New proud owner of a Mark IV ;)

[SlayermanGR]

Hi everybody!
I am new to the Mesa family and to this amazing Boogie board!
From yesterday I own a Mark IV, it's my first tube amp after 9 years of guitar playing so I am pretty excited about this!

Just a couple of questions though:

I am running the amp with tweed power, simul-class, pentode,harmonics but unfortunately at a very low volume (between 1 and 2)!
So my question is, if I raise the output volume enough will there be a significant increase in the amount of distortion I listen (because of power amp clipping for example?)?
(sorry for asking something so silly instead of trying it but I am gonna get kicked out if I crank this thing up )

Because now I feel like I need to put a boss DS-1 in front to feel comfortable when playing! Do you guys think an extra boost is needed when playing the Mark in low or high volumes?

Thanks for your time everybody! :wink:

 

[srf399]

Try running it Class A, triode, tweed. I used a TS 808 in front to give it a slight boost

 

[trem]

You're saying there's not enough gain? What's your setting like?

~trem

 

[SlayermanGR]

Well, at a bedroom volume it sounds gainy but sometimes to my ears and hands the tone seems a little bit "weak" gain-wise!
My question was, with the same gain-drive-treble-presence (all these give gain in MKIV, right?) settings that I have now, if I turn the output volume loud enough will the sound be more gain-y? Cause I've read that when you increase volume you have to decrease gain! If that's the case then probably I don't need a boost when playing live-loud, but what about bedroom volumes?

 

[chris_EIT]

Yeh dude, when you put the volume up it will be WAY more tan enough gain.

Here are my settings for the lead channel!

Lead Gain (pulled): 7.5
Treble: 7
Bass: 2.5
Mids: 4.5
Lead drive(Pulled): 7

Channel Vol: 3.5

Prescence: 3.5
Output: 2.3

This is WAY more than enough gain for any of my needs!
GEQ is the standard V BUT the 3rd slider is clear above the bottom line, it's way to thin any lower to my ears!

Hope this helps
oh and it's on HARMONICS

 

[trem]

Again, what's your setting like?

Seeing that you're new to tube amps, maybe it's just a learning curve for you. Tube amps react differently to solid state amps, in that they're not as quick reacting.

You won't get more gain (pre-amp drive) when you turn up the volume. You'll get more compression and sustain. People tell you to turn down the gain when playing loud because the extra compression combined with a boatload of gain from the pre-amp will turn the sound to mush.

Have you tried playing loud before (beyond 2)? Is the gain still lacking at that volume?

I had a problem of serious lack of gain, but it was the pre-amp tubes going south. You might wanna check that as well.

~trem

 

[Tuna141]

The IV sounds best when the channel volumes are kept low, so you can increase the Master volume to at least 3-4. This is where the power section starts to work - makes the tone thicker and more harmonically rich.

 

[Lopp]

Hey SlayermanGR.

Congrats on the Mark IV!

Again, what's your setting like?

Ditto. They IV should be able to give you "too much" gain. All of the gain, bass, middle, and treble controls interact to do this. Maxing them out may make you sound like mush, the wrong combination of settings also may not sound good. Warning: The right combination of settings may give your ears an orgasm.

 

[SlayermanGR]

I didn't post my settings because I don't have any standard ones yet!
But it's lead gain-8 pulled, treble-7, bass-2, mid-3, presence-3 or 4 (pulled or not pulled, haven't yet decided what I like more), lead drive-8 pulled!
Also the GEQ is almost a V but again none of these settings are permanent! I am also using a preamp booster by behringer to make my signal a bit "hotter" and it does a very very good job there! Although, without the preamp booster I feel the above settings kinda "weak" gain-wise!

I also switched to triode and class A and I can say I like these settings more than pentode along with simul-class (at least for when I am playin' in the house).

Is there any way to check the condition of the tubes??? Because my MKIV was used for a year before I bought it!

 

[trem]

Try swapping around the tubes first and see whether it changes the sound. If not maybe you should borrow some known to be good pre-amp tubes from your friend, or better yet buy a set of new ones.

It could also be some other things in your signal chain causing the signal going to your amp weak. New strings? Fresh batteries if you use active pups? Good cables? Just some ideas. These are less expensive than buying a set of tubes. Good luck.

~trem

 

[trem]

The IV sounds best when the channel volumes are kept low, so you can increase the Master volume to at least 3-4. This is where the power section starts to work - makes the tone thicker and more harmonically rich.

+1

 

[Random Hero]

Something doesn't sound right to me. Both gains at 8 and pulled and you say you don't have enough gain? How much are you used to? What amp did you play before?

I don't feel the Mark needs any boost whatsoever for leads, especially if that's the tone you're specifically dialling in. Sure, if you're running the Lead channel for rhythms, you'll back the gain off for those, then boost it back up for leads, but to me, something sounds wrong.