Anyone here go from III to a IV and regret it?

[kmanick]

I have a red stipe that I have absoulutely loved for the last year or so that I've owned it , but tonight a freind of mine let me borrow his IV(A) combo and take it home to check it out.
I've never been all that impressed with it when I heard it as his house , but when I got it home and dialed it in to my liking and bypassed the combo speaker and ran it thru my Recto 2X12 cab it blew me away. It sounded killer and I love the fact that I actually can have a nice clean going with my R2 and lead channel set to "kill"
Now I have the opportunity bo buy it from him for a good price and it's in almost mint condition (as is my III) but I'd have to sell my beloved III to do so.
so my question is ...anyone else go thru this and regret it down the road?

 

[silentrage]

Depends on how much you like the "kill" channels on the mark 4 vs the 3. If you think the 4 is as good or better, and you don't have to compromise anything or pedal dance to get all the sounds you want, then it's kind of a no brainer isn't it.

I always heard it's hard to balance the 3 channels on the III, but once I got my blue stripe working (mostly), I can get a nice pristine clean on r1, a very tight, dry and percussive metal tone on r2, and a super saturated liquid solo tone on lead as long as I hit r2 and lead hard with an OD. I have to tap twice when switching channels, but it's honestly not that bad right now.

The piezo on my guitar also helps make r1 a little cleaner and woody sounding.

Let me know what you decide, and maybe do a write up on the mark 3 vs 4a?

 

[primal]

I have a red stipe that I have absoulutely loved for the last year or so that I've owned it , but tonight a freind of mine let me borrow his IV(A) combo and take it home to check it out.
I've never been all that impressed with it when I heard it as his house , but when I got it home and dialed it in to my liking and bypassed the combo speaker and ran it thru my Recto 2X12 cab it blew me away. It sounded killer and I love the fact that I actually can have a nice clean going with my R2 and lead channel set to "kill"
Now I have the opportunity bo buy it from him for a good price and it's in almost mint condition (as is my III) but I'd have to sell my beloved III to do so.
so my question is ...anyone else go thru this and regret it down the road?

Running my IV through recto cab as well. It is freaking awesome.

Play the two side by side for as long as he will let you. Make sure you get past the honeymoon phase.

I don't know much about the III, but the Mark IV is my favorite amp I have ever played. EVER!

In the end let your ears decide.

Sort of seems like they have started to. Just get past the honeymoon phase.

 

[GD_NC]

Just my $.02, but I don't think you'll look back once you get used to the IV. I switched from a IIB to a IV back in the early 90's and I don't think I ever plugged into the II again after the IV arrived.

Earlier this year someone in a tough spot offered me a loaded III Simul for a steal. I went over and played it for a while and just kept comparing it to a IV in my head. It's really not a fair fight. The IV is just so much more versatile and far easier to use. The footswitching improvements and R2 Master alone are worth the difference. I probably could have flipped his III and made a couple hundred bucks but I was hoping he would find someone who would pay him what it was worth. After being spoiled with a IV it's hard to go back.

 

[kmanick]

thanks for the feedback guys.
Well I spoke to him today and It's mine if I want it.
I just need to do some 7 string stuff with it and make sure I can get the mean
tone out of it that I can with my III

(and that means that my Red stripe will be up for sale so if anyone is interested pm me)
I'm in no rush to do this but I'd rather move it to someone on this board than ebay it)

 

[stephen sawall]

I have owned a II,III and IV all have there own voice and I liked them all about the same. I liked each one for different reasons.

 

[Fronzil]

haven't tried a III, but I couldn't be happier with my tone..the IV is truly a deadly, deadly amp.

 

[lshred365]

The red stripe is the closest to MK2C+, try changing v1 to a Groove Tube 12AX7-C or NOS 7025 & v3 to NOS 7025 or GT 12AX7-C , these are the soul of the MK3. Its all in the tuning, my friend has a MK2C+ and its has sounded great and crap. I have MK3 SIMUL RED STRIPE & with the 7025 in v3 it has a smother sound. I also have a highly moded X100b & the lead ch is vary near the lead sound . To sum up I have checked MK4 the main prob is million knobs & switches are bitches, people who toured with these tape the knobs where they like them. So soup your amp up change power tubes put a bias pot in it then compare to MK4 .

