Mesa Booie Mark IV rev B

[TheGreatGreen]

Mark IV's are amazing. I love my rev B. They definitely have their own flavor relative to other high gain amps. If you know how to dial them, they can get smoother and tighter than most other high gain amps. They can also get a bit more thrash sounding than most amps if you dial in the traditional 5-band mid scoop thing.

There are two official revisions (A and B), but I've found three versions:
1. Rev A
2. Rev B - attached power cable
3. Rev B - detachable power cable

I doubt there is any real difference between the two "Rev B" versions but it's just something to be aware of. The rev B's with detachable power chords came out after the attached power cable version. I suppose there are also short head and medium head versions of all three of those amp revisions as well but that's starting to split hairs a bit.

 

[hopkinWFG]

I seriously get tones like ashes on my mk 3++ . But like I said mark 4 is LOG all the way. I honestly think the mk 4 combos sound better than the heads. Might be best amp I ever heard . It’s what got me into amps . My friend one that just

Mark IV's are amazing. I love my rev B. They definitely have their own flavor relative to other high gain amps. If you know how to dial them, they can get smoother and tighter than most other high gain amps. They can also get a bit more thrash sounding than most amps if you dial in the traditional 5-band mid scoop thing.

There are two official revisions (A and B), but I've found three versions:
1. Rev A
2. Rev B - attached power cable
3. Rev B - detachable power cable

I doubt there is any real difference between the two "Rev B" versions but it's just something to be aware of. The rev B's with detachable power chords came out after the attached power cable version. I suppose there are also short head and medium head versions of all three of those amp revisions as well but that's starting to split hairs a bit.

Thanks for the write up !! many Mesa Boogie Mark amp experts here ! Thx !

 

[Little B]

Most all mks are killer if dialed in properly. The ivs are great.ive owned an A and now the B.I have the simul satellite head that goes with it. Love the mkiv but wish ch 2 would be like ch 2 of the mk iiis.
I know some aren't fans of the iiis,but I prefer my red and blue stripe coli,and my iic+ over the iv.Its like a blanket was lifted off tonewise on the iic+ and iii.More raw,urgent, and aggressive than my ivb.
OP: you won't be disappointed with a mkiv at all tho,especially if you've never played any boogies yet.

 

[Techdeth]

Most all mks are killer if dialed in properly. The ivs are great.ive owned an A and now the B.I have the simul satellite head that goes with it. Love the mkiv but wish ch 2 would be like ch 2 of the mk iiis.
I know some aren't fans of the iiis,but I prefer my red and blue stripe coli,and my iic+ over the iv.Its like a blanket was lifted off tonewise on the iic+ and iii.More raw,urgent, and aggressive than my ivb.
OP: you won't be disappointed with a mkiv at all tho,especially if you've never played any boogies yet.

I’ve had 2c+ , 3++ Green Stripe , mark IV b and mark v . I always make them sound the same whej I set it up . I kept mk 3++ because of the agressive highs . But ya pretty much always get my sound with them all .

 

[Dino 939]

The sound of Chevelle,
For me, that’s about as good as it gets
with tight & fat rhythm sounds.
(Channel 3)
There’s a few amps out now that can take
that sound and make it f’n BRUTALLY punchy,
- like pop the speakers out from punch not db’s.
But that’s old school Mesa, nothing can touch it
because it’s-“it”.
A challenging amp to balance the channels,
and never was sure what to do with the crossover channel(2).
These days, I’m not sure that old machinery
is worth the dialing in dilemma’s or the monstrous
volumes.
-It’s a compromise either way.
Just keep on crunchin’!!!

 

[Dino 939]

Mark IV's are amazing. I love my rev B. They definitely have their own flavor relative to other high gain amps. If you know how to dial them, they can get smoother and tighter than most other high gain amps. They can also get a bit more thrash sounding than most amps if you dial in the traditional 5-band mid scoop thing.

There are two official revisions (A and B), but I've found three versions:
1. Rev A
2. Rev B - attached power cable
3. Rev B - detachable power cable

I doubt there is any real difference between the two "Rev B" versions but it's just something to be aware of. The rev B's with detachable power chords came out after the attached power cable version. I suppose there are also short head and medium head versions of all three of those amp revisions as well but that's starting to split hairs a bit.

You sound like a man who knows his Mesa’s.
Randall was one super rad dude.
For me, MAD gratified feels for that dude.
Why?
He figured out super high gain with a low noise floor., it’s in how he does the top end.,
everything else squeals!!!
Many heavy hitter’s of high gain.., still can’t touch
that top end noise floor at loud ass kicking band volumes.

 

[blackba]

I seriously get tones like ashes on my mk 3++ . But like I said mark 4 is LOG all the way. I honestly think the mk 4 combos sound better than the heads. Might be best amp I ever heard . It’s what got me into amps . My friend one that just slayed

Can you elaborate on why you think the mark IV combos sound better than the heads?

