NAD Mesa Mark V 25 1/4 stack

[cobrahead1030]

First time I've bought an amp that I didn't need for a specific use in way too long. Took a bit of a road trip today to pick this one up, and I'm glad I jumped on it.

Initial impression; I love it! The clean & crunch tones on channel one are absolutely killer, and the reverb is really solid as well. Right off the bat, the 'mark IV' mode on channel 2 really got my attention in a hurry. I tried it with a handful of single coil & humbucker guitars, and had no problem getting finding the tone I was looking for with any of them. I like the EQ on channel 2, but so far prefer channel 1 without it.

Compared to my trusty mark III, it's definitely brighter & not quite as smooth. It's much easier to dial in though, all 3 modes on both channels are very easy to dial in a useable sound, with & without the EQ. I also find that it allows the tone of the individual guitar shine through quite a bit more. I'll try to post up a video in the next week or two. Seriously cool amp though, I wish I'd checked out one of these when they first came out.

 

[Gitfiddler]

Would love a clip with that G&L.

 

[MetalThrasher]

Congrats on the new setup! You'll love it. I have the V 35 and the amp can do a lot of things well, it just takes some time messing around with it. I like all the modes, but my favorite is the crunch on channel one. I wish they could make that into a separate channel from the clean.

 

[cobrahead1030]

Congrats on the new setup! You'll love it. I have the V 35 and the amp can do a lot of things well, it just takes some time messing around with it. I like all the modes, but my favorite is the crunch on channel one. I wish they could make that into a separate channel from the clean.

That channel 1 crunch really stood out when I demo'd it earlier, then I was shocked how great it sounded with anything I plugged into it. That's a cool tone territory that none of my other amps quite get into.

 

[napalmdeath]

That channel 1 crunch really stood out when I demo'd it earlier, then I was shocked how great it sounded with anything I plugged into it. That's a cool tone territory that none of my other amps quite get into.

Like I said in the other thread, hitting that Mk IV mode with a TS-9 type boost, it's pretty satisfying for the heavier stuff. Thrash monster.

 

[Speeddemon]

Nice set! Got the same cab as well; my main gigging cab these days for smaller to medium sized gigs.
When you miss smoothness, switch to the Xtreme mode; plenty thick and smooth. The Mark IV mode is definitely brighter and more hairy.

 

[TheGreatGreen]

Incoming dumb wall of text:

Normally I'm not a fan of small amps at all, BUT...

I tried one of these out in a music store on a whim a while back. It sounded better than I expected, a lot better, so I stopped what I was doing and really put some time into it. I ended up turning it off and leaving, but the amp stayed in my head for a few months. I figured it must have been just a fluke that it sounded that good, so I played another one at another music store not long after that. Same thing. Unexpectedly good sound. So a few more weeks went by, and then I bought one.

This is going to sound strong, but due to all the shit talking I’ve done about small amps on these forms over the last while, I feel like it needs to be said. This amp has completely reversed my opinion on small amps. Not all small amps though, just this one. Actually I like this one so much that I’ll put my reputation on the line to I say it is a ridiculously great sounding amp, no caveats. Not "for its size" or "for its wattage" or anything like that. It's just an exceptional sounding amp. I'm over the moon about mine.

For context, in addition to the Mark V25, in my studio there are also nine 100 watt tube heads from Mesa, Bogner, EVH, Peavey, Marshall, and three tube heads between 40-60 watts from Mesa and VHT, and I've been sitting in there flipping around amps with a KHE switcher and directly A/Bing this amp with them through the same cab/mic setup. I'm not just playing this thing in some room somewhere with no references or context and saying it's great. It holds its own with the big boys. Not in volume, obviously, but put it through a good 4x12 and in front of a microphone, and it's unbelievable.

This thing is also actually truly versatile, meaning not only does it do a lot, but it does a lot very well. I even found an extra sort of Easter Egg sound where if you go to the Fat mode and max out the TMB and Master dials, then set the GEQ flat and bump up the 80 Hz slider, and use the Gain control as your volume, you've got an AC30, thanks to those EL84’s. And it's not just some bastardized wannabe kinda-sorta AC30 either. It can sound like a real, actual Vox AC30 if you dial it up correctly. You can even mess around with lowering the Bass and Mid knobs to simulate a treble boost, which is especially cool considering that was probably not something considered by the designer at all.

