Mark V

[lespaul3013]

Can the Mark V handle other things besides metal? I would probably like channel 3 to be a nice high gain lead sound, but can channel 2 have a nice crunch tone thats not too thin...the reason I'm asking is because a lot of the clips I've seen seem to be kinda thin sounding. I defintitely don't want that. I'm playing everything from Collective Soul to AiC to John Petrucci to Red Hot Chili Peppers-I need something pretty versatile.

 

[JakeAC5253]

The crunch channel is ok, probably the amp's largest weakness. But it excels in other aspects so well that I don't think it should close the door to the amp just because of that. It's still useable I mean, but it's not a british crunch which is what you are expecting to hear. You can easily use the clean channel's pushed mode with a Tubescreamer in front to get a great crunch sound, but the actual crunch channel's tone is a little 'fat' IMO.

 

[lespaul3013]

The crunch channel is ok, probably the amp's largest weakness. But it excels in other aspects so well that I don't think it should close the door to the amp just because of that. It's still useable I mean, but it's not a british crunch which is what you are expecting to hear. You can easily use the clean channel's pushed mode with a Tubescreamer in front to get a great crunch sound, but the actual crunch channel's tone is a little 'fat' IMO.

Cool, I'll probably just end up having to play one and decide. I hear Mesa's are pretty tricky when it comes to settings and all of that.

 

[Ricky Rockhardo]

In person I think channel 2 is actually thicker than channel 3. Its a little more bassy and the mids are round and do not get boxy as you turn them up (like on channel 3). I agree with the above post that its not a british crunch, but I like it a lot. Channel 2 really is a Black Magic Woman channel. You probably will get a better crunch running the clean channel really dirty with a pedal upfront. This video I think is somewhat representative of the crunch you can get out of the MV

 

[some dude]

Cool, I'll probably just end up having to play one and decide. I hear Mesa's are pretty tricky when it comes to settings and all of that.

They come with a 'settings' sheet that's supposed to sit on top of an amp when it's on display... the settings are actually pretty decent for a generic starting point.... however the "V" that they show on the graphic EQ is excessively scooped and hollow sounding. I'd recommend experimenting the the "preset" knobs at first just because it simplifies things in the store. Failing that, ask for the manual as it has a bunch of suggested settings near the back of it.

Beyond that, I agree with the others... there's nothing 'thin' about crunch mode. Usually the problem is that it's a tad too fat sounding when compared to channel 3, which tends to be much more mid heavy. I find it sounds more like a tweaked Mark crunch rather than a Marshall crunch, but it's good nonetheless.

And on that note, Marks tend to sound mid heavy and rather honky on their own, but cut through a band mix with ease. In person channel 2 and 3 can sound rather unbalanced, with crunch mode being too fat/bass heavy and channel 3 being too thin/mid heavy/lacking in bottom. However this translates differently in a band mix where you have a bassist maintaining a constant low end as the fat crunch tone simply sounds full and channel 3 sounds cutting/aggressive.

 

[droptrd]

it has eq. deffinately has more than one sound

 

[jlbaxe]

What is the width of the amp? is it the same as the Mk III? Wondering if it would sit on top of a MkIII combo nicely.

 

[some dude]

What is the width of the amp? is it the same as the Mk III? Wondering if it would sit on top of a MkIII combo nicely.

22.5"

 

[jlbaxe]

What is the width of the amp? is it the same as the Mk III? Wondering if it would sit on top of a MkIII combo nicely.

22.5"

MK III is 18 7/8" just fits in a Rack combo shell and all.

 

[lespaul3013]

Cool, I'll probably just end up having to play one and decide. I hear Mesa's are pretty tricky when it comes to settings and all of that.

They come with a 'settings' sheet that's supposed to sit on top of an amp when it's on display... the settings are actually pretty decent for a generic starting point.... however the "V" that they show on the graphic EQ is excessively scooped and hollow sounding. I'd recommend experimenting the the "preset" knobs at first just because it simplifies things in the store. Failing that, ask for the manual as it has a bunch of suggested settings near the back of it.

Beyond that, I agree with the others... there's nothing 'thin' about crunch mode. Usually the problem is that it's a tad too fat sounding when compared to channel 3, which tends to be much more mid heavy. I find it sounds more like a tweaked Mark crunch rather than a Marshall crunch, but it's good nonetheless.

