Mark IV vs DC-5

[Fronzil]

I too prefer a DC to a Mark IV. I won't repeat what has already been said. I thought the Mark IV was a one trick pony, but it does that one trick VERY well. Others are having a blast with their Mark IV's... it just didn't tickle my pickle.

one trick pony? getting petrucci lead tones, and LoG rhythm tones in one amp doesn't seem like one trick to me...and thats just to name a couple of popular tones, the amp is limitless, Mesa always stated the point of the IV was versatility.

and to the other guy, i simply disagree with a lot of your points about the IV..being 'to tight', lead channel not holding the gain to the DC etc...just because i've had it for 2 weeks doesn't mean ****...i read the manual cover to cover twice before the amp even got here, and i spend all day playing/tweaking...thats like saying someone whos played guitar for 2 years couldn't be better then someone who has for 5...i don't agree with you, get over it.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I too prefer a DC to a Mark IV. I won't repeat what has already been said. I thought the Mark IV was a one trick pony, but it does that one trick VERY well. Others are having a blast with their Mark IV's... it just didn't tickle my pickle.

one trick pony? getting petrucci lead tones, and LoG rhythm tones in one amp doesn't seem like one trick to me...and thats just to name a couple of popular tones, the amp is limitless, Mesa always stated the point of the IV was versatility.

and to the other guy, i simply disagree with a lot of your points about the IV..being 'to tight', lead channel not holding the gain to the DC etc...just because i've had it for 2 weeks doesn't mean sh!t...i read the manual cover to cover twice before the amp even got here, and i spend all day playing/tweaking...thats like saying someone whos played guitar for 2 years couldn't be better then someone who has for 5...i don't agree with you, get over it.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Dude!
I don't think I've ever said this to anyone here, but, Calm the **** down!
Nobody impuned your honor or even implied such!
If you love your Mark IV, then more power to you, but you don't have to get uptight when a bunch of guys who have had both amps simply prefer the one that works better for them.
If you come out with both guns blazing, you will be hard pressed to make friends here.


Now, back to business......
I agree that the IV is incredibly versatile, but (and this is coming from a guy who mods everything!), there is such a thing as being too versatile if you will.
If I am able to spend hours upon hours tweaking my tone, then I am not playing my guitar!
I think the DC's work so well for some of us because we can get really close to Mark IV lead tones, but the cleans are much warmer and the entire amp is just so much easier to dial in.

I really did hate that whole leaving the bass on the Lead channel below 4 though.
R2 simply wasn't very useable in my opinion either.


I've had an A and a B Mark IV.
The A version and the DC-10 are incredibly similar, but the subtle differences and the lack of an unuseable R2 (for me, not you) simply made me decide to keep the DC-10 and not the IV.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

one trick pony? getting petrucci lead tones, and LoG rhythm tones in one amp doesn't seem like one trick to me...and thats just to name a couple of popular tones, the amp is limitless, Mesa always stated the point of the IV was versatility.

and to the other guy, i simply disagree with a lot of your points about the IV..being 'to tight', lead channel not holding the gain to the DC etc...just because i've had it for 2 weeks doesn't mean sh!t...i read the manual cover to cover twice before the amp even got here, and i spend all day playing/tweaking...thats like saying someone whos played guitar for 2 years couldn't be better then someone who has for 5...i don't agree with you, get over it.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Dude!
I don't think I've ever said this to anyone here, but, Calm the f%&# down!
Nobody impuned your honor or even implied such!
If you love your Mark IV, then more power to you, but you don't have to get uptight when a bunch of guys who have had both amps simply prefer the one that works better for them.
If you come out with both guns blazing, you will be hard pressed to make friends here.


Now, back to business......
I agree that the IV is incredibly versatile, but (and this is coming from a guy who mods everything!), there is such a thing as being too versatile if you will.
If I am able to spend hours upon hours tweaking my tone, then I am not playing my guitar! Now, this is no fault of the amp, but simply put, my fascination with buttons and knobs takes over and I tend to forget the whole reason that I picked up my guitar.
I think the DC's work so well for some of us because we can get really close to Mark IV lead tones, but the cleans are much warmer and the entire amp is just so much easier to dial in.

I really did hate that whole leaving the bass on the Lead channel below 4 though.
R2 simply wasn't very useable in my opinion either.


I've had an A and a B Mark IV.
The A version and the DC-10 are incredibly similar, but the subtle differences and the lack of an unuseable R2 (for me, not you) simply made me decide to keep the DC-10 and not the IV.

 

[lockbody]

Monsta=LOL!

He's just defensive over his two week old purchase, that's all. Can't have a bunch of guys slamming his new baby by saying it doesn't sound as good as an amp that costs almost half as much.

