First Jam with the band w/ the Mark V -Feedback issues Halp!

[sean106alcon]

Hey guys, so usually when I go to the rehearsal space I A/B a JC-120 for cleans with a Marshall Head as I really just use chorus clean, rhythm chug and some delay here and there.

So I got my V 2 weeks ago and have been finding my sweet spots at home with the out put at 9 O clock but at 90 watts. So I got my supreme crystal clean tone with a Boss Chorus in the loop. I live above neighbors and run it through a Diezel front loaded cab with V 30's. So it always sounded good but could never blast it. Even with the cab sitting on the great gramma platform to absorb the sound. Love the 10 and 45 settings for night playing as I just sold my VH4 mono as the VH4 has to be cranked to get tone so I had to run it through a THD hotplate also, to buy this and have a VH4S at my singers apt for gigs.

I was so blown away! HOLY TONE. I was running through a regular Marshall cab and I had the volumes all set at the pix below. The distortion was insanely tight and so clear. Really really gives my VH4S a run for it's money. I don't have them side by side so I cannot do a comparison. For the past 4 years I have been a Diezel fanatic and had a VH4 VH4S and 2 Diezel Front loaded cabs with V 30's. I still have all but the VH4 Mono. nice to sell the Vh4 for a grand more than the mark V . I do think the VH4 is more versatile as it is straight up midi, has a sick clean tone, 4 channels so easy to dial in and plug and play. Plus the 6 loops (Parallel, serial and one for each channel) also was a major plus. I wish the V had the ability to switch between the 3 modes on a foot switch. That is my only gripe with the V. I would love to be able to switch from the IIC+ mode to the IV to the extreme to the I mode etc. But whatever it is what it is.

Anyhow, the cleans were sick at loud volumes. With the settings I made and the boss super chorus sounded insane. So punchy in Fat mode and sweet; and amazing chorus effect (yeah I am a Hetfield fanboy anf love his JC-120 clean tone even though I saw his rig on the last tour and he uses POD Pro's for his FX......no JC-120 in his rack.....and IMO his clean tone sounded better with the JC-120.

But I had major major feedback issues. Now I am not sure if I should just bring my NS-2 to suppress it but it was feedbacking in between notes and chords. So from time to time I lowered the gain and it helped a little and I started off playing in Mark IV mode and then thought maybe if I switched to the IIC+ mode or Crunch mode might help but same deal. Lot of feedback.

So after my long rant how much I love this amp. My question is: Should I just use the NS-2 noise suppressor or can you advise me that my settings should be changed and what recommendations would ya make? Thanks all. Never thought I would be back in a boogie as I never liked the Rectoverb, Dual rect, Road King and Roadster I had at one time. I was always intrigued by all the people raving about the Mark IV (and since boogie claimed the IIC+ and IV where in the Mark V)I did a lot of research and youtube samples till I went to GC and tried it out and loved it and bought it on the spot.

here are my settings for tonight. Diodes on Ch1 and 2 and Pentode on CH3. Thanks for baring my babble. :lol:

Oh also I am not so comfortable yet with tweaking the sliders so I had them all on pre-set.

 

[pathos45]

i use a ns2 and i get a lil hum but its not from the amp it self its due to my maxon od808 and emgs BUT, i hear if you throw the ns2 or any noise gate in the fx loop u will get rid of the amps feed back not the guitar wheres if you put it infront u get rid of teh guitars feedback and some of the amps but not alot. Only reason why i dont use the ns2 in my fx loop is cuz i rather have my mod pedals through the loop and have my wah, od and ns2 up front just prefrence really. ive had my head at about half master and half output just to see how it will sound on 90 and holy crap loudness!!!!!! Also try pullin teh gain back a bit and throwing a od infront to get a bit more pre gain/grit hopefully that helps

 

[Barry]

Why do you run your individual masters so high . I can see it on channel 1 but with all the gain in channel three I can understand the feedback problem . I bet it sounds like a screaming banshee !

 

[shogun]

a boss ns2 is a good way to ruin your setup :?

turn your masters down, especially on channel 3, and adjust your eq to compensate...

EDIT: ok, i looked at your gain as well and lol'd.. i dont understand how someone can use that much distortion :lol:
less is more if you are looking for heavy tones

 

[smd24fan]

Agree with the others, channel masters on 2 and 3 are too high.

 

[sean106alcon]

Hey thanks for the feedback. What O' Clock would ya set the Masters at?

For channel one, I want as little break up as possible so I always crank the master and use the gain as a volume. CH 1 sounded amazing last night it was 2 and 3 that were screaming. But yeah please let me know what you think would be appropriate settings for the masters. Man I love this amp... LOL I may have to sell my other VH4 :lol:

 

[shogun]

the volume for ch2 depends on what mode / sound you're trying to achieve.. but channel 1 and 3 sound great with the master low.. 9-1:30

 

[sean106alcon]

the volume for ch2 depends on what mode / sound you're trying to achieve.. but channel 1 and 3 sound great with the master low.. 9-1:30

Thx man. I am looking for basically a crystal clean......which I got..... and then some tight rhythm chug and maybe a lead channel if I ever learn to really solo :lol:

Kinda like this but the bass is turned way low as we sacked our bass player and are looking for a new one.
http://www.myspace.com/centrifuse
Listen to Magnify, that would be an example of the OD I am looking for but better! LOL


Thx

 

[Jim Ed Love]

Have you thought about potting your guitar pickups?

 

[madryan]

I've had two brand new Mesa's in the last couple of years and both had bad preamp tubes right out of the box or shortly after. My mark V had a borderline microphonic tube in V1 right off the bat. You should look into some high quality low noise preamp tubes to swap V1, V2, V3, and possibly V4. The 9th gen. Chinese Shuguang's are really good quality tubes and aren't really expensive.

My Mark V (and all the other marks I've owned) is so quiet that even at band volumes it's hard to tell it's on unless I'm actually playing. The noise floor is really low now that I've tossed the stock tubes.

I think Mesa had a bad batch of preamp tubes recently.

 

[Barry]

Just to relay the other side of that coin , Ive had 6 brand new mesa amps over the last 10 years with no tube issues at all . I understand that it does happen but not to everyone .

 

[madryan]

Just to relay the other side of that coin , Ive had 6 brand new mesa amps over the last 10 years with no tube issues at all . I understand that it does happen but not to everyone .

I've had more brand new amps than that but the RK-II and the Mark V were just in the last year or two. Both had absolutely crap tubes. My 2004 Lonestar I bought new the tubes were fine.

That's why I'm betting they recently had a bad batch of preamp tubes come in. I had half the preamp tubes in the RK and Mark V either DOA or fail within 6 months.

 

[benson]

Ditch the tone sucking NS2 and get an ISP Decimator instead and put it in the loop to kill the preamp hiss, which is the most common noise for high gain stuff. Much more transparant, simpler and more effective at controlling noise.