School me on the Mark IV

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jshaffer23

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Hi guys! I recently migrated over from HCAF and I am really liking this forum alot, seems like a cool place. Anyways, I am currently in search of my next amp and want all the info I can get on the Mesa Mark IV. My list of possible amps are the Splawn Quickrod, Baron MII60, Mark IV, Blackstar HT-60. I need a great clean channel and enough gain for hard rock but with the ability to get a great mid gain tone. I have been looking into the Mark IV and its a little intimidating with the crapload of switches and stuff on it. I like to tweak so it would probably keep me busy for a while LOL :D What versions should I be looking for and what woudl be a good used price for one that is in great condition? Thanks guys! :rock:
 
jshaffer23":2pm83vt2 said:
Hi guys! I recently migrated over from HCAF and I am really liking this forum alot, seems like a cool place. Anyways, I am currently in search of my next amp and want all the info I can get on the Mesa Mark IV. My list of possible amps are the Splawn Quickrod, Baron MII60, Mark IV, Blackstar HT-60. I need a great clean channel and enough gain for hard rock but with the ability to get a great mid gain tone. I have been looking into the Mark IV and its a little intimidating with the crapload of switches and stuff on it. I like to tweak so it would probably keep me busy for a while LOL :D What versions should I be looking for and what woudl be a good used price for one that is in great condition? Thanks guys! :rock:
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Just to warn you, I had a Mark IV for a while.

I couldn't get a great mid-gain rock tone. I was able to dial in sick lead tone, and nice cleans, but crunch and heavy rhythm sounds were beyond me.

you definitely wanna try it before you buy it.
 
The Mark IV will do some good mid-gain tones if you hit R2 with some pedals.

Sounds like it might be up your alley.
 
I've got a Mark IV and I love it. However i never use channel two. I have a great lead tone/main rhythm tone, and a good clean tone, but with the shared eq for the first two channels, it makes it hard to have a slightly raunchy rhythm tone. Also on the clean channel, it's kind of an aquired taste. I've grown to love it, buti have to use the right outboard gear, and the guitar (mid position pick up toggle, slightly roll back volume for the neck pick up) or it's too brittle. I also have to keep my carbon copy on or it's too stale. If i wanted to use channel two i would have to forgo my clean settings so i could make it work. But i still love it, and i always will. I do agree... TRY BEFORE YOU BUY!!!
 
Hmmmm, thanks for the info guys. I probably wont get a chance to try one, I would be buying it used most likely if I got one. If I had my choice I would go with the Splawn as im pretty sure its got THE tone that im going for. The good news is they are all pretty close in price if I buy used so I could always sell or trade for something different :D
 
jshaffer23":1m77v6ks said:
Hmmmm, thanks for the info guys. I probably wont get a chance to try one, I would be buying it used most likely if I got one. If I had my choice I would go with the Splawn as im pretty sure its got THE tone that im going for. The good news is they are all pretty close in price if I buy used so I could always sell or trade for something different :D
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If you like the more Marshall-esque sound, check out the various modifications being done by builders to old Marshalls. Might be right up your alley :thumbsup:
 
I've had a Mark IV for about 6 months now and I absolutely LOVE it! It will do a great mid gain tone if you turn the gain down on the lead channel and don't use "the V of death" on the eq. You can also hit R2 with a boost and get a great mid gain tone as well. The cleans are awesome when dialed in right and I've never had a problem with the channels sharing the eq.

Do yourself a favor and download the owners manuel if you get one and READ IT! The amp can be a little confusing at first but once you get the hang of it, it's simple. The amp can do damn near anything...and with the ability to switch out tubes on top of all the options it's really amazing. Here's one on craig's list near me.

http://houston.craigslist.org/msg/1696182317.html

I can also post settings other forumites have used and that I used as a jumping off point if you have trouble dialing it in.
 
Splawn sounds good for you except for the fact that the clean channel isn't nice.
 
