I'm interested in the Mark V and previously tried the Mark IV which had beautiful cleans but I didnt really like the lead that much. Today I got to try a Mark V combo and when I tried the cleans and crunch, they were beautiful. It was an amazing amp. Now the 3rd channel, I got pretty heavy with Mark IV mode and Extreme using a jackson guitar with high output seymour duncan passives but it didnt have a "big" low end. I know the rec's have great low end chugs and are rhythm monsters but i dont like the leads or the crunchs or the cleans that much compared to the mark V. I think i'm more of a mark fan then a rectifier. I'm just wondering if I used something like a overdrive in front and a guitar with active emgs and potentially a boss EQ, could I get a bigger sound that modern bands use today? I'm not looking for a rec sound, just something big and meaty. Would the head version with a cab with 4 V30's make it more heavy (closed back)? Would new preamp tubes or power tubes help it to get that? I just want to have those amazing cleans and great crunch and amazing leads along with a good meaty rhythm for a more modern metal tone. Think I could get that with any of those changes? This amp has impressed me and im seriously considering ordering a head. sell me on it!
Way to get a more modern heavier metal sound?
- Thread starter RocknRory
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ixoye777
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I guarantee people will disagree with what I am about to say. The MV just isn't the amp for you if not having modern metal tones is a deal breaker. The MV just doesn't and shouldn't have the low end rumble you are looking for. You can get it closer to those tones by experimenting with tubes an OD out front and an EQ in the loop and you can get some nice heavy tones out of channel 3 and even channel 2.
The MV doesn't grunt, growl and scream. It sings.
The MV doesn't grunt, growl and scream. It sings.
MesaManBoogie
Well-known member
RocknRory said:
If you already played one and you liked it. I would say go for it,
I have the Combo with everything stock and I use no Distortion/overdrive pedals and I can get pretty much any tone I Want.
You'll be able to get the tone you are looking for with the Mark V, it's a matter of Finding the right settings.
Heritage Softail
Well-known member
MesaManBoogie said:
I am hearing that you want the CD sound girth/thickness. Stereo sound gets you thickness and width. If you already have one Boogie and add a MKV, that may be your ticket. I wanted the exact same thing you stated. The width/chug of a REC but all the other good things of a MK amp. I bought a used Single Rec to go with the MKV and that did it. Width and space of stereo and the different voicings work well together. It does not sound like multi-tracked, layered, stereo on a CD but it is getting there. FWIW, I changed out to SED Winged C's and Tung Sol 12AX7's to try and find some REC grind in the MKV, it did nasty it up a bit, made it sound even better with the REC.
Yeah that would be ideal for my in the future, especially since I have a V30 4x12 cab that can do stereo. But for now that is too expensive for me, I'd rather just buy a new guitar for lighter stuff (blues, rock, and other stuff) On tuesday I'm gonna go try the Mesa dealers Mark V combo with my overdrive and LTD EC-1000 with active EMGs and potentially another EQ and see what that does. I think I'll still get it though because it still can do awesome metal sounds (especially beautiful leads) along with amazing crunchs and cleans. Perfect versatility for me. I'll just have to compensate and just chug harder and get heavier with MY playing instead of the amp!
theroan
Well-known member
The V can give that tone with extras. I find adding overdrive just adds more feedback and mud than tone enhancement.
Guitar - Les Paul Studio w/ SH-5 in the bridge
Bass - Made in USA Fender Precision California (Precision pickups with Jazz bridge pickup too) Direct to pre amp.
Amp - Mark V of course
Cabinet - Mesa Vertical 2x12 w/ Vintage 30's
Drums - Fruity loops, sampled Yamaha Kit
Interface - Mackie 400F
DAW - Reaper
Guitar 1:
Mark IIC+ mode
Graphic EQ
SM-57 + CAD M-177 Condenser (One on each speaker)
Guitar 2:
Extreme Mode
Preset EQ to max.
Sennhesier E609 + CAD M-177 Condenser (One on each speaker)
Other than leveling the volume for each track, there is no addtional production. No eq, compression etc.
http://www.roestudios.com/dump/New.mp3
All the songs on myspace link are the Mark V as well and we're modern metal.
