The Mark IV thread....!!

[Xulidian]

Beat up rack mount Mark IVb made in 2002. Had it about a year and a half, and I am still in LOVE 8) Will never sell this amp.

 

[Xulidian]

I demoed the IV for an hour or so. so many controls. but I was seriously disappointed. I tried full-power, tweed, simul-class, class A, I wasn't getting any decent rhythm, it was super nice for leads that's for sure. I really liked the lead channel. also I couldn't get any decent cleans, i was turning the gain down and the master V up but there was still a bit of overdrive. and where is the gain? I had the gain at 10 and it was not even near to my dual or even my JMP. maybe there was something wrong with the amp, the tube were glowing fine. I don't know.

but the gain acted a lot more like a volume control compared to my dual.

all in all I would give it another chance, but too many controls and I am not a fan of tweaking forever.

maybe the speakers really sucked, it was running through two 4x12, a sonic and a peavey. the bass was so flubby that I had to keep it around 1-2 for all channels.

When I first played through mine I was a bit shocked too. I use gain at about 7, pulled and the treble all the way up to 10. Use the EQ to sculpt the sound after. Treble really acts like another gain control, it's weird. And keep the bass knob down too. Mine's on 1! Drive on 6 and pulled. Plenty of leady sustain and back off the guitar's volume controls for some chunky rhythm. It's a picky, sensitive amp, but the beautiful sounds are in there.

 

[kmanick]

I've had my mark IV"a" for about a week now, I thought it was surprisingly easy to dial in. Maybe because I was coming from the III
but I thought it was pretty easy. The amp does sound quite a bit diffierent on full power in simul class and harmonics and Triode,
as compared to Class A/Mid gain/Pentode and Tweed I once I dialed it in (pretty similar to how my III was set up) it was some minor tweaking and I was good to go.
As far as gain goes, with this IV and the III I just sold , I use a modded SD-1 in front as a clean boost with the level dimed and the gain off with that tone at about 11:00. I find that if I run the amp this way I can keep the gain on that amp at around 6-7 and the lead drive down at about 6 and the amp stays much sharper and "chunkier" sounding this way.
R2 sounds really good this way too.
I love this amp I've got all 6L6's in it right now so I haven't heard it wiht El-34's in it yet , but I have plenty of tubes to do some
experimenting with.

BTW this thread has been a big help

 

[silentrage]

I demoed the IV for an hour or so. so many controls. but I was seriously disappointed. I tried full-power, tweed, simul-class, class A, I wasn't getting any decent rhythm, it was super nice for leads that's for sure. I really liked the lead channel. also I couldn't get any decent cleans, i was turning the gain down and the master V up but there was still a bit of overdrive. and where is the gain? I had the gain at 10 and it was not even near to my dual or even my JMP. maybe there was something wrong with the amp, the tube were glowing fine. I don't know.

but the gain acted a lot more like a volume control compared to my dual.

all in all I would give it another chance, but too many controls and I am not a fan of tweaking forever.

maybe the speakers really sucked, it was running through two 4x12, a sonic and a peavey. the bass was so flubby that I had to keep it around 1-2 for all channels.

The gain is like that on my mark iii, it would sound kinda weak if I play the way I normally play (lightly), and I could only get some aggression and saturation with it if I really dig into the strings.
I hated it at first because it's different and it makes me work for my tone, but ever since seeing Guthrie Govan play live and talking about how he has an infinite number of channels by setting up the amp and using the guitar vol as gain control, I've started liking the way my iii works. It puts much greater control over your sound in your fingers, and it saves you having to change channels all the time.

 

[geddyentwistle]

so today i traded a dual rec for a mark v1, both are mint

with the manager of guitar center, it was dialed quickly...man, did i waste a lot of time trying to get the rec to do what it couldn't



so i get it now, 100%....

 

[dodger916]

so today i traded a dual rec for a mark v1, both are mint

with the manager of guitar center, it was dialed quickly...man, did i waste a lot of time trying to get the rec to do what it couldn't



so i get it now, 100%....

Glad you found what you're looking for. The versatility will keep you entertained!

