Has anyone here bought a Mesa Mark IV?

[Mediocrity Rules]

I'm stuck between buying a new Mark IV, or a used Long Chassis Mark IV (which I hear is better). *Does anyone here have any recommendations on which amp of the two is better. *Also, if someone has bought one of these amps and didn't like it after a while, I'd appreciate it if they could tell me. *Thanks,


Philip

[Mikael Jurman]

I bought my used Mark IV about a month ago and from what I understand it's only the cabinet size and the speaker that differ. Mine's got the EVM and it's easily the best sounding amp I've ever played and I haven't even taken the time to tweak it properly. Now, the EVM is a more expensive speaker than the Celestion, so the original combo ought to be more expensive (about $800 in Sweden) but let you ears decide which you like better. If you haven't allready checked out the reviwes at www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data/Mesa_Boogie/ you could do so to get some opinnions from other players. Both the original and long chassis are reviewed.

Good luck and remember: Mesa kicks a$$!

Mikael

[Kremlin]

I own a widebody combo. The only real difference is that the widebody has the Celestion speaker, a wider chassis, and has a couple of controls moved to the front from the back. The Celestion is rated at 90 Watts, the EVM at 200 Watts, but in my opinion I think the Celestion sounded better (why I bought it )

[john w]

My MK IV was delivered (used, from e-bay) on 9-11-01. I have the short chassis head, not a combo.
Like ANY other piece of gear, I think the "which is better?" question is highly subjective. I HAVE heard that the older Mark IVs are allegedly better. I love mine to death, and would probably only consider tossing it for a Road King. Let YOUR ears decide, if you are buying it blind (ie. E-bay), then it's a crap shoot. I use mine with a Marshall 4x12 bottom and/or a 1x12 Boogie Thiel cabinet. They sound awesome together, and each cabinet sounds different.

John W