Need Advice Buying a Mesa/Boogie Mark 4

[Scatterwound]

Hi All,

So I am in this store in London (Ontario Canada) and they have this really clean Mark 4 1X12 Combo for sale on consignment for $1400Cdn. I say to myself that seems like a pretty good bargain considering the last time I checked Long and McQuade they were ~$2500. I did not have any time to play through it but from the outside it looked clean. No tears no knobs missing.

Does that look like a good deal. I do not know much about Mesas. I would have to go back and try a guitar through it. Can anyone give some advice? Are these good amps? Did mesa have a bad period? What should I look out for?

If I like the sound I am thinking of trading in my Marshall JCM 800 1X12 combo (50 watt lead - model 4210). My JCM is in good condition. What should I expect for trade in value?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

 

[Virtual Kevorkian]

Re: Need Advice Buying a Mesa/Boogie Mark 4

There's no real "good and bad" periods of MKIV's like there were of other Mesa amps. A Mark IV is a killer amp, regardless of year!

You're looking at about 1200USD for that combo, and that's the average used price (on the lower end of the spectrum, tho).

Just be advised that these are a tweakers dream... there are so many tones you can get out of them - be prepared to sit down for about an hour with it to find your tone, if you're not familiar with the amp.

That said, it's also one of the most versatile amps for that same reason. You can nail everything from Santana to Metallica to Lamb of God to Petrucci to etc... with it!