Guitar - Les Paul Studio w/ SH-5 in the bridge
Bass - Made in USA Fender Precision California (Precision pickups with Jazz bridge pickup too) Direct to pre amp.
Amp - Mark V of course
Cabinet - Mesa Vertical 2x12 w/ Vintage 30's
Drums - Fruity loops, sampled Yamaha Kit
Interface - Mackie 400F
DAW - Reaper
Guitar 1:
Mark IIC+ mode
Graphic EQ
SM-57 + CAD M-177 Condenser (One on each speaker)
Guitar 2:
Extreme Mode
Preset EQ to max.
Sennhesier E609 + CAD M-177 Condenser (One on each speaker)
Other than leveling the volume for each track, there is no addtional production. No eq, compression etc.
http://www.roestudios.com/dump/New.mp3
All the songs on myspace link are the Mark V as well and we're modern metal.
Awesome, do you think I could get a great lead tone and good driving rhythm for Hearts burst into fire by BFMV?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0n3cUPTKnl0
of course this has stereo with post production, but I just want to know if I could recreate this possibly. My shitty Line 6 Spider Valve HD100 (which sounds like ****, without an EQ in the loop) can get a pretty good tone for this tone, besides the rhythm tone being a little muddy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0n3cUPTKnl0
of course this has stereo with post production, but I just want to know if I could recreate this possibly. My shitty Line 6 Spider Valve HD100 (which sounds like ****, without an EQ in the loop) can get a pretty good tone for this tone, besides the rhythm tone being a little muddy.
theroan
Well-known member
Definitely can be done with the Mark V. You could either use crunch as rhythm and Mark IIC+ for lead or Mark IIC+ for rhythm and Mark I for lead.
Either would do a nice job.
Either would do a nice job.
Music Power
Member
I found that lowering the treble on the preamp to 0-2, then boosting the presence to 6-7 or so seems to make the amp open up for more of a metal tone. Just boost the highs on the EQ and Presence, and lose them on the preamp, and it makes the tone seems a bit more focused, which is better for metal.
The bass on the Mark V is the harder thing to coax out, and I'm still working on that, but with the brittleness of that treble out of the way, the tone is much fatter, in my opinion.
The bass on the Mark V is the harder thing to coax out, and I'm still working on that, but with the brittleness of that treble out of the way, the tone is much fatter, in my opinion.
litesnsirens
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If you want big girth bottom end chunk from this amp, channel 2/Mark I is the place to start. No pedals needed. Set the gain and treble up around 2:00 (or higher) bass and mid relatively low (9:00 to 10:00) bring up the presence as needed and use the preset EQ as opposed to the sliders and turn the level of that up around 2:00 or greater. Start with these settings and tweak to taste... since I don't know exactly what you are looking for, but this is a great, heavy, you can feel it everywhere, chunking tone.... HUUUGE....
Mungo Zen
Well-known member
I would first suggest you try and find an ENGL to play around with. Maybe a few other amps, since $2000+ will buy you most of the amps you might ever want.
My band has me with the Loomis (Active 707's) and a Mark V and my other guitar player with a Schecter and a Dual Rec. We have traded rigs to test tones and yes, the guitars do make a difference but the V always sounds, well, like someone said above, like it is singing.
In extreme setting I am getting some really nice and thick tones that are suitable for the metal I play. I have looked at the ENGL stuff and although that tone is now becoming the standard metal tone, I find they can sound rather one dimensional or mechanical (although, it is a really great tone). It isn't a bad thing at all, it just is different than what someone like me wants.
Which really is what it comes down to. I love the Mark V for the tones I can get, but I know it won't sound like an ENGL even if I jam a bunch of crap in front of it. If I ever build a rig with multiple amps, I may get an ENGL, but, for now the Mark V does all the stuff I need from it, and more. As long as you understand what an amp will give you live versus a studio setting,
My band has me with the Loomis (Active 707's) and a Mark V and my other guitar player with a Schecter and a Dual Rec. We have traded rigs to test tones and yes, the guitars do make a difference but the V always sounds, well, like someone said above, like it is singing.
