Channels 2 & 3, mid knob, no perceptible change in mid tone?

[GJgo]

Hey folks, wanted to ask this of the other owners.

- On channel 1, all three of my tone stack knob have a clear effect.
- On channels 2 & 3 my treble knob has a pretty clear effect, the bass knob has a small but perceptible effect, but the mid knob has no perceptible effect on the appropriate tone.
- I do know they are working, because if I turn all 3 tone stack knobs off (channel 2 or 3) & raise one at a time the volume comes up.
- When I do this the treble gets clearly more trebly, the bass gets a little more bassy, but the mid only gets louder (no perceptible midrange shift).
- I did read in the manual (cover to cover) how on channels 2 & 3, when the gain & treble is high the effect of the other tone stack knobs will be diminished.
- So, I turned the gain & treble most of the way down and the mid knob still has no perceptible effect on mid tone- just adds a little volume.
- I plan on running the bass low anyway on these channels "because Mark Circuit", and I can tell that doing this cuts the flub as it should so that’s fine.
- Thus I’m mostly concerned that the mid knobs are affecting the gain a little bit on channels 2 & 3 but not the mid tone to any perceptible degree, even when the gain & treble are set low.

Short story, I know they are hooked up but I’m surprised at the lack of (mid tone stack) command on channels 2 & 3. I’m writing to ask if this is normal / as intended in the design, or if it sounds like an issue? If it is normal that’s fine & I can work with it since it has the GEQ, I just want to know. I wrote Mesa & they said this is normal in the Mark circuit, but I'm not sure if I was clear enough in stating that there's no shift in mid tone in channels 2 & 3, ever. Before this I had a Mark III (& other Boogies) so I'm familiar with how the tone stack works, and in that amp (those amps) all the knobs had clear effect.

I may have to do a video based on what you guys have to say about your amps.

 

[dlpasco]

Hey folks, wanted to ask this of the other owners.

- On channel 1, all three of my tone stack knob have a clear effect.
- On channels 2 & 3 my treble knob has a pretty clear effect, the bass knob has a small but perceptible effect, but the mid knob has no perceptible effect on the appropriate tone.
- I do know they are working, because if I turn all 3 tone stack knobs off (channel 2 or 3) & raise one at a time the volume comes up.
- When I do this the treble gets clearly more trebly, the bass gets a little more bassy, but the mid only gets louder (no perceptible midrange shift).
- I did read in the manual (cover to cover) how on channels 2 & 3, when the gain & treble is high the effect of the other tone stack knobs will be diminished.
- So, I turned the gain & treble most of the way down and the mid knob still has no perceptible effect on mid tone- just adds a little volume.
- I plan on running the bass low anyway on these channels "because Mark Circuit", and I can tell that doing this cuts the flub as it should so that’s fine.
- Thus I’m mostly concerned that the mid knobs are affecting the gain a little bit on channels 2 & 3 but not the mid tone to any perceptible degree, even when the gain & treble are set low.

Short story, I know they are hooked up but I’m surprised at the lack of (mid tone stack) command on channels 2 & 3. I’m writing to ask if this is normal / as intended in the design, or if it sounds like an issue? If it is normal that’s fine & I can work with it since it has the GEQ, I just want to know. I wrote Mesa & they said this is normal in the Mark circuit, but I'm not sure if I was clear enough in stating that there's no shift in mid tone in channels 2 & 3, ever. Before this I had a Mark III (& other Boogies) so I'm familiar with how the tone stack works, and in that amp (those amps) all the knobs had clear effect.

I may have to do a video based on what you guys have to say about your amps.

I turn my mids all the way up when I'm playing Nirvana tunes, then keep a "V" on the eq to notch them out a little. I can tell the difference when the mids are cranked, but it's more subtle than it is on my Mark III or was on my Mark Vs. For one thing, it doesn't sound terrible.

I think this is why Cobain was able to crank the mids on his Mesa Studio preamp. Same basic rig.

Naturally, I may be completely high here (on all of these points). But I've definitely thought about this before.

 

[GJgo]

Alright, I just went ahead & did a quick playthrough video. You can hear the mid knob sweep at ~4:38, and also more in depth at 7:30. How does this compare to yours?

https://youtu.be/qEr8M_wBskg

 

[MrSmitty]

Yeah I've noticed this too...that the Mid knob on this amp is more subtle, compared to my other Mark amps. But it does seem to add more gain and stiffness. I've been setting the mids between 9:00 and 11:00, then adjust the GEQ.

 

[GJgo]

If this is the way it is, I'll probably just dime the mid knobs & take the gain. Agreed on it adding more of that. Since however it's not like the other Marks I've owned / played, and I/ we all just dropped a bunch of cash on one, I just want to make sure it's as intended vs. find out if we have a problem.

 

[dlpasco]

Alright, I just went ahead & did a quick playthrough video. You can hear the mid knob sweep at ~4:38, and also more in depth at 7:30. How does this compare to yours?

https://youtu.be/qEr8M_wBskg

Nice walkthrough. Sounds about like mine.

 

[SamuelJ86]

Hmmm... Obviously the mark series tone stack controls work differently than other amps and I've only had any real experience with the mark V. I have heard many 2c+ owners say that the mid control didn't do a whole lot. In my mark V the mid control doesn't do a whole lot either. Now, "not a whole lot" and "no perceptible effect" is not the same thing. If you've had Mark amps before you should have a pretty good handle on how the tone stack works. If I plugged in to your amp and heard no perceptible difference in the mid control I would say something is wrong with your amp, because my amp definitely has a perceptible difference when I turn the mid control. Let me at least tell you what my perceptible differences are because it's not a whole lot. If I max my mid control I get more gain. Quite a bit more gain. And with that gain I get this rich, chalky, thick midrange purr. But, where I usually play with my mid control, between 10 and 1 o'clockish, there isn't a whole lot of a midrange shift. And if I had never played a mark series amp before, I would say that between 10 and 1 o'clock there is no perceptible difference. I use the mid control in that region for feel. Lower mid settings makes the guitar feel easier to play. Higher settings and the strings stiffen up a bit and the manual says it perfectly, the sound becomes more "forward". More punch and a thicker sound. I almost think of it like another bass control for higher frequencies. It shapes the sound in a way that I can make it fit in a pocket or a specific spectrum of the mix.
Play around with it some more. Try keeping the GEQ off to hear it work better. I usually dial it in while palm muting the A string with a good amount of gain. I'm listening for that punch to come up to where I like it, trying to get it to tuck in right below the bass frequencies. And I'm feeling for that good string definition, not too mushy but thick. I hope you can take away something useful from all my rambling. But that's the way me and my mid control get along. :mrgreen:

 

[GJgo]

Alright, hearing that other owners have the same feel in theirs, plus I spoke to Mesa & their tech listened to the clip & said that's how it is intended, so I think we're good. Play on!