Members Pr3Va1L Posted May 1, 2007 Members Share Posted May 1, 2007 Which is better? Both are very versatile 3 channel amps... Around the same price, too (used for Mk IV) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members killersoundz Posted May 1, 2007 Members Share Posted May 1, 2007 carvin v3 ftw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sins_&_Shadows Posted May 1, 2007 Members Share Posted May 1, 2007 i'm going with Mk IV. with the pulling of almost all qualities along with graphic eq and individual seperate eq, the v3 can't touch it. gain wise, they both have more than enough, and cleans are great on both but i've heard v3 can be a little sterile. the only thing that the v3 has that might be an advantage is MIDI capability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members misle Posted May 1, 2007 Members Share Posted May 1, 2007 I've never played the Carvin, but I've owned a Mark IV for the better part of 10 years and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone. It's a stellar amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members killersoundz Posted May 1, 2007 Members Share Posted May 1, 2007 hows channel switching on the mark iv? is it a modern hi gain sound or mesa rectifier sound? (i'm not that big of a fan of the recto sound)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members misle Posted May 1, 2007 Members Share Posted May 1, 2007 Definitely not Recto sounding. I'm not that up on 'modern' high gain sounds, so I'm a bad person to ask. What is modern high gain? And opposed to what, vintage high gain? Seriously, I the kinda guy who just twist knobs until it sounds good. Edit: Channel switching is very smooth. No popping or anything like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members killersoundz Posted May 1, 2007 Members Share Posted May 1, 2007 Well all i meant is the rectifier sound has a very...undistorted low end? it seems like the bass on a recto is clean... i dont know how to explain it, it's just a sound i'm a bit impartial to. now its time to find a good used mark iv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blargh Posted May 1, 2007 Members Share Posted May 1, 2007 Based on what I've seen of the V3, Mark IV all the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pr3Va1L Posted May 3, 2007 Author Members Share Posted May 3, 2007 How tight are both of them? (As opposed to a rectifier being loose (thus the "chug" tone)) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sins_&_Shadows Posted May 3, 2007 Members Share Posted May 3, 2007 Well all i meant is the rectifier sound has a very...undistorted low end? it seems like the bass on a recto is clean... i dont know how to explain it, it's just a sound i'm a bit impartial to. now its time to find a good used mark iv. interesting, because i feel the exact same way about rectos. i could never quite put my finger on what it was about the low end that i hated, but now that you mention it, it doesnt ever seem very distorted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members -Juggernaut- Posted May 3, 2007 Members Share Posted May 3, 2007 yes, but the Mark IV sounds NOTHING like a recto..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MetalHed Posted May 3, 2007 Members Share Posted May 3, 2007 I own both amps and I would say that I would have a hard time choosing one over the other as they both have their strong points. I don't think you can go wrong with either amp. The only downside to either of them is that it takes a while to learn your way around all of the different controls and how they interact with each other. The Mark IV took me about two weeks to figure out how to dial in the sounds I wanted out of the amp, and the V3 took at least a week. (The fact that you have an EQ situated in both the preamp and power section make the V3 slightly more complex to tweak than most amps, whereas the number of push pulls and other switches on the Mark IV take a while to master). The Mark IV has a better clean channel, but the V3 has two high gain channels, as opposed to the Clean-MidGain-HighGain setup of the Mark IV's channels. So, if you want a super high gain rhythm sound AND an over the top lead channel with different voicings and completely separate controls for each, the V3 is probably the better choice. If you want to have the entire spectrum of tones on tap, the Mark IV might be the better choice because the V3 has a nice clean channel and does the high gain thing very well, but doesn't seem to cover the ground in between those two as well as the Mark IV. The Mark IV has switchable/assignable effects loops, but still can't match the "Smart Loop" functionality of the V3. (Note: The "Smart Loop" capabilities alone make the V3 worth the price). The build quality of a Mark IV is a little better than the V3, and based on the weight alone I would say that the OT in the Mark IV is better than the OT in the V3, which makes me wonder how good the V3 would sound with a Mercury Magnetics or other high end OT. Hmmmmm...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members richedie Posted May 7, 2007 Members Share Posted May 7, 2007 Al the clips I have heard of the V3 remind me of a Rectifier. Clips do not tell the entire story however. The smart loop functionality and the ability to have two hig gain channels are a HUGE plus in my book. In this way you can have delay assigned to a high gain lead channel and chorus, etc assigned to the clean channel. That can however get in the way if you want delay for both clean and dirty tones....in which case a traditional loop would suffice. With most two channel amps or even 3 channel amps I find I can only use one of the dirty channels for rhythm and lead, which requires me to have an external pedal to kick in leads for example. The Carvin gives you the ability to completely shape a high gain rhythm and separate lead tone. Some other amps can do that I believe. The Marshall TSL? Does that have two identical high gain channels? Some amps like the VHT UL have a dedicated rhythm channel and dedicated lead channel and that still works well. The TSL may be similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pr3Va1L Posted May 7, 2007 Author Members Share Posted May 7, 2007 How well does the V3 do mid gain? I heard some blues clips that sounded TASTY!