Lack of Low-end on channel 3?

Hey guys, let me preface by saying I absolutely love this amp (Mk V 90w).

When I play on channel 3, mostly in MkIV mode on it's own, it sounds great. However, I feel that compared to channels 1 and 2, there is a lot less low-end in the sound even after engaging the graphic eq and boosting the lowest and second lowest frequencies. I can get way more low end on the first two channels even without the eq engaged. Channel 3 without the graphic eq is pretty much useless to me because of how thin it sounds.

I am playing through a mesa widebody 1x12 with Black Shadow speaker.

Do you guys find this as well?

Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

I guess, the question is "how low do you want to go?"
I mean, if you're going for that recto sound, you're really not going to get it the MarkV...close, but not all the way.
To be fair, I live more in the mids and highs but if you're getting the lows you want out of Ch1 and 2, maybe there's something fishy going on with Ch3. Have you tried turning the mid and treble to nil and see if the bass pot is actually working?

I had a similar issue before... mine was resolved by turning up the channel volume more.
I usually keep the channel 3 volume between about 10:30 and 11 o’clock. The frequencies feel opened up for me there.

Actually I just looked at my amp, channel three volume is actually closer to 11/11:30...

jb's 52 said:

I guess, the question is "how low do you want to go?"
I mean, if you're going for that recto sound, you're really not going to get it the MarkV...close, but not all the way.
To be fair, I live more in the mids and highs but if you're getting the lows you want out of Ch1 and 2, maybe there's something fishy going on with Ch3. Have you tried turning the mid and treble to nil and see if the bass pot is actually working?

Click to expand...

Yeah, forget that the Mark V does exactly what the recto does(except the whole 100watt tube rectification thing...mark 5 only does 45 watt tube rect.).....you will never get the sound of a Recto from a Mark V (unless you have enough brains to put an EQ in the loop). I have heard these amps demo'd numerous times and played on both and have yet to find anything unique to the rectifier series that the Mark does not offer. In fact they sound so much alike I wondered about buying a recto....glad I went with the Mark V.....love the variac....the recto does not do THAT!! The GEQ also gives a flexibility that the recto does not have. BTW if your issue with bass is not the tubes, just put an eq in the loop, that will solve any perceived issues. I find plenty of bass in this amp(would suggest you try turning the bass down when eq'ing channel 3 as running the bass too hot can kill it, find that point where the bass begins to disappear as you turn it up and back off a touch....running too much bass will flub it out in channel 3 and sometimes turning it down actually increases bass response....at least that is how mine works.....as they say.....ymmv)

I owned three Mark Vs in total, and I always found channel 3 to be lacking in lows compared to channel two. I even tried running channel 2 (crunch) in 45w mode with Bass at 0, and channel 3 in Mark IV mode in 90w with bass around 3, just before it begins to flub out.

No matter what the settings I couldn't ever quite get IV mode to have as much low end as Crunch. You can go to Extreme but I prefer the tone of IV mode.

Another thing I tried was using the graphic for channel 2 and the preset EQ for channel 3, or vice versa. It's a workaround and it solves the problem but it never gave me optimal tone on either channel for the way I liked things.

Now I absolutely loved the V, and I still think about it sometimes. If they released a VI without this issue I would be all over it.

YMMV with different guitars and cabs, yada yada.

I tend to use ch3 solely, and agree with reduced bass content, but vaguely recall from the manual that this is voiced deliberatly to have less bass? Certainly stand alone it sounds a bit light, but in a band mix i find the lack of bass dosnt present an issue, albeit am not a metal or alternate tuning kind of player

-

Well, uh, you know. Throw it on the ground:



(make sure the speaker cabinet is directly on the floor. use mark iv mode if you want it to have a heavier sound, as iv has PULL DEEP hard-wired on)

Thanks guys for the input. Glad to know I wasn't the only one who thought this. I'll have to try the different suggestions from here and see which works best.

Boogie Monster said:

I had a similar issue before... mine was resolved by turning up the channel volume more.
I usually keep the channel 3 volume between about 10:30 and 11 o’clock. The frequencies feel opened up for me there.

Actually I just looked at my amp, channel three volume is actually closer to 11/11:30...

Click to expand...

