Need urgent help with Mk V

O.K. Just got the Mk V head, My first boogie @65 played about 1 hour with it, completely overwhelmed by the possibilities, almost scared.
Short term, I have band practice in two days and need to have 1 good crunch "classic rock" 60's 70'S tone that responds to guitar volume and pick dynamics
Also need to approach Carlos Santana tones, Think BLack magic woman, Oyé como va etc.

I have access to 1 x12 open cab loaded with a TOne tubby RED ; 1 2x12 closed back with creambacks and on 4 x 12 Marshall V30'S

IF anyone can suggest settings I can start with please do !
I am lost here !

CLaude

Nobody has anything on this ?

What model V? 90, 25 or 35W if it is a 90W I would suggest trying Ch 2 Mark 1 voicing. Personally I wouldn't use the v30s for the Carlos tone.

rarebitusa said:

What model V? 90, 25 or 35W if it is a 90W I would suggest trying Ch 2 Mark 1 voicing. Personally I wouldn't use the v30s for the Carlos tone.

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IT is the 90W version, I think I can get in the Carlos tones on CHannel 2 MK 1 mode with a tone tubby, but I find this amp very difficult to dial in... Maybe not hte best move for me...

Yes, that would be the best place to start. The V:90 can be initially overwhelming with all of the options.

I'd suggest looking at the manual and the sample settings they provide pgs 44-46. The "Fat Lady and All Blues" settings will provide some Mark I specifics. If you want a bit more sag, try 45W and the Tube selection (rear panel) or 10W. I wouldn't start with 90W. Also start with the EQ off when you dial it in.

Early classic rock, perhaps CH2 crunch or CH3 IIC+. I would suggest using the preset mode on the GEQ for CH2 and sliders on CH3.
As for the Mark I mode, best to start with the bass and midrange dialed out or very low, as it can be a very dark sound. You can also compensate with the presence control. Use the GEQ if you feel it is necessary.

As for the speakers, I would probably use the 212 with the creambacks. Is the cab 8 ohms or 16 ohms? Also, which version of creambacks are in the cab, G12M-65 or G12H-75? I have used the G12H-75 and thought those sounded great with the Mark V90. I have those in a traditional sized 412 cab which made me want to convert the combo to a head. Never tried the G12M-65 though as I heard they were much brighter toned. With the Mark V90, an 8-ohm load is ideal. You can run two 16-ohm cabs if you plug each into the two 8-ohm jacks as the total load in parallel will be 8 ohms. Not sure on the Marshall cab though, most are 16-ohm cabs. If it has a switch on the cab to set to 4 ohms, you can probably use that with the 4-ohm jack. Some have 8-ohm stereo mode, so that would just be like using a 212 if only one side is used. If you use both, connect them to the two 4-ohm jacks. Not familiar with Tone Tubby speakers so I cannot help you there. If the Marshall cab has the 70W Vintage speakers, it may not be a good fit for the Mark V90. Just my opinion. My only reference to the Marshall cabs is one I have for the Silver Jubilee 2555x, it is the 2551 AV. That cab has the 70W Vintage speakers. Works great with the Marshall head, did not pan out well with the JP2C or Roadster which were the only two amps I had that have a 16-ohm jack on the back.

bandit2013 said:

Early classic rock, perhaps CH2 crunch or CH3 IIC+. I would suggest using the preset mode on the GEQ for CH2 and sliders on CH3.
As for the Mark I mode, best to start with the bass and midrange dialed out or very low, as it can be a very dark sound. You can also compensate with the presence control. Use the GEQ if you feel it is necessary.

As for the speakers, I would probably use the 212 with the creambacks. Is the cab 8 ohms or 16 ohms? Also, which version of creambacks are in the cab, G12M-65 or G12H-75? I have used the G12H-75 and thought those sounded great with the Mark V90. I have those in a traditional sized 412 cab which made me want to convert the combo to a head. Never tried the G12M-65 though as I heard they were much brighter toned. With the Mark V90, an 8-ohm load is ideal. You can run two 16-ohm cabs if you plug each into the two 8-ohm jacks as the total load in parallel will be 8 ohms. Not sure on the Marshall cab though, most are 16-ohm cabs. If it has a switch on the cab to set to 4 ohms, you can probably use that with the 4-ohm jack. Some have 8-ohm stereo mode, so that would just be like using a 212 if only one side is used. If you use both, connect them to the two 4-ohm jacks. Not familiar with Tone Tubby speakers so I cannot help you there. If the Marshall cab has the 70W Vintage speakers, it may not be a good fit for the Mark V90. Just my opinion. My only reference to the Marshall cabs is one I have for the Silver Jubilee 2555x, it is the 2551 AV. That cab has the 70W Vintage speakers. Works great with the Marshall head, did not pan out well with the JP2C or Roadster which were the only two amps I had that have a 16-ohm jack on the back.

