Mark V no saturated gain, no modern metal sound...

[Chazzy]

So i will be playing killpop with my band for the school talent show, and i will be using my teachers mark V... ive practised with it before, and end up using a cube 40 in the end... No matter how hard i try i can't get a high gain sound out of it... channel 3 on extreme with the gain cranked it simply doesnt give me the saturated gain sound... like the amount of gain im getting resembles the amount of gain jimi page uses (i like page but im playing modern metal here...) Anyway I just want to know any little tricks, special knobs or switches on back or front that maybe changes the gain or gives me a high gain sound... thanks!

[Big Flannel]

Re: Mark V no saturated gain, no modern metal sound...

What do you have the volume set to?

[Chazzy]

Re: Mark V no saturated gain, no modern metal sound...

pretty low, but loud enough for drums and whole band.... also im playing the combo

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Mark V no saturated gain, no modern metal sound...

This is hard to believe, unless there is something wrong with the amp. I use the Mark V C90 combo with a Wide-Body Closed Back V30 extension cab and the sound is huge.

What kind of guitar are your using? What pickups?

I would check out the Demo Video on YouTube with John Petrucci and check out his settings on channel 3 in the EXTREME mode. I think there may be a vid of Mark Morton of LOG and he's been using a Mark V.

I suspect that you'll want the 90-watt mode in FULL power, pentode.

And the really critical piece to the Mark V is how you use the Graphic EQ. You might have an easier time of it using the PRESET EQs.

And it wouldn't hurt you to download a copy of the Owner's Manual from the Mesa website and go over it. There are some good recommended settings to start you on the right track.

Good luck.

Bill

[EDX]

Re: Mark V no saturated gain, no modern metal sound...

download the owner's manueal from the mesa website, set the full wattage, IIC+ mode and the preset graph EQ ("V" shape) and something like B7 M6 T7 or 8 on the channel EQ, gain at full throttle and volume at liking

also why you haven't asked your teacher how to set the mark v? or better yet, ask him to "help" you setting it?

[allbutromeo]

Re: Mark V no saturated gain, no modern metal sound...

This thing has more gain than anyone really needs. As said above download the owners manual@ http://www.mesaboogie.com/support/us...ls.html?page=3 and read pages 28 -37 to get an idea how to set that up. My recommendation for settings is Extreme mode, EQ on, 45w, gain 1-2 o'clock, Channel Vol as high as needed (if you need more set to 90w), Presence 1-2 o'clock, Bright switch on, Bass 9:30-10:30 (this thing has a lot of bass and will woof out the speakers in high gain and volume), Mid 11-1 o'clock, Treble noon-1. In the Graphic EQ section put the switch for channel 3 in the position marked Sliders, then set the sliders in a V shape with the two on the ends at or just below the top line, and the middle one at or just above the bottom line. That should get you close, and you can tweak from there.
Regarding the use of 45w mode, I prefer it to get the power tubes working a little harder, I think it gives it a much fuller sound.

[Chazzy]

Re: Mark V no saturated gain, no modern metal sound...

ive used multiple guitars, yamaha sbg with sd pegasus and sentient, and bc rich mockingbird with bkp nailbombs... (yes they are wired correctly) I checked out mark mortons settings and copied them exactly... no gain at all... also the clean channel sounds absolutely fantastic so i dont think there is anything wrong with the amp.

[Chazzy]

Re: Mark V no saturated gain, no modern metal sound...

Hes not a metal guy, hes a jazz player, and has never really messed with any metal settings...

[El Supremo]

Re: Mark V no saturated gain, no modern metal sound...

I played one and it certainly has plenty of gain. Hell, Cannibal Corpse used this amp in the studio. Pretty much says it.
Like others said, download the manual. Heavy sounds are certainly there.

[vinta9e]

Re: Mark V no saturated gain, no modern metal sound...

You sure you don't need a Metal Zone, huh?

[allbutromeo]

Re: Mark V no saturated gain, no modern metal sound...

Also keep in mind that most pro metal player don't use as much gain as you might think, an over saturated sound often gets too compressed and doesn't cut through the mix in a band situation. As someone who's been using a MkV for a few years now I can say that if you're not getting a good high gain sound there is something wrong either with that particular amp or its operator error

[Edgecrusher]

Re: Mark V no saturated gain, no modern metal sound...

download the owner's manueal from the mesa website, set the full wattage, IIC+ mode and the preset graph EQ ("V" shape) and something like B7 M6 T7 or 8 on the channel EQ, gain at full throttle and volume at liking

Thats way too much bass and mids to get metal from a MKV. They should be low like less than 4 and never above half.. NEVER.

should be more like B4 M3 T6.

The reason the amp sounds flubby and jimi page to him is the bass and mids are too high...

that being said... most pro metal players that use the MK V will also run a boost infront of it. The MKV has less gain than my MKIV and a ton less than a dual rec.

[Chazzy]

Re: Mark V no saturated gain, no modern metal sound...

i use my peavey 6534+ with the gain around 6 which is the sweetspot... any higher and it sounds crap... i crank the gain on the mark and its not even close to half the amount of gain of my peavey

[Chazzy]

Re: Mark V no saturated gain, no modern metal sound...

no seriously its the lack of gain, ik how to eq my amps properly... my peavey really has like 2 times the amount of gain at around 5-6 when the mark is cranked...

[Edgecrusher]

Re: Mark V no saturated gain, no modern metal sound...

i use my peavey 6534+ with the gain around 6 which is the sweetspot... any higher and it sounds crap... i crank the gain on the mark and its not even close to half the amount of gain of my peavey

You cant dial a Mark series amp like you dial a peavey at all. 1 the mark v has less gain than the 6534 does... 2 the treble knob literally controls the amount of gain on the mk v.. if its too low you wont have enough gain.