 

[Scottyyy]

Hey guys. I just got my Mark IV yesterday and I have a quick question about the clean channel. Is it supposed to be considerably quieter than the other 2 channels? Currently to match the volumes on all 3 channels I have the clean master on 7, the R2 on 3 and the lead on 2. The rest of the settings I've almost identically matched, just to match the volumes and the output level is on 2.

So is this normal?

 

[dodger916]

Hey guys. I just got my Mark IV yesterday and I have a quick question about the clean channel. Is it supposed to be considerably quieter than the other 2 channels? Currently to match the volumes on all 3 channels I have the clean master on 7, the R2 on 3 and the lead on 2. The rest of the settings I've almost identically matched, just to match the volumes and the output level is on 2.

So is this normal?

I keep my channel volumes about the same. 7 vs 2 is a pretty big difference. If you use the pull switches (including Presence), it will create greater volume disparity between channels. Try it with all pots pushed in.

 

[Scottyyy]

Hey guys. I just got my Mark IV yesterday and I have a quick question about the clean channel. Is it supposed to be considerably quieter than the other 2 channels? Currently to match the volumes on all 3 channels I have the clean master on 7, the R2 on 3 and the lead on 2. The rest of the settings I've almost identically matched, just to match the volumes and the output level is on 2.

So is this normal?

I keep my channel volumes about the same. 7 vs 2 is a pretty big difference. If you use the pull switches (including Presence), it will create greater volume disparity between channels. Try it with all pots pushed in.

Ok, thanks for the info.

Also, a bit of a silly question but is it OK to switch between lead voicing and power amp options while the amp is on? Or should I put it into standby first between switching?

 

[dodger916]

Also, a bit of a silly question but is it OK to switch between lead voicing and power amp options while the amp is on? Or should I put it into standby first between switching?

You can switch them with the power on.

 

[Scottyyy]

Also, a bit of a silly question but is it OK to switch between lead voicing and power amp options while the amp is on? Or should I put it into standby first between switching?

You can switch them with the power on.

Thanks dude

 

[liquidchris]

hi!

I am interested by a combo mark IV which has as number of series: IV-010808. Of what year is it? How can I have information on him?

Thanks

 

[Scrapinger]

Hey guys. I just got my Mark IV yesterday and I have a quick question about the clean channel. Is it supposed to be considerably quieter than the other 2 channels? Currently to match the volumes on all 3 channels I have the clean master on 7, the R2 on 3 and the lead on 2. The rest of the settings I've almost identically matched, just to match the volumes and the output level is on 2.

I have the opposite true on my amp. I keep my Clean master at 3. The R2 and Lead I keep at about 5-6, but I also run the clean gain pretty high (7-10 for the dirty blues sound) which is, in my mind, what accounts for the volume disparity. I have changed tubes several times and this reltaionship hols no matter what I am running. The clean is just so bright and shimmering even without the clean gain pot pulled.

What do you run your clean gain at?

 

[Sauron]

I run it at about 7.

 

[Scrapinger]

I run it at about 7.

I run my rig something like this:

R1: Gain 7-10 (pot pushed in), Treble 5-7, Bass 3, Mid 3-4, Prescence 6, Master 3
R2: Gain 7 (pulled), Bass and mid same of course, Treble 7, Prescence 7 (pushed in), Master 5-6
Lead: Gain 7, Treble 6, Bass 3-4, Mid 3-4, Drive 6-7 (Pulled), Prescence 6 (pulled) Master 5-6.

Lead switch to harmonics, Class A baby, Triode. I only use the EQ for lead boost.

My power tubes are Tung Sol's...EL34's in the Class A sockets and 6L6's in the A/B with all new Tung Sol 12ax7's.

I even have some issue getting the Lead to come out louder than R2. But my clean has always been very bright and loud. I called and talked with Boogie about this and they said that is the way the amp is. The clean is bright and loud. My head has been back several times, mostly for issues related to bad tubes and it all checks out OK.

Maybe you should give Boogie a call and ask them what they think could be the issue.

 

[geddyentwistle]

in digging into my new used mark iv, if the eq is scooped, its three more sounds outa the amp on the fly..

and it sounds a little dual rec-ish, so now i miss the dual rec that was traded in even less

this amp is awesome

 

[hgus]

Bought an old Mark IVa a week ago, I've been playing single channel amps the last eight years, mostly using the guitar's volume knobs (LP & old SG mostly) and various treble boosters to vary the sounds, but I mostly play home and wanted something with a normal tone stack and reverb without having to use pedals.

