Help with mark V

[fatbagg]

I need some type of help...channel two...Sounds better than the mark IV's, but in a a band situation, it is so dark, its unusable...then in its other modes, it sound cheezy and thin...

The lead channel is either not enough gain, or suddenly fizzy/ unfocused...when you push midrange to it (unlike the mark IV and II) it gets very...randall mts...unstable and loses clarity., and has not the sustain of other marks.

Overall... I think this amp could have been alot better...My Kustom amp, cornford amps, XTC, two rock, other mesa's have all done a better job than this thing.

I have troubleshot this thing, switched tubes and everything, and...it is not as smooth as the mark IV, and not as badass as the mark IIC+ (Boogie says its the same thing...but anybody who knows could open it up and see the difference, aside from the obvious components).

So...now what?

 

[rabies]

sell it

 

[Nermel]

I need some type of help...channel two...Sounds better than the mark IV's, but in a a band situation, it is so dark, its unusable...then in its other modes, it sound cheezy and thin...

The lead channel is either not enough gain, or suddenly fizzy/ unfocused...when you push midrange to it (unlike the mark IV and II) it gets very...randall mts...unstable and loses clarity., and has not the sustain of other marks.

Overall... I think this amp could have been alot better...My Kustom amp, cornford amps, XTC, two rock, other mesa's have all done a better job than this thing.

I have troubleshot this thing, switched tubes and everything, and...it is not as smooth as the mark IV, and not as badass as the mark IIC+ (Boogie says its the same thing...but anybody who knows could open it up and see the difference, aside from the obvious components).

So...now what?

What a stupid post...I think you should sell it too

 

[DudewithFr0]

I need some type of help...channel two...Sounds better than the mark IV's, but in a a band situation, it is so dark, its unusable...then in its other modes, it sound cheezy and thin...

The lead channel is either not enough gain, or suddenly fizzy/ unfocused...when you push midrange to it (unlike the mark IV and II) it gets very...randall mts...unstable and loses clarity., and has not the sustain of other marks.

Overall... I think this amp could have been alot better...My Kustom amp, cornford amps, XTC, two rock, other mesa's have all done a better job than this thing.

I have troubleshot this thing, switched tubes and everything, and...it is not as smooth as the mark IV, and not as badass as the mark IIC+ (Boogie says its the same thing...but anybody who knows could open it up and see the difference, aside from the obvious components).

So...now what?

read the manual

 

[gibson5413]

I agree with the others. I'm guessing you have the combo. I have read many posts and come to the determination that a lot of users haven't liked the stock speaker as all. Have you tried it with an extension cab? A couple of combo users have said it has made all the difference in the world. Personally, I hated the Mark IV combo I played back in 2004. It sounded horrible (I hated it). Fast forward 3 years and I decided to take a shot in the dark with a Mark IV short head. Paired with my Bogner OS 2x12 was a match made in heaven. I couldn't believe it was the same amp. Try this. If it doesn't work, sell it and go back to something you like.

 

[Elixir]

return it and get the head.

 

[rabies]

you could also try swapping out the spkr.

 

[Azrehan]

I agree...

Read the manual. There are helpful hints on how to get great tones out of the amp. Did you try the sample settings written in the manual?

 

[fatbagg]

I love how someone with an opinion looking for help is called stupid...hahaha, wow people are shallow. I will try it in a different cab, and yes, the settings in the book all sound rather horrible to me.

 

[Nermel]

Don't want to start a post war here...but I didn't say you were stupid...just your post, which it was

 

[phyrexia]

What do you mean "push midrange to it"? If you're running the midrange control up high, then it might sound fonky, just like it might sound strange with all the marks. If you're adding mids with the Graphic EQ, then it is likely your speaker not liking what it's getting.

What are your settings? What kind of guitar and pickups are you using? Give us some details before you trash an amp you couldn't have owned for more than a week.

Also, like I've repeatedly said, C90s sound like cardboard until you pound on them for a while. I really do not like that speaker until it is used.

 

[phyrexia]

Don't want to start a post war here...but I didn't say you were stupid...just your post, which it was

You're not helping, Nermel. Don't act like your namesake. I can't say the original post is stupid, but I will say it lacks information.

Everybody can still try to act like an adult here. When I want to be a ******* I go to Harmony Central. When I want to be polite and have some intelligent discourse I go here or TGP (sometimes, heh).

 

[MarkIVwidebody]

I had a used Mark IV combo that was over 5 years old. The C90 still sucked balls. Hooked it up to a 4X12 and BAM!

