Mark II

I have a Mark II. It was an "A" but it was modded to a "B" with a modded lead channel, effects loop, and it can now be biased.

With that said, is there a way to make if more of a blues amp? A kind of vintage 50's Fender or something? I feel that the rhythm channel needs a little more drive for it to work. The lead channel sounds kind of mushy to me. The power tubes are old, but they don't glow funny or short or anything.

I was thinking NOS preamp tubes, and maybe some different power tubes.

Haven't tried this with a Boogie but it works well with Fenders. To get more drive slam the rhythm channel with a Tubescreamer or other overdrive pedal.

On a TS you would turn the tone to about 8 o'clock and the drive to about 9 o'clock then turn the level up to get the tone you want. This will push the output tubes harder and get you more break up.


Ned

I agree, a mesa boogie mark II series on the clean channel is basically very similar to a tweed bassman.


Try putting the amp into low power mode, setting the first volume all the way up and using the master volume to adjust your sound. You should be able to get some nice crunch from the clean channel this way.

How old are your power tubes? I have been using KT66s in the "class A" tube spots and they give even better crunch tones. If yours is a simulclass you could try this.

Who did the "mods"? I can't imagine they were done by boogie?

I got the amp from Texas, and it came with the "mods". It has been a while now, but I believe some of it was done by Boogie. However, I think the biasing was done else where.

To be honest, although I've had it for nearly a year, I haven't done a lot of experiementing with it. Living in an apartment sucks for experimenting with a loud amp.

I tried it with the volume 1 cranked and the master down on the 60w mode and it sounded great once I took some treble out. I still don't like the lead channel on any setting, so I think a pedal is the way to go.

Thanks!

Mike

I used to own a MK IIB about 8-9 years ago. Just got a MK I.
As I recall it takes some experimenting to dial in a good tone. It seems these amps have so much gain , its easy to kill a good sound if you dont set the 2 pre vols just right. I have also found different speakers make a difference.

Mike67 said:

The lead channel sounds kind of mushy to me. The power tubes are old, but they don't glow funny or short or anything.

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Replace your tubes. When my power tubes are shot they go all mushy on me, the bass turns to ****, and there's no definition in the midrange. Sticking new ones in there is like breathing new life into your amp.

Mike67 said:

To be honest, although I've had it for nearly a year, I haven't done a lot of experiementing with it. Living in an apartment sucks for experimenting with a loud amp.

Mike

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Sounds like you might be in for some new tubes...that said, unless you put some POWER to the speaker, all the tweaking in the world ain't gonna make you happy...Gotta push the decibles to get the tone!

If you have an EV speaker, even more so.

I tried it with the volume 1 cranked and the master down on the 60w mode and it sounded great once I took some treble out. I still don't like the lead channel on any setting, so I think a pedal is the way to go.

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That's right, the Presence knob on the back (not the Treble on the front) should be down to zero, at least in my experience with my Mark IIB. And I changed the value of a capacitor in the lead channel to compensate for that muddy bassy sound it produces with the default one (think I also changed the highs a bit). Now I can crank it to 7 or even more and still have a nice "transparent" gain sound at living room level. 8)