Who still loves the Mesa Boogie Mark IV?

[jlb32]

It's been a while since I have really got to open mine up and play at gig volumes since I'm not gigging at the moment.

Finally got together and jammed with some buddies last night. Just reminded me why I love this amp so much and probably will never sell it. That tight, grinding crunch tone is just

Should have taken the Trem-o-verb also but ran out of vehicle space. Hopefully I can let it rip next time.

 

[Les Zombie]

Great amp, i love the mkiv.

 

[yngzaklynch]

Owned two. Should have never moved to first one. Love the Mk IV

 

[steve_k]

Me. Most of my Axe FX patches are built around the MkIV too.

 

[Chris6870]

I do. Never gets old.

 

[Tone Zone]

I wish I had kept mine.

 

[TX6Strings]

I've been toying with the idea of selling mine lately. Next to my BE100 and 5153 50watt the lead channel just sounds stiff and under saturated. I've tried the little tricks like turning the treble above 7, etc., even retubed it to no avail; but it seems prices on them seem to keep dropping.

 

[JackBootedThug]

my favorite two mesa's. i'm jealous brother.

 

[mudf00t]

Mark IV is 10/10. If I could get one for close to the price that I paid for my Dual Rectifier I would buy it with a quickness.

 

[Chris6870]

I've been toying with the idea of selling mine lately. Next to my BE100 and 5153 50watt the lead channel just sounds stiff and under saturated. I've tried the little tricks like turning the treble above 7, etc., even retubed it to no avail; but it seems prices on them seem to keep dropping.

That's strange. I keep my gain and drive on about 8 and its plenty of gain. Switching the the mid gain on gives it a little extra too. I also run a pair of pretty hot EL34s on the outer positions.
Could just be the amp, My first Mark IV was a short head and I could not get a good sound out of it no matter what I did. Luckily I came into another one that sounds awesome.

 

[dfrattaroli]

Love mine. Almost sold it a couple of times. Through dumb luck, it's still mine.

 

[TX6Strings]

I've been toying with the idea of selling mine lately. Next to my BE100 and 5153 50watt the lead channel just sounds stiff and under saturated. I've tried the little tricks like turning the treble above 7, etc., even retubed it to no avail; but it seems prices on them seem to keep dropping.

That's strange. I keep my gain and drive on about 8 and its plenty of gain. Switching the the mid gain on gives it a little extra too. I also run a pair of pretty hot EL34s on the outer positions. Could just be the amp, My first Mark IV was a short head and I could not get a good sound out of it no matter what I did. Luckily I came into another one that sounds awesome.

Mine's a long head and I run the gain and drive at 8 or above as well but I'm running all 6L6's. Maybe I'll give two EL34's a shot. Or my tastes have just changed over time.

 

[Shiny_Surface]

One of the amps I owned the longest, had it for 7 years I think. Great amp, but I'm not sure I would plug into it that often if I still had it today.

 

[sjk]

Meh! For pure gainy tone I will take my Mark III blue stripe anyday, despite not being as versatile and more switching and channel compromises. I've still got a IV and V with the III and neither of them get played (Too lazy to sell them but better get with it as used prices keep dropping)

 

[jlb32]

I've been toying with the idea of selling mine lately. Next to my BE100 and 5153 50watt the lead channel just sounds stiff and under saturated. I've tried the little tricks like turning the treble above 7, etc., even retubed it to no avail; but it seems prices on them seem to keep dropping.

Under saturated? I just do not see how that's possible on the lead channel unless your settings are off or something is wrong with the amp. The Mark IV's lead channel IMO is the best of all the Mark series. I like the Mark III also but to me the Mark IV's lead channel just has something I like more.

I have all 6L6's also. Just like it better than with EL34's in the outer positions.

Pentode, Simul class, mid gain. Keep your bass and mids below 3. Also keep you 750hz eq slider slightly above the bottom line. Anything lower really makes a huge tonal difference. It will sound more lifeless and really scooped sounding.

Put your output level around 3. Put your master volume around 3.5-4. It's loud but it will give you a true representation of how the amp sounds. After that you can tweak your settings for lower volumes.

 

[Stinkbomb]

How is the mark iv for bedroom playing? I had an offer to trade straight up for a Diezel Dmoll that I held on but am still very interested in. I'm in a flat in london so opening up the volume isn't an option.

 

[Shiny_Surface]

How is the mark iv for bedroom playing? I had an offer to trade straight up for a Diezel Dmoll that I held on but am still very interested in. I'm in a flat in london so opening up the volume isn't an option.

The Mark V is best for bedroom playing imo, the volumes have a smoother taper and there are low wattage options. But the IV is capable of it.

Diezel's have great master volumes so I'm not sure the IV will be better than the DMoll for that specific purpose.

 

[TX6Strings]

I've been toying with the idea of selling mine lately. Next to my BE100 and 5153 50watt the lead channel just sounds stiff and under saturated. I've tried the little tricks like turning the treble above 7, etc., even retubed it to no avail; but it seems prices on them seem to keep dropping.

Under saturated? I just do not see how that's possible on the lead channel unless your settings are off or something is wrong with the amp. The Mark IV's lead channel IMO is the best of all the Mark series. I like the Mark III also but to me the Mark IV's lead channel just has something I like more.

I have all 6L6's also. Just like it better than with EL34's in the outer positions.

Pentode, Simul class, mid gain. Keep your bass and mids below 3. Also keep you 750hz eq slider slightly above the bottom line. Anything lower really makes a huge tonal difference. It will sound more lifeless and really scooped sounding.

Put your output level around 3. Put your master volume around 3.5-4. It's loud but it will give you a true representation of how the amp sounds. After that you can tweak your settings for lower volumes.

The only thing I'm doing differently than your suggestions is running the mids at about 5 but l doubt that effects the gain levels. Guess it's just the amp.

 

[blackba]

Love my mark Iva. Have it for 13 years now. I even like r2 with a boost. Only quibble I have with it is that at lower volume, there is a volume drop and difference in feel when I engage the effects loop. I think that would go away if I could run the channel masters higher....

 

[gibson5413]

One of my favorite amps ever.