Hardwood Mark IV Combo's

[shawnqa800720]

What is the general concensus on the Hardwood Mark IV combo amps. I love the look of exotic hardwoods, but want to make sure I would not be sacrificing tonal quality for exterior beauty. Any and all commetns welcome.

Thanks in advance for your feedback!
Shawn

 

[user 16490]

I doubt you'd be sacrificing anything tone-wise. There are cab manufacturers that specialize in making cabs out of nothing but exotic woods. I don't have any personal experience with KW Cabs, but all I've read are positive reviews. I know you're talking about combos, I'm just providing the link for reference.

http://www.kwcabs.com/

 

[jutsin]

Chugga is right, you won't be losing anything tone wise. If anything, you could gain tone. It may not be a huge difference, but everything effects the way each amp/cab sounds (down to the tolex or other covering choice). If it were a cab that was designed to be more resonant, the wood would play a larger role.
The largest tone factors in non resonant cabs (beside overall quality) are going to be the dimensions and the speaker.

 

[shawnqa800720]

I doubt you'd be sacrificing anything tone-wise. There are cab manufacturers that specialize in making cabs out of nothing but exotic woods. I don't have any personal experience with KW Cabs, but all I've read are positive reviews. I know you're talking about combos, I'm just providing the link for reference.

http://www.kwcabs.com/

Thanks for the link, those are some pretty sick cabs! I love flame and quilt maple like I love the SI swimsuit issue - I lust after the figure or the surface!

Thanks also for the info on the wood's effect on sound quality. I am guessing that a company like Mesa would have done their homework, but I just wanted to be sure it wasn't just a sales gimmick. There are none to test-drive, so I am putting myself in the Boogie Boards knowledgable hands.

Shawn

 

[zebpedersen]

In 40 years Boogie have never really made any 'business-y' decisions to sell more amps at the cost of tone. For 40 years, they've put their amps in custom hardwood cabs. If not this board, I'd trust Randy on this one I've always been a sucker for the Mark IV in hardwood especially.

 

[Xqzdust]

I asked this same question a couple of years ago when I bought my MkIV and nearly started a cyber riot! :lol: I was wondering whether any type hardwood sounded better or worse than others. Apparently there is little difference. As the owner of a hardwood amp I would caution you that if this is going to be an amp you gig with, you should consider a road case for it. Think about moving a nice piece of furniture around on a regular basis. It's bound to get scratched sooner or later. Mine sits in my studio but if I were doing gigs I would definitely go with Tolex.

 

[hgus]

Just a note on durability of hard wood combos - I just got my mk IV in hardwood last week, it's toured to hell and back. If it would have been a standard combo with tolex, it would have lloked like a wreck, but the solid wood, after a few hours with wood oil and a rag, it looks great IMHO. So these combos are actually way more durable than tolex could ever hope to be!

 

[av8or3]

I can't believe nobody's mentioned it before, but my Imbuya combo smells like incense (good incense too) once it gets heated up.
Gotta like that
MKIIC+ inside sounds real good too, so it must be happy :wink:
Jim