'MkIII Road Box' Feedback
All of the feedback on this page was completely unsolicited and was either sent directly to us at Speakeasy or posted to one of a few public forums on the Internet, particularly the Yahoo Groups 'CloneWheel', 'NordElectro', and 'Rhodes'.
From a direct Email:
Steven:
The Road Box MKIII, with the absolute modeling amp, is awesome. It sounds fantastic - and has loads of power. In addition, it is quiet enough to record with. Great product/quality/job. Please give my thanks to everyone involved in designing or making it. It is truly extraordinary.
Keep it going....
Wil Burns
Well, tonight was the first gig ever for a Speakeasy [Mk III Roadbox Rotary Speaker (We're not allowed to use the "L-word" - ed)]. I took my Toyota Highlander 4 cylinder (yay! cuz it was 102 mile round trip), and I managed to fit my Motif 8 in Gator case, XK3 in Calzone case, Speakeasy mini [Roadbox], Yorkville 300k, a 4 space rack with Speakeasy preamp and Roland M120 line mixer, pedal board case, and cable case, Ws550 with my Instand 2nd tier, and keyboard throne into my car.
To preface this, I should say that Steve and I had been talking about this mini [Roadbox Rotary Speaker], and I was of the firm opinion that for those who never owned a Leslie™, this new Speakeasy product was going to blow them away. But for those of us who have owned or own Leslies™, we're a tougher sell, cuz naturally we're gonna side-by-side these things. And in doing so, I felt that in order to get me to buy one, we/he needed to accentuate the horn a bit more. The [Roadbox III] sounded great, but with the front loaded 12", I thought the low end was slightly overpowering the horn. (And who would have thought of a 12" bass speaker as being overpowering?!?) And I thought cutting the power to the 12 was the way to go. It's not that I missed the lower rotor, because I really didn't, but I felt the horn just needed to be underlined a bit more. And to quote Nigel Tufnel, "it's just that little something extra to push it over the cliff." I believed this was already a great box, but it needed just a tweak or two. I was probably being nitpicky, but to make me an owner, I knew this would half to be addressed for me. The next day Steve called me to tell me, he had a better solution and it was en route. He built a new crossover which really changed the way things sat in this box. Without knowing where things are crossed, all I can say is, when I plugged it in, I was stunned! Not only had the horn now been underlined, capitalized and boldfaced for me, but the bass and mids were even SMOOTHER than before! I played the [Roadbox III] for a while and took it to rehearsal, and really really loved it. But then I took it to the gig.....
We played at Mickey Finns, and the load in has 7 stairs before the elevator. It was nice being able to lift that [Roadbox Rotary Speaker] by myself!
First off....holy s*** was this thing loud!!! The organ was just B R U T AL!!!!!!!
I had no trouble being heard ANYWHERE on the stage, even with a Twin Reverb being pushed to the max. The low end was tight and guttural; the highs were super smooth, and the mids were pleasantly in the front. With the XK3, this [Roadbox III] just screamed. I used my Speakeasy preamp with the XK3 mod (a small pad that steps down the hot 1/4" output of the XK3) full open, treble, bass and volume all the way up.
I ran the tone knob on my XK3 at about 10:00-ish. And when I wanted more grind, I just turned the tone knob up higher. (The volume on the XK3 was set to max.) 0800000000 sounded magnificent; 83534438 was that smooth Gregg Alman sound with C3, and 8888888888 was just punishing! 8888 with perc on was an attention getter, and that woody "thunk" sounded better through the [Roadbox III] than it did through the Bulldog. It was HUGE! My bass player kept looking at me all night long and nodding at the [Roadbox III] with a "that thing is the S***!" look. And he was right.
End of the night, the band all came to look this thing over. Only slightly larger than a [Motion Sound] Pro 145, it didn't have that sharp midrange, it sounded like a fullsize hotrodded [Leslie™] 122. They couldn't believe all that sound came out of that little box. Frankly neither could I!!!! This thing had me smiling all nite long. The sound guy was flabbergasted. I could go from loud but mellow organ tones, and just pulling out the drawbars and stepping on the pedal, I was in Greg Rolie/Jon Lord territory. Turn up the tone knob, and I could Keith Emerson's organ tones pretty easily; because of the front loaded 12", key click is a little more noticeable. I particularly liked it, but if I didn't, I could easily dial it down on the XK3.
