The Boogie Board

A few months ago I swapped out my Mark IV for an H&K Grandmeister 40 as my main live amp. There's a ton of advantages in portability, presets, onboard FX etc but there is just no matching that Mark IV lead tone to my ears - period!

I keep my Mark IV in my den and I've been back to playing it a lot recently, I'd like to ask you guys about your CH2 settings (crunch/orange). Obviously the clean and lead channels are legendary on this amp but I've never been really impressed with CH2. What kind of settings/pedals do you use to get the most out of this channel? I've tried clean boosts and various overdrives with mediocre results.

Any feedback appreciated!

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Happily married to Mesa Boogie Mark Series

I don't use R1 as much as I used the Lead channel, but it does offer a really nice Plexi-ish sound to my ears. I will use it with the gain at 8 (pulled), treble 8, mid 5.5, bass 3, and presence 8. I use the graphic EQ to boost the bass, and gives it a nice, thick sound that can create a smooth distortion sound depending on my pick attack. I find the orange channel is good if you're looking for something in the ballpark of a late 70's, 80's David Gilmour sound (I'm thinking of the song Short and Sweet from his first solo album). Also, I find the orange channel can be used to play lead, which is something no one ever talks about. I find the Mark IV is so much easier to solo with than the Dual Rectifier solo head was. Instead of fighting the amp, I find the IV almost plays itself.

I will occasionally use an overdrive pedal as a boost, but it changes the sound of the channel a lot. I use a Boss SD-1 from Japan as my main overdrive, and I find I have to dial back the gain a bit on the channel if I use the overdrive pedal. I honestly don't do this a lot anymore because the Lead channel sounds so good without a boost.

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Amps: Mesa Mark IVB Head, M̶a̶r̶s̶h̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶D̶S̶L̶1̶0̶0̶ ̶H̶e̶a̶d̶, M̶e̶s̶a̶ ̶D̶C̶3̶ ̶h̶e̶a̶d̶
Guitars: Fender Blacktop Telecaster, Amer. Strat with EMG SA

Just got my MkIVB back from the guy I sold it to, and reminded myself why I love these. Great with the Thiele cab, and spectacular in combination with my MkIII black dot.

What I need is a MkIVA head: for me, it would be the perfect grab and go. Anyone got one for sale in UK/EU they don't mind shipping?

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Too many Mesas and other amps, too many speakers, and far too many gain pedals and rack FX.

I just bought my second Mark IV three years after I sold my first. I found how to set this thing up after having just about every other MESA product come through my hands! It compliments my other Boogie amps and has it's own thing going on. Plus it is beautiful Bubinga and wicker. https://www.flickr.com/photos/100168049 ... ed-public/

Aggressive metal settings. 6L6/EL34 Full power, simul-class, mid gain, pentode. EV speaker in the combo, C90 in the thiele. Crucial settings - R2 gain 10, LD 10 pull fat, LG 7, CH. masters - 8. Good head ripping tone.

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Hendrix/Dimebag influenced, JP2C, Mark llC++, Steinberger GR4's