new user, what to buy Mark iV or Single Rectifier

[kk]

There is a 1991ish Mark iV combo, black, in good shape at a local boutique amp shop $1300. Sounded great. Alot of features. I am noew to these amps. It has "floating chassis"

Then there is the new Single rectifier combo $1499 new.

Oppinions on what is the better buy?

I know this is in the vintage section, hopefully users are not too biased... let me know what you guys think.

 

[newtomesa]

I like both the recto and the mark series amps.
I would choose the MarkIV over the single recto.

If you found a dual recto for a similar price, it would be a harder decision for me.

The Mark will sound much tighter than the recto, but both can do a nice wet lead. They are really two different amps, but both great. I don't know if anyone here can tell you what YOU should buy, maybe you should list "your sound" and hopefully we can help you make a decision!

 

[kk]

Looking for rich harmonic high gain solo tone. Think Gilmour's solo on "Time"

Good midgain sound for chord/melodic verses & chorus. Crisp chorus / punchy sound as well.

Currently own a Line 6 Vetta which I love for flexibility and recording direct. Also have a Fender Twin Reverb which I run a Tube Screamer and Small Clone in front of... The Fender just does not seem to break up nicely even with a variety of overdrive / stomp pedals in front of it.

 

[PRSKILLER]

Looking for rich harmonic high gain solo tone. Think Gilmour's solo on "Time"

Good midgain sound for chord/melodic verses & chorus. Crisp chorus / punchy sound as well.

Currently own a Line 6 Vetta which I love for flexibility and recording direct. Also have a Fender Twin Reverb which I run a Tube Screamer and Small Clone in front of... The Fender just does not seem to break up nicely even with a variety of overdrive / stomp pedals in front of it.

Based on this and my experience with both the Rectos and the Mark IV I would say go for the Gorilla.














Nah, just joking............Mark IV all da way!!!!!!!!!

 

[insearchoftone]

I was recently was up against the same decision of which Boogie series to get into...Recto or Mark.

I chose the Mark IV for several reasons but mainly for the variety of tones it is capable of.

Mark IV gets my vote.

 

[kk]

So I took the plunge and bught the Mark IV. I'm a couple of weeks into the amp and so far so good. Running a chorus / delay in the loop and the set up sounds sweet. Kind of off topic. Suggestions on reverb pedals that sound great with the mark iv? also, looking into volume pedals. You guys run em up front or in the loop?

 

[spaivxx]

I used to use an Ernie Ball Volume Pedal with a Carvin Legacy. I tried it in the loop, but the problem was that the cables, 40' (20' each way to and from the amp) sucked too much signal. Got frustrated after afew practices and took the pedal back to GC.

 

[Russ]

It has been my experience and understanding that the older Mark IV doesn't like as much signal in the front of it. I still use a clean boost in front of it at times though. I noticed that an eq sounds great in the loop also, so I am assuming that the volume pedal could go in either position. However it depends upon what you are using it for (going up or down) because to me it would seem it would have more effect in the loop.

I am not much of a reverb kind of guy so I do not use one except the little bit on R1 for some depth.

I missed your post the first time around but I am glad to see that you made the right choice as far as the type of stuff that you play and what is more suited to your needs. Welcome to the Mark Camp... Just do not get frustrated with the amp if at first you are not achieving the tones that you are looking for. I tweaked this amp forwards and backwards for months until I figured it out. This is not your diming amp. The knobs are sensitive. Also, they tend to play off each other. Get close, then use your eq to fine tune it to where you want to be (as fine tuned as a 5 slider eq can get you anyway).

 

[Russ]

I used to use an Ernie Ball Volume Pedal with a Carvin Legacy. I tried it in the loop, but the problem was that the cables, 40' (20' each way to and from the amp) sucked too much signal. Got frustrated after afew practices and took the pedal back to GC.

I tried a Carvin Legacy and actually found it was the amp sucking the tone out of the guitar.... :lol:

 

[kk]

Thanks guys for the replies.

Looking for volume contol primarily to boost for solos and also have the ability to back of volume during verses. Rolling off the volume knob on the guitar sounds great to clean up tone (right at clipping) but there are some songs where high gain sounds great in the verses and I just need to turn down to give our singer more room.

Not a huge fan of the reverb in the amp. might be better if I get a footswitch for it. Only time I would like it is during solos. Without the ability to turn it on and off, it does me no good.

 

[michelj]

Thanks guys for the replies.

Looking for volume contol primarily to boost for solos and also have the ability to back of volume during verses. Rolling off the volume knob on the guitar sounds great to clean up tone (right at clipping) but there are some songs where high gain sounds great in the verses and I just need to turn down to give our singer more room.

Not a huge fan of the reverb in the amp. might be better if I get a footswitch for it. Only time I would like it is during solos. Without the ability to turn it on and off, it does me no good.

Hello KK,

I also have a Mark IV A and found a post by Marklyn which talks about an inexpensive way to implement a footswitch for the reverb.

http://www.grailtone.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=140&highlight=

I've tried it and it works. At this time though, I'm using my Vetta HD in the effects loop of my Mark IV A for reverb and any other effects I might need. That allows me to use my FBV footboard to switch effects on and off and control the volume. There doesn't appear to be a noticeable degradation in the Mark's tone.

