Guitar Gear Forum

Hoping to purchase a Mesa Mark IV at a good price. Original owner selling with little use, in almost new condition has never left his house since purchased in 1992. Is it the amount of use or the actual age of the caps that matters? It's a narrow body combo with the E12L like the last one I owned.

Both time and use. They can dry out over time even if the amp was barely used. Lots of other factors too like if its a high plate voltage amp or located in a very hot area of the world.

At that age its a gamble, google says 10-20 year life span but ive had 30+ year old amps that were fine. Caps aren't hard for a tech to replace at all but I've heard mesas are a nightmare to work on so idk. If youre concerned I'd ask for gut shots. You can see if caps are bad sometimes if they bulging. Not a tech at all but just random info I've seen over the years.

Yeah actually the less you use it the more likely the caps are to dry out. What keeps them from drying out is constantly flowing current into them. When they sit, they can dry out even in a couple of years.

A 1992 amp that was used sporadically used at home is certainly a good candidate for a recap.

I've owned my '92 Mesa Mark IV since 1998 and in the last 2 years, a low volume hiss has started. I'm pretty sure it's time for a Cap Job.

Yeah after lots of research it seems caps are like people. They might live to be old but no guarantee, and age will eventually kill them Bigger problem is seller hasn't messaged me after a day so I might not even be able to check it out. Thanks gents

Mike Oxhuge wrote: ↑Sun Jun 22, 2025 2:13 pm Yeah after lots of research it seems caps are like people. They might live to be old but no guarantee, and age will eventually kill them Bigger problem is seller hasn't messaged me after a day so I might not even be able to check it out. Thanks gents

A clean MkIV is a great purchase. Classic amp that will hold value indefinitely. However, a cap job needs to be done, without a doubt, which is about $200-300 at a local tech. But not all techs work on Mesas so realistically if be expecting to spend about 500 for this amp to beat a point where I'm comfortable with it.
I'd factor that into the price and make an offer. Maybe $1300-1400?. If you could get it at that price, put the extra $ to get it recapped, youd have a killer amp that is guaranteed to recoup your money when you sell it.
If the seller is asking more than that and not willing to do the required maintenance before selling it, I'd pass. So it depends.

Yeah it was just a little more than that but in pristine condition. He never responded though so I guess I won't worry about it. I would definitely send it to Mesa if the deal resurfaces and issues popped up.