Recently picked up my Mark V head! A few questions.

[capncrunch]

I would first like to properly introduce myself. My name is Alen, and after following the posts on this forum for quite a while, I decided to sign up after I received my amp. For those wondering, I reserved the amp in April from the Mesa Store in Hollywood, and luckily got the call on Friday that my head had arrived!

I have the head connected to a 2x12" Roadster cabinet, and absolutely love the nice thick sounds I get from this thing! Being that this is my first professional tube amp, (I used to have a Marshall avt series amp prior), the knobs seem very touch responsive. I do have a couple of questions/ concerns and would appreciate any input.

1) What is the best way to connect a multi-effects pedal, like a boss me-70 to this amp? I have generally shied away from using pedals due to tone degradation, so I'm a little inexperienced with these things. According to the manual, it says that I connect the send Jack in back of the amp to the input of the pedal, and then the receive is connected from back of the amp into the output of the pedal. And the guitar is supposed to go into the input of the pedal. I tried doing this but it sounded really bad. The manual says to adjust the send output in back of the amp to that of the pedal, but I'm not sure if that makes a difference. Also, I noticed that when I deactivate the FX through the foot switch, I get no sound. I'm wondering if there's a way to even switch back and forth between the multi-effect pedal and just the amp with no effects, via the foot switch?

2) Is it normal for the clean channel to have a much lower volume than channels 2 & 3? If I have the individual volumes of all the channels set to the same level, it seems that channel 1 is not as loud as the others. And I don't know if its just me, but it feels that this amp in general is not as loud as my old 50 watt marshall. Is there something I should do or be aware of? I haven't tried the amp yet with a drummer yet and am concerned if it will cut through well.

3) This last question is tied into the second one. A couple nights ago, I noticed that with the output volume set at 9:00, and my channel 3 set at eq on with the classic v setting, i get a whistling/screeching noise when I raise the channel 3 volume above 12:00 with the output on 9:00 and the EQ on. This only happens in Channel 3. And then the next day, I tried it again with slightly different settings following the manual and it was fine. Is this something normal, because of the high gain structure of channel 3?

Thanks again for reading my long-winded post.

 

[MarkIVwidebody]

newb........joking but I'm too tired to help. I'm sure other nicer guys will as I don't have my head yet.........definiyelt should be louder than the 50W Marshall regardless. Are you on the 90W setting or the 10W or 40W?

 

[capncrunch]

Yeah, what can I say...I'm a newb when it comes to mesa's. I have the amp channels set to 90watts.

 

[spacin007]

1) I would not do this. You are sending the guitar right through the pedal past the pre-amp stage. I would plug the guitar into the regular input and then the pedal into the FX loop.
Reasoning why you get no sound if you hit FX off, because that is where the guitar is going, you wouldn't get any noise if you turned it off.
Forget your belief about tone and pedals...
guitar-Wah-compression-OD-perhaps noise suppressor->AMP. FX loop->Delay-phaser (or vice versa)

Some go OD-Compression, some go wah right after the guitar, some go wah right before the amp.

Multi effects cannot seperate this, thus they don't sound as good.
You don't want compression in the FX loop, and you don't want delay/phaser before the amp.

I thikn if you ditch the multi-effect you will be happier with the tone/volume issue...this is a hella loud 45W, and screamin 90W amp

2) yes. not as much gain, which will increase volume output. That is why tweed setting on channel 1 is louder than the other 2 settings.

3) related to your odd multi-effect configuration

 

[Shang Chi 66]

Welcome Alen, and congradulations on recieving your new amp! It,s alright bein a newbie, everybody was one at some point! The thing is, you,re only one once!

Wish that I could help, but I,m one of the unfortunate souls who has,nt gotten his amp yet. When I do, I,ll be more that happy to compare notes with ya.

Let us know how you like the amp!

