P
peckhart
Active member
Nothing really new or too enlightening here, but I'll share any way.
I have had an interest in these amps for years, but I was always a bit put off by the consensus that they are difficult to dial in. I have also been addicted to Marshall based sounds for quite a while and everything else always fell short so I just wasn't sure it would fit me.
I decided to go for it and was searching for either a Mark III head or Mark IV. This IVb came up in my CL from a neighboring city and when I reached out the seller was willing to meet half way. Good dude, nice easy transaction.
The amp is super clean. It has the IVb FX loop configuration, but a fixed power chord and no reverb switch on the FS (who knows if that is original though). SN is high 8000s, which from some research puts it mid to late 90s I believe.
I only have my Splawn 4x12 w/SBs home to run it through right now. Had 2 evenings this week where I was able to crank it up and see what it can do. Straight in...don't have my pedal board at home at the moment.
First observation, I am really glad I read the manual and read through a bunch of threads on how to approach these amps. So many different controls that drastically impact the tone and feel. Having that base knowledge it didn't take me long to get it sounding pretty good.
The Lead channel sounds great! Different than the Marshall based amps I have been favoring, but still has a mean growl and grind that I look for. It is brighter than I expected and that may be what I am toying with the most. There are a lot of ways to influence the high end and it seems to be a fine line of maintaining the sizzle and cutting edge, but not getting too bright and harsh. That concerns me a bit as I look to move to the Bogner V30 cab as the Splawn is naturally a little darker.
R2 is a big surprise to me so far. It sounds really good and has enough gain for rhythm on a lot of the stuff my band covers. I could see the potential of riding that channel for rhythm and then using the lead channel with the volume jacked up a bit strictly for solos. I probably will not do that though as I intend to try a boost in the loop and have the ability to use either channel for rhythm on a given song with the ability to kick in a volume boost only. I can't wait to try kicking R2 with my Cusack Screamer and getting the volume boost working.
R1 is a really nice clean. I do not play clean much at all, but its nice to know this amp has it available. I don't really see an issue with the shared parts of the EQ between R1 and R2. Maybe the bass control, but even running it at 5 to give R1 some beef didn't mud up R2...perhaps because I had the R2 treble pegged? Separate gain, treble and presence along with the pull fat switches allows R1/R2 enough separate control to get each where I want them.
You can really change up the tone and feel of these things and I can see why they can sound great being used for so many different genres. For me Full Power, Pentode, Simul Class, Mid Gain with EQ always on has been where its at so far. Glad I took the plunge! I will likely take it to my gig next Saturday. I can quickly and easily go back to the Helios should I not like how it is sounding on the Bogner cab in a different venue.
I have had an interest in these amps for years, but I was always a bit put off by the consensus that they are difficult to dial in. I have also been addicted to Marshall based sounds for quite a while and everything else always fell short so I just wasn't sure it would fit me.
I decided to go for it and was searching for either a Mark III head or Mark IV. This IVb came up in my CL from a neighboring city and when I reached out the seller was willing to meet half way. Good dude, nice easy transaction.
The amp is super clean. It has the IVb FX loop configuration, but a fixed power chord and no reverb switch on the FS (who knows if that is original though). SN is high 8000s, which from some research puts it mid to late 90s I believe.
I only have my Splawn 4x12 w/SBs home to run it through right now. Had 2 evenings this week where I was able to crank it up and see what it can do. Straight in...don't have my pedal board at home at the moment.
First observation, I am really glad I read the manual and read through a bunch of threads on how to approach these amps. So many different controls that drastically impact the tone and feel. Having that base knowledge it didn't take me long to get it sounding pretty good.
The Lead channel sounds great! Different than the Marshall based amps I have been favoring, but still has a mean growl and grind that I look for. It is brighter than I expected and that may be what I am toying with the most. There are a lot of ways to influence the high end and it seems to be a fine line of maintaining the sizzle and cutting edge, but not getting too bright and harsh. That concerns me a bit as I look to move to the Bogner V30 cab as the Splawn is naturally a little darker.
R2 is a big surprise to me so far. It sounds really good and has enough gain for rhythm on a lot of the stuff my band covers. I could see the potential of riding that channel for rhythm and then using the lead channel with the volume jacked up a bit strictly for solos. I probably will not do that though as I intend to try a boost in the loop and have the ability to use either channel for rhythm on a given song with the ability to kick in a volume boost only. I can't wait to try kicking R2 with my Cusack Screamer and getting the volume boost working.
R1 is a really nice clean. I do not play clean much at all, but its nice to know this amp has it available. I don't really see an issue with the shared parts of the EQ between R1 and R2. Maybe the bass control, but even running it at 5 to give R1 some beef didn't mud up R2...perhaps because I had the R2 treble pegged? Separate gain, treble and presence along with the pull fat switches allows R1/R2 enough separate control to get each where I want them.
You can really change up the tone and feel of these things and I can see why they can sound great being used for so many different genres. For me Full Power, Pentode, Simul Class, Mid Gain with EQ always on has been where its at so far. Glad I took the plunge! I will likely take it to my gig next Saturday. I can quickly and easily go back to the Helios should I not like how it is sounding on the Bogner cab in a different venue.
