Falling out of love with my Mark IV

[holdsworth]

I've recently come to the decision, after 2 years of trying to tweak the amp, that my Mark IV combo does not meet my requirments. I love the sweet, liquid sustain I can achieve from time to time, but more often than night I find the sound to thin, and grating to the ear.

I have one of two options living in the UK. Either sell it and buy a Cornford (or possibly a Diezel), or my other option is to get a 2x12 or 1x12 Thiele cab for my Mark IV to smooth out the sound, get a better bass response and tame those unwieldly thin highs.

 

[fpoon]

How dare you. Leave this forum at once!

 

[holdsworth]

How dare you. Leave this forum at once!

How childish. Has anyone got anything sensible to say?

 

[fpoon]

Nah, they all feel the same way.

 

[holdsworth]

Nah, they all feel the same way.

Fortunately, we don't live under the Nazi regime, so people have the right to voice their own opinions. Freedom of speach can be quite liberating, you should learn to cope with it sunshine.

You seem to be quite the hypocrite, considering as you have a 2x12 to go with your Mark IV. Have you ever actually played through a Mark IV open back combo? They sound undeniably thin, especially with the C90 speaker.

 

[Nick_cor]

Nah, they all feel the same way.

Fortunately, we don't live under the Nazi regime, so people have the right to voice their own opinions. Freedom of speach can be quite liberating, you should learn to cope with it sunshine.

You seem to be quite the hypocrite, considering as you have a 2x12 to go with your Mark IV. Have you ever actually played through a Mark IV open back combo? They sound undeniably thin, especially with the C90 speaker.

Hey, when I got my IIC+ it was in an EV 200 watt speaker combo, I wasn't really impressed with it at first, and it wasn't my settings, it just wasn't all that. Then I plugged it into my genz benz 2x12 gflex cab and then I heard the difference, now I have a 4x12 oversized recto cabinet and I wish I still had my IIC+ so i could really hear it shine, but i don't i have a III and it really explodes. So before selling it, maybe bring it to the store and try it out on a bunch of cabinets, 2x12, 1x12 ,4x12 even if that's too mcuh for you. my 2 cents

 

[Mountain Fever]

I doubt anyone wishes you any ill will. What's the point in that?

As for myself, I have nothing that would help you as I have no hands on knowledge of the other two amps you are considering and at least as of this moment I am OK with my Mark IV, even though at some point I might want to try out other cabs, etc.

Many people who have posted comments about the Theile seem to be quite happy and that might be an alternative to selling and buying a new amp.

There is a certain logic though to going to alternative boards for the amps you are considering and seeing what motivated those people to make that choice for themselves. They may have more answers than most of us here.

 

[Pinweaver]

How dare you. Leave this forum at once!

How childish. Has anyone got anything sensible to say?

The guy was probably being sarcastic, which apparently went way over your head...

That said, definitely try the mark 4 with a thiele. I didn't like my Mark 4 through a 4x12 V30 loaded cab at all, so I bought 2 thiele's.
Best combination imo.

 

[Nick_cor]

How dare you. Leave this forum at once!

How childish. Has anyone got anything sensible to say?

The guy was probably being sarcastic, which apparently went way over your head...

That said, definitely try the mark 4 with a thiele. I didn't like my Mark 4 through a 4x12 V30 loaded cab at all, so I bought 2 thiele's.
Best combination imo.

Hey, how do you use two thieles at once? isnt' that going stereo?

 

[fpoon]

Yeah I was being sarcastic I mean come on, it's not a Boogie Board without holdsworth.

Big City! Big City Nights!

 

[Restless Rocks]

Hey Holdsworth, the short combo by itself is a bit disappointing (small and boxy sounding) even with an EV in it. Adding a 1x12 theile with EV, which the combo sits on top of so perfectly, may be the answer. I installed my head into a combo shell for portability to certain gigs but quickly began carrying a theile along with it. Even adding an open back 1x12 will give the sound much more girth and depth. Don't give up on the MkIV amp because it can really cover a lot of sonic ground depending on your speaker enclosure.

 

[Platypus]

I found the same thing with the combo Holdsworth.. perhaps try driving another pair of speaker without and disconnecting the internal one?

My tone is anything but thin with a 2x12 closed back.

 

[Pinweaver]

Hey, how do you use two thieles at once? isnt' that going stereo?

Ah, maybe I should have specified I have a short head, not a combo, my bad.

