Mark III sounds sterile!!!

[ed_dale007]

I have been finding the my Mark III sounds very sterile in comparison to my other amps and AC30 and Pro Reverb. I was thinking maybe it was the EV speaker maybe im wrong but any advise would be helpfull.

 

[edward]

The EV offers a huge, solid bottom and crisp top end ...but many say (and I agree to a degree) it does lack warmth. Personally, I like the EV as an *additional* speaker to complement the warmth of your favorite speaker.

You may want to run your MKIII into one of your other cab speakers and see if you like it better. Also, borrow a 12AT7 from one of your other amps and put it in the PI slot, or even one of your favorite AX7s and try it in the V1 position.

And watch the presence and brighntess ...too much and your amp will sound sizzly, lacking character. In the R1 channel, try presence at "0" and all pots pushed in, treb at 4-5, bass and mid at 5, and Graphic EQ off. Then tweak from there. Watch the pull pots as they add lots of brighness and bottom ...go easy or you add too much of both, which again can lead to a scooped/lifeless tone.

Of course, it may also be that you just don't like the MKIII tone ...this is entirely possible, too. Hope this helps.

Edward

 

[ed_dale007]

Thanks for the reply. What speaker would you recomend. A vintage thirty. I do find that the amp is way to bright and lucks that low end thud when you palm mute.

 

[darkbluemurder]

I use my Mark III only with extension cabs. IMHO that EV speaker in the small combo box is just plain harsh. I get a great warm tone with my Dumble style 1x12" cab. Speaker is a Jensen Neo. The cab is from Deichton in Germany.

I also have a TAD 2x10" cab. Speakers are Ruby Alnicos (unfortunately no longer available). This cab sound good as well.

 

[Anonymous]

Post removed.

 

[darkbluemurder]

it's definitely not with the right speaker cab

 

[ed_dale007]

I have always used this amp by itself. So I guess swappping speakers might be a good idea. Thanks.

 

[Paul Secondino]

Thanks for the reply. What speaker would you recomend. A vintage thirty. I do find that the amp is way to bright and lucks that low end thud when you palm mute.

The Mark 3 wont have bottom like a Rectifier, which is a good thing. The vintage 30 might help but I've found that the Eminence Governor can work better as a stand alone speaker.

Changing the speaker should get you some results and is a good place to start. Also, keep in mind that the mark 3 really needs to be pushed to sound correct. IF the master isn't above 2, the power section isn't doing anything

 

[edward]

Thanks for the reply. What speaker would you recomend. A vintage thirty. I do find that the amp is way to bright and lucks that low end thud when you palm mute.

If you're looking for that thud w/palm muting, you absolutely need to find yourself a Thiele cab. There simply is no comparison between a Thiele cab and other 1x12s, Mesa or otherwise, IMHO. I'd then put the EVM from your combo cab into the Thiele cab (if it doesn't have one already as they are loaded with either the EV or a BlackShadow), then load your combo cab with a warm speaker that you prefer.

FWIW, I Personally think the Mesa MC90 (Celestion, made for Mesa), is an excellent, warm, articulate, and focused speaker, and well voiced for Marks, but they do lack thump ...which is why when used along with an EV-Thiele, the sound together is simply astonishing. Or as an alternative to the MC90, the Eminence RedWhiteBlues is also a very nicely voiced speaker that I like a lot.

Oh yeah, and I don't know what your playing volume is, but as was already said, if you're playing at low levels, the tone stinks badly! The Mark III makes for a lousy "bedroom" amp. Hope this helps.

Edward

 

[devilrob1979]

I have an Earcandy Sovereign 1x12 that has plenty of thud for palm mutes. It's also a ported design so that certainly helps. There are other options besides Thieles. You just have to look around a bit.

 

[ed_dale007]

Yeah I normally run the mark III in stereo with my AC30 from my g-system. I also use an HBE Big D which sounds amazing as well as a fulldrive 2 and a TS 808. Yeah i guess I need to drive the power section a little harder from the master volume.