The MARK IV has arrived!!!

[visualrocker69]

Keep in mind that previously I’ve been playing through a Boss GT-6 going into a Marshall 150 watt valvestate and 30 watt solid state amp :/ Also EMG HZ pickups on my ESP are icky and do not help >.<

I haven’t really had a chance to tweak settings much yet – just a basic functionality check to wet my beak…

Initial reaction:

Clarify of tone – simply amazing. I was amazed by how well-defined my notes were through the Mark IV compared to the other setup. In short, it’s much more natural sounding than valvestate and solid state, obviously. Much more articulate, responsive to picking dynamics, too. Sweeter tone, overall.

Clean channel is superb. For me it was the most intuitive one to dial in on the spot.

R2… no idea how to dial it in yet. So reserving judgement.

Lead… uhhh… this is really bothering me. There must be something wrong because I am just NOT getting the gain I expect.

I’ve gone through a bunch of recommended settings from the database and gain is just weak. In my estimation, those controls at about 7.5 should be enough, no? Also, I tried the Petrucci settings from SC, and the lack of gain was just laughable. I’m barely getting there gain-wise if I push the lead gain, drive, AND treble to about 9-10… and it just sounds fizzy and harsh at that point. And the Strat gets even less gain than the ESP, but that comes as no surprise...

Now, I’ve run through all the various modes and power settings, and still no result.

Could it be that the tubes need replacing? They’re glowing pretty hot, though. I’ve never had a tube amp before, though, so its not like I can judge…

Now one thing that I need to be able to work around… this amp is LOUD. Like. REALLY loud. If I put the channel masters to the recommended settings of 4-5, I can’t even turn the output level to 2!!! Conversly, if I want the output at 4.5-ish, I have to drop the masters to 1.5, or so. Is this normal?

Anyway… any suggestions with the lack of gain problem? It can’t be the battery for the preamp in my ESP, by the way, because its getting plenty of gain through the GT-6/Marshall setup…

Thanks!

EDIT: I'm going to be getting a guitar MUCH more worthy of this amp in a few weeks or so... but that's a whole 'nother story.

I was SO sure that I wanted a JP-6 (quite a few steps up from my sh!tty ESP/LTD, I dare say...) But then I took my fender strat out of its case, dusted it off, and started playing... and it occured to me that I liked the transparent single coil tone, 5-way switching, and nuances I could get with tone and volume knobs MUCH, MUCH more than my ESP...
...but it's probably just the passive pickups, pathetic though they are. I'm probably just reacting to the change from HZ's which I hate. OH so much. With a passion.

Anyway, looks like its back to square one for the guitar search... :?

 

[Platypus]

For lead try this:

Tweed / Mid Gain / Triode / Simul-Class

Lead Gain: 8 (pulled)
Lead Treble: 8.5
Lead Bass: 2.5
Lead Mid: 4.5
Lead Drive: 8 (pulled)
Lead Master: 3
Lead Presence: 7 (pulled)

Master: 1.5

I've adjusted the volumes to better suit your playing environment given your post about 4 being too loud. If you can't get enough gain in this setting then there's DEFINITELY something wrong tube wise, this is scorching metal here.

Furthermore, I know you're excited about the amp but the Mark IV is *not* an instant gratification amplifier for most, you really need to play with the controls and figure out how the amp works.

 

[fpoon]

yeah, I agree with everything platypus said. It takes a while to truly understand the Mark IV so don't stress out, once you feel your tone needs to be changed and you already know which knob or slider to adjust thats when you really know how to use the beast. Have fun with it, its like teh best amp in ze world!!

 

[ToneAddictJon]

There's one more thing I think should be mentioned, the distortion on this amp is not the same as most, it's very smooth and unless you cut the mids drastically on the GEQ it's not going to sound overly saturated, which sounds amazing in a band setting, but by yourself it's not going to sound nearly as good. Play it along with a CD with your amp being a little louder than the CD so you can hear it, but you'll instantly notice a difference.

 

[psychodave]

Try these settings... Tweed, simul-class, pentode

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/psychodavee/IMG_4205.jpg

 

[Platypus]

Here's an EQ that I bounce back and forth between as well:

 

[lookslikemeband]

Allow my .02 cents please:

I just got my 2nd MarkIV in today.

The first one just overwhelmed me, because I just had WAY too much to twiddle with. It's NOT a "plug and play" amp like my Rectos (6 in all).

But GAS kept bringing me back to wanting one.

So here comes #2. Running in Simu-Class with 2 EL34's - 2 6L6's. Reviewed all the helpful settings on this board - tinkered a bit with the EQ... and BAM!!

HOLY ****!! There's the sound! More gain that I can imagine!

I mean, I turned the master to 3, and the drums across the room were rattling.


This has been said before, but I'll say it again - but you HAVE to spend time with it - tweak the knobs here and there - understand that subtle changes in a knob can drastically alter the sound.


So, I sat down, spent about an hour tweaking it - and it just floors me. More sounds than I could even imagine. I tried out about 4 guitars through it - mostly PRSi. Different tunings; etc... to find a "sweet spot".

I can't wait to hear it blended with my Duals... mmmm :wink:

 

[devilrob1979]

Exactly how much gain are you looking for? Keep in mind that the lead channel is voiced for leads so in order to get that scoopy modern metal sound you're going to need a drastic GEQ. One more thing, your EMGs aren't active. They're passive. I hate EMG HZ's too but I really like my 81 and 89.

