Boogie goes from magic to meh in just one amp

[Motorpud]

Some ownage for the Mark5 haters IMO you've got some of the best metal chops I've heard on the board and you can dial a Boogie

 

[blackba]

Exactly. If anyone has played the Mark V, and walked away unimpressed (while trying to capture Mark tones), it wasn't the amp's fault....it was user-error. Because it comes down to one of two things, being able to dial in the correct settings for the tones that you are looking for and/or being able to pick out the best tube selection (preamp/power) to compliment the tones you are looking for. Because the Mark V has been proven to deliver, time and time again.

Sorry, calling BS on this. The mark V has not been around that long to truly prove itself time and time again for #1. Why is it every time someone doesn't like an amp, it has to be user error. Implying that Danyeo ( a long time mesa mark series user) can't dial in a mark V is just BS.

 

[Big Rich]

i dono i played 3 different mark 5's months before i actually bought one, each one sounded amazing and had TONS of gain....even with the stock mesa preamp/power tubes it had tons of gain.....

i much prefer the tung sols though, all they do is add another dimension to the sound and beef everything up alot

if i thought the amp didnt have enough gain i would have never bought one (i love my gain) ........

i know it sounds dumb but i just think my fingers also add some gain and seem to scoop the amp more .... the amp sounds alot different when i let my friends play on it with my settings ..... i dono

i just think its crazy that i can get my mark to sound almost identical to the bogner uber twin jet i had previously

 

[skoora]

i dono i played 3 different mark 5's months before i actually bought one, each one sounded amazing and had TONS of gain....even with the stock mesa preamp/power tubes it had tons of gain.....

i much prefer the tung sols though, all they do is add another dimension to the sound and beef everything up alot

if i thought the amp didnt have enough gain i would have never bought one (i love my gain) ........

i know it sounds dumb but i just think my fingers also add some gain and seem to scoop the amp more .... the amp sounds alot different when i let my friends play on it with my settings ..... i dono

i just think its crazy that i can get my mark to sound almost identical to the bogner uber twin jet i had previously

The one I tried yesterday didn't even come close to the amount of tight saturation that you got in those clips. I even tried the "death" scoop on the graphic and it was honestly anemic compared to IV's I tried with a similar abuse of the EQ. CH 3 had a grainy texture that turned to flub once the gain went above 2-3 O'Clock. There didn't seem to be any sweet spot for the metulz I was looking for. I tried all power and rectifier settings. What guitar and pickups are you using in those clips? They do sound a lot better than what I experienced. As far as the MKIII, like I said, it was used and you never know what kind of shape the tubes or amp are in. I've played a few over the years and it sounded close to my memory. Mind you I'm turning 40 in a week so my memory is probably worthless

I want to like the amp because recto metal gain is just not for me but I do like the cleaner and semi dirt tones Boogies get.

 

[Big Rich]

i use EMG 81's in all of my bridges of my guitars

the extreme vid is my ESP kamikaze(maple body), and the 2c+ video i was using my ESP MII(alder body)

 

[some dude]

The one I tried yesterday didn't even come close to the amount of tight saturation that you got in those clips. I even tried the "death" scoop on the graphic and it was honestly anemic compared to IV's I tried with a similar abuse of the EQ. CH 3 had a grainy texture that turned to flub once the gain went above 2-3 O'Clock. There didn't seem to be any sweet spot for the metulz I was looking for. I tried all power and rectifier settings. What guitar and pickups are you using in those clips? They do sound a lot better than what I experienced. As far as the MKIII, like I said, it was used and you never know what kind of shape the tubes or amp are in. I've played a few over the years and it sounded close to my memory. Mind you I'm turning 40 in a week so my memory is probably worthless

I want to like the amp because recto metal gain is just not for me but I do like the cleaner and semi dirt tones Boogies get.

The treble knob adds gain.

Here's the thing most people don't get; on a Boogie (not necessarily a Mesa) the tone controls are 'in' the preamp instead of at the end of the preamp. What this means is that the preamp tone controls shape the signal as it moves through the preamp, which is why Boogies have a huge range of sounds. I find that people are often afraid to try 'extreme' settings because they 'look wrong'. No Marshall user would dream of running the treble on 8 and the bass on 2... yet on a Boogie that's an outstanding setting.

