Mk IV What are the differences in early vs. late

[dancullinane]

Hello,
I am the soon to be owner of a Mark IV which I believe to be one of the earlier versions (small combo) with the EV speaker. I have heard there are differences b/w the earlier IV's and the later ones. Is it just the change tho the Celestion speaker? Are there visual differences in the knobs/buttons? Any change in sound?
Thanks Guys, you are a wealth of information
TM

 

[Boogiebabies]

 

[Enc3f4L0]

Boogiebabies: just out of curiosity, what's your personal preference? MK IV A or B?

 

[Boogiebabies]

 

[Greenevil]

How can you tell if the Mark IV for is the A or B model and if it simulates the Mark IIc+?

 

[Boogiebabies]

8)

 

[Greenevil]

How can you tell if the Mark IV for is the A or B model and if it simulates the Mark IIc+?

The MK IV A has no Satellite send and used a bigger power transformer.
The MK IV B has a few slight changes to the lead and R2. It uses a different power transformer.

Soundwise, you would have to have all three to compare. Having said that, I found the MK IV a to be a bit more brash than even the IIC+ and MK IVB.
I kept the B and the three IIC+'s of course. 8)

Thanks for the info. It turns out that I indeed have the Mark IV B.... I love that amp as a backup! Right now I am using a Triaxis and 2:90 as my main amp and all though the Triaxis has a slew of tonal options, I still rely on my Mark IV for studio work, go figure! Triaxis is great on the road though!

 

[SFW]

There is a definate difference between the IV and IVB. The Lead channel on the B is much darker and smoother. Which I personally prefer. It's morer of that liquid lead tone that Boogie is known for.

 

[Greenevil]

I am not to crazy about the R2 channel. I tried to get a decent tone out of it but no luck there. I hear people refer to the R2 channel as the Master of Puppets tone but I don't hear it....

I mainly use the lead channel for all of my needs....

 

[SFW]

I use R2 as a low gain British channel. You can hear some of the clips I did in the other thread.

 

[snowman3000]

I've directly compared a MKIV built in '05 with a an '84 IIC+ and all I can say is that MKIV is a **** good amp indeed...Is very very close to the IIC+ yet a bit more 'modern'. Veeeery flexible.....(and expensive..) Still my favourite amp currently 'in production' by Boogie fellas.

 

[Antoine]

Boogiebabies My MarkIV Short head is for 1999 (made in 1998/1999) i think it's a MarkIV B but i'm in need of your confirmation !
It has a 12ax7 phase inverter, only one switchable loop and the Satellite send !
Thank you for your help :wink:

 

[Enc3f4L0]

I'm no expert, but if it was made in 1998/99 I'm pretty sure it's a B.

 

[SFW]

The Mark IVB began production in 1993-94 time frame. So yes, you have the B version. The easiest way to tell is if you have the Satalite send then it's a "B."

 

[dancullinane]

Well the amp came , and I'm currently playing with it to get the sounds I like. Pretty complicated piece of machinery but nice. the clean channel is killer, very nice on almost any setting. My serial number is IV84XXX. does anyone know what year that would be? The hardwood cab is beautiful. How can I tell if it is Bubinga or Imbuya? The color swatches on the boogie site really don' help me much.

I haven't A/B'd it with my other newer purchase the IIC+. The cleans do sound similar but I haven't found the lead sound yet (the IIC+ just sounds perfect whereever the knobs are set).

DC

 

[Antoine]

Thank you all for the informations :wink:

 

[Enc3f4L0]

Pardon my ignorance... But what exactly is a 'Satellite' send??

I keep reading this and since I have an 'A' mk IV I never took the time to find out. Why is the LOOP on the B so improved?

 

[CudBucket]

Thats for use with a Mesa Satellite. Basically an amp in a combo package that allows you to use the Mark IV for instance in stereo. One preamp, from the combo and two amps: one in the combo and one in the satellite.

 

[Boogiebabies]

True, it was a Simul-Class or 60 Watt power amp with a Graphic EQ.
How cool was that.