Mesa Mark IV - In Depth Review / Playthrough
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- Опубликовано: 15 июл 2024
- Briefly going over the history of the mark series, then an overview of the circuit design that makes them so unique and great sounding. Then finally a playthrough of the amp tweaking the settings to show what it is capable of. Truly one of the best amps ever made!
Update: Mark V Review Here! • Mesa Mark V - In-Depth...
Help me out by shopping for one at this link (Guitar Center Used):
guitar-center.pxf.io/QyEXbz
0:00 Introduction
0:07 Mark series brief history
1:26 Mark IV Details
5:09 Circuit Design Overview
8:25 Controls and Settings
10:10 Graphic EQ Circuit
11:03 Mark IV vs Mark V Features
17:34 EQ Auto, Lead Voicing, Footswitch
20:49 Playthrough
21:09 Rhy 1
23:00 Rhy 1 with EQ
23:31 Rhy 2
25:13 Rhy 2 with EQ
25:44 Lead Channel
36:45 Outro 
Видеоклипы
This was a really well done video!
I subscribed to you and Ola over 8 or 9 years ago after watching your MK IV videos. Bought one a few months later.
Man, I’ve owned a Mark IV for 15 years, toured with it regularly, and I never knew 80% of this stuff. I sure wish your channel existed back in 2010.
Thanks! I think a lot of people miss out on these trying to dial them with the EQ all set on "5"
The explanation of the Boogie circuit design and how the controls effect the tone is one of the best i´ve ever seen !! great work, cheers
Wish more amp reviews were like this. Very informative. I have had my Mark IV for about 15 years and I am still learning how it works. Great Amp. Would not sell it for any reason.
I wish someone would give an in depth tutorial on how they use the Stereo FX loop, uses of the Satellite send and the Slave DI part of the amp.
Things people didn't understand about the mark amps, the pull bright was meant for low volume playing, turn them off live because the amp becomes brighter as you turn it up, the pull deep was meant for people playing strat single coils to fatten them up. The lunch box amps are great because they typically use the smaller El84 tubes break up much sooner than el34 or 6l6 tubes at lower volumes.
You definitely know your amp circuitry, man. I’ll be keeping an eye on your channel. Not a lot of players understand the guts of their gear. Information like this comes in really handy. Good job.
I've had one of these for years, and I'm always learning about it. I appreciate the video man, please keep going!
Awesome video with details that make a big difference compared to most amp reviews. Please continue and especially do an in depth review of the Mark V. Thanks for the effort.
Thanks! I still have the V sitting here, trying to find some time to do some more reviews, I know it's been a while!
My favorite MESA for sure. It has a beautiful blend of both modern and vintage tone to it. It’s up there with the Mark II C+ for me.
What a great informative video. I haven't seen many that integrate schematics into the front panel controls. Thank you so much!
Subscribed man, excellent video. I went the other way and sold the V and kept the IV. The Volume 1 control or Instrument Lead Gain on the earlier Marks is essential for me. I definitely miss the crunch mode on Ch2 of the V. Maybe I'll grab one in the future. I just wish the modes and all the switches on the V were midi switchable. Hopefully the JP2C has paved the way for that to be a reality for the next Mark series amp.
@@Lordiesel it was truly an impossible decision and I’m still not sure I made the right one. I am in love with Mark I mode on the V but I do think IV mode is not as good as the real IV.
Maybe I should’ve kept the IV and gotten a Mark I reissue or something. Ultimately I kept the V for the tiebreaker - great spring reverb. The IV’s reverb was awful.
Thanks for the sub! I’m no electrical engineer but I did think it was worth explaining the circuit a little since that’s the most unique thing about Mark amps.
In the early 90s I bought a Rev-A version and still own it. This kid knows the amp well. My settings are very similar to what he recommends. A great amp and outstanding video!
Thanks! And glad I can still pass off "kid" haha. I'm feeling pretty old these days
i'm getting my first mesa tomorrow, a rev b widebody mark iv combo! thanks for your great video!!
Love your explanations! I¨ve never seen any other channel explaining like this, very deep and precise without being so technical as to become out of the reach of the normal but somewhat techy guitar player.
Thanks!
this is an incredible explanation. And now i understand the amp.
Awesome, I'm glad it helped you!
Awesome review! I've got a Mk IV combo that I purchased in 2003. It's a complicated beast but always amazed by what it can do.
Excellent video, nice playing too!
Such an awesomely detailed video I had to sub! Now do the Mark V in-depth video next (please) :)
Such a great piece on this amp. Thanks bro!
I really love the R2 on the MKIV. It can easily stand beside many a Marshall amp. However, the lead channel is the crown jewel of the MK IV. I loved Chevelle and Weezer growing up and it pushed me to buy one as soon as could in my 20s.
Awesome Review!!
I have several Mark series amps. The IV is getting rare, for a good reason. It does everything. Super clean to really heavy. And saturated unlike the MK V which is kinda dry. Both great amps.
Instablaster...
I'm so glad I grabbed a Mark IV in 2014 when they were affordable. The prices they're going for now are just insane.
@@Ignore14 Yes, I’ve been running stereo, mark IV & V sounds excellent 👍🏼 great choice
Really great video and explanation of such a monster amp. 🎵
Dang man. Killer video, killer amp collection. Also in the Rhythm 2 I find it's really awesome with a good Strat. I treat it as the "elevated" channel from Rhythm 1.
Brilliant video. Thank you.
I jave an SLO and 50 watt JCM and this still might be my favorite amp of all time. Played 100s of gigs with it and it always crushes.
This is a great video. I just bought a MarkIV combo a couple months ago and have had trouble understanding it. I am used to a Marshall JVM210H and a Peavey 5150 so I have struggled to dial in a tone that I love. This is the most helpful video I have seen. Subscribing to your channel. Thanks!
Glad I could help! I had a JVM and still have a 6505 too. Those amps you can pretty much set everything on 5 and you're most of the way there, not the case with the Marks. I think that's why they redesigned the Mark V to be a little easier to dial, to make that good first impression that sells amps on a shop floor.
Search out TheocracyMatt here on RUclips. He *loves* the Mark IV & does a comparison with the JP-2C where he shows his dials up close. When I got my Mark IV I used that as a starting point to “insta dial” a good tone. It helped tremendously, as did reading the manual after.
@@NinjaRunningWild I just found a mark 4 for sale used locally and snagged it for $950 without actually knowing anything other than I was getting a good deal and I did the same thing to figure out some good tones haha.