And on that note, Marks tend to sound mid heavy and rather honky on their own, but cut through a band mix with ease. In person channel 2 and 3 can sound rather unbalanced, with crunch mode being too fat/bass heavy and channel 3 being too thin/mid heavy/lacking in bottom. However this translates differently in a band mix where you have a bassist maintaining a constant low end as the fat crunch tone simply sounds full and channel 3 sounds cutting/aggressive.

"Thin" may have been the wrong word, I know Petrucci wouldn't use something that sounded thin. I am mainly concerned about the Mark V sounding good with other types of music that aren't as 'heavy'. I also play at church a lot, so I really can't have an amp that only does well with prog rock/metal/anything heavy...but as stated before, I like to have a lot of gain on tap for some liquid lead tones ala Petrucci.

I had also looked at the Bogner Shiva 20th, but I keep coming back to the Mesa for some reason, it really looks like it would be a fun amp to play with, and mess around with because of all the options.

 

[JakeAC5253]

Channel 1 gives spectacular cleans and grit, very church worthy. I say do it, its not like its a shit amp or anything. Just need to find out if its the right amp for your needs.

 

[yngzaklynch]

I think these are great examples of the amp. I have minimal experience with the amp but the little time I did play one I loved it!

and another cool vid

 

[Ricky Rockhardo]

Cool, I'll probably just end up having to play one and decide. I hear Mesa's are pretty tricky when it comes to settings and all of that.

They come with a 'settings' sheet that's supposed to sit on top of an amp when it's on display... the settings are actually pretty decent for a generic starting point.... however the "V" that they show on the graphic EQ is excessively scooped and hollow sounding. I'd recommend experimenting the the "preset" knobs at first just because it simplifies things in the store. Failing that, ask for the manual as it has a bunch of suggested settings near the back of it.

Beyond that, I agree with the others... there's nothing 'thin' about crunch mode. Usually the problem is that it's a tad too fat sounding when compared to channel 3, which tends to be much more mid heavy. I find it sounds more like a tweaked Mark crunch rather than a Marshall crunch, but it's good nonetheless.

And on that note, Marks tend to sound mid heavy and rather honky on their own, but cut through a band mix with ease. In person channel 2 and 3 can sound rather unbalanced, with crunch mode being too fat/bass heavy and channel 3 being too thin/mid heavy/lacking in bottom. However this translates differently in a band mix where you have a bassist maintaining a constant low end as the fat crunch tone simply sounds full and channel 3 sounds cutting/aggressive.

"Thin" may have been the wrong word, I know Petrucci wouldn't use something that sounded thin. I am mainly concerned about the Mark V sounding good with other types of music that aren't as 'heavy'. I also play at church a lot, so I really can't have an amp that only does well with prog rock/metal/anything heavy...but as stated before, I like to have a lot of gain on tap for some liquid lead tones ala Petrucci.

I had also looked at the Bogner Shiva 20th, but I keep coming back to the Mesa for some reason, it really looks like it would be a fun amp to play with, and mess around with because of all the options.

have you thought about an Electra Dyne?

 

[some dude]

"Thin" may have been the wrong word, I know Petrucci wouldn't use something that sounded thin. I am mainly concerned about the Mark V sounding good with other types of music that aren't as 'heavy'. I also play at church a lot, so I really can't have an amp that only does well with prog rock/metal/anything heavy...but as stated before, I like to have a lot of gain on tap for some liquid lead tones ala Petrucci.

I had also looked at the Bogner Shiva 20th, but I keep coming back to the Mesa for some reason, it really looks like it would be a fun amp to play with, and mess around with because of all the options.

This series of demos are pretty good, particularly as the dude is more into rock than metal.

 

[lespaul3013]

Cool, I'll probably just end up having to play one and decide. I hear Mesa's are pretty tricky when it comes to settings and all of that.

They come with a 'settings' sheet that's supposed to sit on top of an amp when it's on display... the settings are actually pretty decent for a generic starting point.... however the "V" that they show on the graphic EQ is excessively scooped and hollow sounding. I'd recommend experimenting the the "preset" knobs at first just because it simplifies things in the store. Failing that, ask for the manual as it has a bunch of suggested settings near the back of it.

