Mark iv Wide Body combo

[tunefisher]

I finally spent some quality time with a Mark iv wide body combo in a local store. I am seeking to replace my wonderful but underpowered Studio 22c+.

I had tried a Mark iv years ago and wasn't able to get the sounds I was after, but for some reason found it a snap with a new wode body. I also noticed a difference in the Harmony Central reviews between a wide body a regular (ave. 9.3 on sound quality to the regular's 8.9)

Question: Are the wide body Mark iv combo's newer? Is there any difference between a new mark iv and one from say, 1993? Did they have a wide body in 93?

Should I be wary of the older one?

Thanks
Tom

 

[Shep]

all Mk iv's are the same ( Wide/short/long...) the only difference is size of the shell and chassie...1993 marks the end of the series 1 and on the the current series 2...so you my hav not like the series one..

 

[Shep]

by the way i own a series 1 and love it...play it every day...

 

[tunefisher]

Thanks a lot Shep. I am still a little confused though. I guess what you are saying is that all of the current mark iv's are the same. Is the Series one different? Do you have a sense for what the serial number cut in is?

Thanks
Tom

 

[prs1999]

Some say the early models of the MKIV were better sounding...I'd have to hear them side by side to contest to that.
Anyway ,you do know that the wide body sounds different than the short combo. Speaker on the wide body is rear mounted,plus maybe your disliking to the other MKIV was it had a EV in it & is front mounted.
Glad you found one to your liking though.

 

[Shep]

you can basicly tell if its a S1 or 2 by the satilite send.late 1993 is the time of change...if it has one it's a 2 if it doesn't it's a 1...the main difference's is rhy2 there is more gain in the s-2's..the lead channel is more differently voiced...the s1 use a mk IIc+ preamp for the lead channel.... reverb is alittle differnt in the s-2...yeah..thats about it..i wasn't a upgrade to the s-2 it was more a change...both are great...

 

[Russ]

I think your tastes may have just changed. It took me a while to like Mesa. I was more of a Marshall enthusiast. One day a light bulb went on and I said.... "Maybe I will try a Mesa" I did and liked it but not for the reasons I own one now. This was back in '92. I liked the cleans and didn't want a Fender. I borrowed that amp a little then gave it back. Funny thing is I never even tried the R2 or Lead. When I bought hte Mark IV it was for the Lead and R2 though I knew the clean channel was good but not as good if you used R2 more. I bought as early a model I could find. Mine is in the 600's and was made in '90. I prefer the older version for the preamp gain in Lead. The guys at Mesa told me some nice things about the current version but I kind of forgot what they were talking about with the excitement of getting answers to my questions and replacement parts on order. Sorry I can't share. I would like to have another Mark IV to have even more versatility (R2 and clean sounding goood at the same time, 2 different lead settings and 2 different reverb levels on tap).