In extreme setting I am getting some really nice and thick tones that are suitable for the metal I play. I have looked at the ENGL stuff and although that tone is now becoming the standard metal tone, I find they can sound rather one dimensional or mechanical (although, it is a really great tone). It isn't a bad thing at all, it just is different than what someone like me wants.
Which really is what it comes down to. I love the Mark V for the tones I can get, but I know it won't sound like an ENGL even if I jam a bunch of crap in front of it. If I ever build a rig with multiple amps, I may get an ENGL, but, for now the Mark V does all the stuff I need from it, and more. As long as you understand what an amp will give you live versus a studio setting,
Awesome, I'm excited for getting this amp, im gonna try it out more in combo version before i order the head though. I wanna tweak it like crazy! I want to try all the variations with my guitar, overdrive, Boss EQ, and wah and etc. This amp is really awesome, kicks the %@!$ out of my Line 6 Spider valve.....even though I can't say its a totally bad amp, you just NEED an EQ or it is a terrible amp. I'm falling in love with the mark V. mm.
smd24fan
Well-known member
I know I may get ridiculed for this, but I do have an MXR 10-Band EQ in my loop that I occasionally turn on to tighten up the lows and REALLY make the Mark V growl. It seems like overkill because the amp has a built in EQ already, but it does allow you get get a bit more bass and get closer to the Recto sound. Let me say this, I prefer the amp without the outboard EQ, but I do enjoy fooling around once in awhile with it. It just opens the door to yet another sound this amp is capable of. I had the darn pedal sitting around from a previous amp, so I hooked her up for the hell of it!
Im playin in a deathcore/djent band and im only useing mark iv settings with a maxon od808 infront with a ibanez s7320 for my main axe right now till i can afforid a guerrila 8 string but i found the best way to get the girth and grit is to have ur bass turned to about half or less and use the geq to bring in ur balls then setting up ur treb and presence to taste but you gotta watch as too much gives you **** feedback and sound very thin. With the mids i like boosting my mids in the pre amp so having it at about half or more then in the geq have the good old "v" shape with a bit more bass less treb. Then with the od put ur gain at about 1/4 then ur tone at about just under half to give u a bit more tight bass sound, then level it max. Also a big thing to my grit and tone is the fx nob, i have it at full then just a lil back ive noticed it gives it a bit more gain and vol, which for some reason affects the tone HUGE. 6l6's in pentode, with full power. I have the most crushing tone ever to my ears, and my band thinks so as well. We should be recording this week so ill be able to post some recording of my tones on here but def the mark v is the best versitle amp there is in my mind. Hell ive nailed my old VHT pittbull cl100 lead channel tone with my "crunch" mode so its quite the moster beast. Also 90 Watts and always play your master on ur channel at about half and use your output on the poweramp to give you your overall vol. this i like because i can crank the pretubes in the gain stage before it gets to the output stage.
iceman
Well-known member
Don't be too surprised if the EMGs don't add much compared to the Ducans. I have Duncans SH6s in my epi and EMG 81/85 in my ESP and I find the Ducans to be hotter. Not sure how that is though :? . I had Mark V for a couple of days and had simliar impressions as yours about the low end. Didn't keep it long enough to work through it, but seems most others didn't have the same impression. I've since settled on a Roadster/Triaxis combination. The Tri has plenty of crunch and low end. Still miss the cleans of the Mark V though, great tone all around on that amp, will probably pick one up again eventually. Roadster has great cleans too just different vibe, they don't really sing/chime like the V.
madryan
Well-known member
Chasing album tones with real guitar amps will drive you nuts. If you have a sound that sounds like the sounds on the CD when you're wanking around in your basement it'll sound like *** when you turn up to gigging levels and try to make it fit into the context of a band mix.
It's funny someone mentioned ENGL. Every time I've heard a band playing them live it sounded like ***. They're targeted at basement players because someone figured out that's who 90% of the people buying them really are. That super processed sterile sound coming out of the cab just gets mangled once you mic up and try to mix it.
