To tighten

[uderoche]

Hey masters of Mesa!!!

I have a Mark III blue stripe (R2 mod/No GEQ/does have reverb)

I play mostly in hair metal/shred cover bands. I love this amp! It's fantastic! I don't feel I need more gain with the lead channel. But I do feel things need to be tightened.

I was wondering if you guys could recommend a pedal possibly that would help me tighten this baby up! I was thinking tubescreamer but I think the mid hump would be WAY too much mids with this amp IMHO.

Maybe simply running a graphic EQ in the loop would do the trick?

Or maybe my settings aren't optimal?

I'm open to any and all suggestions mighty Mesa wizards! I take your expertise seriously and I appreciate the feedback.

Thank you

 

[dodger916]

The EQ in the loop would certainly help tame the mids. I'd buy one from from Musician's Friend/Guitar Center and return it if not acceptable.

 

[morgan138]

Maybe simply running a graphic EQ in the loop would do the trick?

Or maybe my settings aren't optimal?

I am definitely not a Mesa WIZARD, but I do have blue and green stripe Mark 3s that I've used in a bunch of different bands and recording situations. This may be super obvious, but are you turning down the "bass" knob? I tend to think of that one as more of a tight/loose control, and the "deep" switch and GEQ are what actually increases the low end.

So if I was trying to get a tight distortion, I'd probably turn the "bass" knob down (usually around 3 maybe?) and then pull the "deep" knob and boost the two lowest GEQ sliders to bring the low end back up. I'd also make sure the "treble" knob is at 6-7 at least, and pull the "shift" knob as well.

If you're already doing this and it still doesn't sound as tight as you'd like, I personally don't know that adding a GEQ pedal will help - I've never found mine to have much effect on the tightness of the head's distortion; when the other controls are dialed in I can pump plenty of GEQ low end without it sounding loose. Although I guess "tubescreamer up front + GEQ in the loop to tame the mids" might do the trick...

 

[lowercasee]

My Mark III has ridiculous amounts of gain on its own, can't see any reason for an overdrive pedal to tighten it up. A GEQ in the loop would probably be the best bet. You could even get the Mesa 5 band EQ pedal to get the same frequency adjustments as the GEQ built into the amps.

 

[cho]

+1 on turning down the bass knob. (Where did you have yours set?) Anything greater than 3 will result in a flubby bass. Less than 3 will tighten up the sound. Then, you can add bass back in with the GEQ.

 

[morgan138]

My Mark III has ridiculous amounts of gain on its own, can't see any reason for an overdrive pedal to tighten it up.

A big reason to use an overdrive pedal (if you don't need the extra level boost) is that they usually cut the bass and treble, and boost the mids. Since a lot of amps don't let you do that until after the signal's been distorted or overdriven, it can be super useful. But with a Mark you can use the tone knobs to do exactly the same thing since they're placed before the distortion stage.

Whereas the GEQ and push-pull controls come later in the signal path, so they won't affect the character of the distortion (stuff like "tightness") as much.

 

[firmani99]

Maybe simply running a graphic EQ in the loop would do the trick?

Or maybe my settings aren't optimal?

I am definitely not a Mesa WIZARD, but I do have blue and green stripe Mark 3s that I've used in a bunch of different bands and recording situations. This may be super obvious, but are you turning down the "bass" knob? I tend to think of that one as more of a tight/loose control, and the "deep" switch and GEQ are what actually increases the low end.

So if I was trying to get a tight distortion, I'd probably turn the "bass" knob down (usually around 3 maybe?) and then pull the "deep" knob and boost the two lowest GEQ sliders to bring the low end back up. I'd also make sure the "treble" knob is at 6-7 at least, and pull the "shift" knob as well.

If you're already doing this and it still doesn't sound as tight as you'd like, I personally don't know that adding a GEQ pedal will help - I've never found mine to have much effect on the tightness of the head's distortion; when the other controls are dialed in I can pump plenty of GEQ low end without it sounding loose. Although I guess "tubescreamer up front + GEQ in the loop to tame the mids" might do the trick...

This is definitely the way to do it. I agree with the way you described the bass knob.

 

[Markedman]

I myself would never use a Mark amp without a GEQ, either the stock GEQ or an outboard EQ in the loop. If you are into a dark tone, the amp without a built in GEQ will be fine, but if you were a Marshall/Fender amp user, you'll find any Mark amp dark without an EQ. The best way to get a tighter low end is to turn the bass down to zero and work your way up. As previous written, 3 is where I usually have my bass knob set but 0 is not a bad option at low volumes. Old power tubes will make for flubbiness along with speaker choice, I've found that a 4X12 cabinet is easier to dial in than a 1X12 at low volume. Passive guitar pick ups make a difference to my ears.

 

[fretout]

Since I'm a recovering smart ***, I would say...huh?

The Mark series are one of the tightest amps available. If you need to tighten up a Mark, there's something screwy going on.

As mentioned above, a GEQ will help. Also make sure the bass is never run past 3 for any style you play.

I don't like the Marks with a boost in front. The gain structure is too tight to get it to sound right, but experiment with what sounds best to you. Start with a TS 808 and go from there I suppose...

 

[sotosprince]

Mesa boogie mark series - lots of mids = the GEQ is the way to go! Especially since your thing is metal. Also, I suggest you either try a maxon 808 or a BBE sonic maximizer. You will be pleasantly surprised!

 

[rgx612a]

Keep the bass control low, like from 0 - 2 (no higher than 3). Then bring the bass back in to you tone with a EQ pedal or rack EQ in the loop. I find the MXR graphic 10 band EQ does the job, as they are very transparent. The EQ in the loop will act in the same way as the graphic EQ that comes with most Mark III heads.

If you just simply want to tighten the lows?? Throw a Ibanez tubescreamer, maxon od808 or Boss sd-1 in front of the amp. The natural eq of those pedals cuts out some lows, acting as a hi-pass filter of sorts. Settings on pedal: level cranked, drive at 0 or 1, tone at noon. That is your typical booster settings with a overdrive pedal. When doing this, you will probably want to lower the gain on your amp, as the pedal will drive the pre-amp of the Boogie harder. Cons?? The pedal will cut some of the low end out of your amp, so the EQ in the loop is highly recommended.