Mark IV vs. Mark V

[droptrd]

When it comes to the Marks, my plan is simple....Im working on owning one of each model

 

[jmgman69]

When it comes to the Marks, my plan is simple....Im working on owning one of each model

 

[droptrd]

I only have one at the moment - a Mark III. So I have a ways to go

 

[dass101]

As almost everybody else said: The V has much better cleans and crunches, and also is way more versatile in those areas.
The lead is lacking, because they went for a fixed "pre gain" setting, while on all other marks you can dial some very nice variations of gain using both the "gain" and "drive" knobs. I somehow feel that the GEQ on the IV is a bit more transparent, which also adds to the feeling that the amp is more alive.
The cleans on the IV are, IMO, very cold sounding, and the crunch is pretty useless.
One more thing about the V, of all the amps that I've played, I think it is the one where the build quality impressed me the most. You really can tell that a lot of attention and hi grade parts went into it.

 

[willrock]

As almost everybody else said: The V has much better cleans and crunches, and also is way more versatile in those areas.
The lead is lacking, because they went for a fixed "pre gain" setting, while on all other marks you can dial some very nice variations of gain using both the "gain" and "drive" knobs. I somehow feel that the GEQ on the IV is a bit more transparent, which also adds to the feeling that the amp is more alive.
The cleans on the IV are, IMO, very cold sounding, and the crunch is pretty useless.
One more thing about the V, of all the amps that I've played, I think it is the one where the build quality impressed me the most. You really can tell that a lot of attention and hi grade parts went into it.

that goes to all Mesa products

 

[Tawlks]

Clean .... about the same but different.
RHY2 .... V is better.
Lead ..... easy the IV.

I have plenty of amps that can do cleans on up to crunch .... so the Mark is really about the lead channel for me. For my taste the IV is much better. Do a direct A/B with the same guitar and cab .... many feel the same as I do.

is it possible to have the Mk V's lead channel modded to IV specs?

 

[some dude]

is it possible to have the Mk V's lead channel modded to IV specs?

I'm going to guess that it can't. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that both Mark IIC+ and IV modes are actually the correct preamp circuits and that it's other changes made to the amp that prevent it from going where the original Marks go. The EQ for instance doesn't seem to function exactly the same (it's a little tamer), and the lead channel lacks some of the pull depth/bright/whatever features and the second gain knob. The tone controls themselves aren't identical (you don't need to keep the bass below 2 for instance), there's also no mixed tube Simul-Class and the power section isn't identical.

Long story short, modding a Mark V would probably entail reworking the entire amp, to the point where it'd be cheaper and easier to go buy a Mark IV.

 

[primeholy]

I finally got to really crank my V last night(outdoor gig not running through the pa), and I must say, It is a very pissed off sounding amp! I been listening to Government Mule mullenium album and wondering how warren got that sound, and just by cranking it, I got a lot closer!

 

[blackba]

Clean .... about the same but different.
RHY2 .... V is better.
Lead ..... easy the IV.

I have plenty of amps that can do cleans on up to crunch .... so the Mark is really about the lead channel for me. For my taste the IV is much better. Do a direct A/B with the same guitar and cab .... many feel the same as I do.

That sums is up pretty well from what I have read since the mark V has come out. I have also read that the mark V is alot easier to dial in than the mark IV, but I never really had trouble dialing in my mark IV, that said, I am still learning new things about my mark IVA.

I really need to get out and try a mark V. Just had no time to make it to a music store. Still I am very satisfied with my mark IVA. I love the lead channel, I don't have another amp that can do that. I do have others that can do a better clean than R1 and better crunch, than R2, but I can still get those channels to work for me. R2 with a boost is very nice.

 

[spawnofthesith]

Don't have much experience with a Mark IV, so I can't say anything about that, but I love my Mark V

 

[deadweight]

Yeah I lucked the fuck out today when i walked into long and mcquade and picked up a barely used mark v head for 1480 canadian. thing is i have a 16 ohm cabinet and the mark v looks like it only has connections for a 4 and 8 ohm cab. Do i need to rewire my cabinet now?

 

[some dude]

Just plug it into the 8ohm jack. It'll sound a little darker, but it'll still sound good.

 

[blackba]

Yeah I lucked the fuck out today when i walked into long and mcquade and picked up a barely used mark v head for 1480 canadian. thing is i have a 16 ohm cabinet and the mark v looks like it only has connections for a 4 and 8 ohm cab. Do i need to rewire my cabinet now?

Assuming it doesn't talk about it in the manual, I would contact mesa before using a 16ohm cab in the 8ohm jack. It may talk about it in the manual, so check.

Assuming you have a 16ohm 412, you can re-wire it to all parallel and will have a 4ohm cab. There is also the weber impedance matcher. I think all mesa 412 cabs are 8ohm cabs, at least my mesa 412 is an 8ohm cab.

 

[stephen sawall]

Yeah I lucked the fuck out today when i walked into long and mcquade and picked up a barely used mark v head for 1480 canadian. thing is i have a 16 ohm cabinet and the mark v looks like it only has connections for a 4 and 8 ohm cab. Do i need to rewire my cabinet now?

Assuming it doesn't talk about it in the manual, I would contact mesa before using a 16ohm cab in the 8ohm jack. It may talk about it in the manual, so check.

It does talk about it in the manual. On all amps you can go up one .... it well just change the tone a bit. I do this often.

If you rewire your cab to 4 ohm if well have more punch and change the tone some.

 

[droptrd]

Yeah I lucked the fuck out today when i walked into long and mcquade and picked up a barely used mark v head for 1480 canadian. thing is i have a 16 ohm cabinet and the mark v looks like it only has connections for a 4 and 8 ohm cab. Do i need to rewire my cabinet now?

Assuming it doesn't talk about it in the manual, I would contact mesa before using a 16ohm cab in the 8ohm jack. It may talk about it in the manual, so check.

It does talk about it in the manual. On all amps you can go up one .... it well just change the tone a bit. I do this often.

If you rewire your cab to 4 ohm if well have more punch and change the tone some.

Funny you guys are bringing this up. I was just noticing this very thing with my 5150 this morning. My randall cab is a bit on the crispy/crunchy side of thing. I found running the 8ohm cab out of the 4 ohm out on the 5150 darkens the sound up. Makes it spoungier too.

 

[stephen sawall]

Yeah I lucked the fuck out today when i walked into long and mcquade and picked up a barely used mark v head for 1480 canadian. thing is i have a 16 ohm cabinet and the mark v looks like it only has connections for a 4 and 8 ohm cab. Do i need to rewire my cabinet now?

Assuming it doesn't talk about it in the manual, I would contact mesa before using a 16ohm cab in the 8ohm jack. It may talk about it in the manual, so check.

It does talk about it in the manual. On all amps you can go up one .... it well just change the tone a bit. I do this often.

If you rewire your cab to 4 ohm if well have more punch and change the tone some.

Funny you guys are bringing this up. I was just noticing this very thing with my 5150 this morning. My randall cab is a bit on the crispy/crunchy side of thing. I found running the 8ohm cab out of the 4 ohm out on the 5150 darkens the sound up. Makes it spoungier too.

It makes sense since there is more resistance.