Question of Rackmount units..

[Skyze]

I have been searching for a solid rig for the past year or so.. feeling closer but still somewhat far away..

Im curious though, to all you who own and played many Mesa units.. Can the Mesa rackmount stuff (say a Triaxis and a poweramp) compare in any way to any of the Mark series amps? And if so, how do they compare/what model would they compare most to..

Also, to the Rack "Mark IV's or Mark III's.. are they all 4U? Are they any mesa rack units that are 3 units (would fit into a 3U case??)

If you read my other post, I have a 1x12 stack that I do not want to part with, hence I will either need to go with a shorthead, or possibly get a matching rack cab.. So Im thinking the 2nd option right now, that way I can still use my rig I just built (rack pre and power) and save up to get a Mesa tri-axis and possibly poweramp in the future..

 

[snave]

I believe the 2:90 power amp is based directly on the Mark IV's simulclass power section. The older models (50/50) should have a Mark vibe too.

The Triaxis can obviously model the various Mark models, but the quality/authenticity compared to the "real thing" is debatable.

All Mesa rackmount heads have been 4U.

 

[dass101]

Actually I think the general oppinion is that the Triaxis is as close as you can get to the actual Mark preamps. It's the Recto sound that is more of an approximation of the real thing.

The difference between Triaxis/Poweramp and a Mark head is more related to the difference between playing a head and a preamp/poweramp setup. The first will sound different (some would say better) because of the direct interaction between the two stages.
With the Triaxis you get huge versatility. You are not only limited to the 8 different channels (which is quite a lot ) but you can have lots of presets within every channel. Let me tell you, the crunch sounds out of the Lead 2 channels are unbelievable, as well as the lead sound out of the rhythm channels