Mark IV Lead Channel slightly nasally?

[newfinator]

Is it just me or is there a very subtle nasal quality to the Mark IV lead channel that just can't be dialed out? It's not dramatic or really a bad thing but I notice something, especially during artificial harmonics. Am I alone in this observation?

 

[guitardude05]

no your not. i find r2 to have a better tone lately. with a boost and eq, r2 comes out with a smoother less nasally tone. that alone makes me want to sell the amp because i can never find a good lead channel tone that i want to keep.

 

[mk-user]

hi,
same nasal sound with my MK4 (at low volumes)
play louder (combo with EVM),and-or use a thiele box for bedroom levels.
that solved the problem......

 

[newfinator]

no your not. i find r2 to have a better tone lately. with a boost and eq, r2 comes out with a smoother less nasally tone. that alone makes me want to sell the amp because i can never find a good lead channel tone that i want to keep.

Before I had mine I heard so much about how the Mark IV was THE perfect amp for solo tone. There's no doubt that it does great job of it but I don't really think it's any better than my Legacy in that department, just different. All in all it is a fantastic amp and one of my favorites but, despite all the hype, it does have it's idiosyncrasies.

 

[trem]

I don't hear any nasal qualities in mine. Tube and speaker selection makes a lot of difference, the latter being more. Post soundclip please.

 

[JOEY B.]

Is it just me or is there a very subtle nasal quality to the Mark IV lead channel that just can't be dialed out? It's not dramatic or really a bad thing but I notice something, especially during artificial harmonics. Am I alone in this observation?

Is your MkIV a 1x12 combo, which speaker, which guitar are you using?

 

[Bourque]

What I find fantastic about it is the smoothness. The Lead channel is soo organic. Like mentioned though you gotta open it up. I find it to be all the hype that it is cracked up to be. It's a different voiced amp then most other ones out there for sure. I don't want to say nasally cause I don't find it bad but I do know what you mean, I think it's part of it's character.

 

[Force]

dear newfinator,

i have owned my Mark for three years, and i can tell you that i can go from jazzy clean to raunchy metal, to singing woman tones, all with a few twists of the knobs and a few setting changes.

I think if you give some better information regarding your settings, someone might be able to offer some assistance, since there are so many different parameters that affect tone on the amp beside the normal limitations of B,M,T on most amps. There is a LOT you can do to "dial" out or "in" pretty much any tone you need, not to mention the global eq.

Having said that, it is possible to create a somewhat nasally tone with the Mark IV if desired, ie class A, triode, mid gain, high mids, low treble, low bass, fat pulled, drive up above 7, gain to taste, etc. then fine tune with EQ. catch my drift??


like the man said, "Help me help YOU"

to me anybody can get a great lead tone with a Mark IV, you just have to spend time with it, it is NOT a plug and play amp, that's why a lot of people 'dis Mesa amps. I used to hate them before i actually sat down and really took the time to understand how the knobs and other functions interact on the Mark IV. Now i would honestly rate the Mark IIC+, III or IV as some of the best amps available for around and/or under $2,000.00, certainly in the top 5 for sure.

It ain't the only fish in the sea though dude, so if you find you do not wanna take the time, and it ain't workin' for ya, get rid of it, the resale is better than on 90% of the amps out there, and there is no shame in that, the Mark IV is NOT for everybody, just look at some of these replies right here, so maybe just go get a Recto, a Stiletto, a Lonestar, whatever... something that you like and enjoy be done with it. remember, playing is supposed to be FUN right???


hope you get it worked out, let us know....

peace brother,
Force

 

[newfinator]

Again, it wasn't so much a complaint as an observation. It is an outstanding amp and thus far my favorite though with all the tonal controls on this thing you'd think I'd be able to remove it completely.

I have the combo and have tried it with its C90, through a 2x12 with V30s and with a 4x12 with G75Ts and Eminence Governors. Of course the tone alters from cabinet to cabinet but that underlying characteristic remains. It sounds fantastic through the 4x12 by the way.

As mentioned above I think it's probably just part of the amps signature tone and most people either like it that way or just plain don't notice. As I said it is sort of a subtle thing but it stands out more after playing the Legacy which has a much thicker lead tone in my opinion. Not necessarily better, just fatter.

 

[Force]

what kind of guitar do you play, wood? pickups? btw, how did/do you like the Eminence Governers?(however you spell it! :roll:

 

[Force]

btw, it's kinda hard for me to comment on the Legacy, i have not been able to find one to listen to locally, though i am sure it sounds great. one of my previous bandmates had an X100B that freakin rocked the house, and sounded great through a V30 4x12. He did use a Digitech Hot Rod pedal to hit the front end of it as well.

off topic a bit, but i tried to use a MXR Zakk Wylde Overdrive like that w/ my Mark IV, all it did really was squeal an hum.....oh well. i digress here, but my Mark does NOT like ANY overdrive pedals of any kind in front of it. Wah only, period.