 

[DaveDaveDave]

Don't want to start a post war here...but I didn't say you were stupid...just your post, which it was

You're not helping, Nermel. Don't act like your namesake. I can't say the original post is stupid, but I will say it lacks information.

I just used my mental plonk feature on him is all.

 

[DaveDaveDave]

I need some type of help...channel two...Sounds better than the mark IV's, but in a a band situation, it is so dark, its unusable...then in its other modes, it sound cheezy and thin...

The lead channel is either not enough gain, or suddenly fizzy/ unfocused...when you push midrange to it (unlike the mark IV and II) it gets very...randall mts...unstable and loses clarity., and has not the sustain of other marks.

Overall... I think this amp could have been alot better...My Kustom amp, cornford amps, XTC, two rock, other mesa's have all done a better job than this thing.

I have troubleshot this thing, switched tubes and everything, and...it is not as smooth as the mark IV, and not as badass as the mark IIC+ (Boogie says its the same thing...but anybody who knows could open it up and see the difference, aside from the obvious components).

So...now what?

I do find that the Mark I channel is really hard to manage - I can only get one sound out of it with hot pickups. I'm not hearing the mid-range stability issue that you describe on mine. I'm also able to get mine as smooth as my Mark IV - smoother actually. One important thing to note is that the "gain" is actually the Mark IV's drive pot, and and the gain is fixed at 7.5. On a few hotter pickups I've tried with the Mark IV, like Dimarzio Tone Zone, 7.5 was just too much - and now that I think about it, a lot of the problems you describe vaguely harken back to the sounds I had out of the Tone Zone with the IV.

Hmm... dunno - if it's not a bad tube in there it still could be that you have a bad amp. I'd recommend finding one in a store in your area and playing that to see if there's a difference.


BTW, didn't you find that the preamp tubes are a major ***** to change in this amp?

Dave

 

[mesadude]

Play with 90W settings. Don't use the thick switch for CH2. This made all the difference for me on stage.

MeZa 8)

 

[MarkIVwidebody]

put on 10 watts, gain maxed, high and prescence on 9, mids on 0....I forgot, dime out the bass too

 

[JAZZGEAR]

Don't want to start a post war here...but I didn't say you were stupid...just your post, which it was

should qualify that statement by prefacing it with "IMO, or IMHO" Cause I don't share your opinion. The dude is obviously dissapointed/frustrated with the tone of the amp. May not be the amp for him.

 

[jdurso]

I need some type of help...channel two...Sounds better than the mark IV's, but in a a band situation, it is so dark, its unusable...then in its other modes, it sound cheezy and thin...

The lead channel is either not enough gain, or suddenly fizzy/ unfocused...when you push midrange to it (unlike the mark IV and II) it gets very...randall mts...unstable and loses clarity., and has not the sustain of other marks.

Overall... I think this amp could have been alot better...My Kustom amp, cornford amps, XTC, two rock, other mesa's have all done a better job than this thing.

I have troubleshot this thing, switched tubes and everything, and...it is not as smooth as the mark IV, and not as badass as the mark IIC+ (Boogie says its the same thing...but anybody who knows could open it up and see the difference, aside from the obvious components).

So...now what?

Settings?

Also have you worked on breaking in the speaker? As mentioned many times in this thread, the c90 takes a lot of work to break in but is a sweet speaker once broken in IMO.

 

[Uncle Muscles]

First off - What kind of music do you play? What exactly are you going for? What guitars/pu's do you play? A lot of people could help you out if you started off with that. in fact it should be a rule that anyone asking for help on getting sound issues should preface their posts with that information.

Second - if you have a Kustom amp, a few cornford amps, an XTC, a two rock, and several other mesa's - then what is it that you are looking for in this amp? Why aren't you playing the other "better sounding" amps? That sure is a wide array of sound there - and a Cornford won't sound anything like an XTC - or a MV for that matter. Not that that is a bad thing. Have you thought that maybe it isn't the amp... maybe it is ... YOU :shock:

I love this little MV amp. Breaking in the speaker only warms up the tone. People all told me to turn down the bass and use the post EQ - and lo and behold - when you turn the amp up to concert volume - they were RIGHT! I play all kinds of music mostly pop/rock from 60's to modern rock and I have owned several amps and for me - this one is a real stunner and sounds great with all my guitars - to ME. I'm not saying I could help you fix your problems - just adding my 2 cents. There is no holy grail brutha. There is only Monty Python. If you don't like it you should sell it and rock any one of your other - completely over the top - amp selections at your disposal.