I'm pretty much blown away by the sound of this thing!!

I do not play metal, or even hard rock, and from all the talk about these as awesome metal amps, I just didn't expect it to be as good as it is for other styles - ANY other style!

I use mine basically as a three single amp set up, I could easily gig with only one of the three channels. All set up a little bit too hot and a little bit too bright, and then I use the guitar volume and tone to get the clean and rhythm and lead tones I want. It cleans up like an old Blackface, even on the lead channel! It absolutely loves my '94 Les Paul with PIO caps and vintage output pickups. Oh, and an old "boost input" Memory Man in the loop for both delays, and ambience (slap-back echos etc).

The coolest thing is the sustain, and the response, I realised when I first played it that my fingers are actually way faster than my old amp was! And this is just as true for the lead channel set up for shredding as R1 set clean, very inspiring, I haven't played this much guitar in years!

Love it! :lol:

Estetically, mine has toured to hell and back, it looked pretty bad and had two knobs knocked off when I got it, but after a few hours with rags and wood oil it looks awesome, like a worn-in old guitar. Very cool! The grill is intact, and has a cool vintage amber colour. And the hardwood gets a lot of credit for durability!

On top of all this, I bought it off the original owner, who's played with a quite famous show here in Sweden (with the mark iv as his main gigging amp). He had his studio filled with vintage instruments and amps (Plexi Marshall, '60s Fenders etc etc) so I got a chance to try his IIC+, a very, very cool amp. It really sang like a guitar with good wood does, next time I see one, I'll pick it up... :wink:

Btw, being an "a", and not having the manual for this version, does anybody know what the jack under the chassis beneath the reverb does? Seems like it's connected to the channel switching somehow, but I haven't tried it. I was gonna put a reverb footswitch jack there! :lol:

 

[Tampabaynsx-r]

Greetings,
I'm brand new to the board and pretty new to the world of Boogie in general. I've been playing for almost three decades now and have finally realized that while I have invested alot of money in guitars I've always skimped when it came to amplification. I'm generally an evening noodler these days and I gig once or twice a month with a cover band for 100 or so people.

I've been cramming as much info as possible on Boogie amps into my brain over the past couple of weeks and have come up with three candidates: Express 5:50 (like the lower power option for home use), Mark IVB (I've heard some clips of these things that sound truly amazing, and the Mark V (I guess there's plenty who love and others who've been left wanting on these when it comes to the distortion channels?)

SO, here's my dilema:

Express: I've heard good things about the Express...but I am afraid it will be good, not great in ultimate tone. And, I've waited all these years to get a great amp...I don't want to "miss it by that much"

Mark IV: It seems like the very best setups with these incorporate a midi switcher such as the ground control pro and a BB preamp. I have to admit being a little intimidated as this is ALL new territory for me. The most complicated thing I've had to deal with in my rig is a VOX modeling amp that has a myriad of options.

Mark V: I guess it's new...and there are two schools of thought on them at this point. I suspect that I would probably like one of these as my current reference is the poor Vox. BUT, for the $ I'd spend on one of these...I could get a IV with the Ground Control setup...what to do?!

SO, does anyone have experience running the GCX setup with a IV and how difficult is/was the setup/programming and ongoing maintenance?

While I do have a decent budget to work with (sold a couple PRSi), I'm not interested in running a HUGE rig. I'd most likely get a head or 1x12 combo and perhaps run a Thiele cab along with the combo or a Thiele and conventional Boogie 1x12 cube w/the head. This would give me more flexibility and portability...both are important to me. Sorry for the long winded post...what a way to start out here. TIA for any and all guidance!

 

[Shep]

what a Mk IV and a GCX like this??

 

[Tuna141]

I run my Mark IVa with a GCX & Ground Control pedal too. I plug the GCX into the Mark IV's 1/4" jack switches and am able to switch channels 1,2,+3, and switch the EQ on/off with each channel too (use this for solo boost). I also use an Egnater IE-4 preamp with the IV too. The GCX / Ground Control switches the entire setup perfectly.