Want to get more saturation out of my mark V

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ACShreds

ACShreds

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I love the voicing of my mark V and the tone i get, however its just a little too dry for my taste. I've only ever played it with stock mesa preamp and power tubes but have been wondering if there might be some tubes i can use instead that could add some extra saturation to the amp. I dont know much about the different effects different tubes can have so mainly im just seeing if its even a possible thing to accomplish with a simple tube change or if anything else might work.
 
Get some tubes that will bias up a little hotter, stock is probably really cold.
 
Mesa's stock preamp tubes are relabelled JJ ECC83s. Personally, I find JJs to be lower in gain than other preamp tubes, and they're a little duller, which can give a bit of a 'blanket on the cab' effect.

I put a Tung-Sol 12AX7 in the V1 on my Mark V, which is higher in gain and brighter overall. I like the results. Some dudes have replaced all the preamp tubes with 12AX7s and reported good results... I used the one I had lying around and liked the results enough that I haven't bothered replacing the rest.
 
tubes will definitely help and a good boost/od pedal will probably be helpful too,

I had stellar results with a BB preamp into my mesa booge lonestar when I had one
 
Just put some Chinese in the pre and clean boost it will do the trick.
 
Death by Uberschall":1upgz87m said:
Get some tubes that will bias up a little hotter, stock is probably really cold.
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This. I read that the amp is biased hotter on EL34 mode and you would get the added benefit that channels 2 and 3 sound better with EL34s
 
Yeah i have an OCD that i use to boost my amp for solo's and stuff but i'd really like to just have the amp naturally be more saturated and not have to rely on an overdrive pedal.
 
I have a Mark III and the tube combination Doug sells for that amp is pretty much a perfect set-up. You might want to check with him on what he recommends for the Mark V.
I'm running v1-tungsol 12ax7, v2 jjecc83 high gain, v3-penta 12ax7, v4-chinese 12ax7, v5 sovtek lps 12ax7. I prefer the el34's in class A setting over the el34-6l6 simul-class setting. I tried all kinds of different combinations and tubes and this set-up really works for this amp.
Oh, yes the BB pre is great with the Marks for the xtra boost.
 
Pro you know Gainfreak and Gainzilla? Ask them what a Krispy Kreme Treble booster can do to a Mesa Mk amp.
 
Just sent doug at dougstubes an email, I'll let you guys know what he recommends.
 
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