Anyone moved from Mark IV to Triaxis/2:90? Advice needed!

[badguitarist]

I'm a fanboy of young-Petrucci tone, especially I&W and LTE1, and I know he used Triaxis rig for these albums. I have a Mark IV right now. I DO get some good tones I admit, really Petrucci-esque, but the problem is that I just can't get the character I want with the Mark IV, I found it a little sterile and lack of characteristic. In addition to that I really hate current Petrucci tone, especially in Score show and SC and I know he used Mark IV heads for these. And now I wanna make a move to Triaxis rig. Is there anyone done that before? Can a Triaxis/2:90 do what I want? Give me some advice please!

 

[jaquetapus]

I've got a Triaxis/GMajor/2:ninety setup goin on, and I'm comfortably close to Petrucci's old tone. My personal favorite sound is from Metropolis pt.2, and I think I'm darn close to that. I played a friend's mkIV and honestly wasn't impressed. I didn't mess with it much though, and I have years of tweaking into my current setup. I love the versatility!

-dave

 

[shredi knight]

I'm a fanboy of young-Petrucci tone, especially I&W and LTE1, and I know he used Triaxis rig for these albums.... In addition to that I really hate current Petrucci tone, especially in Score show and SC and I know he used Mark IV heads for these.....

Just a couple of corrections:

-It is very debated what Petrucci actually used on I&W, and no one really seems to know for sure. Some say Mark IIc+, some say Studio Pre, some say Quad, and some say Triaxis. One argument against it being a Traixis is that at the time DT recorded I&W, the Triaxis hadn't been released yet (and Petrucci probably wasn't well known enough yet to have access to a "before release" model).

- For Score, he used his green "Nunya" preamp, which is basically a Mark IIc+ in preamp form, into a Rectifier 2:100 power amp power amp.

Here's a pic of the rig (the Nunya is the green thing, second from the top on the right):

 

[badguitarist]

Thanks for the answer and the corrections also. I was referring to I&W Live Show, and I knew that JP did not record I&W with Triaxis's. And I really love the I&W Live tone, along with Rock Discipline tone. I think I will be selling my Mark IV soon and get a Triaxis rig. As jaquetapus said it's versatile and I need a lot of sounds since I cover a lot of different stuffs and styles. I will post some comparision as soon as I get a Triaxis rig.

 

[shredi knight]

Thanks for the answer and the corrections also. I was referring to I&W Live Show, and I knew that JP did not record I&W with Triaxis's. And I really love the I&W Live tone, along with Rock Discipline tone. I think I will be selling my Mark IV soon and get a Triaxis rig. As jaquetapus said it's versatile and I need a lot of sounds since I cover a lot of different stuffs and styles. I will post some comparision as soon as I get a Triaxis rig.

(Yeah, I know I already told you this in another thread, but.... ) Rock Discipline does have some of JP's very best tones in it (clean & dirty) and some of my favorites. Keep in mind though that his Triaxis has been modified. I nerver heard one sounds as good as his does. And to use one of your words to describe the Mark IV, the Triaxis ususlly sound a little bit "sterile" to me (but like I said in the other thread, I'm only basing this opinion on recordings I've heard, so what do I know? :roll: :wink: ).

 

[disassembled]

My first Mesa preamp was the Triaxis and is the easiest one for me to dial in. I have a mark IVB and Triaxis/290 but i am constantly tweaking the Mark IV. I like the triaxis for making things a little less versatile because you don't have all the pull knobs, 5 band EQ, etc but you can save your settings. The mark iv doesn't thin out as much when you turn down your guitar's volume but both the triaxis and mark IV thin out to some degree when doing this. I like the clean on the Triaxis a bit better but Lead2 Yellow really has a great feel that is easy to dial in. I will be adding a Channel B standby, Class A, and possibly Triode/Pentode switches to the 290 so it will be just as versatile as having the Mark IV's power amp(minus tweed power). For now I will be keeping both the Mark IV and Triaxis as they both sound great but sometimes it is easier to just carry the head VS a small rack and midi footcontroller. The worst part about the stock 290 is that you have to use both channels in simul and pentode but for me it's easy to modify without drilling or causing any damage.

I do the Burr Brown opamp mod to all of my Triaxis preamps. I doubt JP modded his Triaxis preamps but just had the right combination of settings, volume, effects, and mic placement to achieve his tones.


Greg