 

[mrmax]

Try changing V3 (preamp tube), try a variety of 12ax7's (ecc83), sounds like you may be describing a Chinese tube, I like a Sovtek 12ax7wxt+ in V3, that's my choice. Experiment

 

[Force]

following on what mrmax has to say, there is some merit to different preamp tubes, though to me the changes are more subtle than say pulling out the fat knob or pushing in the presence knob, however, when you combine different preamp tubes with different settings, you can make a difference so if you are concentrating on getting a different lead tone, it's a pretty good idea. there are some pretty sweet preamp tubes out there....several good ones. On the heels of that, perhaps going to EL34's in the outer sockets if you aren;t already, and that opens up more choices to alter your overal tonality which can also be applied to the lead tone scenario. For me, i went on a guitar pickup changing expedition, ultimately coming up with two lead tones, the one i use on the neck pickup for the singing leads, and the one i use witht he bridge pickup for the harder edged soloing.

just some food for thought. with my guitar and amp, my challenge is that i am always fighting the bright top end and trying to tame the high B & E string notes in the upper octaves!!!! my next endeavor will be to go to a 250k ohm tone pot instead of the 500k that i have now to roll off some top end. that brings another challenge, Carvin uses mini-pots in their guitars, and I need to either find a long shaft, smooth taper 250k pot, or route the hole in my quilted maple top to accomodate the larger shaft size of a CTS type pot. but, that's my problem to solve, which we are not dealing here right now.

okay, well, happy trails, and may the tone be with you!

peace,
Force

 

[Force]

yeah, well, i used to use class "A" a lot on the Mark IV, but now not so much since i began using the Nomad 45 alone or in tandem w/ the IV. The other thing is i use eihter a 535Q becasue you can in fact get many different tones with to compensate for almost any tonal situation, and in addition, i found another Wah pedal that sounds totally amazing with my Mark IV....experimentation is the key! :wink:

cheers,
Force

 

[Force]

i was referring more to the lead channel bro, :roll: sorry i didn't clarify that, i know on clean or R2 it works....

 

[newfinator]

what kind of guitar do you play, wood? pickups? btw, how did/do you like the Eminence Governers?(however you spell it! :roll:

The body wood in my guitars varies, though there are more basswood bodies than anything else. For pickups I mostly use Dimarzio Evos both 6 and seven string versions but there are also a couple of Freds, a Blaze II, something old from Schaller and whatever comes in a Wolfgang.

I'm actually pretty fond of the Governors. It is exactly what I was looking for, which is basically a V30 without the occasional shrill icepick top end. I'd buy them again for sure.

 

[Force]

okay, well, i think the Basswood is a lot like Mahogony, which is in my guitars. i used to play strats w/ either Alder or Swamp Ash, and I do find the mahogony a lot "thicker" sounding, and the Carvins I use are currently equipped w/ SD pickups, all Alnico II mags in the bridge, and one Pearly Gates neck (alnico II) and a Jazz neck also which i think is a alnico 5, i think the Fred is a great pup, but anyway you have a enough variety there that i don't think any one thing is contributiong to the "nasally" tone you are attempting to dial out, so i guess i would summize that it might be better remedied by the amp settings.

well, that is about all the ideas i have on this one, but it's been great sharing and getting to offer some ideas.....thanks for listening and responding, sounds like you have some cool guitars

have a good, no a great day!

 

[JAZZGEAR]

no your not. i find r2 to have a better tone lately. with a boost and eq, r2 comes out with a smoother less nasally tone. that alone makes me want to sell the amp because i can never find a good lead channel tone that i want to keep.

Before I had mine I heard so much about how the Mark IV was THE perfect amp for solo tone. There's no doubt that it does great job of it but I don't really think it's any better than my Legacy in that department, just different. All in all it is a fantastic amp and one of my favorites but, despite all the hype, it does have it's idiosyncrasies.

it is a decent amp. but despite what people on here say (and defend), few pros use this amp for how "fantastic" it is regarded as (only 16 mark iv artists listed on the mesaboogie.com site). I almost never used R2 as is (with EL34 or 6L6). these may be some of the reasons it's been discontinued.

if you think your lead channel is nasally, I heard that as well on mine. You can "fix" it by dialing in more mids/bass. also try some chorus/delay.

keep in mind that LOG uses 3 Mark IV's and their lead riffs sound very nasally.

jim martin on Angel dust has some good distorted tones and sound effects (rhythm and lead) with the mark iii/iv.

seems hard to find out what amp(s) he used in the studio for that album...

It must have appealed to a lot of folks for it to have been made and sold for 17 years :shock: