Mark IV, hair metal?

[FrankieVA]

I just got my Mark last week and I love it as a lead guitar amp. I'm getting the best lead tones I've ever had. The clean is also really good. I haven't been able to dial up a really good 80's rock vibe yet. I suspect it's because the amp doesn't have as much saturation as most hi-gainers. Do you guys have any preamp tube secrets that might make the amp a little hotter so to speak? I'm using a modded Super Overdrive right now for my 80's riffs, and it sounds pretty decent, but I wouldn't mind taking the pedal out from my setup.
Thanks

 

[siggy14]

Like most amps from that era, a pedal in front makes the amp for that kind of saturation.

Best known 80's tone from a Mark series amp would be stryper, they used various marks, but instead of using a pedal I think i read he had a rackmount EQ driving it hard.

I just got my Mark last week and I love it as a lead guitar amp. I'm getting the best lead tones I've ever had. The clean is also really good. I haven't been able to dial up a really good 80's rock vibe yet. I suspect it's because the amp doesn't have as much saturation as most hi-gainers. Do you guys have any preamp tube secrets that might make the amp a little hotter so to speak? I'm using a modded Super Overdrive right now for my 80's riffs, and it sounds pretty decent, but I wouldn't mind taking the pedal out from my setup.
Thanks

 

[tunedown]

I just got my Mark last week and I love it as a lead guitar amp. I'm getting the best lead tones I've ever had. The clean is also really good. I haven't been able to dial up a really good 80's rock vibe yet. I suspect it's because the amp doesn't have as much saturation as most hi-gainers. Do you guys have any preamp tube secrets that might make the amp a little hotter so to speak?

I like the way you described this. This is the problem I've been having and I think you explained it a bit better then I did.

I'm still new to the Mark IV, but I've introduced a very small amount of reverb while still driving it very hard and I'm close to getting what I'm looking for.

 

[Geiri]

Stryper used a furman preamp eq and drove it over the limit.

 

[danvortex]

you could experiment with different ODs, they definitely make a difference in tone, also i find some are better for lead and others are better for rythm. I have a set up that switches between two ODs in front of the amp when i change between the 2 channels of my DR for rythm and lead works, i don't use the same OD nor the same settings for both applications

 

[satisfied5582]

this is off topic but here goes FrankieVA i see where you had your rectifer modded by voodoo, do you like it, what did the mod do to it tone wise? and which mod did you get?

 

[AustinK]

the secret for any amp is to throw in a good chorus to really get that 80s sound.

Also very cool that there is a fellow hair metal fan around here.

 

[FrankieVA]

this is off topic but here goes FrankieVA i see where you had your rectifer modded by voodoo, do you like it, what did the mod do to it tone wise? and which mod did you get?

pm'd

 

[FrankieVA]

the secret for any amp is to throw in a good chorus to really get that 80s sound.

Also very cool that there is a fellow hair metal fan around here.

Exactly, I always try to add a little chorus. I love the stuff, that's what I grew up on.

 

[scottkahn]

the secret for any amp is to throw in a good chorus to really get that 80s sound.

Also very cool that there is a fellow hair metal fan around here.

Never fear -- there are many 80s hair band fans here!

And yes, if you're looking for the 80s hard rock sound, the "LA Sound" was typically created by two different approaches:
1. Adding chorus to your distortion. Most popular at the time was the TC Electronic Stereo Chorus Flanger (SCF) pedal.
2. Layering the sound of a Marshall (EL-34) and Boogie (6L6) amp together -- part of the inspiration for the Road King's blending of tube types.

Note that not all chorus pedals achieve the desired sound with your distortion, and it's based on the technique used for generating the chorus. Analog chorus uses light diodes for creating delays (the basis for chorus) and have a sound characterized by sounding more like a phaser in your tone. Digital chorus pedals use a digital delay circuit (chip) to generate the delay and create a chorus sound that has less of a phasing sound to it.

Personally, for chorus in my distortion, I prefer the digital chorus approach better unless I'm purposely trying to add some phaser/flanger, but I prefer the analog chorus on clean tones. I found the BOSS CE-5 worked great for this kind of tone, and of course TC Electronic gear. A classic CE-2 works great for the lush, clean chorus stuff but adds too much thickness to your tone with high gain distortion.

With my TC Electronic G-System, I have a choice of vintage or modern chorus, and as you might suspect, the behavior of the chorus tone suits one application or the other, so I'll use different types of chorus with different guitar tones.

Scott

 

[PC Biz]

For 80's lead tone I use the Mesa V-Twin pedal. There are two outputs, and I always use the hotter of the two. 80's tone to the bone with my Gibson GA-30RVS and '78 Twin Reverb. Oh yes.

If you can spec a couple of high gain 12AX7s, you will kick it up another notch. Tubes make a huge difference for the V-Twin.

I also use a Boss GE-7 equalizer in front sometimes for even more wild and crazy dynamics. You might want to experiment with the low gain output if you do that.

The V-Twin should work wonders for a Mark IV. Check out the opinions in the foot pedals and effects section.

 

[AustinK]

2. Layering the sound of a Marshall (EL-34) and Boogie (6L6) amp together

Thats why i bought a mark III. Just for the 80's lead tone