Boogie MkIV vs MkV

[Cliff]

I know there's some debate over which is better, and the MkV is considerably more expensive than what you can pick a used MkIV up for, but is it worth it?
Listening to the sound clips of the MkV on the Mesa website, I particularly like the MkI mode - is it possible to get anything like that out of the MkIV? Another useful feature seems to be the 10watt class A mode.
Another question here: I currently have a Studio 22+. Do the different tone characteristics of class A, simul-class etc only come into play when the power amp is overdriven? I'm basically a home player, so this could be a problem.

[Twitch]

Ahh hell, this is gonna be a fun thread. Personally, IMO, the Mark V is a jack of all trades, so, that is to say its Mark IV,III,II,I emulations will fall short of the real deal. Ive played with one and toyed with picking one up a couple of years ago, but the price, ohh the price. Even used they seem to hang around $2k.

As far as pushing a class A amp, and I may be speaking out of my ass here, but Ive heard the point of class A is to be super clean at the price of wattage and hard to overdrive the tubes.

[chrisolson]

I've never played a 5, but the 4 was a bucket list amp. I have it now. It does NOT disappoint.

If you look around enough, maybe you can land a MK IV DEAL like I did. It's the hands down BEST amp I've gotten under a grand. There are sleepers out there - keep an eye on your local craigslist.

[Cliff]

Yeah, the price. If I could play, I could justify it. But maybe if I got it, I'd suddenly be able to play .
I should mention with the Studio 22, I rarely turn the master past 2. Not sure if I ever get clipping from the power section. One thing I do notice, though, is that there's a threshold around 1 and three quarters on the master, below which it sounds kind of lifeless, and above which it sounds awesome - much more chimey, even with high gain there's more characteristic of the guitar, whereas below this the overdrive sound dominates. It's hard to describe, but at this point (which is definitely too loud for evening playing), there's suddenly a ton of extra tone. Not sure whether to characterise it as 'brightness', cause I think there's more going on than that. Is this normal for a tube amp? Am I hearing the power amp section being overdriven at this point, or is it just coming into it's normal operating range?

[Cliff]

I've never played a 5, but the 4 was a bucket list amp. I have it now. It does NOT disappoint.

If you look around enough, maybe you can land a MK IV DEAL like I did. It's the hands down BEST amp I've gotten under a grand. There are sleepers out there - keep an eye on your local craigslist.

Yeah, I've been watching out for a while. I don't really have the money at the moment, so this is more a sort of question about which of the two I should dream about getting. I did see one in a local music shop a few months ago for just over a grand - I'm sure they could have been bargained with. I wish I'd picked it up.

[Twitch]

Is this normal for a tube amp? Am I hearing the power amp section being overdriven at this point, or is it just coming into it's normal operating range?

1.Yes, 2. depends on the tubes and max wattage rating of the amp and 3. yes. Youll experience this extra "soul" with any amp when you crank it. The only difference is where the pot is pointing on the dial, which is a characteristic of the pot, not the amp. You can set two identical amps side by side and that point from 1 to 10 where the amp opens up will vary because of the pot. No two electronic components are identical by common rule, but you can test them to ensure consistency, but the manufacturers dont do that. They need a pot, they pull it from a box full of pots.

[mr426]

I have played a MKIII for 20 years and I love em. Not into the Rectos at all. Been thinking about pickin up a MKV, but I got such a good rig now. Damn maybe the should reisue the III?..haha

[djpharoah]

I've played both and finally got a Mark IVB head. It just sounds great in every setting but takes time to tweak. Once there it's got oodles of gain and it's very versatile. I like the Mark 5 for the independent channel EQs and wattage feature but to me the cleans and the lead channel sounded better on the MK4.

I love it running through my Recto 2x12 cab with v30s.

