Hi from England, I'm a 73yr old guitar player, and I always wanted a Boogie. A few years ago I finally had some cash, and I bought the king snake because it's a more simple amp for me to operate. I love it, my dream has finally come true, a bit late but I'm happy.

Finally someone who understands the manual.

Mark series GAS intensifies

I left the living room with this video playing on the TV, and my wife yells at me: Don't leave me here alone with baby Jesus!

Found one of these a few years back at the LA guitar center. I'd wanted a Mark series since high school, and there was no way I was passing on it. Years later,I can't see myself ever parting with this amp. It is perfect, it does so many sounds, and it takes pedals so well too. I love it

Ahh....The famed Mark Series. I heard that another unique feature of the Mark Amps is that there is a clean signal running parallel through the amp along with the tweaked signal and they are blended at the end before the poweramp. This has been my favorite Gear Curiosities this far. Amazing amp is not giving it enough credit. Mark Series for the win!!

Man, the definitive Mark IV review. Very well done.

Hey, that's my exact setup. Mark IV on a Recto cab. I have yet to get a bad tone out of it, and I've owned it for two decades.

Best gear video I've ever seen. Explained everything perfectly, demonstrated everything perfectly. Loved the part where you're playing and spinning knobs on the fly. Could really hear what each thing was doing. I've been thinking about getting a Mark IV and I now have a much much better understanding of what I'm dealing with. Thanks again.

Thank you for this video! I am not not a metal player, but I find that metal guys make great content for dialing in good distorted sounds. I got one of these in a trade, and immediately set it to some good sounds. I've taken some notes and periodically updated my settings for the last two years from this video. Most recently: I NEVER used the fat mode on the lead channel. Holy hell what a difference that made! I hope mine lasts forever, because I do not think I would ever want another amp after this except maybe a Mk. V if they come down in used prices.

I really appreciate the work you put into making these videos, they provide great information.

Love my Mark III Blue Stripe. Can't wait to get a Mark IV and a JP-2C to add to the collection as well. IMO, the Mark series is the best "family" of amps on the market, as they can literally do everything.

Awesome video man, not often you see a gear review/demonstration start with a full history lesson! 🤘🏻

Thank you for the excellent informative video. Well done!

You deserved more subscriber! This is the real in depth review that i curently looking for. Thankyou!

Great practical and thorough review!

That 8 string chuggy section near the end gave me the goofiest fucking grin on my face. I absolutely love how clear yet chunky it is

Wow! Very informative, great explanation of how mark series work. Love my mark v:25.

Thanks to this video I went and bought the amplitube emulation of the amp. What an incredible sound. Also, thanks to your deep explanation of the knobs it seemed super easy to dial in. I guess that if I hadn't watched this video I would have been soooo lost. Thank you!

Thank you so very very much for this! Got a cream/tweed mk4 rev b coming in the mail and you helped so much with my decision

Excellent demo my guy!

Absolutely great video! 👍 I'd love to see this with the Mark V if you ever lay your hands on one 🤘

Long time follower, first time commenter. I must say you have been the number one source for me for Mesa. Being in the market for a new Mesa, no one, and I mean no one goes to the depths of explanation like you do! Not to mention the rest of your reviews of other pieces of gear, I just happen to be in the Mesa world at the moment. Love the channel man!

Thanks for doing this video! I just got one and this is very helpful!

Thanks for this video:)! I'm one of those guys who struggle to understand the tone and the logic of these amps but you make it sound ferocious! Great tones!

An interesting and accurate review on the very impressive Mark IV amp. Always wanted one of these. Bucket list.

This video is perfectly timed for me. I just yesterday dove into the Mark IV models in the Axe III for the first time (which is of course a different experience, but still) and I was shocked at how articulate and (as you said) unforgiving they are, but in a really positive way. I’m already itching to pick up a real Mark IV like you have. Thanks for the awesome video!

Incredible video! You definitely did your homework!

Great Vid. I have a Rev B. And I love Rhythm 2! Great rock sound.

You're way beyond a Bachelor's of the Boogie and a Master's of the Mesa! Thank you.

I´ve got a MarkIV/A and it´s still my holy amp-grail! NOTHING will EVER beat this beast!

My Boogie mk4b purchase story: I was purchasing my mk4b head and Jim Marshall was signing his amps on my left..In Montreal,Quebec and we looked at each other,after talking for a minute about the jtm I had,I asked him to sign the reverb tank under the Boogie,he laughed a bit and said no..We shaked hands smiling and he was finished so he left the room of amps.I left later on with my Boogie. Thx for posting this.

