car myself without tweaking my back, I'll pull the trigger on that one (also the cheaper solution then getting a head and cabinet). Otherwise it's a 3 hour drive to get the dual rec on Saturday....
Once again, thank you so much for your invaluable information!
Now, the RKv1 has a parallel and series loop. There's a trick to dialing out the parallel loop on the back panel, which was set funky at the shop I bought mine at, hence I got a sweet deal on it, because no one else knew how to work the thing :lol:
I forget which knob goes where, but you run one knob all the way up and the other all the way down. I'll set myself a reminder to check the back of my RK1 head tonight.
Thanks for the info. The amp definitely had a great heavy sound, but there was a persistent hum even on standby. Learned that it was bought used from GC. Walked away from that one. Hopefully I have better luck with the head unit.
Could just be old tubes, or some funky screens. New tubes for that beast, of course, will be expensive :lol:, but service-wise it'd probably run you ~$200 to get fixed. But, there is always that other Dual you're looking at!
How loud a hum are you talking? I'd never expect a high gain head to be DEAD silent but...
I'd probably err on the side of the head anyway, simply because a head and a 4x12 looks way more metal than a combo, and the Road King combo is something like 120lbs, isn't it?
Oh my, that looks superb in green croc! Nice one dude!
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