They also have the graphic EQ, which functions like a standard Marshall type tone stack in that it's located at the end of the gain stages, but it's also more powerful in that it's an active EQ instead of a passive one. A lot of people are afraid to really goose these things... again because they have the whole 'scooped mids sucks' thing crammed into their head. They ignore the fact that a Mark with the G-EQ set flat basically sounds like a big ass Tubescreamer with cut bass and honkey midrange. They don't realize that you can carve a pretty substantial "V" shape and still have tons of midrange.

And just so no one says "Oh, it's 'cause Big Rich is using EMGs".... I use Gibson 57 Classics and have no problem with getting similar gain or tightness (although my playing is no where near as good as his).

 

[skoora]

I actually went and tried the Mark V again today and the closest I got to the tone in those vids was actually with the Mark I setting on channel 2 and the GEQ. CH 3 simply did not even come close to that amount of gain in those vids. Is there one of the preamp tubes that's just gain stages for the 3rd channel?

and some dude....I've tried Boogies on and off for over 15 years, even owning one. I'm very familiar with how the EQ works on Marks.

 

[Tone Zone]

Sorry, calling BS on this. The mark V has not been around that long to truly prove itself time and time again for #1. Why is it every time someone doesn't like an amp, it has to be user error. Implying that Danyeo ( a long time mesa mark series user) can't dial in a mark V is just BS.

A year and a half? I'd say that's plenty of time. Definitely enough for me, to hear the clips, witness it first hand in music stores, friends' rehearsal spaces and gigs, and most importantly: under my own roof, as I've been an owner of a Mark V head for over a year now. So, I know without question, what this amp is capable of. And, don't act so naive as to think that I'm the only one. Take a look around and you can hear it's praises. Besides, the majority of most nay-sayers have never even owned the amp to be able to make an accurate assesment. If someone doesn't like it, fine....maybe it's not their bag. But, as I had said BEFORE, if you're a fan of the characteristics found in other Mark amps, than the Mark V should totally appeal to you on some level. And, if they say otherwise, than yeah....I must believe it to be user error.

 

[some dude]

and some dude....I've tried Boogies on and off for over 15 years, even owning one. I'm very familiar with how the EQ works on Marks.

I had a Mark IIB and a Mark III. It still took me two weeks to dial in channel 3 to something better than 'meh' and about a month before I'd stumbled upon "holy mother fucker that rocks". They made the EQ less touchy, which made my old settings not work quite right. Plus it took me a bit before I figured out that "bright" is actually "normal" and "Normal" is actually some new setting they added to this version. The padded down "normal" sounds smoother and less gainy than "bright".... probably added so dudes could get Mark + MC90 type tones out of V30s.

Also, consider that "Extreme" mode is a Mark IV with the presence knob pushed in... so if that's the way you liked that Mark IV you tried in the past then I'd try giving Extreme another go. I think a lot of people see that label and assume "Scooped Recto Nu-Metal Shit" when it's actually just a different flavour of Mark IV that's been around for ages.

As for the tubes, channel 3 uses V1, V3, V4, V5 and V6.

I know a lot of dudes feel the Mark V doesn't have as much gain as previous Marks and I think the stock JJs preamp tubes have a lot to do with it. They're probably 10% to 20% lower in gain than the EHX tubes they used to use. I've switched about half my preamp over to Tung-Sol RIs and intend on replacing the other half whenever I get around to it. Still, with the right settings the V will rip with stock tubes anyway.

 

[spawnofthesith]

I have no trouble getting amounts of gain like Big Rich has on my Mark V, and I've got stock pre amp tubes still. However, I do have EL34s in mine currently. But before the swap, and the ones I tried at store, I also didn't have any trouble getting awesome amounts of gain. I couldn't imagine much more gain than I have for my metal tones, and I only have the gain knob just past noon on mine. And this is coming from someone who used to play an ENGL

 

[Motorpud]

It probably should be taken into account too that we all know how tube amps get beaten on for 10 hours a day in guitar stores and they rarely do any upkeep on them or keep the tubes fresh

 

[thiswaythatway]

OK, i found 2 Mark V's today and gave them a whirl. A 1x12 combo and a head on a Recto 4x12. I was getting plenty of gain, more than i needed and if i tuned down the guitar's it was similiar to the sound Big Rich was getting. So gain was not an issue.

For me, again, maybe my ears have just changed? I didn't like the tones the Mark V puts out. I'll take the Electra Dyne boosted with an OD pedal over anything the Mark V can do. I guess I've spent too much time playing a modded Marshall. The crunch mode on the V is better than R2 on the Mark IV, but it's not really what I'd call a Marshall crunch by any strech, but it's a cool tone on it's own. And agian channel 2 sounded bigger than channel 3.

