Harsh tone,

[Johnnyboii]

whattup guys,

I just got my Mark V and i've been having alot of trouble in dialing in a tone thats not too harsh, no matter what i do, the dynamics are very harsh and bright,
My settings are as follows ;
Gain @ 2o'clock
Master @ 10o'clock
Presence @ 8o'clock
Treble @ 1o'clock
Mids @ 10o'clock
Bass in between 9 and 10 This is on Mark 4 mode on channel 3, i'm using an ibanez RG770 (maple neck/fingerboard and basswood body) all reccomendations are welcome

Thanks, John

 

[Shang Chi 66]

First of all congradulations!

My immediate first thought is speakers/cab. Do you have the head, if so, what are you running it thru?

Those settings on their own should not be producing a bright or harsh tone, especially in the Mark IV mode.

And your axe should'nt be a bright toned instrument I don't think. So to me, that leaves either speakers, or a defective amp in some way.

But lets start with the speakers.

 

[pathos45]

turn the gain down a bit it says in the manual the more gain the less treb and bass you should need, try useing the eq sliders to get post bass and highs, pretty much what i do is get a good base sound then use the sliders to really open the amp up. Also try the settings on the little card thing they stick on the amp to show you preset settings and go from there.

 

[Elpelotero]

It could be the room, as well. Take it outside and stand 20 feet back.

 

[Shang Chi 66]

All good advice/tips given here

For whatever it's worth, my settings are very simliar to yours, except I have my gain set higher around 4 o'clock, and the treble is higher as well, at 4 or 5...and theres not a trace of harshness to the tone, and it's not overly bright at all ( and I'm a player who cannot stand bright/slicing tone)

As a matter of fact, I have the high frequencies boosted further still with the graphic eq. This is all standing fairly close to and in front of my speaker cab as well...thats why I asked what speakers or cab do you run your amp thru...that matters so very much from amp to amp.

If you have the combo, is it sitting directly on the floor? Also, is the room you're jamming in carpeted? Little by little, all these things matter to the end result of your sound.

 

[Jim Ed Love]

1. The tubes need 20 to 40 hours to break in.
2. The amplifier needs 40 to 100 hours to break in.

 

[MusicManJP6]

1. The tubes need 20 to 40 hours to break in.
2. The amplifier needs 40 to 100 hours to break in.

Not real sure that is 100% accurate. I would say its the speaker/cab before thinking it's any of the above. I removed my Mark V from the box and plugged up to my 3/4 back cab w/ well broken in C90 and it's not harsh.

 

[Jim Ed Love]

1. The tubes need 20 to 40 hours to break in.
2. The amplifier needs 40 to 100 hours to break in.

Not real sure that is 100% accurate. I would say its the speaker/cab before thinking it's any of the above. I removed my Mark V from the box and plugged up to my 3/4 back cab w/ well broken in C90 and it's not harsh.

The speaker needs to be broken in as well. In my experience with new electronic equipment and tubes is that there is a break in period before things start to sound as intended. My MKV sounded good at first but still was a little harsh. After many hours things started to sound much better.

I never judge the sound of any of my electronic audio equipment new out of the box. It always sounds off, usually bright or harsh. I suggest the original poster let things settle in before passing judgement. Let the amp idle for a couple of hours and try playing it again. Give it a few weeks of daily playtime.

 

[Johnnyboii]

Thanks for all the responses guys.
Yes I do have the head version of the amp, and the cab i'm using is a Marshall MG412A :shock: .... cheap i know, but i didnt think it would be this much of a problem.. if it is the problem :lol:

 

[Shang Chi 66]

Thanks for all the responses guys.
Yes I do have the head version of the amp, and the cab i'm using is a Marshall MG412A :shock: .... cheap i know, but i didnt think it would be this much of a problem.. if it is the problem :lol:

Yeah, not the best cab in the world by any means. Construction, or speaker wise!

Try your amp thru a different (quality) cab when you can, and I bet ya you'll hear a really marked improvement in the tone.

Keep in mind though, you may have to go thru several, or even many different speakers before you find the kind of tone you like... trust me, I did! (I finally settled on an Eminence Wizard/Govenor combo that sounds great! Crunchy, with just enough brightness/grit, yet thick and rich too)

 

[Johnnyboii]

Will do man, and thanks for the advise

 

[MusicManJP6]

Yea, dude. It's gotta be your cab! Replace that with a Mesa cab and you'll be happy. I recommend the Mesa 3/4 back cabs or the Recto vert 2x12!

 

[niilz]

Yea, dude. It's gotta be your cab! Replace that with a Mesa cab and you'll be happy. I recommend the Mesa 3/4 back cabs or the Recto vert 2x12!

+1 !!! :mrgreen:

 

[TimeSignature]

Do not stand directly in front of the speaker! That on axis beam will kill your ears!