I generally see mark IV combos for sale and at least with an EV, they are not my favorite amp to move. I have also read complaints on the combos being boxy sounding. Only heard a mark IVB combo and it did sound good, especially when adding a thiele extension cab. My mark IVA head also sounds great, the metal grill 412 doesn't hurt .

 

[peterc52]

Can you elaborate on why you think the mark IV combos sound better than the heads?

I generally see mark IV combos for sale and at least with an EV, they are not my favorite amp to move. I have also read complaints on the combos being boxy sounding. Only heard a mark IVB combo and it did sound good, especially when adding a thiele extension cab. My mark IVA head also sounds great, the metal grill 412 doesn't hurt .

Combo IV are not for me. Channel 3 is not meant for open back cab

 

[Speeddemon]

but much of the amps i have got here... the Diezel, Bogners a Wizard and Fryettes.... does it still require me to acquire a Mark 4 ? does the tone quality and versatility matches the amps i got here and i wont be disappointed in?

I can't speak for the Bogner, but the Mark's clean channel will be (IMO) better than the Fryette and at least as good or better than the Diezel (based on my experience with a DMoll). To me, Marks have one of the best clean channels ever.

The Mark lead tone will definitely add a color of punchy, tight, yet liquid and saturated drive that doesn't sound fake or processed. It's its own tone.

Owned a Mark IV Rev A, but sold it, since it was a bit temperamental, fan noise got annoying in the studio, it was really heavy and I found R2 lacklustre. But cleans and lead, hell yeah!
After selling it, I missed it a bit, but wanted some form of improvement in the noise, weight and R2 dept. and so far a little Mark V:25 has been just that. Mind you, I only use the Mark IV mode if I need that surgical tight thrash tone (think Megadeth/Overkill) but I typically live on Xtreme mode, which has less gain actually, but sounds a bit thicker and bolder.
Cleans are awesome like the big ones and the Crunch mode in CH1 is what R2 on the IV should've been.
Oh, and I replaced the fan myself with a more silent one. It's dead silent now. Does it lack the girth and boldness of big glass & big iron? Sure. Is it fun and inspiring to play? You bet!

 

[Techdeth]

Can you elaborate on why you think the mark IV combos sound better than the heads?

I generally see mark IV combos for sale and at least with an EV, they are not my favorite amp to move. I have also read complaints on the combos being boxy sounding. Only heard a mark IVB combo and it did sound good, especially when adding a thiele extension cab. My mark IVA head also sounds great, the metal grill 412 doesn't hurt .

My friend had one that sounded incredible. It seemed like everything worked out perfect . The eqs and ans graphic seemed to be so powerful at dialing in so many more tones with its matched speaker. Definitely the amp that got me wanting to get amps . Just was amazing.

 

[blackba]

Combo IV are not for me. Channel 3 is not meant for open back cab

I have found that I significantly prefer r1 through an opened back cab and like r2 and lead much better with a closed cab. What I ended up doing to my metal grill Mesa cab was keeping the lower ev section closed and have a partial panel on the top mc90 section with about 1/3 open. This seems to give me the best of both worlds.

 

[BesaMoogie]

I can't speak for the Bogner, but the Mark's clean channel will be (IMO) better than the Fryette and at least as good or better than the Diezel (based on my experience with a DMoll). To me, Marks have one of the best clean channels ever.

The Mark lead tone will definitely add a color of punchy, tight, yet liquid and saturated drive that doesn't sound fake or processed. It's its own tone.

Owned a Mark IV Rev A, but sold it, since it was a bit temperamental, fan noise got annoying in the studio, it was really heavy and I found R2 lacklustre. But cleans and lead, hell yeah!
After selling it, I missed it a bit, but wanted some form of improvement in the noise, weight and R2 dept. and so far a little Mark V:25 has been just that. Mind you, I only use the Mark IV mode if I need that surgical tight thrash tone (think Megadeth/Overkill) but I typically live on Xtreme mode, which has less gain actually, but sounds a bit thicker and bolder.
Cleans are awesome like the big ones and the Crunch mode in CH1 is what R2 on the IV should've been.
Oh, and I replaced the fan myself with a more silent one. It's dead silent now. Does it lack the girth and boldness of big glass & big iron? Sure. Is it fun and inspiring to play? You bet!

Fan noise is something that annoys me as well. But you can always replace the fan with something more silent. Easy mod to do. I made this in my Randall RM100s as well as in my custom made Mark III headshell.

