Mesa .50 Cal vs. Mesa Mark IV

[Jedi]

O.k., I played a Mesa/Boogie Mark IV Combo and the mfer sounded pretty good. What you guys think? I love my Mesa .50 Cal, but am tempted to buy this Combo. How do you guys compare the sounds of these two killer amps?

[Chip McDonald]

The MKIV is more versatile if you can deal with the tweakiness of the knobs... You have to move them in teeny tiny increments, and they give you 40 different ways to shoot both feet off with all of the variables you can change.

 

... and once you get it to sound like you want, you'd better write down ALL of the settings because those things are super interactive control wise.

 

The .50 is easier to deal with if you're not sure about how to "aim" towards the sound you want. The IV is pretty bright if you're not careful, and the sweet spot on the eq's are very small and tricky - but they're there despite what some people will tell you.

[Jedi]

Thanks Chip,

 

You know for the thread title I was about to put Hey Chip, .50 Cal vs. Mark IV. LoL. I knew you would come through for me. I have a tendency to agree with what you're saying. When I played the IV yesterday, I felt the same authentic Mesa sound I get from my .50 Cal. Unlike the dual Caliber(it was cool but not as real). I like the many knobs and buttons , so having the flexibility to get three different tones is super tempting. Decisions, decisions, How the hell am I going to get the money for that Mark IV? The mad scientist is fast at work. Because I know I can't let go of that .50 Cal. I'll think of something.

 

Thanks brother,

 

Jedi

[DC]

Originally posted by dblackjedi:

O.k., I played a Mesa/Boogie Mark IV Combo and the mfer sounded pretty good. What you guys think? I love my Mesa .50 Cal, but am tempted to buy this Combo. How do you guys compare the sounds of these two killer amps?

Say Jedi,

 

I've got a Mk IV and a Studio Caliber. Love em both! The Mk IV definately has more balls, but like Chip stated, it's a bit more difficult to set up as well. The main problem I had was adjusting clean channel and rhy 2 channel as they share some of the knobs. You can assign the eq to just rhythm 2 which solves a lot of that, but then you lose the ability to kick in some mids if your lead ain't quite cutting.

 

If you've already got a Caliber, you've already got some great tones. The Mk is just more so IMO. Might be overkill unless you're playing larger rooms or just need a ton of control over your sound.

 

I traded in my Mk II for my Mk III and I traded in my Mk III for my Mk IV. I always got my money back out of em so that's a consideration.