always disappointing

[guitardude05]

to plug into my mark iv and be disappointed. i just retubed it and its a little better but i cant help but feel that the tone is extremely dry, unsaturated, and not in your face enough. its just a combo with a c90, would that be a reason why? only on rare occasions does the amp seem to be really aggressive. maybe a sealed cab would help?

theres tons of gain, but theres a point were its just adding more noise than anything and ruins the definition... ive tweaked this amp so much and its so frustrating. maybe its just not good for modern voicings without some kind of boost? idk... i like running my stuff with no pedals and this isnt really cutting it.

 

[JOEY B.]

Plug this amp into a closed back cabinet, and give it hell. :shock:

 

[scottywompas]

I've never had a problem with my MKIV sounding aggressive. It is not a modern voiced amp. It definately won't do Recto sounds but it is a mean amp.

Scott

 

[Platypus]

The first time I played a Mark IV it was a c90 combo.. didn't really do much for me. Then I played the head version through a closed back cabinet and I immediately liked the tone 100% more.

Dry, unsaturated and not in your face are not words I would ever use to describe the tone I get from my Mark IV personally.

 

[Anonymous]

I could never imagine running my Mark III with one speaker. You might want to add a 2x12 or 4x12. I still had trouble getting it to sound as big as I would've liked, so I sold it for a Rectifier. If you don't like it after adding some speakers, it sounds like a Rectifier is your next step.

 

[guitardude05]

it looks like i'll need to try out a cab with my amp, i hope it sounds 100% better!!

thats exactly how i feel about the tone, its not "modern voiced"... but LoG and Chevelle use them and i love their tone so idk what the deal is.

maybe this just isnt the amp for me, who knows hah. but i hope its just a speaker/cab issue.

edit: any reccomendations for cabs? of course theres the recto cabs and theiles but anything else? it all seems so expensive!

 

[fatoni]

genz benz g flex

 

[mrd]

Set your power to tweed, class A, triode

Go to Lead channel, gain 8 pulled, drive 8 pulled, bass 0, mids 7, treble 6-8, volume 9, output 8, presence 4-7 pulled, EQ to taste

If that doesn't sound in your face then..I don't know what to do.

 

[jman7272]

Man, I feel the same way you did. Until recently that is...

This is my second Mark IV. I sold the first for two reasons: 1. I never took the time to learn the amp and find the sounds I wanted. It sounds like you are already past this point. 2. I had the 1x12 combo. The thing is, combos are nice and easy, but the head /cab is the real deal.

I bought another Mark IV combo last year (owned my first and sold it 5 years ago) because I just got tired of reading about what a great amp it was when I didn't think so having owned one before. So I decided to try it again thinking that it wouldn't cost me anything but time and effort if I didn't like it as Mark IV's have great resale value.

This time I took tthe time to learn it and dial it in right. It was MAGICAL and I loved the amp but it was still lacking something. I then experimented with some cabs and instantly realized that this was what this amp was meant for. I am currently using it with a 2x12 vertical recto cab and it sounds HUGE and in your face. I tried the 2x12 horizontal and it was ok but the vertical cab is where it was at for me. I think the 2x12 vertical recto cab is voiced like the 4x12 Stiletto cab (which I also own) and this amp just f'ing sings through both.

So I went through the trouble to dump the Mark IV combo and get it in a head format and I have never looked back.

Now I wont **** you - I also own a Tremoverb dual rec which is one of the best amps I have ever played through and it does not sound like that - but - you will come to find the Mark IV is an unbelievable amp in it's own right if you dial it in. I will melt your face if you use the right cab.

Hope this helps.

 

[srf399]

I went through the same thing with my MKIV. I felt it was dry and lifeless. I got a recto 2 x 12 cabinet and tried it through that for awhile. I ended up just getting a different Mesa and have never missed my MKIV since. My suggestion is to get a cabinet and try it... then if you still don't like it move on. I spent 2 years trying to turn that amp into my dream tone and ended up getting it in 5 minutes with a Stiletto. People talk about spending months trying to dial in your sound on these things and to me life is too short to deal with that amount of frustration.

 

[ChrisCst22]

Have you ever looked into a BBE Sonic Max?? Throw one of those
into the effects loop and it will cause tone to just fly off the speaker and
smack you six ways to Tuesday.

I couldn't live without mine, I have three. One for my main rig with a Dual Caliber, one for my practice rig built around a Boss GT-6 and Mesa 50:50, and one for my home stereo!! They are the balls!

 

[guitardude05]

thanks for all the responses, it make me feel a lot better. its really annoying when people talk about how great the amp is, but they tell me i'm not getting that tone i want because i didnt dial it in right. im pretty sure its just not the tone im after, ill try it with a cab and then go from there.

 

[HalfDeaf]

One thing to try, in terms of opening up the lead sound, is to turn down the Drive knob. Running the lead gain at 8 pulled and the drive at 8 sounds awesome for single note leads IMO, but adds a TON of compression. Too much compression can be counter productive for low frequency crunch, like drop D (or lower) metal riffs.

Try lead gain at 8-8.5 but lower the drive to 4-5. Make sure the bass is 0-2, but then turn up the bass slider on the GEQ. And of course run the amp at full power, and as loud as you can.

At lower volumes, this gives a more "traditional" distortion (sorta marshall-ish if you've got EL34s in the class A sockets). At performance volumes, the power tubes will provide a bit of the "Mesa swirl", and a more natural compression that I think is better suited to LoG-style rhythm-heavy riffage.