I'll definitely give this a try. I think my channel level is actually set pretty low and master turned up so I'll try switching it up.

timothymartin220 said:

jb's 52 said:

I guess, the question is "how low do you want to go?"
I mean, if you're going for that recto sound, you're really not going to get it the MarkV...close, but not all the way.
To be fair, I live more in the mids and highs but if you're getting the lows you want out of Ch1 and 2, maybe there's something fishy going on with Ch3. Have you tried turning the mid and treble to nil and see if the bass pot is actually working?

Click to expand...

Yeah, forget that the Mark V does exactly what the recto does(except the whole 100watt tube rectification thing...mark 5 only does 45 watt tube rect.).....you will never get the sound of a Recto from a Mark V (unless you have enough brains to put an EQ in the loop). I have heard these amps demo'd numerous times and played on both and have yet to find anything unique to the rectifier series that the Mark does not offer. In fact they sound so much alike I wondered about buying a recto....glad I went with the Mark V.....love the variac....the recto does not do THAT!! The GEQ also gives a flexibility that the recto does not have. BTW if your issue with bass is not the tubes, just put an eq in the loop, that will solve any perceived issues. I find plenty of bass in this amp(would suggest you try turning the bass down when eq'ing channel 3 as running the bass too hot can kill it, find that point where the bass begins to disappear as you turn it up and back off a touch....running too much bass will flub it out in channel 3 and sometimes turning it down actually increases bass response....at least that is how mine works.....as they say.....ymmv)

Click to expand...

Bold statement there sir.
There is definitely a difference between the recto series and the MarkV.
I don't think Mesa would make a whole new series, nor would a whole new genre of recto players/bands spawn if wasn't a difference.
Are you saying, recto players are all half-brains that can't tune an EQ? Hehe...

Bold statement there sir.
There is definitely a difference between the recto series and the MarkV.
I don't think Mesa would make a whole new series, nor would a whole new genre of recto players/bands spawn if wasn't a difference.
Are you saying, recto players are all half-brains that can't tune an EQ? Hehe...
[/quote]
Actually kinda yes. The recto series is one of those plug in and play amps. You get a recto tone no matter how you set it. The Mark series are definitely not in that plug in and drive category. If that makes recto users mad so be it. I am actually not dissing a good amp(not my thing), but merely pointing out that a Mark will do it(if a recto was as capable as a mark I would have bought one).......without the implied insult you seem to have ascribed to my statement!! MANY PEOPLE PREFER amps that you can just plug into and get great tone(recto), and then there are geeks like me, that love to find what tone is around the next proverbial corner.....the Mark was made for the likes of me.

timothymartin220 said:

jb's 52 said:

Bold statement there sir.
There is definitely a difference between the recto series and the MarkV.
I don't think Mesa would make a whole new series, nor would a whole new genre of recto players/bands spawn if wasn't a difference.
Are you saying, recto players are all half-brains that can't tune an EQ? Hehe...

Click to expand...

Actually kinda yes. The recto series is one of those plug in and play amps. You get a recto tone no matter how you set it. The Mark series are definitely not in that plug in and drive category. If that makes recto users mad so be it. I am actually not dissing a good amp(not my thing), but merely pointing out that a Mark will do it(if a recto was as capable as a mark I would have bought one).......without the implied insult you seem to have ascribed to my statement!! MANY PEOPLE PREFER amps that you can just plug into and get great tone(recto), and then there are geeks like me, that love to find what tone is around the next proverbial corner.....the Mark was made for the likes of me.

Click to expand...

Well crap, I bought a recto series amp for nothing...hehe!!
Please send me your MarkV settings and post up a recording of them where you get that recto sound. I'm curious to know!
No matter much I've tweaked my MarkV, there's no way I can get it to sound like my Roadster...if I can though, that'd be huge.
Then maybe I can sell my Roadster and get another MarkV and run 'em stereo, with one getting a recto sound.

jb's 52 said:

timothymartin220 said:

jb's 52 said:

Bold statement there sir.
There is definitely a difference between the recto series and the MarkV.
I don't think Mesa would make a whole new series, nor would a whole new genre of recto players/bands spawn if wasn't a difference.
Are you saying, recto players are all half-brains that can't tune an EQ? Hehe...

Click to expand...

Actually kinda yes. The recto series is one of those plug in and play amps. You get a recto tone no matter how you set it. The Mark series are definitely not in that plug in and drive category. If that makes recto users mad so be it. I am actually not dissing a good amp(not my thing), but merely pointing out that a Mark will do it(if a recto was as capable as a mark I would have bought one).......without the implied insult you seem to have ascribed to my statement!! MANY PEOPLE PREFER amps that you can just plug into and get great tone(recto), and then there are geeks like me, that love to find what tone is around the next proverbial corner.....the Mark was made for the likes of me.

