Mesa Boogie Road King vs Mark iv

which do you think has better tone, clean, od, gain, features, sound, and even looks? which do you think is a better high gain metal amp? which has better cleans? and which do you have or own?

cleans go to the rk, od to the rk, rk has more gain and more features. i own a mark iv and wouldnt trade it for a rk (besides selling it to buy another mk). the mkiv has this tight low end that i havent ever heard from a rec of anykind. its becoming a sound i cant live without so if you ask me which is "better?" roadking. which is more versatile? roadking. what do i want? mkiv

I don't own a rk but i own a 2 chan recto which I heard sound a lot like a rk. I also own a mark IV but I think the mark IV has a lot more USABLE gain than the rectos. If sustain is what you are after, the Mark IV gives endless sustains at even lower volumes while the recto becomes fizzy with the gain turned up. For lead playing, I feel the mark IV feels a lot better and it's almost like the guitar plays itself instead of you playing the guitar. This is more true for legato playings. Also Mark Iv is insanely tight and you can dial in a really heavy sound with it.

i'll always opt for the roadking anytime man. Its the amp that makes me in love with boogies anyway, the crunch, lead & rhythm tones are just phenomenal IMO. I've played mark iv and heard many records of it and i think its a good amp if you like 80's metal tone. However, i'm also excited by the supposedly mark v coming out!

The MK IV is flubby in the bass compared ,so for me it is the RK,much better cleans too.

The MKIV is one of the least flubby amps there is !! Roadking for cleans and big 'power' chords, MkIV for everything else

the mk IV is less fizzy and tight and sweet with the leads.i think the mk IV cleans are Very Very good with like compression. the rk's are great too the RK is a bigger more bottom end heavy amp..

Both are equal..

it's up to what sort of sound you are after!

It really comes down to the type of metal you are into on which you will like better. Both amps have great cleans, both amps have great distortion, just depends really on the type of music. LIke most people have said the Mark IV is better for shred, tighter more sustain, where the roadking is a better rythem amp, but still has decent leads.

On a side note, yes Mark IV can get flubby in the bass department if you use to much bass.

I have a roadking and love it but whichever you buy you are definitely gonna want the other so my advice is save up and get both lol. All I can say is that my roadking is the most versatile amp out there no contest, it sounds HUGE too, I really want a Mark IV though, big petrucci fan here

I couldnt agree more I couldnt decide, so I have a stilletto, Mark IV and a roadking Version 1 and love all three amps for different reasons.

dba1337 said:

I have a roadking and love it but whichever you buy you are definitely gonna want the other so my advice is save up and get both lol. All I can say is that my roadking is the most versatile amp out there no contest, it sounds HUGE too, I really want a Mark IV though, big petrucci fan here

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ANIMATED SUSPENSION said:

The MKIV is one of the least flubby amps there is !! Roadking for cleans and big 'power' chords, MkIV for everything else

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Note the word "compared" and next to the RK it is flubby.

eagle said:

ANIMATED SUSPENSION said:

The MKIV is one of the least flubby amps there is !! Roadking for cleans and big 'power' chords, MkIV for everything else

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Note the word "compared" and next to the RK it is flubby.

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You can make any amp 'flubby' if you try hard enough, but the sound will be unusable. The MKIV handles tight chuggy riffs better than any Recto,which tend to get a little loose and flubby most of the time. I have both and love both for different reasons

i prefer the mark iv for both ... cleans and ods. especially the cleans are much more "fenderish" imho ... i like that!

I used to have a Rectoverb and sold it for a Mark IV. I've yet to miss the Rectoverb. That said, the roadking does have quite a few cool tricks up its sleeves too. All boils down to personal preference. I can't live without the Mark series leads.

