NAD: MESA/Boogie Mark VII

[spawnofthesith]

This is the ultimate Mk V crunch mode boost IMO

 

[texhex]

JT the thing that will kill you on the Mark V is the GEQ. It's the same thing you ran into on the VII.

 

[JiveTurkey]

JT the thing that will kill you on the Mark V is the GEQ. It's the same thing you ran into on the VII.

That's what I am afraid of. Or relieved about, depending on how you look at it

 

[texhex]

This is the ultimate Mk V crunch mode boost IMO

Ultimate, ultimate boost.

 

[texhex]

That's what I am afraid of. Or relieved about, depending on how you look at it

Now, hurry up and go get a JVM410H.

 

[la szum]

I typically find myself running presence and treble much higher on marks and rectos than many recommend, but I’m a treble junky lol. The exception being the IV, I run the presence lower than in normally would compared to other amps

I get it. Especially with the Treble being ganged/summed to a gain stage on virtually all Mesa amps.

Maybe that is why you can get into trouble with a Mark that has the GEQ. Pre-EQ and Post-EQ makes
Daddy go a little.....

 

[la szum]

If I ran it as a 3 channel amp; I'd probably go Tweed, Crunch, Mk IV. Could I balance it across those three channels/modes? I never switched channels on the Badlander because I just ran it as a crunched up amp and boosted with an OCD/Klone as needed. That's one thing that gets me on the Mark stuff is the paranoia of having a difficult time level matching from one channel to the next. Whether I have overblown it in my own mind or not

That's mostly what I have done with mine. I also gigged a single channel amp
with an OD and rode my guitar volume for "channel-switching" more often, so
here comes the hypocrite.

I still suspect a lot of the issues you had with the VII will exist with the V. I like
the idea of having a Fender Tweed, a Marshally (sort of) Crunch, and a Mesa
Mark IV or IIC+ with GEQ engaged in one amp. It's pretty balls to the wall. I
hauled more guitars and gear when I used the Mark V live.... because I wanted
a Tele for Tweed Mode and a Les Paul for Crunch and Mark IV.

And the stereotypes about Mesa Marks being fickle exists for a reason. Small
movements can = huge differences. It is one of the reasons I always tried to ride
Ch. 1 and 2 with GEQ off. It eliminated one variable that was often the most
sensitive and left me scratching my head the most. The result was me dialing in
a bunch of great tones I didn't know the amp had in it. I mean, if you want a
great Crunch tone on Ch. 2 and are V'ing the GEQ you are not going to get it.
Not even close.

There's a lot of science and psychology as to why we instinctively scoop the Mids
and crank the Bass and Treble on Car Stereos and Mark Series Amps with a GEQ.
I'll save all of that for the dissertation.

 

[la szum]

JT the thing that will kill you on the Mark V is the GEQ. It's the same thing you ran into on the VII.

Beat me to it!

 

[la szum]

Sorry for the derail @TubeStack . Just here following the crowd.

 

[spawnofthesith]

FWIW I do find the V to be waaaay more consistent and less finicky than a IV or a III


I feel like while the V has a toooon of options once you find what you like it’s pretty set and forget. I find myself getting way more caught up tweaking the IV especially from room to room or even just when firing it up because I think something sounds off or different or just up in my head with it

 

[TubeStack]

Sorry for the derail @TubeStack . Just here following the crowd. :lol

Ha, no worries. It’s the TGF way.

 

[EOengineer]

I’ve never really had the issue with my Mesa amps being finicky when gigging, or at least not moreso than other amps. Every amps tone is affected by its environment. If that weren't true we wouldn’t bother micing them up in nice rooms.

Treat the mark GEQ as a global EQ that you dial in per venue to tune the amp to the environment. If you’re in the club turning knobs you’re doing it wrong.

 

[la szum]

I feel like there can be an initial period of shock when you are first introduced to a Mark.0
If you are flying blind, and have no one actually with you in the room to help, then it
can go sideways fast.

Couple that with them being very honest and direct amps that don't disguise a lot you
can sound like ass on a Mesa. I can anyways. I have.

I started on a III, went to a IV, and then the V.... so by the time I got to the V I felt like
I was in a great place to understand the amp. By that time I had also played a lot of
different amps, so knew what I liked and didn't like.

Also, a lot of the power options will dictate and determine the touch and feel more
than the actual tone. 45 watts is not half as loud as 90 watts, and that sort of thing.

 

[TubeStack]

I could see the graphic
EQ on the VII making me crazy too, but for most of my tones, which are classic rock, low gain to early-high-gain, it’s not needed.

So I’m going with the “use it for effect, when needed” approach, currently as a mids + level boost.

 

[la szum]

I’ve never really had the issue with my Mesa amps being finicky when gigging, or at least not moreso than other amps. Every amps tone is affected by its environment. If that weren't true we wouldn’t bother micing them up in nice rooms.

Treat the mark GEQ as a global EQ that you dial in per venue to tune the amp to the environment. If you’re in the club turning knobs you’re doing it wrong.

"A fool who persists in his folly will become wise."

~~William Blake

 

[la szum]

I could see the graphic
EQ on the VII making me crazy too, but for most of my tones, which are classic rock, low gain to early-high-gain, it’s not needed.

So I’m going with the “use it for effect, when needed” approach, currently as a mids + level boost.

That's wise.





My recommendation is to eliminate the GEQ from Channel 1 and 2... try to dial in your tones
without it, and then as a last result introduce it. But only if you must.... or are using it via FS
as a special effect (like a Mid Boost for Solos!).

I pretty much feel like the GEQ can convince us of your God-Rock Status when we use it
lone, and then when we get with a band it is too heavy-handed and overkill.

Yes, I know this is hearsay.

Ex-communicate me if you must!

 

[spawnofthesith]

no GEQ on channel 1 still sounds fantastic to me on my marks (even though I still will typically keep engaged). On my IV with how I have channel 2 set same thing there. On the V, workable on channel 2 but much prefer with it engaged (again based on my desired settings)

Channel 3 on either amp I need that V scoop good good

 

[Orvillain]

I think that for the tones I want, the GEQ is essential. Not sure I'd ever buy a Mark without one. Because basically to get the tones I want, it is the typical thing of using the channel EQ to cut the lows so that the preamp doesn't flubb out too much, and then restore them afterwards with the GEQ in order to bring back the heft.

I don't really hear any tones I would want to use with the GEQ disabled. Cleans are definitely passable, but the gain tones aren't my thing until I dial the amp in a certain way.

And I sort of knew that going in. I watched pretty much every Mark III, IV, V, and VII video on Youtube, and I poured over the manual for a few nights in a row before buying it. So much so that when I went to the shop to get it, I dialed it in within a few minutes and had tones that even the shop staff were amazed with.

 

[JiveTurkey]

To me, the GEQ is more of a "oh look a tweak magnet!" for me than a "oh look the slider moved a millimeter when I looked at it and now my amp sounds terrible" sort of thing. Amp options ADHD is real for me. If I found a good setting that worked across the board or more of a "set and forget" GEQ for a specific channel where I could adjust the channel controls themselves; that could work.

 

[spawnofthesith]

To me, the GEQ is more of a "oh look a tweak magnet!" for me than a "oh look the slider moved a millimeter when I looked at it and now my amp sounds terrible" sort of thing. Amp options ADHD is real for me. If I found a good setting that worked across the board or more of a "set and forget" GEQ for a specific channel where I could adjust the channel controls themselves; that could work.

Just pop a V and don't worry about it afterwards (unless you NEED mark 1 mode)

trust me bro