Mark V:25 in live setting

[ericatunc]

Is anyone currently using their Mark V 25 in a live setting? If so, how are your setting your amp, and which guitar/cabinet are you using?

I just got the Mark V 25 with the Mesa horizontal 2x12 cab. I've watched many videos and searched for and tried many settings. When I'm playing alone, all of these settings sound great, it's when I play with my band that I'm having trouble.

I play in a rock cover band, we do songs from Seven Mary Three, Shinedown, Foo Fighters, RATM, STP, Jason Mraz, Goo Goo Dolls, Tonic, Fuel, 311, Royal Blood, etc.

I mainly play Dr Z amps, the Remedy and Maz 18nr. I usually run 3 gain stages, light od (almost clean but not quite), mid-overdrive, and then heavy overdrive. The CRUNCH channel is by far my favorite. I can actually use my guitar volume on this channel to get a few different levels of OD, but I've not been as happy with that solution on this amp vs. the Dr Z amps. I also like to have a solo boost for extra volume and sustain.

I'm finding with the band, I'm either too loud, have too much gain, it sounds muddy, or sounds honky, or I don't cut through. I can't seem to get it just right. The other guitar player in the band plays a JTM45 type amp.

Anyone else doing something like this? If so, how are you setting the amp? I think I can accomplish a LOT with just this amp, minus pedals. Something like light-OD to mid-OD with the crunch channel using guitar volume to get the two sounds. Maybe mark IV channel for heavier stuff, and the eq as a solo boost?

Here are my CRUNCH settings:
Gain 1:30-2:00
Treble 1:00
Mid 8:45 (just shy of 9:00)
Bass 8:45 (just shy of 9:00)
Presence 11:00
Master 8:00-8:30 (even with the band, it's LOUD)

Thanks,
Eric

 

[Monstercastle]

I'm not playing live, but have the 25 and the big Mark. I'd try backing down the treble to the 9-10 range. Lower treble will feed more into the mid and bass controls and fatten it up a bit.

 

[streuth]

I play live with the mark 5:25. My music is more blues based (two bands) and more rock in another and some crossover in a fourth - works for all of them. I use Fat as my clean channel (with overdrive higher than I expected, like 1 oclock - I'm not at home so can't tell you accurately my settings but treble around 12 or lower, mid and bass around 10 and presence around 1 I think). By having the gain up a bit, I can clean up with lower guitar volume and get a nice crunch switching to my bridge humbucker.

On the overdrive I'm using either IV or even extreme (but with gain way low like 9) and power at 10 watts (which surprisingly works great even with a loud drummer). It fits in the mix really well, the main thing I try to do is make sure there is just enough mid and bass, which usually means keeping them low so they don't interfere with anything else, but it sounds like you are doing the same thing.

 

[elvis]

Not sure which 2x12 you are using. If it is a recto 2x12, try putting it on its side. It will lose a little low-end and bring up the mids and cut through better. The V:25 will fit on it fine that way and you won;t have to bend down so much to tweak it.

Some things I found when I was gigging my V:25...
The lows can be overwhelming, and that amp can't make so much low-end. So it's easy to get muddy. Don;t crank the bass so much, especially with the EQ. Without the EQ and with lots of overdrive, you generally have to keep the bass control low, so it will sound a bit anemic. n general with a band you will want not so mych low-end, let the bass player have some room there. Have the bass player cut 100Hz and lower, and the mix will be way less muddy and he will fill in for you up to about 250-500Hz.

The V:25 is not so good for thundering bass, it does tight bass way better. It's only 25W, and the tone circuits are designed to cut the lows a little in order to match the EL84 power tubes, which don't have lots of lows or highs.

If you want to cut through, 3.3kHz is a good place to do it. You can do OK with a combination of the 2200 and 6600 EQ sliders, or push up your mid control a little.

I found that I pretty much always needed EQ on for what I wanted. The Mark V is a VERY mid-forward amp and it's super easy to sound nasal. You could put a separate EQ in the loop to tailor your mids and presence, and then still use the onboard GEQ for solo boost the way you are doing. For solos, you will want to cut the lows and highs a little and bump up 750 a little for more presence. Check out petrucci's video for the JP2C. He talks about setting EQ for solos when he describes channel 3.

 

[ericatunc]

Elvis and Streuth, thank you both for very thoughtful responses. I'm going to try your suggestions during this weekend's practice. I have found that it can get nasal sounding quickly.

Eric

 

[pokerrules47]

I use mine live all the time. I use a combination of 3 different cab configurations.

1) 1x12 Recto Straight Cab
2) 1x12 Recto + 1x12 DIY Cab (deep cab more low end)
3) Metal Grill Mesa 4x12

Each of these options give me increasing low end response. If I am only using 1 1x12, I usually put it on a case or something.

I have found that the Bass control is very sensitive to your gain control. I run in fat mode on ch1 and 2c+ mode on channel two. If I increase the gain, I lower the Bass and vice versa. My gain is typically about 11 o'clock on ch1 and maybe 10 o'clock on ch2.

I set my treble to get a little bit of ice pick sound then dial it back just a touch.

My mids on ch1 are just beyond noon, on ch2 are just under noon. If I need more cut on ch2, I raise the mids, not the treble or gain.

I use the EQ to scoop out the sound a bit.

I run an Xotic BB preamp plus (2 channels) and have one set to minimal breakup and the 2nd channel set to give me high gain sounds. I also use a Xotic SP Comp for my clean sounds and sometimes to push the front end a bit harder if I am using the strat.

I also try and be very careful with my volume controls on my guitar. I find it better to run the amp louder, and set the volume on my Les Paul to barely cracked open for high gain sounds. My Strat, I tend to leave it wide open as it has less output.

I do have an Eventide H9 in the loop, but I set the input/output properly so I don't get any volume drop or gain when I engage it.

With this setup I can go from funk and reggae or chicken pickin on ch1, to hendrix, srv, ACDC and metallica on ch2 depending on the guitar I am using.

Hope this helps,

Mike

 

[SouthamptonPdls]

This is a bit old, but thought I'd chime in in case anyone else is looking for this.

I have gigged with my V:25 a couple times with a full band. Here's what I'd recommend for the style of music you play (similar to what I play):

Gain to taste.
Treble around noon
Mid at 11
Bass at 10
Presence at 12-1

EQ is where I get all my tone:

Bass band - cut half way down
Next two - a modest boost. 1/3 above unity.
Second from top (2200 I think?) cut 1/4 below unity
"Presence" band boost 1/4 above unity.

I find this EQ setting really helps the guitar sound full but removes ALL mud and cuts through.

 

[sawyer]

Maybe I'm chiming in a little bit late, perhaps this can be helpful for people that have the same doubts, but here's a video of my band playing live with the mark v 25, unmicced, with a Framus 2x12 (2 celestion v30).

I had the volume on 10 o'clock on the clean channel (clean mode) and 11 o´clock on the od channel (mark iv mode).

We're a 4 piece rock band.

Second Lash - Weak | LIVE @ O meu mercedes
https://youtu.be/nypsTmgKN18

Recorded with a cellphone camera so not the best audio, but you get the picture.

Clean channel :

Gain: 11 o'clock
Treb: 9
Mid: 10
Bass: 7
Presence: 13

OD Channel:

Gain: 11
Treble: 2
Bass: 10
Presence: 13

EQ ON on all channels, V shape, but with the 750 hz at unity, NOT scooped.