Key to Good tone with MKIV IMHO

[jamme61]

I'm a newbie MKIV owner. With that said, the bigest tone tip is to run the channel masters high, and the main master to set your volume. I have found that at least 7 on the channel masters really helps out. It really helps clear up channel 2 IMHO. anyone else find this to be true?

 

[Russ]

It all depends upon what sound you are looking for. If you want more preamp gain then yeah that is great but if you are looking for power tube saturation then you need to go the other way with lower channel volumes and your master higher. Your tone is subject to change depending upon what you are playing and the setting in which you play. Your gear will also determine what you do. To support your thought though, yes, setting your channel volume on a higher setting and dialing in your master to desired volume can be fine depending upon what you are playing.

 

[jamme61]

I tryied it the other way around, and it sounded bad. I really thought with the main master up high, it would sound better. The way ilook at it is, that my preamp distortion is coming from my gain controls on the channels, and then the channel masters, are just volume pots for the seperate channels, and not efecting the gain in any way. Then last in the chain is just another volume pot for all three channels ( the main master volume). I have non master and master volume marshalls, and I see what your saying about power tube distortion. i just think it's a little different on the mesa. i have found a lot of things that can make this amp sound bad. i'm working on it, and only have one gig under my belt,(with this amp) so i am no expert. I may try to run the channel gains, real low, and the overall master high, to get that power tube distotion, that you were talking about. My non master volume Plexi is a great classic rock sound, for that. I'm trying to get a nice clean ( a little dirt on it) on channe 1, and a plexi to JCM800 sound on channel 2, and last the santana lead sound, on 3. i'm pretty happy with what I have so far, but still working on it.Thanks for the input.

 

[metalmaster]

Jamme, I was lead to believe that power tube performance is different on Mesa amps than on most others just because of the way they are made. They run at a fixed bias which is typically factory set quite 'cold'. On lots of other amps you can bias hotter, i.e. give 'em more power and yield more power tube distortion with little or no modification. Given that, the method you've chosen is a good alternative: 'crashing' the chanel master into the power section. However, I find that when using hot pick-ups + upping the gain/drive it generates lots of unwanted noise that even a good gate can't fully contain. Like Russ said, it's all in what you want and what sounds good for your application. If it's more gain/distortion you are looking for, try Eurotubes.com to purchase a High gain set of tubes for your pre-amp section. It has really added punch to my amp, I typically thrash the **** out of it. Good luck, and rock on!

 

[metalmaster]

Oh. You should also look around this forum and grailtones for user submitted settings for the amp. They often include tone descriptions and can help get you started up. Mark IV has more buttons/switches/options with all sorts of crazy combinations than any other amp I've owned.

 

[jamme61]

This is a total, tone challenge for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm getting great results with this amp after only two weeks, and one gig. I know and hear great things in the MKIV. I'm smart enough to know I'm only scratching the surface. I'm in the process of adding a bias pot and also changing the resistor that goes to the outside tubes. I want to run el34's in the outside tubes. After getting off the phone with mesa, they told me what I need to do. I didn't really want to mess with the amp before the gig. I went with the stk Mesa tubes and no mods, and got good results. I'll be reading up and changing tubes all week before my next gig, this week. Bob at euro tubes has always been great, but even he couldn't give me hot enough el34's. Mesa did that on purpose, mesa told me most people use all 6l6's so the amp is set up to run that way best (makes sense). Even with cold el34's in there the amp sounds better to me. better to me is getting a great fender clean chn1 and Marshall plexi channel 2 and all boogie lead channel 3. I feel I'm 80% there right off the bat. This amp almost reminds me of a modeling amp, with all the tweaks you have. A modeling amp dripping with tone and feel. I'm a sucker for the look of it, too LOL. Thanks for the info guys.

 

[paleamberglow]

running the channel master high for the clean channel sounds bad to me, you have no headroom when you turn up the master ouput level.

i usually keep all my channel masters below 5... there is not much reason to go above that

 

[Russ]

It will probably take you about a month or so to really start to understand the amp. Take your time and be patient. The biggest most people sell the Mark IV is that they don't take the time to learn how to use it. I am still figuring stuff out here and there. The amp is not as simple as most other amps to dial in. If you want simplicity get an old Fender or Marshall. It takes a couple minutes to find sound there but they are nowhere near as versatile as the Mark IV. Granted you will not achieve the tone that you will get from those but if you want that get it. The Mark IV has its own unique sound to it though you can get close to many other amps' tone with it. It even sounds a little different than other amps in the Mark Series. To be perfectly honest the Mark IV even sounds different than itself (A v. B versions). I have even heard differences from amp to amp within the same version. It all depends upon the individual amp though you can still expect a certain degree of consistency between them. The Mark IV is probably Mesa's best amp for the sounds it makes. I actually prefer it to any Recto type amp. It was frustrating at first having come from Marshall amps but patience was the key. I now love the amp but I will never sell my Marshalls because it just doesn't do Marshall as well as they do. I would say that even though I have a good understanding about the amp that I am still probably only at about 80% as far as knowledge of the amp's potential.

 

[jamme61]

thanks Russ, i love my marshalls too.