What I’m saying is that the range of sounds in this thing is insane. WAY more than the stragithforward "6 modes split into 2 channels" as described in the amp's marketing blurb.

So from now on, where I used to say "I don't like small amps" and leave it at that, I'm going to have to type out "I don't like small amps except for the Mark V25" which is annoying. So thanks a lot for that, Mark V25.

Congrats, @cobrahead1030 it’s a great amp.

Congrats on the new setup! You'll love it. I have the V 35 and the amp can do a lot of things well, it just takes some time messing around with it. I like all the modes, but my favorite is the crunch on channel one. I wish they could make that into a separate channel from the clean.

Same. I was floored when I really dug into the Crunch mode. If you setup that channel like you would a normal high gain Mark tone and then bump the master to get just a bit of poweramp overdrive layered on top of that, the amp starts to breath and flex, and it really comes alive.

That’s another great thing about this amp, actually. For some reason I always get just a little bit nervous about really cranking up and blasting the 100w amps, but I don’t even think twice about cranking this one to get whatever blend of preamp / poweramp distortion I feel like. It just feels like there’s no real consequences to something going wrong when you crank an amp with a 25 watt power section that uses two tubes just barely larger than 12AX7's themselves as opposed to cranking a 100 watter, so you feel free to use the full range of every control in the amp.

 

[JLR]

I have the 35 and the crunch channel is also my favorite. I found a thread on the Boogie forum where with very low gain and EQ tweaking you can get the xtreme mode pretty close to the crunch mode. I tried it and it works. This will free up channel 1 for the clean/fat mode. I have a bunch of different settings compiled into a spreadsheet. I plan on expanding on it and when ready I'll laminate it to a 3x5 card, punch a hole in it and attach it to my handle on my head. It's really the only way I'm going to recall some of these settings. I also found a great aged thread on the Telecaster site. Search by the thread name below. I found Marshall, Dumble and Blackface settings. Tried them all and they work. Some of the settings are radical but they work. Settings that you would never even think to try.

Mesa Mark V:25 owners attention: Dumble tone hidden in there​

 

[cobrahead1030]

I have the 35 and the crunch channel is also my favorite. I found a thread on the Boogie forum where with very low gain and EQ tweaking you can get the xtreme mode pretty close to the crunch mode. I tried it and it works. This will free up channel 1 for the clean/fat mode. I have a bunch of different settings compiled into a spreadsheet. I plan on expanding on it and when ready I'll laminate it to a 3x5 card, punch a hole in it and attach it to my handle on my head. It's really the only way I'm going to recall some of these settings. I also found a great aged thread on the Telecaster site. Search by the thread name below. I found Marshall, Dumble and Blackface settings. Tried them all and they work. Some of the settings are radical but they work. Settings that you would never even think to try.

Mesa Mark V:25 owners attention: Dumble tone hidden in there​

If you were trying to include a link, it doesn't appear to be working. I've watched a couple of demo videos that helped me discover a few really cool settings on ch1 that normal intuition wouldn't have gotten me to.

 

[cobrahead1030]

Incoming dumb wall of text:

Normally I'm not a fan of small amps at all, BUT...

I tried one of these out in a music store on a whim a while back. It sounded better than I expected, a lot better, so I stopped what I was doing and really put some time into it. I ended up turning it off and leaving, but the amp stayed in my head for a few months. I figured it must have been just a fluke that it sounded that good, so I played another one at another music store not long after that. Same thing. Unexpectedly good sound. So a few more weeks went by, and then I bought one.

This is going to sound strong, but due to all the shit talking I’ve done about small amps on these forms over the last while, I feel like it needs to be said. This amp has completely reversed my opinion on small amps. Not all small amps though, just this one. Actually I like this one so much that I’ll put my reputation on the line to I say it is a ridiculously great sounding amp, no caveats. Not "for its size" or "for its wattage" or anything like that. It's just an exceptional sounding amp. I'm over the moon about mine.

For context, in addition to the Mark V25, in my studio there are also nine 100 watt tube heads from Mesa, Bogner, EVH, Peavey, Marshall, and three tube heads between 40-60 watts from Mesa and VHT, and I've been sitting in there flipping around amps with a KHE switcher and directly A/Bing this amp with them through the same cab/mic setup. I'm not just playing this thing in some room somewhere with no references or context and saying it's great. It holds its own with the big boys. Not in volume, obviously, but put it through a good 4x12 and in front of a microphone, and it's unbelievable.