@@SuperDuperPooperScooper4321 Someone lost out on some money haha. Online used market has MKIV sitting over $2000 right now. You got one hell of a deal.
@@klabooty Even more now. I've had alerts on for them on Reverb & I routinely see them priced at $23-2500. I got mine (a 2008) early into the pandemic for a little over $1100 (with tax & shipped) in mint condition. It's amazing. I'll never sell it.
This is a great video, thanks
Oh man I need one of these!
Also i turned my mark 5 25 watt 2 channel amp into a foot switchable 3 channel amp and it works perfect and looks factory, clean, crunch, and lead channel and they are easy to mod.
Mark 4 owner who just bought a mark 5. Great comparison. Looking forward to your mark 5 vid to learn some more of the secrets and tradeoffs between the amps.
Which seems to do more crisp crunch to it in your opinion? Gritty crispy clippy top end?
LOADS of great info here, thoroughly enjoyed it!
My only gripe is that I wish you'd done the V as that's the one I have 😄
Good stuff man 👍
* edit after watching the whole thing: this is by far the best Mark series vid I've watched on here.... and I've watched A LOT!
Thanks! And don’t worry, I’ll be doing a video on the V as well, I’m just very behind at the moment. Thanks for watching!
Dude. Fucking hell that was awesome. You are my new favourite person. Thanks heaps man
Glad you liked it!
I have tried numerous Mesa amps, but could never get the sound I was looking for. Your video explains the subtle complexities and the time required to get the sounds you like most. I have spent many hours to learn Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, but when it comes to guitar amps, I do not enjoy the time requirements to explore every nuance of tone adjustments to get the sounds I am looking for. You certainly have skills in this realm that I do not possess. After playing many different makes and models of amps over the years, after buying a Soldano Hot Rod 25, I was amazed at the simplicity of using the amp; it was actually possible to get 'my sound' in a matter of minutes, not hours, days, or years. Thank you for this incredible Mesa amp tutorial! having access to your skills, maybe I would have kept and actually enjoyed playing a Mesa amp!
Rock on! I love the Mark IV but I agree - it doesn't have that plug and play instant gratification of other amps - I would LOVE to have a Hot Rod 25 myself someday.
@@totallyradguitars959 The Mark IV is about as far from plug & play as amps get…even more so if you’ve got it in 4 cable method with an Axe FX, have it under MIDI control and it’s being used in a WDW setup. Still…
One of the sickest amps that has ever been made. The IV is the king of the Mark amps in my opinion. Every bit as good as a IIC+, and quite a bit more diverse. Plus it has enough beeps and whistles to last a lifetime.
This is a great video on this complicated amp. I love my Mark IV, but they take some work to learn to dial a good tone from. I worked from Theocracy Matt's videos to get a good metal tone from mine.
Please do some more videos! Not just Mesa Boogie. I like to hear the other amps that I'm maybe missing out on.
This is my kind of guitar channel.
Welcome aboard!
Great video, Cheers.
Thank you!
The GEQ volume boost on the Mark V is partly because the GEQ is just before the FX loop (on all other Marks the GEQ is just before the Phase Inverter in the power amp section) and partly because its a different GEQ. There are different component values in the new EQ because the new placement of the GEQ and I think one of the transistors is different. But the main thing I think is the Sliders/Preset options and the many relays required to make it work. It's a hard task to keep everything level matched and smooth when you have so many variables.
The switching between the amps also is done differently - Mark V and new Mesa stuff are done with relays, older amps and Marks use LDRs (Light Dependent Resistors). LDRs are a lot smoother because they have a "ramp time" to "blend" whatever they are switching in or out. Not exactly a hard bypass also - they can "bleed" some sound when "bypassed", but that is generally considered the magic around old Mesas and the old SLO. So LDRs further help to smooth out any volume differences.
For me the last true Mark series amp was the Mark IV. The Mark V is close to the "mark sound" but not quite. If you are looking for a versatile gigging amp - it's a good choice. If you are looking for that "mark sound" - get the III or IV while you still can. There is also a "hidden" gem within the Mark series for the rack lovers.
Great video! Cheers!
Little late to the MK 4 party here but love the deep dive . Yes these amps can be a bit of a learning curve to use but once you dial it in it's the best amp ever made. I've recorded albums and done several live shows with this amp and still use it as my go to to this day. It's like you can create and build your own amp and sound with this beast. I liked the Fender reference as well TRD. I run the V shape on the EQ and pull the bright and middle . Run the treble at just under 9 and base at around 6 but to each his own. I use the effects loop with a delay for lead boost. The clean channels are super crisp. Channel 1 for super clean and channel 2 for just under break up. Lead 1 for all rythm. Lead 2 is full saturation . Volume up or down on your guitar adds tons of extra color. Cant beat this amp, Lots of amp competition these days. So much out there but Boogie nailed it years ago with the MK 4 . If you have an opportunity to get one... Buy it ....
Nice vid! I've never had a tube amp before and i've loved the sound of Boogies. Iv'e been meaning to get one but i live in such a small place and i don't make a lot of money that i don't think it'll happen any time soon. Also nice Pacer! I have a Focus 3000 that looks just like it, top mount floyd and all (not blocked though). I changed the electronics/pickups on mine though since the Focus's didn't come with Duncans. I do have an '89 Kramer Sustainer but it needs work.
Really great review and awesome playing tho
It was a modified fender black face Princeton with a beefed up fender bassman power section to make it louder
mark IV = best amp ever!!!!
Really great video. The Mark 4 can do anything. super amp. I owned most Mesa amps from Mark 1,2s and 3,etc. Mark 4 B is a winner. I seen the prices shoot up fast, great investment. God bless. I put a MOD reverb tank it is way better and smoother.
