Mesa Boogie Mark IV in the Studio: Head or Combo?

[gm5k]

title says it all...for studio use, does it really matter? is there any kind of preference w/ the wattage? thanks.

[kafka]

Head. Those combos weigh a ton. Also, get yourself a couple of speaker cabinets so you can mix-and-match speakers. Just make sure your speakers can handle well over the rated 85 watts, as Boogie tends to rate conservatively.

[T- Funk Ian]

I don't know if this is old news yet or what, but even though the combos do weigh a TON, I would still get one. The reason being that you have more options (sort of). With the combo, you have the option to use separate cabs and/or the combo speaker itself which can be unplugged from the back when not in use.

[cloudy house]

used to have a MarkIV combo years ago...wood and wicker one...hate that I had to sell it to pay the rent...it did weigh a ton, especially in the anvil case...the wheels helped, though...sounded AMAZING
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mark

[octatonic]

I almost always buy combo's.
You can do small gigs without a cab and can simply add a cab to do a larger show.

One good thing about the Mk Iv's though is they do a rack mounted head.
I don't have one but I do have a rackmounted dual rectifier- which is great for a touring rig.
I don't understand why more manufacturers don't do it.

[gm5k]

bumping this thread w/ another question...

im looking at mesa's on ebay. for all around rock and metal both, what should i go with...a Mark IV or Dual Rectifier?

[kafka]

Originally Posted by gm5k

bumping this thread w/ another question...

im looking at mesa's on ebay. for all around rock and metal both, what should i go with...a Mark IV or Dual Rectifier?

The Marks are more versatile, but they don't to the death metal thing like the Dual Rectifiers. The gain tone on Marks is more of a fusion sound, IMHO.

[biggator6]

Mark IV is a far better sounding head overall than a recto.. there's a reason that they hold their value so well on the used market - nobody ever WANTS to get rid of a Mark IV.. rectos are a dime a dozen.

[King Of Spain]

Originally Posted by gm5k

title says it all...for studio use, does it really matter? is there any kind of preference w/ the wattage? thanks.

you can run a mkIV head at 30 watts with a switch on the back & half power on the front...

[gm5k]

thanks for the replies guys

[gm5k]

ok so im going with the Mark IV.

what cab? is a Mesa 2x12 preferable over a 4x12 or vise versa when being used w/ a Mark IV?

again thanks to everyone for all the responses.

[richiepalooza]

neither

[gm5k]

Originally Posted by richiepalooza

neither

care to elaborate?

nice to see a fellow San Antonio gearslut on the thread.

[gm5k]

just plugged in my Mark IV right now and played for a bit...i think I've died and gone to Heaven...

[kafka]

Originally Posted by gm5k

just plugged in my Mark IV right now and played for a bit...i think I've died and gone to Heaven...

Congrats. What cab are you using?

[gm5k]

Originally Posted by kafka

Congrats. What cab are you using?

thanks!

all i have for now is my Marshall 4x12, pretty standard Marshall cab i think. doing the job for now. cant imagine how good the Mark IV will sound once i plug it into a Mesa cab

do you have any suggestions as far as getting a 4x12 or 2x12?

[octatonic]

Originally Posted by gm5k

thanks!

all i have for now is my Marshall 4x12, pretty standard Marshall cab i think. doing the job for now. cant imagine how good the Mark IV will sound once i plug it into a Mesa cab

do you have any suggestions as far as getting a 4x12 or 2x12?

I'm always going to suggest having a small collections of cabinets as there is never one perfect for all situations.

I tend to favour a Marshall 2x12 that I put some V30's in.
It doesn't have the bottom end thunk of a 4x12 but it certainly rocks.
It all depends on how anal you want to be, what your micing technique is, the player and the guitar of course.

I love Matchless 2x12's and 2x10's- the ones with the mismatched speakers.

I have a Carvin 4x12 that I bought very cheap a few years ago. It has more headroom than I would like but for some things (mostly cleaner than clean sounds) it is really nice.

THD cabs and the older Genz Benz's are great. (I don't know about the new GB's)
Orange cabs are fugly but excellent.

