Members 9841507 Posted December 23, 2009 Members Share Posted December 23, 2009 So I tried out a Mark V today and LOVEDDDD the lead sound, I'm interested in getting it because I just want 3 channels and a solo boost and reverb all in one footswitch like the Mark V. Tone wasn't the problem, the problem was no matter what I did it seemed putting the bass past 12 o clock on channel 2 and 3 would make it sound like garbage, kind of an odd thump no sustain muffled sound. Not sure if this is because the speaker hasn't been broken in or something but I've never had that problem with my other amps when I get new cabs. The tone is great and everything but I can't get any bottom out of it so it sounds thin and all mids and highs. Is this just how the amp is? If so I don't see how metal guitarists could like it. There must be something I'm missing here or something to do with the speakers, it just sounds so muffled and odd that I don't believe it could be sounding like this normally. Halp! I was really looking forward to trying one of these and the moment I strummed a couple chords and did some lead stuff I was in love, until I tried for a metal sound putting bass around 3 o clock and playing some palm muted power chords, tried recommended settings too but just had no bottom at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sixtonoize Posted December 23, 2009 Members Share Posted December 23, 2009 Dialing in a Mark-series amp 101: Keep the bass knob below 3Turn up the 80 hz slider on the GEQ to compensate. You're welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mizati20 Posted December 23, 2009 Members Share Posted December 23, 2009 Never turn the bass knob above 3 or 4... use the graphic EQ, Extreme Mode tightens up the bass quite a bit as well, but I think it has less saturation, have fun, you can't go wrong with a Mark V!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phyrexia Posted December 23, 2009 Members Share Posted December 23, 2009 Yeah, 12:00 is about as high as you can run it. They changed the pot tapers so you can go up above 9:00 on the V, but still you don't want to go higher than noon unless you're using very little gain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 9841507 Posted December 23, 2009 Author Members Share Posted December 23, 2009 That's the problem I had though. I had the bass cranked on the GEQ and used bass usually around 3-5 and it just had no bottom end. Sounded horrible for chucking power chords and open E and A string chuggy riffs. Right now I have a dual racktifier and a rackmount 5150 block letter and both just have this great low end to them, really thick. Maybe I'm just used to that but something just seems wrong with the Mark V, I played around for about 2 hours with it at the store and could just never get a thick rhythm sound. I must be missing something. Most of that time was spent trying to dial in the 3rd channel for chuggy riffage but it just wasn't happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sixtonoize Posted December 23, 2009 Members Share Posted December 23, 2009 How much bass do you usually use on your Recto or 5150? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeadNight Warrior Posted December 23, 2009 Members Share Posted December 23, 2009 The knob-EQ controls on a Mark are pre-gain, whereas most high gainers have post-gain controls. The graphic EQ is post-gain EQ on a Mark. Dial the pre-gain EQ to basically set the character of the tone, and then use the graphic EQ to tweak the overall sound. As has been said, for tight high gain stuff you want the bass fairly low on the pre-gain so that you don't get flubby distorted low end freqs in your sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JesterRace51 Posted December 23, 2009 Members Share Posted December 23, 2009 The marks I've played had plenty of bottom end for modern metal. When I played them I never had the bass above 3 on the dial, with the typical V pattern on the EQ. Had a ton of low end and was very tight. Marks are not your typical amp when it comes to EQing and tweaking. It's not uncommon for it to take hours of tweaking to get it where you want it, but when you do, it's tonal bliss. Some hate em though, but let me just tell you now...it's not going to have the same type of massive low end bloom you get with the recto. Just aint happenin. The settings I used were something like... Lead Gain: 8/Pulled Treble: 8.5 Bass: 3 Mids: 5.5 Lead Drive: 7.5 pulled Master: 3/3.5 EQ: 80hz: 3/4 of the way up 240: Middle 750: 3/4 of the way down 2200:Middle 6600: like a little less than 3/4 of the way up. Sounded good to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 9841507 Posted December 23, 2009 Author Members Share Posted December 23, 2009 How much bass do you usually use on your Recto or 5150? 5150 I usually crank it to about 7 as it doesn't have a lot of bass period but I also put the resonance knob at about 7 which adds a lot of bottom. Recto is usually anywhere from 3-5 and it ALWAYS has ridiculous amounts of bass. The Mark V really just seemed basically like all mids even with the mids around 4 on the EQ and way scooped on the GEQ, all mids and high is really the only way to explain it, it had the liquid gain that I LOVED but I couldn't get any chugging riffs to sound good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phyrexia Posted December 23, 2009 Members Share Posted December 23, 2009 jester if it takes you hours to dial them in then you aren't paying enough attention to the amp, IMO Are you sure you were using the GEQ right? Slider, not Preset? Was the amp in 90w/Pentode? You can set it up to destroy the world, but you can also set it up to be silky smooth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 9841507 Posted December 23, 2009 Author Members Share Posted December 23, 2009 Hrmm, I dunno, it definitely did something when I switched off the EQ using the footswitch or the toggle on the channel settings would that effect both slider and preset? I didn't play with too many toggles to do with the EQ, I know it was 90w and pentode I'll check the Mesa sheet on the web to see the recommended settings because I think I just used those for the EQs mini toggles. EDIT: Now that I think about it I remember sliding the sliders up and down and getting completely different tones so yes I definitely had it set to use the GEQ. I dunno, I really was looking forward to the amp so I'm hoping if I spend some more time I can get the chug I'm looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Les-Zombie Posted December 23, 2009 Members Share Posted December 23, 2009 i never ran the bass past 8:30 or at most 9:00 on my mkv, i used the eq for my tone shaping, i also never found mine to sound flubby at that setting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 9841507 Posted December 23, 2009 Author Members Share Posted December 23, 2009 I'm gunna go play some more with it Thursday. Preferably with a broken in cab. Got most of the day off so can spend a good couple hours playing with it, really hoping I can get a thick chunky sound out of it as I absolutely love the versatility, the fact that it has footswitchable solo boost and pretty good reverb, and it's just a damn sexy head that doesn't take up too much space or look like a massive tolex covered box like the Rectifier heads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RaceU4her Posted December 23, 2009 Members Share Posted December 23, 2009 good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fretout Posted December 23, 2009 Members Share Posted December 23, 2009 Do not EVER set your bass setting on any Mark series amp past 3 (or 9 o'clock). Always add in bass with the sliders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members petejt Posted December 24, 2009 Members Share Posted December 24, 2009 I keep the bass knob at 2, crank the 80Hz slider, and scoop the 240Hz slider. It's thick & chunky yet tighter that a plump chick's {censored} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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