Contrast that with someone like Dream Theater who I caught on the Progressive Nation tour a little while back and Petrucci sounded huge. Mark's and Marshalls and whatnot just sound great mic'd up and when you're playing live that's all that matters.
True story... I know a guy with a Powerball. My Marshall will totally drown it out in the mix. I'm not sure how the boogie fares because I've never jammed with the dude on my Mark V but the ENGL sounds pretty good when he's just jamming by himself but as soon as you add a drummer and bass player and whatnot the powerball just sort of goes away in the mix unless it's stupid loud. My Marshall on the other hand just cuts like nothing you can imagine but by myself, in a jam room it's almost punishing to listen to. Sounds like the voice of God mic'd up tho.
It's funny someone mentioned ENGL. Every time I've heard a band playing them live it sounded like ***. They're targeted at basement players because someone figured out that's who 90% of the people buying them really are. That super processed sterile sound coming out of the cab just gets mangled once you mic up and try to mix it.
Contrast that with someone like Dream Theater who I caught on the Progressive Nation tour a little while back and Petrucci sounded huge. Mark's and Marshalls and whatnot just sound great mic'd up and when you're playing live that's all that matters.
True story... I know a guy with a Powerball. My Marshall will totally drown it out in the mix. I'm not sure how the boogie fares because I've never jammed with the dude on my Mark V but the ENGL sounds pretty good when he's just jamming by himself but as soon as you add a drummer and bass player and whatnot the powerball just sort of goes away in the mix unless it's stupid loud. My Marshall on the other hand just cuts like nothing you can imagine but by myself, in a jam room it's almost punishing to listen to. Sounds like the voice of God mic'd up tho.
well idk about the people above me but i exactly nail the modern metal tone that i want with this amp. to be precise my tone is exactly like the studio version of oh sleeper's rhythm guitar and lead for when he sweeps or uses legato runs. My setup is as follows so maybe this will help a little bit.
Guitar- prs paul allender model
Amp- mvk V head thru a 2x12 recto cab
Settings: Mvk IV with pentode turned on<- a must
Gain 3 oclock
Master 10 oclock
presence 3oclock ( this is just my personal taste for how my guitar sounds)
treble 2 oclock
mid 8 o clock
bass 10 o clock
EQ- (from left to right ill describe where the sliders are in relation the the channel numbers )
80hz directly at 1 240 a lil bit above 2 750 at 3 2200 a third below 2 toward 3 and the last eq is all the way up at 1
CH 3 bright
hope this helps a lil bit this tone doesnt work with all guitars and in my case it exactly mimics oh sleepers tone so mess around with it a lil bit and im positive u can find a AMAZING metal tone
Also with these settings i have just as much bounce and bottom end as my 4x12 line 6 half stack lol so enjoy
Guitar- prs paul allender model
Amp- mvk V head thru a 2x12 recto cab
Settings: Mvk IV with pentode turned on<- a must
Gain 3 oclock
Master 10 oclock
presence 3oclock ( this is just my personal taste for how my guitar sounds)
treble 2 oclock
mid 8 o clock
bass 10 o clock
EQ- (from left to right ill describe where the sliders are in relation the the channel numbers )
80hz directly at 1 240 a lil bit above 2 750 at 3 2200 a third below 2 toward 3 and the last eq is all the way up at 1
CH 3 bright
hope this helps a lil bit this tone doesnt work with all guitars and in my case it exactly mimics oh sleepers tone so mess around with it a lil bit and im positive u can find a AMAZING metal tone
Also with these settings i have just as much bounce and bottom end as my 4x12 line 6 half stack lol so enjoy
I don't think of open-back combos as the ultimate metal solution. I'm sure there are open-back combos that do metal, but closed-back 4x12s have been the go-to cabs for metal for a long time. I have the V head; I've played it thru a 2x12 vertical Boogie, a 3/4 back 1x12 Boogie and a 4x12 Engl; they all have some good sounds, but for heavy sounds, it's the 4x12 always.
...my 2 cents.
...my 2 cents.
