Mark VII Walkthrough

[The Guitar Nerd]

Hey All, I recently acquired a Mark VII - I'm so impressed with the tones this amp produces I made a little walkthrough video. I've always been a Marshall guy but if I'm being completely honest, I might just have a new favorite amp in this Mark VII - it sounds incredible and feels even better!!!!!

 

[bandit2013]

Great video on the Mark VII. Thanks for sharing.

 

[rarebitusa]

I agree... it gave me more VII GAS, which I really don't need right now.

 

[The Guitar Nerd]

Great video on the Mark VII. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you!

 

[The Guitar Nerd]

I agree... it gave me more VII GAS, which I really don't need right now.

Hahaha! Such an amazing amp!

 

[rarebitusa]

@The Guitar Nerd ... Question for a Marshall guy. What voicing on the VII gets close to a Plexi like tone? I hear this question alot from a few of my Marshall buddies

 

[bandit2013]

The Mark VII sounds even better when you have two of them. Very easy to control both amps with one footswitch (it is outlined in the manual how to daisy chain them) Very simple and works well if all of the toggle switches are set the same, channel switch has to be on CH2. Connect the Primary amp to the Mesa supplied footswitch. Then connect a midi cable from midi out to the midi in of the second Mark VII. Change the midi channel on the second Mark VII to any channel but 0. Power up sequence usually begins with the amp that has the footswitch. Just turn it on, then the second amp and there you go. Best to have stereo FX units and run them in the loop of both amps. That is what gave the Mark VII a big WOW for me. The inputs are rather sensitive though. The least thing you need is to isolate one of them, say with a Lehle P-split III. Most ABY switchers with an isolated channel will work too. I mostly use the Mesa Switch track as both channels are isolated.

If you like the crunch and MVII modes on the amp, Mesa did make a hybrid of that circuit in another amp, called the Badlander. It is part Mark and part Recto in one package. Not quite a Marshall circuit as it does not have a cold clipper. I have as much love for the Badlander as I do for the Mark VII. When I am eager to go full tilt nuts, I will run two badlanders and two Mark VII at the same time in a quasi-stereo format. I could easily get away with just one Mesa Switch track and two P-Splits but wanted to improve on the stereo field with another Mesa switch track so I can use a stereo fx unit on the front end and retain isolation between the amps. I personally recommend the BAD100 as it has three power modes you can select that are similar to the Mark VII. 100W/50W/25W. BAD is primarily an EL34 based amp but can also run 6L6 tubes (has a bias switch). Same for the Mark VII but found there was not much of a change in tone comparing EL34 and the 6L6 tubes. (Picture was taken during setup of the 4 amp rig). Note the Mark VII with the JP2C badge (one on the right), I used the Faceplate I bought for the JP2C to match the cabinet. Perfect fit so why not use it? I am one of those Boogie Nuts you may come across in here. I do own a Marshall Silver Jubilee 2555x and 2551AV 412 cab. (it sonically matches the Mesa Royal Atlantic RA100). I am not a Mesa snob so other gear is fine with me. Floor is dirty due to family dog.

 

[The Guitar Nerd]

@The Guitar Nerd ... Question for a Marshall guy. What voicing on the VII gets close to a Plexi like tone? I hear this question alot from a few of my Marshall buddies

Ya know, I'm not sure - I haven't tried that. But off the top of my head, I'm going to say channel 1 set to either Clean or Fat mode, 25 watts with volume, gain, highs and mids cranked up, bass around 9 or 10:00 with a V on the Graphic. I was able to get some pretty gnarly power section breakup that way & loved it!.

 

[The Guitar Nerd]

The Mark VII sounds even better when you have two of them. Very easy to control both amps with one footswitch (it is outlined in the manual how to daisy chain them) Very simple and works well if all of the toggle switches are set the same, channel switch has to be on CH2. Connect the Primary amp to the Mesa supplied footswitch. Then connect a midi cable from midi out to the midi in of the second Mark VII. Change the midi channel on the second Mark VII to any channel but 0. Power up sequence usually begins with the amp that has the footswitch. Just turn it on, then the second amp and there you go. Best to have stereo FX units and run them in the loop of both amps. That is what gave the Mark VII a big WOW for me. The inputs are rather sensitive though. The least thing you need is to isolate one of them, say with a Lehle P-split III. Most ABY switchers with an isolated channel will work too. I mostly use the Mesa Switch track as both channels are isolated.

