Better lead channel!

[TheHysteria]

I've been tweaking my Mark IIB for a while now and so far the gain is nice! Alright, so I turn up volume 1 and the treble up pretty high today to make it sound better. Does volume 1 control the amount of preamp distortion? Will my preamp tubes need to be replaced quicker if so?

I think for practices and gigs I'm going to use the lead channel and just turn down my guitar volume to clean up the gain.

Hm, maybe a modeler isn't needed afterall.

 

[RR]

Your both preamp gains should be set about "7" or "8". The vol 1 although its the clean channel preamp volume it is cascaded with the lead channel too.

Try this:
Set Vol1 to about "7"
Set the Lead Drive channel to about "8".

Master 1 will regulate the overall loudness of the amp. It should be like 1 or 2, or 3. Its loud!

Lead Master only regulates the Lead Channel (duh). That should be like "2" or "3".

The "Rhythm" channel has alot of clean headroom. It will not break up that easy.
I can't think of any tube amp other than some 200 watt tube amp that has more clean, undistorted headroom than Mark IIs.

If your Mark II does not have a Graphic, do not expect it to get a real heavy metal sound. It will give a moderate distortion at best. If you have a graphic set in a "V' pattern (MESA specialty for Mark Series).

 

[TheHysteria]

I don't have the slider EQ, so I was thinking of an EQ pedal.

How about a rackmount? Can a boost pedal also give me heavier tones on the lead channel?

 

[RR]

pedals, stomp boxes, and other devices is out my realm.

Hope other chime in and give your their suggestion.

35+ years of playing, I never bought a stomp box. I relied on the amps' preamp gain.

I do like the Mark II for the moderate gain. But for higher gain I would use my Dual Rectifier.

 

[TheHysteria]

pedals, stomp boxes, and other devices is out my realm.

Hope other chime in and give your their suggestion.

35+ years of playing, I never bought a stomp box. I relied on the amps' preamp gain.

I do like the Mark II for the moderate gain. But for higher gain I would use my Dual Rectifier.

I was complaining about my distortion a while back, but I like what I hear now. It's fun to play with!

If I add a boost pedal/tube overdrive pedal (ie. Digitech Bad Monkey) on my lead channel, can I get even heavier? Maybe even higher gain like a Recto?