Tried out Mesa today - MAJOR dissapointment

[barricade]

Maybe you just don't like it. My opinion about Mesa amps is that you need some time to figure them out...they are kinda tricky imo

 

[Teddyboy]

I think that the Mark series have plenty of gain. I own Mark II and Triaxis and never had problems with the amount of gain. That doesn't mean though that they are easy play-n-play amps. That's because they have plenty push-pull knobs and the EQ. Give them time and you'' be rewarded

 

[ahjteam]

So you played on an old ass Mesa that was never geared for high gain and you are assuming they are all like that?

assuming that the particular model is (mark 2/3), or that the particular unit was broken, yes. I just might not have worded it out properly.

 

[Omega_Void]

From your earlier description it sounds like the Rhythm channels aren't necessarily bad.

If it is Mark iii, it should have five 12ax7 triodes. Try swapping V3 (Lead channel) with V4 (reverb driver). Maybe that will help the Lead channel.

 

[ahjteam]

From your earlier description it sounds like the Rhythm channels aren't necessarily bad.

If it is Mark iii, it should have five 12ax7 triodes. Try swapping V3 (Lead channel) with V4 (reverb driver). Maybe that will help the Lead channel.

Might do it, if it was my amp.

 

[Plec]

I have a couple ENGL's, a couple Mesa Rectifiers, 5150, Laney, Marshalls etc.... but the Mesa Mark III is my fav. gain monster/rhythm amp of them all.

If it's not broken, you just handled it wrong. User error basically.

 

[Melb_shredder]

I use a mark iv... with the gain anywhere past 7-8 it's ridiculous. the amp was either bung, or you didn't dial it correctly, sounds like an amp issue though, those amps are pretty fucking gainy!

 

[zirkonflex]

Yeah, gainwise its a little lower than most modern amps but its still able to achieve a way to overgained sound.
I know that Mark Morton used that thing with Duncan JB's without boost in some of the guitarworld stuff and it was overdriven like fuck ...

 

[ahjteam]

Alright, went and tried out Triple Rectifier yesterday at GC. Damn that thing sounds good.

 

[amarshism]

Did you have an od hooked up. Really turns into a different kinda monster.

 

[ahjteam]

Did you have an od hooked up. Really turns into a different kinda monster.

nope, i used it without a distortion pedal and it reads in the op.

 

[aramism]

amp must have been broken. there's no other explanation. any mark series mesa except like the first mark i combo from the 60s has an assload of gain.

the mark iii isn't a "jazz" amp. II/III/IV all differ in their voicing and features and stuff but they have the same elementary cores. there is just no way that amp was functioning properly if you put it into the lead (red) channel and did not get any distrotion. you might not like the sond of the gain, but in the lead channel they all distort quite easily. the II does not even have a rhythm channel anyway, the older mark series are just 2 channels i'm pretty sure.


side note: with a boost you can get pretty cool chunk/rock zztopish/acdc tones out of the rhythm channel with healthy amounts of distortion. but the rhtyhm channels are not the primary distortin channels, they are like dirty tones i guess. the lead is where the is at.

 

[Curse9]

I remember OzFox of Stryper spoke about Mark-II-C. He mentioned it was a prototype. This thing has lots of gain imo. Here you can listen to the album which was recorded with that Mesa:

You can read OzFox speaking about that tone in this threat:http://www.gearslutz.com/board/high-end/57550-question-michael-wagener-guitar-stryper-albums.html