If you like the crunch and MVII modes on the amp, Mesa did make a hybrid of that circuit in another amp, called the Badlander. It is part Mark and part Recto in one package. Not quite a Marshall circuit as it does not have a cold clipper. I have as much love for the Badlander as I do for the Mark VII. When I am eager to go full tilt nuts, I will run two badlanders and two Mark VII at the same time in a quasi-stereo format. I could easily get away with just one Mesa Switch track and two P-Splits but wanted to improve on the stereo field with another Mesa switch track so I can use a stereo fx unit on the front end and retain isolation between the amps. I personally recommend the BAD100 as it has three power modes you can select that are similar to the Mark VII. 100W/50W/25W. BAD is primarily an EL34 based amp but can also run 6L6 tubes (has a bias switch). Same for the Mark VII but found there was not much of a change in tone comparing EL34 and the 6L6 tubes. (Picture was taken during setup of the 4 amp rig). Note the Mark VII with the JP2C badge (one on the right), I used the Faceplate I bought for the JP2C to match the cabinet. Perfect fit so why not use it? I am one of those Boogie Nuts you may come across in here. I do own a Marshall Silver Jubilee 2555x and 2551AV 412 cab. (it sonically matches the Mesa Royal Atlantic RA100). I am not a Mesa snob so other gear is fine with me. Floor is dirty due to family dog.

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Wow - what a setup!!!!! I bet that sounds amazing!

The Badlander is on my radar for sure - I'm also interested in the Triple Crown - have been for years but just haven't managed to slide into one yet. Someday!

I've got a bit of Marshall stuff as I've been a Marshall guy for quite a while - I got the Triple Rec on Jan 30th and the Mark VII like a week later and am in love with both of them. I've had a 3 channel, non multiwatt Dual Rec for several years but it just didn't light me up - the Multiwatt Triple fixed that though! I love it - video on that amp coming soon.

Here's some pics of my setup as it currently is. The speaker cabs are in another room permanently miced so I can play in my control room through my studio monitors which sound amazing! What you heard in the video was the second cabinet from the right, the Mesa Rectifier cab. No post processing EQ or anything, just some delay and reverb added in post.

 

[Fiveband]

Is the Marshall 9200 there to tame vibrations on the top of the cab?

 

[rarebitusa]

What you heard in the video was the second cabinet from the right, the Mesa Rectifier cab. No post processing EQ or anything, just some delay and reverb added in post.

Ha I was going to ask about the sig chain and recording setup That was an excellent tone and playing as well, which showcased the voicings. I'm assuming the cab is stock with the Mesa v30s? Which mics did you use?

 

[The Guitar Nerd]

Is the Marshall 9200 there to tame vibrations on the top of the cab?

Haha, naaa, right now that stuff’s there cause I don’t have another place to put it. I’m debating selling that setup so it’s not in a rack.

 

[The Guitar Nerd]

Ha I was going to ask about the sig chain and recording setup That was an excellent tone and playing as well, which showcased the voicings. I'm assuming the cab is stock with the Mesa v30s? Which mics did you use?

Actually I did a video last week about the setup. Not trying to be lazy or anything but everything is answered in that video.

 

[bandit2013]

How is the noise floor on the EVH 5150? I assume it is the 6L6 version?
This one is noisy EVH 5150 IIIs EL34 100W.

The BAD fit the bill and fills in the gap between the MW Rectifier and the Mark series. It was an instant favorite right out of the box. Also, one that most non-Mesa users can dial in with ease and not have to worry about specific relationships with the tone stack and such.

I would recommend trying out the Badlander 100W first, then the 50W if that is on your radar. The Triple Crown will have a very similar sound in comparison to the Silver Jubilee, just a tad bit more refined since it is not making use of LED dark current for providing the distortion (alternate circuit to the cold clipper). Most of the gain from the TC and RA is from a cascade of 4 gain stages, two of which have gain adjustment on the two of the stages. Tone stack is plate driven much like the Mark series but is post gain. TC uses the same head shell as the Badlander but without the front grill. Comparing the RA to the TC, you have more tubes to choose from if you need more of an aggressive sound. RA is sort of limited due to the 400VDC plate voltage but the TC can manage the other EL34 variants quite well like the Tung Sol EL34B (also the stock tube for the 2555x) EH 6CA7, Gold Lion KT77. TC50 is better suited for the 6V6 than the TC100 but both can run that tube too. Sure, 6L6 bias switch is on board but at a penalty of volume loss. As for the BAD, you almost feel like it has 6L6 tubes with the EL34 tube loaded. It too has a bias for 6L6. Not much of a volume penalty as the TC series when using 6L6.

 

[rarebitusa]

Actually I did a video last week about the setup. Not trying to be lazy or anything but everything is answered in that video.

Very Cool I'll check it out, Thanks