Beyond that, I agree with the others... there's nothing 'thin' about crunch mode. Usually the problem is that it's a tad too fat sounding when compared to channel 3, which tends to be much more mid heavy. I find it sounds more like a tweaked Mark crunch rather than a Marshall crunch, but it's good nonetheless.

And on that note, Marks tend to sound mid heavy and rather honky on their own, but cut through a band mix with ease. In person channel 2 and 3 can sound rather unbalanced, with crunch mode being too fat/bass heavy and channel 3 being too thin/mid heavy/lacking in bottom. However this translates differently in a band mix where you have a bassist maintaining a constant low end as the fat crunch tone simply sounds full and channel 3 sounds cutting/aggressive.

"Thin" may have been the wrong word, I know Petrucci wouldn't use something that sounded thin. I am mainly concerned about the Mark V sounding good with other types of music that aren't as 'heavy'. I also play at church a lot, so I really can't have an amp that only does well with prog rock/metal/anything heavy...but as stated before, I like to have a lot of gain on tap for some liquid lead tones ala Petrucci.

I had also looked at the Bogner Shiva 20th, but I keep coming back to the Mesa for some reason, it really looks like it would be a fun amp to play with, and mess around with because of all the options.

have you thought about an Electra Dyne?

No, I really haven't...should I? haha

 

[Spaceboy]

I saw this band playing about a week ago, using a Mesa Mark series, but I couldn't get close enough to tell which. It sounded great, much better than whatever he recorded this song with (VTM in the vid). It's nothing like AiC or anything though.

 

[The Hoff]

Dude, thanks for sharing the Petrucci videos, never seen those before.

But ya, Mark V is a winner for sure

 

[Tone Zone]

Dude, thanks for sharing the Petrucci videos, never seen those before.

They're also available on his homepage: www.johnpetrucci.com

 

[scottkahn]

I would suggest you consider the new 2010 Dual Rectifier instead of the Mark V for real versatile tone, or even the Roadster.

These amps do classic rock tones beautifully. Even Lindsay Buckingham uses a Dual Recto, and he's not going for the same tone as Metallica/Green Day/Linkin Park/etc...

Check out our in-depth review of the redesigned Dual Recto:

http://www.musicplayers.com/reviews/gui ... lRecto.php

Scott

 

[thiswaythatway]

Cool, I'll probably just end up having to play one and decide. I hear Mesa's are pretty tricky when it comes to settings and all of that.

They come with a 'settings' sheet that's supposed to sit on top of an amp when it's on display... the settings are actually pretty decent for a generic starting point.... however the "V" that they show on the graphic EQ is excessively scooped and hollow sounding. I'd recommend experimenting the the "preset" knobs at first just because it simplifies things in the store. Failing that, ask for the manual as it has a bunch of suggested settings near the back of it.

Beyond that, I agree with the others... there's nothing 'thin' about crunch mode. Usually the problem is that it's a tad too fat sounding when compared to channel 3, which tends to be much more mid heavy. I find it sounds more like a tweaked Mark crunch rather than a Marshall crunch, but it's good nonetheless.

And on that note, Marks tend to sound mid heavy and rather honky on their own, but cut through a band mix with ease. In person channel 2 and 3 can sound rather unbalanced, with crunch mode being too fat/bass heavy and channel 3 being too thin/mid heavy/lacking in bottom. However this translates differently in a band mix where you have a bassist maintaining a constant low end as the fat crunch tone simply sounds full and channel 3 sounds cutting/aggressive.

"Thin" may have been the wrong word, I know Petrucci wouldn't use something that sounded thin. I am mainly concerned about the Mark V sounding good with other types of music that aren't as 'heavy'. I also play at church a lot, so I really can't have an amp that only does well with prog rock/metal/anything heavy...but as stated before, I like to have a lot of gain on tap for some liquid lead tones ala Petrucci.

I had also looked at the Bogner Shiva 20th, but I keep coming back to the Mesa for some reason, it really looks like it would be a fun amp to play with, and mess around with because of all the options.

have you thought about an Electra Dyne?

No, I really haven't...should I? haha

Yes you should. But when you try one out boost it with a good OD. To my ears, and IMHO, my Electra Dyne beat out an amp that is HIGHLY thought of on these boards that i just brought home today. I'm really suprised. The other amp starts with a D and it's not a DUmble.