Mesa/Boogie MK IV v Studio Preamp
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- Опубліковано 4 гру 2020
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They sounded very close but the MkIV sounded like it had a bit more clarity to my ears.
The MK IV became my dream amp after listening to Chevelle in the 2000s. It was so different from everyone using Dual Recs. I bought my 91 Rev A back in 14. Don’t think I’ll ever need another amp.
Man I love the tones Chevelle pull on just about everything they do. Killer band.
You just dialed my dream rhythm tones on the Mark IV.
Thank you so much man! I started building my rack 5 years ago, but did not find good reviews on the units. You did a great job to show so much supercool preamps!
Great to see how close they are, love boogie tone
The Studio pre is probably the cheapest way to get "that" sound
I'm 56 and have watched the evolution of the Mark Series, Owned a MK I, MK II, 3 MK III's, MK IV, MK V Studio preamp, Recto Preamp,Triple Rec and a Dual Rec Roadster. The MK IV is the the one that remains. Although I'd Like to get my hands on a Quad Preamp and Compare the MK IV to it.
How would you describe difference between V and IV? I would like to buy one of these.
try the mark 5 25, it blew me away...
@@Morte_Deus i want one of those so bad.
@@domagojzagorac6186 owned both. The mark V is less "raw", more plastic-y but accept pedals somewhat better. The mark IV is still my favourite amp ever
I’ve owned so many boogies over the years. Currently have two Mark v’s a Mark IV and a quad with a 2:95 power amp
I get some massive tones with the Mesa studio preamp on the lead channel, with volume about 8 and lead drive back to 4. With an high output pickup I get a kind of pushed crush modern djenty tone. Really precise but still dirty. Awesome preamp.
love my studio pre, my quad pre, my 50-50 tube power amp ...love my FRACTAL too and I mean it !!!
You have great tone on every amp and style you show, and make amazing content. No idea why you are not a to UA-camr guitar influencer. Cheers!
They both sounded great. I have a soft spot for the Mark amps because so many of my heroes played them.
You play so well I think you'd make a rock sound good plugged in.
They for sure have that recognizable sound. Very cool sir. Take care please!!!!
Excellent vid as always Leon.
Pretty impressive how similar they are.
Congrats on 50K!
Thank you so much 😀
I have 5 of mark series amps, Green stripe, Red stripe, Blue Stripe and a a IIC+.. if they were vastly different they wouldn't have just swiped each version with just a magic marker swipe or a black dot or a + sign. The big difference in the IIC+ and the Mark III was the third channel. Mesa got noticeably different with the Mesa badging vs the Boogie badges. The Rectifier series,The lone star, Road King,Nomad, etc came later and did sound different... The stiletto was probably the most different being EL34 based shooting toward the Marshall tone. Even my newer Mark 5 EL84 based amp sits in my studio with the older mark III'S and IIC+ it too sounds really close even all these years later with totally different power section/ tubes. The petrucci amp is a modern Mark amp and you can line up all the Mark series amps and NO one in the audience would ever know the difference and most guitar players blind folded couldn't pick them out one from the other especially with the transparent EVM 12L black shadow speaker or an MC-90 black shadow. The IIC+ landed production in the right time to become the flagship vintage boogie. Thats when 80's music was huge and that amp was produced at the right time for the players who made it famous. it didn't make them famous. I would argue a Mark III purple, red, blue or green stripe Mark III could have been used by the players who made the IIC+ famous and those albums and concerts wouldn't have sounded any different. They just weren't available at the time those bands recorded those albums. They stopped the IIC+ when the mark III came into production. They stopped the III when the Mark IV started and so on....they are all great amps and tonally are the same. Most of those bands stopped playing the IIC+ and went to the mark III when it came out because the sound was basically the same but the 3 had a third channel, everyone loved that.
Great video! It's funny, I have two mkiv's and both amps have intermittant working leds. If I just touch it a couple of times it usually comes on. Fantastic amps! Great sounds! Thanks 👍
The Studio has more of a vintage tone over the others and back when pro recording studio engineers were hoarding Mesa Studio preamps I started my journey to acquire one, and glad I did, I will never sell it! It is IMO the best sounding production preamp ever created!
What I love about the Mark IV is the low end. I have a quad, it's really a great sounding preamp, a classic mesa one, but there's one chance to dial the low end of a mark IV in it, at least my opinion :)
They both sound great. I think the Mark IV had a little more beef which I like. I don’t have a Mark IV or V handy so I’d like to see an AX3 or FM3 comparison just so I can see how it sounds, nothing more. Always enjoy these kinds of videos. 👍
Mark IV Rev A here.
Channel 2 is kinda lackluster until I hit it with a Highwind Amplification Direwolf V2, then it becomes a fire-breathing MONSTER with a bit more dynamics and less compression than the Lead channel. The other thing I LOVE about this amp is how well it blends with other amps in a stereo config like my JCM 2000 DSL or my Peavey 5150.
