Buying a Mark IV

[Thewiz]

Hi guys My first post here, nice place!!
I'm picking up a late Mark IV Wide Body Combo this weekend. It has a C90 speaker and to me that's ok. I also have a Lonestar Special with C90 so I'm familiar with the C90. Back in early 2000 I had a short body Combo with EVM and I was never quite happy with the Rhy.2 sounds I got from it.
So I hope the C90 is a better option.. Anyone running Rhy.2 with EL34's and class A? I'm wondering how Marshall'ish I can get the cruch. Thanks!!!

 

[bgh]

I am. I run EL34s in the outer sockets. When I play my SG on channel 2 with class A selected, I get a very good "Marshall" crunch. My LP, not so much. It sounds better on the lead channel.

PS: You may want to consider running in "tweed mode" too. Sounds excellent with the SG.

 

[Thewiz]

I bought the amp, when I tried it I noticed that the clean channel was a bit weak.. I had to max input gain and master on the clean. I was hoping it was a bad tube, so I took the risk and bought it. I have tried different tubes etc.. But it does not help.. I have checked the gain pot and the LDR after it and they seams to be in order. Both rh 2 and lead seams to be ok, but if I turn down gain from 10 to 8-9 on rh 1 it's really low. Any tips? Not really much gain on Rh 2 but I guess that's normal. Lead has plenty I think.

 

[bgh]

I don't know much about amp internals - other than changing tubes and such.

My R1 channel is strong enough that when I am at home I use a preamp volume of 5, the R1 master is at 3 or 4, and the common master is at 2. I do find that I need to set the R1 master a little higher that I do either the R2 or Lead masters. But not to the extent that you describe.

Since you are experiencing no issues with either R2 or Lead, I would tend to lean away from it being a tube issue. I don't see any preamp tube that is specifically designated as being for R1.

You may want to give Mesa a call and tell them the symptoms. Every time I have called them they have been extremely helpful.

 

[Beery Swine]

I'm actually thinking of buying a IV combo right now. I was all set to buy a Mark V 90 combo but lookin at Mark IV combos' prices, I wouldn't mind saving a few bucks. Like, even tho there's tons of options, at the end of the day they're both 3 channels. Do I really need the extra options if I'll wind up just setting each channel's tone and forgetting about it? Then again, all those extra options seem well worth another 4-500 bucks. idk

 

[bgh]

Both are very good amplifiers. The Mark V does give you the option of having a Mark I channel, a Mark IV (extreme) channel, and a Mark II-C+ channel.

I don't play metal, so some of the added versatility of the Mark V is not needed and would be lost on me.

I find the Mark IV to be plenty versatile for what I need. Excellent cleans, excellent crunch, and an unbelievable lead channel. Plus, it does have some bells and whistles that the Mark V doesn't have:

(1) The Mark IV channel on the Mark V is present with certain options on the Mark IV already pre-selected. I like being able to choose which ones I want.
(2) I really like have separate gain and drive controls on the Mark IV's lead channel. You can get very specific in how you dial it in.

Years ago, when I bought my Mark IV, I spent a while looking back and forth between the two. And, for what I needed and wanted, the Mark IV was better. Like I said earlier, some of the options on the Mark V would not have been very beneficial to me - so I chose the Mark IV.

I have never looked back.

Hope this helps.

 

[sduck]

Channel 2 on a mark IV can really rock! Make sure you pull fat - that makes all the difference. It sounds kind of lame otherwise. I run mine class A, triode, harmonics mode, and channel 2 gets that really classic marshall sound.

 

[bgh]

Channel 2 on a mark IV can really rock! Make sure you pull fat - that makes all the difference. It sounds kind of lame otherwise. I run mine class A, triode, harmonics mode, and channel 2 gets that really classic marshall sound.

Does the "harmonics" rocker change the way your R2 channel sounds? On mine, it impacts only the lead channel.

But, there are other areas of mine that work differently than the manual indicates. For example, when I use the Mark IV as a power amp and run a preamp pedal into the effects return, it makes a big difference as to which channel I select. The channel volumes do not work (which makes perfect sense), but the presence controls make a big difference (as do the shift options). It's like having my choice of 3 different power amp options.

 

[Beery Swine]

(2) I really like have separate gain and drive controls on the Mark IV's lead channel. You can get very specific in how you dial it in.

This is why I went with the IV over the V. James of Metallica used some very different gain vs drive settings on his IIC++ amps from album to album, if the pictures are any indication, so you probably couldn't really tweak the V the way you can a IV. Plus all the neat little push/pulls aren't on the V. The V seems more of a modern amp, but my holy grail is The Black Album tone, and boy does the IV deliver.

 

[sduck]

Channel 2 on a mark IV can really rock! Make sure you pull fat - that makes all the difference. It sounds kind of lame otherwise. I run mine class A, triode, harmonics mode, and channel 2 gets that really classic marshall sound.

Does the "harmonics" rocker change the way your R2 channel sounds? On mine, it impacts only the lead channel.

I'm not sure actually - you're probably right. When I first got the amp quite a few years ago I did a ton of experimenting, trying to get a great clean and lead channel sound, and never even really messed with the R2 channel until fairly recently.

 

[JRN1979]

I recently bought a Mark IV, came from a Roadking. The thing I have noticed regarding the push/pull knobs, is when you put the cover back on, say to do a gig, the knobs that are pulled, get pushed back in again. If you don't remember to check them, your sound will be much different. In a hurry, you may not realize it until you get going, at least that was my case.

Having a hard case to put it in, would prevent that, and is something I am thinking of doing. I believe the toggle switches (different modes) handle the duty of the push/pull. I would prefer to have toggles, but also really like the Mark IV.

 

[swbo101]

I find the Mark IV to be plenty versatile for what I need. Excellent cleans, excellent crunch, and an unbelievable lead channel. Plus, it does have some bells and whistles that the Mark V doesn't have:

(1) The Mark IV channel on the Mark V is present with certain options on the Mark IV already pre-selected. I like being able to choose which ones I want.
(2) I really like have separate gain and drive controls on the Mark IV's lead channel. You can get very specific in how you dial it in.

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