Guitarzan1143":28z062ti said:
most people got mad beef with channel 2, i did when i first got it until i learned to turn the presence all the way off and use the treble knob. Here is an MP3 i made using strictly Rhythm II

https://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_so ... ID=8896997

gain was around 8, it had more but it got a little saturated.
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Wow, sounds great for R2! Can you post the rest of the settings you used on R2 for this?
 
toxikdeth":2nbam5rn said:
Splawn sounds good for you except for the fact that the clean channel isn't nice.
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I'd have to agree with this. I had a Nitro and I couldn't stand the clean channel. From what I'm told the QR and Nitro have the exact same cleans. Big disappointment.
 
TX6Strings":3vvddi44 said:
Guitarzan1143":3vvddi44 said:
most people got mad beef with channel 2, i did when i first got it until i learned to turn the presence all the way off and use the treble knob. Here is an MP3 i made using strictly Rhythm II

https://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_so ... ID=8896997

gain was around 8, it had more but it got a little saturated.
Click to expand...

Wow, sounds great for R2! Can you post the rest of the settings you used on R2 for this?
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i dont really remember them. bass was probably around 3, mids were around 3-4, treble around 8, presence around 1 and pushed in, gain about 8 or 9. those are numbers, no o'clocks. i remember it was tweed power, class A, and diode i think?
 
I dig my MK IV,here's a home recording with my Mark,it's not the best but you get the idea,plenty
of gain,without boosting the signal.

Live sounds much better,tighter and great bottom,some people don't like it because
it's not very forgiving.I like hearing notes,not mushy loose tone. :thumbsup:
 
I am the original owner of the 12th one made .... there is a learning curve to get the most of this amp. It is easy to get bad sounds form the amp if you do not know it.
Great cleans and leads. There are amps that do better crunch. But I do not need a boost to get sounds from the amp that I am happy with .... this is only a matter of taste and styles. There are not many amps as versatile as this one.
 
I had a Mark IV and a Quick Rod. Didn't care for the Mark,Quick Rod is cool. Check out the Stage II Stiletto. I just got one and like better than both.
 
Ive gotta chime in on this one. Im fairly new to the Mark IV. I have always been a Marshall guy. In particular , vintage Marshalls. Ive owned more than I can count . I also just ended an endorsement with Orange where I was using their Rockerverb 100s. I picked up a Mark IV a while back , just to try a different flavor and it completely flipped my shit upside down. Ive never been inspired by an amp like this one. A lot of folks say its a "tweakers" amp , because there is a lot of options , but Im not the kind of guy who likes to sit and fiddle with knobs. Within an hour of having the amp , I had 3 tones that made my jaw hit the floor. The clean tone is amazing and with my Tele , if I dime the gain on the clean channel I can get a really good , slightly broken up chicken pickin tone.
I could write paragraphs on Rhythm 2. A LOT of people really dont like this channel . To be honest , its probably my favorite channel on the amp ! Gain at noon Im in blues tone heaven. Gain dimed with my '68 Goldtop and TO MY EARS its about as close to Warren Haynes' Govt Mule tone as Ive ever heard. With my main LP Custom ( Burstbuckers with 500k pots , so its pretty hot) Ive got the heavy rhythm tone Ive been hunting for. Heavy , dirty , fuzzy but extremely articulate all at the same time.
The Lead Channel is gatdamned perfect. Plenty of gain , but its amazing smooth and aggressive. The only knob tweeking I do on this amp is with the treble knob on the Lead channel. If youre using the Graphic EQ ( which is a must IMO) the EQ knobs have a very cool effect on the amp. With the treble knob in between 4 and 5 , I have a killer stoner rock tone , but if I turn the treble knob up to 7 or 8 , the gain becomes insanely tight. Old Metallica and Lamb Of God shit to the T .
I cant say enough about this amp. My only two complaints are with the footswitch. Why the hell would they not put a reverb switch on it :confused: And its damn near impossible to mount that bastard in the amp like they tell you to
 
BoneSaw":29susp6o said:
I had a Mark IV and a Quick Rod. Didn't care for the Mark,Quick Rod is cool. Check out the Stage II Stiletto. I just got one and like better than both.
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The Stiletto is the bastard stepchild of the mesa lineup for some reason that I dont understand. It literally is one of the best amps ive ever had. Id still have it if it wasnt for that god damned GAS :D

Though im happy with my current amp, I really regret moving my Stieltto Trident. Awesome amp. Great cleans. Great crunch. Great high gain. You can usually find them for a steal.
 
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