New tip for Mesa boogie Mark IV settings

[blackba]

I saw this post over on TGP. https://www.thegearpage.net/board/showth ... 37&page=27
Here it is in case the link doesn't work. Do you guys agree, any thoughts?

I bought a MK-IV when it first came out (circa 1992) and hated it, but kept it because I just knew it was a good amp and the problem was my own limitations. It literally took me over a year to be comfortable with it enough to use 'live'. Yes, I do know how ridiculous that is and why some find it easier to just hate it and move on. But it made me able to deal with anything out there. I guess that is what learning is about. I also own the MK-V, which is much more straight forward in how things are set up, but does not quite nail the magic that is a dialed-in MK IV.

3 things that ended my MK-IV aggravation:

> the 3 mini-masters mess with your tone when not on 10. Use instead the Global Master to tame the volume.

> tone controls, "mids" on 10 ..bass on "0" .. treble set per particular guitar (since they are all before preamp distortion this avoids 'bass-flub').

> add bass only with the EQ and bypass when live to cut through ... and avoid the infamous "V" EQ shape.

 

[Gainfreak]

I saw this post over on TGP. https://www.thegearpage.net/board/showth ... 37&page=27
Here it is in case the link doesn't work. Do you guys agree, any thoughts?

I bought a MK-IV when it first came out (circa 1992) and hated it, but kept it because I just knew it was a good amp and the problem was my own limitations. It literally took me over a year to be comfortable with it enough to use 'live'. Yes, I do know how ridiculous that is and why some find it easier to just hate it and move on. But it made me able to deal with anything out there. I guess that is what learning is about. I also own the MK-V, which is much more straight forward in how things are set up, but does not quite nail the magic that is a dialed-in MK IV.

3 things that ended my MK-IV aggravation:

> the 3 mini-masters mess with your tone when not on 10. Use instead the Global Master to tame the volume.

> tone controls, "mids" on 10 ..bass on "0" .. treble set per particular guitar (since they are all before preamp distortion this avoids 'bass-flub').

> add bass only with the EQ and bypass when live to cut through ... and avoid the infamous "V" EQ shape.

Just another users preferance on an already flexible amp.

Ive owned my MKIV since 1992-3 also and I'm still finding cool new tones on it.

Ive tried something similar to his settings and I find that there are a lot of others that work just as well.

it's all about using what works for you and it's cool that he passed on his settings/ findings!

 

[blackba]

^ Have you tried the the channel volumes on 10 and just adjusted with the master volume?

I generally run my channel volumes around 3 or 4. I do find there is volume loss when I engage my effects loop. The Master volume is already touchy enough, so I can't imagine how touchy it would be if I had all the channel volumes maxed out.

 

[vultures]

^ Have you tried the the channel volumes on 10 and just adjusted with the master volume?

I generally run my channel volumes around 3 or 4. I do find there is volume loss when I engage my effects loop. The Master volume is already touchy enough, so I can't imagine how touchy it would be if I had all the channel volumes maxed out.

I run with all the channel volumes at 10 and use the master. It's extremely touchy, around 2 it's extremely loud, around 2.1 it almost demolishes my entire house.

I found it sounds better imho, feels like the tubes are more saturated (sorta like an attenuator). But then again I play with way too much gain, and load that on like crazy so it all sounds good anyway

 

[kiff]

I run the channel vols around 5 or 6 and the clean channel's a little higher 7 or 8 (since I use emg's, and to avoid dirt, I have very low gain settings on r1, so the channel's master compensates for the volume).

For lead channel, yea bass on zero for no flub, and treble up high (increases gain), mid around 5 (never seemed to matter too much...)

 

[Gainfreak]

^ Have you tried the the channel volumes on 10 and just adjusted with the master volume?

I generally run my channel volumes around 3 or 4. I do find there is volume loss when I engage my effects loop. The Master volume is already touchy enough, so I can't imagine how touchy it would be if I had all the channel volumes maxed out.

Yeah, Ive done it before and it does sound cool but it can get loud real quick because the big master volume on mine has a hair trigger lol.

There was a time where I prefered the little masters on 7 or 8 but I was only using the gain channel at the time. I did notice that when using the clean that I had that up high anyway.

I don't agree with the mids being on 10. Ive not had that experiance but Ive always ran my treble high to get more gain and My bass has alway been on 0 since I get the bass from the Graphic.

I find that in a live situation that it might work better keeping the little masters higher or running the amp at lower wattage and cranking it.

I will say this however.. Whenever I was the single guitar player in a band the MKIV worked great but If playing with 2 guitar players or someone using a Marshall sometime I got eaten alive and I had to crank the crap out of the amp. That has just been my experiance and others have not had the same thing happen but Ive experianced that at times.

