maybe you guys can help answer this for me

[masque]

i've owned my mark 5 for about 8 months now and I freaking love it......i've been a boogie user since 1999 (triaxis and 20/20).....so i'm very familiar with dialing in boogies and that they are usually not plug an dplay amps.

however, i have noticed a couple of things with my mark 5 that puzzle me just a bit.

#1 the gain is a bit less than what I expected it to be. in comparison to other amps i own such as a marshall jvm and my triaxis and some floor and rack gear I'm surprised that it seems to have less gain in comparison to my other stuff. i'm not a huge "metal" guy so it's not that big of a deal but when viewing demo videos etc.... of the amp it seems most of what I have seen folks are able to get more of that real tight chunky stuff out of the amp that I do.

#2 the volume of the amp on channel 1 and channel 2 seems to be a bit louder than channel 3 when set equally amongst the channels....i know that the extreme mode of channel 3 is the loudest on the amp...but i have noticed that I can actually have my amp on channel 1 tweed on 10 watts and with the volume say on about 3 and move over to channel 3 with similar settings on the mark 2 or mark 4 modes and channel 3 sounds quieter than channel 1 especially if i have the wattage set the same on both channels.....now if i put channel 3 into 90 watt mode than i can run the volumes about the same between the channels and it sounds more "normal".

has anybody else noticed this or am i hearing things?

 

[jb's 52]

I dunno if I'll be much help...

But the MV for me is a lot more gain than I've ever had so I really can't speak to that. As for the channel volume disparities, I find that peculiar. Not that what you're hearing is invalid, but I get the complete opposite.

Ch1 is my "quiet" channel. Both Ch2 and Ch3 I can "balance" but my Ch1 master I need to crank more to get the same "perceived" volume level as the other two.

 

[screamingdaisy]

1) I think the Mark V's reduced gain might be due to their switch to JJ preamp tubes. They're not as high gain as some others (ie, the EHX they used to use) so the end result is less gain.

Further, gain levels are affected by (amongst other things) pickup choice and how hard you hit the strings on your guitar. If you're using a lower output pickup or have a really light pick attack you're not going to have the same gain levels as someone using a high output pickup or a sledgehammer pick attack.

2) The volume inconsistencies are due to a mix of gain levels and mode switching. Someone who runs the gain low on the clean channel will have to run the master volume high to compensate, while someone who runs the gain high on the clean channel will have to run the master volume lower to compensate.

To add to that each mode on each channel produces a different volume level, and the channel master is going to have to be adjusted for each one...

... long story short, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[iceman]

I've noticed (and have seen others post the same) that running the mid much higher than you normally would on a boogie seems to help add saturation. I run mine at 3:00 on channel 3. I've also noticed it is important to keep the channel master lower (9:00-10:00) for higher gain. Also adding to what screaming daisy said, this amp is much more sensitive to guitar selection. Some of the heavier clips may also be tuned down as well.

 

[screamingdaisy]

Some of the heavier clips may also be tuned down as well.

An SM57 tends to make a the guitar sound more distorted on tape than it sounds in person.

 

[fr0sty]

About channel 3 being quieter. Do you have it in pentode or triode mode? Triode will be quieter.

 

[Boognoob]

About channel 3 being quieter. Do you have it in pentode or triode mode? Triode will be quieter.

+1

This definitely dovetails with how I see it.

After working it out this week after last week, Pentode for me tonight, methinks, as the disparity is much less.

 

[screamingdaisy]

After working it out this week after last week, Pentode for me tonight, methinks, as the disparity is much less.

Adjust the channel volume balance with the channel masters, then control the overall volume using the master output.

If triode won't go loud enough to balance with the other two channels then the other two channels need to be turned down.

 

[Boognoob]

Yeah cheers, I got that, but it seems to be that channel 2 has to go to like 11 oclock to meet with Channel 3 at max. (at least with the FX loop engaged)

 

[screamingdaisy]

I run channel 3 between 9:00 and 9:30, channel 2 around 9:00 and channel 1 gets adjusted based on how loud the master output is set.

Once I start going above 10:00 on channel 3 the FX loop tends to overdrive. It can get really nasty with certain digital effects.

 

[SonVolt]

Tweed mode is really freaking loud on mine. Even at 10 watts it still startles me how loud it is.

