Mesa V:25 ?

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sandman

sandman

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If you own it or have played it, tell me all about it. Likes, dislikes etc...
I'm not all that familiar with Mesa products honestly. I like 80's hardrock/metal and some modern tones so thinking this may do a little of it all. I play only at home and thought this might be a good low volume setup that takes up very little space with a 1x12 or vertical 2x12 cab.
 
While its not the Mark V:25, I own a Rectoverb 25 head and 1x12 mini rec cabinet and have jammed on a Mark V:25 at my local store and can vouch for the fact that the volume of these amps comes on hard and fast. I have to play my RV25 in vintage because Modern is much too loud for bedroom jamming.
 
Thanks for the info. I have nowhere to try one but sounds like would be too loud for me then.
 
I love hair metal and have had a few Mesa amps.

I had a MKV for about a year and did tube swaps galore to get a real MKIIC tone from it, and the Edge setting to sound somewhat Marshall.

I sold it and bought an old KMIIC.

The MKV is an attempt to model various popular Mesa tones but it does not do any of them well IMO. I have enjoyed lots of other Mesa amps and like the brand. The V just does not do it for me. There is no Recto chug in the MKV. There is no Marshall mid snarl.

A little DSL combo and a Wampler triple Wreck pedal would hammer a MKV IMO and experience. The guy that bought my MKV is a guy I jam with. :)

I use a Maz 38 and Triple Wreck pedal for my grab and go garage jam rig.

Good luck on the tone quest!
 
I have a Mark V and my experience was totally opposite to Heritage Softail, but unlike him I wasn't trying to make it sound like a Vintage Boogie, Recto or a Marshall and was totally happy it sounded like a Mark V.
 
Just got the 25 on Friday with the specific intention of it being my home amp. It does articulate high gain fantastically well man. I'm honeymooning but I'm pleasantly surprised by the quality of the versatility. Mk iv mode is my favorite got modern high gain hard rock tones. Crunch is also great at this. Fat mode delivers killer cleans and mild breakup. I'm digging it ALOT.
 
when i played it i walked away very impressed and want one really bad! :yes:
incredible amp they did a amazing job with it.
well worth the $1250 new asking price
 
I tried one at the store when it was in stock and I thought it was fantastic! Such a small package with lots of great tones!
 
It's to loud for a bedroom amp IMO. I found my Mark IV was better at low volume,due to there being a master volume and a separate channel volume. The V:25 was a disappointment to me,I'm glad I was able to return it. Just get a real Mark V.
 
I thought the 2 best tones were the clean and the crunch channels but they are not foot switchable. The dirt side got way loud fast. I wanted to like it too, must have tried it 5 different times with the same outcome.
 
BrokenFusion":13pnr726 said:
It's to loud for a bedroom amp IMO. I found my Mark IV was better at low volume,due to there being a master volume and a separate channel volume. The V:25 was a disappointment to me,I'm glad I was able to return it. Just get a real Mark V.
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Yep. I think most would be better off with the normal MK V. It's both a great bedroom amp and gigging amp. I got my 2nd mint MK V (sold the first a couple of years ago) for $1600 shipped and with three years left on the warranty. Hell, there's a mint one in the classifieds right fnow or $50 less than what I paid. I'd jump on that before going the MK 25 route.
 
I have mine for a couple of months and I honestly don't know if there is anything I don't like. This is saying a lot as I came from a Mark IV and LOVED that amp. Even started to like R2 once I figure out how to use it.

I don't know if the IIC+ mode sounds anything like one but all three modes on the lead channel sound great. The cleans are great and the crunch tone available on the clean channel is gravy as far as I'm concerned. It's also really loud. Cab Clone built in. There's a lot to like about the amp. I got mine with custom tolex and grill cloth for $1478 new from Sweetwater. It's an amazing value.
 
Not a bedroom amp? Weird statement and I have to respectfully disagree. The volume knob works... Secondly, it sounds articulate at very low volumes with high gain, which is very rare. Can it get loud as fuck real fast, definitely, but like I said, the volume knob works just fine...no crazy jumps in volume though you do need to adjust with care. Then you tweak with the 5 band to really dial in a tone you dig. It doesn't get much better than this for low volume tones. I had it sounding like my Uberschall with the scooped v graphic setup last night. You can tell Randall Smith really refined the circuits to match the power amp. Taking it to practice tonight to put it through a Bogner 4x12....stoked.
 
I can play my Mark V in 90w mode and play it at "bedroom volume" just fine. In 10w mode it's easily bedroom friendly. I imagine the Mk25 is just fine for lower volume jamming. Mind you when the master gets to around 11:00 and channel volumes at noonish - it's massive sounding.
 