I have 5 of mark series amps, Green stripe, Red stripe, Blue Stripe and a a IIC+.. if they were vastly different they wouldn't have just swiped each version with just a magic marker swipe or a black dot or a + sign. The big difference in the IIC+ and the Mark III was the third channel. Mesa got noticeably different with the Mesa badging vs the Boogie badges. The Rectifier series,The lone star, Road King,Nomad, etc came later and did sound different... The stiletto was probably the most different being EL34 based shooting toward the Marshall tone. Even my newer Mark 5 EL84 based amp sits in my studio with the older mark III'S and IIC+ it too sounds really close even all these years later with totally different power section/ tubes. The petrucci amp is a modern Mark amp and you can line up all the Mark series amps and NO one in the audience would ever know the difference and most guitar players blind folded couldn't pick them out one from the other especially with the transparent EVM 12L black shadow speaker or an MC-90 black shadow. The IIC+ landed production in the right time to become the flagship vintage boogie. Thats when 80's music was huge and that amp was produced at the right time for the players who made it famous. it didn't make them famous. I would argue a Mark III purple, red, blue or green stripe Mark III could have been used by the players who made the IIC+ famous and those albums and concerts wouldn't have sounded any different. They just weren't available at the time those bands recorded those albums. They stopped the IIC+ when the mark III came into production. They stopped the III when the Mark IV started and so on....they are all great amps and tonally are the same. Most of those bands stopped playing the IIC+ and went to the mark III when it came out because the sound was basically the same but the 3 had a third channel, everyone loved that.
I recently picked up a Mark III blue stripe and I totally agree, they are all extremely similar and no audience would ever notice. One minor correction, the Mark III was available all the way until 1999 according to Mesa, and the Mark IV was available from 1990-2008. So technically there was a time you could buy either a Mark 3 or Mark 4 concurrently - kind of strange but I guess they wanted to keep the 3's around as a lower priced alternative? This is before amps like the V:25 and V:35 existed, and the F-series or Express series are not good substitutes.
My favorite sleeper Mesa is the RA100 though - very short production run, amazing amp. I have a Stiletto and a Triple Crown and neither of those is as good as the RA.
Great comment, Cheers!
On Mesa's channel you can here them say that it was a bassman circuit but it was just inside a Princeton amp.
It's in their 3 part series on their 50th anniversary.
That's a really cool way to put it, thanks for the tip
Benedict Cumberbach? Also, good review. Possibly going to get one of these in a trade this week.
Haha, I had some friends in high school say I looked like him! Gotta work on my accent though.
You’ll love the amp, what are you trading for it?
Is there a slight slap back delay? Like it’s almost doubled.. Sounds rad!
Just hanging out here, waiting for your Mark V in depth review lol
It's coming, I promise!
Thankyou very much, as a Mark owner I love my IV and I prefer it over the V, but it's only a matter of choice. I also am a Steavens Pouncake owner (wich I see over there) and it's one of the best amp that I have: will you cover it sooner or later? What series of Pouncake is it?
Wow! I was wondering if someone would spot that one, they aren't very common so they usually fly under the radar. It's one of my favorite amps tone wise. I'll definitely cover that one, it's the 25th Anniversary model so it's got a programmable midi footswitch, 4 channels + 3 modes, and some other weird quirks about it that I'll go over in full detail in the video.
My routine so far is that I make a video of something I've either just sold or am about to sell, which isn't ideal. I'd like to get ahead of the curve and make some videos of some of my "never sell" gear.
@@totallyradguitars959 I am looking for a 25th anniversary, if it is 220v and one day you'll want to sell it please contact me.
@@JulesDBN I'll definitely let you know if I do. I looked on the back panel and it has fuse specs printed for 115v and 230v so I think it should be compatible.
Never seen any mortal dial in a MK IV that
naturally.
I had my mk4b since the beginning and they become very personnal.
Very nice demo.
I have had a Mark IV got it new, which I bought in 1990...
I may have missed it, but what cabinet and speakers? The Marshal 4X12s?
Also, what mic or mics did you use to record? Thanks a lot and well done w/great details...
Phil
NYC area...
Hey Phil, I mention it but it's a long video - Marshall JCM800 cab from '86 with '86 vented G12T-75's. They sound a bit different from current production G12T75's and I'm a big fan of them. Mic is a slightly off axis SM57, just one, through an old Focusrite 2i4 interface. Cheers
@@totallyradguitars959 Thanks for the info. I will watch your video again as you always miss something!
The problem for me is not so much a live sound, but for recording in a home studio. My Mesa Combo sounds great live, but in my small room environment, like a home studio, I get a more boxy sound, probably from room reflections, etc...(even when I cover the heck out of the mic w/cushions, etc).
I tried buying a modeler pedal (Valeton GP-200) and it sound's great on demo videos, but for some reason not sounding as good when I play it through my Allen Heath Desk. I am on the list for the Fractal FM9, but probably won't get that for 10-12 months w/the waiting list. Thanks.
Phil
NYC Area
I was playing in a room roughly 12x11 with carpet, a desk, and a bunch of other things around. I thought my studio tone sounded pretty good but I just moved (last week) to a new place and I have a much larger room to play in - with laminate floors. I bought a rug but it’s not the same - it’s like having a super wet reverb mix on every amp I play. I bought some foam and kind of just threw the squares all around the room (temporarily) and it’s a huge difference. I wish I’d done a video with the same amp recorded the same way but in different rooms, I’m really surprised just how much of a difference it makes.
I never got along with modelers, I even had a Kemper and returned it. There’s something about the attack of the notes specifically with distortion I just can’t get over. But they have lots of advantages and one of them is that they seem to handle room changes better than tube amps. I’m interested to see where the tech goes, but I work in software so I’m more interested in the analog side of guitar stuff just as a change of pace. If I were a recording or gigging musician, I’d find it pretty hard to resist some of the new stuff coming out (quad cortex for example)
@@totallyradguitars959 Yes, I totally get you.
Years ago i did a CD out of my well equipped home studio and my Mark IV sounded great, but at that time I did recording full time for a business and the room was totally treated.
I recently rebuilt my control room so i can record again, but the live room is now basically untreated (except low profile carpet) and the room is adding this weird boxy sound. (Again my Mesa is a combo style).
I have been going crazy trying to get a nice pristine sound without the room coming into play. So far no luck...Thanks.
Phil
NYC area
Best sounding amp I ever heard was a Mesa Boogie Strategy 500 Stereo with a ADAMP1 pre amp cranked with 2 4x12 cabs it was unbelievable sounding!
I would love to hear it :D
@@rtomas47 ruclips.net/video/i817CCWFjEM/видео.html This was the same setup thru a Custom built stereo 2x12 cab equipped with 2 x 300watt EV speakers. Was just a loud!
What's the clicking noise when you start playing?
If I didn't already have a Mark IV this video would make want one. I prefer it to the Mark V though the Mark V channel 1 is better. The JP-2C is very appealing though.
