To my new buds at Mesa Engineering:

Many thanks to Steve Mueller, who took the time in person and over the phone, for helping me choose a Roadster™ as my primary tone weapon and for giving me new ideas for my Mark IV.

When I first got my Roadster (custom ordered in Red Floral leather with a gold jute grill), I had so much fun for the first few days just playing around with different Modes and sounds that I almost forgot why I bought it, to create my own sound and have four distinct variations in one amp. The Roadster delivered more than I imagined.

I decided that the best place to start was with the suggested Factory Sample Settings that were contained in the manual for each of the four Channels. Why mess with the proven ideas from the engineers who build the things? When I found one that I basically liked, I experimented with it. As the manual recommends (it's easy to understand, and yes you must read it if you want to get the most out of your amp), I started with the Gain and Treble settings, played, fine tuned, and played some more until I had it almost where I wanted it. Then I adjusted the Presence, and the Reverb for each individual Channel on the back panel, and made final adjustments to taste. I repeated this procedure for each Channel over the course of a few days, and made a few minor adjustments along the way. Voila! Four amps and four sounds in one bone crushing 2x12 combo amp.

Could it get any better than that? Actually it did. The foot controller made it all possible, and then some. All four of my amps/tones are instantly accessible with the touch of a button. Reverb, at my feet with the touch of a button and, when engaged, calls up the Reverb setting only for the Channel I am playing through. Effects, at my feet with the touch of a button. I can set them prior to the beginning of a song so they are instantly available when I need them, or I can engage them on the fly, as I want them during a song. And, if that's not enough, the foot controller also has a Solo switch. This feature is awesome. I can set the volume of the Solo switch to taste and style, and then I have instant volume boost for fills or solos, but no change in my basic tone. Oh yeah, the foot controller also has a tuner switch, which acts as a mute button when engaged so I can tune silently without touching my amp.

Hands down, my Roadster gets after it! Unlike other poseurs, this one really does do it all. Most important, it really does it all well. It is a custom built, precision made, tone machine that will fit the bill for any application. Clean, dirty, Brit, brown, blues, metal, 50 Watts, 100 Watts, Rectifier or Diode. You name it and the Roadster scoffs and mutters "child's play" to any task you throw at it. My only gripe? My wife says that I spend more time with my Roadster than I do with her and the kids.

Simply said, my Red Floral Roadster sparkles, it tweeds, it vintage overdrives, it crunches, it howls, it growls, it screams, and it crushes. It abso-freakin-lutely flat out smokes at everything it does. I LOVE THIS AMP! Why did I wait so long? Don't get me wrong, I also love my Mark IV, but this Roadster has tone to the bone on every Channel, in every Mode, and goes from pristine icicle clean to white hot tungsten with the press of a foot switch button. I finally have what I have always wanted, four distinct amps/tones in one amp and they are all mine!

So, what did I end up with for my tone? Well, the precise settings are a secret, but here are the general settings and what I was sort of going for.

I have the on-off switch set to Spongy. Why? Because I like how it feels!

I have Channel 1 set to Tweed Mode, Recto, 50 watt, and I have it dialed in for that classic overdriven tweed sound with a moderate amount of Reverb. The tone is reminiscent of Buddy Guy's sound, but not quite as edgy.

Channel 2 is set to Clean Mode, Diode, 100 watts, and is my King-tone (as Stevie Ray used to call it) sound. This Channel is pure single coil neck position SRV, and is probably my favorite channel. It's basically clean, with just enough gain added for the right amount of punch and edge. It sounds best REALLY loud, with a generous helping of Reverb and the guitar in the neck position.

Channel 3 is set to Vintage mode, Recto, 100 watts. Single coils or humbuckers, it doesn't matter here, although the humbuckers really shine in this configuration. This Channel is pure Angus and Malcolm Young.

Lastly, Channel 4 is also set to Vintage mode, Recto, 100 watts. I really tried to use the Modern Mode here, but it scared me and gave me nightmares it was so heavy. Dime would have liked it though. At any rate, I have this Channel set dialed in for that Ty Tabor/Jerry Cantrell kind of vibe.

To top it all off, I really love this rig with my PRS Modern Eagle Faded Blue Jean. With the Blue Jean's coil tapping, I have single coil and humbucking configurations in one guitar, and four amps in one.....well, you get the idea.

Steve, thanks again for all of your help, input, and advice on creating my tone. I am a true Mesa disciple now.

T. Michael.
Grapevine, TX