 

[kmanick]

Well I've pretty much decided on going with the IV.
I played around with both of them all weekend and the IV has won me over.
On Tweed/MidGain/Class A/triode the IV sounded better to me at lower volumes than my III
does in Simul Class and that was also an important factor for me .
I have Tinnitus in my right ear and I need to be able to get a good sound at lower volumes.
I got the III and the IV basically sounded almost Identical to each other, the IV is just a little bit tighter and sharper
sounding, so with my 7's that is actually a Plus!
also the R2 on the IV is much more usable to me at lower volumes than the R2 is on the III (even with R2 mod), R2 on the IV seems to have more gain to it (as does the lead channel).
I think at gigging volumes I would like my III better as itreally opens up nicely at volume, but I don't gig anymore
so that is kind of a teaser to me when I'm at home.
thanks for the feedback guys

 

[Fronzil]

i can assure you the mark IV set to full power, pentode, simul class is loud enough to gig with...

 

[sixtonoize]

I have both, and I think that the IV is more usable.
It's easier to dial a decent clean because you don't have to balance the two channels.
The FX loop is footawitchable.
The overall tone is more usable without the GEQ - the III is SUPER mid-heavy, so you've got to scoop it pretty hard. the IV is more balanced.

Now, as far as straight-out aggression, I don't think you can beat the III.
I don't really think you can beat it with ANY amp.

However, as far as live usage, IMO the IV is just a more effective tool for getting several tones and textures.

 

[bbking67]

You know I was having problems getting a good balance of tones on my blue stripe mark iii, and I ended up reverting to pedals (tube screamers basically) to supply crunch. I've always subscribed to the "dialing in the 6's" approach for Fender amps as the starting point for tone. But, on the Mesa, I get the best tonal balance by turning the bass way down to 2. Oddly enough I still get craploads of bass and the balance is pretty good. I can't get sparkly brights (great tone but just not as crisp as a Fender Blackface amp), but I get the ballsiest overdriven tones... the overall tone is stunning (without using any stompboxes at all). I'm actually thinking of AB'ing my fender super reverb amp for the bright clean tones.

I haven't used a Mark IV other than in store tinkering, but from what I can tell, the Mark III delivers a better old school tone and doesn't really have very serious deficiencies. Is it the ultimate amp? Probably not, but it's well built and can sound great. Given that Mark III's don't sell for much $$$ they are probably the best bang for the buck. I see mark III amps for as low as $500 on the used market (paid $700 for mine though) and I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better amp under $1,000.

 

[ryjan]

i can assure you the mark IV set to full power, pentode, simul class is loud enough to gig with...

Stand in front of a full stack with a Mark IV set up like this and you may experience loss of bowel function. :twisted:

 

[Fronzil]

**** ya! as is says in the manual "danger, your amp is LOUD!!!"

 

[kmanick]

Well my III is in the classifieds so I guess I've decided to go for it!

 

[Machine Gun]

Congratulations! I've never played through a III, but I do love my IV!!! My favorite amp!

 

[kmanick]

thanks!
I wish I could afford to keep both of them as my III is little more "raw" and "open" sounding,
somtimes I like it better than the IV but the Liquidy lead channel on the IV kills.
Ideally having the III set up for rhythm adn the IV as my lead amp would just kill.

 

[silentrage]

You should try to figure out how to coax the liquid lead out of the III so that poor bastards like me can get the best of both worlds without having to shell out a grand for a IV. :lol:

 

[kmanick]

You should try to figure out how to coax the liquid lead out of the III so that poor bastards like me can get the best of both worlds without having to shell out a grand for a IV. :lol:

If I turn the gain down to 6 and the output to 7 and use my Boss SD-1 in front I can get close.
The III with a clean boost in front is really, really close, add an MXR 10 band EQ to the loop and you can get even closer.
the only reason I'm seriously going for the IV is that on Tweed in simulclass on mid gain
in Pentode the IV sounds better at lower volumes to me than the III does.
I'm not gigging anymore and I have Tinnitus in my right ear, so when I heard how good the IV sounded set up like that at a really comfortable volume level for me to play, I decided I have to have it. My III also sounds very good at low volumes in Simul class but the additional
power setting options of the IV really let you dial in a great sound (actually a bunch of great sounds) at really low volume.
I have absolutely zero complaints about my III , like I said I wish I could keep both of them.

 

[scotteggshell]

I went from a DC-3 to a mark IV and regretted it. I've played the MKIV for about 5 years now and I have never been entirely happy with it. I've tried tons of different tubes and El34 substitutions but could never achieve the tone my DC had. I think they are a very strong flavored amp and taste will have a lot todo do with it.

Like the man said - Only Mesa Spec tubes. It will work with non mesa spec, but wont sound very good.