Mesa Boogie mark IV or 6505

[Vermillion]

so i am in the market for my new amp. I play metal with the likes of in flames, soilwork, bullet for my valentine, unearth, lamb of god. that kind of shit. i am borrowing a 5150 right now, and i know the 6505 is the same thing, but i have heard awsome things about the mark IV...

any opinions?

[markD]

do you ever play clean? do you use a lot of effects? do you need more than one really good sound?

if the answer to those questions is "yes" then a mark IV would be a better choice.

[Vermillion]

and yes to all above. LOL

[markD]

the thing about the mark IV is that it is VERY touchy. it can be hard to dial oin the "perfect" tone that you know it is capable of. it is extremely versatile and a tweakers dream. if you want a quick to dial amp that always sounds the same, don't get one. i swear mine sounded different if the room temperature changed!! i enjoyed it but found it increasingly frustrating as each each day passed. i ended up selling it because it never quite delivered what i wanted.

the clean is VERY clean. cleaner than a fender. very glassy. the crunch channel i found to be useless. the lead channel was glorious!!!! but you better LOVE mids!!!! i loved to solo on that head, but hated to play rythym with it. i could never dial the sound to be as clear as i like it.

don't get me wrong, the mark IV is killer. sometimes i wonder if i should have spent more time with it. i often think of buying another one......

anyway, i hope this helps a little. go to boogie's website and check out the mark IV manual. it will tell you a lot.

[pagemalicious]

To be honest i think the 6505 sounds far too fuzzy and crappy compared to the 5150. It's surposed to be 5150 with a different name, but to me, it's a totally different amp.

[GodOfRhythm]

Mark IV, as any amp is a Tweaker's amp. It holds any and all tone and is probably the best in what it does, but if you don't have the patience to tweak it to get to that godly tone, it's not an amp for you.

I'm a full on Mesa Boogie guy, nothing comes close, to me.

[Vermillion]

hmmm. cause i play alot of rythem with solos also... this is a hard choice. any other amps any one recomends other than these 2?

[horns666]

I had both at the same time..they are both very nice amps..

The Mrk IV definiely requires magor tweakage as GOR stated..I always got a Gary Moore "Corridoors of power" tone with that...well to my ears and fingers anywoo..

but I stuck with the 5150..I discovered the BBE at that very time..and that combo just seemed to suite my taste a bit more..I remember the Boogie not liking the BBE..none of my mesas did..

I would try both and come to your own conclusion on this one..they both have their own voice and very reliable tube amps.

I really liked the Mrk II and IV heads...but I didn't get along with the Recto..boy did I try..and tried..after buying one brand new..you really want to like it..makes sense..

Both are tried and true amps..Lamb of God's amp of choice..so they do thrash metal as does the 5150..it's all a mater of what works best for you.

Happy Hunting..

I would tell you to buy an Uberschall...but they don't come cheap.

[Inearthed]

so i am in the market for my new amp. I play metal with the likes of in flames, soilwork, bullet for my valentine, unearth, lamb of god. that kind of shit. i am borrowing a 5150 right now, and i know the 6505 is the same thing, but i have heard awsome things about the mark IV...

In Flames, Soilwork, and Unearth all used 5150's at one point or another (prior to getting endorsements from other companies). I'm 85% sure Bullet... does too. Lamb Of God uses Mark IV's.

5150, easily. Spanks the Mark IV for that style of music... Mark IV has greater versatility though. I have a feeling both would mix together very nicely.

[GodOfRhythm]

hmmm. cause i play alot of rythem with solos also... this is a hard choice. any other amps any one recomends other than these 2?

I play tons of rhythm and the mk IV delivers exxeptionally well on it. CHUG and TONE! But it is more of a refined instrument and for the things you want to play a 5150 would probably suit your needs better.

[jgcable]

I absolutely love the Mark IV. For the tone you are looking for the 5150/6505... etc... is the better choice.
The Mark IV is smooth refined metal (or anything else for that matter) but it is a tweakers amp. The sound you are looking for is exactly what the 5150 series amps are made for.

[Racerx2k]

I have really become a fan of the current Peavey amps. Have you considered the Triple XXX?

[Robotechnology]

the thing about the mark IV is that it is VERY touchy. it can be hard to dial oin the "perfect" tone that you know it is capable of. it is extremely versatile and a tweakers dream. if you want a quick to dial amp that always sounds the same, don't get one. i swear mine sounded different if the room temperature changed!! i enjoyed it but found it increasingly frustrating as each each day passed. i ended up selling it because it never quite delivered what i wanted.

the clean is VERY clean. cleaner than a fender. very glassy. the crunch channel i found to be useless. the lead channel was glorious!!!! but you better LOVE mids!!!! i loved to solo on that head, but hated to play rythym with it. i could never dial the sound to be as clear as i like it.

don't get me wrong, the mark IV is killer. sometimes i wonder if i should have spent more time with it. i often think of buying another one......

anyway, i hope this helps a little. go to boogie's website and check out the mark IV manual. it will tell you a lot.

I have similar feelings about my Mark IV as in markD's post. R2 works for bluesy leads and classic rock otherwise you're better off dialing in your lead tone without using the 5 band eq and using the lead plus eq setting of the footswitch after having fiddling the eq to shape the lead tone into a proper METAL rhythm tone (almost a 4 channel amp done this way).

[pagemalicious]

hmmm. cause i play alot of rythem with solos also... this is a hard choice. any other amps any one recomends other than these 2?

How about a Framus Dragon or Cobra? sounds like they match what you're trying to find. Look here on www.rocksolidamps.com for clips on them, you'll be amazed.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

i'd go with the peavey XXX for what you want to do.

i love the mark IV, but you'll spend more time tweaking than playing. and i'm not the biggest fan of the 5150.