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Random Hero Posted May 7, 2007 Members Share Posted May 7, 2007 Never played the V3, but you can't go wrong with the Mark IV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members atbear Posted May 7, 2007 Members Share Posted May 7, 2007 People should know that Channels 1 and 2 on the V3 (the gain channels) are identical. You can set them up to sound completely different through modes and EQ, etc... but with all controls the same, they're identical. Channel 3 is the clean channel, which is really good too and also have 3 different modes, etc. I loved my V3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gtrbarbarian Posted May 7, 2007 Members Share Posted May 7, 2007 Not to sound like a broken record, but there are some good clips in this thread that show the versatility of the v3...of course the clip maker's v3 has swapped in 6l6s for el34s...my v3 is in the mail http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1622012 You're welcome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RebelShredmojo Posted May 7, 2007 Members Share Posted May 7, 2007 Aside from the Carvin Legacy, the V3 is my favorite amps that I've owned However, I will trade anyone my V3 for a Mark IV !! Seriously, anyone?? =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TheAmazingBlob Posted May 7, 2007 Members Share Posted May 7, 2007 Is the Mark IV FX loop footswitchable? If not, could it be modded to be somewhat easily? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members e5bowman Posted May 7, 2007 Members Share Posted May 7, 2007 Is the Mark IV FX loop footswitchable? If not, could it be modded to be somewhat easily? Yes. It is switchable at the amp or via the footswitch. The older versions had two FX loops - one on all the time, one switchable. I think the newer ones have one switchable loop and a slaved output for a powered "satellite" amp, but someone who has one may be able to clarify... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FastRedPonyCar Posted May 7, 2007 Members Share Posted May 7, 2007 I just did this clip of my V3 this afternoon. http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo.cfm?bandID=264448&songID=5319013 Both are excellent amps but nothing alike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members keith2112 Posted May 7, 2007 Members Share Posted May 7, 2007 My brother has one he'l like to sell; He just got a JVM Marshall. He likes the amp and the 412 75 watt loaded cabinet. He allready has several Marshall cabs loaded with the same celestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Soundstorm Posted May 8, 2007 Members Share Posted May 8, 2007 I own both amps and I would say that I would have a hard time choosing one over the other as they both have their strong points. I don't think you can go wrong with either amp. The only downside to either of them is that it takes a while to learn your way around all of the different controls and how they interact with each other. The Mark IV took me about two weeks to figure out how to dial in the sounds I wanted out of the amp, and the V3 took at least a week. (The fact that you have an EQ situated in both the preamp and power section make the V3 slightly more complex to tweak than most amps, whereas the number of push pulls and other switches on the Mark IV take a while to master).The Mark IV has a better clean channel, but the V3 has two high gain channels, as opposed to the Clean-MidGain-HighGain setup of the Mark IV's channels. So, if you want a super high gain rhythm sound AND an over the top lead channel with different voicings and completely separate controls for each, the V3 is probably the better choice. If you want to have the entire spectrum of tones on tap, the Mark IV might be the better choice because the V3 has a nice clean channel and does the high gain thing very well, but doesn't seem to cover the ground in between those two as well as the Mark IV. The Mark IV has switchable/assignable effects loops, but still can't match the "Smart Loop" functionality of the V3. (Note: The "Smart Loop" capabilities alone make the V3 worth the price).The build quality of a Mark IV is a little better than the V3, and based on the weight alone I would say that the OT in the Mark IV is better than the OT in the V3, which makes me wonder how good the V3 would sound with a Mercury Magnetics or other high end OT. Hmmmmm...... I agree. I had the same dilemma with the Mark IV. I play mid gain though, and R2 is an INCREDIBLE sounding mid gain channel, but the Lead channel's voicing is different. I couldn't get the same meat and potatoes mid gain raw rock sound out of Lead that I could with R2. If I could have had two R2 channels that would've been perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TheAmazingBlob Posted May 8, 2007 Members Share Posted May 8, 2007 Yes. It is switchable at the amp or via the footswitch. The older versions had two FX loops - one on all the time, one switchable. I think the newer ones have one switchable loop and a slaved output for a powered "satellite" amp, but someone who has one may be able to clarify...Awesome! I'm officially gassing for a Mark IV I need a new guitar first, but then I'm gonna start saving up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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