Between the versatility of the XK3, my Speakeasy preamp, and this new [Roadbox III], I could get a myriad of archetypical organ sounds without ever turning to the preamp. UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!
There is absolutely nothing in this size and weight class that even comes close to touching the [Roadbox III]
Steve Hayes and the guys at Speakeasy Vintage Music, you geniuses should be proud of yourselves. Ain't nothing like this anywhere.
Now to go get a cover for it. (More to save the inside of my car than the [Roadbox III] itself, I use covers on everything!)
I'm still stunned at the power and tone of this box.....
Tony Orant
4/2006
Hey Folks,
I think, make that KNOW, that I have found the Holy Grail of [Rotary Speakers]. My MK III came today and words really can't convey what this thing sounds like but I'll try.
First thing I noticed was how full my XK-3 sounded. Ya know how when you sit behind a B3 and Leslie™ and the sound kinda fills your lungs? That's exactly what it felt like. I could hear every note of the eight note chord I was playing clearly and independently but blended like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Bass was balsy but not muddy. Higher notes were crystal clear even when grinding and pushed to the max. (Think Stormy Monday ala Lee Michaels.) You can hear a difference in tone when moving one drawbar a click or two. I couldn't hear that even on my C3/31H. I can't wait 'til fire this up with a full band. It's gonna cut though the mix like a knife through butter and I'm not talking just because it can get loud. I'm talking clarity. But, if your goal is to piss off your guitarist with a volume duel??? You're gonna have to hide the razor blades from him. One thing I found that made the sound better with my XK-3 is to turn off that wannabe tube set up. Good-bye nasal grind.
I think there's gonna be a lot of opinions on the MK III but if ya haven't heard one you're gonna be talking to the hand as far as I'm concerned. My guess is this thing is gonna make a lot of other companies nervous. With every rig I've ever had and gigged with (Including the "real deal") I could always find at least one or two things that I wished they had. One had acceptable scream, no mellow. One could be soft and sweet but no guts when ya needed it. Not with this one. It's simply that good and has all bases covered.
Like I said before, your just gonna have to hear it.
ORF Bob
4/2006
Hello,
Just a few words to say that I tried my RB III this week for the first time ( i have it since 2 weeks now but I was gone on holiday) .
I wanted to say that this is an amazing thing to put at the end of my sound rig ( Compact Stage) It cuts the mix just like a hot knife in butter. Soft, mellow but with all the power that I need some times ( not always ! ) My fellow musicians were very surprised and also pleased.
And there is another good news : the Ep's on my Stage sound very good on the RB III. Not very far from the Fender Twin reverb I used to play with.
Well, a very good, nice, heavy manufactured piece of work you sold me... And a happy customer me !
p.depraz
9/2006
Good morning,
I received a Speakeasy Roadbox yesterday and I would like to share my quick thoughts about it with the forum.
First, this thing is loud. One of the main reasons I ordered a Roadbox was to compliment my B3 rental business for rock bands that need extra volume to cut through guitars but don't want to sacrifice the tubes. I have no doubt this will do it. This thing screams and doesn't break up when pushed, a nice tube tone all the way.
Second, the compact size is a real plus. I am over 6 ft. tall so my height helps, but I was able to pick this up and place it on a shelf in my shop by myself. It comes with removable casters so moving the Roadbox is a cinch.
I really felt no need to be gentle with the cabinet at all because it's built like a tank in a nice tight package.
Check out http://www.speakeasyvintagemusic.com/ for all the details. I would say that the Roadbox lives up to all the claims on the website. It's a great option for customers who want no compromises in a compact rotary speaker.
I hope this helped any of you out there thinking about picking one up.
Thanks for taking a moment!
Bill Connor
BC Organ & Service
Worcester, MA
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