 

[Tone Zone]

OK, i found 2 Mark V's today and gave them a whirl. A 1x12 combo and a head on a Recto 4x12. I was getting plenty of gain, more than i needed and if i tuned down the guitar's it was similiar to the sound Big Rich was getting. So gain was not an issue.

For me, again, maybe my ears have just changed? I didn't like the tones the Mark V puts out. I'll take the Electra Dyne boosted with an OD pedal over anything the Mark V can do. I guess I've spent too much time playing a modded Marshall. The crunch mode on the V is better than R2 on the Mark IV, but it's not really what I'd call a Marshall crunch by any strech, but it's a cool tone on it's own. And agian channel 2 sounded bigger than channel 3.

Hey, I understand where you're coming from. I've thought of the Electra Dyne as one the best Boogies to come along in years! I believe it to be Mesa's best attempt at a Marshall-esque amp ever. I wouldn't rule out getting one eventually. From what I've heard from many, the Electra Dyne is the first Mesa amp to be truely accepted by non-mesa lovers.

 

[JakeAC5253]

...or maybe most of their amps.

Was trying a Mark V today and spent a fair amount of time on Channel 1. Really nice clean, excellent slightly dirty to full on rock tones. Hmm, pretty nice, let's try channel 2. Ok crunchy rhythm tones, but not as good as the crunchy tones on channel 1. Mark I, thick setting is a fun lead tone but needs graphic to sound like it's above the ocean surface. OK, let's check out some metal on to CH 3. Hmmmm, kind of harsh not too gainy, not hearing a lot of difference between all three settings. Let's kick on the graphic and start chugging. Still not super thick or all that metal. At least not compared to some mark IV's I've played. So the amp basically went from being glorious to extremely mediocre across the channels. With all variations of rectification and power choices thrown in for good measure.

What was funny was the store had a used MKIII (no graphic) head. Fired it up, beautiful clean tone. One of the nicest I've heard. Every setting beyond the clean tone (pre about 5) got progressively worse. Gain maxed on clean didn't get "Stonesy", just lousy. Rhy 2, is a preamp tube going out?. Lead, harsh and very grainy overdrive. Even an EQ in the loop would have been gold-plating a turd.

I would still like to get a MKIV because I've gotten good sounds out of all 3 channels but Boogies across the board for me always get worse the more gain is kicked in, within the amp. The only Boogie I tried besides a MKIV that cooked with gain was the Lonestar special and that was more PI and power tubes anyway as it was cranked.

I really want a Fendery/tweed amp and a good metal amp and was hoping a Boogie could do it in one but it looks like it's back to single channel purity and getting a Fender tweed combo and a pure metal head.

So how old was the Crate 4x12 you were playing it through?

 

[JakeAC5253]

OK, i found 2 Mark V's today and gave them a whirl. A 1x12 combo and a head on a Recto 4x12. I was getting plenty of gain, more than i needed and if i tuned down the guitar's it was similiar to the sound Big Rich was getting. So gain was not an issue.

For me, again, maybe my ears have just changed? I didn't like the tones the Mark V puts out. I'll take the Electra Dyne boosted with an OD pedal over anything the Mark V can do. I guess I've spent too much time playing a modded Marshall. The crunch mode on the V is better than R2 on the Mark IV, but it's not really what I'd call a Marshall crunch by any strech, but it's a cool tone on it's own. And agian channel 2 sounded bigger than channel 3.

If you approach the amp expecting to hear a Marshall type tone you are going to be disappointed. A lot of it is mental, but I think the amp's character is in your hands, literally. It doesn't have the 'sustain gain' that a Marshall type amp has where you barely have to do anything to get the amp to make noise and it makes your riffs flow smoothly. I think this leads some people's right hand technique to become a bit lazy because they rely on the 'sustain gain' too much. The V works better and sounds gainier the heavier you pick and you actually have to play smoothly in order for it to sound smooth...

 

[EXPcustom]

Welcome to 1986.

 

[thiswaythatway]

OK, i found 2 Mark V's today and gave them a whirl. A 1x12 combo and a head on a Recto 4x12. I was getting plenty of gain, more than i needed and if i tuned down the guitar's it was similiar to the sound Big Rich was getting. So gain was not an issue.