 

[MarkIVwidebody]

guitar>wah>overdrive>eq>BBE>delays or reverb>amp
no loopdy loops ever.....that's me tho

 

[capncrunch]

1) I would not do this. You are sending the guitar right through the pedal past the pre-amp stage. I would plug the guitar into the regular input and then the pedal into the FX loop.
Reasoning why you get no sound if you hit FX off, because that is where the guitar is going, you wouldn't get any noise if you turned it off.
Forget your belief about tone and pedals...
guitar-Wah-compression-OD-perhaps noise suppressor->AMP. FX loop->Delay-phaser (or vice versa)

Some go OD-Compression, some go wah right after the guitar, some go wah right before the amp.

Multi effects cannot seperate this, thus they don't sound as good.
You don't want compression in the FX loop, and you don't want delay/phaser before the amp.

I thikn if you ditch the multi-effect you will be happier with the tone/volume issue...this is a hella loud 45W, and screamin 90W amp

2) yes. not as much gain, which will increase volume output. That is why tweed setting on channel 1 is louder than the other 2 settings.

3) related to your odd multi-effect configuration

Thanks for the replies. I think I will return the multi-effects unit as I just bought it a couple days ago. The peculiar thing about the Boss Me-70 is that it wouldn't let me plug the guitar straight into the amp input and the rest of the unit by itself to the fx loop. You have to plug the guitar into the pedal input in order for the thing to even turn on. Which is just weird...

3) Is it still normal to get the high pitched noise, as described in my original post, even right after I disconnect the pedal?

I'm gonna try it again later on tonight but with no pedals or anything.

Welcome Alen, and congradulations on recieving your new amp! It,s alright bein a newbie, everybody was one at some point! The thing is, you,re only one once!

Wish that I could help, but I,m one of the unfortunate souls who has,nt gotten his amp yet. When I do, I,ll be more that happy to compare notes with ya.

Let us know how you like the amp!

Thanks Shang! I'm loving the amp so far... I'm just trying to figure it out more. Please let us know once you receive the amp. I'm curious about your input.

 

[capncrunch]

So I tried out my amp again, and I still get this weird whistling sound in the 3rd channel when the master volume is set really high and the output being at 9:00. Maybe this is normal? I would like it if anyone can chime in on this. The manual recommends the channel volumes being ideally set at 10:30 - 1:30 and the overall volume being adjusted via the out volume. Since this happens only on channel 3, maybe its normal and has something to do with the high gain structure of the channel... I might also call the mesa store tomorrow just to put mind at ease so that I can start enjoying the rest of this awesome amp. 8)

 

[dass101]

You did not mention what guitar and what pickups you are using. Most non high gain pickups will exibit microphonics with high gain amps. I bet this is your problem.

 

[MarkIVwidebody]

What are you using for a noise gate? I have both a Decimator and a Boss and the Boss is better.

 

[Mungo Zen]

What are you using for a noise gate? I have both a Decimator and a Boss and the Boss is better.

Really?

I have the Decimator Rack and love it. I tried the Boss pedal and found it muddied the tone a bit, could clip the high end too much and would chop sustained notes abruptly. I have never used the Decimator pedals, so I can't say if they are different but was told that they are identical to the rack systems.

You always need to be careful with Gates since they can really mess with your sound, especially if you crank the settings too high. If anyone were to get one though, I would recommend the Decimator over most other brands.

 

[capncrunch]

You did not mention what guitar and what pickups you are using. Most non high gain pickups will exibit microphonics with high gain amps. I bet this is your problem.

I don't think that is the problem, because I'm using a pretty good guitar with good pickups. It's a jackson Soloist, SL2H with Seymour Duncans.

What are you using for a noise gate? I have both a Decimator and a Boss and the Boss is better.

I don't have a noise gate. Would that eliminate the whistling at high volumes in channel 3?

 

[danyeo1]

What are you using for a noise gate? I have both a Decimator and a Boss and the Boss is better.

Really?

I have the Decimator Rack and love it. I tried the Boss pedal and found it muddied the tone a bit, could clip the high end too much and would chop sustained notes abruptly. I have never used the Decimator pedals, so I can't say if they are different but was told that they are identical to the rack systems.

You always need to be careful with Gates since they can really mess with your sound, especially if you crank the settings too high. If anyone were to get one though, I would recommend the Decimator over most other brands.

