The Steel Guitar Forum

Anybody ever play pedal steel through a Road King?

Wondering if the clean channel with the 6L6's using the diode rectifier would be suitable. Maybe this amp would be a good dual purpose amp for playing steel and guitar? Any experience with either the combo or head/cab config for pedal steel? b0b, any of your Boogie experience apply?

Yeah, I know it's pricey.

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Hi Jerry,

I don't own a Road King but I do have a Lonestar. I have not had much luck getting the tone I want out of it for steel. But I have only played through it a couple times.I love it for guitar. Maybe I just need to work with it some more. I will try again & let you know.

Shane

Ok, Thanxalot Shane.

Hi Jerry

I finally got the chance to play my steel through my Lonestar.
I must say I was impressed it dialed in pretty good. I am sure I could use it on stage with some more tweaking. The problem is Psg settings and Tele settings are so much different. I think the Road King is a 4 channel amp . So you might have better luck doubling on guitar. I love my Lonestar ! I hope this helps.

Shane

Thanks Shane. Yeah, the Road King is indeed a 4 channel amp.

There was a lead on one a while back, but I don't think it's available anymore. Still thinking about one though.

I played one a few years ago with the big slant cab at a local store through a G & L tele and it sounded great. I was really impressed with all the features too.

They offered to let me bring my steel in to play through it, but I never did get over there.

I appreciate your help. The 2 amps share some of the same features, so the input is really helpful. Sounds like the RK would work just fine for steel.

Hi Jerry

I saw a Road King on Ebay tonight . Just in case you are still lookin.

Shane

You may want to check out the Mesa Mark V, too. Three channels with lots of voicing options. 100 watts and available as a head or a combo.

Hey Jerry

If you are interested in the Mark V I seem to remember Mickey Adams telling me about his. You might give him a shout & see if he uses it for PSG.

Shane

Jerry, I have several Mesa amps in my collection. Most recently I acquired a new MKV...I played it on a gig recently and it performed exceptionally well. However...one amp I own which B0B himself wired is a 1982 MKIIB which came stock with an EV15L EVM speaker. I purchased this amp new, and its never left my collection. This amp has been a wonderful steel amp..they're hard to find, and the Mesa design cascading preamp gain is pretty hard on tubes...but the tone is to die for in my opinion. Mine weighs close to 100 lbs as well. The Road King is a very complex amplifier too...Not sure whether all that flexibility would be put to good use, as its designed for guitar...and the same with the MKV. The quality is surely there though, very reliable amps...

jerry,
i used a boogie roadking for a while, it was a tour loaner. i was touring with someone that required me to play electric guitar and pedal steel, and i found it useful. i used channel 1 for clean steel, warm and plenty of headroom (4 6L6's + 2 EL84's 100+ watts), good reverb. and channel 2 for dirty steel.
being able to assign different tube combinations/wattages to different channels, as well as being able to assign your choice of one of two different speaker cabs to each channel made it a great utility amp on doubling gigs (i had used ch.1 and 2 - open back 2x12" for steel, ch.3 and 4 - closed back 2x 12" for guitar) i assigned ch.1 and 2 high wattage headroom for steel and ch.3 and 4 low wattage for gritty guitar playing.
it is heavy, and hauling around multiple cabs can be a drag. to just use it as a steel amp in my opinion would be a bit of a waste, but if you're a utility guy it is a great amp, if you don't have the real estate to have to completely seperate rigs.
lately for steel only gigs i have been using either my 1-15" Mark I, or my Mark III 1x12", and have been curious about the Mark V...
i hope this helps...
-greg