Dialing In A Mesa Mark V

[Aftermath Studios]

Hey all! First time posting here, but I've been doing a deep dive on my Mesa Mark V.

I put together a video explaining how I like to set up a Mark V and what I think is the best way to approach the amp. While I'm pretty happy with the sounds I get from the amp, I thought I'd post it here for fact-checking and to see if there's anything else I can do to squeeze more out of the behemoth



In case you don't want to watch a 30 minute video...here are the tones I'm able to get out of this amp with the settings included



Would love any feedback from the experts! Cheers

 

[mace]

Thanks for the videos. Finally got around to watching it. I noticed you mentioned that changing one of the 5EQ sliders will change the frequency at which the other sliders operate. Are you sure about this and how is that electronically possible?

Really enjoyed hearing the details of how you dial it in and how you view how the amp operates. It is similar to where I've landed over many years of owning one.

 

[Aftermath Studios]

Thanks for the videos. Finally got around to watching it. I noticed you mentioned that changing one of the 5EQ sliders will change the frequency at which the other sliders operate. Are you sure about this and how is that electronically possible?

Really enjoyed hearing the details of how you dial it in and how you view how the amp operates. It is similar to where I've landed over many years of owning one.

Thanks for the feedback

I acknowledge in the video that I'm not an amp tech. If told otherwise, I would happily accept that the frequency shifts I'm hearing are a bit of an illusion. Maybe things sound different when you've made some changes just because you're hearing that frequency in a different context.

However, it leads to that "rabbit hole" thing I was talking about, whereby you adjust one slider, then suddenly another slider you had already adjusted sounds different, Even if the frequencies aren't changing, ignoring any shifts I was hearing and getting the overall shape "right" first is still a strong recommendation I make. So even if I'm wrong, I still stand by the advice it lead me to give.

However, IME, the best way to describe the EQ sliders is kinda like putting a string across the EQ spectrum. When flat, the sliders are all at the labelled frequency. However as you make adjustments, that string is going to be pulled one way or the other depending on what cuts\boosts you're making. As a result, once you've made all the cuts\boosts, the frequencies have all shifted a little.

...which is why I argue it's best to get the shape correct before tweaking. Once the shape is correct, the EQ sliders are much more predictable in what they do.

 

[meesa_jarjar]

The way the EQ is designed, the slider frequencies are not isolated from each other so adjusting one will affect others to some degree.

 

[skoora]

The Q of the sliders may be wide enough where they bleed into each other. So the more extreme settings of one will alter the perceived sound of it’s neighbor. The center frequency of the sliders does not change.

 

[skoora]

The following is from the angle of playing Gibson’s and having EL34’s in the amp.
The mid knob on a MK series, V included is just a thickening agent. The amps have a set amount of midrange that you’re not going to impact in a significant way with the mid knob. Lower mid setting is a slightly leaner sound, higher is thicker and possibly more chewy but no real difference in mids that can spike or scoop like on a post gain tone stack. That’s what the 750 slider is for on the graphic.
Ch 1 and Ch 2 in my experience don’t need the graphic, except for some subtle settings on Crunch and MK1 mode to taste. But I’ve always been able to live with setting the graphic for CH 3 and using 1 & 2 without it. Mid knob for me is usually between 9 and 12 O’Clock but rarely higher. Mid knob acts the same way on Lonestars too.

A good way to set the channel is. Channel Master and EQ at noon. Bring gain up until you have about as much saturation as you want. If it’s not bright enough raise Treble until you like it (noting that treble increase saturation) and then decrease gain until you’re back to the level of saturation you want. If sound is a little tubby, lower the bass until not. If too spikey with treble, decrease treble and increase presence and then adjust gain accordingly. The Channel Masters can add gain when above 12 O’Clock. This can lead to some fantastic rock sounds from CH1’s clean setting and add juice to Edge and Crunch on CH2. I’ve used an attenuator since I’ve had the amp (over 10 years now) and it makes the amp very versatile on what you want to be clean and what you want to be dirty.

At the heart of CH1 and 2 is vintage, non master amps inside a modern feature laden, master volume amp. The Lonestars can be dialed this way too.

This is from a while ago. I didn’t realize I had the tone pot down a bit on the guitar until 4 min. It sounds fine up until then but the true full on sound is from 4 min’s onward. CH 1 cranked up.

 

[rarebitusa]

+1 for the Stiletto too

 

[Aftermath Studios]

The way the EQ is designed, the slider frequencies are not isolated from each other so adjusting one will affect others to some degree.

The Q of the sliders may be wide enough where they bleed into each other. So the more extreme settings of one will alter the perceived sound of it’s neighbor. The center frequency of the sliders does not change.

I would suggest both of these things are true.

...

Actually in hindsight, the Q on the GEQ is seems a bit odd. I would suggest the 750hz slider has a pretty narrow Q, while the 2200-ish slider is pretty wide.