Overly trebly and missing low end

[richaxes]

Hey guys,
I finally managed to make my dream come true and bought a used Mark V head locally (here in Hungary as far as I know there are only 3-4 of these amps and most of them are US versions - mine is EU). I tried messing around with the settings according to the manual and JP's video of the head where he actually shows his settings and tones.
My current rig is quite humble: Jackson DKMG with licensed Floyd and EMG 81/85, Mark V, homemade 2x12 cab with V30s that I bought earlier.
I'm struggling to get a nice and fat low end from the amp. Every tone (except the Mark I) seems to lack bass, even with the EQ dialed in to the V shape. On the other hand, highs are very piercing and everything sounds really trebly and thin - I even had to lower the last 2 sliders on the EQ to compensate. I always thought that the Mark V was an amp that had smooth highs and fat lows, but what I'm experiencing is quite the contrary. The thing that is also really bugging me is that I have a Diezel Herbert head which I'm currently selling, and with the Herbert everything sounds just fine, it has a massive low end and very controllable highs, although I'm not a fan of the distortion texture, hence why I bought the V.

My questions:

- Is it possible that my homemade 2x12 is simply not big enough in size to allow the low end to come through? My 2x12 is a little shallower than 2x12s usually are and while it's built really well and with high quality materials, could it be possible that it's simply small? Have to say again, though: my Herbert sounds perfect through it.

- Could it be that my guitar is simply terrible for this amp? I'm not a big fan of EMGs but I had to make a budget call with this guitar and, again, everything else sounds just fine with it (Herbert, Guitar Rig 5, etc.). On the Mark V I really hear how the Floyd Rose thins out the sound and my guitar is almost twanging out like a Strat - something I've never experienced with it before. Does the V "need" decent passive pickups and a massively built guitar to really shine a'la Music Man JP?

- In general, is the Mark V supposed to have a decent amount of low end? I'm not sure if it's just my ear that needs to get used to the low end being more "tight" than "full", but it definitely lacks for me now. Same for the highs: is the Mark V generally supposed to be on the _very_ trebly side instead of being smooth?

I'm a little stumped with this now. I've spent a ridiculous amount of money to buy this amp and from every YouTube video to recordings, the amp sounded just fantastic everywhere, and now it isn't really delivering for me. The only mode that sounds fine to me is the Mark I mode which is usually described to be really dark and hard to dial in - it is dark, but I can dial it easily to the point where it sounds well balanced.

Cheers for any advice!

 

[gnjlee]

I had a similar fight with the amp when I first got it. I am assuming you are talking about channel three and perhaps channel one/any mode but mark I. Can you post your settings?

 

[richaxes]

I had a similar fight with the amp when I first got it. I am assuming you are talking about channel three and perhaps channel one/any mode but mark I. Can you post your settings?

Hello and thank you!

Actually the struggle is real on all 3 channels. Channel 2 seems a bit easier to dial in right to me but still not where I'd want to be. Obviously channel 3 is where it all gets confusing to me.

It's not the best quality pic but I think you can see most of it. I'm trying to dial in the Mark IV mode since I immediately didn't like IIC+ and Extreme. I'm going for that really liquidy JP-kind of lead tone and also his heavy rhythm stuff. I had to take out a lot of treble, the JP "V" shape doesn't work for me, highs become overly piercing with it. Picture is low res but I'm in 90W mode of course and on pentode. With the above setup I still feel like the low end is not quite there and highs are much more controllable this way.

 

[BrownieD2W]

I also run my Mark V with a homemade 2x12 (V-30 & MC-90) and in my experience thus far, I have more than enough low-end, almost too much at times. I would think your 2x12 should give you more than enough Low-end thump as well, especially if you have it wired and matched for 4 Ohms. Remember that the Individual Channel Knob-EQ is placed before the Pre-Amp and controls how much (Bass, Mids, Treble, etc) you introduce to the Preamp, the Graphic EQ is post Pre-amp and shapes the resulting Pre-Amp tone you have dialed in from the radial EQ.

I would definitely suggest going with your ear on this one. I would sit down and give yourself a big chunk of time, start with Turning Off the Graphic-EQ and try your absolute best to dial in a tone you are happy with, with the Channel EQ alone. Then turn On the Graphic-EQ and dial in your particular flavor, the Graphic-EQ should just enhance whatever tone you've dialed in from the radial EQ. When you kick on the Graphic-EQ it should feel like a fairy sprinkled magic pixie crap all over your already amazing tone.

And beware with this amp, the dazzling array of EQ options will literally trick your head into some of the weirdest, shittiest tones you've ever heard. But man is it sweet when you get her dialed in to YOUR tone, you'll fine that you won't want to play much else after that.

 

[BrownieD2W]

After looking at your settings, I'm a little perplexed myself actually. Those look like pretty common settings, at least in appearance. Hopefully one of the other guys can help you out more.