 

[scott7d]

Do not stand directly in front of the speaker! That on axis beam will kill your ears!

I bought one of these and it works wonders:
http://www.webervst.com/blocker.html

I just placed it in the bottom speaker, but I am going to fabricate my own for the top. I wanted to wait and see how the difference was before I threw two in.

To the original poster, this is something rather inexpensive you can either buy or fabricate.

 

[Jim Ed Love]

Johnnyboii, now that you have the big and expensive amp, you should start replacing the speakers. Maybe buy two at a time. Yes, it is expensive if you want that 4X12 sound, but not more expensive than the amp.

 

[scott from _actual time_]

I just got my Mark V and i've been having alot of trouble in dialing in a tone thats not too harsh, no matter what i do, the dynamics are very harsh and bright...

i've been having the exact same problem--no matter what, it's fizzy and harsh, not smooth and fat. i've had the amp 5 months, so it should be well broken-in.

i've tried pretty much everything. different settings: Treble up and Gain down; Gain up and Treble down (i play pretty high-gain sounds, so i need one of them up). Presence pretty much always all the way down. EQ preset or sliders.

different speaker cabs: ported 1x12, large vertical 2x12, compact 4x12. different rooms. swapping out my V30 (way too fizzy) for another Classic Lead 80 (darker, but still harsh with the Mark V).

different tubes: swapping the 6L6s for 5881s, even a quad of 5881s that have a lot of hours on them. swapping out preamp tubes in all positions for all sorts of different tube brands. beam blockers on my speakers.

different guitars: mahogany W/ maple cap; all mahogany. different pickups. hotter pickups; less-hot pickups. etc.

i'll keep tweaking, but eventually i'll get tired of it not sounding as good as i want to hear....

 

[pathos45]

I just got my Mark V and i've been having alot of trouble in dialing in a tone thats not too harsh, no matter what i do, the dynamics are very harsh and bright...

i've been having the exact same problem--no matter what, it's fizzy and harsh, not smooth and fat. i've had the amp 5 months, so it should be well broken-in.

i've tried pretty much everything. different settings: Treble up and Gain down; Gain up and Treble down (i play pretty high-gain sounds, so i need one of them up). Presence pretty much always all the way down. EQ preset or sliders.

different speaker cabs: ported 1x12, large vertical 2x12, compact 4x12. different rooms. swapping out my V30 (way too fizzy) for another Classic Lead 80 (darker, but still harsh with the Mark V).

different tubes: swapping the 6L6s for 5881s, even a quad of 5881s that have a lot of hours on them. swapping out preamp tubes in all positions for all sorts of different tube brands. beam blockers on my speakers.

different guitars: mahogany W/ maple cap; all mahogany. different pickups. hotter pickups; less-hot pickups. etc.

i'll keep tweaking, but eventually i'll get tired of it not sounding as good as i want to hear....

have you tried putting a od infront of it ive had mine for about 3 months, im usein my 2 custom made cabs thats in my sig, and its getting me intense high gain tones. Tubes will def change your tone and harshness, check out eurotubes.com they have some pretty nice sets of tubes and he can usually help ya out. Ive also found anything but emenice doesnt sound right to me, something about them just brings the life of the amp out. But then again the mark series amps arnt for everyone either, took me a while to find out that it was the mark tone i needed and many diffrent amps too.

 

[jtroska]

I finally settled on an Eminence Wizard/Govenor combo that sounds great! Crunchy, with just enough brightness/grit, yet thick and rich too

I'll second that! 8)

I haven't tried the two together in combination. But I have a pair of Eminence Governors in an open combo and a pair of Eminence Wizards in a closed Thieli-style cabinet (not a Mesa Boogie, but a Freda cabinet built on the same basic principle).

I love them both. The Wizards work really well in the Thieli-style front-ported cabinet because they have a lot of upper mids and a tight bottom, which counters the big boomy bottom resonance of the cabinet. And then there's a high end roll off right before it has a chance to get shrill or harsh.

But I find that upper midrange character to be a bit much in an open cabinet. So I use the Eminence Governors in that one.

I've tried a bunch of different speakers. And those two (Governors and Wizards) are my favorite.

 

[MD57MD]

I am 53 year old working guitar player and I am disapointed with my Mark V head. I have the mesa 2x12 vert with V30's.

I tried Tung Sol's in V1 2 and 3 it helped a bit. This amp is way too harsh. I use many different PUPS on many guitars. I will give it time to break in as you will lose highs in the speakers. But this was mesa's last chance with me. I have owned many amps and I think desert Island I will take a Fender Prosonic Head with specific tubes over this head right now.
Does anyone had any luck getting this to sound a bit more usable in a working band scenario.
I play Classic rock and use all three channels. i dont use overkill on the drive in channel 3 and my channel one is clean. Channel 2 is SRV like drive sound.
I am thinking of trying SED power Tubes