Mark IV Arriving In A Few Hours!

[sparklesmcgraw]

Hello all,

I'm new here but have been browsing the last week or so.

Just thought I would post my first post to say my Mark IV Combo is on it's way and should be here soon! Never owned a Mesa before so am looking forward to throwing away many hours of my life into this thing!

Hopefully it is all in good working order as it was a second hand Ebay purchase.

Pics on arrival!

Sparklesmcgraw

 

[MusicManJP6]

Congrats dude! You'll love it. Great amp. Be prepared to tweak quite a bit to hear all it's tones! Have fun.

 

[Fronzil]

congrats! they say it right in the manual, "last amp you will ever need to buy"

 

[sparklesmcgraw]

Well,

It has arrived! I bought this amp from Ebay and it has been shipped from Ohio, US across to me In Scotland, UK. As you can imagine I was slightly concerned by this as it is not so easy to return it if it was fuc*ed and didn't work! Yet, I have been incredibly lucky with another fabulous Ebay transaction.

The amp was fantastically packed and secure. When I finally got her out of the box I was stunned to see that it is in pretty much PERFECT condition. Really immaculate and I am amazed how for the age of it how good it looks. First time I have owned a boogie and this thing oozes quality compared to other amps I have owned.

So I go to get it set-up and discover one of the brand new Tung Sol 6L6's shipped with it has been broken on the way over. Bit of a bummer but I would have been amazed if they all made it TBH. So I had to run out and get another pair of tubes, and all my local has it Svetlana 6l6's so I got them.

Set the bad boy up and put the Svetlana's in the middle and the Tung Sol's on the outside. Plug in and play with the VAST amount of knobs. Once I get my head round it, OMFG the distortion KILLS on these!!! I was afraid it wouldn't have enough but, my oh my I was wrong!! Awesome, creamy, saturated chunky distortion. I love it, and this is only after 15mins or so of playing!!

I only have a couple of questions,

1) Any problems using the Svetlana's and Tung Sol's together? Although most of the time I will be playing with Class A anyway on the Tung Sol's

2) There is something sitting on the bottom of the amp under the speaker? Its wrapped in a black leather and is about the size of the footswitch. Its tricky to get out because of the speaker so I havn't done so yet. Anyone got any idea what this is? Its not the footswitch, I am using that just now.


Thanks for all the posts on the board that got me to figure out these beasts quicker than I would have on my own.

All the best

Sparklesmcgraw

 

[GD_NC]

Congrats! Mark IV's rock.

Q1 - You need to use matched tube pairs that confirm to boogie's specs in the inner and outer pair of sockets. The pair in the inner two socket does not need to match the pair in the outer two sockets. Like this XYYX. Make sense? You can use EL-34 or 6L6 tubes in the outer sockets. The inner pair must be 6L6's

Q2 - the reverb tank is in the bottom in a black pouch.

 

[sparklesmcgraw]

Reverb tank, ahh thats what that is!!

So its not problem using Svetlana 6L6 GC tubes in the inner sockets then?

Does anyone know a good source for amp tubes in the UK??

 

[Old BF Shred]

Just in case you are not sure.......
Those Svetlanas MUST be within idle current (bias) range for Mesa amps...(if it helps, Groove Tubes rated 4,5 or 6 fall in that range).
Too far below and the amp will sound "cold"...not good. Too far above and you damage the tubes and possibly the amp as well. If they are in this same range, you are OK with them. If not...start shopping! Also you may want to have a tech shop measure the idle current to see if it is OK as is...then look for replacements if it is not.

I may be wrong, but I thought TAD (Tube Amp Doctor) was from the UK. They will know, and likely have, what you need.
I hear great things about them, even here in California.

I have been a Mesa fan for many, many years...every time I shop for a new amp, I seem to end up with another Mesa....they are just top-shelf amps and offer a lot for the money paid. I am sure you will like your's.

I wish you luck.

 

[sparklesmcgraw]

http://www.tubeampdoctor.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_70_82&products_id=555

These are the tubes I think. Although I am not sure if they had the 'c' logo

 

[Old BF Shred]

To be clear on this, it's not the brand of tube, it's the idle current it draws...some suppliers will use a sticker with some numbers on it to signify the current draw. But be wary of these....some, like Groove Tubes use a 1-10 rating "system".

Others will put the actual current measured (while tested on THEIR amp, not always a Mesa) usually shown as "ma.", but sometimes just a 2 digit number, like "35". Still won't mean it's OK for your Mesa.....

I strongly suggest that you have your amp measured by a tech. They can not honestly charge you to adjust the bias as Mesa's can't be adjusted like most other amps..(they are set to one value; you buy tubes to match the amp, not vise versa). Then you will know for sure, without risking damage.

Again, good luck!

 

[sparklesmcgraw]

Thanks, I will look into getting it checked out.

I have double checked and it is Winged C Svetlana 6L6's that I have bought and seem to get good reviews.Seem to run with no problem either.

Although would probably be prudent to get it checks over anyway's.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Scottyyy]

UK Mark IV owner, nice.

How much did it cost you, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[derekjason]

MARK FUC*ING IV is da' sh*t!! love hearing stories of newly discovered love for IV's.

 

[sparklesmcgraw]

Including shipping from America it was around £900.

I am extremely chuffed with the deal as I have seen a few for sale in the UK for over £1500!

Pics:

 

[Scottyyy]

Very nice. I'm jealous.

 

[kmanick]

Hey that looks just like mine
do you really run the 750 slider down that low?
and the presence that high on the lead channel? :shock:

 

[sparklesmcgraw]

Yeah I do.

Sounds good.

Does the presence seem too hight to you?

I find as I raise the 750 slider the tone gets very midrangey. This amp has enough midrange as is and I feel needs to be reeled in a bit.

 

[ryjan]

I believe that is the general concensus.

 

[kmanick]

the 750 slider I supposed is to taste, I don't know of anyone running the presence any higher than 3-4.
I find the 750 slider up closer to the line above where you have yours makes the amp sound much thicker (run the mids (dial at about 5)
Again each amp is different from the next, but on my III and my IV I run the pres right around 3 to get it to sound it's best.
this is how I have mine set up rihgt now (it sounds godly) but keep in mind I'm running it thru a Recto 2X12 cab so it's coing to sound differnt from yours anyway. I have everything else set up on mine retty much the same as yours. I don't go for a metallica or a 'scooped" tone though. I basically have this set up to sound pretty much like Petruccis rig on Systematic Chaos.

 

[Scottyyy]

Sorry I forgot to ask, do you know much the shipping cost? What about import/customs tax, did you have to pay any?

Sorry for the questions, I'm just trying to get an idea how much it'll cost me to import a Mark IV. I got lucky with my Mark III, the guy gave me a great deal and only charged $650 for the amp and $100 or so for the shipping.

 

[sparklesmcgraw]

About $250 dollars shipping and had to pay £100 on arrival for tax etc...