Fronzil, here's a hint, if you simply disagree with someone's opinions, don't refer to them as "laughable". You'll go a long way, not only on the internet, but in life too, by respecting other people's views and opinions. And after all, is was just my opinion wasn't it? "I" wouldn't make that trade. "I" like the cleans better. "I" think the lead channel spanks the Mk IV.

Get it?

As far as the amp being tight, that's not just my opinion. It is a tight amp. Hell, even in the Triaxis manual they refer to the green clean channel as being tight and funky like the Mk IVs clean.

I'm not sure why you think that's a slam for some reason, either. Many people buy the Mk IV just for that very reason. Like to use a lot of effects? Jazz, country, funk, reggae, or classic rock guitarist? De tuned rock/metal? Tight amps rule for all of this. Maybe it's even what you like about it, but you just don't know it yet.

Calm down and remember Vive la difference!

 

[Fronzil]

ha i'm not worked up...all i said was what he said was laughable (to me), not like i went on some big attack, then he came back with a big essay..so of course im gonna reply in kind!..and i never said the amp isn't tight, that IS why i bought it haha...i just didnt realize people on these forums would find that as a flaw, seeing as Mesa's on average are tighter then most amps i play...and to be honest i didn't think that last reply was out of line at all, but if it was sorry..it's just the net, I don't get to worked up in real life let alone on here that's just how I talk, i should learn to sugar coat my posts with more emoticons and such so you can see they aren't meant as an attack

 

[Fronzil]

haha and Lock, I don't need to defend my amp buddy, didnt buy it for anyone else but me...and this is a Mesa board..not like im trying to defend a Marshall or something here..I wasn't lipping the DC either, I would gladly take any Mesa amp if I had the cash.

 

[MetalMatt]

On paper and on stage the Mark IV is the more versatile amp. When I had my time with it, it wasn't the amp it was all cracked up to be, IMO. The clean channel was OK. R2 wasn't quite there until I threw a OD in front. The lead channel is Awesome!!!. Still, one usable channel out of three, for me, is a one trick.

When it came down to tone I thought the DC was the victor. It sounded more modern to me, which I prefer. Better cleans, better R2, and a great lead. The DC's have got to be one of the best "bang for your buck" Mesa amps these days. Very underrated players amp.

There are LOTS of Mark IV's out there, so the majority loves them. No doubt Mesa made a killer amp, I just happen not to like it. My DC-5 sits nicely between my RKII and Quad Pre. I'm having a blast playing through all three at once. 8)

 

[Fronzil]

ya, i just can't see how you find R2 unuseable...it may be my X2N in my Jackson Kelly that does it, but I can play pretty much anything up do a moderate heavy tone (picture a weaker metallica rhym tone)..cleans leave something to be desired (only cleans i've liked a shitload were on a lonestar from mesa)...but to be honest, i plug my strat into the clean channel, and it really does shine...either way, im a lead guitarist in my band, so im more picky about my lead tone then anything (why i leaned towards the MK IV)..but i also needing something with overall versatility, multiple channels so i didn't need a bunch of pedals, rack gear etc...i play tons of different styles, so the IV for me was the way to go.

 

[MusicManJP6]

...take a look at the quotes in my signature... that's all it boils down to at the end of the day (or should I say thread?)...

 

[Fronzil]

true enough...either way most people here agree on one thing : Mesa Boogie..i mean ****, they just came to my town about a year ago, been a marshall/fender town for years, and the purists will never even bother with the mesa name...it's just associated with "metal" only for some reason.

 

[lockbody]

true enough...either way most people here agree on one thing : Mesa Boogie.

Mesa, F**k Yeah! See? We all can come together for a group hug after all. :lol:

Peace, bro. If I hadn't traded my Mk IV for a Triaxis setup, which I ended up not really digging, I'd probably still have it now. So it goes.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

My DC-5 sits nicely between my RKII and Quad Pre. I'm having a blast playing through all three at once.

You sick *******! The only cure is to send them to me!!!!!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


Now that we've all had a chance to drink a beer (or laxative for the Tee-Totaller!), the Mark IV is one their most prolific amps. That being said, I still love my DC's.

:lol: Of course, I don't actually own a stock amp of any flavor anymore, but that's another story!


I did really like the 2 loops on my Mark IV A though!

 

[primal]

Yeah, I definitely wait for the Mk to show up intact before I shipped.

Having owned a Mk IV for three years and now a DC-5, I'm not sure I'd make the deal. I like my cleans looser and rounder than the Mk IV can deliver. My DC can get much closer to my Pro Reverb's clean than my Mk ever could. The IV is just too tight. I can run the gain higher on the DC and ride my guitar's volume control for a more versatile, better sounding setup than the IV's channel one or two.

