Fractal Talk

[Frodebro]

Sometime hopefully soon, I’m going to commit to trying to understand the Mesa Mark models. I’m a Mesa fan, but I’ve long avoided the mark amps because I’m completely lost on what to do with them (push/pull stuff, switches, graphic eq, etc). I connected with the recto right away when I had one, but the few times I’ve tried a mark amp I didn’t know what to do with them. I tried a while back with Helix but didn’t get anything I really liked out of it. So many bands I like use Mark amps though, I want to crack the code of getting good sounds out of them.

D

Download an actual Mesa manual. That will have you up and running in no time.

 

[GTR37]

Sometime hopefully soon, I’m going to commit to trying to understand the Mesa Mark models. I’m a Mesa fan, but I’ve long avoided the mark amps because I’m completely lost on what to do with them (push/pull stuff, switches, graphic eq, etc). I connected with the recto right away when I had one, but the few times I’ve tried a mark amp I didn’t know what to do with them. I tried a while back with Helix but didn’t get anything I really liked out of it. So many bands I like use Mark amps though, I want to crack the code of getting good sounds out of them.

D

the biggest thing is the cutting of the lows and mids in the tone controls . and then adding back in the 5 band graphic
the newer boogies MarkV and MarkIV are a little less sensitive to this and can be used in a bit more conventional way but the older C2+ and Mark IV are pretty much heavy mid honk , so you have to dial that back with the tone controls

 

[dk_ace]

the biggest thing is the cutting of the lows and mids in the tone controls . and then adding back in the 5 band graphic
the newer boogies MarkV and MarkIV are a little less sensitive to this and can be used in a bit more conventional way but the older C2+ and Mark IV are pretty much heavy mid honk , so you have to dial that back with the tone controls

That’s probably the thing I didn’t know that gave me lousy results before.

D

 

[DrewJD82]

That’s probably the thing I didn’t know that gave me lousy results before.

D

I’ve said it a bunch in the past, but my first time playing a Mark the first thing I said was “There’s no way in fuck Petrucci uses these amps or this one is broken”

 

[dk_ace]

I’ve said it a bunch in the past, but my first time playing a Mark the first thing I said was “There’s no way in fuck Petrucci uses these amps or this one is broken”

Yeah I’ve just not gotten much out of them I liked.

After I posted this earlier I remembered that I actually played a gig on a mark IV or V one time. It was a friends though, something went sideways with a guitarist that was supposed to play the gig - I showed up to the gig to hang out a little early and he asked me if I had a guitar with me - I did because I played a gig the night before but for reasons I don’t remember I had no pedalboard or amp - he asked me to play the gig even though I didn’t really know the material and hadn’t rehearsed with them….

We jumped in his car and ran to his house for an amp, he grabbed the mark and a L6 echo park. He plugged me in when we got back, I strummed a chord and it sounded solid so that was it and we were off. That gig sounded good, but he already had the amp dialed in and I didn’t touch anything other than my dynamics and guitar controls all night.

D

 

[la szum]

Download an actual Mesa manual. That will have you up and running in no time.

Yes! The best manuals in the biz.

 

[metropolis_4]

All classic amps have tricks to dial them in, but none so much as the Mark series.

You can always immediately tell if someone knows what they’re doing with a Mark by how they set the controls.

 

[FractalAudio]

the biggest thing is the cutting of the lows and mids in the tone controls . and then adding back in the 5 band graphic
the newer boogies MarkV and MarkIV are a little less sensitive to this and can be used in a bit more conventional way but the older C2+ and Mark IV are pretty much heavy mid honk , so you have to dial that back with the tone controls

The circuit didn't change in the new ones, they just changed the taper of the bass pot. The Triaxis is like this too. With the control at noon it's like the old ones with the control around 9 o'clock or so.

 

[DrewJD82]

Yeah I’ve just not gotten much out of them I liked.

After I posted this earlier I remembered that I actually played a gig on a mark IV or V one time. It was a friends though, something went sideways with a guitarist that was supposed to play the gig - I showed up to the gig to hang out a little early and he asked me if I had a guitar with me - I did because I played a gig the night before but for reasons I don’t remember I had no pedalboard or amp - he asked me to play the gig even though I didn’t really know the material and hadn’t rehearsed with them….

We jumped in his car and ran to his house for an amp, he grabbed the mark and a L6 echo park. He plugged me in when we got back, I strummed a chord and it sounded solid so that was it and we were off. That gig sounded good, but he already had the amp dialed in and I didn’t touch anything other than my dynamics and guitar controls all night.

D

FWIW, this is my go-to IIC++ preset. These settings will vary depending on the song; sometimes I turn on the Treble Shift and back off the Gain/OD as it adds more gain and it's too much with them both cranked. If I need the guitars to cut a little more I'll usually utilize that Treble Shift before tweaking anything else. Goes without saying, this is definitely a scooped metal tone.

 

[TSJMajesty]

What was that quote from Yngwie, something like “Why would I want something that sounds like a Marshall when I have a Marshall”

Isn't that @la szum's signature?

 

[metropolis_4]

FWIW, this is my go-to IIC++ preset. These settings will vary depending on the song; sometimes I turn on the Treble Shift and back off the Gain/OD as it adds more gain and it's too much with them both cranked. If I need the guitars to cut a little more I'll usually utilize that Treble Shift before tweaking anything else. Goes without saying, this is definitely a scooped metal tone.

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Input trim down a bit?

 

[la szum]

FWIW, this is my go-to IIC++ preset. These settings will vary depending on the song; sometimes I turn on the Treble Shift and back off the Gain/OD as it adds more gain and it's too much with them both cranked. If I need the guitars to cut a little more I'll usually utilize that Treble Shift before tweaking anything else. Goes without saying, this is definitely a scooped metal tone.

View attachment 34581
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Love your mostly subtractive GEQ settings!

 

[la szum]

Input trim down a bit?

I drop mine down religiously on all of my used Presets. Just think it helps bring more
warmth, clarity, and reduced compression----and which I can add back in with an Overdrive.

I do the same with amps with Hi and Lo Inputs and often use the Lo Input---which always
meant I could turn the amp up louder (like on my Super Reverb, and Bassman).

Kind of the same reason I chased really inefficient speakers for a bit, too. Anything to allow
me to turn the amp up and get in that feel zone.

 

[DrewJD82]

Input trim down a bit?

That's my Edwards Mesa preset, the EMG's in it can slam the front end a bit more than I prefer.

 

[la szum]

Isn't that @la szum's signature?

Haha! I try and make all my amps sound like Marshalls.

Not really, though. I just love the Mids, and the responsiveness of
Marshalls to volume adjustments and pick dynamics. I still think
they are the most sensitive amps ever made. Which is why some
people probably don't like them.

 

[la szum]

Also used to set an always on OD to well below unity, and then crank the amp up to compensate.

 

[Blix]

Also used to set an always on OD to well below unity, and then crank the amp up to compensate.

Serial killer confirmed.

 

[dk_ace]

FWIW, this is my go-to IIC++ preset. These settings will vary depending on the song; sometimes I turn on the Treble Shift and back off the Gain/OD as it adds more gain and it's too much with them both cranked. If I need the guitars to cut a little more I'll usually utilize that Treble Shift before tweaking anything else. Goes without saying, this is definitely a scooped metal tone.

View attachment 34581
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Never in a million years would have started there… thanks I’ll give that a shot!

D

 

[unix-guy]

Yes! The best manuals in the biz.

>>cough<<Fractal>>cough<<

 

[la szum]

>>cough<<Fractal>>cough<<