Click to expand...

Well crap, I bought a recto series amp for nothing...hehe!!
Please send me your MarkV settings and post up a recording of them where you get that recto sound. I'm curious to know!
No matter much I've tweaked my MarkV, there's no way I can get it to sound like my Roadster...if I can though, that'd be huge.
Then maybe I can sell my Roadster and get another MarkV and run 'em stereo, with one getting a recto sound.

Click to expand...

Here is a link to a guy on the internet that did just that...a direct comparison.....sound exactly the same to me....

Ultimate Mesa Shootout | Mark V vs Triple Rectifier vs Oversize 4x12 vs Traditional 4x12

actually not a link///his heading...just search it
and as to your post....**** you mesa boogie assholes....I logged in here to express my opinion and between you and some ******* calling himself "oldtelecasterman" you have pretty much been nothing but belligerent fucking assholes.....so you did it....you ran another person off.....someone else sacrificed to the alter of you fucking guys are just too smart....no one is allowed to disagree with you punks(should have known...this is not the first time I have run across you MESA GODS.....you gang up like a pack of hyenas and attack anyone that doesn't agree with you) have a nice life....i have better things to do than discuss inanities with fucking morons like you.
BAN THAT BOOGIE BOARD

timothymartin220 said:

jb's 52 said:

timothymartin220 said:

Actually kinda yes. The recto series is one of those plug in and play amps. You get a recto tone no matter how you set it. The Mark series are definitely not in that plug in and drive category. If that makes recto users mad so be it. I am actually not dissing a good amp(not my thing), but merely pointing out that a Mark will do it(if a recto was as capable as a mark I would have bought one).......without the implied insult you seem to have ascribed to my statement!! MANY PEOPLE PREFER amps that you can just plug into and get great tone(recto), and then there are geeks like me, that love to find what tone is around the next proverbial corner.....the Mark was made for the likes of me.

Click to expand...

Well crap, I bought a recto series amp for nothing...hehe!!
Please send me your MarkV settings and post up a recording of them where you get that recto sound. I'm curious to know!
No matter much I've tweaked my MarkV, there's no way I can get it to sound like my Roadster...if I can though, that'd be huge.
Then maybe I can sell my Roadster and get another MarkV and run 'em stereo, with one getting a recto sound.

Click to expand...

Here is a link to a guy on the internet that did just that...a direct comparison.....sound exactly the same to me....

Ultimate Mesa Shootout | Mark V vs Triple Rectifier vs Oversize 4x12 vs Traditional 4x12

actually not a link///his heading...just search it
and as to your post....f%&# you mesa boogie assholes....I logged in here to express my opinion and between you and some ******* calling himself "oldtelecasterman" you have pretty much been nothing but belligerent f%&# assholes.....so you did it....you ran another person off.....someone else sacrificed to the alter of you f%&# guys are just too smart....no one is allowed to disagree with you punks(should have known...this is not the first time I have run across you MESA GODS.....you gang up like a pack of hyenas and attack anyone that doesn't agree with you) have a nice life....i have better things to do than discuss inanities with f%&# morons like you.
BAN THAT BOOGIE BOARD

Click to expand...

Wow man...sorry ya feel like that...I just can't believe something until I try myself I guess...

Anyhow, I tried sticking an EQ in the loop (which I have never done before tonight) and believe it or not, I can come really close to a recto sound with Ch2 in MarkI mode. It's not as loose nor as "3D depth-wise" as the Roadster but that is to be expected because the MarkV is a lot "tighter" to me. I'd give it a pass for sure though, it's close enough for a cover I think.

Plus, I learned something new today! I like a EQ in the loop for now! It adds a little more definition. Most notably, it really takes the "blanket" off of Ch2/MarkI mode.

Again, apologies if I came off like a "mesa boogie *******" ...hehe...and thanks(?!?!) I guess.

timothymartin220 said:

jb's 52 said:

timothymartin220 said:

Actually kinda yes. The recto series is one of those plug in and play amps. You get a recto tone no matter how you set it. The Mark series are definitely not in that plug in and drive category. If that makes recto users mad so be it. I am actually not dissing a good amp(not my thing), but merely pointing out that a Mark will do it(if a recto was as capable as a mark I would have bought one).......without the implied insult you seem to have ascribed to my statement!! MANY PEOPLE PREFER amps that you can just plug into and get great tone(recto), and then there are geeks like me, that love to find what tone is around the next proverbial corner.....the Mark was made for the likes of me.

