What to do if I'm a Mesa and Marshall guy?

[pkdawg]

I play in a cover band that plays mosty heavier radio friendly rock tunes from Rage to Metallica and maybe getting into some 80's hair band stuff too for fun. Anyway, I love the heavy Metallica sound the Mark V products, but also the lighter hair band Marshally sound from say a JVM. I played both last week back to back at the GC and love them both. I'm a bit torn on what to do. I suppose the Mesa won't ever sound like the Marshall or vice versa and I suppose the M5 is more veristle due to all the bell whistles, but can it really product a good solid 80's hair type guitar like bands like Ratt, Dokken, etc. I spent most of my time on the 3rd channel and couldn't really explore the 80's sounds since I had so much fun just chugin' away on the the heavier stuff that day. I know of course you can play all the above on the 3rd channel, but I'm looking to get close the actually sounds rather than just a good sound for my style. There's a time and place for both. For those that think it's not important, how would Metallica have sounded on the Black album if they used just Marshall 800s or if VH used the Mark V on his early stuff. How would things be different if our little guitar world?

Currently, I play a Carvin Legacy and have for 7+ years coving bands like Disturbed even. I know it doesn't have the tightness of the the Mark V or JVM, but it has something unique and handles this music well due to it's darker sound overall. Too dark though sometimes for rhythm in comparison to how it sounds for just soloing. I'm just growing a little old of it and looking for a change.

 

[4406cuda]

I also play in a cover band. For a Marshall type sound I use Channel 2 with the Crunch Mode.

 

[ixoye777]

The MV can do a pretty good job of covering Marshall tones. I tossed in some EL34's and swapped the V1 preamp tube for a Tung Sol (for a bit of extra gain) and as cuda said on CH2 in crunch mode you get some pretty decent Marshall tones. To be fair it is not the same, if you want your amp to sound like a Marshall then get a Marshall but if you want to get in the ballpark then the MV will do it for you. Keep in mind that 95% of your audience will not even notice ... and with the MV you get SOOOO much more in one amp then anything Marshall has ever produced.

 

[scott from _actual time_]

totally agree that Channel 2, Crunch Mode is where to go. even running 6L6s, i can get pretty close to that sort of midrange-y Marshall tone using the Presence control to add in bite and using the Preset EQ instead of the graphic (with my setup, the Preset EQ sounds brighter and snarl-ier than the graphic EQ).

so i'd head back to GC and bust out Kiss of Death or something on Channel 2. see what you think. and see if any of the kidz recognize what that riff is....

 

[Nazgul666]

I'm in love with my new Mark V and I too love the eighties Marshall sounds. I think its a bit deceiving to convince this guy out of a JVM for channel 2 of the Mark. The JVM is a great amp and you will NOT get the juicy saturation out of any Mark that the JVM has to offer. The JVM also has a continuous resonance knob that when used in conjunction with the presnce knob can tighten up the JVM significantly. Now, I sold my JVM when I bought the Mark V but it does have a lot to offer.

IMO:

JVM-screaming leads
Mark V-singing leads

JVM-juicy and saturated
Mark V-tight and clear

Both are extremely versatile. But if you want anything approaching the liquid, violin lead sound of Petrucci or the tight precision chunk of Hetfield, you might as well buy the Mark V now because only a Mesa Mark can give it to you. And only the Mark V can compete with the JVM in terms of versatility and convenience.

 

[screamingdaisy]

I've been around the block enough times to know that there is no such thing as an end all/be all amp. There's give and take with everything. However, I have found that you can get some pretty intense 80s sounds out of the Mark V just by stick chorus and verb on a bright lead tone.

Factor in that a fair number of 80s session dudes had a Boogie at their disposal and it's quite plausible that a fair number of the recorded tones we know and love weren't done on a Marshall in the first place.

 

[Nazgul666]

I've been around the block enough times to know that there is no such thing as an end all/be all amp. There's give and take with everything. However, I have found that you can get some pretty intense 80s sounds out of the Mark V just by stick chorus and verb on a bright lead tone.

Factor in that a fair number of 80s session dudes had a Boogie at their disposal and it's quite plausible that a fair number of the recorded tones we know and love weren't done on a Marshall in the first place.

Jon Sykes, Brad Gillis, Stryper to name a few.

 

[eudaimonia02912]

Putting a good overdrive in front of the crunch mode will take it over the top for Marshall tones.

If you want both Mesa and Marshall tones, it will be easier to get that from a Mesa than a Marshall. A few Mesas can do good to very good Marshall tones, but I don't know of a Marshall that can cop a Mesa tone.

 

[golfnguitarz]

Putting a good overdrive in front of the crunch mode will take it over the top for Marshall tones.

If you want both Mesa and Marshall tones, it will be easier to get that from a Mesa than a Marshall. A few Mesas can do good to very good Marshall tones, but I don't know of a Marshall that can cop a Mesa tone.

+1
The cool thing with the MV is that you can switch out the 6L6s for EL34s. You may lose a little bit on the clean channel, but a lot of people really like it. When I tried it, I still had my TSL602 and channel 2 sounded very, very close. With the 6L6s, you still get killer sounds, but the thing is you have choices with the MV - you don't with a Marshall.