Which boost for Mesa Mark?

[Shoeless_jose]

yeah john is an absolute monster on guitar, but he can make a pod sound good, so of course he can make a mark sound good

Yeah that Flux Conduct album that's like all guitar tones from a POD is hilariously good, shames so many other tones

 

[NateFalcon]

I love my Boss OD3 in front of my
Mark IV...

 

[oniduder]

i use a clone of the TC integrated preamp, works/sounds good to me,

 

[LiveOVErdrive]

So I just got an ocd clone in the mail the other day (joyo ultimate drive) and it sounds ridiculously good in front of the iic+ channel. And pretty tasty with the mk1 too. I crank the mark bass knob up pretty high and it stays Really really tight if I crank the ocd tone too, but with some focused bottom end. A little less boogie sounding but still boogie sounding.

 

[Jacksonluvr636]

I had a JP2C for a month or so.

The most unbelievable tone I got was into the OS Mesa Cab with a Buxom Boost and a G&L Cantrell guitar.

It was seriously the absolute best that amp has ever sounded for me. I had 5 different boosts at the time and 4 different cabs/guitars.

It was pretty hard to sell the amp after hearing that but for personal reasons it is gone. Try the Buxom boost with it, maybe you will get the same results.

 

[Flick]

I spent some time trying different combinations of tone stack settings. I found that running the mids near 11 o’clock, backing the treble off to 10 o’clock have the low end a better response. This also allowed me to run the gain knob a little higher. Just put a Fortin Zuul in the chain. Now I found the tone I was after. No boost needed.

 

[bhakan]

I don't like TS-style boosts in front of Mark series stuff. The tend to make them sound kinda "nasal" since they're so mid-rangey already. Honestly my favorite boost for my .50 Caliber (similar enough to a Mark) is a Black Arts Toneworks Black Forest. Definitely an unconventional option but with the depth knob and two band eq you can give it a little more tightness while keeping is super mean. It definitely works better for more "angry" tones though than the modern metal thing. I'd just see if you can find a place to try out a couple different overdrives with 2 or 3 band EQs and see if one does the trick.

 

[lurè]

Resurrecting this thread for a question: Klon type overdrive with Mark amps (expecially JP2C) yay or nay?
I'm thinking that a TS style boost is not necessary so is a klon type OD a better alternative as a clean boost?

 

[DudeManBrother]

Resurrecting this thread for a question: Klon type overdrive with Mark amps (expecially JP2C) yay or nay?
I'm thinking that a TS style boost is not necessary so is a klon type OD a better alternative as a clean boost?

I don’t like the sound of the TS808 or 9 in front of the JP2C or Mark IV (never tried it with the Mark III) I think the Klon would work well, also maybe an oddball, but I think the Port City Salem is a sick little transparent clean boost. It doesn’t boost as high as a lot of other pedals; but it does a great job of keeping the amp tone. You can drive it into saturation, or a nice solo boost, depending on the knob setting. I like the Salem on R2 of my Mark IV. Menacing tone with that thing up front.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

Resurrecting this thread for a question: Klon type overdrive with Mark amps (expecially JP2C) yay or nay?
I'm thinking that a TS style boost is not necessary so is a klon type OD a better alternative as a clean boost?

try the ehx soul food or the j rockett archer, they're both great klon esque boosts.
I like my abominable hate stomper in front of R2, but it's more of a jfet boost/distortion, so it gets pretty squishy if I crank the knob past noon. If i keep it cranked down it's a good clean boost though.
I'd stay away from any mid voiced boosts like TS or their offshoots, the marks are super mid heavy and can get nasally with extra mids.

 

[lurè]

try the ehx soul food or the j rockett archer, they're both great klon esque boosts.

I was thinking about those two pedal and also the wampler tumnus.
Are there any non-aesthetic differences between the silver and the gold one?

I think the Klon would work well, also maybe an oddball, but I think the Port City Salem is a sick little transparent clean boost. It doesn’t boost as high as a lot of other pedals; but it does a great job of keeping the amp tone

I need to check this out but I may have seen it in a BTBAM rig roudown where Dustie was using it as a volume boost.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

I was thinking about those two pedal and also the wampler tumnus.
Are there any non-aesthetic differences between the silver and the gold one?
.

no audible difference

 

[Bentaycanada]

I’ve owned the Mk V 25/35, I mainly used them for Metallica thrash and Lamb of God modern metal tones. The amp does both of these without a boost.

I tried 5 boosts with this amp (Digitech Bad Monkey, BBE Green Screamer, Maxon OD808X, MXR ZW-44, Fortin Grind) and honestly felt that they weren’t needed. I just don’t think the Mesa Mark is made for boosting. The unboosted tone is much better.

I find the most important aspects of the amp is learning how to EQ it. Try this setting (in o’clock format):

Gain 3
Treble 3
Middle 9
Bass 9
Presence 12
EQ engaged - V Shape

That’s instant high gain metal. I think it’s even tighter than a VHT/Fryette.

 

[B.M.F.]

Mesa Grid Slammer and Radial Regency are two boosts that work great in front of these amps. The Regency is not that well known but it’s a fantastic pre-drive amp booster that doesn’t add mids/roll off bass like a TS.

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

I've got a JHS modded Soul Food that I like as either a clean boost or for adding some nice saturation. I mostly use it on the clean channel of my Mark V, but it's killer for high gain too

 

[LiveOVErdrive]

I’ve owned the Mk V 25/35, I mainly used them for Metallica thrash and Lamb of God modern metal tones. The amp does both of these without a boost.

I tried 5 boosts with this amp (Digitech Bad Monkey, BBE Green Screamer, Maxon OD808X, MXR ZW-44, Fortin Grind) and honestly felt that they weren’t needed. I just don’t think the Mesa Mark is made for boosting. The unboosted tone is much better.

I find the most important aspects of the amp is learning how to EQ it. Try this setting (in o’clock format):

Gain 3
Treble 3
Middle 9
Bass 9
Presence 12
EQ engaged - V Shape

That’s instant high gain metal. I think it’s even tighter than a VHT/Fryette.

I always do:
Gain 2-3
Treble noon
Middle 2-3
Bass 8
Presence 2-3
EQ engaged - V Shape, but drop highest band down to counter the high presence.

The mid boost keeps things crunchy and tight. Bass is your enemy on the tone controls. Treat the channel eq as your boost eq and you'll have a good time. (it is an input eq after all. Not a post eq like on most amps)

 

[lurè]

Lots of great suggestions, currently I'm leaning towards the Archer.
The Friedman Boxom looks pretty neat but it may be a bit of an overkill for just the crunch and lead channel.

 

[Nick]

This may already have been covered but I have a Mk v head and find that a boost just makes it reaaaaaly mid rangey (surprise surprise) I run Mk IV mode with the mid knob at 9 oclock and the middle graphic slider close to the bottom - I am using mid rangey guitars into it though with SD JB or Nazgul pickups so bear that in mind.

I dont think they really need a boost. Maybe if you are trying to get a super aggresive sound at low volumes it would help but if your playing at any decent amount of volume then you should be able to just get a boost from your second master volume control which I assume the JP2C has?