Mesa Mark IV help

inferzum

inferzum

New Metal Member
May 3, 2009
22
0
1
California
This is my very first post on this forum. I have used the search function, and have found a great deal of useful information about this beautiful sounding amp, but it seems everywhere I research tends to lack some of the information I need to know about it before I completely succumb to it. :worship:
I haven't played on one yet, but I've heard them live on 2 occasions, and it sounded awesome, so I'm very Interested!

I've been in search for a tone for a progressive-death metal band that can really blend well with my lead guitarists triple recto. And I've read that the mixture of these two is damn near life changing..... but in reverse order. I haven't really read anything that gave me a great amount of information about its rhythm capabilities, and I need a good crunchy sound along with the perfect lead possibilities that baby can handle. :kickass:
I tried listening to the rhythm tone samples you guys recorded to give me a good idea, but all the links i tried were broken so I was out of luck. If you guys need an idea what what we play, you can listen to some of our stuff on my guitarists soundclick.
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=868938
(Preferably aurorae v2)


As far as I know, people have been telling me if I needed to tighten up the lows and mids of the rhythm channel, I should suffice with a TS, but I don't want to spend more money if I really don't have to ( My wallet is already screaming in agony over the Mk-IV)

Any feedback on what I should do?
 
Hey dude,

I used to have a Mark III, have played Mark IVs, and know how the controls work pretty well!

First off, read the manual if you haven't already.

Next, you really don't need a tubescreamer for the Mark IV. It Is plenty damn tight as is!

The Mark IV controls don't work ANYTHING like a Marshall, Peavey, whatever. The treble actually introduces a lot more gain if you set it higher. If you are going for a tight metal sound, try setting the treble and gain to taste (start at 5 or so), put the mids VERY low, like 1-2, seriously. Don't worry, it won't sound scooped this way. You can shape the mids with the graphic EQ. Same goes for the lows. I always set the lows very minimally like the mids. Trust me, this will work. Start with those settings, then experiment as much as possible with the graphich EQ and it will sound awesome!

-Joe
 
J.DavisNJ said:
Hey dude,

I used to have a Mark III, have played Mark IVs, and know how the controls work pretty well!

First off, read the manual if you haven't already.

Next, you really don't need a tubescreamer for the Mark IV. It Is plenty damn tight as is!

The Mark IV controls don't work ANYTHING like a Marshall, Peavey, whatever. The treble actually introduces a lot more gain if you set it higher. If you are going for a tight metal sound, try setting the treble and gain to taste (start at 5 or so), put the mids VERY low, like 1-2, seriously. Don't worry, it won't sound scooped this way. You can shape the mids with the graphic EQ. Same goes for the lows. I always set the lows very minimally like the mids. Trust me, this will work. Start with those settings, then experiment as much as possible with the graphich EQ and it will sound awesome!

-Joe
Click to expand...

And if none of that helps...sell it to me for cheap. ;) :D
 
Hey, it's Mick's other guitarist - welcome dude! Didn't realize you had a Mark IV, that must sound bitchin' blended with the Rectifier. As for settings, I can't help, those amps scare the hell out of me! (push/pull knobs, tonestack in a weird place in the signal chain, balancing the 5 band eq, ugghhh, I love my Rectos :D)
 
Metaltastic said:
Hey, it's Mick's other guitarist - welcome dude! Didn't realize you had a Mark IV, that must sound bitchin' blended with the Rectifier. As for settings, I can't help, those amps scare the hell out of me! (push/pull knobs, tonestack in a weird place in the signal chain, balancing the 5 band eq, ugghhh, I love my Rectos :D)
Click to expand...

Tonestack attributes to those wacky ass EQ settings I posted above, but trust me, those make it sound dandy!

Most dudes will crank the mids and lows and it sounds like pure balls like that. Not good balls. lol.

-Joe
 
The MkIV tone stack is at the input stage of the amp (like a Fender) so the tone shaping takes place at the front end (pre-distortion). Because of this, a Tube Screamer is not as necessary IMO. You can shape the tone for the distortion with the tone controls on the amp. The graphic EQ is post distortion, closer to where a Marshall's tone stack is. This is where you can shape the overall tone of the amp.

