New to amplifiers. Considering Mark IV, or DC-5, or....

Hello, I've been lurking for a while reading up. I've decided to get serious with my guitar playing and need an amplifier. Up to now I have just been using software modeling plugins.

I really like the sound of the Mark IV, big fan of Petrucci's sound. Not really trying to nail that, but I love the organic nature and depth of it.

I am not going to be playing live for a while but I would like to at some point, so getting an amp that will accomodate that in the future is important to me.

As of now I'm looking at Mark IV's, although the price will have me at my max budget (around $1,100), so I'll probably have to get a combo. A head would be preferable though. That lead me to looking at DC-5's as they can come pretty inexpensively. Not sure about the sound though. I've heard a couple of pretty good clips but it hasn't won me over like the Mark IV.

I haven't completely ruled out a Mark III, but the lack of separate controls for each channel has me concerned. Is this an issue for live playing? It seems like it would be preferable to have separate controls so both channels can sound how I want. Am I wrong in this thought?

Anyway, I'm just looking for some more informed help in deciding. I've never played with an amp before.

Since your new to real amps my suggestion is the DC-5 based on the fact that it is much easier to setup and get good tones out of it. Not taking anything from the Mark IV at all but it might be more than you want to deal with initially. Buy a DC-5 or 10 at a decent price then you should be able to sell it if for what you have in it and buy a Mark IV.

I'm not the one to compare it sound wise to the MIV but I've owned the DC-3,5 and 10 and think they're very good amps. Always received complements on my sound. And affordable too.

Yeah you may have a point, and I can't say because I have no experience, but I don't think I will mind having to tweak. And between this site and others I'm sure I can find settings that would make good starting points. But good point to consider.

Another factor I've read about is that the DC-5 doesn't sound as nice at low volumes. I will be using this at home.

At home only? If you have to keep it at mouse fart levels then you may not be happy with any Mesa or other high power amp. To me it sounds good at home but I don't have to worry about waking a baby or pissing off the neighbors. I've never had an amp that sounds very good at really low volumes. I actually play louder most the time at home than at a gig but ear plugs are advised. When I need to keep quite I either use my GSP1101 modeling rig or headphones and Guitar Rig 4.

How about a plan of action? If you are truely looking for a head and cabinet setup then, since you are still using the modeling plug-ins, get a good mark IV head then in a few months look at getting a cabinet. Even a 1X12 for starters and then grow into the 2X12 or 4X12 or whatever. The good news is that you could keep your starter cabinet and have something for small venues as well as large halls and concerts.

Just a thought :idea:

Dennis

jpdennis said:

How about a plan of action? If you are truely looking for a head and cabinet setup then, since you are still using the modeling plug-ins, get a good mark IV head then in a few months look at getting a cabinet. Even a 1X12 for starters and then grow into the 2X12 or 4X12 or whatever. The good news is that you could keep your starter cabinet and have something for small venues as well as large halls and concerts.

Just a thought :idea:

Dennis

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Well, I guess I should say that I haven't really played in a while and I don't have the set up for the modeling anymore. This is kind of my reward for starting a practice regimen. I would definitely want to hear the amp when I get it!

MJ Slaughter said:

At home only? If you have to keep it at mouse fart levels then you may not be happy with any Mesa or other high power amp. To me it sounds good at home but I don't have to worry about waking a baby or pissing off the neighbors. I've never had an amp that sounds very good at really low volumes. I actually play louder most the time at home than at a gig but ear plugs are advised. When I need to keep quite I either use my GSP1101 modeling rig or headphones and Guitar Rig 4.

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Well like I said, in the future I will probably gig with it, but for now I will be recording. Modeling just doesn't have the smoothness and organic sound that I want. I will be able to get it up to a decent volume for recording. I will probably practice with it lower, but I don't want it to sound like garbage. I've considered using an attenuator for practice sessions. I know they can help cut down the volume a little bit while keeping some of the tone.

Valve amps sound really, really rubbish quiet. Even with an attenuator. Honestly, modelling sounds the best at hi-fi volumes, followed by hybrid amps followed by the valve amps.

I would stick to using modelling stuff in the house. My amps aren't ever plugged in when I'm in the house. If I'm recording in the house I stick to using Vintage Amp room/Guitar Rig etc. etc. In a studio/rehearsal/live setting you can appreciate the tone valves give you but in the home, not quite so much.

Let's steer away from the volume issue, It's not high on my priority list.

Back to my original question,

Go ahead and blow my tax refund on a Mark IV?

