Mark V effects routing

[Azrehan]

I am seriously considering buying a Mark V, but want to utilize all the channels and keep some key sounds that I use for live performance.

I am currently using a boss GT6 into a Laney SS amp and I use the GT6 distortion, however I would like to use the Mark IV overdrive instead. The problem is that I also use a ring modulator coupled with delay and distortion to get a crazy synth sound which I need to keep and I use the acoustic guitar simulator (which I might not need after buying the Mark V).

Does anyone know if there is a way to switch effects and channels on the amp with one button? I would even consider buying a new effects board or rack to do this. I really want the mesa tone, so I hope there is a solution. If not, I'll get a ring mod pedal.

The price/date I was quoted was $5000 - $6000 Australian for the head ($3500 - $4200), but the local mesa dealer said they could do it for $7500 (US$5222) with a recto 4x12 and dimarzio super distortion and PAFpro fitted. The high cost for us is due to our 240V power over here which requires mesa to fit different transformers. Plus shipping and dealer costs. It is going to arrive in Oz in June/July.

 

[Mungo Zen]

You may need to investigate a Midi foot controller to roll your effects and amp channels into single button clicks. Check out YouTube for the video of Petrucci talking about his Midi Controller and Rig.

Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot-zal0DAu4

part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQEG1HqCrnE

Most of this is him talking about the effects and how he has it from the stage perspective. About 4:15 into the second video he walks over to the rig and points out what he has going on there.

This is a great video to start understanding the power of Midi. Power does cost money however, so don't be surprised by $1000 - $1500 pricetags for better Midi setups. I will be buying a Midi Controller soon to incorporate the Eventide Timefactor and Modfactor with a few other odds and ends with my soon to arrive Mark 5.

 

[Newysurfer]

I am seriously considering buying a Mark V, but want to utilize all the channels and keep some key sounds that I use for live performance.

I am currently using a boss GT6 into a Laney SS amp and I use the GT6 distortion, however I would like to use the Mark IV overdrive instead. The problem is that I also use a ring modulator coupled with delay and distortion to get a crazy synth sound which I need to keep and I use the acoustic guitar simulator (which I might not need after buying the Mark V).

Does anyone know if there is a way to switch effects and channels on the amp with one button? I would even consider buying a new effects board or rack to do this. I really want the mesa tone, so I hope there is a solution. If not, I'll get a ring mod pedal.

The price/date I was quoted was $5000 - $6000 Australian for the head ($3500 - $4200), but the local mesa dealer said they could do it for $7500 (US$5222) with a recto 4x12 and dimarzio super distortion and PAFpro fitted. The high cost for us is due to our 240V power over here which requires mesa to fit different transformers. Plus shipping and dealer costs. It is going to arrive in Oz in June/July.

Hi fellow Aussie - a few things for you to consider.
I have a Boss GT-8 and have used it as an effects unit with my Mesa 5:50. I can run the Gt-8 in manual mode and this globally turns off all its preamps. But it's my back-up effects unit cause my analog pedal board sounds much better than the Gt-8. The GT-8 has better quality effects than the GT-6 plus you can use it in 4 cable method so you can use either the amps preamps and/or the MFX's by hitting one pedal on the GT. I'm not sure if the GT-6 allows this. Plus I'm not sure if the GT-6 allows you to order the effects chain anyway you want.

The GT-8 and GT-10 have midi in/outs so you can use them as midi switcher for amps provided the amp has midi in/outs connected. Check on the Mark V to see if that's included - can't remember. I think a few other cheap MFX's allow this as well but the bottom line is that the quality of effects on all these units are very ordinary IMHO. Boss do them the best on the GT-8 and GT-10 but they're still 2nd rate behind my pedal board.

In any event your considering spending over $A5000 for possibly THE best amp ever made and then running a cheap MFX through it for effects. Kinda like mixing Coke with Bollinger IMHO. To make matters worse the MFX will maybe tone suck your Mark V too - which totally defeats the purpose of shelling out all that money for the Mark V in the first place. If you want great quality effects to go with this amp I'd consider switching to good analog stomps with True Bypass and high quality buffers.

Plus the Mesa guys are BS'ing about the cost of Mesa's in Australia. They are a straight out ripp-off compared to US prices. When the Aussie $ was at 90 cents last year the price of Mesa's did not alter. Even at todays rate of 70 cents, add on the conversion to 240v costing them about $20 per unit, and the shipping cost, that would reasonably add about 50% to the cost of Mesa's in Australia. But Mesa charge 200% to 300% more.

I suspected Mesa would charge that much for the Mark V here. I'd luv one too but can't afford that kind of money when I already have 2 great tube amps. I'll wait a few years for a used Mark V.

 

[Azrehan]

Hi fellow Aussie - a few things for you to consider.
I have a Boss GT-8 and have used it as an effects unit with my Mesa 5:50. I can run the Gt-8 in manual mode and this globally turns off all its preamps. But it's my back-up effects unit cause my analog pedal board sounds much better than the Gt-8. The GT-8 has better quality effects than the GT-6 plus you can use it in 4 cable method so you can use either the amps preamps and/or the MFX's by hitting one pedal on the GT. I'm not sure if the GT-6 allows this. Plus I'm not sure if the GT-6 allows you to order the effects chain anyway you want.

The GT-8 and GT-10 have midi in/outs so you can use them as midi switcher for amps provided the amp has midi in/outs connected. Check on the Mark V to see if that's included - can't remember. I think a few other cheap MFX's allow this as well but the bottom line is that the quality of effects on all these units are very ordinary IMHO. Boss do them the best on the GT-8 and GT-10 but they're still 2nd rate behind my pedal board.