With the Treble around 6-8, mids around 4-5 (or even higher), bass around 2 you get a nice tight, distortion. (Lead gain around 8, Lead drive around 7.) Then use the graphic EQ in a "V" to scoop out some of the mids for a modern metal sound. It's possible to go way too scooped on the graphic EQ, so a moderate "V" is adequate with the left side of the "V" slightly higher than the right to keep the amp from sounding too bright.

Generally, I like all the dials pulled out on Ch. 3 (pull fat, bright and shift), otherwise the amps seems too mid-focused and dry to me.

I set the rear switch to "Harmonics" instead of mid boost, as the amp doesn't have a lot of harmonic content to begin with. Also, it seems setting the rear switch to "Pentode" instead of "Triode" gives more harmonics as well. (In my experience, EL-34's in the outer two tube sockets can also add to the crunch factor and harmonics if you need more.) Too much harmonic content can make the amp lose clarity, depending on the guitar, so see what sounds best....

They are pretty loud, punchy/percussive amps with a stiff feel. You might also try running just in Class A mode on the rear panel to bring the volume down a tad and soften it up a little.

That should get you going, at least. YMMV, so see what sounds good to you.
 
J.DavisNJ said:
Hey dude,

I used to have a Mark III, have played Mark IVs, and know how the controls work pretty well!

First off, read the manual if you haven't already.

Next, you really don't need a tubescreamer for the Mark IV. It Is plenty damn tight as is!

The Mark IV controls don't work ANYTHING like a Marshall, Peavey, whatever. The treble actually introduces a lot more gain if you set it higher. If you are going for a tight metal sound, try setting the treble and gain to taste (start at 5 or so), put the mids VERY low, like 1-2, seriously. Don't worry, it won't sound scooped this way. You can shape the mids with the graphic EQ. Same goes for the lows. I always set the lows very minimally like the mids. Trust me, this will work. Start with those settings, then experiment as much as possible with the graphich EQ and it will sound awesome!

-Joe
Click to expand...
Wow, thanks for all the input guys! It seems like there's a lot of well-informed people here who really know what their talking about.
I honestly wouldn't doubt this amp's capability of producing the sound that I desire. Mesa always makes great amps no matter what. I'll make sure to research more with the manual before I go try one out! Thanks for the setting advice, I've heard these things can bring out mids to the radius of the planet. :lol:
Another question though, I was thinking about getting the mesa cab to match with it, but depending on tone, is there any other cabs I should look into that can help with the rhythm tone I'll get from it?

Metaltastic said:
Hey, it's Mick's other guitarist - welcome dude! Didn't realize you had a Mark IV, that must sound bitchin' blended with the Rectifier. As for settings, I can't help, those amps scare the hell out of me! (push/pull knobs, tonestack in a weird place in the signal chain, balancing the 5 band eq, ugghhh, I love my Rectos :D)
Click to expand...
Hey! I didn't know I'd automatically be recognized here, but yeah I'm his other guitarist.
Well, I don't have one YET, but I should be able to afford it when a certain settlement check comes sometime around next week... ooh, ow my neck & back.:lol: So once I get it, blending both that and Mick's triple recto will be really nice, but I need to make sure because honestly... I really haven't heard anything I like rhythm-wise to make me feel too comfortable about getting it.( and yes, I somewhat despise LoG's tone.)


53Crëw;8372277 said:
Too much harmonic content can make the amp lose clarity, depending on the guitar, so see what sounds best....
Click to expand...
my main one is an 18v Esp/Ltd ec-1000 w/emg 81(b) & 85(n) and my secondary, which I pretty much play just as much, is a 9v Jackson rr3 w/ the same pups my ltd has. Of course, when I test it out, I'm bringing my 18v to do some damage :kickass:
 
Regarding cabs, man, it's hard to go wrong with the Mesa Standard Rectifier cab. (The oversized cab w/ V30's.) You can find them on ebay or Craig's list for about $500.

(I'm sure Marcus will be here any second to sing the praises of the OS Recto cab, LOL.)
 
inferzum said:
Hey! I didn't know I'd automatically be recognized here, but yeah I'm his other guitarist.
Well, I don't have one YET, but I should be able to afford it when a certain settlement check comes sometime around next week... ooh, ow my neck & back.:lol: So once I get it, blending both that and Mick's triple recto will be really nice, but I need to make sure because honestly... I really haven't heard anything I like rhythm-wise to make me feel too comfortable about getting it.( and yes, I somewhat despise LoG's tone.)
Click to expand...

