Which amp? Mark III vs Mark IV!! Undecided

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I've finally decided in to buying a Mesa. I've never been a fan of the recto series but after more research into the mark series, I really dig them. I live up in canada and there's very little chance for me to play any of them so I need to ask all you mesa owners for some help!! Currently, I'm looking for an amp where there is lots of versatility when plugged straight in. I know the Mark IV is very versatile so i'm leaning towards a IV but I really like the rawness in the clips i heard of the Mark III's Blue Stripes. My question is, can the IV get that rawness of the III? Or is that just the speaker/recording technique used to create the rawness!! Please help meeeee :( I'm dying to play on a mark series :cry:
 
I am NOT an experienced Mesa person, so please take my opinion with a grain of salt. I played a Mark IV at a store. I found the controls daunting. If you aren't intimidated by the learning curve and doing a lot of tweaking, you may be in good shape with a Mark IV. I wanted something a bit simpler and I am more into the heavy rhythm stuff, so I chose a Mark III. It costs quite a bit less as well. I have a blue stripe on its way... wish it would get here already!
 
I do dig the mark III sound over all but seems like I'd need some midi effect unit or something to help me create the versatility. Is there anyone on this board that has both amps that can make me some clips? Like play the same riff/song but with the 2 different amps. I really want a III but i'm just afraid that the versatility isn't there when i'm on stage. Someone please convince me to get a Mark III :twisted:
 
+1 to everything said above. In OP's defense, entries with less than 4 characters (like 'IV' and 'III') cannot be searched. :lol:

I'm a IV user but I love IIIs as well. IVs are smoother or more fluid sounding, but can get a bit boxy if you don't use the right cab. The R2 and reverb on IVs are better than on III. The amount of controls on IVs can be a bit overwhelming, but I promise it's not that difficult if you do the proverbial RTM (most people add an F somewhere).

IIIs are more agressive and can get the Marshall vibe easier, if that's your thing. Shared controls is PITA though, so most people here treat them as 2 channel amps. Mods are available to correct the R2 volume drop and reverb though. I also find that IIIs are more responsive to changes in your guitar (ie. volume control, pickup selector, picking strength), so you can get a lot of sound just by doing some right hand changes there, IF you can find a sweet spot on those controls. To me, that's versatility. No midi needed.

~trem
 
trem said:
+1 to everything said above. In OP's defense, entries with less than 4 characters (like 'IV' and 'III') cannot be searched. :lol:

I'm a IV user but I love IIIs as well. IVs are smoother or more fluid sounding, but can get a bit boxy if you don't use the right cab. The R2 and reverb on IVs are better than on III. The amount of controls on IVs can be a bit overwhelming, but I promise it's not that difficult if you do the proverbial RTM (most people add an F somewhere).

IIIs are more agressive and can get the Marshall vibe easier, if that's your thing. Shared controls is PITA though, so most people here treat them as 2 channel amps. Mods are available to correct the R2 volume drop and reverb though. I also find that IIIs are more responsive to changes in your guitar (ie. volume control, pickup selector, picking strength), so you can get a lot of sound just by doing some right hand changes there, IF you can find a sweet spot on those controls. To me, that's versatility. No midi needed.

~trem
Click to expand...

Right now thats what i'm debating about... the IV has seperate channels and the III have a shared EQ which is troubling in a live situation. I'm not afraid of the complexity of the IV but just afraid the IV will be too smooth sounding. I really want an aggressive rhythm tone to chug away at. Maybe I need both amps :( one for rhythm one for lead.

On a second note, I found a Mark III blue stripe in my area for $900. Should i just jump on that? And does anyone know how much mods usually cost to enhance the IIIs?

Another question to Mark III owners, how much more versatility does a green stripe on vs the blue?
 
Mark IV can get raw as well. Search for Zorran's soundclips.

Mark IIIs on ebay usually go for around 800. You don't really need the mods for the III to sound good. I suggest you go demo the amp first. If you like it then by all means buy it. If after a while you get sick of it (not likely though :) ) simply sell it again without any loss of money.

BTW, there isn't enough Mark III clips in this forum.

~trem
 
Alrite!! I'm going to get that mark III and give it a try since its local and i won't have to care about shipping and such. thanks for all the help!! I'm planning to get a Mesa Traditional to compliment the head. Anyone here tried that before or is the Thiele the way to go?
 
AustinK said:
is the Thiele the way to go?
Click to expand...

No. the half back is the way to go :D
Click to expand...

I wish there were more sound clips available :( All i got to hear was a few sound clips (which sounded great) on this forum and a few crappy youtube clips. I'm not much of a open back guy but do you have any clips of your rig?
 
I scored my Mark IV rack mount for $800, My Mark III combo blue stripe for $600 and a Simul Satellite rack mount for $500. It's called Craig's List
 
Footswitch included!! The amp is just missing the mesa boogie logo and a fader knob on the EQ. But the whole amp works!! I live in Canada so $1080 is fairly cheap for me already for a mark IV!! It's going to take me awhile to dial in my tones tho... Having quite some trouble already. Does anyone have Zorran's settings? I've been looking for something to help me get on the right track. Right now i'm having trouble getting some nice palm mutes out of the amp. I can get a pretty thick and heavy sound and it cuts really well during my rehearsals but when I play the mutes, the sound i get is pretty lifeless :(
 

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