The lead channel? DC simply spanks the Mk IV gain-wise, and it isn't as compressed as the IV, either. Sometimes, just sometimes, I get a little tired of the low-mid that can't be dialed out, and miss the brightness of the IV. I don't miss the "honky" nature of the IV's tone, though. The DC just has a bigger, looser sound than the Mk IV that I like. I bet I'd really like a DC-10, I just don't need one anymore, unfortunately.

Pentone, tritone, and simul-class, and push/pull switching? Meh.

And the Mk IV reverb sizucks.

YMMV

all of this is laughable except the verb on the MK IV..which actually does suck

Never played a DC, but the Mark IV is freaking incredible.

But +1000 on the reverbing sucking. It is unusable to me! Which really suprises me considering how good the reverb is on the RoadKing, which isn't even as good as the Road King 2.

 

[primal]

I don't care what Fronzil or anyone else says, I wouldn't trade my DC's for a Mark IV unless I already had a buyer for the IV and another DC on the way.
The IV's options are great, but not being able to dial it in easily and the having to keep the bass below 4 is bullshit! They should have just made the **** knob only go to 4!

I agree with you about the bass not being able to be put above 4 is stupid, but atleast compared to the Recto series, I found the mark IV extremely easy to dial in(R1 and lead, R2 took a while but I think I got it). Hell, as soon as I figured out the bass not going above 4, lead was simple.

I realize that many people here feel it is difficult to dial in, so you are obviously not alone. I guess I'm just surprised, because it took me a while (and an EQ in the loop) before I stopped tweaking my Roadking.

My Mark IV I never tweak.

I would love to get a DC though. Unfortunately I've got higher priorities with the family then getting a third boogie Pesky things like putting food on the table )

 

[madryan]

To me it comes down to whether I want to emulate Petrucci or have an amp with a more generic (But stellar) tone that works for more music. I'm strictly looking for a gigging amp. I use my DC in that capacity and I need exactly 3 sounds. A nice clean, a nice crunch, and a mid boosted gain sound for leads. I can easily dial those in with the DC and it always sounds good.

The Mark IV noob freaking out about people dissing his new baby uses a Dimarzio X2N so I'm betting he's not going for the same tones as me anyway. I'm a bit more of a dynamics guy and in that respect even the DC is too compressed. I loved my Mark III for metal tones, and every Mark IV I've played has been similar but the inherent compression in the amp just doesn't cut it for much of what I do. I dig that sound but overall the Marks are too compressed to play a variety of music well. That's just my opinion but there it is. My Rockerverb is what I play when I really want dynamics.

 

[Fronzil]

funny, you're calling me a mark IV noob, yet check back some threads..i've had guys on these forums tell me im in the top 5% they've heard for getting good tone out of the IV, and I had it for 2 weeks at that point :roll: ...anyway GJ on reviving an old thread that we all got over..I never once trashed the DC, or any other Mesa..

 

[madryan]

funny, you're calling me a mark IV noob, yet check back some threads..i've had guys on these forums tell me im in the top 5% they've heard for getting good tone out of the IV, and I had it for 2 weeks at that point :roll: ...anyway GJ on reviving an old thread that we all got over..I never once trashed the DC, or any other Mesa..

You are a noob. Till you've owned it a while you're a noob. That's just the way it is. I don't care if you trash the DC or any of the other in the long line of Mesa amps I've owned. I've owned dozens of nice amps from several different manufacturers and they've all had good and bad things about them. I guess the right answer is if you're going for brootalz metal sounds then the Marks do that in spades. My Rectifier was better for nu-metal sounds but the DC sits nicely in between. Like I said tho, both amps are too compressed for much of what I play.

Tone is subjective. Amps are subjective. Gear is subjective.

The group I play with requires me to have a fairly generic rock sound with stellar dynamic cleans and a nice fat smooth lead sound. To be honest, I'll be building a new rig that incorporates both my Orange and my DC for the best of both worlds. It'll be all MIDI switching and whatnot.

I really dig the Mark IV. I was about two seconds from buying one but my buddy ordered a Mark V and I decided to wait and check it out before I take the plunge. I do love that big monster petrucci style crushing rhythm sound and the Mark series do that just about better than anything. My DC does better lead sounds IMO and the cleans are way more like my Lonestar which IMO is about as good as it gets for cleans.

For my idea of a killer dynamic amp try a VHT Deliverance 60 out some time. The most brutally percussive amp I've ever played.

 

[Fronzil]

lol, dude this whole discussion has been over for awhile, and you're still arguing points that I was never really against...i know the IV is compressed, I disagreed with it being to compressed...I never said the cleans were better then the DC, in fact I actually think the opposite..as for the noob thing, everyone learns/progresses at the same rate, right? :roll: You seem to be trollin for an argument pretty hard, either way I'm done with this thread, peace.