Mark IV head noob questions

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Ime11

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I recently got a Mark IV head which works fine and sounds great but when I turn the output volume to 0 it still sounds. It is very quiet but I would assume that at zero volume it should be completely quiet. It is normal or something is wrong with my amp?
Also, I would like to use the speaker of my Mark V 35 combo (it is 90 watt and 8 ohm) with my Mark IV head. What I would do is connect the speaker jack to the 8 Ohm input jack of the amp. My question is: Do I need to connect the speaker to a source of voltage?

Thanks in advance
 
Can't help you with the first part, but all you need to do is connect the speaker to the to the speaker out on the Mark IV head. It would be the same as connecting an external speaker cabinet. You might need to extend the cable to reach the head, though.
 
jediguitarist said:
Can't help you with the first part, but all you need to do is connect the speaker to the to the speaker out on the Mark IV head. It would be the same as connecting an external speaker cabinet. You might need to extend the cable to reach the head, though.
So when you turn the "output level" knob to zero on your mark IV it is completely quiet?
Thanks!
 
Yes, it's completely quiet. It sounds like the volume pot could have drifted so that zero doesn't send the signal to ground. If you send an email to Mesa tech support, they could tell you more. If everything else is working correctly, it could mean replacing the volume pot. Does it happen on all the channels?
 
jediguitarist said:
Yes, it's completely quiet. It sounds like the volume pot could have drifted so that zero doesn't send the signal to ground. If you send an email to Mesa tech support, they could tell you more. If everything else is working correctly, it could mean replacing the volume pot. Does it happen on all the channels?
Yeah it happens on all channels. It doesn't seem to be a big deal but now I am more worried about it D:
 
Somehow I missed this thread when it was started. The OP sent me and IM about my experiences. For others viewing this thread, I thought I probably should add them to it.

My Mark IV seems to behave kind of like the OP's behaves.

If I turn my master output to 0, and turn the channel output for channel 2 (for example) to 10, I get output. Not a lot of output, but some. I can hear it while I am standing in front of the amp. But, it is not loud enough to play alongside someone else. In other words, some volume (plenty for bedroom use) but not enough for playing out.

Conversely, the same level of volume (low enough for bedroom use but not enough for anything else) can be achieved if I set the channel 2 output to 0, and the master output to 10.

Because it does that in both directions, I figured it was acting as designed. It seems like if it was a pot issue, then the master output, the channel 2 output, and the channel 3 output all failed in exactly the same way.

Once I got to this point, I figured it was working as designed and didn't worry about it anymore.

PS: The TMB control work the same. Turn them all to zero (doesn't matter which channel) and you still get output.

PS2: On channels 2 and 3, turn the gain to zero, and nothing comes out (which makes sense).

I hope this made sense. If not, let me know and I will try to explain my findings better.
 
bgh said:
Somehow I missed this thread when it was started. The OP sent me and IM about my experiences. For others viewing this thread, I thought I probably should add them to it.

My Mark IV seems to behave kind of like the OP's behaves.

If I turn my master output to 0, and turn the channel output for channel 2 (for example) to 10, I get output. Not a lot of output, but some. I can hear it while I am standing in front of the amp. But, it is not loud enough to play alongside someone else. In other words, some volume (plenty for bedroom use) but not enough for playing out.

Conversely, the same level of volume (low enough for bedroom use but not enough for anything else) can be achieved if I set the channel 2 output to 0, and the master output to 10.

Because it does that in both directions, I figured it was acting as designed. It seems like if it was a pot issue, then the master output, the channel 2 output, and the channel 3 output all failed in exactly the same way.

Once I got to this point, I figured it was working as designed and didn't worry about it anymore.

PS: The TMB control work the same. Turn them all to zero (doesn't matter which channel) and you still get output.

PS2: On channels 2 and 3, turn the gain to zero, and nothing comes out (which makes sense).

I hope this made sense. If not, let me know and I will try to explain my findings better.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I have another noob question: How hot can get the chassis and is consider normal? How can I know if an amp is overheating? I know it can gets hot and that's why it has a fan but since I am new with tube amps I want to know what can be considered normal.
 
Hi,

I would like to buy a Mark IV rev A here in France.

I would like to take a head (a long one) but there are not lots of opportunities here and if I find a short combo for a good price in good conditions, I will take it !

My questions :

1/ Can I use a combo plugged into a cab as if it was a head ? Do combos and heads have exactly the same features (to me yes but it's just to be sure) ? No differences (except the loudspeaker) ?

2/ Before buying it, I will try the amp. What are the most important things to check to see if it's in good/bad conditions ?


Thanks for your help !
 

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