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Thank you all, I'll be trying all those suggestions, I got this amp because I am in a "cover" 60's 70's band and wanted something that could make it trought all of it. But now I am feeling I maybe would get better results going with a pair of amps, say Something along the likes oaf n early Marshall + a fender BF type... Sort of feels like the Boogy , for me, is turning out to be a jack of all trades... master of none.
Hope with time working with tit I can gat what I need from it.

About the GEQ, so far I have not been able to use that and think i was helping. Espcially the "preset" That EQ curve really does nothing for me.
Perhaps I am not using it right ? Most seem to think it is a great sound, I must be something wierd...

Hebaton said:

I got this amp because I am in a "cover" 60's 70's band and wanted something that could make it trought all of it. But now I am feeling I maybe would get better results going with a pair of amps, say Something along the likes oaf n early Marshall + a fender BF type... Sort of feels like the Boogy , for me, is turning out to be a jack of all trades... master of none.

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Just one V:90 players opinion here and no there is nothing weird going on.

I find there is often a perception of the V:90 being some kind of chameleon amp, it can masquerade as a Fender or a Marshall. Urrr No... it attempts to be a collection of Mesa Mark amps with other voicings sprinkled in. It is incredibly versatile but it will always have that inherent Mark vibe to it. Alot of midrange, tight bottom end, etc. If you're into that Mesa DNA and willing to tweak there are amazing sounds in the V:90.

However for those really seeking that true Marshall vibe, well they should get a Marshall. Fender BF same deal. I can't argue with the "jack of all trades" takeaway at all considering that. TBH it just depends what level of tonal authenticity the player seeks.

FWIW, I also play in a quasi 60s-90s cover band and use the V:90. It covers a wide variety of tones but certainly there are always compromises.

So Far very happy with the cleans I can get, But I can't yet get a light gain Crunch I like. It should be able to get me SAntana tough nno ? any clues on that ?

What specific settings have you tried so far? Details are kinda important WRT settings.

rarebitusa said:

What specific settings have you tried so far? Details are kinda important WRT settings.

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For crunch or Santa ?
So far I have tried / heard the amp only at home ( rather low volume ) trough an open back 1 x 12 with a tone tubby RED
SHould be able to give it a go with 4 x 12 V 30's Wednesday...

Well volume does make a difference, if the amp is set at too low a volume it can sound fizzy and muddy and EQ adj don't do as much. It doesn't need to be super cranked but there is a minimum volume threshold to get past.

As mentioned before if you are looking for that midrangy Santana lead tone the Mark 1 mode is where I would start. You can also try the IIC+ mode on Ch 3 as @bandit2013 suggested but pull back on the gain.

check this thread out for Santana tone related info

Santana V Mark 1

BTW, there are many other posts WRT tone on this forum, it may be worth searching around for them.

Hebaton said:

IT is the 90W version, I think I can get in the Carlos tones on CHannel 2 MK 1 mode with a tone tubby, but I find this amp very difficult to dial in... Maybe not hte best move for me...

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Mark I mode is the hardest mode to dial in on this amp. I have to use extra parametric EQ in the loop to get it to something usable.
Every other mode sounds quite good with just the 5-band graphic EQ, but I still use the extra parametric to dial in precise sounds for recording.
You know, you don't have to sound exactly like someone else to cover their song. I actually think covers are more interesting when the cover band does a unique take on it.
You'll have to spend a few days with this amp to get familiar with all the settings and options. Put in the work and find what sounds good to you without trying to make it sound like someone else. They made those recordings with a specific guitar with specific pickups thru a specific amp with specific speakers in a specific studio with specific mics and applied who-knows-what in post-processing... Craft your own unique sound.
Parametric EQ will be the most useful tool for changing the sound of an amp, and getting a wide range of sounds from the same amp.

DECEMBER said:

but I still use the extra parametric to dial in precise sounds for recording.

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Yea "precise" is the operative word in recording especially if you have a sound in your head you are looking for. I do like the Mark 1 mode but the settings are so much different then Crunch or Edge, for me it's not worth using it live.

Of course live there are so many more variables that play into it and IMHO feel if you get close tonally only the one jealous guitarist in the audience is going to complain, the playing and live presentation is much more important.