I am so looking forward to watching this video

This video was very well done

Cool amp! The clean sounds are very usable. It seems a really versatile amp.

So glad you did this video. Had been curious about trying out the Mark IV model in my HX Stomp, but didn't know how to dial it in. After watching this video I made an effort, and I think it might be my favorite model now. The HX Stomp only allows 6 blocks, so not needing an overdrive in front of the amp model saves me a block which is cool since I do the Devin Townsend delay-reverb-delay setup which takes up half the available blocks.

I would love to have my hands on one, my dream amp ever since. Very difficult to find nowadays. Prices are through the roof today. Thanks for this depth review.

Excellent review and right on. I have the Maek 4B and its a beautiful amp. Its all i need for and style and type of music. Thanx brother. GOD bless.

Excellent video!

Holy God this sounds amazing.

Very thorough and well done video. I had a iv for many years and eventually sold it and replaced with a royal atlantic. It's crazy how few controls the RA has and how easy it is to dial it in; much easier than the iv. Just before selling it, I sent the iv back to mesa. They went through it and replaced a lot of components which only came to a few hundred bucks. Anyway, great video about a great amp.

Just a heads up on repairs...100% send this amp to Mesa for repairs if needed. I tried a local guy, who is a certified Mesa repair tech, and he had my IVa for 10 weeks before he finally told me he should’ve sent it to Mesa 4 weeks before. I picked it up and sent it to Mesa. Price was actually pretty reasonable, and I had the amp back in 4 weeks...2 of those weeks spent in shipping from FL to CA and back. I had to send that amp in to Mesa 3 times in 1 year. I also had a IVb at the same time that didn’t have any issues. Great amps, but like you said...they’re getting old and might need some service so keep this in mind if you buy one. Still worth it!

Great review & demo. Lots of complexity in this great amplifier, and you covered it in a very clear and concise way. One thing that people often misunderstand is the 'tweed' setting. This is more than just a lower power out put setting, it lowers all of the voltages in the amp by selecting a different tap on the primary side power transformer. The lower plate voltage reduces headroom, and as such lowers the level of onset of distortion - i.e. distortion happens at lower gains, and power valve compression also occurs at lower volumes.

Thank you, this is by far the most informative video on MARK IV on the internet. I own my M-IV B (combo) since 2009. Being a blues-blues rock guitar player(mostly, i play stoner rock too) i wasn't really looking for a high gain amp. What i was looking for was an amp that had a decent clean channel that took pedals well and was a combo. I also own a Triple Recto head which i bought around 2006. Funny enough i only use it's clean channel and it is great but it is so hard to carry around. For me the definition on Boogie amps are the key. That is why i prefer them over -most-Fenders and Marshalls. I also own a 65 Deluxe too but that is another story. I never use it with pedals. Mark IV is an amazing amp. I use it on Tweed, Class A and Triode. Recently i fell in love with it's lead channel (on mid drive, somewhere around noon). It gives you a texture no pedal can imitate and cleans up perfect when you roll your guitar volume down. The clean channel can do anything with a decent drive pedal and is a joy to play without any pedals too. I use Red Dirt (keeley), EP Booster and JHS AT and can get all the sounds i like from that channel. Now i use the lead channel too and i am loving it. The 2nd channel is not really my thing...at least for now: )

Great informative Video, thanks for sharing :-)

cool! Thanks for this video. I recently came across a MarkIV. My reverb didnt work. Whoever had it had the RC cable plugged in backwards and now the reverb sounds great! I like the LoG sound and this amp does it for that sound.

Amazing beast, this mutant of legendary rep. Long may it roar.

You really got a major Gaelic phenotype going on man.

Plaque Scythe Studios, Man sure wish this video was out back in the day (2000), thanks for the detail explanation!!! I've owned my Mark IV(B) for 20 years now and I'm still tweaken and learning the switches and tones.!! 😳 After watching this video I now have a better idea where I had been going wrong, Sigh😩..... First few years of gigging every weekend with this amp was a rollercoaster, ended up going back n forth to my Mark III's for a break, and recently for the past few years using the Mark 5/35 for simplicity... I'm taking a fresh approach, thanks again

Just a heads up; the EQ was actually added when the Mark I was in production. You can find some Mark I's with the EQ from the mid-'70s that predate the Mark IIA. The Mark IIA helped introduce the amp's "interesting" EQ controls, where the EQ acted more like a pre-gain boost due to being so early in the signal chain. The Mark IIB introduced the FX loop, but it put it in such a weird place that the amp sounded pretty... ass when the gain was cranked. This was fixed with the Mark IIC/IIC+ where it's further down the signal chain. IIRC for awhile, Mesa was actually modding Mark IIBs to Mark IIC specs (Choptone's demo of the Mark IIB appears to have this mod), but stopped offering this mod due to no longer having the parts and PCBs.

