Can a MK 1 Sound like a MKIV?

[halfnote]

I recently acuired a mark 1 ri. I'm not sold on it's high gain abilities but I do really dig the clean and pushed/ low gain sounds. Is there something I can put in front of it to give it the saturation and tone more like a iv? Would this be better accomlished with a clean boost/od pedal setup as a boost, or an overdrive/distortion pedal?
Also will a ten band eq in the loop clean up the eq system a little and give it a little more modern style lowend? I have used an mxr ten band in the loop of other Mesa's with great results.
Any input will be greatly appreciated.

 

[bryan_kilco]

I can't personally speak for the Mark I, but on my IVs RHY 2 channel, a clean boost can do amazing things!

 

[Fronzil]

the bb has gain on tap to make a clean channel sing when dialed in properly, and it does anything from that to a clean boost. I'm sure the MK1 would love it.