Mesa MK V:35 combo??

the rossness

the rossness

Well-known member
I just played a Mesa Mark V 35 watt combo and LOVED it! It was my 2nd time playing it and just like my first time, I loved it! To my surprise, I liked the lower gain channel the most. I could live 80% of the time on the Crunch mode. To me, it sounded great for Van Halen. I was playing the Romeo Delight tapping intro and there were tons of harmonics! The clean mode was great and reactive to my playing and the Bold mode put me into Santana/Mark1/ Dumble territory (which tbh is a tone I’ve always yearned for but haven’t ever been able to get).

Of the high gain channel, I liked mark IV mode the best. It gets that modern prog-rock/ djent vibe. I also thought it sounded great for all the Dokken riffs I was playing. I thought the Extreme mode was the hardest to dial in. The 2C+ mode that the amp is famous for, I found alright. I think I’d need to spend more time with the amp to dial it in correctly. It’s crazy how sensitive the controls are.

Then there’s the 90 watt mark V combo. Its going to have more of everything- more channels, more modes, much heavier to lug around, and it doesn't have the Cab Clone IR’s built in. Both amps are around $2k used. I suppose I could look into the new MK7, but it’s going to cost almost double the price and is the heaviest to lug in and out of places.

Is there any reason to get the MK V 90 over the 35? Does anyone have either amp? How easy are they to transport and load in and out of shows? How are the EL84’s in the 35 vs the 6L6’s in the 90? Is the 35 watts going to be enough for small shows/ and open mic nights at local breweries? Is the Mark 7 a huge leap forward?

I REALLY liked the MK V 35 and just wanted some opinions on it before I take the plunge. Thanks and peace ~
 
the rossness said:
I just played a Mesa Mark V 35 watt combo and LOVED it! It was my 2nd time playing it and just like my first time, I loved it! To my surprise, I liked the lower gain channel the most. I could live 80% of the time on the Crunch mode. To me, it sounded great for Van Halen. I was playing the Romeo Delight tapping intro and there were tons of harmonics! The clean mode was great and reactive to my playing and the Bold mode put me into Santana/Mark1/ Dumble territory (which tbh is a tone I’ve always yearned for but haven’t ever been able to get).

Of the high gain channel, I liked mark IV mode the best. It gets that modern prog-rock/ djent vibe. I also thought it sounded great for all the Dokken riffs I was playing. I thought the Extreme mode was the hardest to dial in. The 2C+ mode that the amp is famous for, I found alright. I think I’d need to spend more time with the amp to dial it in correctly. It’s crazy how sensitive the controls are.

Then there’s the 90 watt mark V combo. Its going to have more of everything- more channels, more modes, much heavier to lug around, and it doesn't have the Cab Clone IR’s built in. Both amps are around $2k used. I suppose I could look into the new MK7, but it’s going to cost almost double the price and is the heaviest to lug in and out of places.

Is there any reason to get the MK V 90 over the 35? Does anyone have either amp? How easy are they to transport and load in and out of shows? How are the EL84’s in the 35 vs the 6L6’s in the 90? Is the 35 watts going to be enough for small shows/ and open mic nights at local breweries? Is the Mark 7 a huge leap forward?

I REALLY liked the MK V 35 and just wanted some opinions on it before I take the plunge. Thanks and peace ~
Click to expand...
Want the 35 combo. Interested to hear any feedback as well
 
Don't have the 35 watt combo but have the head. You can live on the first channel on crunch! Spend some time dialing in the 2c mode as I prefer that vs the IV mode. Not sure if the 35 watt could handle playing out. If you don't have a loud drummer, it could work. I also have a Mark VII and I love it. It all depends on what you want to spend.
 
MetalThrasher said:
Don't have the 35 watt combo but have the head. You can live on the first channel on crunch! Spend some time dialing in the 2c mode as I prefer that vs the IV mode. Not sure if the 35 watt could handle playing out. If you don't have a loud drummer, it could work. I also have a Mark VII and I love it. It all depends on what you want to spend.
Click to expand...
what do you like more about the MK7? I loved the Crunch on the 35 and there are two crunch channels on the 7. It might be fun to have each one set differently. Also, how heavy is the 7? I rewmember the MKV 90 to be a very heavy amp (the combo at least). Do you like MK7 mode?
 
I can't speak for the V:35, but my V:25 I find on channel 2 that the Mark IIC+ is kinda thin-nish. Mark IV mode is better/fuller, while still really aggressive. And XTreme actually has LESS gain than the Mark IV mode, but it's bigger and bolder sounding; just start with gain at noon, treble at 2 o' clock, mid...somewhere, doesn't matter..., bass below 10 'o clock, presence around 1 or 2 'o clock (depending on cab) and add the V shape GEQ.
 
I've had the V25 head for about a year now. I'm shocked at how often I keep it on channel 1 with the EQ off. I just plugged straight into it for the longest time and was completely satisfied. That crunch mode is an absolute delight.

Lately I've been running channel 1 bold, with a drive or fuzz in front and Strymon verb & delay in the loop. Tons of fun when I want to sit around and tweak stuff.
 
the rossness said:
what do you like more about the MK7? I loved the Crunch on the 35 and there are two crunch channels on the 7. It might be fun to have each one set differently. Also, how heavy is the 7? I rewmember the MKV 90 to be a very heavy amp (the combo at least). Do you like MK7 mode?
Click to expand...
On my Mark VII, I use the crunch on channel one, Mark VII on two, and IIC on three. I rarely play clean, so I love the ability to go to three different high gain settings. I've used crunch on channels one and two side by side and they sound the same which is a plus if you need to use channel one as a clean. The Mark VII mode took some time to figure out. I feel the VII mode is great for 7-8 string guitars. The VII mode gain structure is weird though. To me at least, it seems that putting the gain above 12oclock on that mode is overkill. I like the gain between 10 and 11 o'clock for the VII mode.
 
