Marshall Mode Four

[MesaGod666]

I just picked one up for like $325 (New-in-box btw) in Fargo, ND. Unbelievably underrated amp. Great Marshall tone on the AMP 1 Settings and even rips off the Dual Recto tone as well on the AMP 2 settings. Anyone try it? I have a JVM and it does all of those tones as well (obviously the JVM is a bit more warm).

 

[JCDenton6]

Not too bad, I used to own one with the matching MF400 4x12 (loaded with celestion GK12-100's) before I got my Dual Rectifier. It was a step up form the Marshall Valvestate I owned before that. Just watch out for questionable build quality and power IC problems.

http://music-electronics-forum.com/t13743/

http://music-electronics-forum.com/t3538/

 

[Roadifier]

I saw a local metal band play them and they sounded pretty good! They were using them on the mode four cab.

 

[ryjan]

I used a Mode Four cab with the G12K-100's for over a year with my Mark IV. Awesome cab. I've never heard the amp itself though.

 

[94Tremoverb]

The Mode Four is nothing more than an oversize Valvestate AVT. If you don't believe me, look inside.

It suffers from well-known serious reliability problems mostly to do with the crappy IC power modules which are the same ones used in the AVT and MG series. It's not unknown to find all four of them burn out.

No matter how good you think it sounds, I would suggest selling it before it breaks and buy a better amp.

Sorry.

 

[davidrg1550]

Yeah,as stated above the MF is a big AVT, sounds like a bargain though so well done!

I've heard the MF and they can sound a little sterile at low gain settings, the high gain is a lot better!

I moved away from Marshalls as I found them too unruly, I prefer the smoother tones of Mark series amps, but that's totally subjective.

If the MF works for you then good stuff, give it a beating!

 

[droptrd]

The ModeFour Cabs are sonic beauties. Killer cabs. Even the ones that came loaded with K100s (I cant stand these speakers) I see them go for under $300 all day long. I bought one for a friend of mine (he has no internetz)last year for $220 near mint. People dont know how bad *** these cabs are. They think that cause its from the cheaper ModeFour line theyre no good and not worth much.



Congrats on the NAD!

 

[MesaGod666]

Thanks for the heads up guys. Yeah. This is just going to be a studio amp (350 watts of pure quiet...lol). From what it sounds like...you really shouldn't be gigging with this thing. It has to be in the perfect environment...temperature and all. I don't care. I'll play it until I'm done with it (or it's done with me). Also, sounds like a lot of the problems may have come from ohm mismatching with the weak IC boards.

I loved the Valvestate amps. The very first amp I ever bought was a 100 watt Valvestate amp (Chuck Schuldiner style) and a Crate 4x12 cab. I'm going through this sentimental phase where I'm gravitated towards things that remind me of my early days of learning guitar and the passion I had for the instrument in general. I guess that's what Marshall means to me...it represents my guitar learning/playing childhood.

I'm gonna go drink beer now.

 

[geetar_geek79]

I haven't seen the inside of a mode four amp, but my MG100hdfx had clip-on connections from the power transformer to the board. I was about to get rid of it because it was giving me problems when powering it up. I decided to tinker with it and soldered every clip-on connections directly to the board. I got the idea from reading bugera threads. After that, I haven't encountered any problems at all. I even replaced the fan. I can say that I am not afraid to gig with it even without a backup.

If your amp has similar construction, I would suggest soldering things directly to the board before it gives you any problems. Take it to a tech if you are not comfortable doing it, but it should be fairly simple.

 

[geetar_geek79]

The very first amp I ever bought was a 100 watt Valvestate amp (Chuck Schuldiner style) and a Crate 4x12 cab. I'm going through this sentimental phase where I'm gravitated towards things that remind me of my early days of learning guitar and the passion I had for the instrument in general. I guess that's what Marshall means to me...it represents my guitar learning/playing childhood.

I'm gonna go drink beer now.

this is one of the reasons (Chuck) I kept my MG. RIP.

 

[94Tremoverb]

Thanks for the heads up guys. Yeah. This is just going to be a studio amp (350 watts of pure quiet...lol). From what it sounds like...you really shouldn't be gigging with this thing. It has to be in the perfect environment...temperature and all. I don't care. I'll play it until I'm done with it (or it's done with me). Also, sounds like a lot of the problems may have come from ohm mismatching with the weak IC boards.