 

[t0aj15]

I would definately try another speaker cab. I have used my Mark IV with a single 1-12, two 1-12's, a 1-15, a 4-10, two 4-10's and several combinations of the above and not once have I ever had a problem with it sounding thin or grating. All the above are closed back cabs with front loaded drivers and provide more then enough bass. In fact the 4-10's put out so much lowend that I prefer to have them off the floor to uncouple them so as to reduce the bass. My current favorite for home practice and small clubs is the 1-15 but for larger areas reguiring more volume I'll use one or both of the 4-10's. But giving up on a great amp like the Mark IV because you don't like the sound of one particular speaker in an open back combo cab strikes me as being a little short sighted.

 

[ToneAddictJon]

I would definitely try a thiele, the Mark IV just sounds huge with it. Then if you decide you still don't like the Mark IV (I'm on the fence with mine right now!!!) you'll still have a killer cab. I'm really thinking about selling mine and getting a triaxis/2:90/g-major setup and going back to the live simplicity of midi. Good luck either way

 

[MusicManJP6]

From what I have heard with the open back cab I used to have, they do tend to produce thin sounding tones. I now have a dual thiele setup and it is tone paradise! You need to hear a Mark IV through a thiele or some kind of closed back cab to hear it's potential fully! The lows are extremely tight and articulate. Don't give up on 'er just yet!

Adam

 

[sbalderrama]

I think maybe the best lead tone Mesa has right now is through the Lonestar, particularly if kicked with a good boost like the BB Preamp. If you don't need past "early metal" style gain, you might look into the Lonestar.

 

[srf399]

Holdsworth,

Every combo I've used without an extension cabinet was much thinner sounding than with a cabinet. I am getting a 1 x 12" Theile for that very reason... that I want a bigger/thicker sound out of the MKIV combo. Trust me... it makes a huge difference. Two is even better!

MKIV sound math 101


Two Theiles (separated by about 10 feet) + MKIV + Ice Cold Beer = Tonal Heaven!!!

 

[ursinus]

I have had extensive time with the Cornford and minimal with the Deizel's (Herbert, Einstein, and VH4) but they are both different animals compared to the MKIV. The Cornford is much thinner and less sustain than the MKIV, but I believe that they are amps for different purposes. If you are playing fusion and instrumental rock, the MKIV is the proper amp. If you are playing more mainstream hard rock, then the Cornford will be more suited. If you are playing Metal, Thrash, Nu-Metal, then the MKIV, Recto, or Deizel's are the ticket.

I play fusion and inst. music and I finally settled on a Lonstar 2x12 cabinet with a C90 and Eminence Cannabis rex in it and 2- 1x12 Mesa Theiles with EV12L's in them. This gives me the tones I desire. If I were playing different styles of music, then I will definitely consider other options. I recently bought a Stilletto Ace head and am still experimenting with speakers. Ironically, I love the the oversize Ritchie Kotzen 1x12 Cornford Cab with the Stilletto. Anyway, have fun experimenting, the journey for tone is never ending................ 8)

 

[holdsworth]

How dare you. Leave this forum at once!

Soz about the over-reaction. It was quite late and I was a little groggy, and my sarcasm detectors were a little bit below par. I mean, we are the pioneers of sarcasm after all.

Hey Holdsworth, the short combo by itself is a bit disappointing (small and boxy sounding) even with an EV in it. Adding a 1x12 theile with EV, which the combo sits on top of so perfectly, may be the answer. I installed my head into a combo shell for portability to certain gigs but quickly began carrying a theile along with it. Even adding an open back 1x12 will give the sound much more girth and depth. Don't give up on the MkIV amp because it can really cover a lot of sonic ground depending on your speaker enclosure.

I'm definately going to try it with an extension cab before I finally give up with it. At the moment I'm considering whether to get a 1x12 Thiele, a 2x12 rectifier cab, or a 2x12 Cornford cab (which is slightly cheaper in the UK than Mesa products).

I play fusion and inst. music and I finally settled on a Lonstar 2x12 cabinet with a C90 and Eminence Cannabis rex in it and 2- 1x12 Mesa Theiles with EV12L's in them. This gives me the tones I desire. If I were playing different styles of music, then I will definitely consider other options. I recently bought a Stilletto Ace head and am still experimenting with speakers. Ironically, I love the the oversize Ritchie Kotzen 1x12 Cornford Cab with the Stilletto. Anyway, have fun experimenting, the journey for tone is never ending...

Cool, the flexibility of fusion and inst. rock is just what I'm after. I wonder , how does the Mark IV react with a Cornford sitting under her?

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/2-x-12/10987

...does purple go with brown?