Mark III Technical Questions

[Nazgul666]

Well, they're technical for me. I just received a Mark III Blue Stripe and I am completely new to the Mark series. First of all, the amp is Simul-Class but has 6L6's in the outside slots. Should I change them? And if yes, do I just order some Mesa branded EL34's and pop them in?

I have never changed a tube before but the guy I bought it from shipped it with the tubes removed so when I got it I just popped the tubes in and it worked. As far as I could tell there were 12 AX7's with no real difference between them so I just put them in and the same goes for the power tubes. Is is that easy? Is it dangerous?


Secondly, my amp has a magic marker R on the back. What does that mean?

I'me getting a great metal rhythm sound with the GEQ engaged but it seems to need that to sound good. That makes the lead sound a little thin and shrill. Any solutions?

Any other advice, settings or techincal would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[>Photi G<]

If you like the sound of 6L6's just leave them in. EL34's are only recommended. Not mandatory. If all the preamp AX7's were the same, then it doesn't matter the order. Please show a pic of the "R" written on the back. In order to cut down on shrillness, try turning the presence down a good deal.

 

[Restless Rocks]

The "R" is for Reverb Mod. A couple of components were added/changed to improve the level and performance of the reverb.

 

[MrMarkIII]

The "R" refers to a reverb mod done before the amp left the factory.
(Sorry, it's not Randall's initial :lol: ).
EL-34s will give a bit softer high end. There are versions of the manual recommending against 6L6s in the outer sockets, but that's old news from the mid-Eighties. No longer relevant.
Unlike more recent Mesas, the pre-amp tubes in a Mark III have discreet functions. IOW, you can influence the Lead sound, by trying different tubes in V3. The differences won't be huge, but audible.
(V1 is the little pre-amp tube closest to the input jack. Next in line is V2, etc. V5 is closest to the big power tubes.)
It's much easier to fiddle with the tubes if the amp is up on its side on a bench. There's lots of how-to-change-tubes info and even videos on Google and You Tube.
The manual, available at Mesa's site, tells you which tube does what, and there are sample settings.
Hope this helps.

 

[Skyless7620]

What srttings are you using? I can give you the settings I use for my green stripe if you want, since I think that one sounds closer to a blue than my red. The leads sound great and not too harsh, especially with the EQ disengaged, and the rhythm is beastly for both EQ and non EQ work.

Presence: 0 - 1.5
Master 1: 6.5-7
Treble: 6 (pulled)
Midrange: 4
Bass: 2.5
Master: anything over 2
Lead Gain: 8 (pulled)
Lead Master: 7

Play around with the EQ in some form of the V curve, more or less.

Keep in mind that when you get use to the massive bass and treble response provided by the EQ it may sound a bit "boxy" going back to non-EQ sounds, especially when utilizing a V curve.

 

[Nazgul666]

This is awesome info. Thanks guys. Yes, after my ears get used to the EQ, it sounds terrible without it!

As far as changing tubes, is there a danger of electical shock? And will Guitar Center or other music strores stock tubes or do I have to order those.

Thanks for the settings I will try them tonight. I think I had my presence too high.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[MrMarkIII]

What Mesa Has To Say About Graphic EQ Abuse;
"Because this EQ is capable of such extreme notching and boosting, when you turn it off and listen to the un-EQ’d sounds they will likely sound flat and honky to you. This is normal and to be expected… you have a good case of “EQ hangover”. Like any over-indulgence you need to give your body – in this case your ears – time to recover. Waiting a few minutes will help your ears return to “normal” and the unaltered sounds will sound much more right again. May we suggest beginning any EQ application by first listening to the EQ BYPASSED version of the sound and then toggle on the EQ’d version to see how much EQ you are adding. It’s very easy to “Over EQ” things with a powerful tool like the on-board EQ and blow holes in your sound or create an unbalanced curve that sticks out in unpleasant ways. In most musical scenarios the guitar still has to fit in a mix and not eat it for lunch."

Practically speaking, that extreme "smiley face" EQ curve will guarantee you will never be heard above the bass and drums in an actual band situation.
There are many threads on this forum where guys remark how their perfectly crafted bedroom EQ sounded like a$$ when they played with other people.
Mids are your friend.

 

[JOEY B.]

Practically speaking, that extreme "smily face" EQ curve will guarantee you will never be heard above the bass and drums in an actual band situation.
There are many threads on this forum where guys remark how their perfectly crafted bedroom EQ sounded like a$$ when they played with other people.
Mids are your friend.

Thank you. There are WAY too many pics of Mark series Boogies with the 750 Hz slider bottomed out. The guitar is a midrange instrument, for sure

 

[Skyless7620]

Personally it's a big a reason why I love my Mark III's. You can bottom out the 750Hz slider and I can still be heard in a busy mix loud and clear! It's all in the 2200Hz slider in my opinion. I'm 10% up on my 750 but the 2200 is almost at 60% with the 340 at around 55%.

 

[JOEY B.]

You can bottom out the 750Hz slider and I can still be heard in a busy mix loud and clear!

Maybe so, as long as there is not someone like me(and the goldtop) in that busy mix. :wink: :lol: :lol:

 

[Nazgul666]

The EQ thing makes sense. Lately I have been playing for awhile without it on and getting a good lead sound.

Tell me if this makes sense. For metal rhythms I do a slight smiley face but I don't boost the frequencies as much. So I do a smiley face but hte hwole thing is lower. The end sliders are just a bit above the mid line and the mids a slight dip. This way, when I disengage the eq I get a nice volume and mid boost for solos.

Anyone else do it this way?

Also, where are you guys with presence? I'm hearing guys using everything from one to ten!

 

[Podicle]

Regarding Presence:
In contrast to just about every other post on this board, I usually run mine high (8 or so), but the trick is you have to drop the treble setting (I use about 5) and not use the pull bright on the lead channel. If I run it from 1-3 like many people seem to, the amp doesn't open up for me. Also, I've found that with low presence settings the amp has a far more pronounced mid range hump. This is an issue for me, because my amp has no EQ (although I run one in the loop). At higher presence settings the amp just seems to come alive and be more balanced, and far smaller EQ tweaks are needed.

 

[Marcus71]

Now I finally know what the black "R" means.

Thanks!!

And yeah, dude Mids are your friend!

 

[phyrexia]

I have always used the GEQ on boogers in a purely subtractive manner. That is to say, I only cut unwanted frequencies, instead of boosting the frequencies of which I want more.

Running sound has taught me you cannot boost what is not there, anyway, and generally cutting a frequency and increasing overall level to compensate sounds better.

This also keeps me from every worrying in the back of my head of there is 'non tube overdrive' occurring in my amp

It also means that you can engage the EQ for rhythms, and disengage the EQ for leads for both a timbre change and a volume boost.

Anyway, 80hz and 6600hz to the top and 750hz to the bottom is waaay too scooped, and all the scooping I have ever even thought about using can be achieved in the bottom half of the EQ.
8)