Dream theater profile.

    Yes:


    free:
    DJEMASS's Mark IIC++
    Steph L's Mark IV
    Bjorn Gottfridsson's Mark V
    MillA Mark IV
    Thumas's Mark III
    Thomas Kruck Mark V


    A lot of these have good amp tone but the cab kind of sucks. Be prepared to switch it out for something better. In that sense the profiles aren't "authentic". But I think they sound more like JP when the cabs are switched. Tecks has a Mesa oversized cab that I love, but I forget which profile I got it from. JEVO's Savage 4 profile has a great ENGL cab that is useful on just about any profile.


    Commercial:
    The Amp Factory Mark V is my favorite at the moment, but I had to do some pre-EQ to get the tone where I want it for the JP tone. I keep going back and forth on this one - I wish it had more variety, but the quality is astounding. The cab sound is very midsy - I think it sounds like a real cab. You'll need to use a Studio EQ to do the strategic 750 HZ cut to get the JP sound. VERY sweet lead tones. Regardless of any perceived flaws clearly worth the price of admission.


    Pete Turley has a Mark V pack, but I don't think he's officially released it yet. It's very good - wide variety of tones, with a lot of them fitting in that JP target range - less tweaking necessary.


    Armin has a Mark V Ch3 only pack. I found most of the profiles too bassy and loose for my tastes and especially JP. However, he does have 1-2 profiles that are specifically dialed in with JP settings that are pretty good.



    I'm about to do some Mesa Mark shoot-outs, and I'll have clips and post my tweaked rigs of free profiles.

    Im having a hard time finding a great dream theater tone also , mostly looking for images and words tone , smooth and not too harsh in the highs


    Ive tried alot of mark ii and iii profiles but still cant seem to nail it , evern the commercial ones


    something about bieng smooth and gainy like a mark series with just enough bite but not that harshness

    Check the amp profile parameters. I find a lot of these profiles go crazy on these. Definition over 8 will get harsh. I just set it to around 5-7 then use some EQ for a more controlled treble boost. Set everything else to defaults (0 except Tube Shape to 3.3). Tube Shape above 3.3 and Bias > 0 will add a little edge to the tone. Bias is more forgiving. If the attack becomes too stiff, try turning Sagging up a little. Keep Pick at center (0).


    Try adding a Studio EQ in front the amp. Set the mid freq to 600 HZ, and turn the Q down a bit. Set the gain to +9 db. Now, set Mix to 0%. Slowly turn mix up until you find the sweet spot. Then move the freq up and down a bit until you find the right amount of sweetness vs. bite.


    Change the cab. Some of the cabs can be nasty in the high end. I usually end up using Till's Recto 59, but that's still a bit bright. You may want to try 56 or some of the 60's. I need to do more research. But I did shootout Till's Recto cabs vs. some of my other favorite cabs, and Till's really came out on top. I KNOW I KNOW - CHANGING THE CAB IS REALLY LIKE CHANGING THE POWER AMP. Whatever - try it. I think those Mesa's with Till's cabs sound MORE like a real Mark than with the profiled cabs. JUST TRY IT.


    Next week I will be releasing all my tweaked Mesa Mark patches, even the commercial ones (but I'm blanking out the amp/cab profiles - you'll still have to buy the profiles).

    Just put my first tweaked profile on the Rig Exchange. It's DJEMASS's Boogie MarkIIC++ profile, but I changed the amp parameters to make it less harsh, changed the cab to something with more midsy goodness, and post EQ'ed things quite a bit differently. But really this profile is just awesome. It's kind of like Charlie Brown's Xmas tree.


    Here's a clip demonstrating this killer tone in a shoddy demo filled with horrible technique:
    https://soundcloud.com/meambob…per-tweaked-petrucci-lead

    Quote from meambobbo

    Just put my first tweaked profile on the Rig Exchange. It's DJEMASS's Boogie MarkIIC++ profile, but I changed the amp parameters to make it less harsh, changed the cab to something with more midsy goodness, and post EQ'ed things quite a bit differently. But really this profile is just awesome. It's kind of like Charlie Brown's Xmas tree.


    Here's a clip demonstrating this killer tone in a shoddy demo filled with horrible technique:
    https://soundcloud.com/meambob…per-tweaked-petrucci-lead


    Yeah sounds great !! Please share your tweaked profile.


    My profile was taylored for my playing/gear. It has to be modified to be adapted to each one. Great tone and playing bro ;)

    Quote from meambobbo

    Just put my first tweaked profile on the Rig Exchange. It's DJEMASS's Boogie MarkIIC++ profile, but I changed the amp parameters to make it less harsh, changed the cab to something with more midsy goodness, and post EQ'ed things quite a bit differently. But really this profile is just awesome. It's kind of like Charlie Brown's Xmas tree.


    Here's a clip demonstrating this killer tone in a shoddy demo filled with horrible technique:
    https://soundcloud.com/meambob…per-tweaked-petrucci-lead


    I like the sound of this, excellent! :thumbup:

    the rig should be up on the rig exchange. It is called "Boogie MARKIIC++ MAB". Let me know how it works out for you. Also, keep in mind I'm going for a Dramatic Turn of Events kind of post-EQ - rather dark but thick and midsy. If you want it a little brighter, just turn up the treble!


    I disagree that the playing is good - I can never seem to hit my full potential whenever I hit that darned record button. Once I'm done tone hunting, gonna do some serious chops training.


