New Mark IV proud owner!

[Angelopes]

Hi guys. Here is Angelo from Brazil. Finally realized my dream to have a Mesa Boogie. I spent my holidays in USA and brought a Mark iv rackmounted head. Prestine condition! On the last Saturday, I went to a studio and could open the volume of the amplifier. R1 Clean is perfect! ! R2 is also good, with a BB preamp improves enough. lead channel is fantastic!!!
I'm on honeymoon with the mark iv!

Angelo Lopes

 

[Fronzil]

enjoy man..it truly is a beast

 

[dodger916]

Hi guys. Here is Angelo from Brazil. Finally realized my dream to have a Mesa Boogie. I spent my holidays in USA and brought a Mark iv rackmounted head. Prestine condition! On the last Saturday, I went to a studio and could open the volume of the amplifier. R1 Clean is perfect! ! R2 is also good, with a BB preamp improves enough. lead channel is fantastic!!!
I'm on honeymoon with the mark iv!

Angelo Lopes

Congrats! Don't be afraid to experiment with different preamp and power tubes. I've had great success with vintage Tung-Sol 12ax7s. It removed the boxiness I didn't like, making it sound more "organic". Enjoy!

 

[TimeSignature]

boxiness??? Organic??? Can someone explain what the heck that's supposed to mean? :?:

 

[dodger916]

boxiness??? Organic??? Can someone explain what the heck that's supposed to mean? :?:

Be happy to. I'd define boxiness as a processed or one dimensional type of sound. I attributed this to the complexity of the signal path in the Mark IV, especially compared with a Mark II. Organic refers to a more vintage or less modern sound and feel. To my ears, the Mark IIs allow the inherent or natural voice of the instrument to shine through more clearly, hence the word organic. A Strat sounds more like what I think a Strat should sound like through a Mark II than a Mark IV, and I think the IIC does an even better job of this than the C+. I find this especially true with low to medium gain stuff, which is mostly what I write and play. I don't play metal and I don't use powered pups. I don't scoop the mids; in fact I tend to boost them. I rarely if ever have my guitar volume or tone on 10. With amps that are more organic (Mark IIs), subtle changes in guitar volume and tone make a more noticeable difference to the tone than "less organic" amps (Mark IV).

I've loved my Mark IV from day 1, and I purchased it before my Mark IIs. Curiousity about the C+ prompted me to get a IIC with plans on upgrading to a C+, but I loved the IIC so much I couldn't bring myself to make the change. (I've since bought a C+). I began buying vintage preamp tubes for my Mark IIs and then began rolling them in the MIV, replacing the stock Mesa tubes. I was pleasantly surprised at how they removed much of the unwanted boxiness, making it more vintage or organic...less processed sounding. I've since begun experimenting with power tubes in my Mark IV, namely STR 420s and 5881s with similar results. YMMV.

 

[Fronzil]

Hi guys. Here is Angelo from Brazil. Finally realized my dream to have a Mesa Boogie. I spent my holidays in USA and brought a Mark iv rackmounted head. Prestine condition! On the last Saturday, I went to a studio and could open the volume of the amplifier. R1 Clean is perfect! ! R2 is also good, with a BB preamp improves enough. lead channel is fantastic!!!
I'm on honeymoon with the mark iv!

Angelo Lopes

Congrats! Don't be afraid to experiment with different preamp and power tubes. I've had great success with vintage Tung-Sol 12ax7s. It removed the boxiness I didn't like, making it sound more "organic". Enjoy!

did you run all tung sol 12ax7s? i wouldn't mind some good preamp tube recommendations to go along with the SED winged Cs im getting for power amp tubes

 

[dodger916]

Hi guys. Here is Angelo from Brazil. Finally realized my dream to have a Mesa Boogie. I spent my holidays in USA and brought a Mark iv rackmounted head. Prestine condition! On the last Saturday, I went to a studio and could open the volume of the amplifier. R1 Clean is perfect! ! R2 is also good, with a BB preamp improves enough. lead channel is fantastic!!!
I'm on honeymoon with the mark iv!

Angelo Lopes

Congrats! Don't be afraid to experiment with different preamp and power tubes. I've had great success with vintage Tung-Sol 12ax7s. It removed the boxiness I didn't like, making it sound more "organic". Enjoy!

did you run all tung sol 12ax7s? i wouldn't mind some good preamp tube recommendations to go along with the SED winged Cs im getting for power amp tubes

V1 will have the greatest impact on overall tone. The phase inverter also has global influence on tone. I got lucky and won 7 Tung Sols on eBay for like $30...local seller too! So I started with V1 and was so pleased that I kept experimenting. I now have vintage Tung-Sols in V1 and V3, with a Raytheon long black plate in V4. Mesa tubes in V2 and phase inverter. I will be receiving three vintage Amperex tubes today...can't wait!

Some folks here have incredible knowledge and insight into the characteristics of preamp tubes. The following thread is a prime example, and what really got me started: http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=749. I'd start by scanning the Tubes sub-forum, or do a search. There's an abundance of information and opinion here.

 

[CudBucket]

Be happy to. I'd define boxiness as a processed or one dimensional type of sound... Organic refers to a more vintage or less modern sound and feel.

This is why talking about sound gets confusing sometimes. I wouldn't describe "boxiness" or "organic" like that at all.

 

[RectoStudioGuy]

Not to mention that Boogie admittedly favors colder running tubes due to the fixed biasing. When touring the facility in Petaluma I asked one of the Tech's about it. He was pretty straight-forward about the why's but couldn't say what he uses in his personal amps for obvious reasons.

 

[Scary]

Congrats on the new Mk IV! It's a great amp that no doubt will improve your playing.

 

[boogieslayer]

Congrats ! Enjoy !