Taking a IIB into modern metal territory?

[Agileguy_101]

Hey guys,

I've got more than a few amps (Splawn Nitro, Orange Thunderverb 200, Egnater SW45) that work for what I'm doing in my band (somewhere between death/groove/thrash metal). However, my guitarist can't rationalize spending the money to get something of comparable quality after having a kid last year. So I decided to be nice and let him use my Mark IIB Coliseum. It's absolutely the loudest amp I've EVER heard or used. I had the Splawn going through a Verellen 6x12 on full tilt and the Mesa through a 4x12 drowned it out without even trying. It also sounds fantastic, but it's not quite aggressive enough for what we do, and it doesn't quite have enough gain without compromising the clean tone (shared gain control for both channels).

My question is this - what boost/distortion pedal would you recommend to take the Mark sound but modernize it? Give it more gain, make it more aggressive, etc. It's already a super tight amp, so I'm not worried about a boost tightening it up too much. I've used a Green Rhino with it for a while and it sounds good, but it just sounds like a boosted vintage hi-gain tone rather than a modern tone. When I think of tones I want to get, I'm thinking Arch Enemy (Will to Power album), Machine Head, (The Blackening) Gojira, (L'enfaunt Sauvage), Testament (The Gathering) etc.

I've been considering the Horizon Precision Drive, but I honestly don't know what else to look at. I've been out of the pedal game for a few years so I don't know who makes the best stuff anymore. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[lovetoboogie]

The Horizon is the new standard for just that super focused squealy gain... You should go old school and check out a ProCo Rat. The ones with the real LM308 chip. The other guitarist in my band uses it with his SOB and its uncanny how detailed and clear it is on the high gain stuff.

 

[treedroppings]

Hey guys,

I've got more than a few amps (Splawn Nitro, Orange Thunderverb 200, Egnater SW45) that work for what I'm doing in my band (somewhere between death/groove/thrash metal). However, my guitarist can't rationalize spending the money to get something of comparable quality after having a kid last year. So I decided to be nice and let him use my Mark IIB Coliseum. It's absolutely the loudest amp I've EVER heard or used. I had the Splawn going through a Verellen 6x12 on full tilt and the Mesa through a 4x12 drowned it out without even trying. It also sounds fantastic, but it's not quite aggressive enough for what we do, and it doesn't quite have enough gain without compromising the clean tone (shared gain control for both channels).

My question is this - what boost/distortion pedal would you recommend to take the Mark sound but modernize it? Give it more gain, make it more aggressive, etc. It's already a super tight amp, so I'm not worried about a boost tightening it up too much. I've used a Green Rhino with it for a while and it sounds good, but it just sounds like a boosted vintage hi-gain tone rather than a modern tone. When I think of tones I want to get, I'm thinking Arch Enemy (Will to Power album), Machine Head, (The Blackening) Gojira, (L'enfaunt Sauvage), Testament (The Gathering) etc.

I've been considering the Horizon Precision Drive, but I honestly don't know what else to look at. I've been out of the pedal game for a few years so I don't know who makes the best stuff anymore. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Good question, I've wondered this myself, and I have a Mesa Mark I Re-issue. My cleans are great, but the gain can be hard to dial in with both a SSH strat and a Firebird with vintage firebuckers.

I did try a Rat with a les paul custom going through a Champ and that was great. Back in 1982.

I'm using a TS-9 Tube Screamer, sometimes I like it, but I want to sound more like modern Exodus.

 

[Big Block]

I'd dial the best sounding clean tone you can get and run an MXR 5150 OD pedal along with a graphic eq post overdrive for your lead.

 

[RR]

If you are willing to spend get a AMT Electronics SS-11. This is a stand alone tube preamp!!! You could plug that into the jack underneath the Mark IIB's chassis so the Mark IIB acts like a power amp while the SS-11 is the preamp section.

Its pricey I must say but versatility of having 3 different switchable settings at your foot!

Yup the Mark IIB Coliseum is and has the most headroom amp I've experienced. Although its rare only less than 200 built because of the transition between the Mark II and Mark III is not sought-after- Boogie.