Mark VII in country music

[lwilliams]

After 12 years off the road, I was asked to play with a cover band that only does 90's country music.

The Mark VII can do this amazingly well. With the three channels, I can leave the big pedalboard behind if I can do without the time based and modulation effects. I'd miss the vol pedal and tuner. But, I would have all the amp/gain sounds.

The point is, the Mark VII can emulate the blackface Fender tones so close that, in a blind test, you would not know the difference.

I don't know how many of you have tried a Mark for this kind of music, but it work great.

.

 

[mace]

Hey there. Thanks for the thoughts. What kind of pick-ups do you use…assuming single coils? Also, what Mark VII settings have you landed on?

 

[lwilliams]

The three of my guitars I have tried so far, are a American Original 60's Tele with stock pickups, American Vintage II 1961 Strat with stock pickups, and a Custom Shop 1964 Tele with 58 handwound in bridge and handwound Twisted Tele in neck position.

Here are the channel settings that are sounding great.

 

[little-b]

So your ch 1 & 2 are in crunch mode? I do know mkiib mode is getting some attention from country players.Doug West alludes to it too in his interview.
One of the bands I'm in does modern country and the other guitar player got a vii.we like iib mode for sure,but we're trying to get the amp more " open" and less congested on the other channels.
Idk if you're into old old school country or modern country ala Jason aldean,Chesney, paisley,etc, but for that stuff it's all about the " in between gain" sounds. My xtc ,badcat,and his 3rd power does this very well.I would think maybe the triple crown, or royal Atlantic,30,etc would work. The iib is the closest I've heard to anything on a mk to get that open grit dirt thing without congestion so far...makes me wonder if were gonna see an updated 25 or 35 with that mode in it.

 

[lwilliams]

I don't really do, or like, the modern "bro country". Though this amp would do that really well.

I toured with a Matchless DC-30 and SC-30 for years. I wanted something in a channel switcher to cover more ground. My other amps are: Tone King Imperial MK II, Dr. Z Z-28 MK II, Bad Cat Black Cat, Fender Deluxe Reverb, Fender Twin Reverb....... All great amps. But this Mark VII does things in one box that would require taking two or more of the rest of them.

 

[little-b]

I don't really do, or like, the modern "bro country". Though this amp would do that really well.

I toured with a Matchless DC-30 and SC-30 for years. I wanted something in a channel switcher to cover more ground. My other amps are: Tone King Imperial MK II, Dr. Z Z-28 MK II, Bad Cat Black Cat, Fender Deluxe Reverb, Fender Twin Reverb....... All great amps. But this Mark VII does things in one box that would require taking two or more of the rest of them.

Those amps in your reply would certainly do modern country and they could do old school too. Not into the current rap/ pop/ bubblegum top 40 tweener sampled country stuff.
I've shared the big stage with many headliners from the 90s,early 00 yrs. I've never seen 1 boogie except Charlie daniels, although that's good southern rock.
We'll have to work with vii some more.Love the iib mode. Cabs make a difference too tho. I know a guy who got some excellent old & modern country tones out of his TA 30 head.imho,the ta 30,15,royal,and maybe even the TC 100 have been overlooked or not explored enough for this style.

 

[endofall]

I have been tracking a lot of country people in the past few months and have pretty much used the VII exclusively as the main amp. I think it's been fantastic. This is one of the songs that we used the VII on.

I Got You

 

[little-b]

^^^^ sounds great.im assuming the vii was on the slide solo? Or other parts?

 

[Sinner's Swing!]

The Mark 5 can sound like a Blackface Fender on the clean or fat setting. Maybe on low gain with the crunch channel but you can get some grit out of the fat channel too.

 

[lwilliams]

I played a 4 set gig last night with the Mark VII. It was mostly the 90s country stuff.

It was a great gig listening to that amp. I really love vintage sounding amps. I am very amazed that the VII is doing it. I bought it out of curiosity - wanting it to work since it has three discrete channels. No other amp has pulled this off well.

I have the combo. The weight is the only issue. It's pretty heavy for a 64 year old boy!

.

 

[doesntdaddyhaveanicevoice]

After 12 years off the road, I was asked to play with a cover band that only does 90's country music.

The Mark VII can do this amazingly well. With the three channels, I can leave the big pedalboard behind if I can do without the time based and modulation effects. I'd miss the vol pedal and tuner. But, I would have all the amp/gain sounds.

The point is, the Mark VII can emulate the blackface Fender tones so close that, in a blind test, you would not know the difference.

I don't know how many of you have tried a Mark for this kind of music, but it work great.

.

That’s cool. What’s the name of your cover band? Play any Hellecasters tunes?

 

[endofall]

^^^^ sounds great.im assuming the vii was on the slide solo? Or other parts?

It was on all the electric parts. Thanks. I have another track that was recorded using the same set up. Mark VII, Mesa recto cab, tele.

Dani Kerr - Shine Light Women


https://youtu.be/BKeatcl-NqQ?si=jJQb8Ujo_FG9Yzsn

 

[lwilliams]

That’s cool. What’s the name of your cover band? Play any Hellecasters tunes?

This new group is called Jukebox Country. We don't do Hellecasters yet, but have talked about adding at least one. And I love Jorgensen's playing. That guy is a monster!!

.

 

[doesntdaddyhaveanicevoice]

This new group is called Jukebox Country. We don't do Hellecasters yet, but have talked about adding at least one. And I love Jorgensen's playing. That guy is a monster!!

.

Very cool. Top 40 country is very popular. Jorgensen is a master; Paisley admits he’s the guy he shamelessly ripped off, Jorgensen just laughed, said he was honored. Wow.

 

[Joe Dampt]

After 12 years off the road, I was asked to play with a cover band that only does 90's country music.

The Mark VII can do this amazingly well. With the three channels, I can leave the big pedalboard behind if I can do without the time based and modulation effects. I'd miss the vol pedal and tuner. But, I would have all the amp/gain sounds.

The point is, the Mark VII can emulate the blackface Fender tones so close that, in a blind test, you would not know the difference.

I don't know how many of you have tried a Mark for this kind of music, but it work great.

.

You're absolutely right - the Mark VII is incredibly versatile for country music, especially for those classic '90s sounds. The ability to nail blackface tones while still having gain options for leads makes it a great amp for cover bands. A lot of players enjoy the simplicity of relying on the amp's channels rather than a full pedalboard. It's also nice to hear that it holds up well in a live band setting without losing that authentic tone. If you ever want to experiment with how different guitars or setups affect your tone, a vintage guitar shop can be a good place to test out a range of options in person and get some fresh ideas.