Mark1 Mode is perfect for..

[discordance_axis]

Practice / Bedroom volumes!

Anyone else find this aswell? I cannot, for the life of me get this mode to sound right in a band without gimping the slider EQ for channel 3 (my main channel). It's all that bass. Once the volume goes up the bass becomes too much, but at lower volumes it stays thick and creamy. So i figured i'd use it as a practice volume mode since I love it soo much. I love the petrucci-esque chugga chugga rhythm.

45w. diode. Thick.

Master output 9:00

Gain: 12:30
Volume: 10:00
Presence: 11:00
Treble: 2:00
Mid: 9:00
Bass: Off

Sliders on:

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Boosting the 2200 slider to above the middle line really brings out a nice lead sound too.

BB Preamp:
Gain: 9:00
Volume: 12:00
Treble: 9:00
Bass: Off

Anyone with a BB Preamp please try this and tell me what you think It's reallllly thick and chuggy. I'm mainly using it with a Musicman JP model with a crunchlab but it sounds great with EMG's too.

Edit: Man I suck at posting images on forums.

 

[MBJunkie]

FWIW.....I have never bonded with the MkI mode of Channel 2 for very similar reasons. I have been able to achieve very good sounds in MkI mode, but not without having to "specialize" my 5 band GEQ in a position that only sounded good in that particular mode.

For rehearsal and live applications, I typically set Ch2 to the Crunch mode and am very pleased with the results with or without GEQ. In fact, for some songs, I find the Crunch mode of Ch2 to sound very nice for an alternate high gain lead solo sound.

I am sure there are very nice sounds achievable in the MkI mode of Ch2 (just as there are in Edge Mode), but the Crunch Mode is by far my favorite in Ch2 for its incredible versatility (with or without GEQ), and while playing with a band!! My .02

 

[BrownieD2W]

The one and only sound I have bonded with on the Mark I Setting is for Black Sabbath C# stuff, awesome crushing tones for Under The Sun, Into The Void, Lord Of This World, etc. But I do have to say the Mark I Mode does hold up its integrity pretty well at lower volumes, just gets a bit mushy of course. I usually keep the GEQ exclusive to Channel 3, I like crap tons of mids in Channel 2 sometimes, and with Channel 1 it doesn't really need much more than the knobs for what I use it for.

 

[LesPaul70]

Personal opinion: it's perfect for...sounding what Marshall distortion wants to sound like.

I'll explain.
In one of my band projects, we're playing songs where the classic 'overdriven JCM800' type sound is pretty much required. So I have EL-34s in my MkV, use the Crunch (or sometimes even Edge) mode and an 808-clone booster to complete emulation. It's not the real thing, but it's (sonically) close enough for what we do in this band.

However...
As soon as the rest of the band start playing, I'm dissatisfied with my sound. In the band mix, my carefully finetuned JCM-emulation (that sounded great when playing alone at home) sounds thin, bright, feeble and emasculated. I start tweaking the tone, reduce Gain, reduce Presence, crank Master Volume and so on. Then I'm happy for 3 or 4 songs, and then I'm unhappy again and start tweaking some more.

Then a funny thing happened a couple of months ago.

I was playing at home just before band practice. Got to the rehearsal, fired up my V and started playing...
And the V just roared. It bellowed. In the band mix, it was the most awesome distortion sound I had ever got from my Mark V, and it just made me want to keep on playing more and more....
Explanation?
Turned out that I had been experimenting with the Mark I mode at home and had simply forgot to switch back to my usual Crunch mode settings for the band practice. I tried to go back to Crunch but couldn't anymore. The Mark I mode was just too good for words!
It was of course more different from the archetypal JCM800 you hear in your head than the Crunch mode was - but in a good way. I couldn't help thinking "man, if I had a Marshall, I would kill to make it sound like this (Mark I mode)!"

Morale of the story: Don't give up on Mark I mode before you've tried it with EL-34s.

 

[discordance_axis]

MBJunkie:

Funnily enough, I've never spent much time on crunch mode. Partly due to spending soo much attention on Mark 1 mode and partly because when I do turn to crunch mode I realise I'm trying to make it sound similar to the tones in channel 3, which is quite obsurd! I don't really have much need at the moment for medium gain settings but when I do i know i'll turn to crunch mode. The thing is i like my crunch to be thick, like mark 1 mode but that is just way too thick, atleast for a crunchy rhythm!

 

[satch4u3]

Hey LesPaul70. What are your setting for the Mark 1 mode?

 

[Andre Oliveros]

Well, i use a lot Mark I, i must say its my main lead tone as well as "riff tone", i found out that in band situation y sound thick, big, rounder, fuller, creamy so i use as my main channel actually for about a year and a half i mostly used Mark I, and tweed for cleans exclusively, and let the MarkIIc+ as an option for some leads or in some cases a more articulated "riff tone", actually i started using channel 3 about a couple of months and i discover that i love MarkIIC+ and extreme a lot, but live i keep using what i know well, the funny thing about the amp is that i always wanted a mark IV, and when i finally get this V, i do not use mark IV mode, i haven't tried that one yet that well, i been owning the amp almost for 2 years and i keep exploring the amp slow step at step, but i guess thats the beauty of it, i just loaded the amp with a EVM 12L Classic, and i have to advice you guys, the amp sounds moreeee awesome than i have ever heard it, i blowed a C90 and a V30, but strange thing its I'm kinda glad i did because now i own the EVM and its great speaker for the amp.

greetings

Dre.

 

[bpm91]

Crank the presence and high knobs when in Mark I mode, lower bass and mids so you don't have to sacrifice your GEQ. Helps take the blanket off... adjust the presence depending on how much blanket you want on or off. It'll sound like a great mix between Mark and Recto tones.