    I was gonna do some Overture 1928 stuff, but don't have time to make a real backing track. Just playing the original vs. tweaked, it may seem like the tweak is too muffled, but if you try it in a mix, particularly a busy mix like DT, you will like it much more.

    Hi Meam Bobbo,


    Tested yout tweaked profile. What amazes me with the Kemper is that with the same profile, each one sounds very different. With you, it sounds awesome, and with me it is very gainy, boomy, and lack of definition. Which version of the profile is the best ? none of them, it is just one profile works better with you. It is logic, you taylord the profile to meet your playing specifications, and the result sounds awesome.


    About Petrucci, you are right the latest album guitar tones are more mid oriented. When you hear on jammit for instance the Metropolis Pt2 lead tracks, they tend to sound much more "raw". Not that amazing when isolated (even if I love the tone), but awesome in the mix. This is what I learned with the Kemper. Now I prefer to keep this "hi end, slightly fizz" part of tone, sounds more natural and balanced to me, and is easier to mix.


    For instance, I took my original MarkIIC+ profile, for which I tweaked new delay settings, and recorded this Liquid Tension Experiment song. First you have the guitar in the mix, then the guitar isolated.


    https://soundcloud.com/djemass/lte-test


    Tell me what you think about it.

    The interesting aspect here is what guitars and most important what pickups you guys use for this profile. Profiles always needs to be tweaked for different guitars.

    Guitars definitely matter. I'm using a EBMM JPM (first edition) but I swapped the pickups for the CL/LF combo. The Crunch Lab is definitely more midsy and less boomy than the original Steve's Special. djemass, looks like you have the same guitar/pickups - I bet your action is a bit higher than mine though if you found my patch too gainy.


    Love the LTE demo - did you record DI's? We should swap some to see what the big difference is. Also, what are you using to monitor? I was using Sennheiser 280 pro headphones, but I listened on my M Audio BX8a's and in my car stereo and the tone sounded pretty on to me, but I also don't have a bass track on my demo, so I could definitely see that it may be too bass heavy - I did turn down the tonestack bass, but it could probably use some more of that.


    I also heard the Metropolis Pt2 raw guitars and thought WHOA not expected. I thought they were VERY boomy and grainy. But are we hearing the isolated guitar tracks from the mix, or the original recording pre-mix. I have to imagine it's pre-mix - that boominess would kill the mix I have to think. Most engineers will immediately low pass and high pass the guitars at around 120 HZ and 8-9 kHZ. But this was years and years ago - I think it was the Fatal Tragedy solo where Petrucci starts off in 4th position, 5th string I think. But even as he moves up the fretboard, there's a huge percussive boom to the bass on every note he hits. And Petrucci has notoriously low action, so you would think the pick attack would be bright, not dark.


    The main changes I made to the profile, besides post-EQ were to bring down the Tube Shape and Bias settings. Tube Shape was the main thing for me. According to the manual, high settings here will get more of a power amp breakup vs. preamp tube, which is also described as a harder vs softer breakup. For my guitar, I couldn't get a very smooth lead tone with Tube Shape cranked - there would be a little kind of crackle to sustained lead notes, especially on the bridge pickup. Bias is more forgiving but kind of works in the same direction. Since I wanted a smooth lead tone from the profile, I found the profiling defaults worked best - Tube Shape 3.3, Bias 0. Maybe it'd sound better with a higher Bias setting - get a bit more bite.


    Usually I find I also like to turn Definition down a bit, then use EQ to get a similar treble-boost, but with a bit more control. This lets me get the tightness and harmonic richness but I can make sure I don't boost much past around 4 kHZ or so which keeps lead playing smooth rather than breaking up. But I didn't need it here - once I set Tube Shape and Bias down, the amp was super smooth on leads but also had the tightness and harmonic richness to the rhythms. No pre-EQ necessary.


    I used to own a Mesa Quad and ran it through a Mesa 2:95 power amp into a H&K 4x12 with V30's. The tone I dialed in is very reminiscent of that rig.


    Anyone else who tried both rigs care to leave some feedback?

    There is also another parameter : the pick


    I use jazzIIIXL black stiffo and they sound way more punchy than the small ones. I still have the original Di Marzio on my 2001 EBMM JP6.


    The LTE is recorded via spdif. I use space parameter at 3.4


    I use audio technica athm40fs


    Very good informations on your post. I will study this very carefully. Anyway the result you have in your clip is amazing. ;)

    the original Dimarzio is way different than the Crunch Lab - it's not labeled a Steve's Special, but from all I've heard it's basically exactly that. I noticed after switching that all my patches sounded thin and midsy (albeit this was when I was using my Pod HD). The SS has a much thicker bass and kind of scooped tone. The neck is similar - unlabeled Air Norton vs. Liquifire - less dramatic of a difference but it's definitely not the same.


    I tried a few different things - turned up Bias to get a bit more bite and high-end shine in the tone, but the leads still sing. Also tried Till's Recto 56 and 59 instead of 62. 62 was the most creamy I could tolerate while still having a crisp high-end. 56 is a bit less woofy and a bit more bright. 59 is the brightest - sounds pretty much like a 57 on axis. And I tried using less bass and some more treble. I think I've found a nice middle ground - I'll post the patches and clips soon. I'm also going to post my DI's, so everyone can compare my guitar tone to theirs.


    I also have a tweaked James Harvey Mark V (Mark IV mode) patch that's pretty killer for the more aggressive JP rhythm tone. Gonna get that up either tomorrow or next week.