Help Dialing in "Rock" sounds...

[screamingdaisy]

I'm trying to dial in some good 'rock' sounds, but I keep dialling in 'metal' sounds. I need to think outside the box and I'm not.

I'm aiming for warmer and darker than the typical 'Metallica' style of sound, along the lines of Alice in Chains. I normally use my Rectifier on vintage, but I'm trying to figure out how to get something similar on the Mark V.

 

[phyrexia]

are you using ch2 or ch3?

 

[screamingdaisy]

Either/or... not too picky.

 

[golfnguitarz]

Man, after hating on the Mark I mode for a while, a good friend of mine came over to demo the new boogie mo'chine and he just dug the Mark I mode saying it really sounded like the old Marshalls. You have to really crank the treble/presence, no bass, very little mids, and if you are playing at low volumes, maybe goose the high end with the GEQ. He really opened my eyes a bit on that channel and I kinda keep going back to it because it breaks up really nice in those low mids like the TSL I had. YMMV, but I am digging that mode more and more and at decent volumes, it blooms and there is plenty of grind and gain in there. Oh, flip the toggle down for the Mark I mode too. I guess my point is that it really sounds different than channel 3 to me and very, very different than crunch mode.

 

[screamingdaisy]

Hmmm....

I'll have to give Mark I a try. The description you gave of Mark I is how I dial it in (treble 7, mids 4-5, bass 0, presence 7), but I haven't used it much because I found it hard to balance it with any of the voices on channel 3. It's just such a thick sounding voice that it makes anything channel 3 offers a bit of a dick wilting experience...

 

[boogieman60]

Try chan 2 crunch mode 90 w gain 11:00 master 11:00 pres. 1:00 treb 1:00 mid 10:00 bass 10:00 pick ups and type of guitar vary so much these settings may not work for you but I get a nice all around rock crunch punch out to lunch sound...the more gain the more percussive the amp gets in this channel good for palm muting.

 

[golfnguitarz]

Hmmm....

I'll have to give Mark I a try. The description you gave of Mark I is how I dial it in (treble 7, mids 4-5, bass 0, presence 7), but I haven't used it much because I found it hard to balance it with any of the voices on channel 3. It's just such a thick sounding voice that it makes anything channel 3 offers a bit of a dick wilting experience...

Yeah, I haven't tried to balance that with the other channels. The other thing I tried was going to Crunch and putting the mids around 3 o'clock. Between those two, I think you can get really close to the British sound. Then for a nice rhythm thang with just a little breakup, I'll use Edge (yes, there is usable stuff in that mode).

 

[espmaster1]

Yeah, another vote for mark I mode with the Mark I thick on. It beefs the sound up a little bit. Honestly, trying to find a "rock" tone in CH. 3 I'm finding rather difficult. Most often I'm using Ch.1 with the BB preamp on.. :/

 

[Heritage Softail]

Man, after hating on the Mark I mode for a while, a good friend of mine came over to demo the new boogie mo'chine and he just dug the Mark I mode saying it really sounded like the old Marshalls. You have to really crank the treble/presence, no bass, very little mids, and if you are playing at low volumes, maybe goose the high end with the GEQ. He really opened my eyes a bit on that channel and I kinda keep going back to it because it breaks up really nice in those low mids like the TSL I had. YMMV, but I am digging that mode more and more and at decent volumes, it blooms and there is plenty of grind and gain in there. Oh, flip the toggle down for the Mark I mode too. I guess my point is that it really sounds different than channel 3 to me and very, very different than crunch mode.

^^ Word....

Same experience. EQ the piss out of it like you said and then get it cranked up pretty loud. Xotic AC Boost hitting it with the amp cranked just sounds pissed off.

 

[Chester]

+1 for MK1 mode as the core sound, used with an OD pedal. Playing around with amp and pedal settings, I now use this as a 3 channel amp in itself

Depending on the guitar I use, I balance the trebble to get the bite I need for the part. Stick a Fulltone FD2 in the mix, and I can get everything from Angus grind to Santana cream (with boost), using guitar volume and tone pots to taste. Toggle the MKV EQ in or out to add yet more colour and variation ..... and still haven't moved out of MK1 mode

Much more versatile than the TSL I sold recently - awsome rock options

 

[screamingdaisy]

Cool. I messed around in Mark I mode a bit today. It was pretty cool, but I don't know if it's quite what I'm after. My basic issue is that the midrange in Crunch mode is too in your face, whereas Mark 1 goes the other way and they're too laid back. I need to find the middle ground...

Still, I'm going to give it another go tomorrow once I've given my ears a chance to reset.

