Mesa Boogie Mark IV / IIC+ tones

torkolort

Inspired
I'm struggling to get the tone I want. The low end doesn't feel right at all.

I'm aiming for what I'm hearing in this clip of the real amps:


I'm not getting even close to that feel in the low end. With settings like Bass 0-2, mid 4-5, treb 6-7, drive 7, master 3 etc I still always feel like I need to roll off more bass, even when it's on zero. But it's already sounding too thin. In the clip above, and in other mesa clips it sounds like there is some heavy compression going on in the lower frequencies.

Also, I found a picture of the settings Petrucci used on his Mark IV, and all though people often say you should never run the bass above 2, he has it at 4. I've listened to a lot of the isolated Petrucci tracks from Scenes From a Memory and many of them sound very bass heavy, but it still sounds tight and very compressed in the low end. But he doesn't use any compression pedals so it should be only the amp.

It feels to me like the models doesn't have this low end compression. Does anyone else experience this?

Thanks
 
Those are almost exactly the settings I used on my Mark IV. Tone matching my recorded recorded sound got me close to it.
 
I dare say it's probably not the amp but the cab (model). Those are extremely crucial. Try different cab models. If you're using a guitar cab then your option are limited (i.e. getting another cab). Also consider that the graphic eq of the Mark series is kind of hard to replicate for various reasons. I had the best results with a PEQ and not using it's full volume range. Take a look at the wiki for the closest settings. And finally the Mark IV has a lot of pull switches that dramatically change the sound. Those are replicated either by the different models or by some of the switches of the amp block. The FAT switch is very effective when trying to get a tight sound.
 
did you try putting the 5-band mesa eq after the amp? settings here - Mesa/Boogie graphic equalizer - Fractal Audio Systems Wiki

don't forget that the mesas have two gain controls and on the axe you use "input trim" in conjunction with "drive", so you could try setting drive a little lower and increasing input trim a little

also try lowering the proximity parameter in the cab block from 5 to 2.5. this reduces boomyness
 
I'm struggling to get the tone I want. The low end doesn't feel right at all.

I'm aiming for what I'm hearing in this clip of the real amps:


I'm not getting even close to that feel in the low end. With settings like Bass 0-2, mid 4-5, treb 6-7, drive 7, master 3 etc I still always feel like I need to roll off more bass, even when it's on zero. But it's already sounding too thin. In the clip above, and in other mesa clips it sounds like there is some heavy compression going on in the lower frequencies.

Also, I found a picture of the settings Petrucci used on his Mark IV, and all though people often say you should never run the bass above 2, he has it at 4. I've listened to a lot of the isolated Petrucci tracks from Scenes From a Memory and many of them sound very bass heavy, but it still sounds tight and very compressed in the low end. But he doesn't use any compression pedals so it should be only the amp.

It feels to me like the models doesn't have this low end compression. Does anyone else experience this?

Thanks


Yes,

I agree ....still working on it bit not as in 9.xx.
 
I'm using the PEQ block after the amp to simulate the V-shape. I've experimented a lot with different drive and input trim settings. I've tried all the different mesa sims and a bunch of different cabs. I'm using EB JP6 with crunch lab and liquifire pickups. I don't know the wood etc...

Haven't experimented much with the proximity parameter so I'll give it a shot. But it is kind of a general thing with all amp sims actually, and I think it's more the feel than the tone that bothers me. I can get close to tones but it always feels like it lacks a lot of energy and tightness :(
 
the bass compression in the vid is because the camera is on the floor in front of a 4x12. with Mark series amps the tone controls are pre-gain stage so the bass knob past 9 o'clock is too much for palm mutes. also with mark amps the tone knobs are (again) before the gain stage, so the treble knob acts sort of as a secondary gain, if you slam the treble knob is cuts like a knife. you can run a mark IV sim with treble maxed and bass off and mids about noon with the presence down to compensate and it will scream. for good LOG tone, put the treble about 3 o clock, middle about noon, and bass barely on at all, then take a para-eq and boost +10db at 80hz, cut -7db at 750hz, boost +3db at 2.2khz, and boost +5db at 6.6khz. with mark amps the tone knobs are all for gain structure shaping, the real eq comes from those awesome sliders.
 
I tried to download the patches posted but they can,t be oppened by axe edit or fractal bot?
The patches appear with a size of 7k?, instead of the usual size of other patches.
 
I have a IIC+ patch that was pretty good, it relied heavily on a PEQ between the amp and cab blocks, I think you can find the settings on the Axe1 wiki somewhere.
Haven't played it again since V10 though so it would likely need some tweaking. I used the Cali cab for it back then, to get a sound close to MoP and AJFA.
 
A real Mark II C + was wired in triode, cascading gain concept and was a EL34 and 6L6 blend. I don't think the II does all those sims yet..
 
Last edited:
kippie jr,

Just as info, my Mark II C+ (and the one my other guitarist had) used a pair of 6L6 power tubes and a sh*tload of 12AX7s, but no EL34s. We both had the 60watt versions, for what it's worth.

Cheers,

Lee
 
I currently own three loaded IIC+ heads along with an AxeFx2... A simul class, in which you can use either four 6L6's or two 6L6's with two EL34's and two 100 watt'ers (switchable between 60/100 watts). I haven't heard a comparable IIC+ patch labeled as a IIC+. The closest I've heard, and they are very close, to my ears and the way I dial in my IIC+'s, was Mark Day's HBE (FW 6.02) and Euro Crunch (FW 10.02) and I run them through three Mesa Thiele 1x12's with EVM-12L's via a Matrix GT1000FX...

Both of those patches were replaced with other presets in subsequent FW updates. I managed to reload the Euro Crunch patch from 10.02 after I lost it in 10.05 as well as the Mark Day HBE. For some reason, Fractal finds out which preset I rely on as my main preset and loses it with the next FW update, yet somehow retains Hell's Glockenspiels(?!?!). I think I'm going to stay with where I am now; 10.05, with those older patches just because they sound so good to me.
 
Back
Top Bottom