Hi Jim
Thanks for the tips, unfortunately I didn't get the active version of the mark 7 but I guess I could use the settings you suggests with other eqs. Perhaps I'll upgrade after this.
/Fredrik
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Williams  I designed the Mk 7 preamps to emulate the old sounds while allowing new ones as well. The EQ is powerful and can sculp the sonics in several ways. The secret is the mid control. If you bloom 300 hz a bit an turn down the tops just a bit it's very much like a mk-1.
The front end preamp is a unique discrete jfet in front of an opamp. That design is heavy with 2nd harmonics to allow a rich sound. It is not the super clean stuff I'm usually associated with. It also allows a variable amount of drive to emulate the discrete 2n3391 transistor preamps of the mk-1. It will bark like a dog if you set it up right.
To get there, crank up the volume/gain pot on the mk 7. At about 3 o'clock the dirt begins to happen. You will need to attenute the outputs a bit to prevent the next stage from overloading, a shure pad would work fine for that. Then you bloom the lower mids, cut some tops and let that old magic happen. I found it sounds best into the 4x12 cabs as those have seperate input volume controls that allow you to overdrive the piano and turn down the signal into the powered bottom.
For a truer mk 1 sound, those mk 7 Eminence speakers do 10k hz, too high. Use Eminence V128's for that old 70's sound without speaker breakup. That will low pass filter the top end into that old mk 1 sound.
Mk 7's also have an effects loop or "accessory". Use outboard pre's, gadgets and processors for more sonic options. That takes the signal right off the harp.
The hammer tips are the same as mk 2. The harder rubber grommets and tighter hammers do allow a clearer top end than the wood hammer mk 1's. That also allows for the Stevie Wonder "hard hammer" sound if you crank up 8 k hz in the mids and goose the tops a bit. That allows for that sound without the hammer tip replacements I did for most of Stevies's Rhodes. When I showed Stevie the change from a mk 1 sound to his trademark hard hammer sound with a couple of knob twists, he was estatic.
Jim Williams
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