This thing is also actually truly versatile, meaning not only does it do a lot, but it does a lot very well. I even found an extra sort of Easter Egg sound where if you go to the Fat mode and max out the TMB and Master dials, then set the GEQ flat and bump up the 80 Hz slider, and use the Gain control as your volume, you've got an AC30, thanks to those EL84’s. And it's not just some bastardized wannabe kinda sorta AC30 either. It sounds legit. You can even mess around with lowering the Bass and Mid knobs to simulate a treble boost, which is especially cool considering that was probably not something considered by the designer at all. What I’m saying is that the range of sounds in this thing is insane.

So from now on, where I used to say "I don't like small amps" and leave it at that, I'm going to have to type out "I don't like small amps except for the Mark V25" which is annoying. So thanks a lot for that, Mark V25.

Congrats, @cobrahead1030 it’s a great amp.



Same. I was floored when I really dug into the Crunch mode. If you setup that channel like you would a normal high gain Mark tone and then bump the master to get just a bit of poweramp overdrive layered on top of that, the amp starts to breath and flex, and it really comes alive.

That’s another great thing about this amp, actually. For some reason I always get just a little bit nervous about really cranking up and blasting the 100w amps, but I don’t even think twice about cranking this one to get whatever blend of preamp / poweramp distortion I feel like. It just feels like there’s no real consequences to something going wrong when you crank a 25 watt amp as opposed to cranking a 100 watter, so you feel free to use the full range of every control in the amp.

I'd have to say I agree with that.

I've played and owned a handful of lower wattage amps that I really liked, but this is the first one that legitimately blew me away. The only part of it being a 25w amp that's a factor for me, is being able to use the master volume with a little more freedom than I would on a 50 or 100w amp.

 

[cobrahead1030]

Like I said in the other thread, hitting that Mk IV mode with a TS-9 type boost, it's pretty satisfying for the heavier stuff. Thrash monster.

I've got an od808 I'll have to try with it. I'll probably spend another week or two plugging straight in before I start playing with pedals.

I was pretty blown away by how well mk IV mode handles a 7 string tuned to A running straight in.

 

[napalmdeath]

I've got an od808 I'll have to try with it. I'll probably spend another week or two plugging straight in before I start playing with pedals.

I was pretty blown away by how well mk IV mode handles a 7 string tuned to A running straight in.

It's a killer little amp. I wish some of these other builders would figure out how to use big bottles in the lower watt amps like Marshall does, or the Fireball 25, and PRS MT-15. But, the 5-Band on the MKV 25 can get it pretty big sounding.

 

[TheGreatGreen]

It's a killer little amp. I wish some of these other builders would figure out how to use big bottles in the lower watt amps like Marshall does, or the Fireball 25, and PRS MT-15. But, the 5-Band on the MKV 25 can get it pretty big sounding.

I think this is the main trick to this amp. Small iron amps typically sound "small" in that there's naturally very little high highs or low lows, so you usually only get a narrow and congested sounding band of honky mids with those amps, and they just don't sound good as a result. The Mark V25 also sounds like a small amp... when the GEQ is off. This is great for getting vintage tweed or chimey AC30 sounds, but obviously terrible for bigger modern high gain sounds. This amp's GEQ has a very wide range and lets you crank the 80 Hz area pretty much up to the stratosphere, to the point that it sounds a bit ridiculous at max, but that's why it's a slider and not a fixed value, so you can control it with your ears, and then you can de-emphasize those mids to bring the amp back to having roughly the same overall EQ signature as big iron amps. It also helps that the Presence and 6600Hz controls on this amp give you a ton of range and ability to control the highs as well in a way that's a lot tougher for most other small amps.

The ultimate cost of the Mark V25 being able to achieve the same extended bandwidth of big iron amps of course is clean headroom, as those sub-100 Hz lows get a lot closer to the headroom limit of those EL84's than the mids and highs take to reproduce at a given volume. However, people underestimate how absurdly loud even low-watt tube amps really are so the "gets closer to the headroom limit" thing is a relative phrase here.

Personally though if I'm playing a small sized amp, I would 100% of the time absolutely rather have the ability to shape the output EQ to make the small amp sound like a big iron amp at the cost of lower max clean volume (knowing that I can mic up the cab so it doesn't matter) than I would want a thin, honky, ratty sounding small amp that can get a little louder.