Bxlxaxkxe":102tczdp said:
Not a bedroom amp? Weird statement and I have to respectfully disagree. The volume knob works... Secondly, it sounds articulate at very low volumes with high gain, which is very rare. Can it get loud as fuck real fast, definitely, but like I said, the volume knob works just fine...no crazy jumps in volume though you do need to adjust with care. Then you tweak with the 5 band to really dial in a tone you dig. It doesn't get much better than this for low volume tones. I had it sounding like my Uberschall with the scooped v graphic setup last night. You can tell Randall Smith really refined the circuits to match the power amp. Taking it to practice tonight to put it through a Bogner 4x12....stoked.
Click to expand...

Sure you can turn it down low, but I didn't care for the sound turned down low (or up for that matter). On the full size Marks you have a master that you can set low and then adjust the channel volume up so you can get a good fat sound at low volume. Between that and two separate gain controls on the lead channel you can dial it in perfectly.
I'm not saying the V:25 a bad amp, just that for the price used Mark 4 and 5's go for, ($1500 for a V is not uncommon compared to $1299 for a new V:25) you lose a LOT of features for the sake of a little more portable amp. I mean let's face it, a Mark 4 or 5 head is pretty small and light compared to a 100 watt Marshall,it's not exactly a beast to carry around. And also the Cabclone was what really got me exited about buying the amp and I found the Cabclone sounded horrible direct. :dunno:
 
I think the RV25 and the V:25 would benefit greatly from master volume knobs.
 
I've been intrigued by the MKV25 for a bit now. I had the full-sized head, which I ended up selling since it seemed to be too much for what I was doing at the time. I have a mini rectifier head and a RV25 combo and can attest that the volume gets loud very quickly. In fact I only use them with the volumes at the 9 o'clock positions at gigs and they're plenty loud. I'd imagine the MKV25 to be in the same boat.
 
BrokenFusion":1uhkgdec said:
Bxlxaxkxe":1uhkgdec said:
Not a bedroom amp? Weird statement and I have to respectfully disagree. The volume knob works... Secondly, it sounds articulate at very low volumes with high gain, which is very rare. Can it get loud as fuck real fast, definitely, but like I said, the volume knob works just fine...no crazy jumps in volume though you do need to adjust with care. Then you tweak with the 5 band to really dial in a tone you dig. It doesn't get much better than this for low volume tones. I had it sounding like my Uberschall with the scooped v graphic setup last night. You can tell Randall Smith really refined the circuits to match the power amp. Taking it to practice tonight to put it through a Bogner 4x12....stoked.
Click to expand...

Sure you can turn it down low, but I didn't care for the sound turned down low (or up for that matter). On the full size Marks you have a master that you can set low and then adjust the channel volume up so you can get a good fat sound at low volume. Between that and two separate gain controls on the lead channel you can dial it in perfectly.
I'm not saying the V:25 a bad amp, just that for the price used Mark 4 and 5's go for, ($1500 for a V is not uncommon compared to $1299 for a new V:25) you lose a LOT of features for the sake of a little more portable amp. I mean let's face it, a Mark 4 or 5 head is pretty small and light compared to a 100 watt Marshall,it's not exactly a beast to carry around. And also the Cabclone was what really got me exited about buying the amp and I found the Cabclone sounded horrible direct. :dunno:
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Yeah those are fair statements. I haven't even messed with the cabclone but I don't expect great results from what I've heard so far and read. I'm moving this summer and really like that the 25 will not be a hassle whatsoever. Nor will it scare anyone with its size.

I honestly don't have much experience with the V but I've never heard such high gain articulation at low volumes. Maybe the V does it too. Either way...feeling pretty inspired by the Mark V.
 
Tone Zone":le936sy7 said:
BrokenFusion":le936sy7 said:
It's to loud for a bedroom amp IMO. I found my Mark IV was better at low volume,due to there being a master volume and a separate channel volume. The V:25 was a disappointment to me,I'm glad I was able to return it. Just get a real Mark V.
Click to expand...

Yep. I think most would be better off with the normal MK V. It's both a great bedroom amp and gigging amp. I got my 2nd mint MK V (sold the first a couple of years ago) for $1600 shipped and with three years left on the warranty. Hell, there's a mint one in the classifieds right fnow or $50 less than what I paid. I'd jump on that before going the MK 25 route.
Click to expand...

Here is what I see the mark V:25 versus the mark V
- lower price on the mark V:25
- more portable
- cab clone

Where I think they missed on the he mark v:25 is having a 10watt mode versus a 5watt mode. I mean the big mark V has a 10watt mode too, so the V:25 on paper doesn't really do the low wattage thing any better.

As a mark IV owner considering the mark V:25, I went with the ta15. The ta15 high 2 gets close enough to the mark series sound for me and the 5watt mode is great when I have to keep it quiet. I think the mark v:25 is the better amp for metal, but still lacks the thump of the bigger mark v.
 
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