Any good Mark IV settings in lead channel for Strat

[swbo101]

Hi.. I'm a new member that can across your fantastic forum while searching the internet for any good advise on some strat settings on a Mark IV. I've owned this amp for almost 20 years and love it. However, sometimes I feel as though I need a degree from MIT to operate this thing. Over the years I have found some great tones for my Les Pauls, but have never been that satisfied with the tones for my strat. I have a long head Mark IV on a boogie 4X12 cab. My strats are both from the mid 1970's. I am very satisfied with the channel 1 and 2 settings I've found..but not with the lead. I am running the amp with 2 6L6's and 2 EL34's. I find that with my strats it sounds a bit better (at least to my liking) in simul-class mode. I'm kind of looking for that 70's sound of Blackmore, Bolin. Even Jeff Beck on Live w/ the Jan Hammer group. I find that sometimes the sound comes across a bit harsh and I lose some of that "nasaly" sound that Fenders have. Though in channel 1 and 2 I get it pretty good.

Again...any insight/hints/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!

Thanks

 

[Fronzil]

ask this guy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9Cgem1m94k

 

[mr_fender]

I go back and forth between my strat and les paul with my mkiv. Generally I use pull bright with the les paul, but have it pushed in with the strat. I also find it useful to run the bass a bit higher with the strat too. Knob EQ is pre-gain, so I use it to level out the difference between the strat and les paul. My strat is bright and spanky, so I dial in less treble and more bass. My Les Paul is warm and beefy, so I dial in more treble and less bass. Sometime I'll tweak the mids too, but they usually stay about half way. It depends on what kind of mood I'm in and how pissed off the amp gremlins are. Your milage may vary. Good luck.

 

[swbo101]

Thanks for both inputs. Funny, I saw that youtube video a few days ago and was thinking the same thing. Anyway I appreciate it. Thanks

 

[zebpedersen]

I got some time with my Mark IV and Strat this weekend, I ran it (t/b/m) 7, 7, 4 with drive and gain at 6 a piece (everything pulled). Presence to taste. I run that 7 / 7 / 4 combo on all my Marks, works a charm.

 

[mr_fender]

Since the tone stack is nearly identical to blackface Fenders, the old fender "magic 6" rule works well too. For those unfamiliar, the magic 6 is volume/gain=6, treble=6, bass=2, and mids=3. Some people swap the mid and bass settings to bass=3 and mids=2. Works pretty well as a starting point. This tone stack allows a lot of bass though, so keep the bass set lower or else it can get farty, especially with high gain. It's usually better to boost the lows with the post-gain graphic EQ instead for a tighter low end. The exception is when you have a brighter guitar with less bass, such as a strat or tele with single coils. These instruments allow for higher bass settings than warm and fat guitars like les pauls. Happy tweaking!

 

[swbo101]

Thanks this is a great place to start. After playing around for while what I found (funny enough after all of this,though this can be improved) that what sounded pretty good was going flat 7 across b/t/m with the gain on 8.5 and the drive around 6. Presence anywhere from 0-3. I EQ'd it with the following (though this could be improved as well) 80 @ 3/4 line near the top | 240 between flat and the 3/4 line on top | 750 flat | 2200 between flat and the 3/4 line on top | 6600 just above flat.

My Les Pauls would sound lousy like this, but for some reason (at least to my deafened ears) it sounds ok. You still get that nice clipping sound without losing the tonal qualities of the guitar. Everyone has been a great help. This is a good place to start. Funny how just starting flat helped. I never do that. Maybe it's just something different to my ears.

Thanks to all again!!