 

[paleamberglow]

here is a nice hint that took me a while to realize...

on all the mark iv channels, and the lead channel especially, the treble knob will act as treble and a very considerable overall gain boost for the channel. This is also somewhat true for the other EQ knobs but the treble is the most sensitive and provides the most boost without muddying up the channel. If you have the lead treble cranked, and it sounds too harsh, you can then make up for this with the graphic EQ by sliding the 6600 hz slider down. that way you keep the gain but lose the harshness, giving you a really warm high gain boogie sound.

 

[Russ]

+1 on the treble info...

 

[jamme61]

i'm with you on the treble. I had to go with zero bass on the second channel to try and cop a Plexi tone(there's a lot of treble in the Marshall plexi tone and little bass). this took away to much bottom from my channel 1 clean so I got it back by turning down the treble on ch1, which gave me back my bottom, for the clean channel, but also took away some gain. I'm amazed at how much gain you can get from the treble. it does talk about this in the manual. This is the balancing act that i'm learning on the MKIV. A funny thing happened at the gig. i steped on the lead eq botton by mistake during my lead, which made my volume way to loud, because I was using the EQ, as a volume boost. Anyway my bass player looks at me and trys to tell me to turn it down (DUH!) and I'm trying to be cool about the hole thing, but i get a brain fart and I can't figure out how to switch off the LD-EQ. Any way it was funny if you were there. now my bass player thinks mesa's are hard to control LOL. Plus the other guitar player in my band wants one.

 

[rollyfoster]

i've had my mark iv for 9 years and am still messing with the settings. the problem is there are so many good ones. i used to crank the channel volumes and keep the master pretty low, but now i've got el34s in there and all the channel volumes around 3-4 and crank the master. it sounds freaking awesome.

 

[srf399]

LMAO I did the same thing with the EQ on the foot pedal during a solo. Except it was while I was playing during a church service!!! LMAO I almost **** myself... little beads of sweat appeared instantaneously all over my forehead! It's pretty cool though. Tons of people come up to me and compliment me on the amazing sound of my MKIV. Even the older people. You can take a Boogie MKIV to any gig and it'll shine.

 

[jamme61]

LMAO I did the same thing with the EQ on the foot pedal during a solo. Except it was while I was playing during a church service!!! LMAO I almost sh!t myself... little beads of sweat appeared instantaneously all over my forehead! It's pretty cool though. Tons of people come up to me and compliment me on the amazing sound of my MKIV. Even the older people. You can take a Boogie MKIV to any gig and it'll shine.

LOL, that's how I felt too, LOL!!!

 

[jamme61]

I know I'm new, with this amp, but i still say, no lower then 5 on the channel master for channel 2 to sound good. I've tried it every which way and for channel two, to sound open up, i have to run the channel master, for that channel at 5, or more. I'm only running the gain on channel 2 at around 5 to 6 pushed in, so I'm not running it, with a lot of gain. Still it opens up at 5, or more, to my ears. with the channel at 5 and the main master at 2, I'm at gig level. Love this little beast LOL.

 

[Tuna141]

From my experience, the IV sounds best when the overall master volume is at least 4-5. To do that without bloiwing my eardrums, the individual channel volumes are set low (3-5). I also like the sound of the clean channel better when it's channel volume is low - seems to lose some of the nasally midrange and gets more of a Fender tone to it.

 

[jamme61]

From my experience, the IV sounds best when the overall master volume is at least 4-5. To do that without bloiwing my eardrums, the individual channel volumes are set low (3-5). I also like the sound of the clean channel better when it's channel volume is low - seems to lose some of the nasally midrange and gets more of a Fender tone to it.

Tuna, the one thing I'm coming to realize, is that, I'm not qualified, to tell anybody, anything, about the MKIV. I just haven't had enough time with the amp. I went back and tried your settings, and think your right. I realize at this point, I should shut up, and play the amp, for a year or so, and that put some tone tips up. This amp is a humbling experience.

 

[Tuna141]

Tuna, the one thing I'm coming to realize, is that, I'm not qualified, to tell anybody, anything, about the MKIV. I just haven't had enough time with the amp. I went back and tried your settings, and think your right. I realize at this point, I should shut up, and play the amp, for a year or so, and that put some tone tips up. This amp is a humbling experience.

Don't sweat it, the IV is a tricky amp to tune in. I'm sure you'll find many little nuances as you mess with it :lol:

Here's a tip for you: make a few copies of the blank "settings" page from the manual. Every time you find a good setting, log it onto a new page. Since it takes so long to trully dial in a perfect setting, I find that doing this omes in really handy. I have separate favorite "settings" for several guitars and styles of music - it's a real time saver.

Don't be afraid to mess with all kinds of setting variations - you'll be suprised how some unconvenional settings sound pretty good. Best of luck and enjoy your amp !

 

[cesjr]

If you have the lead treble cranked, and it sounds too harsh, you can then make up for this with the graphic EQ by sliding the 6600 hz slider down. that way you keep the gain but lose the harshness, giving you a really warm high gain boogie sound.

I've noticed this as well with my MKIV. But when I crank the channel masters and lower the overall master I find myself bumping the 6600 hz slider back up.