Awesome vid!! Cheers dude!
please!!! make a video like this with mark iv and jp2c ,i got to hear them side by side!!! thnx!!!!
Definitely within build tolerances when it comes to sound. Can't really say I preferred one over the other as some riffs sounded better on one but other riffs sounded better on the other one.
love this. really happy to be able to see your settings. Gotta try this with my Studio pre and my mark V I really want to see if that 2c+ mode in the mark V can hang. I haven't fired the big boogie up in a few months. My studio pre (like yours) seems like it can get a bit bright. I just retubed it with a Tung Sol in V1 I may swap that for an EH to see if it tames it a bit.
Hello Leon! I have a question! What difference the number of preamp tubes can make in the amp distortion?
Thank you so much!
Luv ya work bro👍
I have a Studio Pre, a Triaxis and a III combo modded to IIC+ specs with the 90W Celestion Black Shadow. There’s something about that narrow combo and that speaker that makes it that I can crank the presence more that most people it seems. Online people say never run the presence above 5 but the combo sounds great at 7-8 with the two treble sliders set lower.
Hi! How would you compare studio preamp vs triaxis?
@@rodrigomartins9692 Triaxis is squishier in the midrange but tighter in the low end. Studio preamp is a little looser and maybe a little less compressed. The Triaxis is overall much more useful though with the midi programmability.
@@stefanozurich thanks!
Booth are awesome, but i love that Mk4! Its my favourite MB!
Fantastic tone!
I'd like, if possible, that you do a Boogie Mk4 vs Peavey 6505 or 5150 video!
Cheers from Portugal 🍺🤘🇵🇹
I love my studio preamp, I run it into a stereo kitty hawk power amp
Fantastic video! Did the two units have the same preamp tubes installed?
Nice comparison just curious if you've ever been keen on the iic+? is it a mids voicing thing?
The MK IV definitely had more punch than the studio preamp in the first dirty clip. The rest all sounded very similar to me but I presently have old Roland MA-8 monitors connected to my PC because my other set died so I'm probably not hearing the subtle differences on these speakers.
Great vid Leon! I just picked up a Studio preamp and was wondering which outputs are you using to connect to your power amp or fx in? I think I read the fx send from the Studio gets you the cleanest out but was just wonder what you used for your vid. Thanks!
Sounds great, I love the Studio Pre! Why the tape on LP headstocks?
Great! How do you think studio preamp will sound with a modded marshall style power amp?(like molecular or chupacabra)
Good stuff. I wonder how the preamp sections would compare in a direct out situation, without using the MkIV power amp, say thru separate power amp or a modeled power/cab section. That would remove the MkIV effects loop and the power supply differences (common for MkIV but separate for Studio) from the equation.
yeah the shared vs seperate power supply is an interesting one. Will have to pull the 50/50 power amp out.
Great demo! They do sound super similar. Does the MKIV mid\harmonics switch have to be in a specific position for this comparison?
Cheers! From memory the IV was on harmonics mode here
Thanks Leon! I love my Studio Preamp !! Would never sell it :) Sounds especially
good with a strat for the legato violin thing. Glorious! For recording, you have to
go through a decent amp output section (or dummy load) for the grind and 3D feel.
Classic piece of gear!
I have two of these Mesa Studio Pre amps. One in my Studio rigged in 4 direct recording. The other one in a road ready stage set up. They are not in use for too long of a time.. But i'll never sell 'em..
@@vinniekay0967 they're gold!
Leon sorry if you said it in the video, what is the cab you used? what I remembered when I had the Studio preamp is less gaing for chug tones comparing with my Triaxis, but It´s easy to fix with a little bit of boost. I used the Studio in my last gig without boosting for rhythm guitars, only a bit of boost for leads with a delay and that´s it. Studio preamp is and amazing piece of gear, always was.
Thanks for this video, all the Mesa fans will appreciate it.
Huge fan of the MKIV but that Studio Preamp held its own! The MKIV has a more 3D sound but if you double-track the Studio Preamp it should sound really good. 👦🏻
There is an underlined mid frequency the IV had the Studio doesn't have that separates them....if you only had a Studio a person would be very happy but if they had both and compared , they would likely like the IV more
The biggest difference betwen the MkIV and the Studio for me. Plugged into the Mark IV and then spent the next 2 years trying to tweak the sound to get it right. Studio, plug in and play. It sounds good no matter what you do.
Both sounded great and an excellent video as ever.... I do think though the vast majority of tone comes from YOU and not the amps... I've two mkiv's and couldn't get a similar tone.
Tell you what would be an interesting video. Valve comparison..... I got some cryo valves from Watford valves.... didn't think they'd be much different, but WRONG... OMG, they sound 3d compared to the ones which I'd had in previously.
