New the Boogie family

[The Rossness]

I'm a big Randall/ Egnater MTS guy. I have have a dozen modded preamps and a few poweramps. One of my favorite modules is a Salvation MarkUS and its based on a Mesa Mark series amp. I like the module so much, I decided to buy a Mark V. The mesa has the tone, the gain and sounds different from just about every other amp I tried. I have the combo, and while the stock speaker sounds ok, when I hook it up to my mesa 2x12 recto cab, it feels like I can destroy wolds!

So far, I'm really digging channel 2. I think I can get a marshall-esque tone from the crunch setting and MKI fat mode sounds great for Santana-like leads and jazzy stuff. Still, I think the amp is going to take some time to dial in. Can I get some quick tone tips? On the Channel 1, I want 3 main sounds: Ska, Pink Floyd, clean-voxy. On either channel 2 or 3 I want a high gain crunch sound that's 80's esque with lots of harmonics. I think I'm on the right track with the crunch setting, but I'm not quite sure how to dial it in. For lead, I either want to do the Santana thing on channel 2 or have a ton of gain with boosted mids and lots of punch on channel 3. I don't play metal, but a metal lead tone is kind of what I'm going for. Are there settings someone can recommend?

Also, how exactly goes the EQ work? What frequencies do each of the sliders control? Besides the V shape which I've seen, what are some other options for using the EQ?

Here's a quick picture I took of the amp. Thanks for the help.

 

[screamingdaisy]

On either channel 2 or 3 I want a high gain crunch sound that's 80's esque with lots of harmonics.

Get a cab loaded with Celestion G12M-25s. You'll never get the cone crunch and harmonics they produce from a Vintage 30 loaded 2x12.

I think I'm on the right track with the crunch setting, but I'm not quite sure how to dial it in. For lead, I either want to do the Santana thing on channel 2

For Santana, keep the treble and presence on the amp up high, then bleed treble off at the guitar by either turning down the guitar's tone control or running a really long guitar cable. This will allow the amp to remain open sounding and producing top end harmonics whilst also being smooth.

or have a ton of gain with boosted mids and lots of punch on channel 3. I don't play metal, but a metal lead tone is kind of what I'm going for. Are there settings someone can recommend?

Run through the suggested settings in the manual, and try sweeping the preset knob up and down while playing through them. Marks naturally produce a lot of mids, and even with a V shaped EQ they still produce a lot of mids. Also, check out Petrucci's website. He posts settings on it periodically and a lot of dudes find them a good starting point.

Also, how exactly goes the EQ work? What frequencies do each of the sliders control? Besides the V shape which I've seen, what are some other options for using the EQ?

On a Mark the dial EQs are located prior to the gain stages (exact location depends upon mode). This shapes the tone as it's going through the amp and these settings alter the feel/response of the amp as much as they do the tone.

The graphic/preset EQ is located after all the gain stages. This is the more common place for a EQ to sit (i.e., Marshall). It allows you to shape the final sound, but it's ability to both boost and cut frequencies give you more options than the typical EQ.

Long story short... the treble knob on each channel is the most important knob. It will affect the overall tonality of the circuit, affecting the gain, midrange and bass response. It might seem counter-intuitive, but sometimes the easiest way to add more midrange is to reduce the treble. If you can't seem to dial in the sound you're looking for, try resetting the treble to a different position and start over again.

For the sliders, they're pretty straight forward. The one that might not be obvious is the 2200 slider... it increases punch as you move it up. You can get a fairly decent scoop with the 750Hz provided you balance it by getting increasing the upper midrange punch.

There's a lot more to it than that... but above is a decent starting point.

 

[The Rossness]

I think I have 3 sounds dialed in. I ditched the V20 cab and have been using the stock C90 speaker in the combo. On channel 1 I'm usig the tweed for my cleans. it has a nice top end and I can boost it with a Tube Driver if I need to . I'm also liking the pure clean mode.

On channel 2, I can get Dokken tones on the Crunch setting, especially if I boost it and if I need more bass, there's the MKI setting. I'm having a little trouble dialing channel 3 in, but I've only had the amp for 3 and 1/2 days.

 

[screamingdaisy]

Channel 3 has the EQ that everyone complains about when they stay Boogie's are hard to EQ.

The thing to remember with a Boogie is that while they do produce a lot of low end (more than a Rectifier), they also produce a lot of midrange and track tightly, which makes the bottom end seem not quite as big and deep as it actually is. On it's own it may sound kind of boxy and mid heavy, but play it with a band and you'll find it sits exactly where it should sit.

IMO, channel 3's boxiness is slightly exaggerated against channel 2's fullness. IMO, Mesa set channel 2 up to be the rhythm mode, complete with slightly more relaxed mids and a bit more bottom end, then left channel 3 with full midrange so that it would produce the stereotypical Boogie IIC+ thru IV lead tone. When you shift between channels the shift in bottom end response seems huge, but when there's a bassist maintaining the bottom end you realize that what you thought was bottom end is actually part of the midrange and the shift in frequencies makes much more sense.

Long story short... Mesa designs their amps to sound good on stage/in a studio. They don't always sound the best when used on their own, but get them in a band mix and that's where the magic happens.

For what it's worth; Most recommendations will have relatively high treble settings, and on previous Marks I'd typically run my treble up around 7 (out of 10) yet on the Mark V I find I tend to set the treble well below 12:00 (around 10:30 or so). I also prefer using the preset to the sliders. For some reason it has a punch that I haven't been able to replicate on the sliders, and going to a venue and sweeping the preset knob to dial in the amp is way easier than messing with the individual sliders.

 

[talltxguy]

In case you haven't figured it out by now, screamingdaisy actually works for Mesa Boogie! 8)

Even though I don't own a V, I enjoyed the insight.