Mesa Mark IVA + Rev Blue Uber

Recently acquired a 2012 Uber Rev Blue and have been tinkering with it in combination with my 1991 Mark IVA compact combo wth the EVM. Normally, I unplug the EVM and run the IV into my Mills Acoustics 4X12 with V30's and K100's. The tones I get with that setup are quite nice. "Solid" would be a good word on all tonal fronts. Bold, not very chimey or sparkling cleans but suits my style quite well. R2, although under-utilized has some very usable grittier sounds in it, but I wouldn't consider it a major part of my overall tonal palette. Lead channel is amazing. I don't need to go into great detail here as there are virtually unlimited resources in regard to it's possibilities. I will say that my favorite characteristic of the lead channel is it's boldness. It's aggressive without being fizzy, tight tracking, and yet still spongy enough to really translate picking dynamics in a smooth but present way.

Combining the newly acquired Uber (which is now connected to Mills and IV back into the EVM) seems to have major potential. First, I must say that this experiment will work much better with the Mark going into a 4X12. I have decided to try rewiring my Mills for stereo and running each head into either half. I'll have to see how that goes. My gut says it may not give me quite what I am aiming for without a dedicated 4X12 for the Mark.

My goal here is to dovetail the solid-ness of the Mark with the extended bottom/low mid of the Uber in both the clean and lead settings. I like the Uber's growly character with the gain running slightly on the lower side on the lead channel and really think it has a nice sag to it as well as adding some bloom and complexity on chords. As far as the clean, the Uber is somewhat similar to the Mark in the sense that it's just a solid, good clean -- it's not going to cop Twin tones. I run the cleans wet/dry with the Mesa getting the wet signal just because I like the loop better.

Has anyone here done something similar? Would love to hear some thoughts about settings etc.

Sounds like a killer rig.

I can’t help with settings on that. Sounds like an endless amount of possibilities.

I have a green Uber with the mills cab and it is completely crushing. I couldn’t imagine being able to add another amp into the mix.

My rig is somewhat similar. I run my Mark IV or Mark III and my Dual Recto in stereo. The Marks tight tracking meshes really well with the looser Recto. Run together, it makes for a giant wall of tone.

Tonally, they occupy a little different spaces, where the Recto accentuates the low mids, and depending on how I set the Mark IV, it can live in the same low mids territory, or it can accentuate a little more of a trebly/high-mids. Most owners don't really change the harmonics/mid-gain switch, and most people just leave it on "harmonics", but if you flip the switch down to "mid-gain", it brings out the low mods, and to my ears, has a more modern tone. It's subtle when you're just playing through the Mark IV, but if you're running the Mark IV in a stereo rig, it's much more noticeable.

Fun fact: bands such as Chevelle and Sevendust prefer to run their Mark IVs on the "mid-gain" setting because it gives the Mark IV a more "Recto" type tone, While still keeping the right tracking of the Mark IV. If you find yourself tubing down to C or B, try out the "mid-gain" setting. If you feel like the down-tunes guitars aren't tight enough, engage the Pentode mode.)

I have spent a fair amount of time playing with Mid Gain and I have to say, I don't notice much of a change in the low mids so much as a gain boost in general. I find that I have to adjust my gain settings on the rotary knobs (turn down treble and lead drive) in order to not introduce a bunch of unwanted noise. Maybe something is not configured correctly?

The sounds I really love the most from the Lead channel are not overly saturated. I love the fact that it can be dialed in quite smooth yet retain bite in the right places. I do run the gain very high (and pulled), but treble at 4-5 and bass 2 or less with the mids all over the spectrum but lately around 2-4. On Harmonics, I keep the Lead Drive in the 7-8 range. If I switch to Mid Gain it is necessary that I take it down to around 5.5 or 6ish.

Played for a bit tonight in current configuration (Mark Combo on top, Uber into Mills below) and even with the obvious shortcomings of such a set-up...man does it roar. All the balls and complex harmonics of the Bogner mixed with the compressed, throaty punch of the IV sure blends well. Got me seriously contemplating running down and picking up the used Uberkab at the local shop. GAS be damned!

I have used mid gain since I got my IV a year and a half ago. Everyone online seems to use the harmonic setting, but being a modern player, playing in drop B, mid gain works better for me. Recto is next on my list of amps to buy and pair with the IV. I tend to run a lot of gain, too. Treble, Gain, and Lead Drive all sit at about 8.

rbasaria":8di8b7du said:

I have used mid gain since I got my IV a year and a half ago. Everyone online seems to use the harmonic setting, but being a modern player, playing in drop B, mid gain works better for me. Recto is next on my list of amps to buy and pair with the IV. I tend to run a lot of gain, too. Treble, Gain, and Lead Drive all sit at about 8.

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On mine with those lead channel settings (Gain, Treble, Drive at 8) and the Mid Gain engaged it is very noisy. Either there is something not quite right with my amp, or I just play too damn loud

Do you run a noise gate?

JDH":1mxpc4nr said:

rbasaria":1mxpc4nr said:

I have used mid gain since I got my IV a year and a half ago. Everyone online seems to use the harmonic setting, but being a modern player, playing in drop B, mid gain works better for me. Recto is next on my list of amps to buy and pair with the IV. I tend to run a lot of gain, too. Treble, Gain, and Lead Drive all sit at about 8.

