Mode 4 surprise-anyone had similar?

[texshred777]

I went over to a friends house today, to check out his rig:
prs custom 24(birds,10 top,natural finish)
Mode 4 head/ mesa rectifier 412
-in loop:korg rack tuner, hush super c, sonic maximizer 362
-in front end:dunlop 535q, digitech whammy,boss phase shifter,boss chorus,line6 dl-4,line6 mm-4.

Playing some riffs through od1/od2 didn't impress me, pretty fizzy sound, no punch. I did take into account that it wasn't cranked. The crunch channel though sounded great for lead tones. Playing 'summer song' with his 535q sounded awesome. I've always been one to dog it, after trying it at various stores..but the crunch channel sounded pretty smooth and yet punchy(I'm sure the PRS doesn't hurt). The cleans were really good too. All in all, I wouldn't sell my 5150 to acquire one, however I was more than impressed with some of the sounds I was getting for lead.

Bear in mind the maximizer and hush unit were on.

I was curious of others' surprises with amps they would've never considered.

[David McCarroll]

ummmmm - every exposure I have had to Marshall Mode Fours have served to make me love my TriAxis/2:90 all the more ...... maybe I haven't spent enough time with the beast.......

[texshred777]

Originally Posted by David McCarroll

ummmmm - every exposure I have had to Marshall Mode Fours have served to make me love my TriAxis/2:90 all the more ...... maybe I haven't spent enough time with the beast.......

Can't blaim you. I've rarely found a setup more amazing than a triaxis/2:90. Contrary to what I've heard, it's only taken me minutes to dial in great tones on a triaxis.

The one channel that impressed me on the marshall was NOT enough to overpower the ****ty od1/od2 channels with respect to a buying decision.

UPDATE:
Well, I went back today and replayed the mode 4 and this time was really impressed. I actually played it at a decent volume, unlike last night were it was pretty quiet. I liked the way he had the fx loops setup. He had no efx in loop on clean and crunch(side1)-so no sonic maximizer or hush unit on those channels. He also had his reverb relatively high on that side. On the od1/od2 side(2) the fx were turned on in the loop so the maximizer/hush unit were running on the 'riff' channels. I liked the difference between the two. He hardly ever uses od2(I can see why) it was just total saturation..almost like a fuzz running into a distorted amp. For certain things it works. Od1 sounded pretty tight and punchy at real volume. Overall, were I in the market for an amp(and had extra cash for a hush,maximzer and a 412 rectifer cab)I would consider it. Mostly because the maximizer and hush can remain always active on the od channels, as they really help out the tone. But on the clean and crunch(what I'd use for lead) the processing can be left out for more organic sounds.