Great amps ! I have 2 . Will never sell them. From crushingly heavy to glassy cleans. And everything in between. Thanks for posting.

Great run through and explanation. Did they use a similar structure for the channel's and eq settings in the Mark V series? I find the mark V difficult to dial in as well. Thanks

I wish we were in a band together! Damn your thirst for tone is much like mine. This demo convinced me to give the mark of a serious look. I love my Laney GH100L but the versatility you presented is difficult to ignore. I have two cabinets a 2x12 with greenbacks and 412 vintage 30’s so I’d have lots of fun. The clean tones on the boogie sound really good to me and I can see how they would fit for so many things. One of your previous vids talked about the Laney super amp this one seems to have gone in another direction? Thanks for producing such cool content that checks so many boxes!! Rock on!!

Hey man cool vid, this is my first time watching your channel. I really like how in depth and informative you go. Would you ever do a review like this for the Peavey XXX?

I have a mk4 b long head and recto 212 plus a lonestar 1x12 open back cab.I bought it new,had many other amps aside to gig and this is the only one I kept now that I am retired. I play lounge,house,house dub,ambiant and do guitar tracks for ...Of Tanz Victims,an old school industrial music group.This amp head and cabs never left the house. I have an amp for outside work.Thx for posting,have a good life.

This or a mark V plus modeller of choice and you're set for tones. Great overview !

I have 2 Mesa Boogie Mark 4s (I have it at my casa)You said something about the oddities of this amplifier. I talked, and read all the catalogs. I am surprised I bought one . I expected that I would buy a Marshall stack. I felt you intelligently explained all functions and knobs. I thought I would record soon. I don't understand the red-line one, the other line ones. I read something. I heard something. I got mine serviced and I went to Mesa Boogie Hollywood recently. All the amps are great. Thank You for the video

Very nice dive into a complex amp! I would love to have one of these. Ever since high school in the '80s when my buddy had a Mark II I've been interested. But I've ended up finding less gainy amps more useful in my older age. In my younger days I just couldn't afford these. I make due with a Mesa LoneStar Special, a Fender Princeton 68 custom, and a Revv D20 now, along with a bunch of pedals. Still, if I have a windfall, one of these is on the list. Thanks for the very in-depth demo.

I did not expect to watch this video all the way through. But man I'm glad I did. I've got a mark 5 and I absolutely love it to death. They are incredible amps, extremely versitile, and a tweaker's dream. I understand why some people can't get into them, or just find them frustrating. But for me, there is no better amp out there. Amazing in-depth look into this gem of an amp mate! Well done! You've earned yourself a new sub! :) stay brutal \m/

Love the mesa tone with 7 and 8 strings.I had a carvin v3 that was a beast reminded me of a mesa.

I have a Mark V that John Petrucci used for a clinic I attended, he signed it afterward and I bought it on the spot, ten years later and I’m still finding “sweet spots”. Mesa rules🤘😈🤘

Great vid.

thanks for this vid

Thank you for such a detailed video. Could you please give more information about the tubes (replacement tubes...). Special mention for the EVML speaker : perfection to me

I've owned a Mark IV version A combo since about 1991, and it's the only tube amp I've ever needed. I've borrowed a few and almost bought others, but like you say, it's the only amp you need and everything else feels sub par. I agree. Rather than buying other amps, I've focused more on pedals, cabs, etc. You mention Rhyth 2 being relatively lackluster and I have to agree; however, as someone who's owned one forever, I recommend the following: try germanium fuzz and/or germanium treble booster through different rhythm 2 settings. If you want some early Sabbath tones or other "classic rock" heavy sounds. You have the clean and high gain stuff down, but try that some time, building a fuzzy warm gain stage the way I describe. The closest you came was that OCD which sounded pretty cool but it's still kind of high gain. Which isn't bad--I'm just saying, you only covered some of what this thing can do. It really is the stranded on an island amp for sure.