There are other options. CH1, CH2 in 45W mode, you can select tube rectification as that will give it a bit less power and sound a bit different than with the diode rectification. As for CH3, there is a huge difference in sound when comparing triode to pentode (this also affects the delivered power too. Triode will cut power down a bit and pentode will raise it up (this works on 90W mode too but only addresses the extended class A push-pull sockets). Triode seems a bit brighter than pentode.

The only difference, in 10W mode, that is single ended class A operation. The tube rectifier is used, and the operating mode on CH3 is forced to triode.

A slight understanding of where the tone stack sits can be helpful too. CH1 and CH3, the tone stack is on the front end, more of a pre-gain location (it sits between the first to gain stages). CH2 is different, tone stack is post gain as it follows the 2nd gain stage. IT seems that CH1 and CH2 have the same number of gain stages in its signal path which is 4 cascaded triodes. CH3 has a few extra which is to be expected which is a total of 6 triodes, some for the distortion and the last one is used to define the voicing for the three modes IIC+, IV, and extreme.

For the style of music you are after, I suggest a lower gain setting for CH2 or CH3. Start at or around 9am. I would experiment with edge or crunch to see if you can get the character you desire. Edge will sound a bit thin at first as it is more voiced like a Marshall in some ways, not sure if that was the intention. Roll back on your guitar volume if you need too. I sort of got into using the guitar volume more than before as I like to explore the dynamic range of the amp in general. The Mark V90 is capable of giving you more than just heavy metal mayhem. It may not be easy to find but it is there. Most of the suggested settings have the gain much higher than what I found that works for me with the Mark V90. For the record, mine is a bit off from the norm, it is the ice pick version, so I had to compensate with lower gain settings. If mine was more normal, perhaps I could be of better help. Crunch or Mark I modes were the only useful voiced I could make use of.

I barely use the Mark V90 all that much, mostly because mine has issues so I retried it for repair sometime down the road when I get bored.

rarebitusa said:

Just one V:90 players opinion here and no there is nothing weird going on.

I find there is often a perception of the V:90 being some kind of chameleon amp, it can masquerade as a Fender or a Marshall. Urrr No... it attempts to be a collection of Mesa Mark amps with other voicings sprinkled in. It is incredibly versatile but it will always have that inherent Mark vibe to it. Alot of midrange, tight bottom end, etc. If you're into that Mesa DNA and willing to tweak there are amazing sounds in the V:90.

However for those really seeking that true Marshall vibe, well they should get a Marshall. Fender BF same deal. I can't argue with the "jack of all trades" takeaway at all considering that. TBH it just depends what level of tonal authenticity the player seeks.

FWIW, I also play in a quasi 60s-90s cover band and use the V:90. It covers a wide variety of tones but certainly there are always compromises.

Click to expand...

It wasn't easy. Not at all. But I got my Mark Five sounding wonderful up against my favorite Marshall DSL amps as well as my Marshall JVM410H. The settings that folks aren't fond of are here on this forum.
We don't play 60's but we do play 70's and 80's.
If you need clean tones and have a guitar with HSH pickups just use the middle single for extra clean stuff.
Some parts of Far Behind by Candlebox and Foolin' by Def Leopard work well with that single middle pickup.
My Mesa sounds as close as I need it to sound to my Marshall amps.
If it didn't I'd still be trying.

Going off memory here (been travelling a couple weeks) but for Santana (or a usable Mark I mode tone) I would try the o'clock settings: Bass off to 8, Mid 11-1, Treb 12 to 2, Gain 11 to 3, Presence noon or a bit higher. Leave the THICK switch off unless doing only lead lines, then engage it as it is wonderfully gooey.

Edge of breakup? Use EDGE mode (obviously not gonna work too well if you are gigging with the Mark I mode for Santana like tones). EDGE is pretty bright, nothing wrong with turning down treble and presence. I find it quite usable for early AC/DC kind of grainy, classic rock sound (like TNT and High Voltage early). EDGE is a pretty low gain mode but keep the treble down around 9, mids 12 to 3, bass not too maybe 10 to 1. Start with gain at noon and back off if needed. Presence below 12.

You can try TWEED for edge of breakup sounds. It too can be bright so keep treble and presence at noon or below. Of course, then you lose the CLEAN/BOLD channels when gigging.

If you have a TS-9 or equivalent overdrive pedal you can use that on BOLD (distortion/gain set to 9 o'clock on pedal) and use your guitar volume knob to back off to edge of break up as needed. Then you have Mark I mode for Santana.

Anyway, lots to learn! I'm still learning