As for the Mark IV having flabby bass... only if you dial it in that way. The Mark IV is the very definition of tight, focused gain. These two amps are VERY different from each other and have to be dialed in completely differently. The Mark IV's tone stack is pre-gain, so is serves to shape the character and harmonic content of the signal before it is clipped. Recto's have post-gain tone stacks, which are more powerful for overall tonal shaping. The Mark IV makes up the difference with the 5 band graphic EQ, which is post-gain. On a Mark IV, bass settings any higher than about 3 to 4 will get you into flab territory. It depends mostly on how bassy your guitar is.

Both are great for different reasons. In a perfect world we'd all have both (along with every other Boogie model :wink: )

How old is too old for a Mark IV? i'm looking at a combo amp made in 1992. it looks very clean and it's functioning very well.

Should I be worried it could crap out or need internal work?

Boogies, and all well made tube amps, will last a lifetime as long as they are taken care of. My Mark IV was made July 12, 1991 (it's written inside the chasis) and works flawlessly. The only real point of concern for "old" amps is electrolytic capacitor failure. Electrolytic caps break down over time and will fail eventually. Their usual lifespan is about 20 years, but it depends on the capacitors, their use, and environmental factors too.

Keep'em clean, Feed'em good power, Keep'em connected to a proper speaker load, Regular tube changes, and they'll outlive you.

Apples & Oranges dude...

I've got mark iv combo as well as Road King 2. Mark IV lead channel has a sizzle & sustain for lead work you probably won't find in a RK 2. However, the Road King has 4 channels with ability to switch from 2 EL 34's, 2 6L6's, 4 6L6's or any combo of those... You can get great Fender cleans out of ch 1, from blackface to tweed. You can get great marshall plexi tones out of channel 2. You can get some great mark & recto tones out of ch 3 & 4. Add to that sweet reverb, cabinet switching, etc and the rk 2 is the ultimate swiss army knife of tone with great tools. the mk iv is more like a kiiler switchblade. Any more cheesy analogies needed?

I'd like a roadking down the line, it seems to be able to do a lot but seriously after finally dialing in my sound with the Mark IV it's utter f/cking bliss.

What I've found is the Mark IV has MANY usable high gain oriented tones where the RK has a certain usable area. EG, bass no higher than say 1oclock, presence not past 1oclock etc. The mark iv is usable in nearly all knob configurations *bar the bass knob on the lead channel* but then you have the switchable GEQ too
Good fun really

chriz_batman said:

which do you think has better tone, clean, od, gain, features, sound, and even looks? which do you think is a better high gain metal amp? which has better cleans? and which do you have or own?

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I own both a RK1 (since 2005) and a MK IV B (since 2007). Regarding looks, you can customize both amps (chassis, wood, grille, etc.) through Mesa's custom shop.

As for tone, I don't think it's fair to say that one is "better" than the other because they just sound completely different.

For metal tones, I think the RK has a much bigger sound than the MK IV: the RK has a huge spread of low-end thump, high end chime, and wads of gain. The MK has a really focused, tight gain that's pure cotton candy to my ears. It's not as big as the RK, but it has a very special personality that reminds me of metal in the late 80's and early 90's.

For cleans, my opinion is tainted because I have a RK1, and the RK2 underwent major changes in the clean channel by adopting the Lone Star cleans. However, I like cleans from both the RK1 and MK IV. The MK IV cleans sound "hollower" and "warmer" to me than the RK's cleans. It depends on what style of music you want to play.

Regarding leads, I'm going to risk being crucified by others on this forum and say that I like lead playing better on my RK than on my MK IV. I feel like solos are effortless on the RK Ch. 3/4 Vintage mode with lots of gain - probably because it seems "airbrushes" your notes and phrases into pure silk. Contrast with the MK IV leads where every note rings clearer than a bell - even with high gain. Maybe that's why I like leads better on the RK - they seem to cover more mistakes!

All in all, I'd recommend either amp any day. But, I'd say that the RK is more versatile than the MK IV. I can make my RK sound similar to my MK IV, but I cannot make my MK IV sound anything like my RK. Finally, note that the type of speakers and configuration (cabinet vs. single speaker) will make a huge difference in tone. I'd recommend a 4x12.