Have you tried different pre-amp tubes yet, or perhaps EL34's for your Power Tubes?

 

[screamingdaisy]

The EMG 81 is bright and doesn't have a lot of bass. They sound great with Mesa's, which tend to have a lot of low end. The combination is tight, aggressive and percussive.

That said, those settings are along the lines of what I'd use with passives. With an 81 I'd dial the bass knob up to 12:00-12:30. I'd also back the presence off to 10:30, increase the treble to around 13:00-13:30 and put the bright switch on 'Normal'. Reduce the channel master to 9:00 and turn the master output up as loud as is reasonable. Maybe turn the gain up a bit more.

If it's still too bright, back your guitar's tone knob off to 8 or 9 until the sizzle is under control.

If you want a more modern sound put the 2200 slider slightly higher than the 6600.

Lastly, remember that Petrucci is EQ'd to cut through a band.

 

[APEMAN]

-

 

[gnjlee]

I had a similar fight with the amp when I first got it. I am assuming you are talking about channel three and perhaps channel one/any mode but mark I. Can you post your settings?

Hello and thank you!

Actually the struggle is real on all 3 channels. Channel 2 seems a bit easier to dial in right to me but still not where I'd want to be. Obviously channel 3 is where it all gets confusing to me.

It's not the best quality pic but I think you can see most of it. I'm trying to dial in the Mark IV mode since I immediately didn't like IIC+ and Extreme. I'm going for that really liquidy JP-kind of lead tone and also his heavy rhythm stuff. I had to take out a lot of treble, the JP "V" shape doesn't work for me, highs become overly piercing with it. Picture is low res but I'm in 90W mode of course and on pentode. With the above setup I still feel like the low end is not quite there and highs are much more controllable this way.

All my guitars have single coil pickups in an SSS configuration, which is usually not a good combination for high gain playing. I run my channel bass much higher than recommended and haven't run into too much issue with flub. I run my bass just past the noon mark on channel 3.

I was not happy with any of the settings that I tried from this forum so decided to ignore everything and tweak the amp by ear. When dialing in the bass, I used my ear to find the spot where the gain starts to lose focus and I backed it off from there. The bass will bloom slightly before this point. This keeps the gain tight and I have a decent amount of low end with just about all the pickup selections on all my single coil strats.

After finding the sweet spot, I then remembered having to do the exact same thing with my Mark IV years ago.

 

[Tuna141]

I suggest you try swapping some of the preamp and/or power tubes to see if it helps.

 

[iggs]

I suggest you try swapping some of the preamp and/or power tubes to see if it helps.

This ... one of the power tubes may have failed and is causing this.

Also ... if your FX loop is not bypassed, try bypassing it and see if you experience the same and make sure the mix knob is at noon. Setting it too high may cause issues.

 

[richaxes]

Thanks for all the tips guys!
Today I had the chance to try a friend's guitar with the amp (it's still "only" a Diamond Series Schecter with EMGs but it's fixed bridge and neck-thru) and everything sounded just perfect with every channel, mode, and settings. So it seems that it's my guitar that's not playing too well with the V. No worries, though, because selling my Herbert is getting me a nice JP6 when it happens

 

[gnjlee]

Good to hear! I am glad you got it figured out

 

[APEMAN]

-

 

[fr0sty]

I just resurrected an old jackson sl4 I had by putting a set of emgs 81/85 in. I will second what sd said below, but with a little more emphasis on using the tone control on the emg. Most of the time I've found it best to roll it back some when on the 81.

The EMG 81 is bright and doesn't have a lot of bass. They sound great with Mesa's, which tend to have a lot of low end. The combination is tight, aggressive and percussive.

That said, those settings are along the lines of what I'd use with passives. With an 81 I'd dial the bass knob up to 12:00-12:30. I'd also back the presence off to 10:30, increase the treble to around 13:00-13:30 and put the bright switch on 'Normal'. Reduce the channel master to 9:00 and turn the master output up as loud as is reasonable. Maybe turn the gain up a bit more.

If it's still too bright, back your guitar's tone knob off to 8 or 9 until the sizzle is under control.

If you want a more modern sound put the 2200 slider slightly higher than the 6600.

Lastly, remember that Petrucci is EQ'd to cut through a band.

 

[richaxes]

Hello guys, thank you for all your advices!
I'm very happy to come back to you and report that I have the amp dialed in now. I'm shocked at how good it sounds, easy and total JP tone at controllable volumes. My settings:

Output is turned down in this pic but it was a tad above 9 o'clock. These settings yield a very balanced and yet amazingly liquid and "crying" JP lead tone - think Best of Times, Count of Tuscany, or even the older SFAM stuff. I played for a few hours with this setup and I couldn't stop grinning. I'll still get a JP6 but with this guitar and cab I'm as close as I can get