Extreme vs. IV mode, besides volume boost what.....

...is the difference? I swear I have been experimenting with the two and they sound identical except for the volume jump on extreme mode. Of course, I have read the manual but do my ears absolutely suck? What am I missing? The IIC+ mode vs the IV is easy to tell the difference. :?:

They sound much, much different to my ears. I prefer the Extreme mode, which is supposed to be something like the Mark IV with the presence knob pushed in. The Mark IV mode sounds darker and less throaty IMO.

Maybe so, I just do not hear the difference. Extreme just sounds like a loud IV mode..oh well, I guess my ears suck.

The timbre of the midrange sounds different to me, the bass response is tighter, there is less gain at the same preamp gain level...

The IV has a bit more hair on the top end. Mid range is much more pronounced in the Extreme mode. Extreme is somewhat tighter too. Over all Extreme is smoother.

At least thats what I hear.

I am really loving this amp but the Extreme mode is the only one I have not found appealing. It just sounds harsh to me but i must admit that I have not given that mode much time.

Interesting how ear / tone varies by person. I 'think' Extreme has a slightly different quickness or tigtness, not sure what word you would call it, especially on a quick low register riff and then also high notes as well. It also seems the small difference is more noticable when the thing is cranked pretty well. It does seem only like a volume boost to me when practicing at 5:30 am before work.....

Just curious, you getting a satisfactory tone out of MK1 mode? Took me a little tweaking to get that one working well. After it is set up, the EQ is screwy enough that it does not play well with other modes, gotta run the preset EQ.

For shits-and-grins the swap to EL34's changes the amp to more of a lead tone monster. I used to think Edge mode was total crap with the 6L6, it lost that spikey treble with the EL34's.

The MKV is a very versatile amp straight out of the box, the EL34 mode adds another very cool layer of options for $55. JJ's work pretty well for the thin coin it takes to get at the table. I am planning to move up to SED Winged C EL34's in a month or so.

Extreme is the only mode I haven't clicked with on channel 3. I am in IV mode most of the time, occasional C+ if I feel like hearing something different.

To me, Extreme and IV are like night and day. IV seems tighter and darker, and sounds like it has more gain, but I need to give Extreme mode a chance. I didn't care much for C+ at first and after dialing it in, like it as much as IV mode.

to my ears extreme seems less saturated the mkIV mode also a little on the harsh side but i didn't get deep into it would probably sound great in the right mix.

Extreme seems to have more thump, less saturation, and is tighter. It seems like it would be a good rhythm guitar sound in a mix, but not as good of a lead sound.

I prefer Mark IV mode myself.

I've had my V for less than a week, so what do I know but anyway...

I thought the differences between the Mark IV mode and the Extreme mode were pretty obvious. The Extreme mode is much more in-your-face, more aggressive and tighter while the Mark IV mode is fuller and deeper. Personally, I prefer the Mark IV mode but I can see that the Extreme mode has its uses. If I had had this amp in the late 1980s when I was in a thrash metal band, the Extreme mode would have been my go-to mode for pretty much everything.

But today, I find the Mark IV musically more satisfying.

extreme seems to have alot more bite and attack than the mark IV mode.
It also has a tad bit less gain and its killer with a 7 string.
Itll sound a little harsh by itself but it fits in a band setting amazingly

Noonoo said:

...is the difference? I swear I have been experimenting with the two and they sound identical except for the volume jump on extreme mode. Of course, I have read the manual but do my ears absolutely suck? What am I missing? The IIC+ mode vs the IV is easy to tell the difference. :?:

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circuit-wise, between mark iv and extreme mode the presence (negative feedback) is supposed to be removed from the circuit. whether you perceive that as a tonal change or not depends on what you have been running your presence at in the first place. very little presence usually means there will be a small difference between that and not having it at all, whereas if you run it higher, you may notice it missing. usually the highs are brighter, lows are a little thinner, etc. with presence. but if you don't have it, well, i can see where "grit" would come in because there is just that hair bit more distortion that is in the preamp section that doesn't get subtracted out with the negative feedback. so, your experiences may differ.

i personally don't even use ch3 in anything other than iic+ mode cause i already have a iv.

extreme mode is like a mark iv w/ a bit of a recto sound.. its definitely the 'heaviest' sound you can get from the amp. its a bit more scooped, with more high freq's, and a bit less gain.. it doesn't sound harsh whatsoever with the settings i use on mk2c+ or mkiv

i personally don't even use ch3 in anything other than iic+ mode cause i already have a iv.

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Hello mejoshee,

How do you deal with the lack of bass in that mode? I find that getting the right amount of bass content out of the Mark V is not easy, especially in CH3. My ESP Eclipse equipped with active EMG's delivers almost no bass, whereas my Schecter's Seymour Duncans behave better. That's why I gravitate towards Extreme, although I may prefer Mark IV's midrange and definition.

Very best,
Marcelo
NOWAYBACK

scott7d said:

Extreme is the only mode I haven't clicked with on channel 3. I am in IV mode most of the time, occasional C+ if I feel like hearing something different.

To me, Extreme and IV are like night and day. IV seems tighter and darker, and sounds like it has more gain, but I need to give Extreme mode a chance. I didn't care much for C+ at first and after dialing it in, like it as much as IV mode.

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Agreed. I just haven't hit it off with IIc+ or Extreme yet. I say yet because I experiment allot in hopes that I may find the sweet spot on these voices.

Old old thread.....
Still a good conversation for today.

I can't bond with the Mark IV mode except for lead.

For high gain rhythm and lead, the Extreme wins big time for me. It's just sounds bigger, fuller, meaner, throatier, etc. It's like they took Mark IV mode and improved it quite a bit. More girth and beef. Brutal is a good word.
I fid I like to keep the gain down a bit more on Extreme.

Side note, Crunch mode can be brutal as well if dialed in correctly.

The night of the living thread! :lol:

It was actually quite bizarre to come across my own post on page 1. Even more so because I would now violently disagree with that post! :lol: Of course that was 10 years ago so please excuse me if I have changed my mind since then...

More specifically, I have learned how to get pretty darn good band sound from channel 3 using Extreme mode. The problem with the Mark IV mode was that it while it sounded nice at home, it was somehow too mushy, too soft and smooth for band playing. Extreme mode (90W, Pentode), on the other hand, easily gave me that bite and edge I needed in the band mix. No contest, really.

However, for playing alone, the Mark IV mode isn't bad. It does sound more sophisticated and has a kind of harmonic richness and finesse that the Extreme mode lacks. But it pretty much gets lost when the other players join in.

Scary said:

They sound much, much different to my ears. I prefer the Extreme mode, which is supposed to be something like the Mark IV with the presence knob pushed in. The Mark IV mode sounds darker and less throaty IMO.

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Agreed.
Mesa says the Mark IV mode sounds bigger, bigger bass, more gain and chunkier low end. I don't find that to be the case.
I find Extreme to be bigger, throaty and chuck.
For leads, I prefer theliquid lead of Mark IV mode, but I can do fine on Extreme. Crunch is a good Marshall tone, rhythm and lead.
Mark IV sounds thinner and leaner to me. Doesn't sound as big and full as Extreme in the band context! Extreme just seems huge compared to Mk IV mode.

I also used to have a Mark IV and never liked it. Always sounded boxy. The Mark V with Mark IV mode and Extreme mode to me are light years ahead tonally to the older Mark IV. I hate the IIC+ mode. Not my vibe