My third visit to the Mesa/Boogie Hollywood store . . .

[LEVEL4]

Whoa! The first time I went, about a month ago, I was dazed and confused. The second time, a little more focused on the Mark IV. The third, and most-recent time (today), I played the Rectos and the Mark IVs, A/Bing the amps, next to each other. And . . . OMFG! Now . . . I have problems! Recto or Mark IV, Recto or Mark IV . . . they're both so different. And I like the Recto so much. It's like a Framus Cobra, except way CHEAPER. And the Mark IV, damnit, it's so "versatile."

• Played my 6505 when I got home. Hmmm . . . time for Ebay!
• Dialed in my Mesa/Boogie DC-3 last night. Whoa! I may have to keep this amp, too, damnit!
• Played the dual-recto. Whoa! Who needs an overpriced Framus Cobra? And, tell me, why do people buy 5150s/6505s again?
• Played the Mark IV. Who put the blanket over the amp? Well, I'm sure it sounds better LOUD. But, the Mark IV . . . it's so VERSATILE! And all those famous guitar players love it, so it MUST be good. But that damned blanket . . .

Three things I gotta do now:

1. Sell the 6505. Fast.
2. Find a good deal on a used dual-recto.
3. Buy a Mark IV anyway, because they're just so damned "versatile."

Funny thing is, I'm not so sure I can replicate the sound I got last night outta my DC-3 on the Mark IV. Sure, the Mark IV can do "anything" everyone says. It can't do a Recto. I know that for a fact. So, now I have to keep my DC-3, just in case the sound I dialed in is actually unique to that amp and its EL84 power stage. Fork over some cash for a recto. Fork over a LOT of cash for the Mark IV rackmount I want. Crap. I thought I was DONE buying guitar amps!

I've seen the light, drunk the Kool-Aid, swallowed the blue pill. Mesa/Boogie is the lord of the tone. What the f*ck was I ever thinking before? . . . then again, there's that goddamned Soldano SLO100 I keep wanting too.

 

[MesieBooga]

What were the prices on those new amps?

 

[LEVEL4]

What were the prices on those new amps?

Damnit! I forgot to grab a new price list. I think the Mark IVs are still $1,899 USD (they might've gone up $50 on the new price list, though). I think the combos are only $100 more. The dual-rectos are I think $1,799 USD.

 

[LEVEL4]

So, yup. I've decided. A NEW Rectifier Solo 50 for me! Teh br00talz, here I come! Really excited to buy a NEW amp with a five-year warranty and everything. I guess the Mark IV is going to have to wait, since I'm pretty happy with my DC-3. And, since my DC-3 is a short head, I can either rack-mount it or throw it in a combo cab someday. My mint-condition, less than one-year-old, 6505 head is now DEFINITELY headed to Ebay! Wow! I joined this forum only 18 days ago, and went from, "I love my 6505, I'm definitely keeping it," to, "I can't wait to get rid of it!"

 

[trem]

What blanket?

 

[King Tone]

Don't try a mark III or you will want that too!

 

[eet fuk]

blanket my ***

 

[dodger916]

yeah....blanket is not the first adjective that comes to mind when describing a Mark IV to someone who's never heard one!

 

[Elpelotero]

What kind of settings and switches did you have going on the IV?

 

[LEVEL4]

Didn't mean to offend. I thought I had a blanket over my DC-3 when I first got it too. Now, it sounds awesome. But a Mark IV is just never going to sound as bright as a Recto. I played them both side by side for over an hour. The Mark IV's GEQ I had set to a classic 'V' but with the 80Hz and 240Hz faders anywhere from all the way down to flat. Treble and presence were dimed. Mids and bass at zero. Pentode mode, full power, harmonics on, "fat," both pushed and pulled.

 

[LEVEL4]

So, I'm all set on the Solo 50, but then, I'm looking at my Mesa catalog and I see this Roadster head. I see it's a stripped-down Roadking, but is the Roadster capable of everything the single-rectifier Solo 50 is? How else is it different from the single- and dual-rectifiers, besides its two addtional channels?

Just called Mesa Hollywood. The Roadster head is $1,999. I think I'll be going with the $1,399 Solo 50.

 

[mrd]

Roadster is like the roadking except it doesn't have the progressive linkage, which allows you to assign power amps to different channels. (2x6L6, 2XEL34, ,2XEL34 & 2x6L6, 4X6L6 or 2xEL34 & 4x6L6).

I'm pretty sure the Roadster still has the three modes per channel. Also, I'm pretty sure the Roadster, like the RoadKing, IS a dual rectifier in terms of wattage, power and rectifier tubes. It just also has a boatload of other options (such as the modes, 2 loops, blah blah). Also, ch3 + ch4 in the roadster/roadking ARE the single/dual/triple recto sounds (except that the triple recto can provide more wattage and head room due to a third recto tube on board). Anything you can do on a single/dual, you can do on a roadster/RK.

Personally I'd just save for a RK and a MKIV or maybe if you don't want or need the versatility of the RK, get a DR/TR and a MKIV.

 

[mrd]

Didn't mean to offend. I thought I had a blanket over my DC-3 when I first got it too. Now, it sounds awesome. But a Mark IV is just never going to sound as bright as a Recto. I played them both side by side for over an hour. The Mark IV's GEQ I had set to a classic 'V' but with the 80Hz and 240Hz faders anywhere from all the way down to flat. Treble and presence were dimed. Mids and bass at zero. Full power on, harmonics on, "fat" both pushed and pulled.

Also, MKIV's are brighter than Rectos by most people's standards.

