vinylphile

Makes a big difference on mine. Look, I'm glad you dig your amp, I just didn't care for it nearly as much as I do my RK, it just really didn't impress me all that much, particularly at that asking price, sorry. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that the one I played was right next to a Diezel Herbert that made it sound comparatively weak, IMO. I'd still love to check out an Uber, though. Different strokes... Out of curiosity, what kind of music to you play? If I only played more modern music (metal, alt/rock from 90s and 00s etc) then I'd be more than happy with a Roadster or Road King II. However, I find in general the DR amps to be lacking for some of the other stuff I play ('80s hard rock, '60s-'70s classic rock). I agree with your assessment if we're comparing ONLY the high gain tones of the RKII vs. the XTC - the RKII has a bit more meat on those high gain tones and channel 3 vintage with gain around 12:00 - 1:00 is WONDERFUL! However, I need a bit more versatility in my sound and I'm not merely seeking a high gain beast. The XTC gives me very good high gain tone and excellent cleans (20th anniversary 6L6 is great for that!). Channel 2 offers the option of a great classic hard rock crunch or a rich plexi mode that gives great light overdriven tones for 60s and 70s stuff. IMO that is where every Mesa I've heard has fallen short.

This is where you missed out on the difference between the Roadster and the RKII. The combination of ELs and 6Ls is an entirely different sound that the Roadster can't deliver, and is by far my favorite high-gain sound on the amp, and the sound that stomps the XTC in my book. Actually no I DIDN'T miss out on the difference. Although I haven't owned a RKII I have PLAYED one and my opinion of its crunch tones - EL34 or 6L6 - is no different. I also tried many varieties of EL34 in the Roadster and again - crunch tones nowhere near what the XTC can do - and BTW my XTC is the standard 6L6 20th anniversary version! I think the whole progressive linkage thing is a bit gimmicky, to tell you the truth. There are other things which make a much bigger tonal difference than power tube type.

I have previously owned a Roadster (very similar to the RKII - just a few less options) and currently own the XTC 20th anniversary - no way I would go back. As others say, the RKII is basically the cadillac of Rectos - with the addition of an excellent clean channel. So you have great high gain recto tones and a very nice clean channel based on the Lone Star. What it misses (and what most Mesa miss IMO) is the in-between lower gain crunch tones - the classic rock type of tones. This is where the Bogner beats it - and which IMO makes it a more versatile beast. It's the first amp I've owned that has 3 EXCELLENT channels - clean, crunch and high gain - all eminently tweakable and useable. Although Mesas have lots of switches and dials I find myself constantly searching for my tone when I play them. The Bogner, on the other hand, I find more intuitive to tweak and I spend way less time searching. It seems that if I want something a bit different I just flip one switch or tweak one dial and it does exactly what I think it will - and I've had it for way less time than I had the Roadster or any Mesa for that matter. Don't get me wrong, I do like Mesa amps. I've owned a Stiletto Ace, Mark IV and Roadster over the past few years. It just seems like I can never quite get the tone I'm seeking with them. The Bogner on the other hand...gives me a boner every time I play it!