Yeah man, I really dug aurorae when I listened a couple weeks back, great stuff! And I feel the same way about the Mark IV, so many options yet I've never really heard one sound too spectacular...so why are you getting one? ;) If you wanna compliment the Recto I'd go for a 5150 or a Krank!

And yeah, Mesa Standard for the win, nothing better IMO! (you called it 53Crew :D)
 
Definitely worth trying out the Mark IV with the right settings. They can sound wayyyy better thanb LOG's tone. I don't know why people use them as a shining example, haha!

Can't go wrong with a Mesa cab w/ vintage 30s! Also, I've played a Mark IV through those metal grilled Mesa cabs. Some came with Black Shadow 90s (basically a Celestion Custom Lead 80) and some with EVM speakers, but let me tell you...what sound! Especially paired with the Mark IV. Huge and meaty! I'm a vintage 30 guy too, so it took me by surprise.

-Joe
 
Ewwwww, I really do not like MC90s or CL80s (only heard clips of the first, but I had a second for a little while, not a fan, both sound really weird/squelchy in a very old-school thrash way IMO, and those are tones I'm NOT fond of). I'd much rather have T75's over them if I had a choice! (but of course V30s rule the roost, though I do really wanna try a G12K100 in my Recto cab for the hell of it)
 
Metaltastic said:
Ewwwww, I really do not like MC90s or CL80s (only heard clips of the first, but I had a second for a little while, not a fan, both sound really weird/squelchy in a very old-school thrash way IMO, and those are tones I'm NOT fond of). I'd much rather have T75's over them if I had a choice! (but of course V30s rule the roost, though I do really wanna try a G12K100 in my Recto cab for the hell of it)
Click to expand...

I'm mistaken I think...they used to pair them with the EVMs and it made for a great combo! But you are right, it was quite old school sounding. I do dig that sound! Probably not your steeze, but I was diggin' it a lot. Unfortunately they aren't really made anymore in that combo, so it would be hard to try out.

-Joe
 
Metaltastic said:
Yeah man, I really dug aurorae when I listened a couple weeks back, great stuff! And I feel the same way about the Mark IV, so many options yet I've never really heard one sound too spectacular...so why are you getting one? ;) If you wanna compliment the Recto I'd go for a 5150 or a Krank!

And yeah, Mesa Standard for the win, nothing better IMO! (you called it 53Crew :D)
Click to expand...
Glad you liked it! It was Mickey's first time actually recording by mic'ing the cab and using the DI, so he we were all pretty much stressing on making it sound as best as we possibly could.
I've done some extensive searches on some other forums, including listening to some tone samples and actually listening to it being played live and personally, I LOVE the lead voicing it gives along with its massive versatility.... The only downside to that is that most, if not all, of the good samples I've dug up are all just guys either playing LoG, Petrucci, or Metallica leaving little to my imagination to what else this amp has to offer. Which is why I STRONGLY want to research this amp as much as I can before I try it out so very little ground gets left untouched when I do, you know?

But let's say I try it and decide on not taking it, I know I CAN'T go wrong with a recto since I already love the tone that can give, but I want to know other options that are just as worthy. I tried a Jsx the other day, and wasn't really digging the kinda fizzy gain it had, so a nice guitar center employee suggested trying out a XXX, which he said has a similar voicing to the recto...

I'll probably end up getting a 5150 later on though too, so I can use both at one time.... but one step at a time. :)
 
Haha, yeah, I definitely could say a lot about the JSX, but I'll keep it simple and say I wouldn't expect it to grow on ya ;) I've heard some decent clips of the XXX, but never tried one, and Kranks (especially the Rev) sound really beastly - but all those are still behind the Rectifier IMO! And yeah, the Mark excels at creamy leads, but then again I think a Rectifier in Vintage mode does it plenty well enough for my needs!
 
Wow, yeah, I'd always heard people describe the Mark IV as sounding "hollow", and that's pretty much the first word that comes to mind when I hear that clip...

The recto one sounds great though!
 
I don't think those 2 clips had the same mic positions (definitely sounds like different mic placement to me). His Trad V OS Cab Shootout had the same mic positions for both the Krank and 5150. I think the IV and Recto clips were done after the comparison. Maybe that accounts for the Recto sounding a little buzzier, maybe not. The IV is nice and focussed though.
 
that mark iv clip sounds like some jimi hendrix shit
sounds like some octave pedal shit going on there
cool
 
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