 

[stephen sawall]

Mine right now has the CHANNEL MASTERS set like this ...tada
CLEAN....8ish
RHY2......4/5 maybe..
LEAD......4ish
In most cases the midrange knobs do not go above 4 .... bass 3.
The setting have been know to change all over the place depending on my needs and wants and other gear being used at the time. Same with the rest of the knobs & switches .... I use them all. I tend to use AUTO GEQ on RHY2. I do not use the GEQ with the lead channel much anymore. I like the voice for playing single not lead stuff better without the GEQ in most cases. Cuts in a band mix great for me.
Original owner of the 12th one made and still finding new sounds in it also.

 

[blackba]

Mine right now has the CHANNEL MASTERS set like this ...tada
CLEAN....8ish
RHY2......4/5 maybe..
LEAD......4ish
In most cases the midrange knobs do not go above 4 .... bass 3.
The setting have been know to change all over the place depending on my needs and wants and other gear being used at the time. Same with the rest of the knobs & switches .... I use them all. I tend to use AUTO GEQ on RHY2. I do not use the GEQ with the lead channel much anymore. I like the voice for playing single not lead stuff better without the GEQ in most cases. Cuts in a band mix great for me.
Original owner of the 12th one made and still finding new sounds in it also.

Cool thanks for the tips. I have owned mine since 2001. Mine is a 1990 mark IVA, so an early one. I will try running the GEQ on R2, that sounds like a good idea. I really like the mark IVA, always interested to hear new settings or ways to run it....

 

[sjk]

Mark IVs are fun indeed, I will have one again, just a matter of time.

 

[stephen sawall]

Mine right now has the CHANNEL MASTERS set like this ...tada
CLEAN....8ish
RHY2......4/5 maybe..
LEAD......4ish
In most cases the midrange knobs do not go above 4 .... bass 3.
The setting have been know to change all over the place depending on my needs and wants and other gear being used at the time. Same with the rest of the knobs & switches .... I use them all. I tend to use AUTO GEQ on RHY2. I do not use the GEQ with the lead channel much anymore. I like the voice for playing single not lead stuff better without the GEQ in most cases. Cuts in a band mix great for me.
Original owner of the 12th one made and still finding new sounds in it also.

Cool thanks for the tips. I have owned mine since 2001. Mine is a 1990 mark IVA, so an early one. I will try running the GEQ on R2, that sounds like a good idea. I really like the mark IVA, always interested to hear new settings or ways to run it....

For RHY2 often I use a small V with both 750 & 2200 dropped about the same. Basically just enough to get a balanced voice..... with the Mark amps being midrange heavy.
A other trick I use on the lead channel is boost 240, 750 & 6600 .... then use the full range of 2200 to find a lot of different lead sounds. Amazing how many lead voices can found with this method.

 

[blackba]

Mine right now has the CHANNEL MASTERS set like this ...tada
CLEAN....8ish
RHY2......4/5 maybe..
LEAD......4ish
In most cases the midrange knobs do not go above 4 .... bass 3.
The setting have been know to change all over the place depending on my needs and wants and other gear being used at the time. Same with the rest of the knobs & switches .... I use them all. I tend to use AUTO GEQ on RHY2. I do not use the GEQ with the lead channel much anymore. I like the voice for playing single not lead stuff better without the GEQ in most cases. Cuts in a band mix great for me.
Original owner of the 12th one made and still finding new sounds in it also.

Cool thanks for the tips. I have owned mine since 2001. Mine is a 1990 mark IVA, so an early one. I will try running the GEQ on R2, that sounds like a good idea. I really like the mark IVA, always interested to hear new settings or ways to run it....

For RHY2 often I use a small V with both 750 & 2200 dropped about the same. Basically just enough to get a balanced voice..... with the Mark amps being midrange heavy.
A other trick I use on the lead channel is boost 240, 750 & 6600 .... then use the full range of 2200 to find a lot of different lead sounds. Amazing how many lead voices can found with this method.

Thanks again for the tips, I will give them a try soon.

 

[philb]

Mine right now has the CHANNEL MASTERS set like this ...tada
CLEAN....8ish
RHY2......4/5 maybe..
LEAD......4ish
In most cases the midrange knobs do not go above 4 .... bass 3.
The setting have been know to change all over the place depending on my needs and wants and other gear being used at the time. Same with the rest of the knobs & switches .... I use them all. I tend to use AUTO GEQ on RHY2. I do not use the GEQ with the lead channel much anymore. I like the voice for playing single not lead stuff better without the GEQ in most cases. Cuts in a band mix great for me.
Original owner of the 12th one made and still finding new sounds in it also.

Cool thanks for the tips. I have owned mine since 2001. Mine is a 1990 mark IVA, so an early one. I will try running the GEQ on R2, that sounds like a good idea. I really like the mark IVA, always interested to hear new settings or ways to run it....

For RHY2 often I use a small V with both 750 & 2200 dropped about the same. Basically just enough to get a balanced voice..... with the Mark amps being midrange heavy.
A other trick I use on the lead channel is boost 240, 750 & 6600 .... then use the full range of 2200 to find a lot of different lead sounds. Amazing how many lead voices can found with this method.

yeah, I find that in order to cut through in a band, use a shallow v on the EQ and yes the 2200 hz slider is my favorite slider now
I boost it and it honks like crazy which I like believe it or not. I fine tune with the presence and 6600 for the sizzle. The 750 hz goes up until it balances out with the overall tone. And to top it all, it works as well on the Mark V!

