Marshall Mode Four

Charvel

Charvel

New member
Hey im saving up some cash and look at buying a Mode Four, its priced around 2800$ so i got time to look for another, but i was wondering if anybody knows a really good amp, or has tried out the Mode Four I tryed it myself but i didnt have the time to actully play with it.... so if you have any advice on that amp, or a better amp can you post it here, Thanks

-Charvel
 
Re: Marshall Mode Four

id say look for somethin else man, i wasnt too impressed with the mode four..... what are you lookin for this new amp to give you?
 
Re: Marshall Mode Four

Im looking for it to give some good distortion, nice clean sounds... i wanna wide variety of metal type sounds if you kno what i mean... and yah really anything better then the POS i got right now

what about Mesa Boogie amps... i hear there awsome
 
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Re: Marshall Mode Four

I have a Mesa Series II Single Rectifier and I like it a lot. The M4 was designed to compete with the Rectifier, but for some reason Marshall made it SS instead of tubes. It isn't a bad amp, but it is a little shallow or stagnant sounding. The tone isn't nearly as alive as with a Rectifier. If you want Marshall I would suggest either a TSL 100 or DSL 100. Tubes, but much nicer tone. Also, look at the Peavey 5150II and the Triple X. Both IMO, are better amps than the M4. Your ears will have to decide what amp you like most, and if that's the M4, that's what you should get.
 
Re: Marshall Mode Four

well if you want great metal, but not so good cleans....go 5150 or triple X......a marshall DSL100 would give you really good cleans, classic rock crunch, and some metal tones also (but its not geared towards metal like the other 2 i mentioned)......DSL is more versatile and sounds really nice at all the things it does...
 
Re: Marshall Mode Four

ill look around for amps, but on the more expensive side... what about Crate amps? my friend said one of the ones he wants to buy cost 2500$ just for the head witH A 700$ cabinet... It was the BV 300 Hb anybody ever try it,??? and if you did how was it
 
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Re: Marshall Mode Four

You'd be nuts to pay anything remotely close to 2800 for it. My Guitar Center had it on clearance for a grand.

I originally thought I hated it. It really isn't that bad with some tweaking. You get a decent clean channel, a decent light crunch channel, a little muddy but useable hard crunch, and an "ultra gain" channel. It's not the best amp out there, but it's pretty decent.

Dave Navarro (from Jane's Addiction) uses it live and I'd say his tone is pretty good so it can be a pretty good amp.

However, I bought my Triamp for 1050, so for around that money, I think you can even do better than the Mode Four (my Triamp will put it to shame on every channel).

The cleans on the Mode Four are decent, but still lacking to those who know what good cleans are. The distortion is pretty good, but nothing to brag about. I think that about sums it up. A decent multichannel amp.

Hey, if you've got 2800 to spare, get a Bogner 100B Ecstasy. If you insist on a Marshall, get a Silver Jubilee or a plexi of some sort. The DSL will give you Marshall crunch plus some pretty decent cleans (I don't think Marshall will ever really truly get great cleans).
 
Re: Marshall Mode Four

Crate shouldn't be costing more than Mesa or Marshall, it not on the same level. If you really want to pay $2500 or more for a head, look at a Bogner Ecstasy or a Diezel Vh-4s, or a Rivera Knucklehead Reverb or a Soldano SLO. Those are a some really nice amps. You might as well get something worth having if you're going to spend that much money.
 
Re: Marshall Mode Four

the_Chris said:
It's not the best amp out there, but it's pretty decent.
Click to expand...
My thoughts exactly, which is why I'd never buy it. If you want a pretty decent amplifier, pay a pretty decent amount.
 
Re: Marshall Mode Four

haha wow i just listened to the sound clips of the Bogner Ecstasy Damnit that sounds awsome... ill listen to some more sound clips of some other amps too that you guys suggested, got any other really good ones that are a bit cheaper then 2800.. heh..
 
Re: Marshall Mode Four

Bogner Ecstasy 101B. If you shop around, you can find it for around $2300. The ENGL SE is around $1800 and is a pretty awesome multichannel head (keep in mind it's oriented for metal players, so you're gonna have a hard time getting classic rock tones).

It all depends how many channels you want and what you're looking for.

I love my Hughes & Kettner Triamp. For the money, it can't be beat. Alex Lifeson from Rush uses a Mk I Triamp and his tone is killer. Same thing with the guys from Fuel. $1050 is what I paid for a used Mk I (which is IMHO better than the Mk II that retails for $2500). 6 channels, 100w all tube power. I can dial in any of 6 different settings, all of which are great. Anything from crystal clean chimey (think fender), warm fat clean (kinda voxish) to overdriven vox, to plexi type marshall, to jcm type marshall, to an articulate high gain channel (not that muddy rectifier tone) that is right up there with brands like vht, soldano, bogner. It does take some time to dial it in right and it is sensitive, but when you do... virtually every channel is heaven. It's like having 6 different high quality amps in one head. The Mk I comes with a real Accutronics spring reverb tank. Having 6 footswitchable channels is a big plus when you want to do different styles as well ;)

The Bogner Ecstasy 100B is probably the best amp in existence. It only has 3 channels, but it's basically fender cleans, van halen-esque plexi, brutal high gain and soloing (listen to Alice In Chains).
 
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Re: Marshall Mode Four

VHT is all distortion. Great distortion, but not good cleans.

If you want good cleans, plus a wide assortment of metal tones (note: no classic rock), get an ENGL SE. That's your ticket. Forget Mesa. It's decent stuff, but for the money there is so much better stuff out there. Your tone sounds like it's going through a paper shredder. It's disgusting. It's either this weird, muddy tone that's halfway distorted, or this really grating oversaturated distortion where none of the notes are heard, it's just a wall of mush. The cleans are decent. Better than a Marshall, but if you think they're great, you're kidding yourself.
 
Re: Marshall Mode Four

the_Chris said:
VHT is all distortion. Great distortion, but not good cleans.

If you want good cleans, plus a wide assortment of metal tones (note: no classic rock), get an ENGL SE. .
Click to expand...
How much would this be??
 
Re: Marshall Mode Four

Mode Four is solid state but with a tube pre amp...IMO as said before its a decent amp but theres beter out there..

For versatility in a marshall i'd go (and i did) DSL 50..Great Cleans, It nails the calssic marshall crunch and the mordern Drive IMO is excellent...
 
Re: Marshall Mode Four

try a triple XXX...if you don´t like the cleans it has (i do) you can try changin' the tubes...btw you can buy it with 6L6's or EL84's

PD: you can also try that new peavey Joe Satriani "Signature" amp

http://www.peavey.com/news/wnamm_jsx.cfm

it seems to have it all, good cleans, good rythm tone, and good soloing
 
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