Michel

 

[insearchoftone]

Wow Michel, using a Vetta HD just for effects. :shock: :shock: :shock:

It's overkill but it's a great idea though. I've got a Vetta II HD and I am going to try it.

Currently I'm using a PODxt in the fx loop of my Mark IV.

I think I know where you are coming from...you get the best of both worlds; tube tone with great fx.

I'm running mine in stereo via the Mark IV's stereo fx return. I feed the satellite out into a DC-5. Sounds awesome!

 

[michelj]

Wow Michel, using a Vetta HD just for effects. :shock: :shock: :shock:

It's overkill but it's a great idea though. I've got a Vetta II HD and I am going to try it.

Currently I'm using a PODxt in the fx loop of my Mark IV.

I think I know where you are coming from...you get the best of both worlds; tube tone with great fx.

I'm running mine in stereo via the Mark IV's stereo fx return. I feed the satellite out into a DC-5. Sounds awesome!

hello insearchoftone,

Sorry folks, I realize we're off topic but some of these tangents can be interesting and informative.

That's exactly what I said in an earlier post! Using my vetta head in the effects loop is serious overkill but I have it and it does the job really well. especially with the FBV pedal functionality. I thought of trading the vetta and getting the podxt or some other multifx but I'd probably lose in the transaction both financially and functionally. Besides the vetta head can come in handy at a gig if the Mark IV goes down. It's not the same tone for sure but at least it's better than trying to whistle my way through the rest of the gig.

Another neat feature that I've just discovered with the vetta and the fbv is that I can use it to midi control my guitar synth. For example, I've set up the volume pedal on the fbv for reverse mode operation which means that pedal up I get full volume on the Mark IV and pedal down I get full volume on the synth. That's especially useful when I have to switch from a synth sound of some sort into a guitar solo.

All great fun :wink:

Michel

 

[kk]

hey michael and insearch of tone: interesting posts. I've got a pod as well... I was messing around with the pod for jsut effects in the loop and it sounded decent at apartment volume. You think it sounds a little digital? Guess I've swung the other way on the Vetta / Pod thing and am looking for more organing tone. The presets, tuner, volume etc on the pod would be convenient...

 

[michelj]

hey michael and insearch of tone: interesting posts. I've got a pod as well... I was messing around with the pod for jsut effects in the loop and it sounded decent at apartment volume. You think it sounds a little digital? Guess I've swung the other way on the Vetta / Pod thing and am looking for more organing tone. The presets, tuner, volume etc on the pod would be convenient...

KK,

There was no noticeable degradation in tone when I put the vetta hd in the effects loop of the Mark IV. I come out of the effects send of the Mark IV into the input of vetta and return via the effects send of the vetta hd into the effects return of the Mark IV. I've moved the effects loop of the vetta hd to the tail end of the routing path so I have access to everything before the power amp portion of the vetta hd. I have a vetta preset with the "bypass amp" model in both channels and I use the volume preset to equalize the loudness between having the loop on and off.

You will however definitely kill the tone if you use the vetta hd in front of the Mark IV.

Michel

 

[insearchoftone]

hey michael and insearch of tone: interesting posts. I've got a pod as well... I was messing around with the pod for jsut effects in the loop and it sounded decent at apartment volume. You think it sounds a little digital? Guess I've swung the other way on the Vetta / Pod thing and am looking for more organing tone. The presets, tuner, volume etc on the pod would be convenient...

kk, was it the POD or the PODxt?

The POD does not have a bypass mode like the PODxt does.
The POD will color your tone and the PODxt in bypass mode in the Mark IV loop will not color your tone.

I agree with you about striving to keep the organic tones. Real tube tone is the best!

Congrats on the Mark IV purchase!

 

[insearchoftone]

Wow Michel, using a Vetta HD just for effects. :shock: :shock: :shock:

It's overkill but it's a great idea though. I've got a Vetta II HD and I am going to try it.

Currently I'm using a PODxt in the fx loop of my Mark IV.

I think I know where you are coming from...you get the best of both worlds; tube tone with great fx.

I'm running mine in stereo via the Mark IV's stereo fx return. I feed the satellite out into a DC-5. Sounds awesome!

hello insearchoftone,

Sorry folks, I realize we're off topic but some of these tangents can be interesting and informative.

That's exactly what I said in an earlier post! Using my vetta head in the effects loop is serious overkill but I have it and it does the job really well. especially with the FBV pedal functionality. I thought of trading the vetta and getting the podxt or some other multifx but I'd probably lose in the transaction both financially and functionally. Besides the vetta head can come in handy at a gig if the Mark IV goes down. It's not the same tone for sure but at least it's better than trying to whistle my way through the rest of the gig.

Another neat feature that I've just discovered with the vetta and the fbv is that I can use it to midi control my guitar synth. For example, I've set up the volume pedal on the fbv for reverse mode operation which means that pedal up I get full volume on the Mark IV and pedal down I get full volume on the synth. That's especially useful when I have to switch from a synth sound of some sort into a guitar solo.

All great fun :wink:

Michel

Michel, Thanks for the setup ideas with the Vetta and the Mark IV.
I'll give it a try and see what I come up with.