 

[masque]

thanks for all the input and suggestions everyone plus it's nice to know that others at least experience a little of what I described. i will work the suggestions into my adjustments on the amp in the coming days.

 

[Boognoob]

I run channel 3 between 9:00 and 9:30, channel 2 around 9:00 and channel 1 gets adjusted based on how loud the master output is set.

Once I start going above 10:00 on channel 3 the FX loop tends to overdrive. It can get really nasty with certain digital effects.

Im using a Boss ME-5...pretty analogue... Its clean as anything.. got my fx loop level at 11...if you see one of those babies about snap one up!!!

Is your wattage even across your three channels or do you stagger them?

 

[screamingdaisy]

I run channel 3 between 9:00 and 9:30, channel 2 around 9:00 and channel 1 gets adjusted based on how loud the master output is set.

Once I start going above 10:00 on channel 3 the FX loop tends to overdrive. It can get really nasty with certain digital effects.

Im using a Boss ME-5...pretty analogue... Its clean as anything.. got my fx loop level at 11...if you see one of those babies about snap one up!!!

Is your wattage even across your three channels or do you stagger them?

Depends on how I feel. I only gave the digital effect breakup as an example since I don't really like the way the amp responds with the channel master up at 11:00 even when there's nothing in the FX loop.

Sometimes I run...
1) Fat, 45w, Tube
2) Crunch, 45w, Diode
3) Mark IV (or IIC+), 90w, Triode (channel 3's only producing around 75w in Triode mode)

And sometimes I want more headroom so I'll switch them all to 90w and put channel 3 on pentode.

If you experiment with your channel master between 9:00 and 12:00 you'll hear the tone shift as you increase/decrease it. I found that down around 9:00 is fairly clear with a faster response. As you go up the bottom end gets bigger and the response gets a little more sluggish.

I used to set my channel 3 master to 10:00 religiously because that's where it tends to sound best on a Recto's modern channel but I changed things up after someone suggested I experiment. When toggling between FX loop on and bypass modes I found that having the channel master down around 9:00 produced a sound that's more like the FX loop bypass sound.

I generally keep my channel 3 master around 9:00 - 9:15 and adjust the other two channels to match volumes. It's a little weird at first because it seems like you're turning up the master output unusually high to compensate, but once you get used to it it's not a big deal.

 

[Boognoob]

Cheers Daisy...Will do. Definitely noticed the tone change on the master...
Thanks for the ideashare...

 

[Mungo Zen]

If you experiment with your channel master between 9:00 and 12:00 you'll hear the tone shift as you increase/decrease it. I found that down around 9:00 is fairly clear with a faster response. As you go up the bottom end gets bigger and the response gets a little more sluggish.

I used to set my channel 3 master to 10:00 religiously because that's where it tends to sound best on a Recto's modern channel but I changed things up after someone suggested I experiment. When toggling between FX loop on and bypass modes I found that having the channel master down around 9:00 produced a sound that's more like the FX loop bypass sound.

I generally keep my channel 3 master around 9:00 - 9:15 and adjust the other two channels to match volumes. It's a little weird at first because it seems like you're turning up the master output unusually high to compensate, but once you get used to it it's not a big deal.

I am running my channel volume in all 3 channels around 11:30 to 12:30 but have dialed back the bass on the gain channels (Ch 2 and 3) to 9 - 9:30. On Ch 3 I have the Mark IV at about 2 for Gain. I took some time tweaking the bass and gain for all channels found as volume went up I could tighten up the overall attack by pulling back the Gain and Bass.

Here is something to try, for anyone really. Take out the loop (thereby deactivating the master amp volume), and just use the channel gain and volumes to set your tone. The intent is to get away from using the amp volume as it does nothing for your tone, and use the channel volume which does impact tone. Boosting your channel volume can open up a lot of sonic colour within each channel.

My MIV settings, as an example:

Gain 2
Master 12
Presence 1230
Treble 12
Mid 10:30
Bass 9:30

EQ on with first 2 sliders just above middle, 3rd slider most of the way down and the last two at middle or a hair above middle. This gives the bass a bit of a push without flubbing out, and barely pushes the highs to put glitter on the crunch without saturating.

It took me some time to get out of the habit of 9 O'Clock Masters (band name anyone?) and there is reason to go that route, I found I was happier using the Master on each channel as a tool to work with than fighting against it.