I’m enjoying my Mk V but I have to say the dual GEQ looks amazing on the jp2c. A few of my favorite tones are manipulating that EQ on the V and if I could footswitch between them instead of memorizing a couple of patterns that would be awesome - especially if I used it for performances (I could use a rack or pedal EQ in the loop but it’s not quite the same)
Mad man for selling your Mesa after Gibson just bought them. Surely its demand will boost soon.
Will you do an in-depth review of the MkV?
Yes absolutely. It'll probably be a bit, my day job is in full tilt right now so I haven't had much time to make more videos, but I have lots of plans.
Dude, I dont even know how to explain, but when you turn the EQ on in lead channel, it was like waking some primitive instinct, lol
Yeah man, it’s hard to convey with mics but it sounds absolutely insane in the room too. Serious thump in your chest feeling
This guy did his homework! Very nice info here!!
I was thinking of selling my IV combo to try a JP2C. Have you tried one of those? According to a demo from John and Mesa, JP2C can emulate a IV and sort of a Recto which sparked my interest. I like the dual eq feature.
I have not played a JP2C but I would have a lot of doubts if anyone said it could emulate a Recto. I think the dual EQ looks great and the amp overall is probably fantastic, and I know they can do a lot of internal switching, but I don't think the general circuit architecture of a Mark is ever going to be close to a Recto. The Recto is in the lineage of Soldano -> Marshall -> Fender Bassman kind of thing, the EQ placement and layout is very different. I have a 2ch Recto and it's one of my "never sell" amps so I think I know the recto tone pretty accurately.
That said since I haven't played the JP2C I can't say for certain, so I could be pleasantly surprised.
@@totallyradguitars959 I watched it again and it was more roadking. Check out 13:45ish on this vid ruclips.net/video/VIHIEuEnAVA/видео.html
@@woodward_alan Well, the Road King is a suped up Rectifier. The JP-2C+ has some extra high gain settings/capability that makes it overlap with the Mark V. But, you pay for that!
Edit : Having watched the video, he's just dialing in a similar tone.
Are there any videos of the more obscure Mark IV features, like the FX loops, using MIDI to control the channel switching, the Slave jacks or the external switching? No-one that I can find talks about this stuff or demos how these features actually work. The only real reference is he manual which in my opinion is lacking depth.
hunh, granted like dude ranch - enema of the state era blink-182 got me into mesa boogie in the first place lol, but i found the harmonic effect most interesting.. never really heard that on an amp before.
The Mark IV is classic. IMO it sounds better than the FIVE if you want a beast of a dynamic juicy tone. Whatever guitar you plug in and the way you play it will burst from the amp and you just can't hide it. The FIVE is much more focused and it's tones are easy to find in comparison. They all do what they say and there isn't any mystery on how to go about coaxing them out of the amp unlike the IV. It's solid. If ever I don't like it's tone, I plug into a 5 watt champ for a bit to clean my palette and that fixes it pretty quick.
Yeah - I sold this IV not long after this video and picked up a V. Months later I realize I'm not really playing the V much and really miss the IV, so I had to get another! Lesson learned - I'm keeping that IV as long as I can
Mostly accurate info here, good job. Just wanted to add that the MKIIC+ were still produced in the late 80's. They were usually custom order from Boogie but the dealer could get what you wanted.
That's good info, thanks! I wonder if I could convince them to build me a Mark IV today...
@@totallyradguitars959 Maybe? I know they still service/ mod most of their old amps. They did tons of mods for my MKIII.
I’m not sure how much longer this’ll be the case with the Gibson acquisition, but as of writing this, Mesa still has the engineer who can do the Mk IIC++ high gain mod that Metallica used.
For $129 right now you can buy a 50 watt Gamma combo amp that has a clean channel and multiple
Dirty tones on channel two.
If you mic it it will sound better than these mesas. It is super lightweight and it has a high quality speaker. Oh yeah it has blue tooth for practicing as well.
Don’t get caught up in big money gear. You can sound as good or better with cheaper gear that is micd and properly EQ’d.
X to doubt
But on a serious note, a good player who takes the time to properly set up less expensive gear will always sound better than a super expensive rig dialed or played poorly. It's all personal preference - I prefer the real tube amps.
Super, moc díky, jenom ta hrůza na 1. kanále - to snad ani nejde nastavit hůř, to se fakt nepovedlo; ale neni třeba to brát vážně, čisté zvuky hraje úžasně; jinak video parádní, zdar Lu
Předpokládáš že ti Anglicky mluvící člověk bude rozumět? :D
@@rtomas47 predpokladam ze umi pouzivat PC min. stejne dobre jako ja a pouzije prekladac... a tys tomu snad rozumel; takze kde je chyba?
@@ludvikvala5255 Překladač takhle souvislý texty překladá celkem nepřesně, kromě toho to stojí čas.
You said you liked the Mark 1 mode on the V. Got any tips on making it sound better? Mine just sounds dark and boomy, like there's a mattress over the speaker cab.
Sure - my settings for Mark I are as follows:
Gain maxed
Treble maxed
Mids 11 O'clock
Bass 11 O'clock
Presence 2 O'clock
Volume to taste
That already sounds pretty good to me, but I also have ch2 set to use the "contour" knob in the graphic EQ area, and I have that control set to around 9:30 and use the footswitch to turn that on/off. That adds a bit more brightness without getting too boomy - you could do the same thing with the graphic EQ I just like to leave the graphic EQ alone because I have it set up a certain way for Ch3.
I think ch2 confuses people because "Edge" and "Crunch" modes have a post EQ setup, so if you set treble to max on those modes it sounds awful - but Mark I mode puts the EQ controls right after the first input stage kind of like I discussed in this video, so don't be afraid to max out the treble control.
@@totallyradguitars959 Thanks man! I'm definitely used to how my Mark IV works so I am brainwashed into not cranking the treble that much lol. I will try these settings for sure.
@@Gonboo Let me know how you like it. It's all subjective, but I thought it really opened up that channel. Just don't leave it cranked on edge mode, ouch!
@@totallyradguitars959 I tried those settings and messed around with the Mark I mode and I just don't think I like it very much. I get much better tones out of the edge and crunch modes. The Mk I does sound better with lower output pickups like strat or tele pups though. I think it's suppose to be thick sounding which I guess I'm not a fan of.
@@Gonboo I can see that, and it's way less versatile than the other two modes. I think it's fun for that super thick lead tone but that is kind of its only trick, compared to edge and crunch which can cover way more ground.
What speakers were you using on this?