 

[Random Hero]

There's one more thing I think should be mentioned, the distortion on this amp is not the same as most, it's very smooth and unless you cut the mids drastically on the GEQ it's not going to sound overly saturated, which sounds amazing in a band setting, but by yourself it's not going to sound nearly as good. Play it along with a CD with your amp being a little louder than the CD so you can hear it, but you'll instantly notice a difference.

I've been running my GEQ like this lately;

Is that drastic enough for you to think it sounds saturated? I think the amp sounds very saturated like that, running both gains on 8.

To the original poster, just checking, but you have remembered that you can pull the switches right?

 

[ToneAddictJon]

There's one more thing I think should be mentioned, the distortion on this amp is not the same as most, it's very smooth and unless you cut the mids drastically on the GEQ it's not going to sound overly saturated, which sounds amazing in a band setting, but by yourself it's not going to sound nearly as good. Play it along with a CD with your amp being a little louder than the CD so you can hear it, but you'll instantly notice a difference.

I've been running my GEQ like this lately;

Is that drastic enough for you to think it sounds saturated? I think the amp sounds very saturated like that, running both gains on 8.

To the original poster, just checking, but you have remembered that you can pull the switches right?

Actually that is what I meant by drastic, because even though it looks like a little it has a huge impact, I should of been more specific though. Funny thing is that's exactly where I'm running my GEQ too, and it gets a huge metal rhythm sound, and when I want those mids for the solo I just switch to lead without eq.

For the original poster, also switch it to Mid Gain voicing on the lead channel, it gives a nice gain boost.

 

[visualrocker69]

Thanks for the tips, guys. I'm getting a sense of how the lead treble really shapes the entire character of the tone for that channel.

Right now, I'm just taking baby steps towards the tone I want.

It's really frustrating because there are only about two hours in the day whe I can actually use it... my mum is doing on her MBA coursework on the same floor I'm on, so obviously I can't play too loud most of the time.

I think I'll just move entirely into the basement... :roll:

 

[Russ]

Just be patient and get to know your amp. There is a lot in there that takes time getting to know like first how to control a tube amp then how to control a Mesa. The Mark IV is probably one of the most finnicky amps because it is sooo sensitive but once you know how to dial in you will know what to adjust on the fly. Something to consider too is that your actual playing techniques and habits will change going from SS to tube.

 

[phyrexia]

Mark IV is a crappy first tube amp, heh. You should have started with an Express or a Marshall or something.

 

[visualrocker69]

Mark IV is a crappy first tube amp, heh. You should have started with an Express or a Marshall or something.

Nah, simpler yet... a Road King, perhaps?

 

[Restless Rocks]

Congrats dude, sorry you guys haven't heard from me in so long, I'm way too busy playing my mesa boogie amps and guitars ,it's just so much more fun than staring at this computer.

 

[18&amp;Life]

There's one more thing I think should be mentioned, the distortion on this amp is not the same as most, it's very smooth and unless you cut the mids drastically on the GEQ it's not going to sound overly saturated,

Finally I found someone who agree with me.
I told we have to cut mids or our guitars will sound nasal and mix it up with the voice.Even more,with a lot of mids,distortion sound weak.
Cut mids and bass around 240 as you see in its graphic equalizer.Cuting mids and bass around 240 your tone will sound killer and won't mix it up with other members of the band such as bass player and singer :wink:
When we're playing alone,we add too much bass because we miss bass frequencies from BASS. Cut bass untill you feel that the bass player was gone :lol:

 

[visualrocker69]

When we're playing alone,we add too much bass because we miss bass frequencies from BASS. Cut bass untill you feel that the bass player was gone :lol:

Either that or pull shifts and boost presence...

 

[18&amp;Life]

ALWAYS BETTER cut what is lefting than adding other frequencies.
Cut mids and bass and your tone will sound more agressive :wink:

 

[18&amp;Life]

If you add treble or presence,the bass will still there.

 

[Random Hero]

There's one more thing I think should be mentioned, the distortion on this amp is not the same as most, it's very smooth and unless you cut the mids drastically on the GEQ it's not going to sound overly saturated, which sounds amazing in a band setting, but by yourself it's not going to sound nearly as good. Play it along with a CD with your amp being a little louder than the CD so you can hear it, but you'll instantly notice a difference.

I've been running my GEQ like this lately;

Is that drastic enough for you to think it sounds saturated? I think the amp sounds very saturated like that, running both gains on 8.

To the original poster, just checking, but you have remembered that you can pull the switches right?

Actually that is what I meant by drastic, because even though it looks like a little it has a huge impact, I should of been more specific though. Funny thing is that's exactly where I'm running my GEQ too, and it gets a huge metal rhythm sound, and when I want those mids for the solo I just switch to lead without eq.

For the original poster, also switch it to Mid Gain voicing on the lead channel, it gives a nice gain boost.

I use that setting for my lead tones. I robbed it it from Petrucci's settings on his website. Where do you run the presence? As you can see I have it on 2.5 pulled. If you have any settings (regular EQ and GEQ) for the tone JP has on An Evening With and the lead tone in "John and Theresa Solo Spot" from Live Scenes (if you're a fan of course) then it would be much appreciated. The tone is pure Mark IV on the Theresa Solo Spot but I just can't quite seem to achieve it!

Obviously if you're not a fan, ignore me!