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On mine with those lead channel settings (Gain, Treble, Drive at 8) and the Mid Gain engaged it is very noisy. Either there is something not quite right with my amp, or I just play too damn loud

Do you run a noise gate?

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I run an NS-2 in 4CM, but its not that noisey without the gate when compared to my 5150 or my other guitar players PBII. Definitely still has some high gain noise. Maybe preamp tubes causing extra noise? Its hard to say without being in the room with your amp since high gain does produce noise, just depends what you're used to maybe. Its definitely not as quite as my Mark V was.

I love using my MarkIV on the Mid-Gain & Pentode settings. But I also run a pair of EL34s with a pair of 6L6s in it, in Simul-Class mode. I find that gets that angry heavy chug and chunk, but it's really tight and crunchy on the top end with a good set of speakers.

But I play in Standard E now. I don't do any of that "djent"-y stuff. And personally I find a lot of current modern metal guitar tones rather "clanky" in the midrange, like really abrupt but don't distort. Yet the top end sounds really harsh and sterile.

I recently reconfigured the signal routing to the two amps and I am getting some really great tones. I'm primarily running the Uber with a darker, smoother sound trying to emphasize the low midswith the gain set fairly low. On the Mark I am getting great rhythm from R2 with a boost in the loop. I use the lead channel for a volume boost with no EQ to get it to smooth out and move out in front of the Uber.

The louder they go, the beefier it gets! Really inspiring.

So I have had the chance to work with this pairing now for a while, and have some new thoughts.

#1. I have found that for my main sound (heavy...Metallica/Pantera/KSE-ish), I really like running the Uber in a scooped configuration with the wall of mids coming from the lead channel of the IV. I run the IV where it is not overly saturated and set it for as much punch and clarity with the pick attack as possible. The Uber is running with the gain higher -- scooped and dark and just churns out the wall-of-sound type of lows/low-mids. What this has enabled me to do is take advantage of the abundant mids on tap with the IV. In the past, I felt I needed to run the GEQ in a fairly drastic V shape in order to get the IV to sound big/wide and crunchy on top. Now, the Uber is taking care of the big/wide part and the IV can do what we all know the Mark series is capable of...that nice, smooth, warm overdrive with punch and clarity for miles.

#2. I went back to the store where I bought the Uber and they still had the Uberkab on the sales floor. I bought it. Now I have both heads running through two proper 4X12's. The Uberkab is front-loaded, and I am not sure I like that very much. It's fine at low volume, but as the volume increases it becomes quite direct-sounding and a little grating. I think I may try to rear-load the speakers, since the Uberkab is really just a normal cab (removable back, same dimensions as the old rear-loaded models). I have also considered getting rid of the g12t75's in it and going all V30. As of now, I have 3 different speaker types going (V30, G12T75, and K100), and I am not sure that I like that.

#3. I have read basically every thread on the entire internet regarding the Uber Rev Blue and, as they do, the forumites have convinced me to have it modded to accept some different power tube choices. I am very intrigued by KT88/6550, and I am inherently a lover of the 6L6. I can say, after trying EL34's in the Mark IV Class A sockets, I am not a fan of the EL34 sound. I have realized via all the reading I have done across various forums that people describe tones with words like "warm" and "sweet"...and they mean an entirely different thing to the individual based on their own ear. EL34s don't really go good with my style, which is pretty limited to big, glassy, piano-like cleans or all-out metal mayhem. Maybe someday I will buy and R8 and a Plexi clone, but today is not that day! So with that said, would I be better off with a KT88 or a 6550 for 6L6-type tones? Or should I just go full-bore and have the Uber modded to accept 6L6 since I already know I like them? Opinions please?

#4. While I was at the music store buying the Uberkab, I also bought a few essentials. I got the Radial Twin-City ABY to replace the sh!t Morley ABY I had been using. It is FANTASTIC so far. Nice buffer, phase switch, isolated transformer for second amp with ground lift, and a "Drag" control that is meant to simulate the resistance you get when plugging straight in to an amp. I have no use for the "Drag" control (EMG user), so no comment on that. The other notable thing was a couple of packs of D'Addario NYXL strings. They are expensive at $12.99 per pack, but so far what I have noticed is how quickly they settled in after being put on and hold tune better than anything else I have tried. If the claims of extra longevity hold true, I will be sticking with them.

JDH":3batuw8s said:

#3. I have read basically every thread on the entire internet regarding the Uber Rev Blue and, as they do, the forumites have convinced me to have it modded to accept some different power tube choices. I am very intrigued by KT88/6550, and I am inherently a lover of the 6L6. I can say, after trying EL34's in the Mark IV Class A sockets, I am not a fan of the EL34 sound. I have realized via all the reading I have done across various forums that people describe tones with words like "warm" and "sweet"...and they mean an entirely different thing to the individual based on their own ear. EL34s don't really go good with my style, which is pretty limited to big, glassy, piano-like cleans or all-out metal mayhem. Maybe someday I will buy and R8 and a Plexi clone, but today is not that day! So with that said, would I be better off with a KT88 or a 6550 for 6L6-type tones? Or should I just go full-bore and have the Uber modded to accept 6L6 since I already know I like them? Opinions please?

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No worries at all. I personally like a lot of "dirty-clean" guitar tones that are quite chimey when you play the strings softly, and distort with grit and girth when you dig in. You need that warmth otherwise it sounds harsh. That's what I like about EL34s and why I run them in Simulclass with a pair of 6L6s in my MarkIV.