 

[guitarman967]

I love the Mark IV.
Honestly when I bought mine I thought I was in for a complete tweakfest but it was just the opposite.
I found that it sounded right for me set one way and that I didnt find myself tweaking all the time to get other usable tones.
Not sure why, it was just a quality sound right out of the gate.

EDIT* Oh and I tried a Mark V recently and did not like it.
The clean is great and channel 2 has some real nice tones but the heavy overdriven tones did not rival the magic of the IV IMO.. Which to me has to be the best tone.

 

[thiswaythatway]

I owned and played probably over 100 gigs with a IIC+, this was before I ever chatted on the internet about gear. Anyway, I had no problem ever cutting through the mix with the IIC+ because I think, for the most part, I never used that V shape on the EQ. Using that is the quickest way to vanish in a band mix, it sounds great when you're by yourself in your bedroom or even as a single guitar player in a band, but it doesn't work live in a 2 guitar mix IMHO. The only slider I ever had below the middle line was the 750hz slider and it was just a hair under it, that's it.

With a DC-5 head I used the amp with the EQ off and only kicked it in for a lead solo boost. With the IIC+ I used an EQ in the loop for a lead boost.

The thing with the Mark Series is that they can get honky sounding quick if you boost the mid too much, too much scoop and you vanish in the mix. IMHO in a live setting these amps are not very versatile because you need to find that sweet spot where it works. I know some will disagree with me but that's my opinion after using a IIC+ live for tons of shows. But with the IIC+ I thought it was easy to find a few sweet spots that worked.

 

[Gainfreak]

I owned and played probably over 100 gigs with a IIC+, this was before I ever chatted on the internet about gear. Anyway, I had no problem ever cutting through the mix with the IIC+ because I think, for the most part, I never used that V shape on the EQ. Using that is the quickest way to vanish in a band mix, it sounds great when you're by yourself in your bedroom or even as a single guitar player in a band, but it doesn't work live in a 2 guitar mix IMHO. The only slider I ever had below the middle line was the 750hz slider and it was just a hair under it, that's it.

With a DC-5 head I used the amp with the EQ off and only kicked it in for a lead solo boost. With the IIC+ I used an EQ in the loop for a lead boost.

The thing with the Mark Series is that they can get honky sounding quick if you boost the mid too much, too much scoop and you vanish in the mix. IMHO in a live setting these amps are not very versatile because you need to find that sweet spot where it works. I know some will disagree with me but that's my opinion after using a IIC+ live for tons of shows. But with the IIC+ I thought it was easy to find a few sweet spots that worked.

That has been my findings as well but only when Playing with 2 guitar players. I could get away with scooping the mid slider all the way to the bottom on my MKIIC+ when using MC90 speakers and it actually had a ton of mids even set like that but add another guitar player and I got wiped unless I was on 10 hahahahahaha!

 

[marvcus]

OP speaks the truth

While working at a guitar store in the late 90's, I had the luxury to bring in my brand new Mark IV and try out with all Mesa cabs vs. my old amp (a 5150), which was also in stock.

The two are not really alike in any way, but I really wanted to try and get as close as possible to the crunch the 5150 had that I couldn't get out of the Boogie.

I found that putting Lead Gain (pushed in), Lead Drive (pushed in), Presence, and Lead Master at all at 10 with the Output at around 4-5 and Graphic in standard V was just a ripping tone and as close as I was going to get.

Another tip: take the recording out to the input of a stereo system (1/4" jack), plug your headphones into the stereo system, pull the MUTE switch on the Output level and BAM -- the best silent practice amp for late night jamming/recording.

 

[Little B]

the IV has a favorite of mine for 20 years...blends well w/ my red stripe coli.

 

[scottywompas]

I don't know about the whole bass on 0. Probably around 3 or so for me. Channel volumes around 4-5.
Each channel dictates it's own setting so a blanket statement about the tone controls does not cut it. Also, the classic V EQ gives you a great tonal option. Mine is a little softer V setting so the mid range gets cut a little and I sit back in the mix better. I actually turn off the EQ for solos which allows me to cut through.

Scott

 

[petejt]

I do things a little different- for starters I use a combo of 6L6s and EL34s. Triode mode, Mid-Gain rocker switch selected (not Harmonics).

Lead Channel- Lead Gain-7 or 8 (pulled out). Treble-9. Mid-10. Bass-2. Lead Drive-7 (pushed in). Lead Master- at home it is 2 or 3. Lead Presence-varies, maybe 8, maybe 4. I leave it pushed in.

Output is set to 2 or above for at home. Live, I adjust the Lead Master and Output together.

With the graphic EQ on the Lead Channel, it's more like an M shape, but I have 6.6kHz pushed up fairly high, a bit higher than 2.2kHz.