I am discovering that there is some magic in Mark I mode

[Noonoo]

....wow, very sweet tones. Gotta crank the presence a bit, no bass, and of course tweak the sliders a bit, cannot go with the standard V IMO. This amp just gets better.

 

[Chaosmaker911]

I havent been able to get the Mark 1 mode to sound good yet. It always sounds like there is something covering up my amp. I'll have to try it with no bass and the presence cranked i guess...

 

[lesterpaul]

".... turn the bass knob completely counter-clockwise, and turn the treble to the maximum. Give it a good amount of presence and volume. Lower the 80 Hz to near the bottom of its range (minimum) and the 240 Hz needs to be between the bottom line and the one above it. This gets rid of the "mud" that some people are complaining about. This will make a very nice "lead" channel if you were to use the contour control and not the sliders for channel 3"
-pulled from our C+/V shootout
its a monster-thru ev's I dime the treble THEN scale it back till she is just right-a kickass amp by itself in MK I mode enjoy!

 

[Scary]

Sooner or later people are going to realize that each and every mode in this amp is awesome once you learn how to use it.

 

[gplex]

Sooner or later people are going to realize that each and every mode in this amp is awesome once you learn how to use it.

+1 There is a learnig curve. But I like it more and more every day. The MKI mode is my most recent exploration. I can find quite a bit on that mode alone. The low gain sounds with the gain at like 9:00 and treble 2:00 prescence at 9:00 mids 2:00, bass 9:00. Contour at 10:00, Thick/Variac 90W. It needs some volume but Man o Man. Havent used the sliders yet, I save those for ch 3.

 

[al-az]

Mk 1 is my favorite lead sound so far. But as already stated: bass down ALL the way, treble, mid up, presence up, use slider (NO V).Taking the bass down and adding mids and treble and presence will take the "blanket off the amp". Here is how I have set mine, sliders are for 2nd channel. Channel 1 is no EQ. Channel 3 is preset eq but rather low.

 

[binnerscot]

To remove the blanket....set the channel master at 3 O'clock or higher (no need to go crazy with EQ), seriously - enjoy.

 

[JimmyB]

To remove the blanket....set the channel master at 3 O'clock or higher (no need to go crazy with EQ), seriously - enjoy.

Exactly what I found. Here's a quote from an ancient thread (way back in June!), one titled "Useable setting for MArk 1 mode in channel 2?":

I found the Mk I mode to be muffled and boomy too, until (and I have no idea why I tried this :lol: ) I turned gain down to about 9:30 or so and cranked the channel master way up... and bam! All of a sudden there's a huge, punchy, cutting voice. :mrgreen: Best of all, hitting "thick" made the tone bigger, but not boomier. This is one case where 'bedroom volume' is a no-no... louder is better... just using exaggerated tone control settings (treb ~ 3PM, mid & bass ~ 9AM) isn't enough. Setting the gain between 9 and 12 and using the channel master as a second gain control will get you thick yet punchy tone instead of thick and woolly. :mrgreen:

 

[Gizzorge]

I love to play leads in Mark ! mode over some nice clean chords. That is where that mode shines best....

 

[phyrexia]

Mk 1 is my favorite lead sound so far. But as already stated: bass down ALL the way, treble, mid up, presence up, use slider (NO V).Taking the bass down and adding mids and treble and presence will take the "blanket off the amp". Here is how I have set mine, sliders are for 2nd channel. Channel 1 is no EQ. Channel 3 is preset eq but rather low.

!!! that amp again!!! :mrgreen: :lol:

 

[JAZZGEAR]

To remove the blanket....set the channel master at 3 O'clock or higher (no need to go crazy with EQ), seriously - enjoy.

Exactly what I found. Here's a quote from an ancient thread (way back in June!), one titled "Useable setting for MArk 1 mode in channel 2?":

I found the Mk I mode to be muffled and boomy too, until (and I have no idea why I tried this :lol: ) I turned gain down to about 9:30 or so and cranked the channel master way up... and bam! All of a sudden there's a huge, punchy, cutting voice. :mrgreen: Best of all, hitting "thick" made the tone bigger, but not boomier. This is one case where 'bedroom volume' is a no-no... louder is better... just using exaggerated tone control settings (treb ~ 3PM, mid & bass ~ 9AM) isn't enough. Setting the gain between 9 and 12 and using the channel master as a second gain control will get you thick yet punchy tone instead of thick and woolly. :mrgreen:

I found that this same setting to be the secret to Ch2 on the LSC -- so many people complain about. Dime the Master or close to it, Gain no higher than 9.30 to 10, Drive to the right of 12 (3 for me)....

 

[JimmyB]

I found the Mk I mode to be muffled and boomy too, until (and I have no idea why I tried this :lol: ) I turned gain down to about 9:30 or so and cranked the channel master way up... and bam! All of a sudden there's a huge, punchy, cutting voice. :mrgreen: Best of all, hitting "thick" made the tone bigger, but not boomier. This is one case where 'bedroom volume' is a no-no... louder is better... just using exaggerated tone control settings (treb ~ 3PM, mid & bass ~ 9AM) isn't enough. Setting the gain between 9 and 12 and using the channel master as a second gain control will get you thick yet punchy tone instead of thick and woolly. :mrgreen:

I found that this same setting to be the secret to Ch2 on the LSC -- so many people complain about. Dime the Master or close to it, Gain no higher than 9.30 to 10, Drive to the right of 12 (3 for me)....

Cool. I may have to give the LSC, particularly Ch2, another try... now that the Mk V is loooooooong gone. :mrgreen:

 

[MesaManBoogie]

Channel 2 is my Favorite by far (Mark I of course), All I had to do to get good sounds was turn up the Master all the way up and then tweek from there.


Here a re my settings if anybody cares

Mark I
90 watt Diodes
Gain 2:00
Master 5:00
Presence 2:00
Treble 3:30
Mid 2:00
Bass 9:00

EQ classic V shaped with mids scooped or EQ off sounds good too

 

[Nermel]

Yeah Mk 1 setting with the right tweaking sounds great...but I like Channel 1 tweed and fat...also Crunch is pretty **** awesome

 

[dmcguitar]

thegaindeli what does it mean if someone has two ears? Does more than just the mark I mode sound good? or none of it sound good?

 

[Anonymous]

Mark I thick is an excellent mode!!!!!!! this amp keeps getting better and better.... :wink:

 

[mlockett]

Mark I + strat (single-coil pups) =

To my ears, the Mark I setting is super thick nad best suited for single coil pups or slightly wimpier, HBs. I'd say the same about the actual Mark I reissue.

 

[DaveDaveDave]

Yep. Play it with a tele and you're Keith Richards. Even though I play pretty bright humbuckers (Bill Lawrence L500) - I find I can only use Mark I mode for single note solos. It takes off even more than Extreme mode.

Mark I + strat (single-coil pups) =

To my ears, the Mark I setting is super thick nad best suited for single coil pups or slightly wimpier, HBs. I'd say the same about the actual Mark I reissue.

 

[LPJunky]

After reading the previous posts I looked at it with a fresh mindset. I did start to enjoy the Mark I setting at relatively low volume and I swore that it sounded fantastic. At practice/gig level it turned out to be ... NOT! It did sound rounder and smoother than the other modes but I also had annoying feedbacks. I think for me it will be strickly recording studio mode and not a live option. Don't get me wrong I still love the **** thing. It's probably simply a question of guitar/speakers/tube gremlins :shock:

 

[KH Guitar Freak]

The Mark I mode is cool. Even cooler with the thick switch engaged. It's sounds like a Mark I on steroids, without the tinier balls... :lol: