Put the old preamp tubes back in and see if behavior changes.
If not put new tubes back in and give all of your pots a good cleaning.
That would be my approach.
Good Luck.
Ahh tubes - a world all its own. Solid State guys are so ignorant!
Good for you on ditching the pedals; I did a dozen years ago - I'm a better player for it.
Holy 6 year old thread resurrection Batman!
When my MkIV went to Mesa for rehab they called me and said
"We are changing out your 12AX7 in the reverb to a 12AT7, ok?"
Probably for warranty purposes. A 12AX always worked just fine.
Looks like the guys with much experience carry much the same items.
My carry along contains almost everything mentioned.
Its a balancing act between carrying too much or not enough.
Experience is what defines it.
therapeutic indeed....
Last Thursday evening while napping I suffered a bite from an unknown bug on my leg. What started as the size of a mosquito bite by Fri morning had become a 6"x6" patch of owie owie throbbing hurtfulness with a low grade fever. Threw a bandage on and went to work anyway...
Mark IV w/recommended settings = STOOPID LOUD. GAWD.
If our band played at those recommended settings around these parts we would be sitting home most of the time I'm thinkin'. Fortunately we play a STOOPID alot. We control ourselves.
My Mark Iv lives in Class A tweed most of its life with...
After I got my Mark IV - I ditched ALL of my effects(my crutches). Stomp boxes, digital processors, all of it. Its all collecting dust in a corner. It was PAINFUL at first.
Turned out to be the smartest thing I ever did. Made me a much better player. It made develop STYLE and TASTE and my sound...