Re-furbing A Mark IV to Factory Specs:who to send to?

Allegron · Sep 17, 2009

Ric here. I have a Mark IV I bought in 1990 that seems to need some maintenance. The foot controller doesn't work correctly;manual operation of the rotary switch in the back of the amp only works for channel 1,otherwise I get an obnoxious hum;the amp itself emits a low nasty hum, I can't turn up the channel master volume past 2; basically I can only use channel 1 live. I re-tubed it a year ago (Eurotubes for all the small tubes,Svetlana for all 6l6's),and my power output seemed to drop by half. I've replaced the rotary switch twice over the years. I realize the amp probably needs biased and caps need replaced. Has anyone sent their amp back to Mesa for an overhaul or is there someone out there who is reliable enough to re-spec this amp? Any ballpark figure for cost,etc? Any other suggstions? I love this little beast and want it to be like it used to be-A tone monster with the clean sounding power it had at one time. Thanks to all of you Boogie cats out there. Ric.

Old BF Shred · Sep 17, 2009

I would get estimates and then decide......

Any Mesa authorized service center is qualified to do the work, and they have access to the original parts specified for your amp.

I am not sure if their pricing is under any control by Mesa, out of warranty (unlikely).
We have an excellent service center in my area that I would trust to work on any Mesa (or any amp).
Hopefully you have one equally good near you that charges competitive rates.
Even a non Mesa shop may have a technician that is experienced with your amp....if you know of one in your area....

If not, then shipping to Mesa may be worth the cost & time. At least you'll know it will be right and their service labor rates are actually quite reasonable (at least compared to other shops in CA.)!

Good luck!

Monsta-Tone · Sep 19, 2009

Force · Sep 19, 2009

Definitely call out to Mesa Boogie, leave a voice mail and tell them what you said here and are planning to do. They will have a tech call you back and talk to you. They will also give you a price estimate, etc. Worth the call at least.

Force · Sep 19, 2009

or email Andy....(see above post) :wink:

babow2 · Sep 21, 2009

+1 for Andy (Monsta-tone). He does great work and we should support him. I do live in Petaluma, in walking distance to MB. They do great work and pretty quick turnaround (duh!). You would send them the chassis only. check with Andy and call MB, and decide.