Mesa Boogie : Dual Rectifier Roadster

Picture this: Top down, radio pumpin’ flying down a back-country road in a high performance ragtop. Responsibilities behind, miles of S-curves ahead…fully in the moment and feeling the rush as you confidently snake your way through shadowed canyons that give way to sunny ridgetops. Freedom, Flow, Exhilaration!

Introducing the new Dual Rectifier® Roadster™; the most fun a guitarist can have on four wheels…well alright, casters.

This all-tube thoroughbred shares a class with only one other amplifier - and that position is held by its brother – the mighty Road King™. 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.

Throughout two lower gain Channels, 1 and 2, you’ll discover every classic clean sound in the pairs of CLEAN and FAT modes. Once you’ve dialed in your ultimate clean sound, you can duplicate it in the other Channel and modify it for single note applications, a more pushed version or decide to switch to another mode for a radically different sound. Meanwhile dedicated American Blues and English Rock sounds reside in the easily clippable mid-gain realms of TWEED and BRIT. These dynamic and incredibly expressive modes would make an amazing amplifier all by themselves as they roam the zone between clean and clipped with authentic finesse.

Channels 3 and 4 contain all the mind-altering iconic sounds of the legendary Dual Rectifier® Solo Head and hand you the keys to the world of high gain…both retro and future. The RAW, VINTAGE and MODERN modes cover the entire range of gain from a sweet clip, through liquid voice up to a crushing wall of tight grind and are duplicated in both Channels. This again allows you to either find a favorite sound and dedicate the channels to slight differences or, configure them for wildly different styles.

The Channels’ duplicated modes are a powerful feature - making the Roadster not just an amp for your current style or band but rather, a lifelong companion to your music…offering limitless configurations, keeping pace with your growth as your playing evolves.

The Roadster also features our Multi-Watt™ Channel Assignable Power feature allowing you to choose either 50 or 100 watt power for each preamp Channel. This simple to use feature expands the potential of each Channel mode exponentially by enabling you to lower the power-clip threshold or, tighten things up as needed. The two power choices also offer different personalities; 50 watts with its brighter, elastic bounce or 100 watts of tight-tracking low-end girth and mid punch authority.

Add to this power shaping magic our patented Tube Rectifier Tracking feature. Each channel features the ability to choose between the saggy bounce of the 5U4 Rectifier Tubes or the tight, bold authority of the Silicon Diodes. Selecting TUBE RECTIFIER TRACKING brings on-line one 5U4 when in 50 watts and two 5U4s when 100 watts is selected.

Reverb is paramount in an amplifier this versatile and the Roadster gets the best! We’ve taken our all-tube circuit from the widely acclaimed Lone Star and the result is lush, ambient Reverb that blooms with sweetness as it bathes each note in old school glory. And because the Roadsters’ modes offer such a wide range of gain levels and sound styles, each Channel is fitted with a dedicated REVERB mix control located on the Rear Panel so Reverb can be optimized for each sound.

The Roadster is available in both Head and Combo formats. The highly portable 1x12 is rear ported for stunning power to weight performance, while the 2x12 Combo features our amazing closed–back design. These cabinets produce low-end spread reminiscent of a 4x12 for crunch and gain sounds while retaining the top-end sparkle and ambience of an open back enclosure. Either way you cruise there’s no way to lose.

So when you’re looking for an exciting new ride that’s easy to drive, has power to burn but can handle the turns… check out the Roadster™. It’s the perfect addition to any guitar garage.

-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, 2x5U4Bias 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, Treble, Mid, Bass, 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

-8 Button Footswitch (Channel 1, Channel 2, Channel 3, Channel 4, Reverb, FX Loop & Solo)

-Slip Cover

Dual Rectifier® Roadster™
Formats:
Head (Width 25-5/8 in)

1x12 • Ported Back Combo • V30 Speaker • Casters • Width 26-3/4 in

2x12 • Closed Back Combo • V30 Speakers • Casters • Width 26-3/4 in

Channels 1 & 2 each offer 3 Mode choices - two of which are repeated for added flexibility when configuring your footswitching map. CLEAN and FAT modes appear in both Channels so you can set-up two very different Cleans or, clone your favorite sound and alter it slightly for clean or pushed soloing. From there, Channel 1 is home to the soulful mid gain voice of American Blues in TWEED, while Channel 2 crosses the Atlantic to crusade for classic English Rock sounds in the urgent mid gain BRIT mode.

Channels 3 & 4 contain all the high-gain glory of the iconic Dual Rectifier Solo Head. These time-tested, hit-making sounds appear in the entire Rectifier family of amplifiers and in the Roadster, they’re duplicated in Channels 3 and 4. RAW covers the ground between where TWEED and BRIT top out and VINTAGE begins with smooth, purring warmth. VINTAGE takes it up a notch and sings with smoldering, liquid gain for single note solo work and then there’s MODERN. This is the original crushing, tight high-gain Recto® sound that changed guitar amplification forever. Accept no imitations!

Each of the four Channels has a corresponding Channel strip on the Rear Panel for controlling the REVERB, RECTIFICATION, POWER and the status of the EFFECTS LOOP. Here you can blend in the rich all-tube Reverb, choose between tight punchy Diode or vintage sagging Tube Rectification, switch your Power between the bold headroom of 100 watts or the bright bounce of 50 watts and dedicate the Effects Loop to the channels you need processing on. All these choices are channel specific making the Roadster an ultimate footswitching live rig!

Series Effects Loop features a Hard Bypass that removes two tubes and all associated Loop Circuitry from the signal path including the SEND LEVEL, OUTPUT and SOLO controls plus the TUNER OUT for the shortest, most direct signal path. BIAS SELECT reconfigures the bias circuit and allows you to swap the stock compliment of 6L6’s for a quartet of EL 34 type power tubes creating a brighter, Euro-style power character and classic Brit clipability

External Switch Jacks provide the interface to control the Channels, LOOP, REVERB and SOLO via an external master switching system. Standard latching tip-to-ground logic triggers the Roadster’s channels and features and lets you build one-button programs from your master switcher that control your amp and processing. TUNER OUT JACK provides a silent tuning feature for live applications when the Footcontroller is connected.