 

[eudaimonia02912]

Have you tried using edge? (In particular, have you tried the EQ off trick, where you turn the master and gain up, but turn all the other knobs all the way down?)

 

[sted]

Hey man,

Im finding some really good stuff when bypassing the output and using the channel masters, you lose the loop but its a nice option to crank the channel master upto about 2.30 and turn the gain down to 12.30-1-ish (Crunch mode) sounds really gnarly on the 10w setting, got a gig later so I'm going to see how this stacks up on the higher power settings, I is hopeful!

 

[screamingdaisy]

Found it. It took coming at it with a fresh set of ears. I dialled in Mark 1 last night with the amp off, that way when I turned it on this morning it was the first thing I'd hear and thus my brain would concentrate on the sound of THAT channel instead of how it sounded compared to other channels.

I wound up finding the right zone on Mark 1 mode with the gain dialled way down (9:00). With an overwound PAF it sounds like it was mailed straight from the 70s. It's very thick sounding and it has an overdriven amp feel to it. I like it.

Channel 3 is now on Mark IV and dialled in to sound like a slightly gained up version of channel 2 with the bright off, then I kick over the bright switch to bring in more edge. It's pretty cool. I don't know if I have it perfect yet, but it's getting there. I want to experiment with duplicating Mark I using the Mark IIC+ mode and see how that compares to Mark IV.

 

[Heritage Softail]

Found it. It took coming at it with a fresh set of ears. I dialled in Mark 1 last night with the amp off, that way when I turned it on this morning it was the first thing I'd hear and thus my brain would concentrate on the sound of THAT channel instead of how it sounded compared to other channels.

I wound up finding the right zone on Mark 1 mode with the gain dialled way down (9:00). With an overwound PAF it sounds like it was mailed straight from the 70s. It's very thick sounding and it has an overdriven amp feel to it. I like it.

Channel 3 is now on Mark IV and dialled in to sound like a slightly gained up version of channel 2 with the bright off, then I kick over the bright switch to bring in more edge. It's pretty cool. I don't know if I have it perfect yet, but it's getting there. I want to experiment with duplicating Mark I using the Mark IIC+ mode and see how that compares to Mark IV.

Cool. For MK1 mode, Have you done the gain back a bit and ch volume way up and the global volume level as the MV? I tried that based on suggestions here. As the amp gets loud, I mean close to band practice loud, it seems like a blanket comes off the speaker enclosure. It changes gears and finds the higher frequencies. Unfortunately I have not been able to replicate this w/o the amp loud enough to get the power tubes hot.


Boogie likes to run hot.

 

[screamingdaisy]

Yeah. Below a certain volume Mark I seems to sound a bit muffled in the mid frequencies and a tad too bassy, but as the master volume goes up it opens right up. Basically does the old fashioned tube amp thing.

Unfortunately it seems to be one of those things that doesn't translate to lower volumes very well. Not a big deal with a band, but a little too loud for home practising.

 

[screamingdaisy]

Well... I thought I had it.

I can't get diads on the 2nd and 3rd string to pop (think LaGrange). I've tried various settings, Mk I, Crunch, Edge, MkIIC+, Mk IV... .just can't get that part of the midrange midrange to pop out.

I think it may be the speakers (V30s/G12T mix)...

 

[screamingdaisy]

Problem solved.

Plugged into the my LSS cabinet (MC-90). Instantly lost the 'metal' edge I couldn't dial out and brought in the midrange grunt that I couldn't dial in.

Never thought I'd see the day where I said that V30s were lacking in midrange...

 

[golfnguitarz]

I actually agree with you. To my ears, the new V30s I have seem heavy on the bottom and very trebley/shrill on the top. It works nicely for channel 3 high gain, but I didn't like it for the rest of the amp. I threw a Scumback M75 in the top of my 2x12 and am pretty happy...for now :lol: Maybe the V30s weren't broken in enough - dunno. I may play like this for a while, then swap the other V30 into the bottom and get it good and broken in and then try the two V30s again just for grins. I had tried two Scumback M75's and while channel 2 sounded great, I lost too much of that thump in channel 3. So that is why I am running a mixed set. The M75 gives me a nice mid range that the V30 seemed to lack - or maybe it is just lost with the heavy bass and treble in that speaker. Anyway, it will be interesting to see what they sound like when fully broken in.

 

[screamingdaisy]

I don't find V30s have much in the way of treble or bass... well, not compared to a speaker like G12T-75, which has way more top and bottom end without a whole lot of midrange. I just find that the V30s seem to focus on the high mids, whereas I want a speaker that'll fill out the low mids.