[gm5k]

Originally Posted by octatonic

I'm always going to suggest having a small collections of cabinets as there is never one perfect for all situations.

I tend to favour a Marshall 2x12 that I put some V30's in.
It doesn't have the bottom end thunk of a 4x12 but it certainly rocks.
It all depends on how anal you want to be, what your micing technique is, the player and the guitar of course.

I love Matchless 2x12's and 2x10's- the ones with the mismatched speakers.

I have a Carvin 4x12 that I bought very cheap a few years ago. It has more headroom than I would like but for some things (mostly cleaner than clean sounds) it is really nice.

THD cabs and the older Genz Benz's are great. (I don't know about the new GB's)
Orange cabs are fugly but excellent.

thanks for the tips, octa

now, on a more somber note...

my Mark IV JUST crapped out on me...i dont know what happened, but i am pretty distraught. i hope its just that i need to switch out the tubes, because i dont wanna send an amp into Mesa that i JUST got. Christ this kinda sh*t always happens to me

[Jonboy79]

Originally Posted by gm5k

thanks for the tips, octa

now, on a more somber note...

my Mark IV JUST crapped out on me...i dont know what happened, but i am pretty distraught. i hope its just that i need to switch out the tubes, because i dont wanna send an amp into Mesa that i JUST got. Christ this kinda sh*t always happens to me

What exactly happened to it? I had my DC-3 take a crap on me once, it was 300 bucks to fix.

[gm5k]

Originally Posted by Jonboy79

What exactly happened to it? I had my DC-3 take a crap on me once, it was 300 bucks to fix.

just kinda stopped working honestly. wasnt playing loud or anything. the volume started fluctuating by itself for a second and then it just made a little popping sound and the lights turned off, stopped working. wont turn back on. there was a slight smell of smoke, but i didnt see any.

warranty's no good on the amp anymore...so if its not just a tube problem, looks like im gonna have to shell out some dough...

from what i gather it's probably a blown fuse. wonder if there are any authorized Mesa repair shops around here.

[Jonboy79]

Originally Posted by gm5k

just kinda stopped working honestly. wasnt playing loud or anything. the volume started fluctuating by itself for a second and then it just made a little popping sound and the lights turned off, stopped working. wont turn back on. there was a slight smell of smoke, but i didnt see any.

warranty's no good on the amp anymore...so if its not just a tube problem, looks like im gonna have to shell out some dough...

I wouldn't go diagnosing that amp. You need to just take it to a tech and get it fixed. Maybe a cap blew on the board or something like that. Again, don't go throwing money down the tubes because you think you might know the problem. From what you said happened I don't think it's the tubes.

[gm5k]

Originally Posted by Jonboy79

I wouldn't go diagnosing that amp. You need to just take it to a tech and get it fixed. Maybe a cap blew on the board or something like that. Again, don't go throwing money down the tubes because you think you might know the problem. From what you said happened I don't think it's the tubes.

thanks for the advice.

there's no authorized Mesa repair shops here in San Antonio according to the Mesa site. looks like i might have to take her to Austin...



oh well, i need to go visit my brother anyway

[CorkyTart]

Originally Posted by gm5k

just kinda stopped working honestly. wasnt playing loud or anything. the volume started fluctuating by itself for a second and then it just made a little popping sound and the lights turned off, stopped working. wont turn back on. there was a slight smell of smoke, but i didnt see any.

warranty's no good on the amp anymore...so if its not just a tube problem, looks like im gonna have to shell out some dough...

from what i gather it's probably a blown fuse. wonder if there are any authorized Mesa repair shops around here.

Did you make sure you had the proper ohm rating set?

[Rufuss Sewell]

I bet if you put new tubes and a fuse in there it would fire right up. It'll probably sound a lot better too! I bought a used Mark IV, but honestly I didn't like it much at first. It started doing that volume thing and blew a fuse so I replaced everything and it ended up sounding much much better. In fact it went from sounding pretty bad to sounding really great!

[Jonboy79]

Originally Posted by CorkyTart

Did you make sure you had the proper ohm rating set?

Actually mesa recommends mismatching ohm's to find a unique tone. The only warning they give is that it might wear out the power tubes faster but that it shouldn't cause any major problems.