'86 Celestion G12T75's. I prefer them to most other speakers, very smooth with strong mids - very unlike current production T75's. That said, this amp sounds insanely good through my 2003 recto traditional cab with V30's, but I didn't have that cab at the time I filmed this video. Cheers
I had both and played them side by side for months. I stuck with the IV.
Rhythm 1 channel is so beautiful... hate the other two however.
27:41🤘
does it need to be biased or can I put 6l6 and el34 without worrying about anything?
No biasing needed, at least according to the manual. Supposedly any octal tube will work in there, so you could even try KT77, 6550's, etc no problem.
@@totallyradguitars959 yess, thank you very much!
Thanks for the great review! But could you please help me out, I tried to replicate your tone from video on my mark 4b combo, and couldn't reach same levels of gain. Could it be bad preamp tubes?
It's possible, I'd check V1 and V3 and make sure they are 12AX7's and not a lower gain tube.
Also make sure you have that treble control maxed out like I talked about in the video, if you have the gain and drive up but the treble control down you are losing a lot of gain.
@@totallyradguitars959 Thanks, I will check them out, maybe its worth to replace them. The most notable difference is at Rhythm 1 channel, as it stays clean at both gain and treble maxed. Could it be that just V1 is faulty? Could old caps affect gain levels as well? Thank you for your help
@@andriylomaga7581 That sounds normal to me honestly, in this video when I play RHY1 I have the gain maxed and treble on 6 or 7 and it's not really breaking up at all. Check V1 to see if it's a 12AX7 but other than that you aren't going to get much drive out of RHY 1.
As for old caps, depends on where in the circuit but usually you will spot other problems before they start to affect the gain levels (ghost notes, lots of hum or hiss, filtering issues, etc)
@@totallyradguitars959 Thank you very much again. I've checked V1, and it is 12ax7, maybe its worth to try out a "high gain" one later. I just was worried that the amp requires repairs already, since its older than 10 years, but I am not familiar with tube amps very well
@@andriylomaga7581 I have a couple of "high gain" tested tubes, the best one I think measures 115/110 or so, so it's a little bit more gain but it's not a drastic difference. I think the old amps thing is overblown, I have a few amps 30+ years old and they run just fine, as long as they get regular use and don't sit for years without ever being powered on.
My mark iv looks different then yours. Mine has caster wheels if it helps to describe which one i have. I find it hard to fine on RUclips. Id like to know more about it. How do you guys use it. Stuff like that.
There's 2 versions; the short head version with some controls/switches on the back & long head with some on the front. His is the long head version. This also applies to the Combo amp with the attached speaker cabinet (which it sounds like you have & is what I own).
Look up Plague Scythe & Theocracy Matt here on RUclips for more info.
Is that clicking sound a hamster going bonkers on a wooden wheel?
You’re a very interesting rad dude.
Thanks! Is the clicking sound in the recording of the amp, or just on my voice?
Is graphic EQ before or after the FX loop on the mark iv
Hi! The GEQ is immediately after the effects loop, with a tube buffer stage in between.
@@totallyradguitars959 also is it like a dual rectifier where the fx loop is kinda oddly independent or is it more like a regular head like diezel VH2 or 5150? I’m curious cause idolize Mesa but after trying to record with a dual rec using my usual configuration of pedals I was quickly turned off
@@vin7941 on the Mark, it’s a serial loop so it should play nicer. The vast majority of Recto’s have a parallel loop which is a little odd and a lot of people don’t like it. Stuff like noise gates don’t work well in parallel loops. Very early rectos did have a serial loop though.
i learn here what i can do with markIV vst plugin, but i have markv in real XD and please do markv video
you didn't have to spends hours tweaking on it if you used boogies typical settings diagram that came with the amp, it was basically strapped to the top of each mark 4 and people just ripped them off and threw them away. big mistake.
Mark V doesn't have Simul class, which gives you that smoother high gain Hetfield tone.
Yeah... a bit of a disappointing omission. I like the tube rectifier option though. I think the IV is the winner for pure heavy tones and the V is a tiny bit more versatile. Thanks for watching!
@Stay Curious it’s still a really good amp
@Stay Curious That's the main reason I kept the V. I love the Crunch and Mark I modes on Channel 2, especially with a little reverb for leads. The IV's RHY2 channel is great but I really only found one or two settings I really liked. It's not a bad channel, just less versatile than the V (of course).
@Stay Curious Yeah, the Rhythm 2 channel is only really good for classic rock , unless you put a gain pedal of some sort in the mix with it.
I had that same Kramer! I traded it and some cash for... A Mark IV!
Nice trade IMO! I love my Kramers but the Mark IV is just something else.
Do you regret swapping from the IVb to the V?
Sometimes, yes. The V is definitely more versatile but I had a certain configuration of tones/effects on the IV that worked really well for me and I haven't found that sweet spot on the V yet - I also have had much less time to spend with the V than the IV so that's part of it too.
@@totallyradguitars959 Fair enough. I have a V right now, but am probably going to be selling it to fund a Mark IV I found recently. It's a combo, but a fancy walnut and wicker one. I also found a head, but it needs some restoration and maintenance. You can always plug a combo into a cab, which is fine for home use.
The V is very good, but I wish it was more raw and open. I picked up a JP-2C recently, so I think it's filling the same modern Mark tone space for me.
where's the mark V video? :( haha do you think that the sounds of the V is as huge and great as the IV?
Haha don't worry it's coming, it's probably my most requested video. The V has a lot of switches and modes and I just want to make sure I do it justice.
The short version - I still feel that the IV has a tiny bit more "magic" in that one specific high gain lead tone that it does so well. The V however has a far more usable reverb, better clean options, and an amazing Mk I mode. When A/Bing them when I owned both, I felt the V did anything short of high gain better than the IV. Ultimately I regret selling the IV because of that lead tone though, the V is just ever so slightly different, but it's super close - 95% there, so it probably depends on your priorities which amp is better for you.
@@totallyradguitars959 thanks for answering mate :D I wonder if I can get that "liquid" petrucci kind lead tone with the V
@@ceniam12 I only wish I were a good enough player to demonstrate that petrucci lead tone haha.
There was a time long ago when I had more free time and could play Overture 1928 all the way through pretty decently, but that was before I owned a mark. Listening to the recording though, he is not using a crazy amount of gain. I think you could get incredibly close to that tone using the IIC+ mode on the V, with the gain at half or less, and a little tweaking with the graphic EQ. The nice thing that the JP2C has over the regular V is you could set up both that lead tone, then use the other lead channel + GEQ for a totally different tone of your choosing. With the V you'd have to memorize your settings for multiple different tones and tweak the knobs in between to pull that off.
