Help me tweak my Mark III plus a couple issues.

[Nomad]

Just picked up my Mark III Blue Stripe EQ, Rev, Simul, EV and all that Jazz Combo.

First off the biggest problem is I cant get the Lead Channel Dark enuff. After playing it all day I can get the Clean Sound I need in spades but when I go to the Lead Channel I cant get the upper end fizz to go away enuff. Now bare in mind I play a Tele. If I turn down my Tone knob on my guitar the sound is close to where I want it though dont know if I can do that on the fly at a Gig. I have tried many combinations of the Graphic but just dont like it at all.

Not saying I cant get there just not sure how. I set my Clean sound first.

Also my Reverb dosnt work. I tried all the usuall suspects. Cables, Tubes, Jacks, Reverb Pan, yada yada yada everything checks out but no reverb.

Also I really like the sound of the EV but dang its heavey what are some lighter alteratives?

 

[adrenaline junkie]

have you tried changing any preamp tubes? Power tubes? Power tube combinations? (EL34s vs 6L6's)

 

[rgx612a]

I find the best way to get rid of the fizz is to turn up, works like a charm on my .50 caliber +. Right around 4 or 5 on the master is where the top end starts to smooth out. Not sure how it is with the mark III though?

 

[Nomad]

As far as the Reverb goes Yes. I changed all the Tube in the whole amp except the new pair of JJ EL34's in it. The Stock 6L6's were Biased way to cold. I put a set of =C= 6L6's in it that were better matched to the amps bias circuit (still a little cold though). Changed all the Preamp Tubes and changed V4 twice just in case. I may try somethi9ng in V3 to darken up the Lead channels some.

Gonna drop it off at my Tech tomorrow on the Reverb.

 

[Nomad]

I find the best way to get rid of the fizz is to turn up, works like a charm on my .50 caliber +. Right around 4 or 5 on the master is where the top end starts to smooth out. Not sure how it is with the mark III though?

Maybe I should try that in the Calss A setting. Tunrning up in the Simulclass I dont think would be an option.

 

[edward]

Hey nomad,

So shall I assume you cut the Presence to nil, and dumped the 6K on the GEQ? Also, your 1st vol and treb knobs are pushed in, correct?

Edward

 

[phyrexia]

you can try to turn the lead master to zero and goose the master way up.

what are you running the presence at? with an EV I wouldn't go past 3, and I have a dark les paul.

 

[phyrexia]

also the manual says Pull Deep for single coils and I've found it works well with my Tele.

 

[AustinK]

ya try the pull deep or pull bass knobs. Keep the presence very low along with the treble knob as that is present through all of the channels.

 

[MrMarkIII]

Backing off the tone control on a Tele is a "secret" trick the Nashville cats have been doing for ages.
You could also try a NOS Mullard 12AX7 in V3. I play a Tele / Mark III, too, and it mellows the highs and mids considerably.
You know the so-called "classic V" configuration of the Graphic EQ? Try running it the opposite way. Nothing too drastic, basically flat with a bit of boost in the mids / low mids, and cut some highs. It's the "classic hump". And back off the Presence and Bright.
+ on the Pull Deep and Pull Bass Shift. I often run the Bass on zero and just use those two Pulls.
Are the reverb cables maybe reversed where they connect to the chassis? Couldn't hoit.

 

[Tuna141]

Make sure you turn down the Presence to almost off. This will get rid of the fizz. I run mine around 1-2 max.

 

[Anonymous]

Post removed.

 

[CoG]

The reverb on the Mark III isn't very good, in fact IMHO it kind of sucks. What you are hearing may be as good as it gets.

My reverb sounds WAY better (like, a drummer could hear the difference) with a 12AT7 driving it than with a 12AX7.

+1 again on turning it up. My Mk III sounds fizzy and muffled until the master's at least 3.5... 4.5 is best. I haven't found a way around that. Try it and you'll see what the amp is really supposed to sound like.

 

[edward]

...
+1 again on turning it up. My Mk III sounds fizzy and muffled until the master's at least 3.5... 4.5 is best. I haven't found a way around that. Try it and you'll see what the amp is really supposed to sound like.

If I tried that, they'd either call the cops or throw me off the stage. Thems are loud Boogie watts, man. I don't know where you play, but with a III's initial gain at 7, anything past 3 on the master is near handcuff territory. ...gee, I don't think I'm "that" old

Edward

 

[carlosasi]

WHAT DID YOU SAY?

 

[CoG]

lol, maybe the 12AT7 in the PI helps. My cabs aren't really that loud, either. If I was running a 4x12 full of EVs I'd put myself through a wall.

 

[JOEY B.]

Try flipping the switch to EQ AUTO. Then dial in your cleans w/o the EQ and use the EQ to shape the tone on your lead channel (this will help with the shared tone controls). +1 to what everyone else has said about the low pres. and pull brights. I fool with my volume and tone knobs on the guitar to get slight variations of the same sound, too.

 

[Nomad]

Thanx for all the input guys.

I will study this thread dilligently.

To try and answer some of the questions put forth here.

I had the Presence on 0, the Trebile on 3 and of coarse no Bright switches pulled.

I had the Deep Boost pulled. Couldnt do both the Deep and Bass Shift it was to farty in overdrive and I seemed to get the tightest bottom with the Deep over the Bass Shift.

I tried a good number of positions on the Graphic with it in Auto after first getting my Clean sound. What I found with it was I could affect the tone a lot but couldnt get an overall darkening of the Lead Tone without adversly affecting or loosing something (if that makes any sense).

I did try a variety of Preamp tubes from NOS Mullards to JAN 7025's and other stuff for the tonal affects.

Now all that being said I'm not giving up on trying to work on these things some more.

I'm at a stopping point right now untill I get it back from Andrews Amp Lab. I dropped it off today to get the Reverb fixed and just a general checking over.

I asked him to see if he could darken the Lead Channel a little to give me some assistance with it. While I was there I tried a number of different speakers with it to see if using something besides the EV would curtail some of the brightness and make it lighter also. After playing several I ended up really liking the sound of an Eminence Legend with it. I forget which model it was but it was a 120 watter. It probably weighs half what the EV does too. I'm having them install that with the amp when I pick it up.

Anyway hope to get it back soon and will go down the tweaking road some more. Overall I really like it. The Clean sound alone is worth the entry price. The Fluid Gain of the Lead Channel is gonna allow me the Satration and Sustain I like at a much lower volume than my other stuff (my Bandmates will like it).

As soon as I get it back and play it some more I will check back in and let you guys know how she's doing.

 

[Nomad]

Also I contacted the seller and asked for $100.00 back concerning the Reverb. He agreed and said it would be in the mail tomorrow.

I have been dealing with the previous owners dad over this. Evidently it belonged to a youngster. The dad met me with the amp.

 

[trem]

:lol: This thread makes me wonder. Sometimes I really wish I could make my Mark IV brighter. My RG has floyd rose and maple fingerboard, I run my all my trebles and presences in the 8-9 range, and in the clean channel George Benson would have been happy with my amp :lol:. Not that I'm complaining, I hate fizz.

~trem