MkV:35 combo owner since late 2017 here. For perspective, for many years I'd been using my '94 Tremoverb combo in my main band (killer amp!) and a Fender Blues Jr in the other couple of projects I was in (T-verb too big, heavy, loud)... so the size, wattage & versatility of the V:35 seemed perfect for everything, including home. And guess what.... it IS! (at least I think it is...). A couple things:

*Much like the T-verb, I find the V:35 much easier to quickly dial up what I need than a standard Mark amp. Mark users slam me for saying it, but in different venues at soundcheck with a band & sound guy staring at you, ease in quick use goes a long way and too many options becomes annoying. The V;35 is super versatile without having too many options (if that makes any sense).

*Beyond doing a great job getting the plethora of expected tones you describe, this is the 1st Mesa I'm able to get convincing Fender sounds out of. (surprising considering their origin, right?)

*This is the first time my 'main' amp is my at home (apartment!) practice amp. Fk yea!

*DISCLAIMER: In mid-2018 I had a bad medical crash and have been disabled ever since. I did approx 10 gigs with it prior, and approx 10 gigs since, approx half of those shows were with full band set-up (drum kit, loud bass, etc)... and of course there were rehearsals involved. As a lifelong gigging player (57!), I realize that's not a helluva lot of gigs to call 'experience' with an amp. That said, it easily kept up with those arrangements. Also that said, if I was doing 'big'rock/metal', I'd definitely be running it through a cab... and not a nicely matching convenient 1x12 either. For the rock, electronic and groove stuff I was doing, it F'ing rocked with drums no problem.

*My recording life (like gigging, climbing stairs, walking, etc..) has also drastically slowed, but the few sessions I've done with it have gone great, and again... easy compared to other amps. fyi, I haven't even used the line-out features.. so nothing to report.

I can't say enough about this amp man, it's really good and oh so useful. Oh, 2 more things:
>I don't know why, but the V:35s sound so much better than the V:25s I've heard & tried.... by a pretty big margin too.
>The only annoying thing about the V:35 is the reverb being on the back and not being footswitchable. wtf is that?!...
Otherwise 10/10 :yes:

PS: picture to show off purpleness..
 

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UltraGary said:
MkV:35 combo owner since late 2017 here. For perspective, for many years I'd been using my '94 Tremoverb combo in my main band (killer amp!) and a Fender Blues Jr in the other couple of projects I was in (T-verb too big, heavy, loud)... so the size, wattage & versatility of the V:35 seemed perfect for everything, including home. And guess what.... it IS! (at least I think it is...). A couple things:

*Much like the T-verb, I find the V:35 much easier to quickly dial up what I need than a standard Mark amp. Mark users slam me for saying it, but in different venues at soundcheck with a band & sound guy staring at you, ease in quick use goes a long way and too many options becomes annoying. The V;35 is super versatile without having too many options (if that makes any sense).

*Beyond doing a great job getting the plethora of expected tones you describe, this is the 1st Mesa I'm able to get convincing Fender sounds out of. (surprising considering their origin, right?)

*This is the first time my 'main' amp is my at home (apartment!) practice amp. Fk yea!

*DISCLAIMER: In mid-2018 I had a bad medical crash and have been disabled ever since. I did approx 10 gigs with it prior, and approx 10 gigs since, approx half of those shows were with full band set-up (drum kit, loud bass, etc)... and of course there were rehearsals involved. As a lifelong gigging player (57!), I realize that's not a helluva lot of gigs to call 'experience' with an amp. That said, it easily kept up with those arrangements. Also that said, if I was doing 'big'rock/metal', I'd definitely be running it through a cab... and not a nicely matching convenient 1x12 either. For the rock, electronic and groove stuff I was doing, it F'ing rocked with drums no problem.

*My recording life (like gigging, climbing stairs, walking, etc..) has also drastically slowed, but the few sessions I've done with it have gone great, and again... easy compared to other amps. fyi, I haven't even used the line-out features.. so nothing to report.

I can't say enough about this amp man, it's really good and oh so useful. Oh, 2 more things:
>I don't know why, but the V:35s sound so much better than the V:25s I've heard & tried.... by a pretty big margin too.
>The only annoying thing about the V:35 is the reverb being on the back and not being footswitchable. wtf is that?!...
Otherwise 10/10 :yes:

PS: picture to show off purpleness..
Click to expand...
I approve of the purpleness!
 
UltraGary said:
2 more things:
>I don't know why, but the V:35s sound so much better than the V:25s I've heard & tried.... by a pretty big margin too.
>The only annoying thing about the V:35 is the reverb being on the back and not being footswitchable. wtf is that?!...
Click to expand...
What exactly did you prefer, tone-wise in the V:35 vs the V:25? (And the combos wouldn't be a fair comparison, right, due to the speaker size difference. IIRC, the V:25 combo uses a 10" speaker)

Agreed on the 2nd point; this is one of my gripes with the V:25 as well.
But at least the V:25 had the excuse of having a physically smaller front panel. The V:35 has its knobs spaced so wide that there was ample room to include the Reverb control per channel on the front.
 
One of my 2 experiences was combo vs combo, so that was agreeably not fair considering the 10" vs 12" speakers.

The other was a MkV:25 head through an Orange 1x12". I was playing with the guy too, and my amp was notibably ballsier than his all night. I really wanted to switch rigs afterwards and get on his dials but it didn't happen. (for the record, he had a nice LesPaul, so no issue there)

I also recently saw a dude using a V:25 in a band setting (head thru Marshall 2x12") and it wasn't cutting it. Could be anything though.
 
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