My Mark IV sounds harsh thru V30's

So the Mark IV head that i've had for a few years sounds quite trebly and harsh with my Recto 4x12 cabinet with v30's. The cabinet has had plenty of use. I think the speakers have been long broken in. At low bedroom volumes I can get a descent tone, but once cranked, it sounds just trebly and harsh in so many ways.

I'm going to open up the cabinet in the next few days and maybe see if the jacks look worn or loose.

Another thing to note, the left two sliders on my Mark IV MUST be dialed in near the bottom line or just above, or else the the amp sounds under water. I've messed around the knobs for a while and i'm starting to become fully confident the speaker issue is the cause of this.

Just looking for some input on how to troubleshoot this... ? Maybe someone has had a similar experience with off-sounding v30 speakers

Hard to diagnose based just on the description, and I can't say for certain if you're having an issue with your cab. But, I can say that the Mark IV sounds great with V30s, especially the in the Mesa cabs.

As a general rule of thumb, whenever you start cranking up the volume of the amp, the high end needs to come down. It will sound great at bedroom volume, but it will get a lot brighter once you turn up and the power amp starts to open up.

thanks for chiming in!

I just had a major discovery. I forgot a while back i switched from using two speaker cables to using one. THIS COULD BE THE PROBLEM! Thru my recto cab, I have to use two cables to get all 4 speakers to sound, and only the two right were sounding when i cranked it the other day. I just ordered another speaker cable on eBay , so i'll see if that helps get my cranked so und back.

Silverwulf said:

Hard to diagnose based just on the description, and I can't say for certain if you're having an issue with your cab. But, I can say that the Mark IV sounds great with V30s, especially the in the Mesa cabs.

As a general rule of thumb, whenever you start cranking up the volume of the amp, the high end needs to come down. It will sound great at bedroom volume, but it will get a lot brighter once you turn up and the power amp starts to open up.

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Also, is it also normal for the top string to sound really flubby and bassy when the bass on the Mark iv's are set high? It only seems to be my top string that sounds bad when the bass is cranked...

stephenphilp said:

Also, is it also normal for the top string to sound really flubby and bassy when the bass on the Mark iv's are set high? It only seems to be my top string that sounds bad when the bass is cranked...

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When you say "bass", are you referring to the actual bass setting (knob) on the amp, or the bass frequency sliders on the graphic EQ?

With the Marks, I'd recommend keeping the bass (knob) on the amp at low to moderate settings, no higher than "4", possibly lower depending on the cab. On my Mark IV, I usually keep it in the 2-4 range.

For the graphic EQ, let your ears decide, but excessive settings of the bass sliders (especially 80hz) can cause rumble or a flubby sound if it's too high, especially if it's coupled with high gain settings. In general though, the IV should be exceptionally tight.

If you're using he "Harmonics" setting, you can dial the gain up a little higher, and when I say "gain", I'm referencing both the channel input volume and lead drive knobs. If you're running in "Mid Gain" mode (which has more saturation on tap), you may want to back off of it some for rhythm playing.

I had 2*12 roadster cab (rectifier compact size) with my mark iv short head for about a year. At lower volumes i liked it a lot, but always could not get it sound right with a band volumes. I finally took my trusted thiele to the rehealsals and tone was there. Bandmembers were blown away. The mids were alive, nice chunk, silky highs, notes were clear and the tone was in perfect balance. Somehow it felt that rec cab got stuck in the mids and it sounded very trebly and harsh. Anyway i sold the rec cab and bought another evm loaded thiele.

I just.dont get the `thing` what makes v30s so superior. Am i one of the few who dont like rec cabs with mark amps?

Very glad to hear some additional input. I might be experience my "growing out of v30's" moment. I've had other amps that sound amazing with this cabinet, so i think i'm clinging to the hope my Mark IV is the same way.

I really have always wanted to try it through an original Mark series 4x12, with black shadows, but they've never popped up locally on craigslist.

I never turn the bass knob up past 2. Even that can be too much depending on other factors.