Running a Mark IV Combo with a THD Hot Plate

[burntoast]

I'm trying to run my Mark IV Combo with a THD Hot Plate.

The manual for the THD Hot Plate states that:

If you are placing the Hot Plate between the amplifier section and the speaker(s) of a "combo," you may need an extender cable that has a "male"end (to go into the Hot Plate) and a "female" end (that connects with the cable running from the speaker(s).

I can picture the wiring but I'm not sure what cable I should purchase. Are most cables the same or is there a real difference in quality with some brands?

Also, I'm looking for some opinions on the Hot Plate itself. How does it work overall with the Mark IV? Is there a noticeable difference in tone?

Thanks in advance!

 

[newfinator]

I have an 8 Ohm HotPlate and have hooked it up to my Mark IV combo but to be honest I think it sounds better by simply turning the volume down instead. It works great with any of my other amps and it certainly functions with the Mark IV but it's just provides no benefit to the Mark IMO. You may think otherwise.

As far as the hook up is concerned it's the same as if you were using a cabinet. Just run a speaker cabinet cable (not a normal guitar cable) from the the 8 Ohm speaker output of the amp to the HotPlate input and plug the combo speaker into the HotPlate speaker output.

 

[Esromeron]

As newfinator said about connecting it is correct. Also try to stay away from the cheaper speaker cables as well.

I have used a THD Hotplate on a Carvin V3 and a Carvin Legacy, and on both it sounded horrible to me. It really alters the tone too much for me, but it may alter it in a way to suite your ears though.

But as newfinator said, turning down the volume on the Mark will probably give you better results as it did for him. I got rid of the Hotplate before i got my DC5 (kind of Markish) so I can't say how it sounds on it, but I will say that the amp screams at low levels anyway. Pretty much every Mesa I've heard sounds pretty killer at lower volumes anyway.

If you are looking for a little extra umph at lower volumes you might wanna try out some kind of overdrive pedal like the Maxon OD808 or Fulltone OCD.

 

[Stonge]

maybe I am out of my element here..but can I just say that a hot plate is not needed with a mark IV. I don't think so anyway.I mean I can get great clean crunch and hi gain at such low volumes with this amp. I used a hotplate when I was using a master volume marshall. It just seems that you really don't need them anymore with the mark series. That's just one way to look at it.

 

[newfinator]

As newfinator said about connecting it is correct. Also try to stay away from the cheaper speaker cables as well.

I have used a THD Hotplate on a Carvin V3 and a Carvin Legacy, and on both it sounded horrible to me. It really alters the tone too much for me, but it may alter it in a way to suite your ears though.

But as newfinator said, turning down the volume on the Mark will probably give you better results as it did for him. I got rid of the Hotplate before i got my DC5 (kind of Markish) so I can't say how it sounds on it, but I will say that the amp screams at low levels anyway. Pretty much every Mesa I've heard sounds pretty killer at lower volumes anyway.

If you are looking for a little extra umph at lower volumes you might wanna try out some kind of overdrive pedal like the Maxon OD808 or Fulltone OCD.

Funny, I primarily use my HotPlate on a Legacy head and don't mind it at all on that. It seems to get a lot from power amp drive so it sounds better than simply turned down or using a volume pedal in the loop. Of course full out it sounds fantastic.

 

[burntoast]

Thanks guys!

I haven't been able to make my Mark IV sound good at low volumes, and I've been told that it really starts to show its muscle when the master is around 3 or 4, but at that volume it's still way too loud for bedroom use, even on Tweed Power and the Class A setting. I only got it recently so it might take a bit of tinkering, and I've been considering an OD pedal as Esromeron suggested.

Does anybody have any sample settings that they could recommend?

P.S. Would the OD pedal tighten and compress the tone as well?

 

[camsna]

It depends on how much you attenuate. DON'T expect to get bedroom practice levels AND good tone. I never run it passed 8dB of attenuation - and I hit the high/low boost switches as needed. Sounds almost as good as it would cranked. But any more attenuation than that just sounds bad.

For me - it makes a house engineer who would otherwise hate and want to murder me into a house engineer who is just mildly pissed off at me.

 

[newfinator]

I find the Mark IV one of the best amps at sounding good a low volumes.

 

[Platypus]

I think the Mark IV is definitely capable of unreal tone at whisper quiet bedroom volumes.. I've used mine in my condo for a long time in this fashion.

What are your settings OP?

Here are my lead settings, perhaps this will help you get started?

Lead

Gain: 8 (pulled)
Treble: 8.5
Bass: 2.5
Mid: 4.5
Drive: 8
Pres: 7 (pulled)
Vol: 3

Master: 2

Harmonics / Tweed / Simul / Triode

I'd ditch the attenuator.

 

[burntoast]

Thanks for all you help guys. I truly appreciate it!

 

[gonzo]

i've run a Weber Mass Lite (similar device) with my MK2b for a little over a year now..

when i used to gig full time, i used a Scholz Power soak.

i didn't like the power soak, but the Weber is great.

i run my preamps a lot cleaner than most, then drive the masters to at least 5.......

it's way too loud for recording with, but with the Weber, i can dial in just how much clarity i want, and control the volume.

there's no way i'd toss the weber, at this point.

 

[Platypus]

Also, I just want to make sure that I would need the 8 ohm version for my Mark IV Combo, correct?

Yes.

Try experimenting first before you go in on an attenuator.. you might find you don't need one.

 

[burntoast]

Yes, I'm working on it as we speak. I found someone with an attenuator I could borrow.

Thanks for all your help guys! Much appreciated!