I see Mark - I hit like. Great review!

Very interesting, I’ve owned this amp for about a decade and it rips. It’s great to know a little more about it, it’s really a historical price at this point. Really hard to come by too, I really need the foot switch though.

I had a couple Mesa amps in the past (TC-50, Mark V 25, JP-2C) and if it was not for my Axe-FX III, I would choose this one as my main amp for sure. It's just a matter of taste really. It is so iconic.

Great job Ryan! I love when you talk about Boogies. Since the Mark series continues to evolve, what are you thoughts on Mesa adding new Rectifiers to the Rectifier series? I know in terms of Single, Dual and Triple those have already been covered, what about adding onto the Roadster/Roadking series with something new?

My dream amp for sure, this or the IIC+

never had a mesa before, but does anyone know if Gorguts' "considered dead" album is the result of a mesa? it sounds iike it to me...

200th comment. My guitar teacher had a Mark IV in the mid 80s. I loved it......couldn't find an affordable one (I was 17) so years later, I found a Mark III combo and another Mesa cabinet.

I remembered they have a cardboard picture of all the controls, tube choices. controls and the controls in the rear panel.I had this memorized. There a lot of controls. The amplifier, all different types of music that I can express, makes me feel very good. I remembered I went to a Studio in California to buy a used one. they used it for a lot of the recording. I bought a new one later.

Yeah... here i am again, blown away by your 7/8 string melodic riffs. Is that another one of yours from the 50 second mark? Still waiting for the song from the intro of the Gargoyle video you did ;)

Awesome video! I had a MKiv RevB many years ago that i had to sell at the time, ever since owning that amp I've wanted another one and now i have had one for the last two years and still it never fails to amaze me with the tones on offer, just added a Mesa 1x12 Thiele, holy shit!!!, game changer. won't be buying a 4x12!

you can also run it with el34s on the two outside tube sockets and half power mode for a different tube option/sounds. and its a fixed bias amp you never have to do tube biasing

Curious to know how this would sound with the volume maxed out

For the adventurous and/or relatively broke: I fell in love with the Mark IIC+ sound after many years of being happy with Marshalls and Marshall-In-A-Box pedals - the latter are excellent and have been for decades. So I wondered if the FET wizards had come up with something with the IIC+ flavor. For a Boogie in a box with the IIC+ thing going on, I heartily recommend the Wampler Pinnacle. I could dial in the IIC+ channel's tone on a Mark V with the Pinnacle going into the clean channel. and A/B'd it like that - the Pinnacle however can get a lot brighter, giving you a nice Marshall style cut, and in general is just way more versatile than the 'real thing' without giving up much of anything in terms of tone. Another option is the Quilter Overdrive 200, which does a great job of doing the IIC+ but with a Dumble style clean channel.

I love my mesa dc5 the little mark4 cause he have clean of mark 4 and lead of rectifier. Good to play blues rock

Great run down! I have a Mark IV combo that I acquired recently...mint condition..2008 manufactured. My only "issue" is when switching to triode mode, I hear a noticeable hum across all channels and regardless of whether my guitar volume is on/zero. I've read in other forums about an overall "normal" nature of hum with triode and maybe it's more noticeable to me as I'm playing low volume at home but wondering if anyone has a shared experience? I've replaced all the tubes with known good ones to no avail. Pentode mode is dead quiet. I also have a Mark V 90 head and do not notice this issue. Welcome anyone's feedback.

I bought a Mark IV new in '91, rack mounted, with a "road ready " Mesa 4x12. Dream come true. Bucket list. A true "That tone in my head" type of amp. Stunning. Sold it when the realities of life mandated. Years later I bought another (and a Recto 2x12), because I could. Three things were evident with the return of an old friend: 1. The Mark IV is a BEAST. 2. The Mark IV is now WAY beyond my needs...and 3. Even though the second Mark IV has been moved along to new home, and Fractal Audio (AX8) is a better fit FOR ME these days.....I will ALWAYS be a Boogie guy at heart. For anyone who has the opportunity, whether you "need" it or not, I hope you get a chance to experience the true "Spirit of Art in Technology" that is Mesa/Boogie. P.S. I still have the Recto 2x12, you never know when a Mark V: 25 might follow me home.

Oh, hi Mark!

