Make me want a Mark IV......

I have a T-verb head and a Rectoverb combo, but I'm wanting something different than a ROV. Maybe something with a nicer clean tone, but I still need the great distortion to do the harder stuff in my cover band. My cover band does 80s, 90s and modern rock stuff like Poison, Bon Jovi, Creed, Puddle of Mudd, Metallica, Blink 182, Greenday, ect.. and a few country tunes....... My original band does a 50/50 mix of the above and more country (mostly original up beat country tunes).

Would the Mark IV be a better amp for use in these bands?? I'll still have the t-verb for the recto sound, but I need a combo that will go good in both situations too.

I guess since no one is replying I'll give you my "non expert" opinion. I have a mark iv and while I don't play much of the heavier stuff such as metallica or puddle of mudd, I have heard that people who do play that type of music are rather happy with their mark iv. If dialed in right, the mark iv can get great clean tones. It seems you need an amp with versatility, and I think the mark iv will deliver. The best suggestion I can give you is just to try one out. You can go to any guitar center and take one home if you'd like and try it out with your band. Even if you wind up taking it back to GC and buying it used of ebay or wherever, at least you know if you would like it. Over all, with your t-verb and a mark iv, I would think you would most likely have all your bases covered. Good luck

I wish I had a guitar center around here.... I have a million music stores near me, but no GC. I'm in Springfield, Mo (about 30 min north of Branson) I think the closest GC is in Tulsa (3 hrs away) or KC may have one (2 1/2 hrs away). We do have one Mesa dealer here, but they don't have any Mark IV's - just Recto's, Lonestars, and F-series amps. I'll do a search for clips, I heard the Ozzy clip on here and it sounded great, but I couldn't tell what the rythem sounded like too good, but the lead tone was great!

tele_jas,

I have a MK IV. I am in a cover band that does mostly Classic Rock, with alot of country mixed in. Check out our Song List at www.nolimitsband.net to get an idea of our mix. There are sound clips there, but they were not performed with the MK IV (they are about 2 years old, and I have only had my MK IV for about 8 months.

I was a Fender Blackface guy prior to the MK IV. I love that clean sound. The BF or Tweeds, either way, I did (and still do) consider Fenders to have the absolute best, fattest, roundest, most musical Clean tone out there.

That being said, I LOVE my Mark IV! It is so darn close to the BF clean sound with my Strat that I haven't removed my Super Reverb from the Closet in over 6 months. Additionally, I have the second channel dialed in with a wonderful "brink of break up" tone that sounds like a Deluxe Reverb or older low wattage Marshall just on the edge of saturation (think blues and grinding country tone!). But by far, the most flexible channel is the Lead (or channel 3). It can take me from Clapton quack, to Classic/Southern Rock crunch, to Santana and Robben Ford with minor adjusments.

I went with a Boogie because I was tire of lugging my Super Reverb AND a crowded pedal board to every gig. The setup and break down was getting old, as was the "pedal dance" to shift from tone to tone. Now the only pedal I use is my tuner.

A word of warning, however. Give yourself some time with your new Mark IV. It took me nearly a month of experimentation and tweaking to find that perfect collection of settings. There are so many options that you need time to try them all and settle on the best for you and the guitar you are playing.

To be fair, have you tried the Lone Star Classic?? I was VERY close to gettting one of those (actually, I did take it home, but decided on the MK IV in the end). The Clean on the Lone Star is almost a perfect replica of the Blackface Clean... and the OD channel is perfect for Blues and Country. If you want any "heavy" stuff, it won't quite get you there, but it is a fabulous amp as well.

There are quite a few folks out there using MK IVs... I even know a few Blues Players that use them exclusively. They are, IMO the most versatile all-tube amps on the planet.

here are some of my Mark IV clips

http://www.digitalsoundplanet.com/M...p3?PHPSESSID=e340ecec3f40169b350bfc0ae0bff3d1

http://www.digitalsoundplanet.com/M...p3?PHPSESSID=e340ecec3f40169b350bfc0ae0bff3d1

http://www.digitalsoundplanet.com/M...p3?PHPSESSID=e340ecec3f40169b350bfc0ae0bff3d1

http://www.digitalsoundplanet.com/M...p3?PHPSESSID=e340ecec3f40169b350bfc0ae0bff3d1

http://www.digitalsoundplanet.com/M...p3?PHPSESSID=e340ecec3f40169b350bfc0ae0bff3d1

http://www.digitalsoundplanet.com/M...p3?PHPSESSID=e340ecec3f40169b350bfc0ae0bff3d1