How NOT to make a Mesa Mark sound good.

[jsp]

Having the mids on max is better than not having them at all. The guitar is a mid-range instrument. Just sayin'.

Not on a Mark. The amp is all mids until you bring the slider pretty far down. And in general, too much mids aren't desireable either, it can make you sound muddy or honky and sound just as ugly as sounding too scooped.

 

[sjk]

Having the mids on max is better than not having them at all. The guitar is a mid-range instrument. Just sayin'.

Not on a Mark. The amp is all mids until you bring the slider pretty far down. And in general, too much mids aren't desireable either, it can make you sound muddy or honky and sound just as ugly as sounding too scooped.

My opinion is a different on this. Yes they have lots of mids but if you are not going for a metal tone the III IV and V on the lead channel actually sound quite good with the right speakers with the graphic eq off.

 

[some dude]

I knew it was going to be bad as soon as I saw how he had the EQ sliders set.

That, and the bass knob is on 10.

 

[glassjaw7]

I knew it was going to be bad as soon as I saw how he had the EQ sliders set.

That, and the bass knob is on 10.

Yep. Worst thing you can do with these amps is dial the bass above 2-3. At least for me it's that low. I add quite a bit back in with the graphic.

 

[some dude]

I knew it was going to be bad as soon as I saw how he had the EQ sliders set.

That, and the bass knob is on 10.

Yep. Worst thing you can do with these amps is dial the bass above 2-3. At least for me it's that low. I add quite a bit back in with the graphic.

Seeing his settings makes me realize why so many Marshall guys hate Mesas.

 

[mxr2000]

The trick with Mark series,Studio pre and Quad pre, dial first with out grafic eq, then add grafic eq to compensate,its like a game that take years to grow on you..... And then Bang!! without even trying, you learn how to dial the amp on a minute!!!

 

[Mudder]

The trick with Mark series,Studio pre and Quad pre, dial first with out grafic eq, then add grafic eq to compensate,its like a game that take years to grow on you..... And then Bang!! without even trying, you learn how to dial the amp on a minute!!!

Dial with your ears too. My friends are amazed when they come over and see bass on 1 or 2, treble on 8 or 9, then wonder how there's so much power and thump.

 

[jsp]

Dial with your ears too.

Should be common sense with all amps, but somehow isn't with a lot of people...

 

[Stinkbomb]

and that my friends is why i'll never post a sound clip on here!

 

[petejt]

I knew it was going to be bad as soon as I saw how he had the EQ sliders set.

That, and the bass knob is on 10.

Yep. Worst thing you can do with these amps is dial the bass above 2-3. At least for me it's that low. I add quite a bit back in with the graphic.

Seeing his settings makes me realize why so many Marshall guys hate Mesas.

I guess I'm not in that camp. I love both Marshall amps and Mesa/Boogie amps, and therefore use both side by side.

 

[carlygtr]

Brad Gillis had the middle band on the Mesa EQ boosted. Not all the way up.

 

[blackba]

I knew it was going to be bad as soon as I saw how he had the EQ sliders set.

That, and the bass knob is on 10.

Yep. Worst thing you can do with these amps is dial the bass above 2-3. At least for me it's that low. I add quite a bit back in with the graphic.

Seeing his settings makes me realize why so many Marshall guys hate Mesas.

I guess I'm not in that camp. I love both Marshall amps and Mesa/Boogie amps, and therefore use both side by side.

Me either, I love both my Marshall Silver Jubilee and Mesa mark IVA. They even sit side by side in my music room. Its all about dialing in amps with your ears, not your eyes. Its easy to say and hard to do. But dialing in with your ears works for every amp.

 

[rp108]

I knew it was going to be bad as soon as I saw how he had the EQ sliders set.

That, and the bass knob is on 10.

Yep. Worst thing you can do with these amps is dial the bass above 2-3. At least for me it's that low. I add quite a bit back in with the graphic.

Exactly. On my Mark IV the bass is at 2. Dial in the low end from the graphic eq. A Mesa Boogie, especially a Mark, in the wrong hands can sound like crap. In the right hands can sound incredible. The Mark IV to me is one of the greatest amps out there. I just don't understand how the Mark V doesn't come close to the Mark IV, at least the lead channel.

 

[thiswaythatway]

I knew it was going to be bad as soon as I saw how he had the EQ sliders set.

That, and the bass knob is on 10.

Yep. Worst thing you can do with these amps is dial the bass above 2-3. At least for me it's that low. I add quite a bit back in with the graphic.

Exactly. On my Mark IV the bass is at 2. Dial in the low end from the graphic eq. A Mesa Boogie, especially a Mark, in the wrong hands can sound like crap. In the right hands can sound incredible. The Mark IV to me is one of the greatest amps out there. I just don't understand how the Mark V doesn't come close to the Mark IV, at least the lead channel.

Yeah, I like the Mark IV lead channel over the V. In fact, the IV can be dialed in pretty close to a IIC+ but it still will sound a little more refined.

 

[jsp]

Here's my Mark 5

 

[4406cuda]

Brad Gillis had the middle band on the Mesa EQ boosted. Not all the way up.

Brad Gillis with his Mark IIB's on Speak Of The devil is one of my favorite guitar tones.

Also John Sykes with his Mark III on Whitesnake and possibly Blue Murder is also one of my favorite tones.

 

[nwright]

Back when I owned a line 6 flextone, the manual had a great explanation as to how mesa mark series amps tone controls worked (pre gain stage and post)....to a noob like me it really helped when the time came when I got to check one out in person.

 

[shadowvault]

Lol what is dis?!

 

[tallcoolone]

Lol what is dis?!

This is pretty much a rundown of what happens right before we see a "'Mesa Mark amps don't do it for me" thread on the internet...

 

[moronmountain]

Everyone is talking about how sucky sounding dude's settings are on that amp, but I think we need to give his playing credit. I mean even with those sucky settings a good player could make something ok come out of that amp. With this dude though, even if the amp was set perfectly, his playing would ruin any chances of something good coming from the speakers. Remember that the amp is only part of the equation.