So I got my Mark IV today!

[Jecht Is Sin]

Yes, I got the Short Head with the Recto cabinet, and I am having trouble getting that warm, smooth tone that I am used to hearing other people play with. I realize that I'm not going to find the perfect tone within the first day, but are there certain things to do that will bring out that sort of tone in this amp? I am trying to get a similar tone to the lead tone on 'when the water breaks' by liquid tension.

The problem I am having is that the tone is a bit too bassy for the sound I'm going for, but whenever I pump up the treble or bring down the bass, the little bit of warmth I had in the tone is replaced by the sharp, edgy, tone that would be good for something like Damage Control. I will try out all the settings /tips people give me and post videos.

Is the fact that this amp is made in 1990 the reason why I am not able to achieve this tone? I bought it off Ebay and it appears to be mint as is was advertised. I tried Thiago's(Enc3f4L0's) settings but to no avail. Some help would be appreciated, thanks! That last question is probably the most important!

for those who haven't heard of the songs I mentioned, this is the tone I am looking for.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-494NjvaYo

 

[LEVEL4]

Is the fact that this amp is made in 1990 the reason why I am not able to achieve this tone?

Congrats! I'm HUGELY envious of your new acquisition! I don't know, but the two, brand new Mark IVs I just played in the last few days sounded very "cold" to me (which I like). I actually like Mark IVs, not for their warmth, but for their "edgy" metallic sound. I used a variation of the standard 'V' with the bass pot turned pretty low to get to what I liked. But I'm more into that cold, metallic sound anyway, so I guess I'm no help there. But I do have a TC Electronic G•Major multi-effects rack unit hooked up to my DC-3. IMO, a G•Major and a Mesa amp is a recipe for some of the most amazing sounds attainable with a guitar. Don't know if that necessarily helps your "warmth" issue, though.

 

[EirikBrandal]

Most of the settings you find on the internet doesn't work for a lot of people. You have to experiment a lot, totally new perspectives in settings, maybe change tubes ect. Petrucci uses a boost pedal for his solos anyway, wouldn't bother too long in finding a petrucci lead sound with just the amp

 

[devilrob1979]

The first thing you should do when buying an 18 year old tube amp is have it fully serviced. Caps can go bad especially if it's that "mint" which usually implies it sat around a lot. Just a thought.

 

[Jecht Is Sin]

The guy said it was fully serviced, so I don't think that is the issue. The amp works fine, and it's plenty loud, but it just doesn't carry anything remotely close the lead tone that I hear all the Mark IV users get out of theirs. Mine just sounds harsh and cutting. I've tried Thiago's settings, and it doesn't sound like it should. That is why I think that it would make a huge difference having the newer Mark IV's as opposed to this old version. What kind of price difference am I looking at here if I ever come across a trade oppurtunity? It's a really low serial number, 299.