Running a Mark V with Road King II?

[psbhachu]

Hello Folks

Well 2 years have past since I owned a Mark V and have since been playing around in the world of Diezel. However, due to a new band and project, it seems the Diezel stuff is not sitting in the mix very well. I have always run 2 amps at a time. I run a Hagen and Herbert together and the sound is gigantic. But as mentioned, the tones are no longer right for the new band.

So i'm looking into running back into the arms of Mesa Boogies. When I was running the Mark V, I found it to be great sounding but I felt it was lacking the low end punch.

I'm curious to know if anyone is running a Mark V with say a Dual Rectifier? I'm looking to order up a Mark V and a Road King II next week.

People running Mark IV/V and Rectifier amps together, I would love to hear from you

 

[barryswanson]

I'm running a Mark V and a Dual rectifier. It sounds awesome very Metallica ish. I run EL34's in the Mark V with plenty of mids and no mids on the Rectifier.

 

[Given To Fly]

How do you want to run the amps? I had a Mark IV/Roadster stereo setup and it didn't really work. The fact that the channel masters on both amps are also FX sends and the Output Volume is the FX return was part of the challenge/problem. I had an Eventide PitchFactor and TimeFactor running between both amps FX loops which did not work unless the levels on both amps were set equally and the Eventide presets were set on the tame side. I spent about a month turning knobs and once I finally I had everything setup the way I wanted I didn't really care anymore. I don't recommend doing what I tried to do especially since you are using the two Mesa amps that are more complex than the amps I was using. :shock:

In short, I've found running two complex amps together does not work very well or at least not as well as we imagine! On the other hand, it would be pretty cool to have a Mark V and a Road King II at your disposal. 8)

 

[psbhachu]

How do you want to run the amps? I had a Mark IV/Roadster stereo setup and it didn't really work. The fact that the channel masters on both amps are also FX sends and the Output Volume is the FX return was part of the challenge/problem. I had an Eventide PitchFactor and TimeFactor running between both amps FX loops which did not work unless the levels on both amps were set equally and the Eventide presets were set on the tame side. I spent about a month turning knobs and once I finally I had everything setup the way I wanted I didn't really care anymore. I don't recommend doing what I tried to do especially since you are using the two Mesa amps that are more complex than the amps I was using. :shock:

In short, I've found running two complex amps together does not work very well or at least not as well as we imagine! On the other hand, it would be pretty cool to have a Mark V and a Road King II at your disposal. 8)

Hey dude

I appreciate the advice but I'm not asking about how complex the setups are going to be. I've had pretty complex rigs in the past. I also ran a Mark V with a Diezel VH4 which was monstrous in sound and dialling them both in was a pain the balls but once set and done, I had everything written down and the setup never once let me down when it came to sounding right. I know the Mark V and Road King II pretty well and how to dial them in. Having 2 amps can take a while to setup correctly and I've done it previously and I know what I'm getting into. My question is, how does a Mark V and a Rectifier amp sound running together?

Any effects and switching will be handled with an RJM Rack Gizmo. I'm not a huge effects guy but I have a handful of stomp boxes I like to use including two of the Mesa overdrives. The Fluxtone and Tone Burst. I've got the EVH Phase 90 and Flanger, Analog Chorus and a Micro Pog. Up front I have a CAE Wah and Whammy V.

 

[Given To Fly]

I apologize if my post sounded condescending in anyway, that was not my intent.
To answer your question, I think they can sound good together but they can also step on each others toes a bit. As Mesa fans, we might make clear distinctions between the Mark Series and Rectifier Series but the modern examples of each type of amp are objectively capable of similar tones. Fortunately, they are versatile enough that you can pull them in opposite timbral directions that complement each other. The Micro POG is a lot of fun too by the way. I like that pedal. Good luck on your rig building!

 

[psbhachu]

I apologize if my post sounded condescending in anyway, that was not my intent.
To answer your question, I think they can sound good together but they can also step on each others toes a bit. As Mesa fans, we might make clear distinctions between the Mark Series and Rectifier Series but the modern examples of each type of amp are objectively capable of similar tones. Fortunately, they are versatile enough that you can pull them in opposite timbral directions that complement each other. The Micro POG is a lot of fun too by the way. I like that pedal. Good luck on your rig building!

No need to apologies buddy

Sorry, my reply must of come off as a little aggressive and I can assure you, it wasn't

Thats the main thing I wanted to know is if they can be pulled away from each other in order to mesh them together to create a even more special and you answered that for me

The Micro Pog is a very addictive pedal! I wish I could keep it on all the time lol

 

[Mungo Zen]

I have typically found that pairing amps that are vastly different improve the paired tone. I have recorded my Mark V with an old Peavey VTM 60 (early precursor to the 5150) and it sounds really nice, even though the Peavey is really gross on its own.

Another consideration for 'low end punch' is what cab you are using. A smaller Marshall 1960 type cab would trade a bit of the softer wider low end of a Rectifier cab for a tighter punchy type tone.

My band mate just combined a Dual Roadster with Recti cab and a Triple Solo with Marshall Cab and the cabs made most of the difference in the tone shape.

Now, as I play my Mark V with the Dual Roadster (my band mates mainstay) I swapped the tubes for EL34's while she stayed with 6L6's, and was both happier with my own tone stand alone and our combined tone.

If you are going to continue to experiment with that config, I would suggest playing with the Mark IV and Mark IIC tones in Channel 3, as they sound more distinct for high gain when compared to other Mesa high gain/modern gain amps.

 

[SonVolt]

I run a Mark V in stereo with a Triple split out front using the stereo outs of a Flashback delay. It sounds AMAZING, absolutely huge. The Recto really fills out the low end complementing the V very well. I run effects (G Major 2) through the V's loop and leave the Recto 100% dry. Trying to run FX through both loops isn't worth the hassle. Leaving one amp dry sounds way better. TS9, noise gate, chorus and flashback run out front to both amps when needed. The flashback only gets used when both amps are set to clean.