No Sound From Channel 2 and Various Other Problems

[HarrY89]

Hi Guys

I Got my Mark 5 About a week ago and I've been hearing the quality sounds that people have been getting.

I Have not been able to get a good tone out of the second channel with the Mark V's Standard Tubes, So I thought that replacing the tubes would fix the problem.
Actually made it worse, Now I can't get any sound out of the second channel.

I've also had a few other issues but i'm not sure if other people have had them.

-Extreme Mode on Channel 3 Makes the Amp Incredibly loud (Guessing this is a feature) but offers no gain increase or focus as people have posted here said.
-IIc+ Mode Is incredibly quiet.
-No Matter what the volume per channel is set it doesnt add any crunch to the sound.

Like I said, I thought it was a tube problem and with an entire new set of tubes this still happens.

Any Ideas guys?

 

[Barry]

You could be comprimising your warranty by putting in new tubes if they arent Mesa tubes . I would put the original back in and call Mesa and let them help you . You have a warranty and the tubes are covered for six months . Call them at 707 778 6565 Mon - Thurs. Pacific time (9:00 -5:00)

 

[bassmantim71]

Read the manual.

Volume is supposed to go up on extreme mode.

Try triode setting for the IIc+ mode in 45 or 90 watts.

Try pentode for Mark IV or extreme mode.

Hope that helps.

 

[sted]

If you're getting no sound it sounds like the tubes are outside the mesa pramaeters for tubes, because they are self biasing (Or fixed bias I should say) amps they have a very particular voltage they work at, you should get your original tubes back in sharpish.

If people are saying the extreme channels offers no more gain over the other channel three options they must have a diferent amp to me! I find what people call "Focus" simply means increased saturation and compression rather than a sonic response, personally I find anything over 3 o'clock on the gain is just too unruly but some people just run it flat out without comprehending what they are actually hearing, the volume boost is supposed to be a feature of the extreme channel too.

I am guessing you are switching between the extreme mode and the IIC+ mode in channel three where there will almost certainly be a big volume difference between these modes and you're getting a hangover from the extreme mode because your ears havent adjusted back to what you are hearing on the IIC+ mode, just find a happy setting in each mode and make a note of them, then try them at comparable volumes and you will hear the character of that mode rather than just the outright gain and volume in comparison to other modes, dont forget, the mark is a tweakers amp, it needs work to get to where you want it to be!

 

[eudaimonia02912]

Hi Guys

I Got my Mark 5 About a week ago and I've been hearing the quality sounds that people have been getting.

I Have not been able to get a good tone out of the second channel with the Mark V's Standard Tubes, So I thought that replacing the tubes would fix the problem.
Actually made it worse, Now I can't get any sound out of the second channel.

If your amp works, except on channel 2, then I'm pretty sure that the new tube you put in V2 is busted. Look the manual for the tube layout. V2 (near the transformer) is a gain stage just for channel 2. Replace that with a known good tube and see if it fixes the problem.

EDIT: PS, Try EL34s instead of 6L6s. I swapped the Mesa stock tubes for JJs and then SED Winged Cs. The JJs were better, and the SEDs were much better. Channel 2 had a big improvement.