@@totallyradguitars959 Thanks for answering mate, it's really useful :D I have just one more question haha I hope you don't mind:
From what I've read, people seems to prefere mark IV, IIC+ or even JP2C over the V, however, I think I've heard my favorites metal tones coming from Mark V demos here on youtube. It's hard to get an accurate idea of the differences because there are not a lot of good quality V vs IV clips.
But what I believe is that IIC+ has this super crunchy thing going on and is not as tight as the V. Same goes for the JP2C (you can hear this in the ola's review for example, JP2C sounds extremely crunchy and I kind of hate that. You can also see what I mean in the official mesa comparison that petrucci did with the IIC+ vs V, the V sounds way tighter and less crunchy IMO)
And the IV seems to be something in between, it has a bit more "granulated" distortion and is not as tight and "clean" as the V neither.
My question is, would you say that my conclusions are right in your experience with both amps? because if that's the case, I think I really like the distorsion of the V more than the others.
The other important thing is, what about the sound in the room? a lot of people say that the IV or JP2C are more powerfull, bigger and just destroy the V, is this true? I think maybe it's because of the extra tightnes and less low end on the V? which gives Mark V that super clean but distorted and tight sound in recordings but can sound "thin" compared with the other marks in the room... maybe?... I would love to know your thoughs on this, thanks a lot!!
@@ceniam12 Damn, I wish I'd kept that IV just to do some comparison clips. Honestly, I think the differences are way overblown and we've fallen victim to a bit of the "older/nostalgia is always better" attitude. The JP2C is new *but* it's just two IIC+ circuits with their own GEQ's in the same amp so that one gets the same kind of reverence (especially with Petrucci's name attached) as real IIC+ models do.
However, I don't think any of those amps "destroy" the standard V even side by side, and if you came over here and played this V, then went to someone else's place and played their JP2C/IV/IIC+ a few hours later, I seriously think you would have a hard time telling them apart, speaking strictly to the high gain tone of course. I'm not saying they aren't different, but I can pull up the circuit diagrams for all of these amps and they are so incredible similar, use the same transformers, same tube arrangement, I'd just find it hard to believe that they sound all that different besides a couple of component value differences.
I'll get to this in the V video but the V has a IIC+ and a IV mode on channel 3. The switch between those two modes in theory should duplicate the real deal IIC and IV circuits almost exactly. The only mode the V has that is not a vintage replica is the Extreme mode which is kind of its own thing (and I have barely used that mode so I can't really comment). The JP2C does not have modes and instead, channels 2 and 3 are both IIC+ circuits *only*.
The area that I consider both the JP2C and the V to fall short of their predecessors is this: Some values that previously had switches/knobs on the real IIC+ and IV amps are *fixed* on these modern reproductions. For example, on the IV as I showed in this video extensively, there are modes like the "shift," "fat," and "bright." On the V set to IV mode, I only get one of those - "bright." So if my all-time favorite Mark IV tone just happens to be with the shift off, fat on, bright off, and the drive control set lower or something, I cannot get that tone in the V because I don't have the knobs/switches to do it, even though the circuit design is mostly the same.
Same thing applies between the JP2C and a real IIC+, granted though that I have not owned both of these amps personally. However it's easy to see that the real IIC+ has a lead drive control separate from volume 1. If you have a IIC and run both of those controls at "7" and that's your favorite tone, the JP2C can duplicate it exactly. However if you like say, volume at 2 and drive at 9, the JP2 cannot do that anymore. You can probably get super close, but it's not quite the same anymore.
That's also why some people will say "I have a V and it's just as good as my IV" because the way they used their IV is the default way the V is already set up. Others will disagree but it's because they used their IV differently and the V doesn't give them the ability to dial in their original IV tones. With how many threads there are just about the difficulty dialing in amps like the IV, its no wonder players have such different opinions on them, because based on how you prefer to dial in these amps, that will dictate whether you are happy with the V. Looking back, that's part of why I sold the IV - I found that I was only ever using it with shift + fat + bright on and both gain and volume set to the same value, so the V sounded identical in the room after a lot of A/Bing. I never fell in love with any of the alternate modes or toggles on the IV so I don't miss them, but some players might.
Seriously, thank you for asking these questions. It helps me plan for the V video and future videos what I want to say and what questions I want to answer about it. Cheers
I am a mesa owner and user, life long and this video confused me lol! Do this for a mark vii! Thanks
Haha hopefully you got something out of it!
Make VII? I’m still waiting on my Mark VI preorder! Joking aside, I don’t have a VII but I did cover the V. I usually get amps about 10 years after they come out so it’ll be a while before I get a VII however I can tell you it works the same way as this one and the V, at least on the lead channel, tone stack is pre-drive control and geq at the end of the preamp therefore the amount of gain you can get out of the amp is highly dependent on where you set the treble control - and you can reel in the brightness on the GEQ at the end. The new VII and the previous V are extremely similar, you lose the “extreme” mode and instead get 3 more classic Mark voicings, but the topology - and way you dial it - should be the same on both amps. I’ll know more once I can get my hands on the schematic. Cheers
@@totallyradguitars959 Totally, I was joking about being confused - very informative, thanks for the info. Very good stuff for people looking to understand a bit more what's under the hood and why, Mark amps are indeed different, in terms of dialing at least. Thanks!
Some segments in the video are stamped not adjacent to each other
Plenty of reasons why the IV is a better amp. I tried REALLY hard to love my V but I made the mistake of having a really great sounding IV and the V in the house at the same time and then even worse mistake of gigging with them at the same show and the IV just demolished the V for me.
The V traded the Mark series amp mojo for all the bells and whistles and features that I'm sure a ton of players were asking for but that extra 5% it lacks vs the IV was where the magic really was for me and I just never got over that. Every time I plugged into the V I wished I was playing the IV. Unfortunately, I didn't own the IV. I ended up getting a brand new (New old stock) Studio Preamp not that long ago and all of that OG mark magic is just there in SPADES.
I haven't had the desire to buy a JP2C but I've heard it's pretty good but for what they cost, I'd rather just find a good condition IV or IIC.
Also, I think you're underselling what that mid gain channel on the IV can really do and that's the old school smooth and chewy low gain crunch. That channel is 100% Petrucci State of grace in a box and the V just couldn't come close to that. I had them side by side for days trying to get the V to do that and it just was so much stiffer and lacking the warmth and smoothness.
