YES! edit: IT'S HERE AND IT SLAYS!!!

[MesaDCLP]

Plat, congrats...

I too received my mk iv B today!!! It has been on since I got home, standby while I take a break...

After your everchanging thread, I was leary of a distant buy. I was crossing my fingers and hoping to die if something was a miss. I would have gone ape sh!t at work, because that's where i had it shipped.

Perfect, mint, smells new!!!

The real test, turning it on at home with my cabs ... THIS IS A LIFER

The Mark definately kills the single rec that I've grown fond of. My friend brought over his LP and played through my sing rec. To my amazment, the mark sounded just as heavy with my LP on lead, but the tones complemented each other very well.

I have yet to test the limits of all these knobs and switches and sliders, but I have to say ... the tone is in there!!!

 

[Russ]

I knew you would love the Mark IV. Now you know what we are talking about here. Just imagine what the thing will sound like once you get it dialed... Yes, that might take a little bit. Less though because you already know basically how Mesa's work. I can't wait to hear clips from you. Your little stuffed Platypus looks cool chilling there. I bet it sounds wicked through that cab. I love the sound of closed backed goodness with mine. If you get a chance try a ported cab though. You think it sounds good now... It'll floor you. After I got my little 1x12 Thiele style cabinet it made things really interesting. Granted it has the capability of being closed or ported and closed or open back but even just going from closed to ported it changed my opinion of my amp a lot. I am totally excited for you man. don't knock the huge box. It may have been the saving grace to getting your amp to you safely. I was lucky in finding mine local and never had to ship it. I would have liked to see your face when you got it and especially when you got to fire her up. Now hurry up and post some clips dammitt...

 

[Platypus]

Thanks russ, I really appreciate all your help through this entire ordeal.

And I wasn't knocking the box, actually I emailed him thanking him profusely for his extra time/dedication.

In fact I liked it so much I kept the box and will use the same materials to send my Dual Rec to whomever purchases it!

And yes, there will certainly be clips soon!!! I can't believe how impressive the Channel 1 was.. my father came to Chicago for a visit and brought his new Fender 57 Twin Tweedy and a strat.. we jammed out a bit to some 'wind cries mary' with my PRS and we both got a silly grin at how much they sounded alike.. this thing is definetly a keeper. I haven't quite got the R2 and Lead dialed in yet but I've only begun to tweak.. I love to tweak

 

[Russ]

R2 is a hard one to dial with a decent R1 still. The Lead is just an animal. It likes to take heads off...

 

[Platypus]

I've noticed that in the short while I jammed with it today.. it seems like R2 is 'fatter' or 'throatier' than R1 and quite a bit louder.

Is there an easy way to get R1 to be as loud as R2 or Lead without changing the output vol? I pretty much dimed the R1 volume and still was quite a bit quieter.

 

[Russ]

How old are the tubes? I have my R1 at 8 on the channel master and R2 is only on 5. There isn't that much difference on mine so that I have to dime R1. Time to start tweaking... Just take notes of tones you like along the way.

Is your R2 pulled to make it fatter and throatier or is that just your description of hte pushed in sounds? Where is R1 for this comparison? Pushed or pulled? R2 will see some more gain than R1. Basically it takes off from where R1 ends but you can overlap them if you need to.

Also what are your power settings?

All of the knobs matter on this amp. R1+2 share bass and mids so those are important too. The presence of R1 doesn't pull but you can shift R2. Then once you get past all that there is the EQ. Dialing in a channel can get time consuming especially if you want to balance your channels R1+2.

 

[Platypus]

How old are the tubes? I have my R1 at 8 on the channel master and R2 is only on 5. There isn't that much difference on mine so that I have to dime R1. Time to start tweaking... Just take notes of tones you like along the way.

Is your R2 pulled to make it fatter and throatier or is that just your description of hte pushed in sounds? Where is R1 for this comparison? Pushed or pulled? R2 will see some more gain than R1. Basically it takes off from where R1 ends but you can overlap them if you need to.

Also what are your power settings?

All of the knobs matter on this amp. R1+2 share bass and mids so those are important too. The presence of R1 doesn't pull but you can shift R2. Then once you get past all that there is the EQ. Dialing in a channel can get time consuming especially if you want to balance your channels R1+2.

The tubes have about 4 hours on them so they're quite new. Now that you mention it, I went to have a look and the R2 gain was pulled to 'Fat' so I imagine that could add the extra volume boost? I had this same issue with my Dual Rec where the clean was much quieter than the rest of the channels. I also have the gain pretty low on R1 compared to R2 (came that way, haven't buckled down to tweaking yet. R1 gain was 6, R2 was dimed)

I imagine those are the reasons for the preceived volume difference

 

[Russ]

Hmmmm, could be.........

 

[Platypus]

Hmmmm, could be.........

Was that sarcastic?

Do you think there's something wrong?

 

[Russ]

I was being silly. Remember the Muppets? :lol:

 

[Russ]

There is probably nothing wrong man. Just get to know your amp. These amps are pretty responsive and there are a lot of settings to keep track of. They can be a bit of a handful too because of all the options. You'll get it dialed though. I have faith.

 

[Shep]

hey great to hear abou your amp... i find that with the rhy1,rhy2 volumes that if you want a sweet clean and a chunky rhy2 at the same volume you have to run the rhy1 master at 5 and the rhy2 master at 3.. and the higher the wattage setting the smaller that gap has to be...the clean REALLY jumps out at you on the 85 watt setting..

hope you enjoy your awsome amp....about time.

 

[eltrain858]

Your little stuffed Platypus looks cool chilling there. I bet it sounds wicked through that cab. I love the sound of closed backed goodness with mine.

How many watts are those things? :lol:

 

[Russ]

Depends... If you hook it up to a cord and plug it in I would say about 120 volts. Depending upon the circuit 15-20 Amps. You do the math... :lol:

 

[Russ]

I believe this thread will soon overtake that one on the modern side about Stilettos and this one isn't even a sticky.

 

[Russ]

It's been quite a drama but I think it shows we care about you D....

 

[Platypus]

Aww

Btw, fixed up R1 and R2 now so they're the same volume, it was the gain dimed causing it

Found a really nice lead tone that is really good for metal, even with the PRS but still keeps a good lead tone for the 'boogie sound' as well.

Do you guys ever play without the EQ? I think the EQ is almost essential.

 

[Russ]

After playing with the EQ you almost don't want it off. It improves the tone that much. You can use the Lead as a Rhythm and engage the EQ as a boost or even use the Lead as a lead and use the EQ to emphasize something. I like the Lead with EQ as a gnarly rhythm though.

 

[fredster]

I keep the eq on all the time for all channels. Sounds kidna flat without - but then I've got the combo and not a closed back cab...

 

[Lucifer]

I really like to play with the EQ on but when im turning the knobs on lead without the EQ and i get a really raw, powerful, boogieish sound..i play without it and it feels great and it also depends on how your EQ is set..