What do I need to do to brighten up my Mark IV? I've dropped the bass all the way down, boosted the treble, and set the midrange on 6. I've pulled the corresponding knobs out to brighten, but still there is too much bottom end. I've tried both of my guitars to see if there was any difference, but still too much bottom end. I'm playing an '06 American Deluxe Strat SSH and a '95 Ibanez RG450 DX. The Strat has the Diamondback Humbucker in the bridge and the Ibanez has a Dimarzio Evolution in the Bridge. I'm also running the hotter tubes (white), but I'm only running on Tweed Power.
Too much bottom end!!!
- Thread starter clk102293
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RR
Well-known member
turn up the presence control.
Try switching to standard[?] not Tweed Power.
What type of speaker are you using?
The type of your guitars seems fine and are not the problem. I know the Dimarzio Evolution should give you more than enough treble bite for humbuckers so that should be the problem.
Try switching to standard[?] not Tweed Power.
What type of speaker are you using?
The type of your guitars seems fine and are not the problem. I know the Dimarzio Evolution should give you more than enough treble bite for humbuckers so that should be the problem.
dennq45
Well-known member
What type of pre-amp tubes are you using? Power tubes? How old are they?
Russian pre amp tubes are dark sounding.
Chinese pre-amp tubes will brighten the sound of your amp.
Maybe its time for a complete set of pre and power tubes.
Russian pre amp tubes are dark sounding.
Chinese pre-amp tubes will brighten the sound of your amp.
Maybe its time for a complete set of pre and power tubes.
rockhound76s
Well-known member
This may seem a little counterintuitive, but my Mark IV can be that way sometimes...
Try reducing the treble control. When the treble is maxed, it becomes the dominant tone control and reduces the effectiveness and working range of the mid and bass controls.
I am assuming you're talking about the Rhy1 (because you mentioned you have the pull-bright engaged). Set the treble to 5 then tweak the mid and bass to taste. To add sparkle, use the presence. Then adjust your volume levels to taste.
It has been my experience with Mesas that the use of the treble control is the most influential on the tone of the amp, but also the most difficult to master. It definitely requires constant fine adjustment depending on the volume level you're playing at.
There are some great sample settings in the owner's manual which may also provide a great starting point to get your basic tone. Manuals available on Mesa's website if don't have one.
Hope that helps....
Try reducing the treble control. When the treble is maxed, it becomes the dominant tone control and reduces the effectiveness and working range of the mid and bass controls.
I am assuming you're talking about the Rhy1 (because you mentioned you have the pull-bright engaged). Set the treble to 5 then tweak the mid and bass to taste. To add sparkle, use the presence. Then adjust your volume levels to taste.
It has been my experience with Mesas that the use of the treble control is the most influential on the tone of the amp, but also the most difficult to master. It definitely requires constant fine adjustment depending on the volume level you're playing at.
There are some great sample settings in the owner's manual which may also provide a great starting point to get your basic tone. Manuals available on Mesa's website if don't have one.
Hope that helps....
strumminsix
Well-known member
IF you get close but not there get the amp off the ground on a stand.
That will definately help to trim off some low-end.
That will definately help to trim off some low-end.
The speaker is the C90 Black Shadow. The preamp tubes are Mesa STR-12 AX7-A's. The power tubes are Mesa STR-440 6L6 GC's. All tubes were replaced about 2 months ago. This bottom end thing has been going on since I purchased the amplifier and it's actually across all channels. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong mechanically with the amp. All the tubes glow very well. I'm sure it's just a matter of tweaking everything in. The amp is currently at church, so I don't have access to the settings. I will be bringing it back home on Sunday after my performances. At that time I will check all of the settings and post.
Thanks for your replies!!! I'll check back in a couple days to give the settings and see if there are any other suggestions.
Thanks for your replies!!! I'll check back in a couple days to give the settings and see if there are any other suggestions.
disassembled
Well-known member
Maybe it's the room? Do other amps in the same room sound bassy? Or maybe it is your position? Try elevating the amp off of the ground, tilting it back, moving it away from walls, etc. That should reduce the bass regardless of your settings.
Greg
Greg
ursinus
Well-known member
What Channel are you referring to. The reason I ask is that both channel two and three have a voicing change available in the prescence knobs. If pulled out you get a more bassy scooped sound, pushed in, more midrange. BTW, I use amp stands for both my combos. They are angled so that I can hear more of what the microphone hears and are less at the mercy of the floor acoustics of a room. Keep trying and have fun...