+1. I bought a Decimator pedal a few years ago and haven't as much looked at any other options. I always use it on the gain channels of the Mark series amps as it works so well. It especially comes in handy for recording.

 

[phyrexia]

nobody has said that it sounds like a tube problem. it sounds like a preamp tube problem to me.

 

[capncrunch]

Sweet thanks for the input you guys! I'm gonna give the mesa store a call later on today and see what they have to say. Which decimator should I get? There's the ISP G string decimator, and then there's the regular one. What is the difference between the two? And what the optimum way to configure the pedal? Should it go from the guitar to the pedal, and then to the input in front of the amp? Or should it go into the fx loop in the back?

 

[Puerco-araña]

Hey Capn', did you return your multi effects unit yet? Back when I used to own a Triple Rectifier I ran a GT8 for my effects via "four cable method" and was able to run the effects I wanted in the front of the amp (compressor, overdrive, wah) and run the rest of the effects in the loop (volume pedal, eq, delay, reverb, bbe). There are several options out there if you'd be interested in using a multi effects unit that way, you just need to make sure the effects unit has a loop in itself and also, the ability to re-arrange the order in which your effects work inside the unit is a must.

The results aren't completely transparent, I won't lie, it does change your amps tone a bit.. but if you know the unit well enough and tweak tweak tweak, it's does a good job. If colouring your tone is something that concerns you, you can always spend more money and get something like the G-System from TC Electronics for something with better quality. But I've heard even that isn't 100% transparent.

Anyway, I haven't received my MKV head yet so I woudn't be able to try it out.. but it should work just fine.

 

[capncrunch]

Hey Capn', did you return your multi effects unit yet? Back when I used to own a Triple Rectifier I ran a GT8 for my effects via "four cable method" and was able to run the effects I wanted in the front of the amp (compressor, overdrive, wah) and run the rest of the effects in the loop (volume pedal, eq, delay, reverb, bbe). There are several options out there if you'd be interested in using a multi effects unit that way, you just need to make sure the effects unit has a loop in itself and also, the ability to re-arrange the order in which your effects work inside the unit is a must.

The results aren't completely transparent, I won't lie, it does change your amps tone a bit.. but if you know the unit well enough and tweak tweak tweak, it's does a good job. If colouring your tone is something that concerns you, you can always spend more money and get something like the G-System from TC Electronics for something with better quality. But I've heard even that isn't 100% transparent.

Anyway, I haven't received my MKV head yet so I woudn't be able to try it out.. but it should work just fine.

No, I haven't returned the pedal yet... What exactly is the "four cable method"? Besides I'm not even sure that I can separate/rearrange the effects of my Boss Me-70 as you described.

 

[Puerco-araña]

It's basically this:

Cable 1 - Guitar to Multi-effects unit input.
Cable 2 - Multi-effects unit send to amp guitar input.
Cable 3 - Amp loop send to Multi-effects unit return.
Cable 4 - Multi-effects unit output to amp loop return.

I'm not too savy on how all this stuff works, I just know it does ... but you're right, it will not work on your ME-70 because that effects unit does not have an effects loop in it. Like someone mentioned earlier, using the ME, you'd be better off plugging directly into the amp and sending the input/output from the ME into the MKV's loop. You'll be stuck with having all of your effects running in the loop and none in front of the amp (unless you have separate stomps peldals - Which is what I did anyway cuz I preffered the sound of my wah and overdrive pedal), but at least you'll have effects on your amp .

Here's a link to a more in depth four cable method explination (please keep in mind these guys are all using GT's):
http://www.bossgtcentral.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11121

 

[capncrunch]

Yeah I think I'm going to return this multi-effects pedal and just pick up some individual pedals. I also got off the phone with the Mesa store, and they told me that the high pitched whistling that I was hearing in channel 3 was normal, due to the fact that I was running the master channel volume too high, with the output volume being lower. He recommended that I leave the channel volume at around the half-way mark and only adjust the volume via the output volume. He explained that the cause was basically due to the high gain structure of channel 3 and the signal running hot. So everyone should be aware of this, and that it is perfectly normal and safe.

Now I can back to enjoying my new toy! 8)