Mesa Boogie Mark III/Marshall Tone

[GodWentPUNK]

I've been playing around with my MBIII and I can't seem to find the right mix to create a Marshall sounding tone. Has anyone here who owns a MkIII every accomplished this??? If so, would you mind describing the settings you used.

thanks,

joe...

[raymo]

Re: Mesa Boogie Mark III/Marshall Tone

A Marshall tone from a Mesa Boogie, its just not gonna happen. If you're really happy with your mesa's tone but want a lil Marshall pizazz in the mix, then I suggest get'n a lil Marshall 30MGDFX solid state or somefin along those lines thats inexpensive and you can mix your two amps together. Maybe you would want to do something along those lines, just a suggestion.

[GodWentPUNK]

Re: Mesa Boogie Mark III/Marshall Tone

Thanks for the input. I've got a TSL100 w/1960ax cabinet and I just love that sound it gets. I can with my boogie get a marshall sound (well sort-a) but I have to drive the tubes but at that point, the damn things so loud, it becomes too much. I don't want to haul my cab since it's brand new, so I'm thinking of looking for a POS (piece of $hit) marshall cab and use that when I gig. I'll probally get a flight case for the TSL100.

joe...

[raymo]

Re: Mesa Boogie Mark III/Marshall Tone

Ah, nice to see another Marshall fan. Maybe buy a non POS 4x12 and a new 2x12 for your TSL? Maybe even look into a Weber Mass attenuater for your Mesa? They seem to be cheaper than hotplates, and a lot of poeple say, better than one also.

[GodWentPUNK]

Re: Mesa Boogie Mark III/Marshall Tone

Does Marshall have a 2 x 12 cab??? That would easier to manage.

thanks,

joe...

[toejam]

Re: Mesa Boogie Mark III/Marshall Tone

Originally posted by GodWentPUNK:
Does Marshall have a 2 x 12 cab??? That would easier to manage.

thanks,

joe...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Yes, they do. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/...=Marshall+2x12

[charvelguy]

Re: Mesa Boogie Mark III/Marshall Tone

You can look for a 2x12 that is a smaller box sized of a 4x12. The 1966a & 1966b. The 1961 cabs and the 2556.

[nor]

Re: Mesa Boogie Mark III/Marshall Tone

CAN TOO!!
[img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]
--------------------
METAL II - CUSTOMIZED MARSHALL
Vol: 8-9 (pull)
Treble: 4 (pull)
Bass: 0-1 (pull)
Mid: 0-3 (pull)
Master: 1-5
Lead Drive: 5
Lead Master: 1-5 (pull)

If it has the Simul-Class option, switch to Class A.

If it has the Graphic EQ..
80: 75%
240: 50%
750: 50%
2200: 75%
6600: 80%
--------------------------
This is pretty darn close...

[nor]

Re: Mesa Boogie Mark III/Marshall Tone

Oh, yeah. Presence: 10
[img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[Dreamland_Rebel]

Re: Mesa Boogie Mark III/Marshall Tone

i had a mkiii for years and i loved it, to get the better than marshall, marshall tone do the following.

vol (pulled out), 10 (7-10 depending on pickup)
treb (pulled out), 0
bass, 10
mid, 10
master (pushed in), 2.5 - 4
lead drive, 10
lead vol, 10 (7-10)
reverb, 2-3
eq, off
presence, 0

this is the sound for a mesa/boogie MKIII head w/6L6's. "if it sounds to bassy, turn the volume up!"(PRS) if you have the hybrid (26L6's and 2 EL34's - try bringing up the treble knob)
do not turn up the presence at all. at this volume it will only resort to noise.

you can also use the eq to give it a slight mid hump for a solo boost using the eq/rv ftsw.

[Chuckracer]

Re: Mesa Boogie Mark III/Marshall Tone

Hmm...pretty much opposite settings there. [img]graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img]

[nor]

Re: Mesa Boogie Mark III/Marshall Tone

Mark Series amps are weird (in that good spanky way). Everyone seems to find their own path to the tone they seek (or they sell the damn thing and get a POD). I'm gonna try D_R's setting tonight.

The knob settings I posted were straight from the original 'sample settings' insert I got when I bought mine new, back in the '80s. Use this as your starting point.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

Re: Mesa Boogie Mark III/Marshall Tone

yeah i tryed all of those, they all seemed to noisey (white noise). thats my bigest complaint with boogie's (amd most amps for that matter) the presence control only sounds good when you play by yourself. with a band it just gets too washy. those seting brought out the monster in that amp. although it does have to be really loud to sound right. but thats how 100 watt amps are ment to be played - very loud. so you can push the tubes properly. thats also why i have stepped down to 50 watt tube amps. i loved the mkIII sound i got with those settings. but it was just too loud for me. that setting also works great on old and new marshalls and rectifiers. on new marshalls you just need to turn off those tone shaping buttons and that setting will rock the house down. on rectifiers the switches should be on moderns and silicon diode. i got this setting form Paul Reed Smith. he says that there is enough highs in the mid knob once you hit the proper volume to push the tubes and the speakers properly. adding any treb or presence just adds white noise and loss of clarity. if its too muddy, your not loud enough for that amp/speaker combination.
smart man, builds great guitars - but i still hate the shape of them, hehheh.

[Misanthrope189]

Re: Mesa Boogie Mark III/Marshall Tone

Hey Nor, I tried your settings on my triaxis, pretty cool sound. I didn't turn it up really loud, I'll have to try that when I can, but so far it was nice, reminded me a lot of Kill 'Em All, I started playing Seek and Destroy, some Slayer and Megadeth. It's a cool tone, and I understand Dreamland's concern about presence getting too washy when you're in a band...so I wonder how the tone will work when it's put to the test in a live band situation, which doesn't seem to be happening soon. Seems like the scooped-mids idea where alone it's cool, but in a mix it isn't too great sometimes. The tone is nice, sounded good for the beginning of the Hypnosis solo, gets nice feedback and it's fun, very sharp and piercing.

Cheers,
Nick

[nor]

Re: Mesa Boogie Mark III/Marshall Tone

If your MKIII doesen't cut through the mix, you prolly forgot to turn it on. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

I've shared the stages with guitarists using Marshalls, Laneys, Ampegs, ADAs, Peaveys, blah-blah-blah - They couldn't hang (mix-wise). At half the volume I would still bury 'em in the mix (even when I tried not to!). At nearly every gig I used it (a lot) someone would compliment me on my tone and offer to buy it from me - just like the manual said they would!

Misanthrope189:
The '750' eq slider is your 'voice' adjuster in a live mix. Just slowly adjust it til the tech says 'WHOA - right there!' [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]