Help! Al di meola tone hidding somewhere inside the Mark V?

[Madureira]

Hi everyone!

New Mark V user here...and Mesa Boogie for that matter...

I'm a huge Al di Meola fan, and lately i've been trying to emulate his sound on Casino and Elegant Gipsy...

Any suggestions on wich mode/channel to use on the MKV?

The closest I got was on edge mode, channel 2 - it seems to lack a bit of that percussiveness typical of Al's sound.

I know that the guitar plays a use role (especially with this amp), and since I don't have a Les Paul like Al did, things can be a little harder.

I have a couple of choices, either an all american Strat, or a Petrucci Music man (fully loaded).

Any suggestions?

This amp is seriously kicking my butt, so many tone choices!!

 

[allphourus]

My guess is that you've got the wrong "Hiding " place (LOL), It's in his fingers, Probably Al Di Meola more than any other Guitarist sounds the same no matter what Amp he uses, Hell he even sounds the same on un-amplified gut sting Acoustic. I don't mean to be a downer But that has to be recognized and accounted for.

 

[Madureira]

Yeah I agree with that hiding place lol . Al has indeed a very particular style of his own, but still... We can get **** close...

Any suggestions?

 

[MrMarkIII]

I read on another forum that Al was using a Mark V at a concert. When asked afterward what he thought of it, he said he was still dialing it in.
So rejoice! You may find DiMeola's sound before he does.

 

[Madureira]

I read on another forum that Al was using a Mark V at a concert. When asked afterward what he thought of it, he said he was still dialing it in.
So rejoice! You may find DiMeola's sound before he does.

LOL I read that as well!

How cool is that?

Any info on some pedals maybe? I really just need some guidelines...it's hard to find this kind of info anywhere on the web.

Good news though...while trying to dial some Di meola sounds, I stumbled upon some GREAT tones, that I wasn't too familiar with.

 

[babow2]

I can absolutely confirm Al is using a Mark V. Last week, I spent two days at Mesa, with Frank- Mesa's photographer/videographer. Frank had just finished a photo shoot of Al at Yoshi's- during soundcheck, during the show, and privately with the Mesa staff. Al is using the Mark V on stage and Mesa was putting together an ad campaign for Europe showing Al with his MV and his new custom PRS. I saw the photos, heard the stories, and got it straight from Mesa.

 

[daveg62]

Yes, I just saw him the other night playing a show at a very small place. He had the mark V kind of off to the side of the stage facing away and some plexi-glass panels in front of it. You couldn't really see what it was but I walked up to the stage and saw the mark V foot-switch so I knew what he was using. I did ask him after the show how he liked the amp and he said he was still checking it out and asked me how I thought it sounded.

 

[Madureira]

Niiiiice!

I wish that he could return to his older style, and put the acoustics aside for some time.

To each his own, but man those records from the 70's and his work with return to forever is just awesome!

That's why I want his tone so badly!! I think I'm getting addicted to that percussive sound of his.

 

[babow2]

I may get slaughtered for saying this, especially on the Mark V board, but the TA-30 is the most percussive Mesa I have ever played. It is much more "percussive" than my Mark V. So, if you are totally into that aspect of Al's tone, and want that big percussive feeling, especially on the palm muted lead lines, I would suggest you at least try out the RA100 or TA-30. I played one for two days at Mesa, and took one home (see my write up on the Modern Era Amps main page), and that amp is all about the powerful percussion and tight thumpy response, in my opinion.

 

[Neptical]

That's the man right there. My number one inspiration of the guitar, period.

For Al's older tones, I find that the Marks capture it in spades by rolling everything back a bit and pushing the power section of the amp. The GEQ in a soft V or 'smiley' shape. I'm not familiar enough to give the definite settings of the V because its a bit different beast then the older Marks and I don't have one in my hands yet to compare a side by side to my III's. But, it's just the tone that the Boogie Mark series cater to, hands down. To get nit-picky, the choice of the right tubes,cab,pups,and guitar make just as big a difference as well. It's definitely there waiting for you!

~Nep~