Carry on with the vids.... always quality 👍😀
Yeah i've got a big box of tubes here I need to roll through!
You should have the IIC+ mod done to the Studio Preamp. I've had a stock Studio and a C+ modded version and the C+ mod was definitely worth it. Way tighter with more gain, but still a bit smoother. You also get the Pull Deep and Pull Shift options to get back to that fuller more fluid stock voicing.
Doesn't this mod ruin the clean channel though?
Or get a Quad :) :)
Mark IV all day. More punch and clarity. The sub low thing it has going on is the best of all
Marks.
800-850 AUS$ for a studio pre .... yeah, that was then. For some odd reason, prices have skyrocketed and I'm seeing them sell for $1.5k US. It's absolutely insane.
Never letting go of mine, paired with the fifty/fifty, it slays.
Agreed, I have the same setup and it rips, I think I paid $900 for the preamp, power amp, and a rack case back in the day. The clean tone alone is worth the price of admission, maybe even at $1.5k for the pre, I'd suppose. It's really that good.
I wouldn't sell mine for less then 1200
I’ve paid 450$ for a quad and 350$ for a studio pre around 8 years ago. It was already a good price back then.
Doesn't the FX loop run through an extra tube stage on the Mark IV? My Mark III and Triaxis always sound a little wooly when using the FX loop so the difference could just be that extra tube stage. A more fair comparison might be to leave the FX loop ON and run a patch cable between the FX in and out.
I'm not sure why I didn't post this months ago but here's a tip!
MKIII owners, want a little more gain? While in the lead mode, pull the middle pot out (Rhy 2)...BAM! More gain! I'm unsure if this is true of all the different stripe variations, but give it a go.
My secret sauce with my Mark IV has always been very restrained use of a BBE Sonic Maximizer in the loop (I used the 482, I'm sure the others are similar). I've got the low at 2 and the high at 3. It's basically just a simplified EQ, no matter what BBE claims in their marketing. Gives it a little more balls for high gain metal.
Did you see the Plague Scythe Studios BBE vid? 100% confirms it's just an EQ.
@@LeonTodd I haven't, I'll go search for that now.
@@LeonTodd Watched part of it. His plug-in sounds nothing like it, and I say it's definitely not a "fancy" EQ but drastically simplified. Two knobs. High & low. Do with it what you will. I guess I should do a little demo video on my channel. Here's a video faaaaarrrrr over-using it because I was trying to get a metal tone out of a decidedly not metal amp. I was happy with it in my room, but after filming when I got in a new band I realized my tone was super thin and got lost in a mix. You really can't turn that Maximizer up high and expect great things, but used sparingly it's really cool.
ua-cam.com/video/dEgJck52QtY/v-deo.html
@@thirteenthandy i used to run one in my rack (JMP-1 - BBE - G Major. Those were the days!) and found anything beyond 1 o'clock on the dials was total overkill. Like anything else if you use it as a tool to get you close to the sound in your head it's a valid tool IMO.
@@LeonTodd Just got the GMajor this year! Running Mark IV, GMajor, BBE, with a wireless, Rockman Midi Octopus switcher, and Furman power conditioner. 🤘
Where did u get the studio pre amp from? And how much?
Locally - around $800AUD
Mark III owner since '89...never really wanted or needed any other amp.
Perfect time to ask how do you think the real ones sound compared to the boogies in the fractals?
To convert my Lead channel of my Studio Preamp to a Mark IIC+ required 2-3 resistors and 4 cheap ceramic capacitors. Total cost in components
Would you mod mine for a fee?
@@prodsunss Postage costs to Australia probably don’t make it worthwhile. Better to find a local tech.
@@rockostiffredi4276 Where in Australia?
@@lethargicastengah572 Western Australia
@@rockostiffredi4276 NSW here. May invest in a studio boogie preamp for my Mark V.
Curious why you chose the IV for the comparison? Is the IV an overall better option than the V in your opinion Leon? I know it’s an extremely broad question and depends on countless factors, but you have an elegant way of exposing your opinions in a very non-convoluted way, you get straight to the point and say why with no B.S. thanks
Sole reason was I own both, and the reason I own both is they're both considerably cheaper here then a Mark V.
Mark IV wins by a nose, it's magic ;)
Leon maybe you re able to tell me why the mark iii is always jumped in comparisons with other mark series.. I mean it s soooo underrated.. I personally own a iii red stripe which is close with 2c+ circuit but never comes mentioned.
I'd love to try a MKIII, I've just never had the chance. Seems like a real sleeper for that classic mark series tone
@Mondial Music plus it'll keep you fit, those EV's have some serious mass!
I've got both.
I run my studio preamp into a simul 295. Raging.
My mk 4 is also raging.
