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[Mikael Dez]

Bro; my tastes is pretty much flawless

I got the vibe here you don’t like TOOL though

 

[spawnofthesith]

gents question: (diverting from whitesnake )

im using a pair of teles- both brightish and fairly untraditional tele setups with my iib.

im finding the tipping point of getting good sound outa my mk ii dirt is to push treble really high.. like verge of too much- to get that sorta characteristic harmonic ripping dirt. i know the manual and tons of folks are running it 9-10 with gain up- and iibs are spoda be pretty dark, but this is with presence way up as well.

seeking reassurance im not doin it wrong :lol: it sounds mostly reasonable when i roll my guits tone knobs back- but if i try to set it lower on the treble/presence, the amp rolls off gain at the volume knob either too dark or too fast.

gracias

Fear not!! Cranked treble on a mark =

 

[spawnofthesith]

One caveat, on older marks I’ve found better results running presence fairly low, massive exception being the V…


BUT… your IIb is non geq right? In that case cranking presence as well makes perfect sense imo

 

[deadpool_25]

I got the vibe here you don’t like TOOL though

Exactly. Which turns "pretty much flawless" into "needs intervention."

 

[EOengineer]

One caveat, on older marks I’ve found better results running presence fairly low, massive exception being the V…


BUT… your IIb is non geq right? In that case cranking presence as well makes perfect sense imo

The presence is one of the biggest points of variance across the various Mark III versions. C30 on the board is the primary component governing that.

My Blue Stripe had nothing in C30 from the factory and was SHOCKINGLY toppy for a Mark series amp - almost crossing over into some kind of Recto/Mark hybrid. Big angry.

I modded it to the black stripe C30 value at 1000pf and it totally transformed the top end of the amp into a much darker IIC vibe. I liked that for recording but ended up at the red stripe’s C30 value of 500pf which is more aggressive and brighter than the black stripe while still being smoother on top when compared to the blue stripe.

I guess what I’m saying is the response of that presence knob is highly variable. You might crank it on a black stripe and bury it on a blue stripe to get to the same place.

 

[spawnofthesith]

The presence is one of the biggest points of variance across the various Mark III versions. C30 on the board is the primary component governing that.

My Blue Stripe had nothing in C30 from the factory and was SHOCKINGLY toppy for a Mark series amp - almost crossing over into some kind of Recto/Mark hybrid. Big angry.

I modded it to the black stripe C30 value at 1000pf and it totally transformed the top end of the amp into a much darker IIC vibe. I liked that for recording but ended up at the red stripe’s C30 value of 500pf which is more aggressive and brighter than the black stripe while still being smoother on top when compared to the blue stripe.

I guess what I’m saying is the response of that presence knob is highly variable. You might crank it on a black stripe and bury it on a blue stripe to get to the same place.

Good info


My purple is a non GEQ model but I run the HX stomp Mesa EQ model in the loop, with that active I run the presence between 0-3, however, if I’m dialing the amp without that GEQ model in the loop I’ve found I need to crank the hell out of the presence to get desirable tones

On my IV I’m also generally operating between 1-3 on the presence

On the V I find it necessary to crank the presence up to 7-8 to give up the goods

 

[EOengineer]

Good info


My purple is a non GEQ model but I run the HX stomp Mesa EQ model in the loop, with that active I run the presence between 0-3, however, if I’m dialing the amp without that GEQ model in the loop I’ve found I need to crank the hell out of the presence to get desirable tones

On my IV I’m also generally operating between 1-3 on the presence

On the V I find it necessary to crank the presence up to 7-8 to give up the goods

That’s interesting the difference with the V. Sounds a lot like the Mark II’s smoother voicing. I bet they went with the darker presence voicing to cover the older Mark sounds more authentically and hope you could crank it into modern sounds if you wanted them.

I’ve wondered about using the Helix GEQ in the loop of my III just for flexibility. How’s that working for you?

 

[spawnofthesith]

That’s interesting the difference with the V. Sounds a lot like the Mark II’s smoother voicing. I bet they went with the darker presence voicing to cover the older Mark sounds more authentically and hope you could crank it into modern sounds if you wanted them.

I’ve wondered about using the Helix GEQ in the loop of my III just for flexibility. How’s that working for you?

If your III had the onboard GEQ I wouldn’t bother

But it’s definitely a game changer for my non-GEQ III


The price was too good on this one (in terms of modern III prices) but I had a lot of anxiety about the lack of GEQ. I did some A/B due diligence with my IV and V comparing onboard to helix and was surprisingly pleased with the results. Is it the same? No. Bht very close. I don’t feel like I’m missing much combining that with my III.

 

[newholland]

awesome- yeah, my iib is non eq, and running the presence lower than 7, and treble sub 8, it just disappears if cymbals happen, or turn into kind of a grumble. no bueno. ive found running the presence wide open and treble at 8+ is kinda where it needs to be, and none of my other mesas ever needed that much.. but i was using celestion t75s- albeit in a closed back cab, or an h30 in an open, and thems aint dark. evms either though, really...

sadly mines also of the iteration where the treble shift doesnt turn off with the lead channel- so i also have to eq around its absence, cause im running the amp on lead for everything and rolling off my volume knob.

thanks for the feedback all!