Click to expand...

Well crap, I bought a recto series amp for nothing...hehe!!
Please send me your MarkV settings and post up a recording of them where you get that recto sound. I'm curious to know!
No matter much I've tweaked my MarkV, there's no way I can get it to sound like my Roadster...if I can though, that'd be huge.
Then maybe I can sell my Roadster and get another MarkV and run 'em stereo, with one getting a recto sound.

Click to expand...

Here is a link to a guy on the internet that did just that...a direct comparison.....sound exactly the same to me....

Ultimate Mesa Shootout | Mark V vs Triple Rectifier vs Oversize 4x12 vs Traditional 4x12

actually not a link///his heading...just search it
and as to your post....f%&# you mesa boogie assholes....I logged in here to express my opinion and between you and some ******* calling himself "oldtelecasterman" you have pretty much been nothing but belligerent f%&# assholes.....so you did it....you ran another person off.....someone else sacrificed to the alter of you f%&# guys are just too smart....no one is allowed to disagree with you punks(should have known...this is not the first time I have run across you MESA GODS.....you gang up like a pack of hyenas and attack anyone that doesn't agree with you) have a nice life....i have better things to do than discuss inanities with f%&# morons like you.
BAN THAT BOOGIE BOARD

Click to expand...

Hey guys,

I appreciate the input again.

Tried playing with some settings last night including turning up the channel volume and lowering the master. Ch3 def still lacks the low I get from ch1 & 2. It's not bad on it's own but I notice it most when switching back from the other channels.

I may eventually try adding EQ to into the loop and also getting a stand alone reverb pedal. I think adding the built in reverb to ch3 is also doing something to the sound as well.

Bucketfeet said:

Hey guys,

I appreciate the input again.

Tried playing with some settings last night including turning up the channel volume and lowering the master. Ch3 def still lacks the low I get from ch1 & 2. It's not bad on it's own but I notice it most when switching back from the other channels.

I may eventually try adding EQ to into the loop and also getting a stand alone reverb pedal. I think adding the built in reverb to ch3 is also doing something to the sound as well.

Click to expand...

Take a look at this thread as well:

http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=85167

I haven't tried yet myself, but it might be up your alley.

jb's 52 said:

Bucketfeet said:

Hey guys,

I appreciate the input again.

Tried playing with some settings last night including turning up the channel volume and lowering the master. Ch3 def still lacks the low I get from ch1 & 2. It's not bad on it's own but I notice it most when switching back from the other channels.

I may eventually try adding EQ to into the loop and also getting a stand alone reverb pedal. I think adding the built in reverb to ch3 is also doing something to the sound as well.

Click to expand...

Take a look at this thread as well:

http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=85167

I haven't tried yet myself, but it might be up your alley.

Click to expand...

Thanks man! I did a quick search before my original post but didn't see this thread.

[/quote]

Take a look at this thread as well....

I haven't tried yet myself, but it might be up your alley.
[/quote]

So I'm not sure I want to go try the whole saturation mod thing just yet, but after reading the posts and seeing that others are also saying the same thing, I can at least know that there's nothing wrong with my amp and that it's a sound / tone / eq thing.

Take a look at this thread as well....

I haven't tried yet myself, but it might be up your alley.
[/quote]

So I'm not sure I want to go try the whole saturation mod thing just yet, but after reading the posts and seeing that others are also saying the same thing, I can at least know that there's nothing wrong with my amp and that it's a sound / tone / eq thing.
[/quote]

I started that thread suggested just above, so I’ve been experiencing the same thing as you re: very low bass on Ch. 3. Now for me at least, on Extreme mode the thing absolutely thumps with bass. But IIC+ and IV modes felt like they lacked. IIC+ with the least amount of bass response. Ive been experimenting with 12AT7s in V4, V6 and V7 (though lately only running one in V4) and while it doesn’t automatically add a ton of bass response alone, I find it opens/widens the tonal range and allows me to turn up the presence, widening the tone further and turn down the treble. The gain gets run pretty much dimed out due to the lower gain. So it’s not a magical difference, but I definitely feel it’s helped Ch. 3, especially at don’t-blow-your-eardrums-out levels, for the price of a couple cheap tubes.

Keep me updated on what you find!