Minimal Low-End and Gain on Mark V

[FallOfHumanity]

Hi there,

Recently my Mark V has been a little lifeless. The thickness to the sound seems to be gone, and gain seems to only be acceptable at really high volumes.

Im running a Mark V into a mesa 212 recto cab.

I have 2 spare 6L6s so I swapped them into spots 1 and 4 (as advised by Mesa). When that didn't work I swapped them into spots 2 and 3 (as advised by Mesa). Maybe all 4 need to be replaced. Maybe I should replace the entire power section + recto tube?

I did replace the V1 pre amp tube last night as another issue I was having was being caused by it. That problem is gone, but the other remains.

Entirely, it just seems like the entire low end and gain is almost gone. On channel two, which generally feels thick and chunky, I get loud and somewhat washed out cleans, whereas a few days ago it was what a crunch channel should be. Palm muting on Ch3 on extreme mode is just super bright, like a marshall. Not at all what you'd expect from a Mesa, especially the Mark series.

Thoughts?

 

[SteveO]

Have you tried different guitars and cables, just to rule that out?

 

[JEB3]

Is there any difference in the gain/loudness between "hard bypass' and 'loop active"? Any difference when the "send level" setting is increased?