I loved the Valvestate amps. The very first amp I ever bought was a 100 watt Valvestate amp (Chuck Schuldiner style) and a Crate 4x12 cab. I'm going through this sentimental phase where I'm gravitated towards things that remind me of my early days of learning guitar and the passion I had for the instrument in general. I guess that's what Marshall means to me...it represents my guitar learning/playing childhood.

I'm gonna go drink beer now.

That's cool, as long as you're into it with your eyes open. I actually think they sound pretty good too, when they aren't trying to turn into a smoking ruin .

I haven't seen the inside of a mode four amp, but my MG100hdfx had clip-on connections from the power transformer to the board. I was about to get rid of it because it was giving me problems when powering it up. I decided to tinker with it and soldered every clip-on connections directly to the board. I got the idea from reading bugera threads. After that, I haven't encountered any problems at all. I even replaced the fan. I can say that I am not afraid to gig with it even without a backup.

If your amp has similar construction, I would suggest soldering things directly to the board before it gives you any problems. Take it to a tech if you are not comfortable doing it, but it should be fairly simple.

With respect, I think you're wrong. The major problem with these amps isn't loose connections, it's burning power ICs - I've replaced dozens of them. I hate board connectors as much as anyone, but this is one case I would not solder the wires instead - you're going to curse doing that when you have to replace the module.

If you really want to do it properly, do something like this:



It's actually worth noting that Marshall have gone back to this type of circuit for the latest MG series, which has been out about two years now, and so far I have not seen a single dead one.

 

[geetar_geek79]

^cool, thanks! the inside of mine looks kind of different though, i think. i don't remember well since i did the mod 3 years ago. i have the older MG.

what did you do exactly? i'm not a tech, but decent with very basic electronics. my guess is you mounted the fairchild ICs on the heatsink? :?

i will do this when i have the time, and if you explain what you did :lol:

 

[94Tremoverb]

No, that's a typical power amp kit (this one is by Velleman in the UK, but I'm sure there are plenty of others - pick one that's 150W/4-ohm or better rated, and will physically fit inside) using discrete transistors only, no ICs. The power transistors are bolted to the floor of the chassis to heatsink them and the fan - with the original heatsink and power module removed - put back in place and left operational. The power transistors are TIP142/147 - I've just noticed that in the pic they look a bit like multi-pin ICs because of the way they're connected to the board using angled jumper strip as solder connections! But they are standard 3-pin transistors.

Power ICs are the curse of modern low-end amps. They're designed for "general audio", ie low grade hi-fi and car audio etc, are supposedly protected against thermal runaway, current overload etc, but in practice are just not robust enough to withstand typical guitar-amp treatment. Every repair tech in the world must have lost count of the number of blown ones they've seen. It's my personal belief that they just don't sound very good either, but that's another issue...

The very first MG series also used discrete transistors (and a huge heatsink) and these are also quite reliable - it's the DFX series that uses the IC modules. It is notable that Marshall have now abandoned that approach for the newest MG series and gone back to discrete transistors. Their warranty repairs department probably insisted on it .

Unfortunately that type of mod is easy on the MG series because there's room for it - although it's still a bit questionable whether it's worth it economically if you have to pay someone to do it for you - but not on the AVTs or the Mode Four, because of the way the ICs are mounted and the lack of space inside the amp. Really the best you can do with these is to be careful with the impedance loading (don't run at 4 ohms if you can avoid it), make sure the fan is kept clean and doesn't seize up, and try not to run them in high ambient temperatures.

 

[geetar_geek79]

^ahh. thanks for the info.

 

[MesaGod666]

... Really the best you can do with these is to be careful with the impedance loading (don't run at 4 ohms if you can avoid it), make sure the fan is kept clean and doesn't seize up, and try not to run them in high ambient temperatures.

+1 on this.

The Mode Four is a studio amp at BEST.

 

[Jackie]

Like someone already said, I have never played the head (nor do I have a great need to do so, at least not while the JVM sitting atop my cab still roars) but the cabs seem good. I played a 6505 through an MF cab once and it blew my balls off. But it would probably be useless for anything but metal, those speakers are very rough sounding (the fact that I had a 6505 through it doesn't help either).