 

[anomaly]

Most all mks are killer if dialed in properly. The ivs are great.ive owned an A and now the B.I have the simul satellite head that goes with it. Love the mkiv but wish ch 2 would be like ch 2 of the mk iiis.
I know some aren't fans of the iiis,but I prefer my red and blue stripe coli,and my iic+ over the iv.Its like a blanket was lifted off tonewise on the iic+ and iii.More raw,urgent, and aggressive than my ivb.
OP: you won't be disappointed with a mkiv at all tho,especially if you've never played any boogies yet.

Channel two is a bit weird on the IV hey? It sounds better at loud volumes though. I think I preffered the III's second channel too, but I prefer the clean and lead channel of the IV. It (lead channel) doesn't get harsh at higher volumes like the III can get. It was a real balancing act trying to get the right amount of treble with the III's lead channel and not make it sound too harsh at high volumes. Me and my band members didn't like it as much as the IV, so I sold it.

 

[anomaly]

I can't speak for the Bogner, but the Mark's clean channel will be (IMO) better than the Fryette and at least as good or better than the Diezel (based on my experience with a DMoll). To me, Marks have one of the best clean channels ever.

The Mark lead tone will definitely add a color of punchy, tight, yet liquid and saturated drive that doesn't sound fake or processed. It's its own tone.

Owned a Mark IV Rev A, but sold it, since it was a bit temperamental, fan noise got annoying in the studio, it was really heavy and I found R2 lacklustre. But cleans and lead, hell yeah!
After selling it, I missed it a bit, but wanted some form of improvement in the noise, weight and R2 dept. and so far a little Mark V:25 has been just that. Mind you, I only use the Mark IV mode if I need that surgical tight thrash tone (think Megadeth/Overkill) but I typically live on Xtreme mode, which has less gain actually, but sounds a bit thicker and bolder.
Cleans are awesome like the big ones and the Crunch mode in CH1 is what R2 on the IV should've been.
Oh, and I replaced the fan myself with a more silent one. It's dead silent now. Does it lack the girth and boldness of big glass & big iron? Sure. Is it fun and inspiring to play? You bet!

The crunch tones on the V aren't really typical Mark tones though, they added a lot of different circuitry on the V. Like it or not, channel 2 on the mark III's and IV's are more fender bassman or marshall jtm45 style circuits. Just listen to really old AC/DC, and you'll hear what I'm talking about, those tones were on a lot of albums back in the 60's and 70's, and now people complain about them, lol. But they never used to.

 

[MatrixClaw]

The second tube amp I ever owned was a Mark IVa. I found the first and second channel very lackluster and the lead channel was great, but I couldn't deal with two unusable channels. Fast forward 13 years and I decided to pick up a IVb in a trade and it's quickly become one of my favorite amps ever, and I've owned A LOT of amps. I don't know if maybe I didn't know how to dial the amp in properly (pretty plausible) or if the B is really just better, but I love the clean channel and the crunch. Probably more so than the lead channel.

 

[Speeddemon]

The crunch tones on the V aren't really typical Mark tones though, they added a lot of different circuitry on the V.

I never claimed they were, FWIW. I just said I really like the Crunch mode on the little Mark V:25 and it does an awesome Marshall-esque thing for a Mark.
TBH, I never got AC/DC from my Mark IV's R2 channel. I found it more sludgy/raspy and it missed that mid-kerrang. Now IIRC, my IV was loaded with 6L6's, so who knows, maybe with a pair of EL34's R2 would've performed better for my ears.

 

[tlp1234]

The second tube amp I ever owned was a Mark IVa. I found the first and second channel very lackluster and the lead channel was great, but I couldn't deal with two unusable channels. Fast forward 13 years and I decided to pick up a IVb in a trade and it's quickly become one of my favorite amps ever, and I've owned A LOT of amps. I don't know if maybe I didn't know how to dial the amp in properly (pretty plausible) or if the B is really just better, but I love the clean channel and the crunch. Probably more so than the lead channel.

Funny how that works out sometimes

I still have the very first Rev A I bought over 30yrs ago. Combo with EVM12. The one people love to hate for the weight. It went unplayed for 10yrs. In 2018 I started using it again. Time and lifes experiences tempers preferences in ways you don't always expect. I enjoy all three channels. I've tried all the many settings in endless combinations. LOTS of different sounds in there. My favorite baseline power section settings are full power, simulclass, pentode, 4 Mesa branded STR 415 6L6's. Definitely one of my happy spots. Those power section settings on mine NEVER change.

One thing I learned right away about the preamp eq's was to keep the bass down. R1, 2, Lead never go beyond 3. Most of the time 2.5-2. I keep a "V" shape or slight variation thereof on the EQ sliders for rhythm, and switch it out for solo's as a boost.

Preamp mids, trebles, presences always change slightly depending on the sessions room acoustics and my state of mind du jour.

Mesa Marks in general have been polarizing the ampdom for decades.

You're sure to find lots of hate, love, and everything in between for them