DrummerChas
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- Apr 8, 2010
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I was really surprised how much I liked it. In fact a lot more than I remembered.
It's been a while since I posted and I hope everyone had a great holiday. I felt that it was worth posting about this and wondered if anyone else had a similar experience. I've been a strong advocate of EL34's in the Mark V since I got mine several months back. I love what they do for Ch 2 and 3. However I got inspired to try switching back to 6L6's after I watched John Petrucci's latest tone video that was recently posted here (thanks to the OP on that one). Full disclosure: I'm using stock Mesa tubes for both, yellow EL34's and red 6L6's.
I have a similar set up to what John used in the video (minus John's hands :lol: ) plus an Eventide Timefactor that I use for delay in the FX loop. I've found that I really prefer a simple setup Guitar - amp - delay in loop - cab. I use two of John's signature BFR guitars (yeah I really like his tone). So given the setup I used the exact settings he showed in the video and the results were amazing.
The cleans in channel 1 are significantly better IMHO, especially when I switch to the piezo pickups. To me the piezo with this setting sounds like a high-quality mic'd acoustic guitar and is by far my favorite clean tone. In mid-position on the magnetics they have a bell-like quality, more rounded and defined that I can't get with the EL34's. The overall sound is more present and full.
Channel 2 crunch loses it's british feel for me but gives back a very nice crunch sound. I really like 80's rock/metal so this was where I felt the biggest sacrifice was made. I have not tried a boost or OD with this mode since I made the switch back, but with John's settings it really comes to life on it's own. I think if I boosted it I would have to back off the gain as he sets it nearly all the way up.
Channel 3 Mark IV - love it! John's settings here make this mode sound really amazing! The tone is somewhat different though. Single note soloing has a different quality, sounding more like a baritone on the low notes to a saxaphone on the higher notes. I hope that makes sense. It just sounds really deep, rich and full like you would expect from a high quality brass instrument or something. Yet it will still scream if you want it to. This setting also gave me some of the best rhythm sounds I have heard from this amp. Very rich, full and chunky yet clear and defined, not muddy at all. It makes you want to sit there and chugg chugg chugg all day long 8)
One big difference I have to note is that I really had the master and output cranked as compared to when I had the EL34's installed. At lower volumes on Ch 2 and 3 I was able to get very favorable tones out of the EL34's where I felt it had to be cranked to the settings John used in the video to get the tone I wanted out of the 6L6's. But the amp really seems to open up at that level. When I wanted a quieter sound I just dropped it to 10 watt mode, which still wasn't very quiet but I'm upstairs in a closed media room so no big deal there. Surprisingly in 10 watt mode without changing any settings the tone was still pretty great.
One other quick note: I absolutely love my Eventide Timefactor with this amp! It's like they were built for each other. The Timefactor really opens up and shines in the loop. If you haven't tried one yet you should. It is worth it. So I'm going to give the EL34's a rest for a bit and work with the 6L6's. I'm sure I will switch back at some point, but that is one of the great things about this amp. You can do just that!
It's been a while since I posted and I hope everyone had a great holiday. I felt that it was worth posting about this and wondered if anyone else had a similar experience. I've been a strong advocate of EL34's in the Mark V since I got mine several months back. I love what they do for Ch 2 and 3. However I got inspired to try switching back to 6L6's after I watched John Petrucci's latest tone video that was recently posted here (thanks to the OP on that one). Full disclosure: I'm using stock Mesa tubes for both, yellow EL34's and red 6L6's.
I have a similar set up to what John used in the video (minus John's hands :lol: ) plus an Eventide Timefactor that I use for delay in the FX loop. I've found that I really prefer a simple setup Guitar - amp - delay in loop - cab. I use two of John's signature BFR guitars (yeah I really like his tone). So given the setup I used the exact settings he showed in the video and the results were amazing.
The cleans in channel 1 are significantly better IMHO, especially when I switch to the piezo pickups. To me the piezo with this setting sounds like a high-quality mic'd acoustic guitar and is by far my favorite clean tone. In mid-position on the magnetics they have a bell-like quality, more rounded and defined that I can't get with the EL34's. The overall sound is more present and full.
Channel 2 crunch loses it's british feel for me but gives back a very nice crunch sound. I really like 80's rock/metal so this was where I felt the biggest sacrifice was made. I have not tried a boost or OD with this mode since I made the switch back, but with John's settings it really comes to life on it's own. I think if I boosted it I would have to back off the gain as he sets it nearly all the way up.
Channel 3 Mark IV - love it! John's settings here make this mode sound really amazing! The tone is somewhat different though. Single note soloing has a different quality, sounding more like a baritone on the low notes to a saxaphone on the higher notes. I hope that makes sense. It just sounds really deep, rich and full like you would expect from a high quality brass instrument or something. Yet it will still scream if you want it to. This setting also gave me some of the best rhythm sounds I have heard from this amp. Very rich, full and chunky yet clear and defined, not muddy at all. It makes you want to sit there and chugg chugg chugg all day long 8)
One big difference I have to note is that I really had the master and output cranked as compared to when I had the EL34's installed. At lower volumes on Ch 2 and 3 I was able to get very favorable tones out of the EL34's where I felt it had to be cranked to the settings John used in the video to get the tone I wanted out of the 6L6's. But the amp really seems to open up at that level. When I wanted a quieter sound I just dropped it to 10 watt mode, which still wasn't very quiet but I'm upstairs in a closed media room so no big deal there. Surprisingly in 10 watt mode without changing any settings the tone was still pretty great.
One other quick note: I absolutely love my Eventide Timefactor with this amp! It's like they were built for each other. The Timefactor really opens up and shines in the loop. If you haven't tried one yet you should. It is worth it. So I'm going to give the EL34's a rest for a bit and work with the 6L6's. I'm sure I will switch back at some point, but that is one of the great things about this amp. You can do just that!