 

[newholland]

Good info


My purple is a non GEQ model but I run the HX stomp Mesa EQ model in the loop, with that active I run the presence between 0-3, however, if I’m dialing the amp without that GEQ model in the loop I’ve found I need to crank the hell out of the presence to get desirable tones

On my IV I’m also generally operating between 1-3 on the presence

On the V I find it necessary to crank the presence up to 7-8 to give up the goods

this is pretty much where im at- i generally run my presence wide open because i lose tactile response and texture if im anywhere below 7 and it goes santana blooptone. not havin it. i know the manual talks about runnin it low, but i seriously dunno outside of jazzers who on earth would want an amp that dark. on top of the fact that it wont keep any useful feel, the gain texture starts to sound like triodes farting, just less good.

its not that the amp cant get there- it can... but my other mesas didnt need as much treble- like 7 MAX with humbuckers on my calibers. im using a bright single and a stacked bucker tele now, and they need all she can give- so seemed ass backwards

oddly, i run lower mids as well, so i figure big beefy transformer also overshadows the top end, although its more different tighter bass than MORE bass.

circuits i guess are similar, but not the same. this amp has been mission to learn to use well, but in most ways it really does not sound like later marks. just as gainy- but softer spoken and less toothy- which works out cause i don't want a metal sound.

 

[EOengineer]

this is pretty much where im at- i generally run my presence wide open because i lose tactile response and texture if im anywhere below 7 and it goes santana blooptone. not havin it. i know the manual talks about runnin it low, but i seriously dunno outside of jazzers who on earth would want an amp that dark. on top of the fact that it wont keep any useful feel, the gain texture starts to sound like triodes farting, just less good.

its not that the amp cant get there- it can... but my other mesas didnt need as much treble- like 7 MAX with humbuckers on my calibers. im using a bright single and a stacked bucker tele now, and they need all she can give- so seemed ass backwards

oddly, i run lower mids as well, so i figure big beefy transformer also overshadows the top end, although its more different tighter bass than MORE bass.

circuits i guess are similar, but not the same. this amp has been mission to learn to use well, but in most ways it really does not sound like later marks. just as gainy- but softer spoken and less toothy- which works out cause i don't want a metal sound.

I don’t have a ton of direct experience with the IIB but have compared my Studio Preamp (IIC-ish) to my Mark III often and, although there is a ton of tonal overlap, the Studio Preamp is overall smoother and perhaps darker than the III.

 

[newholland]

I don’t have a ton of direct experience with the IIB but have compared my Studio Preamp (IIC-ish) to my Mark III often and, although there is a ton of tonal overlap, the Studio Preamp is overall just a bit smoother and perhaps darker than the III.

i think you're right- its definitely easy to paint YOURSELF in a corner with it. messing with it now i'd been keeping he bright pull off, as well as the treble shift in attempts to not fight with the upper mids, but it made it easier you just end up readjusting around it, and it doesnt really mess with the clean sound if you drop v1 gain. theres just so many ways to accomplish similar things that it can be a real asshole to find what you want.

 

[laxu]

Damn you all. I'm going to go check out a used Mark V:90 1x12 combo tomorrow.

Give me your best settings tips, and things I should check out to make sure everything works!

I know how to use the knob vs graphic EQ, the rest not so much. I've read the manual but that's never the same as using it for real.

 

[Mikael Dez]

Damn you all. I'm going to go check out a used Mark V:90 1x12 combo tomorrow.

Give me your best settings tips, and things I should check out to make sure everything works!

I know how to use the knob vs graphic EQ, the rest not so much. I've read the manual but that's never the same as using it for real.

I found this and plan on checking it out when my 35w gets in (hopefully today). I’m sure a lot of it applies (6/9 modes) to the 90w version. The “Original-C+” setting is popular on Reddit:

 

[Mikael Dez]

Shipping update, not getting here til Monday. Guess im gonna be sick on Monday.

 

[laxu]

Shipping update, not getting here til Monday. Guess im gonna be sick on Monday.

"Tone malaise" is a real condition, damn it!

 

[CorrosiveMatter]

Damn you all. I'm going to go check out a used Mark V:90 1x12 combo tomorrow.

Give me your best settings tips, and things I should check out to make sure everything works!

I know how to use the knob vs graphic EQ, the rest not so much. I've read the manual but that's never the same as using it for real.

Make sure you have the Master up as far as you can (with loop then output can turn it down) or it will sound shite.. I got a combo just like yours for one hell of a deal a few months back that I sold at cost to my friend and he could just not get any sound out of it he liked until he turned up the master.

 

[Mikael Dez]

I love this amp so much and it’s only been like 8 hours. Every channel on this is a gem. Clean and Fat are both beautiful and chiming, crunch has a lot of gain on tap. Channel two is filled with searing tones, heavy chugs and surprising cleans.

All day I’ve just been smiling playing this thing - and it’s not as hard to dial in as people say - just pay attention to what you’re adjusting and follow your ears.

 

[la szum]

I wonder if the different Cab/Speaker usage with the various Marks being
discussed, relative to Treble and Presence settings, also plays a role in perceived
differences of bite.... or lack thereof.

 

[la szum]

haha.. all i hear is dx7 patches. methinks guitar was an afterthought

I'd love a DX7.