[Cliff]

I've read this 'takes time to tweak' before, and that bothers me a little, since I don't really know what I'm doing. Well, I have a bit of an understanding of how it all works, but I don't trust my ears. One day I dial in what I think is a good tone on the Studio 22, the next i wonder if I really like it at all.
Twitch - I know what you're saying about the jack-of-all-trades thing, but I suspect you're a little fussier about precise tone than I am.
mr426 - I know what you mean about the rectos. I was almost convinced by the new mini recto, which looks like a good price relatively speaking, but it just doesn't have the versatility. And hearing that recto vs cobra comparison in Twitch's thread put me right off. I might want to use that tone on occasion, but it's certainly not how I want to sound for most of the time. (No offense, Twitch - it's just not me.)
Are these amps just overkill for bedroom playing? Will I be able to appreciate the difference while keeping the volume low, or should I just stick with the Studio 22 and practice more ?

[javert]

Cliff, I picked up a Mark V in the spring. For some time, I thought I had made a very expensive mistake It took me so long to figure this amp out. I also have to say that I don't see this amp as a real high gain amp. It does not have the kind of gain my Engls and even the Framus have. I really need to crank the gain, treble and volume for each channel to get near the kind of gain I need for my playing, and this makes the sound rather fuzzy, so I've rolled the treble in the main EQ off and the presence too. I was watching a youtube video by Petrucci about his Mark V settings, and when I dialed in his settings, I didn't get the sustain I need at all. Then I read the comments for the video, and somebody pointed out that when he was actually playing, he basically had the gain/vol maxed out Also, I noticed that on his homepage, he lists a modded Tube Screamer as part of his gear. Go figure. As for the different modes, I like the different clean modes, and on the second channel, I like the Crunch and Mark I modes. I haven't been able to make the Edge mode sound to my liking, way too thin and fuzzy. On channel 3, I like the Extreme mode the best - it sounds really good. It sounds more well-defined and smooth than the Mark IV and Mark IIC+ modes, which is the kind of sound I prefer. As for whether the different legacy Mark modes sound like their predecessors, I don't know since I haven't owned or played any of them. I'm still getting to know this amp, so I haven't used it much with the band, so I can't comment on it regarding that.

[javert]

Well, I have a bit of an understanding of how it all works, but I don't trust my ears. One day I dial in what I think is a good tone on the Studio 22, the next i wonder if I really like it at all.

Haha, same story with my Mark V. I'm tweaking away thinking "this is great" and after having been away from it for a while, I think "this doesn't sound good at all. Way too fuzzy/nasal/what have you".

[javert]

I have played a MKIII for 20 years and I love em. Not into the Rectos at all. Been thinking about pickin up a MKV, but I got such a good rig now. Damn maybe the should reisue the III?..haha

Interesting, you don't hear much about the Mark III at all compared to Mark II, IV and V.

[Twitch]

Twitch - I know what you're saying about the jack-of-all-trades thing, but I suspect you're a little fussier about precise tone than I am.

What are you trying to say?? And me no like Rectos either, tone to dry.

[markD]

Are these amps just overkill for bedroom playing? Will I be able to appreciate the difference while keeping the volume low, or should I just stick with the Studio 22 and practice more ?

i thought my MKIV was the greatest bedroom amp ever. i thought it sucked ass when i cranked it. all the glorious, singing tone was gone when i got the amp to gig worthy volumes. people will argue and disagree, but that is my opinion.

much like chris, it was a bucket amp for me too. i was sorely disappointed. i kept it about a year and then sold it. i want to reiterate that it was an AWESOME bedroom amp, but my band gigs a lot and i have a rule about gear: if i don't use it live, it goes.

[Hellbat]

The new issue of the British guitar mag Guitarist has a couple interesting viewpoints of tweaking amp tones.

Blues guitarist Matt Schofield recommends sweeping the tone controls and setting them at the point when you detect the biggest change in sound.

Jeffrey Wielandt recommends turning everything up to 11 and then adjusting down from there until you hit where you like it.

I tried the Schofield technique on a few amps and it is a very good way of getting close to the amp's natural sound. And it's a good starting point for tweaking from there.