Tell me about the Mark Five 25

[bubucci]

I used Captor (-20bB) for bedroom playing. It defeats sudden volume jump. I didn´t tried some attenuation in ef. loop but it might work.
I was quite surprised with Cab Clone, despite internet wisdom. Thru our rehearsal space PA it has sound and response of ´genuine’ V30 cab. Even sound guys at gigs liked the sound and it also works for mixing with classic mic.

 

[ElectricVoodoo]

I have used a volume box in the loop but have found that it muddies the tone a bit. The amp has a dark characteristic to begin with.
I no longer use the vol box. Will look into the captor.

The amp has a volume jump from zero unless it is attenuated some how. Even at 4ohms on my 2x12, its loud.

 

[155]

nice amp not enough to hang with a loudish rock/metal band doesnt cut it, get the mark iv

 

[UltraGary]

Thanks... so you guys say it's a no-go in the low-volume department?

Not at all!

I say it's fantastic at low volumes also!

 

[GJgo]

I have the Mkv35 head. For the first time in the 6 months I've had it,I was able to use it in a band setting last weekend. We have both a loud drummer and a bassist who uses alot of effects and boosts. My volume never went above 11 o'clock.
Plenty loud, no problem whatsoever in the, "how loud will it be in a band setting?"

Agree 100% on the volume taper. It is also present on the 35 head. Imo, it's not a home friendly amplifier.
It goes from 0 to woah.. Selecting the lower wattage hardly adds a volume taper.

It cut through very well.
My only issue, it simply does not have a touch response that I desire. Whether it be the EL84 or the amps design...its not what I'm used to. Everyone I've talked to, responded on forums, yt vids, etc, all agree that the 90w wouldve been the way to go. The added Tweed channel sounds glorious to say the least, the built in variac and flexibility really fill in the amps lack of options in the 25/35.

Tone wise, I think its superb.

Btw...I run mine with either my 1960a or a 2x12 V30.
Both at 16ohms.

In my metal band, my Five 35 BARELY keeps up at full tilt & there's nothing left for the solo boost. For bands that aren't so loud it'd be GTG.

If touch response is important then you need a Mark II or III depending on your style.

Low volume is no problem if you keep the presence down.

 

[ElectricVoodoo]

I have the Mkv35 head. For the first time in the 6 months I've had it,I was able to use it in a band setting last weekend. We have both a loud drummer and a bassist who uses alot of effects and boosts. My volume never went above 11 o'clock.
Plenty loud, no problem whatsoever in the, "how loud will it be in a band setting?"

Agree 100% on the volume taper. It is also present on the 35 head. Imo, it's not a home friendly amplifier.
It goes from 0 to woah.. Selecting the lower wattage hardly adds a volume taper.

It cut through very well.
My only issue, it simply does not have a touch response that I desire. Whether it be the EL84 or the amps design...its not what I'm used to. Everyone I've talked to, responded on forums, yt vids, etc, all agree that the 90w wouldve been the way to go. The added Tweed channel sounds glorious to say the least, the built in variac and flexibility really fill in the amps lack of options in the 25/35.

Tone wise, I think its superb.

Btw...I run mine with either my 1960a or a 2x12 V30.
Both at 16ohms.

In my metal band, my Five 35 BARELY keeps up at full tilt & there's nothing left for the solo boost. For bands that aren't so loud it'd be GTG.

If touch response is important then you need a Mark II or III depending on your style.

Low volume is no problem if you keep the presence down.

Do you have a second guitarist in the band?
Modern detuned metal ?

I ask because when I was jamming with a second guitarist some years ago, it was a battle of volume between us

I see it all the time where jamming volume is way to high.
I deal with it now with my bassist and his boost pedals etc..

 

[NinjaRaf]

I had one of these for a while, and it sounded great. Low volumes and recording, IMO, is where this amp really shines. When I took it to jam with a drummer it ran out of gas before I could really hear myself, and started getting farty in the low end and compressing way too much. The clean channel on it is great, definitely, and so is the lead. I was able to get a good range of Metallica sounds with the IIC+ mode and IV mode.

I did end up selling this to get a full size Mark V and was pretty disappointed. Its a good amp, but I thought the tone on the 25 was better. I had a hard time getting what I wanted out of the full size. Only reason I made the swap was for the volume, but it didn't really work out for me. I ended up with a couple of Mark IVs for a couple years, which were better than either of the Mark Vs.

The impedance thing is a non-issue. Mesa describes what to do for 16 ohms in the manual.

 

[Rex Rocker]

I'm really digging Mark IV and Xtreme modes the best here.

 

[Chris6870]

Thanks... so you guys say it's a no-go in the low-volume department?

Not at all!

I say it's fantastic at low volumes also!

Volume is a little touchy down low but in the 10 watt mode you can get it really quiet. I run it out of the cab clone into a Headrush 108 and it sounds great and you have good low volume control.

 

[GJgo]

Do you have a second guitarist in the band?
Modern detuned metal ?

I ask because when I was jamming with a second guitarist some years ago, it was a battle of volume between us

I see it all the time where jamming volume is way to high.
I deal with it now with my bassist and his boost pedals etc..

We're a 3 piece, I'm the only guitarist. Our mix volume is pretty good with the drummer being where he wants to be. Here's the M35 in our mix. This is full throttle. We're in Eb standard. It keeps up, but there's nothing left.
https://youtu.be/gvy4BroOqMM

 

[GJgo]

I did end up selling this to get a full size Mark V and was pretty disappointed. Its a good amp, but I thought the tone on the 25 was better. I had a hard time getting what I wanted out of the full size. Only reason I made the swap was for the volume, but it didn't really work out for me.

THIS. The Five 25 & 35 have better tone, and the 35 has the slight edge from the bigger transformers.

 

[Speeddemon]

The Mark V25 is great, but a Mark IV is comparable in price and is much more. More is more, just ask Yngwie.

If I had a choice anyway, and I do, I chose to own a Mark IV over the Mark V25 or Mark V.

I actually went the other way.
I *had* a Mark IV (rev A, '91) and while I loved the gorgeous clean and lead tones, the downsides were for me;
-R2 is lacklustre
-Today's awesome settings sound mediocre tomorrow.
-it's heavy/cumbersome
-the fan is annoying (in the studio)

As others said, the Mark V:25's Crunch mode is worth the price of admission alone. This slays the Mark IV's R2 in so many ways it's not even funny.
I've lost 3 switchable channels, switchable fx-loop and the oomphf that comes with the bigger glass and iron of the IV, but tone-wise and practicality wise it makes up for that.
I did replace the V:25's little fan with a really silent one, as it's being used for studio/bedroom playing only.