You're right on. Since making this video, honestly my Mark V has sat unused for a while, where my Mark IV never did. It's just missing that final little piece and I think the fancy reverb and extra modes on the V wowed me the first month I had it. Seems like a common thing, amp adds a bunch of features but loses what made it great in the first place. Another example comes to mind, Marshall JVM410H, which I had for two weeks and promptly returned.
I also don't have much interest in the JP2C, I like the dual EQ's but I'd rather just go buy another IV. Especially for the price. They are hard to find though - the guy that bought this one from me told me he'd be waiting almost a year for the right one to pop up for sale.
PS - Super cool to see you comment here. I've seen your videos for years, in fact you're the reason why I own a Jet City JCA22!
@@totallyradguitars959 haha! Little ol me. I'm small time now. Back in the day, no one had any good gear content but I'm really impressed at the video production quality a lot of guys are putting out these days. I have zero time to go into all that but just enough time to get it sounding good and I think at the end of the day, as long as that's there, my job is done.
Anyways, yeah I think the JP2C is more of a curiosity to me than a must-buy. Honestly the Triple Crown has my brain more than any other Mesa right now.
Those JCA's are cool though. I still have my 100H. My old guitar player is getting back into playing so he's borrowing that until he can figure out what he really wants.
My 50w Jubilee has been my #1 for the last nearly 8 or so years but I'm about to be passing the torch to a 50w Brit-Tone SLO. I've had them on my channel before but never could afford one. Best stage amp I've ever plugged into. It always hurt handing them back to Bruce to go to their owners but he's been letting me use his 100w KT88 SLO until he's finished mine so I'm getting hyped.
The Diezel Paul is the only other amp that I REALLY want to try but I can't find one anywhere near me.
@@FastRedPonyCar Oh yeah - back then it was mostly cell phone cameras and a lot of content wasn't miced or anything, just room sound. Your videos were always great because they actually sounded like the amp and no crackling or blown out cell phone mics, so they were really useful.
I wish I had a bit more time to dedicate to this stuff. I think I could do a bit better job with the whole production side but as it is I barely have time to set up a camera and record anything because my job keeps me so tied up. So I'm in a perpetual state of "do I even have time to film anything" to "I should rush this in editing because I haven't posted anything in a month"
I have a Triple Crown 50. Just got it in January, haven't had time to make a video on it. My short preview though is that it is another great amp - 95% there - but it's not a superb amp. Tight mode on ch3 sounds close to the Mark V at times but not as flexible, Loose mode on ch2 sounds like a average example of a JCM800. The clean and reverb are great though. I think if you were playing out and you needed aggressive tight metal tones, british sounding crunch, and a good clean all switchable it'd be perfect in that role. But sitting here and recording it side by side with my real JCM800 and the Mark V and it falls a little short. Those are tall amps to stand up to, but it's just another one of those amps that sacrifices a little something for the versatility.
The brit-tones, soldanos, and Diezel Paul are always on my watch lists. It's funny though, I usually think anything over about $1500 is just a ridiculous amount of money for an amp. The most expensive amp I've ever bought was a Hiwatt I just bought last week that was $1699 and I'm in a panic because it was so much. But I have no problem spending $5k on multiple amps, idk what's wrong with me. I just see that "2" in front of the price and think "no way! that's so much money!"
@@totallyradguitars959 Yeah I've had that conversation with Leon Todd and Zach Wish about spending huge amounts more for that extra percentage or two of sound. GAS philosophy is weird considering guitar players are almost never totally satisfied.
Kinda like... Do you buy a $1700 Ceriatone or good condition JCM800, a $2000 Splawn, a $2500 MGL, a $3000+ Friedman or Helios or $5000 for a Wizard? Same sound but each one steps up to that "just a little bit extra". And I think we're all on the same page that sometimes, a truly special sound will inspire you more and if you're getting that on stage, you play better. For some guys, you can't put a price tag on that and for others, they will draw the line at a "good enough" point and be happy.
I think that, for this example, all those Marshall type amps are going to give you solid reliability so other than some small voicings or tweaks here or there, is it simply a matter of better parts? The actual cost of parts are wildly disproportionate to the price tags so is one guy's cost of building an amp worth thousands more if he's only using an extra $100~200 worth of parts? I've had that discussion with Bruce at Brit-Tone and Zach at Titan and both of them check their egos at the door and simply sell their amps at what they would consider a fair price for the parts and their time spent making them. I haven't talked to Zach in a long time but I know that once Mike stopped building SLO's, people seemed hesitant to buy them from another builder. They wanted MIKE'S amps made with MIKE'S hands and it seems that people wanting a SLO, either paid out the nose for a used one or sought out good clones and as a result, Bruce's build log has spiked and he's booked solid for all of 2021. He could have inflated the price to capitalize on the situation but he didn't and I give him props for that.
Anyways, it gets into this weird mental dilemma once you know the ACTUAL price of these things and whether or not the sometimes minor differences in sound or voicing or features is worth it to you as either a studio musician or a gigging pro or just someone who wants something extremely specific.
Personally, I'm a LOT more forgiving of an amp on stage as long as it's loud, clean and clear with good definition and headroom. I've played the Nitro and Jubilee at the same show (me on the jubilee and our other player on the nitro) and while there were some differences in the voicing, the quality of the sound from both amps was right there yet I paid over twice as much for the nitro. It's not twice as good of an amp... far from it... but from a gigging perspective, the Jubilee's low end is SOO much easier to control at the sacrifice of it only having 50w with less punch but it's still a super clear and well voiced amp for stage use. Would I be happier on stage with a $5000 Wizard modern classic II? Absolutely but is it worth $4300 more than what I paid for the Jubilee? Would literally ANYONE in the crowd care? Not a chance but if the amp inspired me to play better and have that extra confidence and swagger, THAT'S what they would notice and that's the thing that is super hard to put a price tag on and why guys are willing to pay huge amounts more for that extra few percent better.
@@FastRedPonyCar We are on exactly the same page about all of this, with the caveat that I don't gig at all. I also love the two channels you mentioned before. I used to be a much better player than I am now and watching those guys makes me want to really start practicing again more seriously.
I see that "2" in front of the thousand mark and it scares me off, but I don't fault guys at all for charging that much to build an amp, especially some of the more unique designs that not only take a long time to build, but a long time to R&D. If I designed an awesome sounding amp circuit with the kind of features I would want, I'd definitely be charging based on the countless hours it takes refining that sound, sourcing the parts, finding distributors and suppliers etc.