Well...tweaked the settings a little and things seem to be a lot better across all channels. Could probably use some more tweaking, but the enormous bottom end is now well balanced. Here are my settings on my Mark IV Widebody Combo
FRONT PANEL TOP ROW
R1 Gain 6 1/2
R2 Gain 9 1/2
R1 Treble 6
R1 & R2 Bass 4
R1 & R2 Mid 5
R2 Treble 8 3/4
R1 Presence 7
R2 Presence 4 3/4
Lead Presence 7
FRONT PANEL BOTTOM ROW
Lead Gain 8 (pull)
Lead Treble 7
Lead Bass 2
Lead Mid 4
Lead Drive 9 1/2 (pull)
R1 Master 6 1/2
R2 Master 2 1/4
Lead Master 2 1/4
EQ
Classic "V" with the 80 Hz dropped just slightly below the top line.
Rocker Switches
EQ middle
Lead Voicing Harmonics
Tweed Power
REAR PANEL
Ground is off (middle position)
Reverb 3
Auto Assign Switches (middle position)
Power Amp Switches Triode and Class A
Everything seems to be so much better, but there is always a low level buzz or hum (only on R2 and Lead Channels and with both of my guitars) that my music director complains about intermittently. You can't hear it at all during performances, but setting idle it is evident. He has me set up about 2 feet away from my amp, which is mic'd and not going through anyones monitor. Between me and the amp are my effect pedals (Dunlop Wah, Boss Chorus, Boss Overdrive, Boss Compressor/Sustainer, Dunlop Volume, and Planet Waves Tuner), which are turned off most of the time. The amp is always on one of two amp stands (one is angled, the other is a wooden box). Could the closeness of the amp and all the surrounding electronics be the cause of the low level buzz/hum? Or, is this just the nature of the beast with a tube amp? This is the first tube amp I've owned and I believe the first tube amp the music director has ever experienced.
FRONT PANEL TOP ROW
R1 Gain 6 1/2
R2 Gain 9 1/2
R1 Treble 6
R1 & R2 Bass 4
R1 & R2 Mid 5
R2 Treble 8 3/4
R1 Presence 7
R2 Presence 4 3/4
Lead Presence 7
FRONT PANEL BOTTOM ROW
Lead Gain 8 (pull)
Lead Treble 7
Lead Bass 2
Lead Mid 4
Lead Drive 9 1/2 (pull)
R1 Master 6 1/2
R2 Master 2 1/4
Lead Master 2 1/4
EQ
Classic "V" with the 80 Hz dropped just slightly below the top line.
Rocker Switches
EQ middle
Lead Voicing Harmonics
Tweed Power
REAR PANEL
Ground is off (middle position)
Reverb 3
Auto Assign Switches (middle position)
Power Amp Switches Triode and Class A
Everything seems to be so much better, but there is always a low level buzz or hum (only on R2 and Lead Channels and with both of my guitars) that my music director complains about intermittently. You can't hear it at all during performances, but setting idle it is evident. He has me set up about 2 feet away from my amp, which is mic'd and not going through anyones monitor. Between me and the amp are my effect pedals (Dunlop Wah, Boss Chorus, Boss Overdrive, Boss Compressor/Sustainer, Dunlop Volume, and Planet Waves Tuner), which are turned off most of the time. The amp is always on one of two amp stands (one is angled, the other is a wooden box). Could the closeness of the amp and all the surrounding electronics be the cause of the low level buzz/hum? Or, is this just the nature of the beast with a tube amp? This is the first tube amp I've owned and I believe the first tube amp the music director has ever experienced.
for R2 turn the bass no higher then 2 and mids at 2 also. Also try maxing the presence on R2 and pulling the pot out. Last make sure your master volume is around 3 and use your channel volumes to control your volume from there. Also full power.
disassembled said:
Too many people underestimate the huge difference a room and positioning of an amp (or stereo) have on bass output. If the room is small, or the amp is close to walls (Or the absolute worse, in a corner) the bass output will be increased dramatically.
Dont take this advice lightly ! Try the amp in larger rooms far away from walls and corners to see if it is a room related issue.
One last note: as a second hobby I am a high end audio enthusiast. Most of the systems we use DO NOT have tone controls or equalizers, and we adjust the room and speaker positioning to control the tone. All of the manuals that come with this stereo equipment recommend speakers to be at least three feet from the corners. If you put stereo speakers in the corner of a room, you will get bass boom.
