Mark V?

[fr0sty]

Anyone here played the new mesa mark V?

[KINGSFAN]

Yup, played it and bought the fucker. Very nice amp, lots of options and great tone.

[fr0sty]

Did you buy it new? If so, how much was it?

[KINGSFAN]

Did you buy it new? If so, how much was it?

Yes I did, from Mesa Hollywood $2193 including tax and worth every penny!!!!

[fr0sty]

Yes I did, from Mesa Hollywood $2193 including tax and worth every penny!!!!

I took the plunge and ordered one from sweetwater.

[RR666]

just wondering, how these would compare to say a duel rectifier

[toxikdeth]

just wondering, how these would compare to say a duel rectifier

Completely differant beast. Marks are titer and more liqiud sounding. They have less bottom end but they are not muddy. rectifier has more gain but the mark series arnt fizzy at all. Marks also have way more sustain and have one of the best lead tones ever. I was fortunite enough to play a cranked mark iic+ over the weekend. Rectifiers sound horrible compared to the marks but then again I hate rectifiers

[RR666]

thanks for the input man

[mr426]

I agree, I never have liked the Recto sound.Been thinking about getting one of these, or getting an Electrodyne and use it with my Mesa MKIII...

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

I love my Mark V combo! The clean channel is great and can get anything from a Fender-ish squeaky clean to a nice vintage "somewhat distorted" sound in 10W Variac mode, Channel 2 has great 70's/80's metal tones in Crunch and Mark I (gotta crank it for Mark I to sound right, it's very dark at low volumes) and ridiculous amounts of gain on any mode in Channel 3.

There are two things to remember with this amp...

1. It's not engineered so that you can get a good tone in one channel's mode and then switch to another and it "just works." It's not too far off on Channel 3, but needs a little tweaking when going between Mark IIC+, Mark IV, and Extreme, depending on taste. But for example, if you dial in a good tone with Crunch on Channel 2 and switch to Mark 1, your settings will be WAY off.

2. Unless you're trying to keep up with a drummer (and probably even then) DON'T hard-bypass the loop. The one I bought from Guitar Center was set up with the loop bypassed on the sales floor, for some dumb reason. Having the loop engaged allows the Output to control the volume, and allows the Solo and Mute functions to work. In this setup, the Channel Master (each channel has a Master Volume to allow balancing the channels) acts as another gain stage! While it still sounds better cranked up, you CAN get plenty of distortion at any volume, using the Channel Masters and Output controls.

IMO, there is enough gain here for pretty much anyone, unless you want retarded stupid amounts of distortion. I know I like lots of distortion and even at low volumes there's PLENTY so long as you keep the loop engaged and crank the channel masters up to 3:00 or so.

I mean, I can get microphonic feedback from an EMG 3 - 4 feet away from the amp at a volume so low I can still hear the pick hitting the strings... How much more gain/distortion do you need?!?

[KINGSFAN]

I just may end up buying another mark V to run in stereo. I can't seem to get my mark IV to sound good with the mark V. The tone is so much different between the two amps. Here's a pic of the current rig!!!!!!!!!!!!

[fr0sty]

I found one in Maple Grove at American Guitar Boutique. Picked it up on Wedseday. Play it for about 30 minutes before a 6l6 crapped out and blew a fuse. Hopefully I will have a new set from AGB today.

Before the tube died a fiery death, I recorded this clip.

http://webpages.charter.net/gregdomeier/markv.mp3

[nateb]

Here's a pic of the current rig!!!!!!!!!!!!

I see you have an extra subpanel just to power that fucker.... =)

-Nate

[Gunner]

I see you have an extra subpanel just to power that fucker.... =)

-Nate

:ROTF::ROTF::ROTF::ROTF: Sub..thats a complete Motor control Center..:ROTF:

[jk2171]

I just may end up buying another mark V to run in stereo. I can't seem to get my mark IV to sound good with the mark V. The tone is so much different between the two amps. Here's a pic of the current rig!!!!!!!!!!!!

Damn, nice rig!