Shoot, production line JCM800's are $2500 now and as much as I love my Marshalls I'd rather pay a smaller builder for something with more unique features. That's one of the things I really like about Ceriatone stuff, he has a few unique models, sure they are based on other circuits but so is everything. I picked up a King Kong 50 a few weeks ago that is probably my favorite amp right now even over the splawns, mesas, and that VHT in the corner which was my previous "favorite" amp.
That experience of the "feel" combined with sound of the amp is a big part of the equation and one that is impossible to quantify. It's always a moving target but I've seen guys play who really loved their rig and there is certainly something more entertaining and better sounding to everyone in the crown, including non-musicians. I'd liken it to athletes getting ready for a game, sometimes you have good and bad games but the right gear, jersey number, underwear whatever haha has a big impact on how you mentally feel before the game and it affects your performance.
Side story, I once bought a Splawn Nitro from guitar center for $900. I was so pumped. They called and told me it caught on fire before they could ship it. Kind of a fishy story if you ask me haha
And second side story, I have a 2555x Jubilee reissue. I sold the original one I had in this channel's first video, I got some good feedback on that one and admittedly I was right at the end of the return period on that amp and had to get rid of it ASAP, so it was little rushed. I'm looking forward to revisiting it and hopefully giving it a second chance.
It`s embarrasing to sound like a total rookie, but I`ve been playing Marshalls and a Laney, for "all" my life, thats 40+...... Never had a Mesa, but I love the EQ V-setting and those memories from hearing Master of Puppets the 100 first times before finally finding that exact Hetfield-tone on a Mark III or 4 at the local music store! BUT : Is there no headphone-output on these old MBs??
Don’t worry, nothing embarrassing about asking questions! These old Mesas do not have headphone jacks - even the current Mark V does not on the full size version (only the 25w and 35w mini versions have it). The only one I personally own that does is the TC50.
Even with a headphone jack, most amps still need to be connected to a speaker load anyway, and have some kind of cabinet simulator too. I have an ADA MP-1 which is the oldest amp I can think of with a headphone jack (besides a Rockman) and the raw preamp tone sounds absolutely awful, because what we think of as good guitar tones have a lot of EQing caused by the speakers (mostly rolling off highs and accentuating different parts in the midrange).
@@totallyradguitars959 First : Tanx for a superquick response 👌🏿 Excellent! And, yeah, I thought about that need for load/resistance in a tube amp, but I noticed that there is 2-3 inputs and controls named "Recording" "Slave" etc. on the MB4 and crossed my fingers for a possible headphone-signal in one of them😊🇳🇴
@@TomasEndsieg It's not quite a plug-and-play solution but you could use the recording out (or on some amps, FX send, same kind of thing) to send the preamp signal into a audio interface on a computer. Then, use a speaker/cab simulator on the PC, and use your headphones on the PC. I used to do that all the time when I had an apartment. The amp still has to have a speaker load but certain amps (not sure if the IV is like this) the recording out jack works even when the amp is in standby/output muted.
I own a mark IV. And the mark V to me is the best mark for none mark/mesa people.
I have a Mark IV Rev A and it just slays and is just massively heavy in tone. No offense, but your Mark IV just doesn't sound as heavy sounding as mind? Could be a number of things like the tubes, settings on the amp and the guitar. Great vid btw \m/
26:36
Truth doesn’t make a noise :) I bet jack had a mark iv behind the stage and just pretended to be playing you know.. the cardboard special 1484 lol
Hahaha I love that sound, such a great riff, can hear the hint of feedback when he holds onto the notes. Still makes me want to get a 1484 and crank it up to see how similar it sounds to that.
Ah before 2000 I bet you could barely give those amps away lol
I’ve got the 50 caliber + head and I’m kinda pumped to see what it and the 900 mark iii sound like ran in stereo into my 1960 :) (waiting on the Marshall to come in the mail)
I got a kick ass valve amp for $500 with a kick ass distortion sounds better than these $8000 amps.
I don't have any $8000 amp haha but I agree, I have a Peavey XXX that cost me $325 and it keeps up with anything else I own. It's all about how you use it - rock on!
the IV is way better than the V.
I'm pretty sure you are an EE. Correct me if I'm wrong.
What is an EE?
@@totallyradguitars959 if you don't know then I guess I was wrong but ill say with the knowledge you have and your ability to understand things on a deeper level than most you should consider going to college for electrical engineering (EE).
@@tokenup420 Ah of course, I'm so dense sometimes. I work in computer engineering/implementations, and lots of my friends in college were in engineering programs. Different fields entirely but related in that they are both heavily technical. I'd love to learn more about electronics but since I'm so deep into my IT/IS career I think it will have to just stay a hobby for now. I really appreciate it!
@@totallyradguitars959 ahhh ok. I'm almost done with my electrical/computer engineering duel degree. You would be quite surprised how much they are actually intertwined theoretically and practically. Computers are ones and zeroes electricity is on and off (basically 1 and zero). Anyway awesome channel best of luck with it.
@@tokenup420 Totally agreed. Congrats on the degree (in advance)!
how do people casually spend $3,500 on one of these
I paid $950 for this one but it was a few years ago. I think it’s a heck of an amp but I wouldn’t pay $3500 for one (or any amp, for that matter)
why is there more talking and less playing in this video?
It’s a complicated amp with a lot of history behind it, so lots to discuss. If you just want to hear it with no talking, I’m working on some comparison videos. Otherwise, there are other channels with nothing but tone clips.
@@totallyradguitars959 Thank you, I generally like to hear the amp talk more then the person, because when the amp talks, it addresses alot of question people have tonally. But i do understand where you are coming from!
I’d really like to appeal to both audiences, I’m just pressed for time. I did a no-talking comparison of some Orange amps that people seemed to like so I intend to do a few more. Then people can choose long or short form stuff to watch. I have some plans… cheers
@Totally Rad Guitars absolutely, sounds like you have a good curriculum in progress! Rock on!
Yeah, but I don't like Mesa's sound. I almost bought a Mark IV or V...and I'm glad I didn't. For me. I'm really a Marshall and EVH sound.
Me too, but it's nice to have a few different sounds around. If I could only have one amp though it'd be something in that Marshall camp. The V is a lot more versatile and does a pretty good Marshall impression if you like, the IV was a bit more focused on that "mesa" sound.