Love my IV "B" I was without a Mark Iv for about 10 years and just got another one. Throw some RFT 12AX7's in V! and V4-5 and the amp really comes alive. R2 even gets pretty heavy

Thanks a lot for this great video! Just one question, which is your favourite delay pedal to hook on Mark IV's loop that takes good line levels?

I have a IV A and it would be super great to see you borrow one of A revs for a comparison. One of the things that make me think the most is, V4 is 12At7 for the A and a 12AX7 for the B. Being a driver for the reverb and at the same time the 5th lead gain stage, has the B more gain than the A? (if the amps have the same exact tube layout)

That tone at 35:08 is the reason I would get one of these.

Ah actually I have a Guild Thunderstar bass amp that was made in 1969 that not only has an FX loop but also has bias tuner pots in the back. Whaaay ahead of it's time which is only two of the reasons I will have it for a very, very long time.

No heads up from me, but I love the MKIV! Big fan of the vids and of course, my personal ‘90 MKIV!!

Which cab/cab sim are you using for this demo?

I’m betting any downvotes you get are from other guitar KZfaqr’s. Phenomenal content as usual.

Great sound ! What speakers are you using please ? Cheers, Vito :)

i have a mark five 25 and the mark iv setting is my favorite.

Nice job man. Always a killer amp. And like you said right near the end, it is completely unforgiving. If you're a bit sloppy... You'll just sound bad. And in a combo with the EV12m it'll bloody well cut you in half. Thing's like a laser 🤣 Clearly one of the best 🏆

just some clarification randall smith already owned the brand "MESA engineering" which he used to order licensed mercedes parts when he was repairing mercedes engines for a living before amps. thats why its "mesa/boogie" almost seperate but the same , because its two brands under one guy marketed into one brand. saying "mesa/boogie" is the same as saying "boogie by MESA" , meaning that the "boogie" line of guitar amps is a product under his brand MESA that repairs mercedes as a seperate entity that works on the amplifiers.

I'm pretty sure that pull bright on R2 is equivalent to the pull fat on the lead channel.

mk IIc is my dream amp. this is up there tho

Totally relate to this. I've had a Mark V 90W for about a year, and it's taken me that long to really learn it and get used to it. It has all the sounds of the previous models, and more on top of it. It's an incredible amp, but you basically have to throw out everything you think you know about amps and learn it from scratch. On all my previous amps, you could typically put the treble at about 1:00, the mids at about 9:00, and the bass at about 11:00, turn up the gain and presence to taste and you were good to go. On these, you might end up wanting the complete reverse, with the mids at 2:00 and the treble and bass at 9:00, with the presence at about 8:00 at most. Because the post EQ from the graphic and presets is where the "scoop" comes from. The channel controls, along with the mode switches, are basically letting you sculpt a part of the signal chain that other amps never do. Over the years, they've just kept adding features and making them more and more complicated. But when you get the hang of it, the result is exponentially greater flexibility, and tones that reach a level of perfection you can't get from any other amp. The only thing I would give any negativity to is the quality of the distortion from the gain stage. It sounds a little bit "solid state-ish", almost like a distortion pedal, compared to something like a Fender or Marshall. If you go with very high gain for metal rhythm type sounds, that quality takes over, and I'm not a huge fan of it. But some people clearly love that sound, starting with Master of Puppets. On the other hand, for lead, that really high gain can let you get a quality that is basically infinite sustain. Which is very cool. And if you dial in just the right amount of gain, where it doesn't totally compress and crush the sound and take over, it's the greatest blues amp you'll ever hear. Its core tone is Fender, still. So just like the modded Marshalls with extra preamp stages that have been heavily used since the 80s, the Mark series is basically a Fender modded for high gain. They invented that whole thing, and it was taken over to Marshalls once they set the standard. So now you have all of the EVH, Friedman, etc stuff, which are all basically modded Marshalls. I find the Rectifier series, and Marshall, EVH etc, to be better for high gain rhythm. But for cleans and leads, the Mark series crushes everything else.

“Upon reflection”...classic.

my desert island amp what do you think of the Orange Rockervb?

Back in the early 2000s I went into a guitar store hell bent on getting a Mark IV and a traditional straight front 4x12 Mesa cab. They had neither in stock. They told me I would have to buy the IV up front in order to get one to even try. I ended up walking out with a Triple Rectifier and ordered the cab. I still wish I had just ordered both.. I still have the amp and cab but I am ready for a change.. I am thinking about a Mark V 25 or 35... I am basically after that IIc+ sound these days.