Save some cash on a DC-3 or DC-5. Will I be sacrificing too much tone to save a few hundred dollars?

Is the shared tone controls on the Mark III a factor to consider for live playing?

For what you want I'd probably steer away from the DC-3. I love the sound, more 70's-80's sound to me but the DC-5 is probably closer to the MIV. Also more headroom by quite a bit. The only complaint I hear about the MIII is the shared tone controls. Other than that it seems to been a great amp. I'd like one but for my cover band gigs I don't think it would be flexible enough for me.

Sounds like you really want the MIV so if you're willing to put in the time to learn it's controls and research what others have gone through already I'd get it. Don't be surprised if you're not too happy at first. Just give yourself time to work into it. Again, buy it at a fair price so you can sell it later without loosing much if anything should you decide it's not for you. I've bought and sold about 6 mesa amps used just to try and see if they worked for me. Never lost a dime and sometimes made a little.

A DC will be a good bet for you, start with a good combo and maybe you'll stick with it!
if you ever want to go further then get a MIV.

Yeah I think I'm going to go with a DC-5 for now.

That said... when shopping on ebay is there anything I should look out for, red flags etc...or any questions I should ask the seller?

The Mark III,IV or DC-5 are all great choices. The DC-5 will definitely leave you some left over cash to hook up with a 2x12 or 4x12. Also, ALL these amps sound great at low/bedroom volumes with proper dialing,especially the Mark III and IV with Simul-class. I really like Class A mode on my IIIs at low volume...granted, it's preamp gain, but still retains that nice Boogie tone.

Back in the mid 90's, a few buddies and I use to do amp shoot-outs with the Mark IV and DC-5 heads. Funny..back then, I actually dug the DC-5 quite a bit more 'cause it just had more balls, with great cleans and super smooth leads. It's definitely a fun amp to have..and you won't be disappointed.

Don't know about shipping from the UK, but ...

http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=58729

Dennis

Yeah that one looks nice but that converts to about $1500 which is $400 over my budget. Then shipping... ouch.

unklejman said:

Yeah I think I'm going to go with a DC-5 for now.

That said... when shopping on ebay is there anything I should look out for, red flags etc...or any questions I should ask the seller?

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If you're not aware already they made an A and B version of the DC-5. The B is supposed to have more clean headroom and the foot switch has 2 buttons, channel change and EQ on/off. From my observations, may be wrong, but the B versions have a white box around the 3 position channel switch on the front panel. I would ask the seller if any mods were done, what speaker it has, has a cap job been done (do this with any older amp), does it have any problems using the foot switch (Sometimes an internal component I think LDR will fail. If the panel switch works but not the foot switch this may be the case. Cheap and fairly easy to replace.) etc. Hopefully you'll fine an honest seller who knows the history of the amp. I own and/or have owned 2 DC-10 heads, 1 DC-5 combo and 1 DC-3 combo that all but one were bought on ebay. Never had any that were a major problem. One DC-10 had a couple of bad pots, dirty send jack, missing a EQ slider knob but nothing major.

The loop send jack has a switch when not used for a long period of time can have a little corrosion build up causing all kinds of odd problems with sound. Super easy fix with some cleaner so I would recommend cleaning it and while you're in the chassis clean all the pots. Don't' use the same cleaner for the sliders. They require a lube/cleaner like Deoxit Faderlube.

Thats all I can think of for now. Search the DC threads for more info because there should be a lot. Good luck.

I'm looking at a head right now. I believe it would be a B, the footswitch has two buttons.

They guy says he's had it for 6 months and it is it great condition. It belonged to his friend who he says is a gear freak and maintains his equipment.

Going to ask about those particular things you just talked about and see if he can test them for me.

He says his friend is a Luthier and an Amp guru... for whatever that's worth. He doesn't answer my specific questions, just says it is in great condition and sounds great...

And it sold before he got back to me.

The market is REALLY slow for these... Only 1 on Ebay and it looks like an A model.

That blows,man. Did you check GC's online used section yet? They have gear updates all the time - and even 'price drops' quite often. Also, keep your eyes open on some of the smaller music stores if you have any locally...even pawn shops, too. You never know what you'll stumble across.

I've looked a few times, but they never have mesa boogie as an available brand, and search brings up nothing. Am I doing it wrong? lol.


EDIT: I went back and clicked something differently and it took me to a different section of the site than before... weird.

There's actually a combo (looks like the A version) a few hours away from me. I might see if they will ship it to my local store.