Any suggestions on making the V come ALIVE!

[Bluestoned1]

Getting some really good suggestions on this...thanks all!

What I'm really getting at is, 'What is the best way to make Channel 3 come alive?'

I've had some pretty good success with Channel 1 Clean and minor break up and I can get a pretty good vintage, plexi/boogie-ish tone in Channel 2 Crunch, also Mark 1 is solid...but Channel 3 can be somewhat stale.

I play with a fairly wide assortment of guitars (ie: signature below as well as others) so getting a good number of perspectives regarding guitar variety. I also switch things up a lot with a ton of different pedal varieties and amp sans pedals as well.

I think the best advice thus far is re-reading the manual, understanding how the knobs work differently in different modes, adjusting the knobs with your ears and not your eyes, etc.

IMHO, my particular question is Mark V specific...nothing to do with pedals and ESPECIALLY nothing to do with guitars or pickup arrangements...


But for the best sound so far on Channel 3, I've found that actually adding VOLUME and some more GAIN is working best for me right now.

 

[Mungo Zen]

I am a bit of a tweaker and my advice is always to 'go home'.

I use Channel 3 primarily in Mark IV mode but this tip applies to all channels more or less equally. I have been tweaking the Mark V for 5 years and as such understand a bit about what the options will bring to the table.

Before resetting and dialing in a tone I do the following
Channel Dials - Reset all of them to 12 o'clock (as recommended all over, this is the tone the channel is intended to provide, and a great starting point).
EQ - Off
Reverb - Off
Loop - Off


Step 1 - Determine the Power
Depending on my application, I will choose Full or Variac and 90/45/10...typically, just Full and 90 Watt

Step 2A - Determine the Channel/Amp Mode
I play for a minute or 2 on each of the 3 Modes within Channel 3 to 'clean' my ears. Get to hear what each channel is bringing and see what is striking my fancy at that time.

Step 2B - Flip all them switches you want to try now (such as Fat, Bold, or the Diode/Triode stuff on the back). You can always go back and flip them later but, since they are either in or out, I prefer to have them set before dialing the rest of the tone.

Step 3 - Bass and Gain
This is a bit of the Petrucci method here. First you turn the Bass right down and start slowly turning it up while playing your guitar. You want to bring enough bass to support your notes but not too much to get flubby or wide on the low end. However, for something like stoner rock to really get fat and fuzzy, extra low end really helps!

Repeat the same for your gain, although I recommend finding the sweet spots where it breaks from clean.

Step 4 - Channel Volume vs Master Volume
I have been using Channel volume more and more to push the breakup of the channel. The Master volume will make what you have dialed in louder, so it doesn't add anything to what you are doing really. I play between the Channel Volume and Gain a bit at this point then balance it against the band/venue/whatever with the Master

Step 5 - Treble and Mids
I really use a small portion of the Treble, and work that in next (usually between 10 and 1) but this is just to take the sharpness out of the high end. Although there is a big thing about scooping the mids, I have found in the last year or two that the Mesa can sound really sick with boosted mids in the channel. I do the same as with Bass and Gain where I will drop the mids right out and dial them back in while playing.

Step 5 - Presence and EQ
At this point you should have your tone shaped out. If I want to use the EQ, I will switch it to the Dial and just spin it around a bit and see how it feels. The scoop increases as you spin it, so I gauge how scooped I want it, and then flip it to the sliders and build a basic V pattern to notch down the mids. I have found that it doesn't take much to shape the tone with EQ and doesn't require anything pushed to the top or bottom.

After the EQ (or if I decide not to use it) I dial my presence back a bit and then work it up.

I do this process several times a month at least even if I am playing the same guitar with the same band for that time. It keeps me in tune with the tone and over time has given me the confidence to tweak live on stage.


I used this method over the weekend when recording solos for an EP and ended up, literally, Gain at 2 o'clock, Volume at 11 and everything else at 12 with the EQ providing a soft scoop. It gave me a great crunchy and thick tone which had a very nice 3D feeling to it which will be easy to shape in post during mixing. If you had asked me 5 minutes prior to setting it if I would consider using it, I would have laughed!

Good luck!

 

[Bluestoned1]

Thanks Mungo Zen! Sounds simple but OH SO IMPORTANT...

Also, I really like the comments re: tube rolling. I have a funny feeling that this amp will benefit greatly (to my ears anyway) with a major tube change (possibly el34? KT's? etc...) or straight-up gumbo-mix of same genre of tubes.

Still, what a kick-*** amp!