For me, again, maybe my ears have just changed? I didn't like the tones the Mark V puts out. I'll take the Electra Dyne boosted with an OD pedal over anything the Mark V can do. I guess I've spent too much time playing a modded Marshall. The crunch mode on the V is better than R2 on the Mark IV, but it's not really what I'd call a Marshall crunch by any strech, but it's a cool tone on it's own. And agian channel 2 sounded bigger than channel 3.

If you approach the amp expecting to hear a Marshall type tone you are going to be disappointed. A lot of it is mental, but I think the amp's character is in your hands, literally. It doesn't have the 'sustain gain' that a Marshall type amp has where you barely have to do anything to get the amp to make noise and it makes your riffs flow smoothly. The amp works better and sounds gainier the heavier you pick and you actually have to play smoothly in order for it to sound smooth...

I don't expect a Boogie to sound like a Marshall. I've owned at least 10 Mark series Boogie since 2000 and i played hundreds of gigs with an old IIC+ i had and liked it for what it was. I never had a problem getting what i like from a IIC+, III or IV. Well, sometimes the IV bugged me and i liked the IIC+ and III more than the IV. It seemed that for me, the more shit mesa kept piling onto these amps the less i liked them. But I'd really have to go and play another IIC+ and III to see how i like those amps again. I know I'll never bother with the V again.

 

[Motorpud]

OK, i found 2 Mark V's today and gave them a whirl. A 1x12 combo and a head on a Recto 4x12. I was getting plenty of gain, more than i needed and if i tuned down the guitar's it was similiar to the sound Big Rich was getting. So gain was not an issue.

For me, again, maybe my ears have just changed? I didn't like the tones the Mark V puts out. I'll take the Electra Dyne boosted with an OD pedal over anything the Mark V can do. I guess I've spent too much time playing a modded Marshall. The crunch mode on the V is better than R2 on the Mark IV, but it's not really what I'd call a Marshall crunch by any strech, but it's a cool tone on it's own. And agian channel 2 sounded bigger than channel 3.

If you approach the amp expecting to hear a Marshall type tone you are going to be disappointed. A lot of it is mental, but I think the amp's character is in your hands, literally. It doesn't have the 'sustain gain' that a Marshall type amp has where you barely have to do anything to get the amp to make noise and it makes your riffs flow smoothly. The amp works better and sounds gainier the heavier you pick and you actually have to play smoothly in order for it to sound smooth...

I don't expect a Boogie to sound like a Marshall. I've owned at least 10 Mark series Boogie since 2000 and i played hundreds of gigs with an old IIC+ i had and liked it for what it was. I never had a problem getting what i like from a IIC+, III or IV. Well, sometimes the IV bugged me and i liked the IIC+ and III more than the IV. It seemed that for me, the more shit mesa kept piling onto these amps the less i liked them. But I'd really have to go and play another IIC+ and III to see how i like those amps again. I know I'll never bother with the V again.

I had a MarkIII and I loved it, I'm sorry I ever sold it On the other hand the MarkIV just has too many knobs/functions (i.e. too much bullshit involved) for me. It's nice to be versatile but to accidentally bump into your amp and change some setting and then have to dial for 20 minutes to get it right again isn't for me. I was thinking about picking up a MarkIV and the guy who owned it couldn't dial in a tone to save his life, he kept blaming the shitty sound on the speakers and whatever else he could find. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I actually agree with you, I like the III better than the IV I tried and the more shit they pile on top I like the amp less

 

[Mailman1971]

I like the IV better then the III and the V.

 

[Big Rich]

OK, i found 2 Mark V's today and gave them a whirl. A 1x12 combo and a head on a Recto 4x12. I was getting plenty of gain, more than i needed and if i tuned down the guitar's it was similiar to the sound Big Rich was getting. So gain was not an issue.

For me, again, maybe my ears have just changed? I didn't like the tones the Mark V puts out. I'll take the Electra Dyne boosted with an OD pedal over anything the Mark V can do. I guess I've spent too much time playing a modded Marshall. The crunch mode on the V is better than R2 on the Mark IV, but it's not really what I'd call a Marshall crunch by any strech, but it's a cool tone on it's own. And agian channel 2 sounded bigger than channel 3.

i had the electradyne pushing out MASSIVE BROOTZ without a boost, next time i go to rudys in nyc im gona bring my cam to show how that amp can get into death metal territory lol

that amp has soooooo much bottom end its not even funny.....it honestly has a bigger low end than the rectos have, that amp is sooo insane its a shame it came out the same time as the mark 5 and lives in its shadow