Is Flux 5 pedal similar to the preamp in video? Cool video
I think the flux 5 is just a boost pedal with the GEQ, so it'll be different from the full blown preamp.
@@LeonTodd Well its supposed to be a overdrive preamp in a box with 25 to 30 years worth of technology on the racks. So i thought might be similar function. $ 300 is a lot for a boost pedal
Hi, Leon,
thanks for an amazing video. I have a question: what apparatus are you running through your (pre)amps? I mean - cab sims or real cabs? I am asking this because I have been struggling to get a nice clean tone from my Studio pre and as I can see - you have done this very nicely. I have checked the pre and it works just fine; have been adjusting the height EMG pickups of my Schecter Hellraiser... nothing gets a satisfying clean tone. I still get that crunchy noise when playing with a pick. Yes, I am a true hard hitter when it comes to picking hand, however, I can play softly as well, haha. But still - never getting rid of that crunch. I see you have the RHTYHM Volume up to 7 which would get a good rhythm crunch in my case in stead of a clean..
Maybe you have an opinion. Oh, and last thing - I am running my gear through the Two Notes Torpedo Captor X and I have a MESA 50/50 Power amp.
Thanks a lot in advance.
Chiiz!
Sorry for the late reply mate! I actually can't remember what I used for this video, but I mostly use 'vintage output" style single coils or p90's for cleans.
@@LeonTodd it took a while ;) but thanks for getting back! Appreciated.
You know what sounds awesome with those Boogies? An EV12L impulse that has a 57/421/U87 mic combo, and Whitesnake riffs.
YUM
Funny enough, it took me a long time to get the sound of my Studio Pre > 2:90 out of my AxeFx 2XL. I kept screwing around with the Mk2C+ models, but found the MkIV model to be the closest one!
No deep tricks, really... I tend to run with the old Metallica style settings... mainly high mids and treble, and bass nearly off, and then a skewed "V" on the GEQ.
The MK IV models in the Axe-Fx/FM3 are the basis of my live tone now, they sound and feel so good.
I still have to decide between a Studio Pre, a Mark 4 or a JP-2c, I have ordered one in August and it still didn't arrive. Shame on Mesa and their current poor distribution to Europe, and I am thinking about getting the cash back and go for a used 4 or Studio Pre, I have both options in sight, a Studio Pre for 600 and a Mark 4 for 900. I think especially the mark 4 for 900 is an amazing deal, because Its got the poweramp too. If I wouldn't be told the JP will arrive next week for 2 month now, I would have bought both of them already
Get a Mark IV, especially at that rpice!
@@LeonTodd I wish I could buy mark 4 for 900 now :D It's more then a double now, studio preamps for more then 1200-1300. I guess also due to the shortage of mesa stuff in Europe
Mark iv best
3:39 That’s a bit extreme
Nice comparison!
Guys I have the Mesa preamp. Want to buy an amp, I am hesitating between the old and new Mesa 50:50. What do you guys think ? I have also other preamps. Thank you !!
go for the older one, imho
2:56 - and now, for something completely different....
Might have to keep an eye peeled for a Studio Preamp....
That clean on the preamp was very nice
yeah the studio pre is probably the most economical way to get "that" Boogie thing going.
The Quad looks like a bit of fun, too....
No Triaxis in 3-way?!
Soon :D
Slave it to a jcm 800 and your jaw will drop....
I loved my Mk.IV but it was just too god-damned loud for my bar/theater-sized rock band.
Yeah it's a T-Rex
@@LeonTodd 1 out of 10 on the master was juuusst too quiet and then 1.1 on the dial was ripping my head off loud!
Nowadays with a decent loadbox it would be supremely usable but those things weren't such a high quality back then. I miss it terribly... I sold it for peanuts.
Mark tones > Rec tones. Fight me.
Not many will fight u over this xD
I think after switching to your fourth guitar you were just bragging at that point Leon. I _was_ kinda disappointed when the Telecaster didn't make the cut. Again.
Been waiting to see him play the Firebird for quite a while, too.... :)
@@NudnikShpilkus he teased us by having it showing a little ankle right at the edge of the screen. On purpose no doubt. ;-)
Am I the only one that went "HE MAN WOMAN HATEEEEEERRRR"?
"SOONER OR LATER!"
Nothing to see here, just good ol' demoing a pr... OH MY GOD HE PLAYED HE-MAN WOMAN HATER!
The preamp sounds good. But not for $1500+ for a 25 year old piece of electronics. Thats what they're going for now.
Yeah that's mental. I paid a lot less so I guess I got lucky.
@@LeonTodd they have skyrocketed like everything else. They do sound incredible though.
deals can be had i just picked one up for $400
@@geezberry8889 you must have been born under a lucky star, I never see them under a grand.
No comparison. This is kinda stupid.. Set the EQ faders the same, at least..
00:26 I explain why I set this up the way I did.