Combo VS pre-power

[Martin]

Lately,
I've been getting a little lazy and the last few shows I have played I have just taken my MKIII to use with an old Quadraverb and a midi octopus. Normally I use a Triaxis, 2:90, g-Force, midi board and two 3/4 enclosed cabs.... it's a lot of sh!t to drag to a gig.

I gotta say that I am starting to question whether or not I should keep the effects (G-Force) and midi board (ground control)and sell the pre-power, then just buy another MKIII or possibly a MK4 ??...I seem to be getting a better tone (although there is more back ground noise) from the combo but it has a more vocal quality to the tone I think.....

I'm not sure though as there are things I love about the pre-power set up to.... it's definately easier in terms of transportation to use the combo, way more convenient....am I just being lazy or has anyone else found this to be the case too ?

 

[straitouttahell]

I own a Mark IV combo and a Triaxis. While I love the sound of the Triaxis plugged in my MkIV's FX return, I must admit that the MkIV itself is amply usable, so I wouldn't miss much by using it alone.

 

[Martin]

I have thought about that, does that work well ?...I may give it a bash with my MKIII

 

[MesaGod666]

For long touring gigs (1 month or more), I just take an 8 Space SKB rack with my wireless and effects along with a combo amp. When we do local gigs, that's when I break out the big guns and run my 20 space rack with 4 mesa cabs.

 

[straitouttahell]

I have thought about that, does that work well ?...I may give it a bash with my MKIII

I never tried it with a MkIII, with the IV it works pretty well.
One curious thing I noticed: the IV's poweramp has different voicings for RHY1/2 and LEAD. The preamp hooked to the FX return sound much better if I select the Lead channel, as the poweramp (or at least I suppose it to be a poweramp's behavious) puts out a bigger voice when Lead is selected. This makes the TA's cleans and RHYs sound better too, while they sould sound pretty much the same as the IV's in the other channels.

A good idea if you want to have several different sounds at hand, but totally unnecessary. The IV is more than enough on its own

 

[Martin]

What I was refering to more and I may not have been very clear is does anyone find any differences in tone between the MK combo's and the Triaxis-Power amp combination. I seem to feel thet the combo has more of a vocal quality to the tone and think I may actually prefer that....does anyone else find this to be true ?

 

[straitouttahell]

What I was refering to more and I may not have been very clear is does anyone find any differences in tone between the MK combo's and the Triaxis-Power amp combination. I seem to feel thet the combo has more of a vocal quality to the tone and think I may actually prefer that....does anyone else find this to be true ?

I must be crazy to say that in the "Rack Pieces" section of the forum :lol: but MkIV sounds better than Triaxis IMO. Bigger, smoother and more dynamic.

 

[Martin]

I'm starting to think that myself. I had my MKIII stored at home in Scotland and only just brought it over to the US a few months ago and never really used it untill recently. I had forgotten just how good it is.
I am toying with the idea of selling the Triaxis, 2:90 and jut buying another combo or maybe I'll keep it and buy another combo anyway...that's why I was looking for opinions.