Thinking of downsizing from Tremoverb half stack

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Commander Coo1

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I have owned a Tremoverb for about 10 years now. It is paired with an avatar 4x12 with V30s in it. I regularly play in my church band, and although I really love how the tremoverb sounds, it's just too big to lug around or even fit on a small stage. So I mostly play it in my bedroom! I played this evening at another church that didn't have an electric guitar amp and I ended up using a Roland cube 30, which did pretty well mic'd up.

I have been considering a mark iv combo to replace the tremoverb. Is this crazy? I really like the sound of the tremoverb, but these days I generally use a tube screamer clone for my drive instead of the red channel. We do pretty modern songs from bands like Hillsong and Bethel music.

I know the mark iv combo is still 80 plus lbs, but I feel like it would leave the house more than the current rig.

Thanks,
James
 
Yea, the Mark’s and Recto’s are tonal opposites, even with the clean tones.

Have you considered going to a smaller cabinet? A 2x12 is much easier to move around.

If you are determined to replace the TOV, and only need a ‘pedal platform’ amp, don’t overlook the Lonestar series.

Dom
 
I originally had a 2x12, but I sold it after a while because I got a really good deal on the 4x12. I have considered going back to 2x12 and I probably will if I keep the TOV. But even that is significantly larger than a 1x12 combo.

For those that have owned both, what would you miss from the TOV? I jammed on a Mark IV for maybe 20 minutes once in a store and I really enjoyed it. I always wanted one, but prices where too high until the Mark V came out.
 
Hello..

I had similar situation with Roadster & 4x12 recto trad. The set is too big and loud for any church gigs etc.. First I bought LS 2x12 open back cab which did not sound good to my ears :p later on I swapped that to Recto 2x12 horizontal and that has pretty similar tone compared to 4x12.

Sometimes it gets really on my nerves to haul even the smaller set on gigs... but it still sounds so awesome ;)

Edit:

I had Mark III narrow 1x12 combo that I eventually hated for lack of punch and awkward form factor.
 
The Mark series amps do not have the ‘girth’ to their sound like a Recto, they lack the fullness of the low-mids, and are much more upper-mid focused. Even with the 5-band EQ, you can’t get that low-mid thickness out of a Mark like you can from a Rectifier. I would imagine that an open back Mark combo would have even less.

The Rectifier is like a sledgehammer, where the Marks are more like a sharp knife. Both are lethal, just with a different approach.

Dom
 
I guess what I want to know is I'm my situation where I need to downsize, is the mkiv the way to go? Should I look more at other combos like the recovery 1x12 or the PRS Archon instead? Wish I could sit down and try them all, but it doesn't look like anywhere near me sticks any of these amps.
 
Commander Coo1 said:
I guess what I want to know is I'm my situation where I need to downsize, is the mkiv the way to go?

The Mark IV is absolutely the way to go provided you want to sound like you're playing through a Mark IV... and, since you're the only one who can answer that question you're going to have to look to yourself for the answer.

On the other hand, if you like the sound of the T-Verb you're not going to get anything near it out of a Mark. If you dig the Rectifier sound and want it in smaller package look at the Rectoverb:25 combo.
 
Thanks for the input everyone. I bit the bullet and got a mark iv wide body combo. Just came in yesterday. So far so good! Plus 63lbsbis much easier than the half stack!
 
Just thought I would report back after having quite a few hours on the amp and 3 performances.
It has definitely taken a bit of tweaking to get the sound I am looking for, but this time was well spent and has really produced a sound that I really enjoy, and I have also gotten good feedback from listeners.
I have really gotten a ton of use out of R2, this channel is just a blast to use. I have the gain set to 6-7 and with that, I can get anywhere from clean, to edge of breakup to, a good full crunch sound all based on pick attack using my PRS CE24 with an AlnicoII Pro in the neck and a JB in the bridge position.
The amp has also changed the way I play, with the rectifiers I have used, just about every lead I played had a harsh sound to it, so I stuck mostly to rhythm playing, or leads at very low volumes. Even when using a tube screamer for the dirt, things came across a bit too harsh. The Mark IV just has such sweetness to it's sound on the R2 and Lead channels that it has really given me much more comfort/confidence in playing and experimenting with more lead work.

Still there are some things that the Tverb did a bit better such as some mid-90s grunch type rhythm sounds, but overall the Mark IV is a better fit for what I play these days.

The Mark is definitely a tweaker's amp and I am still learning my way around and getting more great sounds out of it!
 
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