If you want to hear what the MarkIV really sounds like, turn off the EQ, don't dime the treble and presence, but dime the volume and output. Leave your treble at 5-8 for taste, mids from 5-10, bass from 0-2, presence I usually like pushed at 0 for maximum low end emphasis. Full power, pentode and class A sounds good, but go lower if you can't do that volume at your house. This is on lead channel by the way.

Diming the treble SUCKS all the tone from any of the other knobs. I would say unless you're going for a very, very specific "knack" tone or something, never dime your treble on any Mesa amp.

 

[LEVEL4]

Thanks for your replies. Yes, I find it extremely difficult to audition amps in a store. Plus, I was listening to the Rectos through 4x12s filled with V30s, whereas the MarkIV was only a 1x12 combo with a C90. Couldn't really turn it up since there was another customer there trying to talk to a sales guy. I'm sure I had it badly EQ'd and that it needed much more volume and some "alone" time. When I first got my DC-3, I hated it. My first recordings with it initially suffered from the "blanket syndrome."

But, now I'm in love with the tone I finally dialed in on my DC-3, and its recordings are extremely faithful to what I'm hearing with my ear, with plenty of dynamics. I was totally planning to sell my DC-3 after I got a Mark IV, but now, I'm not so sure I want to. If I get the Mark IV, and find that I can reproduce a similar tone with it, then I'll be able to think about selling the DC-3, although it would be nice to keep, and throw into a combo shell for jamming with friends.

 

[eet fuk]

Well no wonder. Next time, give the mkiv a fair fight with a v30 4x12 recto cab.

 

[LEVEL4]

Don't try a mark III or you will want that too!

Yeah, that's all I need, a FOURTH amp! Dying to go for a used Mark III, sight unseen, but I do like all those buttons and stuff on the newer Mark IVs. From what I've read on this board, the Mark III may actually be more to my liking than the Mark IV. I really need a side-by-side comparison between all the Marks (and, my DC-3) to really know their specific differences (which is pretty impossible). The DC-3 is really surprising me now on how really great it sounds for both rhythms and leads, and it makes me want to really be sure that the III and the IV are different "enough" from each other, as well as being different "enough" from my DC-3. Gotta stop this madness somewhere!

If you want to hear what the MarkIV really sounds like, turn off the EQ, don't dime the treble and presence, but dime the volume and output. Leave your treble at 5-8 for taste, mids from 5-10, bass from 0-2, presence I usually like pushed at 0 for maximum low end emphasis. Full power, pentode and class A sounds good, but go lower if you can't do that volume at your house. This is on lead channel by the way.

Thanks. Yes, I'll definitely give those settings a try when I go back to pick up my Solo 50 next week. Just like my DC-3, at first I thought it was so compressed and flat when recorded, then I found that tone in there that I can't stop playing. I just hooked up my Roland Space Echo re-issue, the RE-20, to my DC-3 to record some leads over some synth and acoustic tracks, and I nearly peed my pants.

I know that magical Mesa tone is buried in that Mark IV somewhere too. I think the Recto is too one-trick-pony-ish (but, I really like it), so that's why I'm getting the Mark IV as well.

Well no wonder. Next time, give the mkiv a fair fight with a v30 4x12 recto cab.

Yes, not a fair fight. Still, I don't think you can do that "biting" Recto sound with the Mark IV, otherwise, I'd only be buying the Mark IV. The Solo 50 gets me that modern metal sound without even trying, and will be my direct replacement for my 6505.

 

[Random Hero]

Didn't mean to offend. I thought I had a blanket over my DC-3 when I first got it too. Now, it sounds awesome. But a Mark IV is just never going to sound as bright as a Recto. I played them both side by side for over an hour. The Mark IV's GEQ I had set to a classic 'V' but with the 80Hz and 240Hz faders anywhere from all the way down to flat. Treble and presence were dimed. Mids and bass at zero. Pentode mode, full power, harmonics on, "fat," both pushed and pulled.

What!?

FWIW, I have a Mark IV and a Roadster in this very room right now, and the Mark IV is definitely brighter.

Are you confusing brightness with fizzyness? I can't ever recall thinking the Mark IV has the "blanket" syndrome!

 

[LEVEL4]

FWIW, I have a Mark IV and a Roadster in this very room right now, and the Mark IV is definitely brighter.

Well, then, I dunno. This is the third new Mark IV I've demoed, and the Rectos sound significantly more modern, and more nu-metal. To me it sounds "brighter."

Are you confusing brightness with fizzyness? I can't ever recall thinking the Mark IV has the "blanket" syndrome!

Maybe so. Yeah the Recto's definitely fizzier. To me, it's snappier and has more bite. Its highest frequencies just sound higher than the Mark's to me. In my experience, my DC-3 records very muddy and flat unless I zero out all the bass and mids. Plus, I used a super-bright condensor mic to record the DC-3. Using the same mic on a 6505, I have to pull the treble and presence WAY down on the 6505, in comparison. From what I could determine, the Marks seemed to have a similar frequency response.

 

[LesCarl]

The Mk IV just IS tighter and more versatile than any rectifier. And the framus cobra? I used to own one, exchanged it with the roadster, and now the roadster is gone and i am back to Mk IV again.. just love it!

The Cobra was never really my cup of tea.. it did have one cool feature though, a knob where u could set the amount of bass going through the poweramp if i recall it right, useful thingy...

 

[JOEY B.]

The Mk IV just IS tighter and more versatile than any rectifier. And the framus cobra? I used to own one, exchanged it with the roadster, and now the roadster is gone and i am back to Mk IV again.. just love it!

The Cobra was never really my cup of tea.. it did have one cool feature though, a knob where u could set the amount of bass going through the poweramp if i recall it right, useful thingy...

You are what we call a repeat offender. :lol: :lol: :lol: