Mark IV: Heaven and Hell

[musicman10_1]

I've had my Mark IV for about a week. Unfortunately, I have been suffering from the worst allergy attack of my life for the last 2 weeks so I don't think my ears or energy have been all they should or could be.

For the last week I have been working through the factory settings and the settings that I found here. I have been able to dial in some amazing tones and when left to my own devices, some that are truly unspectacular! A tiny twist of a single knob and it can be either great or terrible!

I bought a Line 6 Echo Park to put in the loop for a little delay and all I can say is WOW! This is not so much for the delay pedal (which seems really good) as for the loop - that thing really works - for the first time I am able to use a time based effect in the loop without any dropout or degredation of tone. Just amazing.

I formerly owned a .50 caliber + combo and am familiar with the EQ on Mesa amps. The Mark IV EQ is really good, but I am trying to dial in tones without it for now. Every time I kick the EQ on the tone changes so much that I completely lose focus on what I am trying to dial in.

The Clean channel is wonderfully Fenderesque and the Lead channel is so full of possibilites that I get (happily) lost. It is the R2 channel that is the most interesting/troubling. I can get so close to the best rhythm sound and yet seem just a touch off. It is like I need the gain knob to go to 11. Sorry for the bad cliche but that is what I am experiencing. Any advice?


Maybe it is just my less than clear head and ears causing me trouble - or maybe it is just the limited time I have had the amp, but I hope any of you that have experience with this amp might be able to point me in the right direction.

Thanks,

John

 

[Dirt123]

I would be willing to bet that once you play with R2 at gigging levels, you'll be happier with the sound. Possibly.

 

[scottywompas]

R2 was a hard beast for me to tame too. I swapped out the mesa pre amp tubes for some GT's and that opened it up for me.

Just keep at it and make sure to read the manual. It explains the controls very well. The mkIV knobs don't work like other amps so you have to feel your way around for a while. For example, on any other amp on the planet I don't think my treble would be past 5 or 6, on the Mkiv it's at 7, and my mids are usually in the 5-6 range, on the mkiv it's at 3-4

It just takes some time.

Scott

 

[musicman10_1]

Thank you for the replies. Sorry about the rambling and poorly written initial post. I guess I should not post when I'm on that much allergy medicine!!

Off to play - Loud!!

John

 

[musicman10_1]

Reporting back from a nice long - loud session with the amp. More volume certainly changed the amp! It seemed to open up and sing on the R2 channel. Then, at a point, it got a little "boxey" sounding. I hope that makes sense. I had to move my acoustic guitar to another room as the volume from the amp seemed to cause the acoustic to vibrate and sound like it was going to explode just sitting there hanging on my wall!!

I do have to watch the volume as I live in a townhouse with really close neighbors. Fortunately the closest neighbor moved and his place has not sold yet so I can crank it up for a while anyway.

I have read and re-read the manual and it is really helpful. It is also something that I feel I will have to resort to frequently while learning the ins and outs of the amp. I really like the ability to run it in the tweed mode and class A to knock the wattage down and little.

 

[Russ]

You may take a while to settle in on your tone. The Mark IV is not an easy one to just set and forget until you have spent some time with it. I am still learning mine and I have had it for a little over a month. Be patient. It's in there, I have found some good tones but not what I am looking for specifically yet. My search may include other stuff outboard though. I have had many amps before this and this has got to be the steepest learning curve ever. There are just too many options and therefore too many ways to deviate from your path to your tone. Each knob is more sensitive than any other amp I have played. Take your time and be patient. This is one of the hardest nuts I have tried to crack yet.

 

[woody777]

R2 is toughest to dial in... I really liked R2 much better with a combination of 6L6 and EL34 power tubes. Really opened the channel up IMO.

 

[screamingdaisy]

Unless I'm after a punky/Marshally style crunch, I'm never happy with the rhythm tones until I use the graphic to scoop out some (but not all) of the mids.

 

[SFW]

Now here is the trick... I have a DOD 9 band graphic EQ in front of the amp. Everything in the EQ is flat, except the 250 and 800 slider- which I bump up just a tad. I also bring the level up on the pedal. What this does is give you that "11" on the R2 channel. Its more of a clean boost with the mids bumped ever so slightly. The Duncan Pickup Booster could also work for this situation. My R2 setting are very old school Marshall in tone. Here are some clips of my R2 and Lead Channel.

R2 rock Crunch 1
R2 Rock Crunch 2
R2 Rock Crunch 3

Lead Rock Tones
Lead Metal Tone
Lead Rock Wankage

EDIT: These clips were done without the EQ in front of the amp. SO I get a bit more gain now.

 

[musicman10_1]

Thanks guys! I'm getting closer with R2. After a week of playing I discovered part of the problem: my strings were dead as could be. A quick change and things got better. Also, dialing in the eq and using a little more volume really helped. I guess not using the eq is is silly - it is there and really makes the amp so much more full sounding (without getting boxey).

I certainly appreciate the settings and advice.

Still suffering from the allergies and my ears are all messed up so I'm not sure what I really sound like but I'm having fun experimenting.

 

[mightypudge]

R2 was tough to dial in for me also. I eventually waited until rehearsal and dialed it in with the band playing. I was then able to get the tone I wanted, when I wanted it.

When tweaking your amp, close your eyes and use your ears. I tried it, and I was surprised where the settings were when I opened my eyes.

The important thing to remember about R2 is that while the channel does not have nearly the gain of the lead channel, it is going to stand out much better with a full band in a live setting.

 

[Dersu Uzala]

EDIT: These clips were done without the EQ in front of the amp. SO I get a bit more gain now.

Wait. Wait! Vito, is that you? :wink:

 

[Russ]

I used to use an eq out front for clean boost. It is more versatile than your typical OD pedal and easier to see exactly what your tone is doing.