In any event your considering spending over $A5000 for possibly THE best amp ever made and then running a cheap MFX through it for effects. Kinda like mixing Coke with Bollinger IMHO. To make matters worse the MFX will maybe tone suck your Mark V too - which totally defeats the purpose of shelling out all that money for the Mark V in the first place. If you want great quality effects to go with this amp I'd consider switching to good analog stomps with True Bypass and high quality buffers.

Plus the Mesa guys are BS'ing about the cost of Mesa's in Australia. They are a straight out ripp-off compared to US prices. When the Aussie $ was at 90 cents last year the price of Mesa's did not alter. Even at todays rate of 70 cents, add on the conversion to 240v costing them about $20 per unit, and the shipping cost, that would reasonably add about 50% to the cost of Mesa's in Australia. But Mesa charge 200% to 300% more.

I suspected Mesa would charge that much for the Mark V here. I'd luv one too but can't afford that kind of money when I already have 2 great tube amps. I'll wait a few years for a used Mark V.

I went to the music store today and I think I know what I will do now. Basically I use the GT-6 for acoustic simulator, eq boost for leads and a ring modulator sound. No distortion on the gt6 or preamp or anything. The ring mod is the only one I really need because we used it on a song on our album and it's going to be used for a while. I think the best option is to just buy a ring mod analogue fx pedal and a volume pedal. I can get by without my eq by switching the MKV eq on and off and possibly use the solo switch and a bit of reverb if need be.

I agree that boss multi effects sounds are very average. I am using a metal muff pedal as my external distortion to get rid of the digital fuzz on the gt6.

$5000 is a stupid amount to pay for an amp, but it's either that or I get a Marshall or some other amp I don't really want. Another thing to consider is we earn between $17 and $25 in Australia for unskilled jobs so for the guys in the US on $10 an hour, $2000 is a lot more money than here.

There is no midi on the MarkV either.

 

[Newysurfer]

I think you're on the right track now mate.
I'd go with a few stomps with the Mark V.
One of the advantages of these super versatile Mesa's is you need a lot less external pedals.
My Express 5:50 is super versatile and immediately cut my need for pedals by over 50% when I bought it.
The Mark V will be even more versatile so I've got serious gas for one but will have to wait a few years

 

[jdurso]

I am seriously considering buying a Mark V, but want to utilize all the channels and keep some key sounds that I use for live performance.

I am currently using a boss GT6 into a Laney SS amp and I use the GT6 distortion, however I would like to use the Mark IV overdrive instead. The problem is that I also use a ring modulator coupled with delay and distortion to get a crazy synth sound which I need to keep and I use the acoustic guitar simulator (which I might not need after buying the Mark V).

Does anyone know if there is a way to switch effects and channels on the amp with one button? I would even consider buying a new effects board or rack to do this. I really want the mesa tone, so I hope there is a solution. If not, I'll get a ring mod pedal.

The price/date I was quoted was $5000 - $6000 Australian for the head ($3500 - $4200), but the local mesa dealer said they could do it for $7500 (US$5222) with a recto 4x12 and dimarzio super distortion and PAFpro fitted. The high cost for us is due to our 240V power over here which requires mesa to fit different transformers. Plus shipping and dealer costs. It is going to arrive in Oz in June/July.

First things first, your fx routing.... for what you want to do your going to have to use the 4 Cable Method (4CM). The idea is you plug into the fx unit and using the fx unit's fx loop, you use the loop send to the mesa. then you go from the Mesa's fx loop send to the fx unit's loop return. Then you go from the fx unit's output to the Mesa's fx loop return. Then in the fx unit you program such fx such as ring modulator, flanger, acoustic simulator, etc in front of the unit's fx loop and then you program your time based fx such as delay and reverb after the fx loop. You have one problem here... the GT6 doesnt have an fx loop as it was introduced with the gt8 (if my memory serves me well). So I would see if you can sell off the GT6 and get a GT8 if those are the fx you dig (probably the cheapest solution without getting a more expensive fx unit).

Second is the fx/channel switching. I would strongly consider the RJM RG-16 if you can afford it. It will switch your channels and functions on the amp (solo, reverb, fx loop) as well as let you route your signal whatever way you wnat through the 8 audio loops. those loops will isolate your fx when you dont want them in your signal, hence always having the cleanest signal processor. Also the beauty of it is you can throw everything in a rack and use a midi foot controller to control the RG-16 as well as your fx unit. If you do go this route and wnat to stick with Boss fx, I would highly recommend the Boss GT-Pro. It has everything the GT-8 and a little more.

One thing I've learned over time is digital drives such as the type you'd find in the GT units, really kill your tone through a tube amp. The beauty of putting them into a SS amp is that the SS amp can stay super clean really letting your modeller or digital drive do the work of creating the distortion. The way a drive or OD works with a tube amp is quite different. With a tube amp the drive is used to get the signal hotter, hence driving the preamp tubes into a clipping stage which si where the real fun is. When you use a digital drive, it itself is trying to model that interaction of the OD and amp... so when you put a digital drive infront of a tube amp it gets the signal hotter but adds waaaayyyy to much distortion to the signal to make it musical.

I know that was lengthy (well not for me, i could go on all day) so if you have any more questions let us know.

 

[jdurso]

Wow those replys came quick.... i agree with Newly on this one. My post above was to try and make it work with what you had but if all you really need is a ring mod your better of getting a nice analog pedal. As for the EQ you use to boost for your solos, I think with the Mark V you'll have no need for that anymore between the GEQ on board and the solo function. Used in tandum they will do exactly what you need them to do. I would still consider getting something like the RJM RG-16 as it will allow you to do all your switching on the amp and bringing in and out pedals to your signal path with one push of a button. For a gigging musician that needs that capability i think its a must.